Soon You'll Get Better

Six

Danny watched the nurse pull the breathing tube from Linda's throat. He winced, knowing that it had to hurt. He squeezed her hand when her free hand gently touched the small hole in her throat.

"Do you know your name?" The nurse asked while her patient was coughing violently.

Linda looked confused, her fingers gently on her throat. She looked at Danny, then the nurse, and back again. Staring at the blanket, she concentrated long and hard on the question.

"You don't know your name?"

Her bottom lip began to quiver and her forehead creased. Before she could stop them, the tears came down her cheeks. Why couldn't she remember something so simple as her name?

Danny's heart broke for his wife. He reached out to wipe the tears, and was surprised when she turned her face into his palm. She breathed deeply, kissing the rough skin against her lips. "Don't cry, Linda."

The nurse looked at him flatly, annoyed he had told her part of her name.

"Linda," the blonde (who was turning into a brunette) repeated. Her voice was raspy, and she acted as though she didn't expect it. "Linda Rose.... O.. O'Shea..." she bit her bottom lip, knowing there was one more name. She looked to the handsome man again; something was telling her she had a deep connection with him, she just couldn't remember what. Slowly, she tried, "Reagan..."

Danny had to bite his tongue from shouting in joy. "You remember!"

The nurse, who obviously did not want to be there, asked the next question. "Do you know where you live?"

"With him?" She pointed to Danny, adding a soft, "please, please, please?"

"What's your address?"

Linda ignored the nurse, opting to turn to Danny. "Do I live with you?"

"I should hope so. You are my wife after all."

Her face lit up with a big smile and happy blue eyes. She couldn't really make him out, but she had a feeling about him. A strong feeling that she had known him more than half her life.

"Where do we live?"

At least she's talking normally, even if it's a tad slow.

"You need to answer that." The nurse interjected.

"But I'm married to him. Who cares where we live?"

Danny chuckled, glad she still had her humor. He was a little upset she didn't talk with fluency, but her small stutter was kind of cute.

"Who's the president of the United States?"

Linda looked to Danny for that one, hoping he'd feed her the answer.

"You don't wanna know..."

"I can't remember."

"Do you know the year?" The nurse was focused on the Clipboard.

Linda shook her head, moaning when she realized her head felt awful. She looked at Danny again. "So we're married."

He smiled and nodded, showing her his wedding band.

She looked to her ring finger, frowning deeply when she saw it was bare. "Where's mine?"

"Oh," he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small bag. "When you, uh..." he stopped, realizing she didn't have a clue as to what she had been through the last month and a half. "Uh, your finger swelled and we had to cut them off."

"My finger?!"

"No. Your rings." He held them up for her to see. "You've still got your finger." He tapped her ring finger. "But as soon as they came off, I went to the jewelers to get them fixed." Technically, he had sent Eddie with specific instructions on the size and the engraved phrase.

Linda smiled as he slid all three rings on her finger, explaining them one at a time.

"This one is your promise ring," he slid it on her digit. "I gave this to you your first year of college."

She smiled at the thin band with four small diamonds on the gold.

"This is your engagement ring, when I asked to marry you obviously."

She tilted her hand, letting the diamonds catch the light. It was gold with a center diamond, and two smaller diamonds in either side.

"And this is your wedding ring, the first time I slid this on your finger was October 10, 1996."

"Our anniversary." It was halfway between a question and a statement.

"That's right." He lifted her hand and kissed it, wishing she would remember anything from her life.