TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHTMELONIE'S POV

*ONE MONTH LATER*

   I laid in my hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling, silently. Not saying a word. I was silently thanking God for not letting us die. For letting Jackson and I have our happy ending. For letting us be okay.

   I'm being discharged today. Jackson was discharged a while ago and had already been back to work for a week. I was still in this hospital bed, in this hospital gown, being treated for my healing injuries. I was so ready to get back to my life.

   "Hey." Jackson walked in with a smile plastered on his face.

   I smiled back at him as he crawled next to me in the bed. "Hi."

   "How are you feeling?" he asked me, resting his head on top of mine.

   "Can we please talk about something else?" I sighed. "I'm sick of people asking me that question every time they walk in the room. I'm fine. I'm being discharged today. I'm in no pain. I just want to go home."

   "I know, babe, I know." He kissed me. "Trust me, I know."

   "I just want to go home," I cried, letting a tear escape my eye. 

   "Hey..." He looked at me, wiping my tears away. "What's wrong?"

   "I'm scared, Jackson." I looked him in the eye.

   "Of what? You get to go home today!" he exclaimed, trying to be cheery and make me happy.

   "I know, and that's the problem," I sobbed. "I can't get back into that car."

   "Melonie-"

   "That accident made me realize how dangerous cars actually are. I can't get back into one," I replied.

   "I know it's scary." He held me closer. "But I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. Remember our wedding vows? I vowed to protect you no matter what, and I intend to keep that promise, okay? I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

   "What if I die, Jackson?" I asked. "What if everything isn't actually okay? What if they missed something and I'll die at home?"

   "Now you just sound crazy," he chuckled. "Do you really think I would let you leave here if I thought anything was wrong?"

   I smiled at him and blushed. "No."

   "I love you and I would never let anything happen to you." He kissed me and I laid my head on his chest.

   "I love you, too," I sighed, closing my eyes and slowly drifting off to sleep.

~

JACKSON'S POV

   Hearing Melonie talk like that made my heart break. Every time she mentioned her dying or getting hurt, my heart broke a little bit more. Thinking about the day that one of us will die was terrifying to me. I want to be with her forever. That's why I married her. After Alex hurt her the way he did and Melonie and I kissed in that bar, I knew I was in love. I knew she was the one for me.

   I had an obligation to protect no matter what. From everyone and everything. It was my job to keep her safe, and that's what I was going to do.

   As soon as Melonie fell asleep, I let out a deep sigh, stroking her hair lightly. I could sit with her in my arms forever. I never wanted to let go.

   But a few minutes later, my pager beeped. Oh, come on, I thought to myself. Why now? 

   I slowly got up, careful not to wake the sleeping beauty next to me. I lightly laid Melonie's head on the pillow and quietly exited the room, shutting the door behind. I saw Meredith walking toward the room. 

   "How is she?" Meredith asked, trying to get to the door, but I stopped her.

   "She's fine, and she's sleeping," I told her. "She's being discharged today."

   "Really? That's great," Meredith smiled.

   "Yeah, but she's terrified, Mer," I sighed, placing my hands on my hips and standing straight. "She's scared to get back in the car. She thinks she's going to die."

   "Well, did you tell her she's fine?" she asked me.

   "I did, but I could tell that she's still scared," I replied.

   "Well, she still hasn't gone back up to the roof after she fell off of it," Meredith shrugged.

   "That's different. She fell off of a roof, and that's terrifying. And yes, the car accident was scary, but she's been in the car so many times before," I pointed out, rubbing my head slightly. 

   "Jackson, the road is a scary place. You never realize how truly unsafe the car is until you experience a dangerous situation," she said, patting my shoulder. "She'll be fine. Just give her time."

   "How much time? Is she going to sleep in an on-call room tonight or something?" I asked.

   "Maybe, but she'll get back in the car when she's ready. Don't push her to. She's stubborn," Mer laughed, which made me chuckle. 

   "Yeah, you're right," I laughed. "I'm just so glad she's okay."

   "Me too," Mer smiled, giving me a slight hug.

   I walked off to the E.R., where I got the page from.

~

MELONIE'S POV

   "Hi, Dr. Bailey," I greeted her when she walked in.

   "Hello, Melonie," she smiled at me. "How are you feeling?"

   I silently groaned, sick of hearing that question. "I'm feeling fine. I just can't wait to get out of this gown and back to work."

   "Well, you know you won't be able to do surgeries for a few weeks, right?" she asked. 

   "Wait, what? Why?" I sat up straighter.

   "Melonie, you were just in a car crash. Your emotions cannot get in the way of your surgeries," she told me. "You can still come back to work, you just can't get into the O.R. yet."

   "I'm a surgeon. All I do here is surgeries," I replied. "What's the point in coming back to work if I can't do surgeries?"

   "You can still do stitches and put IVs in patients."

   "That's what nurses do!" I exclaimed, laying back on the bed.

   "So do surgeons who can't do surgeries," she smiled a cheesy smile. "Here are your discharge papers. You just have to sign these and your free to go." She set the papers in front of me and handed me a pen.

   I signed the papers and handed them back to her, sighing of relief as she unhooked my IVs, putting a bandage on my arm, and I stood up as she walked out of the room.

   I grabbed everything I had and threw them into my bag as quickly as I could. I changed into my maroon, long-sleeved shirt and my dark blue jeans before walking out of my room. I saw Jackson at the information desk, filling out a paper.

   "Jackson!" I called, and he looked at me.

   "Babe," he smiled, walking over to me and kissing me.

   I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into his shoulder. "Can you take me home?"

   "Of course," he smiled. "Let me get dressed."

~

Word Count: 1167