“How long are we talking about?” I ask.
I feel like a puppet, some doll that can’t stand on her own.
“I don’t usually give optimistic estimates, miss Bluemoon,” he says. “But judging from how you can already move your head and arms, I would confidently say a few weeks. With a good therapist and efforts, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Can I go home, then?”
I just want to leave the hospital, breathe some air, and go back to a normal life as soon as possible. I miss it so much already. The doctor exchanges a look with Damian. My mate gives him his imposing glare, until the poor man clears his throat, coming back to me with a weak smile.
“Well, I will ask you to stay for the next 24 hours, at least, so we can prevent any unforeseen issue with your awakening. However, this is clearly a magic issue linked to your... wolf, miss Bluemoon, and a grey area for us. If you can have a proper caretaker and constant surveillance, going home tomorrow shouldn’t be an issue, miss Bluemoon. I would still request you come back within the next few days for a couple more check-ups, though.”
I smile brightly and turn to Damian. I can go home tomorrow! I don’t even have to spend Christmas there! My mate smiles back at me and kisses my forehead.
After that meeting, I insist on Damian to take me to the inner garden of the hospital. It’s covered in snow, but Moon Goddess, it’s beautiful. Damian pushes my wheelchair on the little road. He wraps me in a thick blanket, but I lean back and enjoy the cold air on my face. It feels amazing... Being alive.
He finally sits down on a bench, next to my wheelchair, facing me.
“It’s good to be back,” I say.
He nods, taking my hand in his, playing with my engagement ring. “I’ve missed you so much...” He whispers. “I came here every day to see you. Before and after work. I knew you weren’t there, but I just wanted to see your face, remember that you were still hanging on somehow. I slept so many times on the chair in your room, and Neal and Liam dragged me to work countless times. Nora...”
He takes a deep breath.
“I bought us a house a few months ago.”
I stay speechless for a moment. Did I hear that wrong?
“...A house?”
“Our house. Your home. I didn’t want to keep living on my own in my apartment at the Company building. I wanted... A place I could look forward to living in with you. A place where we could be together, a place we could call our house.”
I look at him, speechless, as my heartbeat accelerates. He really bought a house. For the two of us, for when I would come back? I take another look at the ring. He really was preparing everything for when I would come back, no matter when it would be. I feel a little tear running down my face, my heart tightening at the thought. My poor Damian... How lonely must he have felt for those two years I made him wait... I cross my fingers with his.
“Tell me about it. The house.”
He smiles. “I’ll take you there tomorrow. It’s a big white house with a little garden. I took my time choosing it. I wish I could have given you a choice in the matter, too, but... I picked one on an uphill, with a view of the east forest. There are five bedrooms aside from the main one, and a big kitchen,fully equipped—everything you could possibly need or want when you cook, Love. I didn’t take a big house, but one you would feel home in. With more bedrooms, and enough space to welcome our friends... And our children, later.”
Gosh, I love the idea. I lean in for a long kiss. Whichever house Damian picked, I’m sure I’ll love it. I really want to see that house he got us and resume my life with him. Damian even thought about our future children… We had that talk before, so I know it’s for a later future, but I already look forward to it.
“Damian?”
“Yes, my Love?”
“I... really want us to get married. Soon.”
“Soon?”
“Yes... I’m now twenty-years-old, right? I already missed two years we should have spent together... I don’t want to be late for anything else. I want to start living with you, I want to catch up on the time we have lost. I don’t need a big ceremony, just to be yours as soon as I can.”
He stays silent for a while and smiles. “Anything you want, Nora. We can even have the papers signed today if you want. The mayor is not really in a position to say no...”
I laugh a bit and give him a quick kiss. “Maybe not that fast, my Love. Let me be able to catch up on everything I’ve missed first. Also, when I can stand up again. Plus, I want all of our friends to be there.”
He frowns a bit. “That’s a lot of people. You know your cousin will harass me if I want to marry you?”
“William? I thought you two had solved your differences already, two years ago.”
Damian makes a sour face.