I do

I have a feeling you'll like this one :)

Joe could hear the conversation of worried voices coming from the room he was in, despite not being able to process them, or properly respond to them, he could identify someone was pointing an annoying light right at his pupil, to check for pupillary response probably. He could hear the rush these people were in, talking to each other in a loud manner, discussing how to proceed with his care.

"We need to get a CT scan, an MRI and page neuro stat" An older woman yelled to a small man who looked like it was his first day at work.

At least I can understand what they're talking about. That has to be progress of some sort.

"Where was I?" He wondered, unsure of how he ended up in what he presumed was a hospital bed, in the cold emergency room.

"Why can't I recall anything?" He questioned again, feeling his throat dry, he lifted his hand and placed it on his neck, when a nausea wave hit him out of nowhere, he felt himself salivating and knew that vomiting was imminent.

He warned the nurse next to him, speaking for the first time since he went down on the field, taking a massive blow to the head. "I'm feeling sick" he managed to muster, and the nurse rushed to get the nearest emesis basin, knowing that a common side effect of concussions was nausea and vomiting.

"Poor thing" she thought. "His season is over and he doesn't even know what day of the week he's living in"

"Please help me" He begged, tears forming in his deep blue eyes.

"Don't worry honey we've got you, you'll be fine" She tried to reassure him, holding tight onto his right hand, since his left one was occupied by his IV line.

The hospital staff guided his gurney down two floors to the imaging unit, where the indicated studies were performed on him, to ensure his brain was fine, and no signs of bleeding, or skull fractures or any kind were visible.

The results of the tests however, were only disclosed to close family. So his fiancée was screaming at every nurse, doctor or human being she met, demanding information about him. She hadn't seen him since he was removed from the stadium in an ambulance and he was looking like a little kid, lost and disoriented with no recollection of what happened to him.

Her insides were screaming, she felt her heart in flames, her stomach made into a knot, every second she spent not knowing what they were doing to him.

She finally gave into crying out of fear and frustration next to Andrei and Ja'Marr, who were feeling exactly the same as her, but were too proud to show emotion. It killed them to not know anything about their friend, and to see her become undone like this.

Robin finally showed up to the emergency room, pale skin and sweaty forehead, terrified of what she would encounter when she crossed the door. Her eyes sat on Victoria, entirely distraught, unable to calm herself.

"How is he?" Robin managed to ask her son's girlfriend.

"I don't know Robin, they won't tell me anything because I'm not family. But they'll tell you, you should ask the nurse when she comes back" Victoria replied, in between sobs.

"Oh my sweet child" Robin whispered as she embraced Victoria, holding her in a tight hug. She knew how much Joe adored her, and how scared she must have been. As much as Robin was feeling.

"Family of Joseph Burrow?" A voice asked in the background.

"Yes, here. I'm his mom. Please tell me, how is he?" Robin ran into the nurse's direction, and Victoria followed suit.

"Please come with me ma'am" The nurse laid her right hand at the woman's waist and guided her to the room they had settled Joe in.

"Can she come too? She's his fiancée, please" Robin pleaded so they'd allow Victoria to visit Joe.

"Sure" the nurse said, not really convinced and twisting her mouth at the same time. Not that Victoria cared, since what she wanted more was getting news about Joe.

"I'll text you when I know something. Thanks for being here guys" She mustered to Ja'Marr and Andrei who were still standing at the waiting room, as she walked down the hospital aisle next to Robin and Nurse Bertha.

"Sure thing. We ain't going nowhere" Ja'Marr said back.

When they entered room 404, Joe was looking much better, lively and lucid, joking with the nurse who was taking his vitals about how the IV made him feel restrained.

"Joe" Victoria squeaked, suppressing her longing to throw herself into his arms, scared of hurting him.

"Vic. You're here" He offered her a wide smile, genuinely pleased to see her.

"My baby" Robin let out a painful growl.

Dr. Jones as his name was in his white coat, turned around to face the two women.

"So Joe is fine, he'll make a full recovery with no unwanted sequels, his MRI and CT scan came clean, no signs of skull fractures or internal bleeding of the brain. However because his cognitive function was impaired when he first came to the ER, we'd like to keep him here for observation for the night" Dr. Jones began talking "then again, there's no reason for concern, he's a tough guy" he reassured them.

"So what happened? I remembered I was in the middle of a game...? Did I just leave my team stranding?..." he asked with a hint of remorse in his voice. Neither Victoria or Robin had the heart to break the heartbreaking news to him, not right now at least.

"This is not the time to discuss such things my love" Victoria tried to deviate from the conversation.

"Victoria tell me what happened" Joe demanded, feeling his heart palpitations increasing. A sense of doom lingered over him. Victoria pondered on what to do but decided to come clean. After all, miscommunication had led to their fall down once before.

