Chloe's POV
Brian texted and said Mom was in a better mood. He told me that the doctor said if she rested, she would be able to go home in the morning.
“I'll come over in the morning and help you get her home if you want.”
“That would be great, thanks.”
“How are things going? Are you two getting along?”
“We're not at each other's throats, but I don't want to jinx it.”
“Okay, I'll see you in the morning.”

I didn't ask Brian what time, I figured about 9:00 AM. I was hoping to get to talk to Mom before he got there. Max didn't have to work that morning so I was able to get to the hospital about 7:30 AM. I was pleased that Mom was awake and looking out the window with a smile when I walked in.
“Good Morning!” I said cheerfully.
“Shhhh” Mom said and pointed to the pull-out bed at the window. There was Brian sleeping.
“This is a surprise, did he come in while you were asleep again?”
“No, I asked him to stay here.”
“That's great Mom!”
“Shhh” she said again. “Don't get over excited, I'm not promising anything.”
“But you want him here, that's a good start.” I looked over at Brian and saw him peeking, he was faking sleeping.
“Yes, I still love him and he's still my best friend. It's not that I don't want us to be man and wife again.”
“But?”
“I just don't know if I can get past things enough to be intimate again.”
“Well mom, there's no rush on that. You have to recover before that's an option.”
“True, that will give me time to figure it out.”
“It will give both of you time to figure it out, together.”
“Yes, together. Should we wake him up? The doctor could be here soon.”
I'll wake him.” I knew he was already awake, I gave him a hand in faking waking up. He grinned at me and winked before sitting up.
“Hey, you're here early.” He said to me.
“I didn't realize you were here, we never set a time. So how did Mom do last night?”
“She did great.” He looked at Mom and smiled. “She took a nap while I was gone. When I got back, we took a walk down the hall and then another after we ate.”
“That's good news!” I turned to Mom, “it’s only 8:00 AM, maybe you should take a walk now.”
“We could do that. Brian needs to get cleaned up.” I helped Mom get out of the bed, Brian smiled and winked at me as we left the room.

Penny's POV
Chloe and I took a walk. I was glad to be up and out of that room, I just wasn't supposed to overdo it. Chloe and I sat down in one of the visiting areas.
“I can't wait to get home.”
“What are you two going to do about Thanksgiving?” Chloe asked.
“Thanksgiving? Crap! That's tomorrow! Is there a family dinner planned?”
“It’s our year to go to Max’s parents, Tess is going to Danny’s house and Allen is taking Grandma to Kimberly’s family dinner.” She said in a strange tone, almost like she was hiding something.
“Oh, I probably wouldn't be able to go out anyway.”
“You need to just stay home and relax.”
“I feel bad that Bri is going to be stuck with me and miss out on Thanksgiving.”
“Mom, I pretty sure with you is where he wants to be.”
I had mixed feelings, but part of me was glad too.

When we got back to my room, the Doctor was there.
He examined me and said I could go home as soon as the discharge paperwork was done.
Chloe helped me get dressed in the clothes Tess brought for me. I didn't look great, but I didn't care. Brian met us outside at the patient pick up and drop off and we were off. Chloe followed us to the house and helped me get settled in. The mustang was already there, just as I had asked Brian to do. Chloe made something for us to eat since we never had breakfast and then she had to go to work.
There we were, just the two of us. Things felt a bit awkward.
“So, should we get you to bed?” Brian asked.
“Why don't we go into the family room? I can rest in the recliner and we can talk.”
“Okay.” he said, sounding nervous.
Brian walked with me to the family room, you would've thought the one step down into the room was twenty. He had his arm around my waste holding on to me. I started laughing.
“What?” He asked.
“It's just funny how your fussing. I can make it down one step.”
“I'm sorry, I just don't want you to hurt yourself.”
“I know and I appreciate that, you don't have to be sorry.” He helped me into the chair.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” He said as he sat down.
“You said you listened to more of Adam's recordings and read his statement. I don't really want to know, but I must. What else did you find out?”
“I found out a lot. But let's go with a little at a time, I don't want to overwhelm you.” I now knew that was he was worried about.
“Okay.”
“The first thing I need to tell you is regarding the picture from my birthday.”
Brian told me how Val got Gwyn to go to the ladies’ room with her and called her out for hanging all over Brian.
“...That gave me a chance to get away.”
“That's when you called me and said you'd rather talk to me than celebrate with your friends.” That hurt, it felt so good then when he told me that.
“I called you after Val came to my room and helped me see that I needed to tell you. When I called you, you were upset already I couldn't do it then.”
I just looked at him as my mind started to race and the hurt and anger increased.
“What about the next day? Gwyn was even with you when I called!”
“She came to me that morning and apologized, saying she realized she was wrong. She promised she wouldn't make me uncomfortable anymore. She said she didn't want to hurt you and thanked me for not telling you.”
You could see his tension, waiting for my response. I sat there, just barely shaking my head and biting my lip. He took my silence as an opportunity to go on.
“Val called right before you did and told me about the picture. Gwyn acted as surprised and upset as I was. When you called, I believed when Gwyn said she felt bad. I hoped it was over and it would never be an issue.”
“Let me guess, she had the picture taken.” You could see the shock on Brian's face when I said that.
“You already know?”
“No Brian! I figured it out on my own, now that I know what REALLY happened! It's a page right out of the female playbook. Once again, if you had been honest and told me!”
“But Penny, she really did stop hitting on me after that! She tricked me okay?”
“No, it's not okay.” I was so upset and wanted away from him that I tried to get out of the electric recliner, without using the electricity. As I painfully attempted to push the footrest down, Brian rushed to the side of the chair and pushed the button to let the footrest down.
“Where are you going?” He asked.
“I'm tired, I want to go to bed.”
“You're going to hurt yourself, can I at least help you?”
“Fine!” I yelled just before I doubled over from the excruciating pain in my side. “Oh, my God! Brian!”
“I'm getting you to bed and I'm calling the Doctor.” He picked me up gently and carried me to the Master Bedroom. I was in tears from both pain and my own stupidity.

