Gabriella's eyes sprang open. She moaned when she started to feel the pounding in her head. She tried to open her mouth, but it felt as if it were glued shut. Her eyes adjusted to the bright light in the room. When she turned her head to the side, another sharp pain went through her head. She didn't recognize where she was. The room was white. There was an IV pole next to the bed. Gabriella noticed she was hooked up to fluids. When she tried to lift her arm to take the IV needle out of her arm, she couldn't. Her arms felt like lead.

"Gabriella." Somebody had been standing at the far corner of the room. Gabriella's head turned towards the voice. There stood a tall man, who seemed to be in his mid twenties. His blond hair was perfectly combed, and his blue eyes were framed with dark-rimmed glasses. She finally was able to unglue her lips.

"Who-who are you?" she croaked. Her throat was very sore. She felt like she hadn't spoken in weeks.

"It's me, Marc. Don't you remember me?" Marc crossed the room with two short strides, and took one of her hands into his. She hadn't realized how cold she was until she felt his warm touch.

"Marc? I-I don't remember…" she closed her eyes as another wave of pain shot through her head. What was wrong with her?

"It's okay, baby. The doctor's said it'd be awhile before the cobwebs cleared. After all, you've been in a coma for nearly two months. The accident was in March, and it's May now," he informed her, stroking her hand. She tried to withdraw her hand, but she was too weak. Why was he touching her like that?

"Who are you?" she insisted.

"I'm your fiancée. We're going to get married next year," he informed her, smiling warmly down at her. He picked up her left hand and lifted it up so she could see the brilliant two carat engagement ring on her ring finger. She just stared at it.

"What do you remember, Gabby?" he questioned her.

"I-I don't know," she whispered, her eyes watering.

"You have to try, honey, please," he pressed. He brushed her soft black hair back from her face.

"The last thing I remember…" All of a sudden, memories started to stream into her head, as if a switch had been turned on. A look of recognition came over her face.

"Marc…I remember," she told him, relieved. She remembered that she had gotten into a car crash on her way home. Her car had lost control and had slammed into a utility pole.

"Oh, Gabby, I'm so relieved," he replied, a smile appearing on his tanned face.

"We're in Bellevue Hospital?" she inquired. The headache was subsiding, thankfully.

"Yes. The doctors were telling me that your neurological activity has been increasing in the past few weeks, and that you would wake up any day now. And here we are," he said, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Something felt weird to her though. As if something didn't fit. But she couldn't quite place it.

"As soon as you get better, we're going to go on that cruise that we've been planning to go on for a while. Wouldn't you like that?" He asked her, rubbing her cheek.

"Yes, I would," she responded, forcing a smile on her face. They had started to plan their cruise months ago. She had always wanted to go on a cruise.

"Okay. I'll let you rest for now. I'm going to go speak with your doctors, grab something to eat, and then come back. I love you," he murmured, leaning back down again, but this time brushing his lips against hers. A shiver ran down her spine.

"I love you too," she replied softly, gazing into his beautiful ocean deep blue eyes. He was so good to her. She was so lucky to have a man who would stand by her side for months as she lay in a hospital bed fighting for her life. She sighed, knowing that everything was going to be okay. She gave in to the weariness her body felt, and fell into a deep sleep.

OOO

"How is everything going, Dr. Sheldon?" Dr. Albert Michaels inquired, swiveling in his chair to face Dr. Bradley Sheldon. His office was very spacious, decorated professionally and artistically. His wife of 15 years had added the so-called 'woman's touch' to the space, making it homely and welcoming as well, with the artwork and sculptures that inhabited the room.

"Everything is going great, Dr. Michaels. She's coming along nicely. She's neurologically intact, no permanent brain damage," Dr. Sheldon replied, leaning forward to place his elbows on the oak office desk.

"Fantastic," Dr. Michaels replied.

OOO

"Hi, Gabby," Marc greeted, grabbing Gabriella's hand. He rubbed tiny circles on her palm. She opened her eyes and looked over at Marc, a smile forming on her face.

"Hey, you," she whispered. She still felt very tired. She couldn't understand why. After all, she had been sleeping for months.

"Listen, I spoke with your doctors, and they said you're making an amazing recovery. Soon, I'll be able to take you home, and you can relax, recuperate, until you're one hundred percent again. Honey, I withdrew you from your law classes. I know how much it means to you, but for now you have to concentrate on getting better, okay?" He brought her fingers to his mouth and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles.

"I know, Marc. I've already missed two months worth of classes anyway. I'll just have to repeat the semester next fall," she said. She was a little disappointed that she was going to get behind in her studies, but she had to make sure her health came first.

"That's my girl."

Just then, a woman in blue scrubs and a stethoscope around her neck walked into the room with a small cupful of pills and a cup of water.

"Hello, Ms. Sutton. I'm Amy, your nurse for today. I have your medication." Amy stopped beside the bed and handed Gabriella the water and the pills. Gabriella looked down at the pills.

"What are they?" she questioned.

"Just some multivitamins," the nurse replied succinctly.

"Okay," Gabriella replied, dubiously. She swallowed the pills and followed it with some water. The nurse gave her a brief smile, and then walked out of the room.

"That was weird, don't you think?" Gabriella noticed, looking over at Marc.

"Oh, I don't think so, hon. Maybe she's just having a bad day," he responded.

"I guess so." Gabriella was still feeling very weak, but she felt better than she had earlier. Her headache had gone away, and she was actually able to move her arms now. Slowly but surely, she was recuperating. She couldn't wait to get out of the stuffy hospital room and back to her home with Marc. They lived in a spacious two-bedroom condo in downtown Manhattan. She loved the way the place was decorated, and she loved all the furniture. She had moved in with him not that long before the accident, soon after they got engaged. Marc was able to afford such an expensive place was because he was a stockbroker on Wall Street.

"You should rest a little more, Gabby. You need to gather all the strength you can get, so you can get out of here faster," Marc reminded her. She nodded in agreement.

"You're right, I should try to get some more sleep. Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked him.

"Of course. You know I'm always here for you," he replied, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

"I love you," she said, closing her eyes.

"I love you too, honey. Now get some rest." Marc stared at Gabriella as she fell asleep. Soon he'd be able to take her home and get her away from the hospital. He couldn't wait to get her out of there, and then prepare for their trip.