Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

“You can go in and see him now.”

I nodded my thanks to the on-duty nurse and entered Johnny’s room. I’d been in this hospital every day for two and a half months, but the only place I’d visited was Johnny’s room. I sat down in the chair that was already placed next to the bed. I took Johnny’s hand into my own and traced the lines of his palm. I ran my fingers over the calluses caused by years of bass playing and whispered, “Oh, Johnny. God, I love you so much. You can’t leave me like this. You just can’t.”

“Now, why would I do that?”, a weak voice answered.

I jumped. “J-Johnny?”

“Yea.”, he mumbled. “How long have you been here, baby?”

“Two and a half months.”, I answered, grinning at him.

His eyes sparkled and he patted the spot next to him. “Climb up here with me, baby.”, he ordered.

I eagerly did so, climbing into the hospital bed and settling myself against Johnny. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Johnny.”, I admitted.

“Me too.”, Johnny replied. “I don’t think I could’ve lived without you, baby.”

I rolled my eyes and slapped his chest playfully. “You’re such a dork sometimes.”

“But I’m a sexy dork, right?”, he asked.

“Of course you are.”, I responded. “A very sexy dork.” Suddenly, I felt Johnny’s hand skirt along my flat stomach, fluttering his fingers around my belly button. “What are you doing?”, I asked, glancing up at him.

“Something I’ve been waiting to do for two and a half months.”, he stated. Then he plunged his hand beneath the waistband of my jeans, thrusting his finger inside me. I moaned loudly at the sudden pressure. I bit my lip, trying to prevent myself from moaning again.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to interrupt...”, a familiar voice said, followed by the sound of retreating footsteps.

Johnny extracted his hand from my pants. “Who the hell was that?”, he asked.

“My dad.”, I answered flatly. I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair. “Oh my God. My dad just caught us with your hand down my pants. Oh my God.”

“Hayliee, calm down.”, Johnny assured. “It’s no big deal.” He rubbed my back comfortingly.

“Get your hands off of me.”, I snapped, pushing him away.

“Touchy, touchy.”, Johnny grumbled, raising his hands in defense. “God, you didn’t seem to mind my hands on you when you were moaning a few minutes ago.”

“That was before my dad caught us!”, I hissed back. “Listen, Johnny. I don’t want to fight with you. I just found out you’re not dying, and...God, I just want to go home with you and be together, just enjoying each other’s company. I don’t want to fight with you. But you’re making that extremely hard.”

“Hayliee, calm down.”, he repeated. “Like I said, it’s no big deal.”

“Yes, it is!”, I yelled, standing up. “I want my daddy to like you. And now he probably thinks you’re...”

“What?”, Johnny asked indignantly. “He probably thinks I’m what?”

“A perv who can’t keep your hands off of his daughter.”, I finished.

“Why would he think that?”, Johnny questioned, trying to sit up. He failed miserably, groaning in pain and laying back down.

I faced him. “The first impression he got of you was with your hand down my pants!”, I screamed.

“Excuse me, ma’am.”, a nurse interrupted. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave if you continue to disturb the patient.”

“Fine.”, I grumbled, dragging the chair to the other side of the room and sitting down. A few minutes later, I heard the nurse leave.

“Hayliee, you can’t stay mad at me forever.”, Johnny called from the bed.

“I sure as fucking hell can.”, I snapped. “Because it is a big deal, but you don’t seem to care. Don’t you want my daddy to like you?”

“Of course I do.”, he replied. “But trust me, baby. Your dad will forget about this sooner or later.”

“I’m going to talk to him.”, I said suddenly, jumping out of my chair and running into the hall. I searched everywhere for my dad, finally finding him in the lobby.

“Hi, daddy.”, I greeted awkwardly.

“Well, hello princess.”, he replied, looking away.

“Daddy, I-I’m sorry you had to see that.”, I stated, cutting right to the chase.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.”, he answered. “I understand that you’re an adult now, and you’re going to be doing certain...‘adult’ things with young men.”

