"Hang in there, babe," Cassandra whispered faintly as she maneuvered the car to the Emergency driveway of the hospital. Her limbs were about to give up, but she urged her hand and pushed the horn to catch everyone's attention outside and stopped the car with shaky legs just when two nurses and a doctor ran out. "Help! Please! My husband's hurt!"

Everything went so fast she barely saw it. Someone asked him about Philip's name and age. Aside from that, she couldn't remember anything else. One moment she was crying as she looked at Philip's unconscious form and the next moment she was left alone in the car as the nurses and the doctor wheeled him inside the ER. She started to get out, but a security guy stopped her.

"You have to park your car first, ma'am."

"My husband's alone in there and you want me to park my freaking car?" she shouted hysterically.

"This is a driveway for the Emergency Room, lady. And you're not the only one who has to use it," the guy said in a straight face. He must get a lot of yelling every day.

"Fine!" she got back inside and zoomed toward the parking lot. She bumped a headlight against a post light but she didn't care. She had to get to where Philip was.

She ran back to the ER, throwing the security guy a glare, and entered the doors. She felt lost with everything going on. Nurses and doctors alike were running around, doing whatever they were doing.

"Can I help you?" A lady behind the counter her asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for my husband. Philip Strindberg. They just wheeled him in."

"The one with the twisted ankle?"

"Yes! He was unconscious. I want to see him right now."

"There are nurses and doctors taking care of him right now, you don't have to worry. Please stay at this area," the lady pointed at the group of chairs lined up just beside the counter.

Cassandra shook her head. "No, no. I want to see him right now!"

The lady sighed. "You have to wait while your husband is being taken care of."

She did not wait for another invitation to sit on a freaking chair because that would not happen. Instead, she turned around and walked down the large hall with curtains at the sides that separated the beds.

"Hey, ma'am!" The lady tried to call out, but she did not listen. She was already busy peering through every curtain, looking for her husband.

"Philip!" She shouted, gaining the attention of some staff.

"Ma'am, you have to stay back at the reception. This area is strictly for staff and patients only."

"Then consider me a patient!" she said irritably.

The lady looked at her with patience. "If you want your husband treated, you have to let us do our job. Please stay right there," she pointed at the chairs.

Cassandra pursed her lips and stomped right back to the blue chairs.

"Thank you," the lady said and got busy.

She started tapping the floor with her foot. Her hands were getting restless. The shakiness from driving for the first time in two years was already gone, but the fear was still there. It was just a freaking foot, how could he have fainted? What if he hit his head? What if he... Shit, I'm going ahead of myself. And where the hell is Angelica and the others!

"Mrs. Strindberg?" a doctor asked after almost half an hour.

She immediately jumped to her feet. "Yes. Where is he? How is he doing?"

"He's fine. He's still unconscious, but there's no more danger. We have to keep him confined until he gains consciousness."

"Is... Is he in a coma?" Okay, that was a stupid question, but who could blame her? She had an ex-boyfriend who was in one.

"No." the doctor's lips twitched, probably hiding a smile. "He's not. He's merely unconscious because of the anesthetic we gave him for the pain. He got his ankle dislocated real bad. He must have twisted his ankle before he fell."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"We did an x-ray and it seems that we need to do an ORIF."

"Which planet are you in? I don't know what the hell that means."

"It's Open Reduction and Internal Fixation. I am concerned because the ligaments are affected."

"Elaborate further, please," she said stonily.

"We have to do an operation so we can fix the torn and pressed ligaments and to make sure that his bones are intact. We can't manually fix it from the outside so we need to open up."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"We need your consent."

"Yes, yes, you got it."

"Thank you," he said and turned around. A nurse was standing beside her with a paper to sign. She was about to sign but stopped.

"Doctor," she called.

"Yes?" the young doctor turned around with a questioning look.

"You better fix him right or I'll have your neck," she said strongly.

He smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, we do this a lot."

"Good."

*****

Someone told her Philip had been wheeled to the OR and that she could wait for him outside. She did with so much worry and anxiety.

What's taking them so long? She asked herself a lot of times. She had been pacing back and forth along the hallway, biting her nails. The last time she was in an accident, she was unconscious so she didn't really have to suffer the agony of waiting. She just freaking woke up and found out her ex-boyfriend was in a coma.

Chanty and the others called to let her know that their parents were at home upon Angelica's insistence that they should calm down. Her sister-in-law was downstairs taking care of the papers needed. Angelica went missing after informing she had an emergency at the hospital herself. In short, everyone was busy and she was alone to wait for the doctors to come out the doors and to tell her Philip would be alright.

God, I can't take this if...

She shook her head. He should be alright. He's strong and arrogant to welcome death too soon. He's got to be alright.

Cassandra sat back down to breathe.

I should have known he's lousy at sack race...

The doors suddenly burst open. Cassandra snapped her head and saw the doctor approach her. She went to her feet and met him halfway.

"What?" was all she could ask at that time.

"He's fine. He's all good. But his foot would need a long time to heal. We'll wheel him to his room. Another doctor should come by later to discuss therapy among other things."

Actually, she did not hear the rest of his words after the word good. She was too overwhelmed and relieved to think about any further question. The only important thing for her was that her husband was alive. "Is he conscious?"

"He's in recovery and resting. But he woke up just a minute ago," the doctor informed her. "Ms. Strindberg—"

"Mrs. Strindberg," she corrected.

"Mrs. Strindberg, I suggest that you wait for him in his room. You know where it is?"

"Yes, yes, I know where it is," she answered, already on her way. She stopped, turned around and looked at the curious doctor.

But before she could utter her question, he shook his head and said, "No, you can't get inside the recovery room. But he's going out any minute now."

"Fine," she whispered and continued on her tracks. She called Chanty as she made her way to Philip's room.

"Cass, what happened? Is it over?"

"Yes, and he's fine. He's still in recovery, but they're wheeling him in any moment now."

"Oh my God, that's great. Do you need anything? I'm almost done here. Do you need your clothes? I need to go back home and check on Willie. I could go back to bring you clothes and something to eat."

"That would be great, thank you."

"Okay. I got to go. I need to call mom."

"Okay, bye," she said and clicked off.

Minutes later, she was already inside her husband's hospital room waiting and jumped to her feet when her husband arrived wheeled by two nurses.

"Philip," she said anxiously as the nurses transferred him to his bed. She saw him open his eyes and she felt her tears drop from her eyes. He's okay. He's fine. He's alive.

"Mrs. Strindberg, we'll leave him to rest for now," the nurse said. "I'll be back later to check on him," then she turned to Philip and said, "Mr. Strindberg, if you ever feel you need something for the pain, you just punch this button right here, okay?"

Philip nodded slowly, obviously still high with the drugs.

"I'll leave you with him," the nurse said to Cassandra and left.

"Hey," Cassandra was smiling as she took her husband's hand. She felt him squeeze it and she squeezed back gently. She brushed his brown hair back, looking at his face. "How do you feel?"

"High," he whispered huskily with a smile.

"Jerk," she chuckled. "You should rest. Sleep. We'll talk later, okay?"

"I looked for you. Where have you been?" he asked, already closing his eyes.

"I was outside. They will not let me in."

"I looked for you when I woke up."

She smiled and brushed his brown hair off his forehead. She leaned over and kissed his lips. Sliding a chair next to the bed, she watched him sleep.

****

"Cass, hey, wake up..."

His wife stirred but did not wake up. Philip nudged her once more.

"What?" she asked sleepily.

"Get off the bed," Philip said.

"What?" she asked, sounding confused.

"It's a hospital bed and it's supposed to carry only one patient. Get off." He nudged her once more.

"Oh my God," she shot out of bed.