"They lost the game Joe. They couldn't recover from not having you out there" She bit her lip and lowered her gaze, unwilling to face him.

"Fuck" He yelled, feeling incredibly frustrated. Everything they had worked so hard to achieve, gone because of some random incident. Because of him.

"Please don't blame yourself son, there was nothing you could do to prevent this. The important thing right now is getting you healthy" Robin added.

Joe refused to have a meltdown in the hospital, too proud to admit how hard the defeat had hit his ego. It was like vinegar in his mouth.

By the next day, he was waking, talking, making jokes and back to his old self, so much so that the doctors allowed him to go back home, under the condition that he would avoid any potential hazard activities that could jeopardize his recovery. Having him home felt like a blessing, but at the same time, it unnerved Victoria triggering her fight or flight response. She walked on eggshells, remembering what happened the last time Joe went on a losing streak, how his temper became unpredictable, and he ended up blowing their relationship up, afraid he'd go back to that prick facade of his.

Decided to not screw it up this time, Joe took shelter in her love, in her presence and her warmth. If the season was done for, he could always rely on his girl to pick up the pieces of his shattered heart. Then a realization hit him: Nothing mattered in the world when he was with Victoria. And he knew he had to do something about it.

And so he did. Joe packed their bags in the middle of the night, determined to do what he wanted most ardently. Victoria never suspected a thing.

"We are leaving. I already packed our bags and called a car to take us to the airport" He said, waking her up from her slumber, at 5:45 am on a Wednesday morning.

"What? Joe you just got cleared by the doctor, you can't just leave the city, what is going on?" Victoria squinted, still half asleep, but mostly confused about the revelation her boyfriend made.

"He said I'm cleared to go on with my life. I won't be taking hits to the head where we're going" Joe said calmly, biting his tongue as to not shout the joyful news at her.

"Where are we going?" She let out a yawn.

"Just wake up, get dressed and let's go" He insisted so intensely that she had no choice but turn drag her body out of bed, and change into a comfy matching sweatpants, brush her teeth, and groggily comb her hair.

When the Cadillac CT4 showed up at their main entrance to pick them up, Joe gave her a proud smile. Except the chauffeur didn't take them to the usual Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport, instead they were left at Cincinnati Lunken Airport.

Victoria immediately thought this was a mistake, to which Joe firmly denied. This was their destination. It had been for as long as he could remember.

"We're flying private? Seriously Burrow what is this?" She asked, now coming to her senses after the drowsiness of the sleep deprivation had died down.

"Just enjoy this, Marlowe. Please" Joe begged; and Victoria didn't have a choice but to comply.

Joe had packed both their passports, so that was the first clue this wasn't just a domestic flight.

"Can you tell me where the hell are we going to?" She inquired once more.

"Nope. Please enjoy the flight, it's all I'm asking" Joe replied, grinning.

When they boarded the private jet, they were received with glasses of champagne and a luxurious interior, all to themselves, to wherever in the globe they were heading.

After 8 and a half hours of flying, in which Victoria demanded to know what the final destination was, they landed in the city they both had dreamed to go to for so long. The city that brought Victoria so much memories from their time apart.

Paris, France. As they touched down in Paris, the city of love welcomed them with open arms, Joe had arranged for a luxurious suite at one of the finest hotels in town, their suite was completed with a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower.

"This city is breathtaking" Victoria sighed as she stood on the balcony of their room, with Joe by her side.

"And it's about to get even better" he rambled.

"What do you mean?" She turned to look at him with a curious expression.

"The reason why I flew you to Paris, Victoria it's because I wanna marry you. I wanna marry you here and now. From the moment I met you, I knew you were the woman for me, you've brought so much love and joy to my life, I don't wanna wait a second longer not being yours, fully yours"

Victoria's eyes shimmered with tears as Joe took out a little red velvet Cartier box that held their future inside. Matching wedding bands, golden rose, engraved with each other's initials.

"Would you marry me? Now" he clarified.

Tears streamed down her face as she gazed down at the man she loved beyond any sense of reason.

"Yes Joe, I'll marry you" her words choked a bit as she tried to contain her tears.

Joe had arranged for the whole ceremony, hiring a local minister who would officiate it.

"Do you, Victoria Marlowe, take Joseph Lee Burrow as your husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, till death does you apart?"

"I do" she managed to say.

"And do you, Joseph Lee Burrow, take Victoria Marlowe as your wife, to live together in matrimony, to love her, to honor her, to comfort her and to keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, till death does you apart?"

"I do" he answered. The easiest answer of his life.

"Then I pronounce you, husband and wife" the minister muttered.

Both of them knew this moment would be etched in each other's hearts, for eternity.

Hello!So here's a fun twist I added. I just felt like it was time for these two to be together forever Let me know what you think!Don't forget to comment and vote. Love you ❤️