Hello my loves! Here is another chapter of my Denny Duquette story! I am keeping this author's note short because I think I need to make up for lack of Denny!

Enjoy this chapter! xxxxxxxxxxxx

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"So, how many kids do we want, Wife?" Denny asked me. I smiled. Things had settled and we were now moving on from the sad and trying to look for the happy. I popped a piece of candy in my mouth.  I had ended up raiding the vending machines for Denny and me. We were stuffing our faces with sugary goodness.

"Tons, we want tons of kids!" I said. Denny chuckled and grabbed a piece of candy for himself. "Three boys, five girls," he said. I stuck my tongue out at him. "No, four boys, four girls!" I argued. "Fine, fine. You win!" he said while sitting back in his hospital bed and getting more comfortable. I chuckled.

"We're gonna need a bigger house with at least ten bedrooms and five bathrooms!" I exclaimed. Denny chuckled and reached out to pat my hand. "Okay, okay, one thing at a time. I need to get detached and out of here first," Denny said instantly changing the tone of our conversation. I frowned and got off the bed.

"Wait, Emily," Denny said softly and reached out for my wrist but he barely grasped it as I walked towards the window. I instantly started thinking about Denny dying all over again. "Emily, please, come back over here. This isn't fair. You know I can't get out of the bed," Denny said as I heard him trying to move around all of the wires.

I turned around with my arms crossed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, but for me it's been reality four seven years now. I guess I'm used to it by now and I can kind of joke about it," he said. I frowned again. "It's not funny," I told him sadly. I didn't want to think about that. "Come here," Denny said holding his arms out to me. I slowly made my way back to the bed. Denny reached out and placed his hands on my shoulders. He pulled me down to make me sit on the bed before sliding over and pulling me against his chest. "Relax," he breathed which was followed by a coughing fit.

I sat up, grabbed his water, and handed it to him. He took a few small sips, his coughing stopped and he sat back with a discomforting look on his face. "Thanks," he whispered while swallowing hard. "Is this normal?" I asked while turning to look at him. He nodded while wiping his mouth.

"Unfortunately, it's one of the side effects. My heart isn't pumping enough blood which means my lungs aren't getting enough oxygen making it hard to breathe," he said. I frowned as I laid back down on his chest and put my ear right where his heart was. I listened intently as his heart beat irregularly.

"I just want you better," I whispered. Denny"s hand moved up and down my arm. "I know, trust me, me too. I would love to feel normal again," he whispered back. I sighed and closed my eyes trying to control all the thoughts inside my head. "I will get out of here, with or without a new heart," Denny said deteminedly.

I sat up a little bit to look at him. "Well let's hope it's with a new heart," I said while leaning forward and placing a light kiss on his cheek. A light knock on the door broke us apart. I sat up in the bed just as Denny told whoever it was to come in. A doctor in a white lab coat with a clipboard in hand walked in with a blank look on her face.

I got off the bed and sat in the chair beside his bed. Denny's hand reached out for mine and I galdly took in. "Mr. Duquette, I would like to say it's nice to see you again, but I was really hoping that you would be gone by my next shift," she said with a smile. Denny smiled in return. "Nice to see you too, Doc," Denny said.

The doctor turned to me. "Hello, who are you?" she asked me. I smiled nervously. "This is Emily, my wife," Denny said while rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand. I could feel my heartbeat picking up. "It's nice to meet you, Emily. How long have you two been married?" she asked me. "J-just a couple of months," I said through a shaky breath. The doctor smiled. "There's no reason to be nervous, but I'm sure this has been a lot to take in since meeting Denny, right?" she asked.

I nodded unable to find my voice. "Well, I have some good news and some bad news," she said looking down at her clipboard. "The good news is that your labs and everything look good enough for you to go home," she said. Denny smiled. "That's great news!" he said ethusiastically. I frowned slightly.

