Cyberspace Romance

When Jess had walked into the waiting room and ask for Zoey, she began to cry even more. She wondered if he was breaking the news to her. He smiled lightly when she walked out into the hallway. She raised her hands up to her eyes and brushed away her tears.

"He wants to talk to you." Jess said.

He wanted to talk to her? Her mouth literally dropped to the floor-- if he wanted to talk, then that meant he was okay. She softly nodded her head and followed Jess down the hallway. Her arms were clutched around her stomach. So many emotions was flooding through her. She hadn't saw Bam since that day when she painted, and she really didn't know if she was ready to see him now. But, she wouldn't back away now-- she was sick of running away from her problems. She was going to face them head on.

"He's waiting for you." Ape said walking out of the room.

Zoey took in a deep breath and slowly walked into the room. She could hear the beeping of a monitor. She bit down on her bottom lip as she stepped past the curtain and came into vision with him. His crystal blue eyes burned into hers. They didn't need to speak any words, their eyes told everything. A small smirk slowly started forming on his lips. Zoey sniffed, and then let another tear fall from her eye.

"Why are you crying?" Bam whispered.

Zoey didn't say anything. Instead she just walked over to him, and then wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. She sobbed quietly on his shoulder for a few minutes. Bam closed his eyes as he rubbed her back. He had been waiting over a month to have her back in his arms, and if this is what it took-- then it was worth it.

"Why?" She ask when she backed away from him.
"Why what?" He ask.
"Why did you take pain pills, Bam! Don't you know how dangerous they are."

Bam wasn't stupid, he knew how dangerous pills were. He had many friends who had been addicted to them, and he had seen first hand what they did to people. But, when he was in that much pain, mentally and physically, they seemed to be his only cure.

"They helped, Zoe." He said.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled.
"Sorry for what?" He questioned.

He didn't think she would ever apologize. He knew Zoey was a strong independent woman, who believed she didn't need a man to run her life. Bam was surprised to see her being the one who was apologizing.

"I'm sorry for not giving you a chance to explain. . . sorry for being immature. . . sorry for everything." She said.

Bam chuckled lightly.

"I'm sorry too." He said.

Zoey smiled weakly, and placed her hands in his and gripped tightly. She didn't know what this meant for the two of them. She still didn't know what had went on that day in the salon, nor did she know where they stood in a relationship. But right now, the only thing that mattered was Bam getting better.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" He ask.
"Yeah-- but not here." She said looking around at the white walls.

This wasn't the right place for them to talk about it.

"You know I love you, right?" He said.

Zoey nodded her head, "I love you too." She said reaching over and placing a soft kiss on his forehead.

Ape come into the room with a smile on her face. She looked over at Bam and grinned widely.

"Kel just went into labor!" She squealed.
"Seriously? I guess the kid didn't want people to make two trips to the hospital." Bam joked.

Ape nodded her head, excited to finally be getting a little boy in her family and took off towards the room where Kelli was giving birth. Phil promised to come back and check on Bam soon. Bam chuckled as he leaned back into the large stiff pillows.

"I can't believe Jess is going to be a dad for the third time." Bam said laughing.
"Yeah, he's got his hands full." Zoey added.
"He's only a year older than me and he already has so much more than I do. . ." Bam said frowning.
"What do you mean?" Zoey questioned.

She had always thought Bam was content with his life. He always seemed so happy. He shrugged his shoulders and looked away.

"No, Bam. . . What do you mean?" She questioned.
"I just mean-- he's not only successful, but he's married to the love of his life, and he has three kids. He's got everything." Bam said.

Zoey shook her head, not knowing if she understood him correctly. Was he opening admitting to wanting to settle down and start a family?

"So. . . Do you want to settle down now or something?" She questioned.

Bam looked over at her and frowned. Before the Amanda situation, he had intentions of settling down, he just didn't know when, though he knew it was soon.

"Yeah-- I want to settle down sometime." Bam admitted.

Zoey nodded her head and bit down on her bottom lip. She didn't know if he meant settle down with anyone, or settle down with her. She was going to ask who he wanted to settle down with when a doctor in a long white jacket walked into the room. This would be the first time Bam and the doctor would discuss his life once he left the hospital.

Zoey listened as the doctor explained that Bam should check into a rehab center. Bam nodded his head, and ask the doctor several questions. The doctor explained that Bam had got addicted to a very heavy drug that would take at least three months to get over. Bam ran his fingers through his hair, not believing that a month of abuse would take at least three to get over.

"So. . . no cold turkey?" Bam questioned.

The last thing he wanted to do was spend three to six months in a rehab center.

"If you quit cold turkey, I'm afraid it may be more dangerous for you. I would really suggest a rehab center." The doctor said.

Zoey watched as the doctor walked out of the room, Bam had decided to check into a rehab center once he left the hospital. She didn't know where this left them. There was unanswered questions. She bit down on her bottom lip as Bam groaned.

"You're not going to wait for me. . . are you?" He questioned.
"What? Of course. . . I'm not going anywhere, Bam." Zoey said.
"So, you forgive me?" He questioned.
"I'm on that road. . . we just need to take things slow, and talk things out. But first-- you got to get better, Bam." Zoey said.
"Just promise-- promise you'll be here when I come back from wherever I go." Bam said.
"I'll be here-- and I promise to come visit you as much as possible." Zoey said.

Bam nodded his head. He could live with rehab if he knew Zoey would be there when he got out.