Meant to Marry Me

The world was fuzzy, and everything seemed out of place. Bree opened her eyes slowly, the beeps and whizzing sounds of machines letting her know she was still in the hospital, but she couldn't remember why.

She tried to move her hand and part of it came back to her. She remembered the fire, the surgery, and waking up worried about her hand. Nothing after that made much sense.

"Bree, honey, are you awake?"

She wasn't expecting to hear her mother's voice, but that's exactly who was talking to her. Where was Trent? "Mom, what's going on?"

"Oh, thank God," her mother said. "We've been so worried."

"You really gave us a scare, Bree," her dad said.

Opening her eyes a little more, the room came into focus. "Why am I hooked up to all of these machines?"

"You were poisoned, Bree," her mom, Judy, said, her fingers wrapped around Bree's wrist, but she couldn't really feel them. "Someone snuck into your room and gave you a deadly compound of medicines that almost killed you." Bree's eyes opened wide in disbelief. "What? How did that happen?" She tried to remember someone being in her room, other than Trent, Dr. Rook, and the nurse, but nothing came to mind. She knew she was in a different room now, and the way her body ached, she could believe they'd had to do something fairly drastic.

"Trent had stepped away to make a phone call, and this woman broke into your room, dressed as a nurse. She put the chemical in your IV." Her dad, Paul, looked worried. He was standing behind her mom's chair, his hands deep in his pockets. "Who was it?" Bree asked, though she had an idea what the answer would be. Was it possible that Cat had managed to get all the way from St. Louis to Nashville after starting the hotel fire without getting caught, break into what should've been a secure area, get her hands on the drugs her parents spoke of, and try to kill her--again?

Her parents exchanged glances, and Bree knew then, they had to be looking at each other that way because it was someone Bree knew, someone she'd trusted. "Was it Cat?" she asked quietly.

Turning back around in her chair, Judy squeezed Bree's arm. "Yes, dear. It was. They've got her in custody now, though. That's where Trent's at--he went down to positively identify her. He'd seen her in the hallway, from a distance, after the damage had already been done. So they wanted to get him to come down and make sure that the woman he saw was the same one they arrested.

Bree let out a sigh. "Do you know what's wrong with me?"

"Not as much as it could've been. If Trent hadn't come back in as soon as he did, they might not have been able to resuscitate you at all. I'm sure the doctor will want to come in as soon as they know you're awake, but the drug was supposed to cause you to go into cardiac arrest. We think, instead, it just made your heart weak. But over the last few days, it's gotten stronger, so they were able to take you out of the coma."

"Few days?" Bree repeated, sitting up slightly before she got a head rush and had to lay back on her pillow. "What do you mean?"

Her dad sighed. "Sorry, honey. I guess we didn't think about the fact that you wouldn't know that. You've been in a medically induced coma for the last two days. It's Tuesday."

"Tuesday?" She looked up at the ceiling. She'd lost two days of her life, thanks to Cat. She thought about all of the other things she could've lost. Even though she wished Trent was there with her, she was glad that he'd gone down to help make sure Cat got locked up for a really long time.

"Trent had been putting off going to the police station since Sunday evening when they first arrested her, but they wouldn't be able to hold Cat much longer without his cooperation, so he left a few minutes ago, despite the fact that he wanted to be here when you opened your eyes." Her mom gave her a reassuring smile.

"I understand," she said. The door opened, and a nurse came in, one Bree didn't recognize. It made her nervous.

"Don't worry. There are police stationed outside of your door, and only doctors, nurses, and guests on the list are allowed to enter," her dad explained.

That made Bree feel better. She looked at the nurse. "Not that you're in any danger now that that woman has been arrested," Judy added.

"How are you feeling, Ms. Matthews?" the nurse, whose name tag read Theodora, asked.

"Tired," Bree admitted. "Everything is a little fuzzy."

"That's the medicine we've given to you so that you could sleep. I'll let Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Rook know you're awake. Dr. Nguyen has been treating you since your cardiac episode, but Dr. Rook has been by to check on you several times. She's been very concerned."

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That brought a small smile to her face. It was nice to know that Dr. Rook was so thoughtful. "Thank you," Bree said.

"I'll let them know you're awake. Are you hungry? You can have some chicken broth or Jell-O."

"I'm not hungry right now," Bree said. Her stomach felt queasy. She just wanted to go home and lay in bed with Trent's arms wrapped around her.

"Okay, well if you change your mind, just push the call button, and I'll be in. Your vitals look good." Nurse Theodora patted Bree on the leg before she turned to head back out the door.

Bree looked at her parents. "She's been very attentive," Judy said.

"Good. Will one of you text Trent and let him know I'm awake?" she asked.

"I'll do you one better," Paul said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "I'll give him a call."

Bree smiled as her dad stepped outside. He was old school when it came to things like that. Calling worked, too. She felt safe with her parents there, but she wanted to see Trent--needed to see him. That was the only way she'd know for sure her heart was still beating.