"What's the bad news?" I asked getting straight to the point. I didn't want to wait to hear it. She sighed and flipped through a few papers on the clipboard. "The bad news is that there still isn't any hearts available that match for you. You are still number two on the list and I'm afraid it might be like that for a while," she said.

I felt a tear slip down my cheek. "Well, it's already been seven years, what's another few am I right?" Denny asked but no one wanted to answer. Denny squeezed my hand gently. "It will be alright, love. This hasn't killed me yet," he said. I smiled weakly. His comment wasn't that encouraging.

"Denny, I would like to discuss a couple of things with you before we discharge you," she said. I sat up a litttle to make sure I was paying attention and soaking up the information like a sponge. "You are getting worse. More quickly than we would like you to be, but without a new heart in your neear future I'm afraid we're going to have to take some precautions," she said.

I felt my eyebrows arch with concern. "Like what?" he asked. It sounded like this was new information to him as well. "We don't believe that it is wise to work anymore. The physical activity is too much for your heart to handle," the doctor said. Denny squeezed my hand again but this time it was harder.

"I can't just not work," he said defensively. The doctor frowned slightly. "I'm sorry, Denny. I know it's not news that you want to hear, but I've been your doctor long enough to know that right now things are not looking up and you need to rest. Now I'm not saying you have to live in the bed, but no work, nothing strenuous, and no.....phsyical activity," the doctor said looking between the two of us.

Denny squeezed my hand harder. I grimaced and pulled my hand loose while rubbing it to get some feeling back in it. "Sorry," Denny mumbled once he noticed what I was doing. I smiled and reached out for him again. I knew this was hard for him to hear even though his had been his life for years.

"If he gets a new heart, will he go back to normal?" I asked curiously. The doctor turned to me. "He will never fully recover. Things will still be difficult for him, but having a new heart will madke it a tad easier. He'll still have to watch what he is doing and be extra careful," she said. I frowned.

It sounded like Denny would never be Denny again.  "So, even with a new heart, he's going to have to limit everything he does?" i asked and the doctor nodded in response. "Unfortunately, yes. No matter if he has the surgery or not he has to be careful," said the doctor. My frown deepened.

"Anymore questions?" the doctor asked. Denny and I looked at each other before both of us shook our heads. "Good, let's sign some paperwork and get you out of here!" she said before walking out the door. The nurse came in right behind her. "Alright Denny, sign here and here. Okay, I'll get you unhooked from all your wires and get you on your way," she said.

Denny sat up slowly and rubbed his arms after the nurse had removed all of his wires and IVs. "Feel better?" I asked. He smiled and swung his legs over the bed. "I will be after I get some clothes on instead of this hospital gown," he said. I cracked a smile. "Yeah, those things can be a little drafty," I said with a wink.

Denny chuckled and then coughed. I grabbed him some more water which he drank greedily. "Let me help you get dressed. I don't want you to wear yourself out," I said. Denny shook his head. "I can get my ownself dressed," he said. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a pair of sweatpants and bent down in front of him.

"It's okay to have help," I said while placing his feet in the holes of his pants. He grunted as I pulled them up. He stood up easily and allowed me to pull his sweatpants. I grabbed his shirt next as he slipped out of the hospital gown. I slipped it gently over his head and he put his arms in the holes.

The nurse came in with a wheelchair. "Is that necessary?" Denny asked. I glared at him. "Yes, it very much is," I said. He sighed defeated and sat down in the wheel chair. I shouldered his bag with his belongings inside and walked beside him as the nurse pushed him down the hallway. "Bye Denny!" a few people called as we walked past them.

The nurse helped me load everything including Denny in to the car. "Thank you," I said to the nurse as she walked back into the hospital with the empty wheelchair. "Okay," I breathed as I got in the car. "Let's get you home," I said as I pulled out of the hospital, putting it in the rearview mirror hoping the next time we come back was for Denny's new heart.

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Kind of a filler but  I feel it was necessary!

Predictions?!

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