"L A B E L S"

Episode 97

The hours ticked by and Dani had finally come out of surgery but hadn’t gained consciousness and Joe hadn’t moved from her bedside. He didn’t plan on leaving, not until he knew she was okay. He had fallen asleep on the chair beside her hospital bed with his head laying on the edge of her bed. He awakes with a jolt from a hand on his shoulder and looks up at Dani’s dad, anxiously rubbing his eyes worried that something is wrong.

Mr. Landon notices Joe’s worry and quickly shakes his head while speaking quietly. "Everything’s fine. You really should get home, Joseph. Your mother has been calling me nonstop and she’s really worried about you."

Joe quickly shakes his head and turns back to Dani while keeping hold of one of her hands. "I’m not leaving her."

He speaks seriously but with a calm understanding. "Joseph, go home. I promise to call if anything changes."

He sighs and looks back at Dani for a moment before slowly lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it softly. He slowly releases her hand and turns around to walk towards the door. Mr. Landon puts a hand on Joe’s shoulder comfortingly before watching him walk out.

 ~~~ 

Scarlett slowly begins to open her eyes when the sunlight shining through her bedroom window becomes much too bright for sleeping. She rolls onto her side and her eyes jolt open ever so slightly when she sees Nick smiling back at her.

"Good morning".

She forces a small smile and sits up, keeping the blankets wrapped around her naked body. "Morning," she mumbles before clearing her throat.

"You don’t have to get up. Your parents haven’t come home yet."

She glances back at him with a small nod before looking in the other direction and seeing a plate full of eggs and bacon setting on her bedside table. "What’s that?"

"I made you breakfast. If I remember right it’s; scrambled eggs, toast with more butter than jelly and crispier the better when it comes to bacon, right?" He snickers softly and sits up to wraps his arms around Scarlett’s waist.

She glances back at him with another one of her forced smiles and nods. "Yeah, that’s right. Thank you."

He smiles at her and kisses her bare shoulder, immediately causing her to stand up while holding the spare blanket around her body. He looks up at her with complete confusion and watches as she turns back to him with that same smile. "I’m going to go take a shower and get changed, okay?"

"What’s the rush?"

"I made plans to help out at the soup kitchen today." Scarlett inwardly rolls her eyes.

He smiles at her in admiration. "You still do that?"

She nods and begins picking up her clothes scattered around her room.

"I think that’s great, Scarlett. Maybe I can go with you, I-"

"No!" Scarlett turns back to him with wide eyes and quickly tries to cover up her outburst. "I mean...the soup kitchen is just one thing I have planned for today, I have to go by the hospital and the store then stop by my Aunt's for her birthday so it really wouldn't be practical-"

Nick notices her anxious exterior and immediately holds up a hand to slow her down. "Whoa, alright." He chuckles. "We can just meet up later tonight or something. No big deal."

She just smiles over at him once again, unsure of what to say and nods. "I’ll be out in a second." She steps into the bathroom and closes the door behind her before leaning her back against it. She breaths deeply and rushes over to the shower, quickly turning on both facets as far as they will go before sitting down in the edge of the tub. She grabs a towel from the rack in front of her and stuffs it into her mouth before screaming in silence as tears begin to roll down her cheeks until she is sobbing uncontrollably.