Getting to Me

Chapter Thirty-Five

Three weeks passed by, and each day, Zack noticed that Mandy was getting stronger. She was able to get up and walk around the hallways with a nurse by the first week, and then after that, she was able to go outside. Today, the doctors had said that if all of the tests checked out and she came back clear of any infections, they would let her out of the hospital and give her the discharge papers.

Zack was so thrilled that he didn’t know how to speak when she told him this. All he’d wanted since they’d gotten into the hospital was to be able to go home with her. He wanted things to go back to the way they had been before the car accident, and she wanted to be able to take him home.

Today he was on his way back from getting a hotel room set up for the two of them. There was still a lot of snow and ice on the highways, so he wanted to stay off of them for as long as possible. He wanted to make sure that they didn’t get into another car accident, because he knew luck only lasted for so long.

He smiled when he pulled the car up into the parking garage of the hospital, realizing that this might be the last time he had to pull up there. He turned the car off and locked the door before beginning to make his way into the building. It was a bit cold outside, so he’d made sure to stop at the local Wal-Mart to pick up a jacket for Mandy, knowing that hers had gotten torn up and had been thrown away after the car wreck had been ruled an accident. He smiled as he stepped into the elevator, pushing the door to take him to her room on the fifth floor.

For the last week and a half, she hadn’t been in the ICU, and it was a relief to everyone. She no longer had to stay hooked up to all of the machines they’d had her on; the only think she had hooked in her arm now was an IV, and it was optional.

The elevator didn’t take long to get to her floor, and he took a deep breath when he stepped out onto the carpet, beginning to make his way down the hallway. He knew that things were going to be good starting today. Their lives would get back on track; he just knew it, and it made him feel refreshed.

He knocked lightly on the door to her hospital room when he arrived, and she looked up with a huge grin when she saw him standing there. “Well, aren’t you early?” She asked him with a small smile before she leaned up as he started to approach her bed.

He just chuckled and shrugged as he moved closer so that he could press his lips against her forehead. “I’m early because hopefully, the doctors will be signing your release papers by noon and we can get you out of here,” he murmured with a small smile as he sat down in the chair beside her bed.

“I hope so,” she told him with a small smile before she looked up at him, putting a small smile on her face as she cleared her throat. “Are we going to head back to the farm after they sign the papers, or…?”

“Well, the roads are still quite icy,” he told her with a small frown before he cleared his throat. “And I don’t want to risk anything happening. I want to make sure we both stay safe, and I want to wait until the roads get clear.”

She smiled, pleased that he was trying to keep her safe. She let one of her hands move up to grab his shoulder, and he smirked when she opened her eyes. “I can’t wait to get out of here and get back to wherever you’ve arranged for us to stay, then,” she murmured as she reached up to touch the side of his face.

Zack chuckled, knowing that she had to be just as frustrated with being here as he was. “It won’t take long to get there. I made sure it’s not too far from here so that you can get rest. You’ve been so exhausted.”

Before she could say anything, he pressed his lips against hers and then moved so that he was half sitting on the edge of the bed and half-hovering over her. He’d missed being intimate with her, and even though he knew they couldn’t be intimate here, they could definitely kiss.

She returned his kiss with such fervency that he was surprised, and then he groaned into her mouth when he felt her hand traveling up and down his stomach. “Baby,” he murmured against her mouth softly as he broke the kiss so that they could both get some air. She looked up at him, wondering why he had broken the kiss.

“I was enjoying that,” she whispered as she kissed the corner of his mouth before she allowed her hand to lift the bottom of his shirt. He shivered, and his breath hitched in his throat when he felt her running her hands up and down his stomach under the fabric.

“You’re going to get me turned on,” he told her as he touched her hand, stopping her momentarily. He watched as she chuckled, and then he smirked before moving closer, letting her lips trail across his neck and to his shoulder.

“Maybe that’s what I’m trying to do.”

He groaned at her words, knowing that she was deliberately trying to turn him on. “Here? In the hospital?” He asked her. He watched as Mandy’s cheeks flushed red before she nodded, biting her bottom lip.

“Yeah,” she murmured as she ran her hand up to the side of his face. “Here, at the hospital,” she continued before she nipped his bottom lip with her teeth as she kissed him. “I want to make sure you’re nice and ready when we get to the hotel.”

If she hadn’t already turned him on with her words and the way she was touching his body, she definitely had now. He smirked and moved closer, allowing his lips to land against her neck before she ran her hand down his cheek. “Sweetheart,” he told her with a small smile before he touched the side of her face. “I can definitely be ready when we get to the hotel.”

Mandy giggled and then nodded before clearing her throat as the doctor stepped into the room, a huge smile on his face as he carried a sheaf of papers with him. Zack realized that it was a bit before noon, which was when he’d thought she was going to be signed out, but he would take anything.

“Are those what I think they are?” Mandy asked him, looking at the papers and putting a smile on her own face. He chuckled and nodded as he walked over to hand them to her, a happy smile on his face. He had been watching over her prognosis from the beginning, and it excited him to see that she had made such a speedy recovery.

“They’re the discharge papers. There’s some advice in there, such as not doing any heavy lifting, equestrian sports, things like that. It’s all precautionary to make sure that your body continues to heal up and stay healthy.”

Zack nodded, knowing that it was going to be a challenge for Mandy to stay off of her horse for awhile. She had always loved horses; she’d grown up around them, so he knew it was going to be hard for her to get used to having to stay off of them while she was getting healthy again.

“I think I can do that,” she muttered, although she definitely didn’t sound happy about it. Zack smirked, knowing that he’d be able to find ways to keep her occupied when they got home. He had a lot of plans that he wanted to come to pass, and he was just hoping that she’d be more than happy to help him make sure that they all happened.

“How long does she have to stay in the hospital today until she can leave?” Zack asked, knowing that she might have to stay until noon anyway, even if they had given her the discharge papers. The doctor just shrugged and put a smile on his face.

“She can leave as soon as her signature is on the paper and her stuff is packed,” he said before he turned to walk out of the room, giving Zack and Mandy their space. Zack couldn’t help but feel excited for her. He knew that it this was the first day to the rest of the life he wanted to share with Mandy, and even if he hadn’t asked her to marry him yet, he was definitely going to soon.