“Yes. But you shouldn’t have to see it.”, I admitted. “The things Johnny and I do should be done in the privacy of our home.” I paused, thinking of what to say next. “It’s just...well, I don’t like that the first impression you got of Johnny was what you just saw. Johnny’s not a pervert, daddy. He’s sweet and nice and perfect, and he treats me good.” As I said that, my mind flickered to the bruise that had just faded from my wrist. “I love Johnny, and I want you to like him.”

“Hayliee, as long as this boy treats you right, I’ll like him.”, my dad said. “But if he lays a hand on you, his ass is mine.”

I laughed. “I think you might have to get in line behind Derek.”, I said. “He’s got first dibs on kicking Johnny’s ass if he screws up. But he won’t. Johnny is perfect.”

“You really love this boy, don’t you, princess?”, my dad remarked.

“Yea, I do.”, I whispered, glancing at my ring. “I love Johnny, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him.” I smiled. “I’m going to go see him now.”

“You do that.”, my dad stated.

I told him goodbye and rushed down the hall to Johnny’s room. Johnny was lying in bed, staring at his feet. I rapped lightly on the doorframe and he glanced up, a wide grin splitting his face. I strolled over to him nonchalantly and place a kiss squarely on his lips.

“Well, hello to you, too, baby.”, Johnny said, smirking. “So, I take it you’re not mad at me anymore?”

I shook my head and gently kissed him again. “No, I’m not mad at you anymore. I love you, Johnny Christ, and I’m glad you’re okay.”

He sighed. “Me too. But I wish I could leave this Goddamn hospital. I want to go home, crawl under the covers, take off your clothes, and uh...‘get to know you’ all over again.” He smiled at me deviously.

I blushed a deep red. “You’re a perv.”, I mumbled.

“Yea, but you still love me, right?”, he asked, pouting.

“Of course I do.”, I replied, patting his chest. “But, uh...I don’t think what you want to do will be the first thing we do when we get home.”

He poked his bottom lip out further and nuzzled up next to me. “Ahh, come on. Please? I haven’t had sex in two and a half months. Pretty please, sleep with me?”

“No!”, I shouted. “Now, drop it. Before you start another fight.”

“Alright.”, he grumbled disappointedly. “Later, then?”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, definitely later.”, I replied, running my gaze up and down his body. “I’m going to talk to a doctor about getting you discharged.”

“Awesome!”, Johnny yelled. “Tell them to let me out of here!”

I chuckled. “I’ll do my best.” I bent down and kissed him before exiting the room.

A few minutes later, I returned with a doctor. He looked over the chart hung at the end of Johnny’s bed. Johnny held his hands in a prayer position. “Please, doc. Tell me it’s good news. Tell me I can leave.”

“Well, Mr. Seward...everything on your chart seems to be in order, but I’d like to keep you here for a few more weeks, just in case.”

Johnny’s face fell. “O-Okay.”, he mumbled.

The doctor left the room and I laid back down next to Johnny. “Don’t worry, Johnny.”, I whispered. “You’ll be out of here before you know it.”

“I hope so.”, Johnny replied. “Because the sooner I get out of here, the sooner I can get married to the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“Aww. Johnny Christ, under all those muscles and that tough exterior, you’re a hopeless romantic.”

“You know it, baby.” He brushed a strand of hair from my face and softly kissed my forehead. “You know I love you, right?”, he whispered.

“Yea, but you can say it again.”

“Alright.” He paused for a moment. “I love you, Hayliee Johnson.”

“I love you, too, Johnny Seward.”, I replied.

I settled myself next to Johnny, resting my head in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and dragged me closer, laying his head on top of mine. Within minutes, I was fast asleep. Even as I slept, I thought about how lucky I was. Johnny was alive. And in a few weeks, we would be going home, where we truly belonged.