Brian's POV
I scooped Penny up and carried her to the bedroom. I put a couple pillows behind her because it hurt her more to be flat. I brought her a pain pill and called the doctor, he told me to watch for the warning signs that were talked about when she was released and take her to the hospital immediately if she showed any of them. He also instructed that she spend the rest of the day and evening in bed. She wasn't upset with that, if she didn't have to go to the hospital.
The pain medicine kicked in and Penny felt better.

Once she was napping, I took care of some things I had to do to prepare for a surprise the next day. I hoped she would be calmed down after her nap. I checked on her often and she looked to be doing okay. Once she was awake, I brought her dinner in bed.
“Are you going to eat in here with me?” She asked.
“If you want me to, I will.”
“Well, I mean if you want to, I'm okay with that.” She was trying to get around saying that she wanted me to. I didn't make it that easy for her.
“I don't know, you're already forced to be here with me for weeks. I don't want to be around and upsetting you while you are eating and already don't feel good.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Unless you want me too.” I said, raising an eyebrow.
“I just figured you would…” she stopped. “Thank you for bringing me dinner.”
“You’re welcome, let me know if you anything else.” I turned and started to leave the room.
“Brian?” I turned toward her. “I want you to eat with me, please.”
I grinned at her. “Good, I want to eat with you too. I'll be right back.” She smiled and I brought my plate in and sat beside the bed. It was quiet at first.
“This is good! You make a mean sandwich, Junior.”
“I’m glad you like them, that's going to be Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Sandwiches and soup are about the only things I know how to make.”
“Maybe I can whip up something else.”
“Not until after your doctor visit next week.” I could tell she was going to argue about it. “You can help though, doing things while sitting at the table.”
“I'm supposed to be walking some throughout the day.” Her expression changed to sad. “Except when I do stupid crap like I did today.”
I didn't know what to say. “Penny…”
“Wait Bri, I need to apologize. I was wrong to get so upset about your birthday. You're right, I was in a bad place then, I can't blame you for not telling me at that point. I also realize how convincing Gwyn obviously is at pretending to be a friend, apparently, I fell for it for 10 years.”
“You don't have to apologize, I understand. I just don't want you to get upset and do things you shouldn't that can hurt you.” I held her hand.
“I'll do better, I promise.” she said with a smile.
“Good, let's finish eating and you can get some sleep.”
“It's only 7:30, I'm not sleepy.”
“Why don't you watch a movie or something?”
“Only if you'll watch with me. I was all alone in this house for nearly three weeks, it's nice to have company.”
At first, it kind of hurt that she called me company. She must've seen it on my face.
“Even though I was so hurt and mad at you, I missed you more than I ever did. I thought we'd never even talk again, now you’re here and I don't feel empty anymore.”
I smiled and squeezed her hand. “I don't feel empty anymore either.”
“Still, one day at a time.”
“I know Penelope, I know.”
“Let's watch a movie.” She said patting the other side of the bed for me to sit down. I got in very carefully, making sure not to move the mattress too much.
While watching the movie we both fell asleep. Luckily, the alarm I had set on my phone didn't wake Penny up. I had a Thanksgiving surprise for her and I had to get it in the oven before she woke up.

Notes