Brian's POV
Slowly I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital room. I looked up and there was Matt, Zack and Johnny. Matt said. "Brian, can you hear me?" I just looked at him and nodded. "You were in a car accident on your way home from the wedding."
"Wedding?" I whispered, my mouth was dry.
"Bianca's wedding, remember?" Zack said
"But that was a year ago." I whispered.
"You haven't been out that long. It was just over a week ago." Johnny said.
"A week?" I was obviously dreaming.
"Penny should be back any minute. She is going to be so ticked that she wasn't here when you woke up." Matt said.
"Penny?" I asked.
"You know, your wife. We forced her to go take a shower. You gave us quite a scare three days ago and she hasn't left your side since, not that she left much before that. I looked over and saw an arrangement of wilting purple roses. "She needed to get out of this room for a while, we had to force her." Zack said.
"Penny's alive?" I asked.
Then I heard the most beautiful sound in the world. "Hey guys, I'm back, are you happy now?"
"Penny!" I said as loud as I could.
Brian!" She rushed to my side. "Thank God! You're awake!" She kissed my forehead. "I love you!" I breathed in the scent that I loved so much.
"Penny is it really you?" I reached up and touched her face, she nuzzled into my hand. I looked into the blue eyes that I never thought I would see again. You could tell she had been crying and she was tired, but they were filled with life, love and joy. I couldn't believe she was there. "I love you Penny, you don't know how glad I am to see you. I thought I had lost you forever."
"I have been right here; I was so afraid of losing you. They tried to admit me for 24 hours and I wasn't going to let them keep me from you."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yea, she pulled the IV out of her arm and ran around in just a hospital gown, bleeding all over the place." Matt said.
"She was the talk of the hospital." Johnny laughed.
"Okay guys!" Penny said.
Zack said. "The doctor should be here soon; we're going to leave you two alone."

Penny's POV
He was finally out of the coma and I wasn't there! "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up."
"As long as you're here, you're alive and you're healthy that's all that matters." He said.
"I wasn't hurt very bad in the accident. I have only been worried about you."
"You've lost weight; you haven't been eating have you?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not the one we need to worry about."
"Yes Penz, you are." He said sternly.

Before I could ask why, the doctor came in and examined him. He said that Brian could be moved to a regular room. Then Brian said the weirdest thing to the Doctor. "I want my wife to have a full physical, how can I make that happen today? I'll pay any amount that is necessary."
"Brian, what are you talking about?" I asked.
"I'm serious Penz, I want them to run every test possible on you."
"Why?" I asked.
"Just indulge me, please? I need you to do this." He was very serious. He looked at the Doctor. "Well?"
"I don't know if we can arrange that today. I'll see what I can do. But you need to stay calm."
"It needs to happen today." Brian was adamant.
The Doctor left and Brian was moved to a regular room.

Later that day, I saw a Doctor there at the hospital. I had blood work, scans of just about every part of my body and even a coronary stress test. I wasn't sure why Brian insisted on all of this, but I thought it best to appease him.

Brian's POV
When I first came out of the coma, I didn't know which was real and which was a dream or if they both were and I was still unconscious. Once I knew that Penny was alive and that horrible year never happened, I knew I had to make sure that if there was something wrong with her that it was discovered as soon as possible. I now understood Jimmy's riddles.

It took several days for all the tests to come back. We met with the Doctor on the day I was released. Penny was indeed diagnosed with a rare blood disorder and the Doctor said it was discovered in time that with treatment, the prognosis was very good. Penny's life was Jimmy's gift, he gave me a glimpse and left it up to me to save her by making sure it was discovered in time.
"Treatment? Where? How long?" Penny asked.
"Well at first you will need to be inpatient for a week or two. If all goes well, you should be able to undergo outpatient treatment after that. We will get you into a specialist that can give you more details. I suggest Dr. Janice Callahan at OSU Hospital."
"No, I am not leaving Brian right now. A month isn't going to hurt anything."
"Mrs. Haner, delaying treatment could mean your life."
I had to make her understand. "Penny, you have to do this. I am fine, it's just a broken leg. I need you to be well and be with me for years to come. I know what I am talking about. Please Honey, either you agree or I drag you there, broken leg or not."
"Okay. Let's get in to see the specialist." She reluctantly agreed, but I think she had finally realized serious this was.
I researched and found the top rated specialist in treating this kind of blood disorder. He was actually from Southern California. Penny didn't want to go back to California yet and I knew she would need her family while she was in the hospital. I convinced Dr. Gabriel to fly to Ohio to see her so that she would have one Doctor from both states overseeing her care. One week later we met with him and Dr. Callahan at OSU. Penny was admitted to the hospital immediately for treatment. I stayed there with her most of the time, but also had a hotel room to sleep and get cleaned up. The treatment made her very sick so it was hard for her to keep food down. The nights she was extremely ill, I stayed with her.
We were both very impressed that Dr. Gabriel stayed in Ohio the first few days she was in the hospital. He also came back just before she was released. He gave strict instructions on Penny's care once she was out of the hospital. He asked that she keep flying to minimum and avoided anyone who was ill or anywhere that she could be exposed to contagious illnesses. He gave her a diet to follow that would not only help her gain weight back, but would boost her immune system. He was very nice to Penny, but I got the feeling he wasn't one of my biggest fans.
"Penny where do you plan to stay once you are released?" He asked.
"I was hoping to stay here and spend some time with my family while Brian's leg heals." Penny said.
"I would prefer that you stay in California as much as possible. How long is that supposed to be?"
"About a month." I said. "I don't understand, I thought Dr. Callahan could oversee her care when she is here?" I asked.
"Dr. Callahan is fine to monitor Penny when she has to be here, but she is not as knowledgeable to Penny's specific disorder as I am. I would like to personally oversee her care. You do want her to be well, don't you?"
"Of course I do, her health is my number one priority." I said. There was something in his tone, I didn't like.
"Brian will make sure I follow your guidelines, trust me. As soon as his cast is off and he has completed Physical Therapy we will be in California." Penny said. "Brian needs to get back to the band anyway."
"That's fine. I do have two more requests and I am sure they go without saying" with that he looked at me. "No more tattoos for a while and no rock concerts, nightclubs or wild parties." He finally looked at Penny. "Okay Penny?"
"Of course." She said.

