Five Little Words

Part 14

I reckon I could have dislocated my jaw, it dropped open that fast......

Ali grinned as Dec glanced back up at her, shock clearly evident in his features.

"But- you said- what- how?" 

She and the doctor shared a chuckle at his speechlessness, and Ali shot him a wink over Dr Markui's shoulder.

"You are doing so well, that we - the rest of your team and I - really believe that you are fine to be sent home a few days earlier than expected" the doctor explained, smiling wider as the gravity of the situation finally hit home, and an ecstatic grin threatened to split Dec's face in half.

"Seriously? I can seriously go home today?" he asked, almost not daring to believe it.

Both women nodded, and Ali sat down on the edge of the bed, pressing a kiss to his hair.

"And," she added, taking her husband's hand in her own, "We've also got a bit of a surprise planned for you back in London, so we kind of need to get on the road, otherwise we're going to be late."

Confused, Dec tilted his head to the side, looking at her like a curious puppy, but when Ali just smiled mysteriously at him, he shrugged and read through the discharge papers before signing them and handing them back to the patiently-waiting doctor.

"Very well then, I shall leave you to pack up your things and head on back home" Dr Markui smiled kindly at the pair of them, shaking both of their hands.

"Thank you so much, doctor" Dec replied sincerely, smiling honestly up at her, an expression mirrored by his wife beside him.

Bowing her head in acknowledgement, the doctor returned the smile before she turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Silence hung in the room for barely a moment before Ali was startled by the sound of a loud yelp of joy, and she found herself being hugged as tightly as she'd ever been. Laughing, she hugged back, rubbing the back of Dec's neck, smile softening as she could feel him shaking in excitement.

"Get yourself ready, and I'll wait for you outside the room, okay?" she decided, feeling a nod against her shoulder as she pulled away and walked out of the room as well.

Barely six minutes later, the door opened again and Ali smiled at the sight of her husband standing there - grin wide on his face and bag over his shoulder, clearly ready to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Shaking her head fondly, Ali took his bag from him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and they walked out of the building and down into the carpark together - pleased to be finally leaving the last nine weeks behind them.

*****

"So, this surprise.....?" Dec asked as soon as they were in Ali's four-wheel-drive, pulling out of the hospital carpark and onto the main road.

Ali raised her left eyebrow in his direction, lips quirking into a half-smile, but she stayed quiet.

"Are you going to tell me anything, or am I just going to have to wait it out?"

Full-on chuckling at his impatience, Ali stayed stubbornly silent.

"Right, that's how it's gonna be then" Dec muttered, although Ali knew he was just teasing, playing at being annoyed.

"Damn right it is" she replied, laughing as she caught him pouting out of the corner of her eye.

They chatted happily the whole drive back to London, singing badly along with the 'Hits of the 90s' CD that Ali had left in the car's stereo, and then they started playfully teasing each other about their tastes in music, and then it progressed to just trading hilarious stories about almost any and every memory that sprang to their minds.