When You Love Someone

As the next few days passed, Lanie start to improve. Her throat was no longer raw so she was able to speak. Her body was a little sore and very weak after having not moved for two months so every day she had to get out of bed and with the help of either a nurse, or usually Alex, she took a walk around the hospital. Slowly she was rebuilding her strength.

Her friends would come in pairs to see her. Alex was always at her side except for the few times that he would leave to give her a moment alone with Kara or Matt or her parents. Alex brought Colton and James to the hospital a few days after Lanie woke up. The four of them would squeeze into Lanie's bed and just lay together. Colton would tell them how school was going or they would lay in silence. Colton was old enough to know how close he was to loosing his mother, and James, though he was still very young, seemed to know the danger she had been in as he too would simply lay in silence, curled up against his mothers chest, happy to be back in her arms.

"Can I go home now?" Lanie groaned to Sam as soon as he walked through the door, making him smile.

"Soon. Very soon." He assured her. He came over and checked all of her vitals, making sure that everything was still doing okay. "You feeling alright?"

"I feel perfect, Sam. I feel like nothing even happened." That wasn't true. She was still a little sore and her wrist ached occasionally but apart from that, she was just getting tired of being cooped up. She wanted to leave already.

"I think that you may be able to go home in the morning." Sam told her, smiling at her. He then noticed that she was alone in her room, the ever present Alex wasn't around. "Where's Alex?"

"He went to go get me food. I'm hungry and the food you guys serve me is not doing much for me, at all." Lanie told him, right as her stomach gave a loud growl, which Sam heard, making them both laugh.

"That's fine. I'm glad that you have a good appetite. That's a good sign. And I know how much hospital food sucks." Sam sat down in the seat beside the bed that Alex had always sat in. "You know, I've never been more involved in a patients recovery. I mean, obviously I am always involved, but Alex and I ... we talked a lot while you were .... out of it. I have never seen someone care for someone so much. And I have seen a lot working here in ICU." Lanie couldn't keep the smile off of her face.

"Alex is my world. He has been since I was 16 years old...." Lanie smiled. It still shocked her that it had been so long since that day that she walked into school, hearing all the buzz about the cute new teacher. Now here she was almost ten years later, married to him and had his children. It's crazy how some things happen.

"You two have a wonderful marriage." Sam reached forward to pat her hand, making her smile at him.

"Thank you."

"You know... he told me how you were once his student and he your teacher. And I just have to say... it's amazing what the two of you have overcome. Not a lot of people could have stayed together through that. What you two have is true love." Lanie squeezed Sam's hand, still smiling at him. "I hope to find that one day."

"I'm sure that you will. You're Mrs. is somewhere out there, waiting for you." She assured him, making him nod and stand up.

"I have to get back to work. I'll see you later." He told her as he made his way back towards the door, making Lanie nod and wave at him as he left. Not even a minute after he left, Alex returned, a bag of subway in his hand.

"I have returned with yummy delicious food!" He announced, making her laugh.

"Good. I'm starving." So together they ate their sandwiches, talking about her hopefully soon coming home.

"Do you wanna do anything? Have a party? Have a family dinner?" He asked her as he balled up is wrapper.

"Can it just be us? Like us and the kids? I want some family time. We can have dinner and then curl up in the living room and watch movies until we all fall asleep." Alex smiled and reached over to kiss her forehead.

"That sounds perfect."

The rest of the day passed by quickly and then in the morning, she was released. Her friends and family were at the house to greet her but only stayed for lunch, leaving the small family to get used to having their wife and mother back home with them. Alex and Lanie made a large dinner and everyone sat around the table, making jokes and just happy to be together and whole again.

This whole experience opened Alex's eyes to how quickly he could loose Lanie so now he spent every day at home and even when he had to go to Jack's house for band practice, he was constantly texting Lanie. He stopped drinking, apart from the occasional glass of wine at dinner or beer late at night with Lanie by his side.

Things were perfect for the couple and now nothing could split their family apart. Alex wouldn't allow it...