A Lonely Heart's Wish

Xander pushes the wheelchair into her room, grinning from ear to ear. “Your chariot awaits, My Lady!”

She points a finger at him, growling. “You have been around Owen far too long. When are you gonna realize I am not a lady!?!” She slides her feet off the bed, slowly standing. “Do I really have to sit in that thing? I’m sure I can walk if you give me a few moments to get the room to stop moving.”

“Sorry! No can do!” He helps her sit down in the wheel chair, careful to keep it under her swaying body. “Mom said it’s this way or you stay here. Besides, at least now you can boss everybody around and no one can say anything about it.”

She sighs and points towards the door. “Onward, Noble Steed!”

She looks for Owen as they leave the hospital but he’s nowhere to be found, not even driving the car as per his usual. She frowns, knowing he’s still feeling guilty over the whole thing. She lets Xander’s incessant chatter wash over her, closing her eyes so the view doesn’t disorient her. Fox watches her through the rear view mirror, worried over her quietness that is so out of character for Eve. When they arrive back at the castle, Fox leads them to a small room a few doors down from Owen’s.

She opens the door, letting Xander wheel Eve inside. “I know it’s not as big as Owen’s but I figured anything too big would be hard for you to navigate for the next few days on your own.”

Eve looks around the room, noticing the large plush bed in one corner and cozy loveseat in another. “It’ll do. What about Samuel?”

Fox smiles. “That beast has been roaming this whole castle causing chaos everywhere he goes and Owen loves it.”

She chuckles, slowly rising from the wheelchair to investigate the room. She walks over to the bed, hands smoothing the top blanket. She frowns when she feels the cord attached to it. “A heated blanket?”

“Owen put that there.” Fox shrugs. “Said something about keeping you warm at night.”

“Oh.” Suddenly all the pent up emotions come crashing down on her and the tears start to fall.

Xander’s eyes widen and he quickly exits the room, closing the door silently. Fox helps Eve to sit on the bed, gently stroking her hair. “Oh, Honey! Talk to me!”

All the emotions and events come pouring out of Eve, telling Fox everything that had happened while she was away. It wasn’t til she touched that blanket that she realized how close she felt to Owen because of the events in Texas. She knows that with that simple gesture, Owen had closed off a part of him to her she never realized she needed before. When Fox finally leaves the room, Eve is so exhausted she falls into a deep healing sleep.