THERE SHE was: in a hospital bed, wires clinging to her fingertip and nostrils. The heart monitor beeping. Dylan felt his heart stop for a split second. He couldn't believe it was actually happening. He felt like marching over to her side so he could shake her awake.

  "Mr. Matthews?" Dylan turned around to see an elderly man in a lab coat. It was the doctor, Dr. McLaney.

  "Yes?" Dylan replied, a large lump being swallowed as he gulped. His eyes began to dwell up with tears.

Dr. McLaney took hold of the paperwork attached to the clipboard. "I want you know that Valerie is recovering well," he said, "but unfortunately we are going to have to keep her in a medically-induced coma. Her body will recover faster that way."

   Dylan felt his heart sink into his chest. He didn't want his wife here, in the hospital, sleeping away the pain that he caused. He wanted her next to him, laughing; joking; kissing him endlessly. He wanted to hold her hand once again.

  He didn't want to go home alone.

"How long will you keep her like that?" Dylan asked the medical specialist.

  Dr. McLaney shrugged. "It all depends on when she wakes up." he replied. "There is also something else you should know, Mr. Matthews."

  "What is it?" Dylan asked worriedly.

  "When your wife wakes up from her coma," he began, sighing afterwards. "there is a big chance that she will have amnesia."

  Dylan looked at the doctor and felt everything go numb. How was he supposed to process this? How is he going to adjust to the fact that his wife may not remember anything when she wakes up?

  Dylan nodded. He then looked back at his lifeless wife and sighed. What was he going to do without her?

  "Come back in a few days," the doctor continued. "we'll let you know how Valerie is doing when you get here."

  With that, the doctor left to tend to his other patients; leaving Dylan to be broken in his sadness.

…

        He awoke in sweat, his breath panting as he ran a hand through his hair. Dylan had a nightmare. It was about Valerie. And in the nightmare, doctors had announced she was dead.

  He looked at the empty left side of the bed, his eyes softened in sadness as he longed for Valerie to be near. Dylan laid back down, staring up at the ceiling. This bed he was laying on held so many memories: the first night they moved in, the times they'd turn on the lamps to read, the first time they slept together; caught underneath the ocean of bed sheets. . .

~

It was the month of September and it was cold that first week when the night fell. Dylan was reading a book, when the slight urge of staring at his wife overtook him by a landslide.

He couldn't help it. She was just that beautiful.

Valerie had sensed his eyes on her and rose her head up to the right to face him. She smiled back. Gosh her smile was gorgeous.

"What are you staring at?" she asked teasingly. Dylan shook his head slightly, his eyes never leaving her face.

"You're so beautiful." his eyes met her honey-brown colored orbs, then they travelled down to her neck, then to her gray tank top where he knew she wasn't wearing a bra. He gulped as he stared at her cleavage; wanting to pull the shirt off of her.

"You're handsome," Valerie replied, looking at her husband, the moment freezing in time just for her. She stared at his eyes, then to his lips. She loved kissing him, for some reason his upper lip smelled like chocolate milk or something sweet. She felt herself lean forward, Dylan doing the same as they captured each other's lips in a gentle but passionate kiss. No tongue involved, just a slight press to the lips and a few bonus pecks after that.

Dylan scooted closer, the book he was reading fell due to gravitational pull. He placed his large hands in the back of his wife's head; closing his eyes as he kissed her. He climbed over her, kissing her over and over again.

Valerie pulled back slightly, staring into her husband's beautiful, iridescent gray eyes as they reflected in the lamp's light. She adored this man, and she couldn't believe that after many years of heartbreak, she finally found the one.

She smirked, flipping them over so that now Dylan laid underneath. She kissed him, then pecked his jawline.

Dylan pulled her close, then pulled off the menacing tank top trapping her skin, his fingertips and palms ached to touch her bare, soft skin. He took hold of her breasts, Valerie arching back with a moan escaping her lips. She looked so beautiful when she was pleasured. . .

"I love you." Valerie whispered, giving her husband a warm smile, her hair framing her face. Dylan rolled them over, pulling the sheets over their bare bodies.

"I love you so much."

He began to kiss her, his hands holding onto her body as they rolled over. He loved this. He loved how her large breasts tingled against his fingertips, the sensation of her soft skin was overwhelming.

He never wanted it to end. . .

~

Still failing to fall asleep, Dylan went over to his Bluetooth speaker and connected his device and logged into Valerie's Amazon music account. He went over to her playlist that had Matchbox Twenty on it and clicked the song, I Will.

He then laid his head back down and let the sound of Rob Thomas' voice fill his ears. It wasn't his favorite song --- nor were they his favorite band --- but he listened to this specific song because Valerie had dedicated it to him.

Before he knew it, Dylan fell asleep; dreaming of his wife as he listened on to the second verse of the song. The second verse that made his heart clench. . .

. . . And if you go,
       Take a little piece of me,
Hang it by the place you sleep.
    And dream,
Of me. . .