She's Awake

A month passed by and Sean was back at work. He couldn't delay his return anymore and while he wanted to spend every moment with Emma, knowing that Mina was there still watching her made it a little better. He still went every night that he could and made sure to massage her as the physical therapist instructed in order to prevent her muscles from becoming atrophied. One nurse commented on his loyalty and said , "You must love your wife very much." He only smiled and looked at Emma. The nurse slinked away, slightly frustrated that he was so enamored and not even looking at her. In this last month, Sean had really thought about how to approach the topic of their obviously sensitive past with Emma again when she woke up, but he couldn't find a way without having to physically restrain her. "Maybe to the bed?" he thought slyly. Shaking his head free of any more mischievous thoughts, Sean returned to massaging her legs vigorously.

Suddenly, he heard a small moan and he froze. Slowly, he raised his head to look towards Emma's face and saw her brow wrinkled as if she was uncomfortable. He moved quickly and silently towards her head, grabbed her hands and whispered, "I'm here, sweetheart. Everything is alright."

Emma turned her head towards that familiar voice and her eyes flickered open. For a few seconds, they just stared at each other and Sean held his breath, afraid to move. Suddenly, Emma broke out into a smile.

"Hey there," she croaked. Not having used her voice for a long time, she started coughing and Sean immediately poured her water and called the doctor and nurses in for examination. They asked her many questions and did many tests on her physical reactions before they turned to Sean in amazement.

"Mr. Forrest, this is amazing!" Sean wouldn't let go of Emma's hand during the process and turned his head to face the doctor. Emma continued to stare at Sean with an inquisitive look on her face. As the doctor started explaining her status, Emma reached out with one hand to stroke Sean's face.

"Sean? How did you get so old?" At this question, Sean stopped and turned to look at Emma.

"What do you mean?" he asked gently.

"We were only at the beach yesterday after taking a quick break from school. Why do you look like you've aged so much in one day?"

Sean inhaled sharply. "Sweetheart, what date was yesterday?"

"August 8, XXXX" she stated matter of factly. The doctor then interrupted and said, "Mr. Forrest, if you don't mind stepping outside with me while the nurses take care of our patient?"

As they stepped outside, the doctor faced Sean with a solemn look on his face. "It looks like your wife has amnesia and lost her memories from the last 12 years. I was worried that this would happen with her brain injury. Her memories may come back slowly over time, or they maynot come back over all. Either way, she needs to be treated gently and not push her too remember too much at once or she may go into shock," the doctor warned.

Sean was still surprised, but he wrapped his mind around this new information and nodded silently with the doctor. Stepping back in, he looked back at Emma with her face shining brightly as she looked at him. He hadn't seen that smile in 12 years, and she definitely had not reacted that way to him yesterday. Maybe the amnesia wasn't the worst thing in the world. He went to her side and the nurses left the couple silently looking at each other with love and warmth in their eyes.

"Emma, my love, do you remember what happened to you?"

"Not really. I thought we were at the beach but the nurses say that 12 years have passed since then."

"You've only been in a coma for a month because you were in a pretty bad car accident, but don't worry. I'll always be here for you," Sean promised. Emma leaned over to put her forehead against his and giggled. "I know!"

Leaning back, she asked frankly, "So what has happened in the past 12 years? What are you doing now? What am I doing now?"

Sean thought carefully and answered slowly, "Well I'm working at my dad's company and my uncle's law firm. You are a pediatric surgeon for the neighboring hospital." Thankfully Mina had filled him in on Emma's life during the time she was unconscious.

"Have we been together the last 12 years? Are we married?" Emma asked.

"..." Sean didn't know what to say. He took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes. He tucked her hair behind her ear as she gazed expectantly at him. She looked like a little fawn, her eyes wide and sparkling, her fragile body seemingly dependent on him as she leaned closer to him.

"Yes."