"Hey! Watch it!" She had dragged the blanket along with her.

"I'm sorry!"

"How did you end up beside me anyway?" he asked with amusement.

"I don't have any idea," she answered truthfully.

"I didn't know you sleepwalk."

"I don't."

"Then you must have," he chuckled.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better, I guess." He felt utterly fine, a complete contrast from yesterday. Except his foot which was still in traction, Philip felt he was ready to go home.

"No pain?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course there's pain. I had a surgery."

"Yeah, you really scared me," she said, voice slightly shaking.

He gave her a teasing smile. "You drove."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"How's my car?"

Her mouth fell open and she winced.

"Cass, what did you do to the car?"

"I'll pay for it, don't worry," she said as if it was not important.

"What happened?"

"I think I bumped against the post light but no big damage, I swear. The headlight can be replaced."

"Were you hurt?"

"As you can see, I am not," she answered proudly.

Philip scoffed. "Congratulations."

"Yeah, we should celebrate. I finally got to drive, thanks to you," she said sarcastically. "Hey, what do you think are you doing?" she placed a hand over his chest to stop him when he pushed away from the bed.

"I want to get up," he answered.

"No, we are not told you could do that. Stay in bed. You got traction." She pushed him gently to lie back.

He grabbed her hand and held it in place over his chest as he closed his eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing," he whispered. "I'm glad you're here."

"Good," she smiled. "Now, you have to rest."

*****

The flowers bombarded Philip's room the next day and Cassandra was happy to welcome them, but when the very person she didn't want to see came for a visit, she was trying her might not to burst out in anger.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded as soon as Beth came in.

"I'm here to see Philip," her enemy, slash ex-soon-to-be-sister-in-law, answered with a haughty look.

"In that case, you only have five minutes." She looked at her watch for emphasis. How many times did Sheena and Beth do the same thing to her in the past?

"You're timing me?"

"Yes, and now you just wasted thirty seconds of your time."

"Unbelievable," Beth muttered and walked toward Philip.

"He's sleeping. Don't wake him up."

"Shut up," Beth gritted.

"Four minutes more, Beth, don't waste it." She was impatiently tapping her foot on the floor with arms folded in front of her.

Their voices must have roused her husband because she heard him say, "Beth?"

"Hi, Philip," Beth's voice took a sudden change of tone from anger to purring. Gross. Angelica was right. She was better at it than this woman. "How are you feeling?"

"Doing great."

Cassandra lightly tapped her watch to silently remind Beth of the time.

"I brought you fruits," Beth said, ignoring her.

"Thanks," her husband answered, and then his eyes traveled to hers. She knew he was concerned about the situation.

But the situation would be under control because that very same moment, Cassandra saw through the glass walls the two ladies that wouldn't care to make a scene: Chanty and Angelica.

Their faces were horrified when they saw Beth standing beside Philip's bed.

"What is she doing here?" Angelica demanded, addressing Cassandra.

"She's leaving in..." she checked her watch once again, "two minutes."

"Ladies, please..." was all Philip could say.

"The nurses won't like it if they see Philip has a lot of visitors," Chanty raised her brow at Beth.

Dennis's twin sister must have realized she was up against three. She sighed and looked down at Philip and was about to touch him but stopped when she heard Cassandra clear her throat. "I guess I have to go," she said gently.

"Thank you for coming," Philip sincerely said.

Beth just nodded, turned, and looked at the two ladies standing by the door. "I'd have my day with you," Cassandra heard her hiss.

She snapped her head toward Philip who was frowning. "Did you hear that?" she mouthed at her husband. Philip nodded.

"You're welcome to try," Angelica snapped at Beth before Philip could say a word.

"Why did you let her in?" Angelica asked her.

Cassandra just shrugged.

"When are you coming out?" Chanty asked Philip.

"Tomorrow," he said.