Once Dr. Gabriel left, I asked Penny "Do you sense something about that guy?"
"No, he seems to genuinely committed to the care of his patients. I am glad you found him. I can't wait to get out of here. But there's still a long road ahead." I could tell there was more to that thought. I knew what it was and I had been trying not to think about it.
"There is, but we will make it through." I said. "I know this is scary Penz, but it's good it was discovered when it was. I know that the they can't say with absolute certainty that you will beat this. But I know you will,wewill together."

Penny's POV
I ended up spending two weeks in the hospital. It was pretty awful, but Brian being there got me through it. I asked Brian how he knew that I needed to go to the Doctor when he came out of the coma. He just said that Jimmy showed him the alternative. He said that was all I needed to know right then and I needed to focus on getting better.

Despite the two weeks in the hospital being hell and me losing another 5 pounds, they said it was very successful. They said that after weekly and then bi-weekly outpatient treatments for the next four to eight months, I should be ok. It was also arranged that I could get my treatments in both in Ohio or California and both Doctor's would collaborate on my care. Dr. Gabriel would be the main Doctor though.

Allen drove us home from Columbus when I was released. He and Brian both acted weird, they clearly had a secret and it was killing both of them to keep it.
"Has my special order arrived?" Brian asked Allen.
"Yes, all done and looks great." Allen said.
Okay, I'll play along. "What special order?" I asked.
"Just a little something you need." Brian said.
"What on earth could I need?" I said sarcastically.
"Penny, don't try to guess. You will never get the whole thing right." Allen said. "Trust me, you're going to love it."
"Okay, I won't guess that it's a new car to replace my one that was totaled."
We pulled into the driveway and there parked in the circle was a dark purple Mustang. "Oh my God! Brian it's beautiful!" I jumped out of the car and ran to it.

Brian's POV
I was pretty sure she was going to like it. I had thought about having one custom painted purple before, but I worried about her being so easily recognized driving around Springfield. Considering the fact that she had decided to have license plates that say PRPLPEN, I decided she might as well have the car to go with them.
She ran up and gave me a hug, practically knocking me off my crutches. "Is it the right purple, Penelope?"
"It's perfect." She said then she suddenly looked sad.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Are you sure you still want me to have a car with this much power? I mean, you almost died and I was driving." Then she started talking really fast. "Everyone knows how I drive especially when I'm upset, like NASCAR. If I had just waited a little longer or accelerated slower..."
"Who said that to you Penz?"
"Nobody." She said as she looked away.
"Let's go inside and talk, we both need to rest anyway."

Allen took off and Penny helped me into the house. She was buzzing around like a bee. "Do you want to prop up your leg? Do you want a beer? Are you hungry?"
"No to all those." I patted the couch seat next to me. "I need you to come sit down." She sat down reluctantly. I held her hands in mine. "Penny, the accident was not your fault. Our light was green; the guy ran the red light." I looked at her trying to emphasize my point. "You did nothing wrong. I don't know who put that in your head, but I know someone did. Who was it?"
"Gwyn just mentioned while you were still in a coma that I am known for driving fast." Penny said.
"Look at me, it wasn't your fault. I'm not sure why Gwyn would do that, but she is wrong. Okay?"
"Okay. Thank you for being my best friend. I love you." She smiled and hugged me.
"I love you too Penz. I am going to get this cast off and you are going to beat this disease and we are going to live a long happy life together."

Penny's POV
We stayed in Ohio for the next four weeks. I felt fine most of the time, except for right after my weekly treatments. Family and friends took turns driving me since Bri still had the cast. Gwyn would even come over every week and make sure Brian was ok while I was gone. She knew I worried about him walking around with the cast when I wasn't there. By the third week, Brian insisted that he didn't need anyone to come and "babysit" him. The cast was coming off a few days later and he was a "master" at getting around. I had a feeling there was more to it, he said there wasn't.

Once Brian's cast was off, he drove me to my last treatment before we left for California. We took the Mustang. I had to tease him, "Imagine Synyster Gates driving a purple car. This is truly a special moment for me!"
He smiled and shook his head. "Watch it Penelope! Don't make me turn this car around!" We both laughed. It was good to be able to laugh and be us again, even with the fear of my illness lurking in the background.

Before we headed home to California, we had a dinner party to thank everyone. Chloe, Tess, Allen, Max, Jay and Gwyn had all pitched in and been there for us. It was a nice party, Brian pretty much never left my side and would insist that I sit with him when he needed to rest as he was still using a cane. He said he knew me and if he didn't make me, I would run myself ragged.

Brian's POV
I didn't want to say anything to Penny because I wasn't sure. When Gwyn came over while she was having her treatments, I started to get uncomfortable. I started to feel like Gwyn was coming on to me. That's why I didn't want her to come over the last week and why I stayed close to Penny at the party. Gwyn kept her distance from both of us, hopefully she understood I wasn't interested. Gwyn was very beautiful, but I loved Penny and I had no desire to be with anyone else. I just couldn't tell Penny that her friend was possibly trying to hit on me. She was used to women coming on to me, but never one of her close friends. She didn't need that stress right now.

Notes