Taylor's eyes opened slowly and painfully. There was a blurry image of a person on the chair next to his bed. He couldn't quite make out who it was, but he could smell Carter's Eternity perfume. In a few minutes, his vision improved slightly and he could see that Carter was sleeping. She was covered with a hospital sheet and she had something in her lap. A box, with a ribbon.
Carter sensed that somebody was watching her, she always knew it in her sleep. She almost forgot where she was and expected to see Melissa hovering over her, waiting for breakfast or coffee. But she turned to her left and saw Taylor, laying in the hospital bed, his eyes darker than yesterday. "Hi you." She smiled and sat up a little straighter. She pushed her messed hair out of her face and looked down at the box on her lap.
"What's that?"
"Oh. Your birthday present. They weren't sure if you'd be awake today, but I wanted to stay just in case."
"Where is everybody else?" He asked as Carter handed him the box.
"Your dad took Isaac and Zac home to sleep. Your mom went to the cafeteria for some coffee."
Taylor looked around him and saw balloons and flowers, but he couldn't make out what they said. "What's all this?"
"We thought we'd celebrate your birthday when you get home, but Mel and I brought some stuff just to make it a little more special."
Taylor smiled. "That was really nice. Should I open this now?" He tugged on the ribbon a little.
"Yeah. I was going to give you a card too, but the doctor said you can't see very well."
Taylor frowned a little and pulled the paper off of the box. When he opened it, he saw something unexpected, something he didn't quite understand. He looked up at Carter, confused.
"I bought three way moniters. I gave Zac one, and this one's yours. I figured you could join in on our nightly conversations." Carter shook her head. "I know it's not much, and it's probably pretty cheesy, but I didn't know what else to get you."
Taylor held on to the black moniter like it was a lump of gold. "Thank you...." He wasn't sure what else to say. The present meant so much to him, more than any other present he'd received in a long time. "How long have you beed here?"
Before Carter could respond, the doctor came in with Taylor's mom and a chart that looked like an eye chart. "Here you go, Taylor. We're going to test your vision today. But first, how are you feeling? Any more pain?"
"Just a little. Everything is a little blurry though."
"I know." The doctor nodded. She had red hair, twisted into a knot at the nape of her neck, and she wore thick, stylish, black glasses.
She held the chart a few feet from Taylor's face and had him read it off. He couldn't read any of it, and the letters he could read, were still wrong. He shook his head and sighed. "So what does all that mean?"
"It's not big deal really. You've had a little head trauma and you're having some trouble with focus. I noticed it when I checked your eyes earlier, but this just proves it."
"So..." Taylor paused and held the chart in his hands.
"So you'll just have to wear glasses whenever you need them. Besides that, you should have a full recovery."
"Does that mean I can go home?"
She shook her head. "Not yet. We'll keep you hear a couple of days until you're stronger." She laughed when his expression fell. "Hey, don't worry about it. You've got a lot of people to keep you company. You have your family, your girlfriend, and that cute blonde girl."
Taylor looked over at Carter and blushed. "She's not..."
The doctor blushed and took the chart from him. "Ah. Sorry. She's just spent so much time here with you, I figured..."
Carter smiled. "That's ok. We're just really good friends." She looked down at Taylor. "I've known him my whole life."
The doctor smiled. "Well, I'm just glad you have a lot of support. I'll let you get some rest. Happy Birthday, Taylor."
"Thanks."
Diana rubbed her eyes and sat down on another chair that was on the other side of Taylor. "Mom, have you gone home to sleep yet?"
"No, Honey, I let your dad go home though with your brothers."
"You can go home for a while mom, I'll be ok here."
"Mrs. Hanson, I'll stay with him. I don't really have anywhere else to be."
Diana smiled at Carter. She'd never called her Mrs. Hanson before. It was always "Zac's mom" or "Yo teacher". She stood up and kissed Carter on the top of her head. "You're such a great friend to my boys. I don't know if I've ever thanked you for that." Diana ran her hand over Taylor's eyes and smiled. "Don't worry, if all that came out of this accident are glasses, you're very lucky."
"Yeah, Tay will look hot with some little wire frames." Carter laughed.
Diana left the hospital shortly after and Carter stayed with him the rest of the night. Taylor fell asleep a few times, but mostly they just stayed up and talked, against the doctor's orders. Carter enjoyed the time she spent with him, hospital or not. She just wondered what would happen when he was back home and everything was back to normal. Or couldn't it ever be normal again?