"Four days from now," Cassandra objected, throwing him a look. He sighed. He had been insisting of coming home but his doctors said he should stay for a week. "Don't believe what he tells you. He's just dying to get out of here." Philip let out a resigned sigh.

He knew he was presently vulnerable for banter.

*****

The day of Philip's discharge from the hospital, Cassandra was fussing. Again, she would drive him home and she was already anxious and he was not helping at all. He had been trying to walk alone, insisting that he could do it. He would not even accept the wheelchair offered by the nurse.

"Fine! If you drop on the ground, don't blame me." She walked off to the car which was still missing a headlight. She waited for him impatiently. "You can't tell me you don't need help getting inside," she uttered as he approached.

"That help I'll accept, thank you."

"Stubborn jerk," she muttered, walking to the passenger side.

"What?"

"Nothing," she snapped, opening the door for him. She took the crutches and placed it at the backseat. Once he was settled inside, she went to seat behind the wheel.

"Do you have a license?" he asked.

She put the car in gear and started driving. "I have an expired one." She got over the fright the last time, and she sure could do it again, right? "And please, don't try talking to me about getting it renewed. Don't talk while I'm driving. I don't want any distractions."

"Okay," he shrugged and looked out the window with a smile. He was obviously enjoying this.

As they say, it is easier the second time around, she reminded herself as she placed the car in gear and wheeled out of the parking lot.

She successfully drove them home without any more problems. But that did not mean her heart rate was within normal range because it surely was not.

"Good job," he said, beaming at her.

Cassandra did not hear him because she was already looking ahead at the familiar white SUV parked across the street.

"What's wrong?" Philip asked her.

"It's Harrison," she answered, getting out of the car. And she was right. Her friend jumped out of his car when he saw her.

"What's he doing here?" her husband asked as she helped him out of the car.

"I don't have any idea. Why don't you go inside?" she suggested, handing him his crutches.

At first, she thought he would say no because he remained quiet, staring hard at Harrison who was already crossing the street. "Okay," he said with a frown.

"I'll make this quick," she called after him.

"Hey," Harrison said behind her and when she turned around to face her friend, he added, "I was in the area and I thought I should stop by. What happened to Strindog?"

"Strindberg." She fixed him a hard look. "Harry, why are you here?"

He beamed at her and said, "I wanted to invite you to dinner. I've been calling your phone but you're not answering."

"Philip had an accident. I've been in the hospital for a week and I was not able to check on my phone," she lied.

"So...about dinner?" Harrison asked, changing the subject, obviously not interested about Philip's accident.

"No, I can't. I have to watch over Philip. We just came out of the hospital."

And that was when Harrison frowned and stared at her for a very long time. "You're way too concerned for your husband for someone who's forced into this marriage."

A sudden wave of defense mechanism took over her. "What?" and she was about to say no when Harrison gave her a look.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

She tried to relay to her friend how pathetic she found his statement. "That's stupid..." but her voice faltered.

"You are. I had been seeing it in the way you look at him and the way you are when you are with him."

She weakly shook her head.

"Well, I think this means I'm being turned down over again," he chided.

Cassandra tried to say something but found it hard to establish a logical statement.

"I'll get going then," Harrison said, backing out of the driveway, giving her a salute. "See you soon?"

She nodded, frowning at her lack of words. "See you soon."

After Harrison's car was out of sight, Cassandra found herself still frozen in spot, her thoughts completely lingering and flying around one thought. She had been trying to get away from it, trying to make herself believe that she was still what she was three months ago—before all of this happened.

But now that it came from someone other than herself, she was finally able to entertain and accept everything.

She was falling in love with her husband.

*****

Philip stared out the window and watched as Harrison's car pulled away while his wife stared blankly after it.

He watched her standing in the same spot Harrison left her. She was not moving, just staring blankly in the air, her back at him.

Clenching his jaw, Philip limped his way to his study.

It was time to call Henry Bell.

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