Meant to Marry Me

Bree's eyes were glued on the door as she impatiently waited for Trent's arrival. Since she'd woken up, they'd transferred her out of the ICU and given her a larger, private room, which she was thankful for because the intensive care units were so small and scary. She wasn't sure how long she'd have to stay in the hospital, but if she was going to be there, she wanted it to be with her family in such a way that they would be comfortable. This new room had a couch and a few cozy chairs, as well as a wide window she could see out of from her bed. It was a hundred times better than her ICU room, but until Trent got there, none of that would matter.

After her dad had called him, they'd made the room switch, and now, Bree sat there wondering how long it might take for Trent to get back to the hospital from the police station. Would he be able to find the new room? Would he get lost? Eventually, she heard familiar footsteps in the hallway. He came in, flowers in hand, and she felt better than she had in days.

Trent rushed over, but he was cautious. "Hi. How are you?" He took her in, his eyes running over her with care, as if he could break her by looking at her too harshly.

"I'm okay," she said, finding a weak smile. "I'm better now that you're here."

He held her gaze, not moving for several seconds, like a teen on a first date, not sure how to act. Then, he thrust the flowers forward. "I brought these for you."

"They're beautiful. Thank you." She wondered what had happened to the first bouquet he'd given her after her first surgery and imagined it was probably trampled in the doctors' haste to fix her.

"I'll find a vase," Bree's mother offered, standing and walking over from the couch to take the flowers from Trent.

"I'm gonna go make a phone call," her dad said. Judy had the flowers, headed to ask the nurses for a vase, leaving the couple alone for a few minutes.

"How is your head?" Trent asked, coming a little closer now that they were alone.

Scooting over on the bed, Bree gestured for him to sit next to her hip. She wanted his arms around her, but since that wouldn't be safe with all of the wires still connected to her, she didn't try to talk him into that. "It's okay. I feel a little fuzzy," she admitted. "Everything is a little blurry."

"I'm sure that will pass as the medication wears off. I think the police will want to talk to you soon."

"Yes, the officers that are watching over the door said they'd give me a few hours, though."

"Good." He ran a hand through his hair and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Sitting next to her, his hip resting against her upper thigh, she could breathe him in for the first time in a long time. How she wished all of this was over, and they could just go back to life before Cat lost her mind and tried to kill her--twice. He took her hand, careful of all of the hoses and whatnot. "I'm so proud of you, Bree."

The statement caught her off guard. She raised an eyebrow. "You are?"

"Yes, immensely."

She couldn't help but smile. "Why is that?"

"Because... you made it through something unbelievably difficult--three times. You made it out of the fire, through surgery, and then through this unbelievable attempt to murder you. It's remarkable how strong you've been, Bree. God, I love you so much."

He had tears in his eyes as he spoke, and his words made Bree's heart melt. "Thank you, baby. I love you, too. I don't remember much of anything that happened after you left to call my parents, but I know that I was thinking about you the whole time. I couldn't let her kill me--because I had to get back to you."

Trent lifted her hand and kissed it softly. "We're going to make it through this, too, Bree. As long as you and I are together, we can make it through anything."

Bree reached over and wiped his tears away, trying to get ahold of herself as well. The last thing she wanted was to cause her head to hurt more. "And to think... I thought Monica was going to be the only crazy bitch we had to worry about," she joked.

Trent laughed, which helped him rein in his tears a bit. "No kidding. If there's a crazier bitch out there than Cat, I don't want to know."

"Me neither," Bree agreed. With any luck, all of the craziness was behind them now, and she could concentrate on healing. "I love you," she said again, leaning forward as far as she could in hopes of reaching his lips.

"I love you, too, Bree." Meeting her the rest of the way, Trent found her mouth with his, and even though Bree had been through hell the last few days, she knew Trent was right. Nothing could ever stop them as long as the two of them were together.