“Thanks for coming back to me,” Ashley began happily. I… I knew you weren’t gone. I’m glad that I helped you out of your nightmares.

“I had you to guide me,” I responded with a smile. Ashley returned the smile and began to plant kisses all over my face.

“I really, really missed you, baby,” explained Ashley as she pressed her forehead against mine. The hours while you were unconscious, Spence, sucked big time. While you were still stuck in your nightmares, I felt like I was dying with you, too.

“I missed you, too,” I stated. A lot, Ash. Thanks for not giving up on me and staying here with me so I wouldn’t have to be alone.

“Like there is a choice to do that?” questioned Ashley. There isn’t a choice. I will always have hope for us. I don’t ever want to leave your side. They’ll have to attach us by the hip and then there will be no way for us to separate again. I smiled and leaned in to kiss Ashley sweetly on the lips. Ashley smiled and intensified the kiss. I returned the kiss. Ashley stopped the kiss.

“Thanks,” I smiled. Should we call the old married couple to update on the information?

“Sure,” responded Ashley. They were really great today.

The nurse came into the room. “This is impossible,” the nurse began. The doctor said that your girlfriend was brain dead. The only way that she would’ve survived was being attached to a life support machine.

“Nothing is impossible,” responded Ashley with a smile. Love was what guided Spencer back to me. Ashley stroked my hair. My girl may be many things, but brain damaged is certainly not one of them. What does the doctor know anyway? I chuckled.

“We’ll have to run some tests and then we’ll decide whether we could discharge you in a manner of days,” the nurse explained to me. I nodded in understanding.

I didn’t really sleep that night for two reasons since I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to wake up from another nightmare and for the fact the nurses came in twice an hour to poke me with needles. I hated needles to begin with so Ashley needed to hold my hand. I couldn’t even look at someone getting a needle since I would feel their pain. I never understood how some people were able to take needles and actually enjoy it. “It seems like we never get to sleep lately,” I began with a sigh. At this pace, we are going to be zombies.