“I know you probably can’t hear me, but this is the only time I’m going to say it. I still love you, no matter what you do or have done to me.” I felt a couple tears slide down my cheek.
“I am so sorry. I’m the one who got you into this mess. You wouldn’t even be here if I had just waited until you got back to your flat to talk to about Kate. I never thought this would happen. It’s all my fault!”
I started sobbing out loud, an action that caused waves of pain to shoot through my chest. I decided that it was time to go back to my room. I started to wheel myself towards the door, pulling my hand out of his. Suddenly, I felt a slight pressure around my hand.
“Is this enough proof?” His voice was rough, but I understood every single word.
“Oh, Sherlock!” I threw my arms around his waist and wept tears of joy and sadness mixed. He chuckled softly.
“Am I forgiven?”
I nodded through my tears.
“Then Elizabeth, will you marry me?”
“Yes! Yes I will marry you!” I must have elbowed the help button on my wheelchair because the nurse who helped me before walked in just then.
“Oh, I wondered why your blood pressure was going up rapidly. Are you two a couple?”
“Yes, she’s my fiancée.” The nurse smiled.
I giggled, something I hadn’t done in a long time.
“Oh, so when’s the big day?”
“We haven’t decided yet.”
“Oh, well. I think its time to get Ms. Cumberbatch back to her room. She needs to rest her leg. She can go home soon.”
The nurse helped me back to my room and laid me in my bed. Then she left me alone. Before she left, though, she put the phone next to me.
“In case you want to call your fiancé.”
Then I was alone. After what seemed like hours, I finally decided that I was extremely tired. I fell asleep happy for the first time in weeks. I was engaged to the most wonderful man in the world and I had a beautiful daughter waiting safely for me when I got out of the hospital. I woke up to yelling outside my door.
“You will let me see her!” That was Sherlock.
“I’m sorry, but no one is allowed to visit Ms. Cumberbatch.” That must have been a doctor.
“I am her fiancé! I need to be with her”
Why is he yelling?
“I’m sorry, but we haven’t even told her about it. Wait until we tell her. Then we can send you, Ms. Cumberbatch and a nurse home so she can live her last days in comfort.”
Wait a second. Last days? What was wrong with me? All of a sudden the door opened and the doctor came in. I closed my eyes and acted like I was sleeping. He checked my vitals and then left, closing the door on his way out. After that, I couldn’t sleep. What was the doctor talking about? Was I going to die? When the morning finally came, I was relieved that I didn’t have to pretend to sleep anymore. I had just turned on the news to see what was going on in the real world when the doctor came in.
“Elizabeth, I have something to tell you.”
Oh no.
“You have brain cancer. Stage four.”