I Only Have Eyes For You

by Treanna

 

Part I

Trixie felt as if she was drowning. Drowning and there was no one to help her. She screamed, but no one seemed to hear. She cried, but no one saw her tears.

But then she heard a voice. A voice so familiar it drew her back. A voice so filled with love for an instant the fears left her.

As she moved towards the voice she felt pain. And then suddenly it hit her. The reason for the pain and whom she had been calling for in her dreams.

"JIM!"

"Hush, Trixie. It will be all right."

Trixie opened her eyes to see her mother looking down at her. Trixie noted that she seemed so tired and her eyes so red and swollen.

"Moms?"

"We are so glad that you are finally awake, honey," her mother sighed.

"I don’t understand. And where is Jim?"

Her mother looked up across the room and Trixie's eyes followed. Brian was standing by the door, but when she turned to him, he walked towards her.

"How are you feeling, Trix?" he asked.

"My head hurts and my arm." She suddenly realised where she was. "I am in hospital. What happened? And where is Jim?"

"Do you remember anything what happened?" Brian asked her.

"Jim and I went out for dinner and he gave me--" She  looked at her hand. "It’s gone!"

"It’s here, Trixie. They took it off while they were examining you." Moms held up the precious ring and Trixie took it  and placed it back on her finger.

"Jim asked me to marry him tonight," she told no one in particular.

Moms smiled. "He came last week and asked your dad for his permission."

"We were on our way home and we were so happy. We were laughingly arguing about what colour to have our bedroom when lights came out of nowhere. I heard Jim call out and then the car swerved and then--" She became silent. "I don’t remember anything else." She took her brother's hand.  "Please tell me where Jim is?"

Brian sat down beside her. "Trix, I--"

She shook her head. "Please don’t tell me he is dead."

Brian shook his head. "He is alive, Trix, but I won’t lie to you. He is pretty bad."

"I want to see him."

"When you are feeling a little better."

She shook her head. "You take me now or I will take myself."

*      *     *

Brian stopped outside the door to Jim's room and knelt down in front of his sister. "There are a lot of machines in there and they look pretty scary. But it's just because we have to keep a real close eye on him to make sure that he is all right."

She nodded mutely.

"Are you sure you are feeling well enough for this?"

Trixie looked at her brother. "If anything were to happen to Jim, I want to be with him. I want him to know that I am there and how much I love him. I want to give him a reason to fight."

Brian gave her a quick hug and then stood up. He opened the door and wheeled her in.

The first thing Trixie saw was the Wheelers standing around Jim's bed. Honey was hugging her mother and Mr. Wheeler was holding Jim's hand and talking quietly to him. Brian wheeled her to the bed and then walked over and hugged his wife.

Matthew Wheeler smiled down at Trixie. "The doctor told us to keep talking to him. That he knows we are here."

Trixie nodded.

Matthew Wheeler moved her to the edge of the bed and she reached up with her good hand and took Jim's hand.

"Hi baby," she told him. "You have to wake up now. We have a wedding to organise."

But he lay so still, his face without expression.

"We are going home to get some rest now," Matthew Wheeler told Trixie. "We will be back in a few hours." He reached down and kissed her gently. "He knows you are here, Trixie. Just keep talking to him."

She again nodded. Honey and Mrs Wheeler gave her a hug.

"He has waited forever to marry you," Honey whispered in her ear. "He is not going to let a simple thing like a car crash change that."

"Thanks, Honey. I needed to hear that."

Honey smiled through her tears as she walked out of the room holding on to her husband.

Trixie was left alone with Jim. She hardly saw the bruises on his face, the broken arm, the broken leg, or the large bandage around his head. All she wanted to see was his beautiful green eyes open and his cheeky grin light up his face. But all there was in the room was the constant beep beep of the machines.

Brian came back timeless moments later with an older man. "Trixie this is Doctor Johnson and he is Jim’s doctor. He will explain about Jim."

The doctor smiled at her. He checked the machines and then sat down beside her. Brian stood beside her.

"I will put it as simply as I can Trixie," Dr. Johnson said.

She nodded.

"Most of the damage you can see. Jim has a broken wrist just like you, and a broken leg and two fractured ribs. He has superficial cuts and bruises over most of his body. All these things will heal in due time."

"But?" Trixie asked.

"From eye witness reports, when the truck careened over to your side of the road, Jim turned the car so he was facing the truck. The impact caused the airbags to expel but Jim's head hit the side window with a huge amount of force. There was some bleeding to his brain that we have fixed, but the full extent of the damage will not be known until he wakes up."

"When will that be?" Trixie whispered, her heart in her mouth.

"I wish I knew." Doctor Johnson sighed. "But the brain is a fickle thing and no two brains are alike. We just have to be patient."

"I can’t leave him." She looked up at Brian.

"I know, sis." Brian put his hand on her shoulder. "We had to pull a number of strings and bend the rules a little, but I got permission to put Jim into a double room and the other bed over there is for you. You need your rest as well and I know that you would not rest away from him."

"Thank you, Brian," she said, tears in her eyes.

Doctor Johnson stood up. "I have to go now, but I will pop in later and check on him."

"Thank you," she told him and he patted her on the shoulder.

"Just keep talking to him, Trixie. Let him know how much you love him. You will bring him around, I am sure."

When he had gone, Brian touched her shoulder again.

"I want to get you into bed, Trix. You need to get your strength back, too."

"I don’t want to leave him even being in the next bed."

"If you don’t rest, your doctor may decide to move you into your own room. You need to rest."

She nodded. "Help me up, Brian."

He helped her to stand and she reached down and kissed Jim on his lips. "I am here, baby, so please wake up. I need you."

Brian helped her into bed and then left them alone. She couldn’t reach him, but she could see him. Her eyes felt like lead weights and she just needed to close her eyes for a moment.

When she woke up, Doctor Johnson was standing beside Jim. He looked up when he saw her move. "Feeling better?"

"Sore," she told him. "But how is Jim?"

"Not a lot of change, I am afraid. We are taking him for another brain scan in a few minutes and that might tell us more."

"Is he going to die?"

"Not if I can help it."

*      *     *

Trixie woke up and sat up gingerly. It was three days later and she was still sore, but she was determined to get up and see Jim. She walked slowly over to him and kissed him good morning. Then she headed for the bathroom. A long shower made her feel much more awake, but she sighed when she remembered that her doctor had told her she was well enough to go home. But how could she leave Jim. What if he woke up and she wasn’t there?

She dried herself and put on a fresh pair of pajamas. She pulled on her robe and went back into the room. She brushed her hair and then turned around. She dropped her brush in shock. Jim’s eyes were open. She pushed her bell and hurried over to him. She took his hand.

"Jim, honey, can you hear me?"

"Trixie?"

"Oh, Jim, I have been so worried. I thought that you would never wake up."

"What day is it?"

"Wednesday."

"We went out on Saturday."

"We had a crash, remember?"

He nodded slightly.

Just then Doctor Johnson hurried in.

"Well, Jim, it is about time you woke up."

"Who?"

"I am Doctor Johnson and I have been looking after you since you were brought in."

"Sore."

"Well, you have a broken arm, a broken leg and cracked ribs. You will be sore for a while."

"My eyes?"

"What about your eyes, Jim?"

"Why are they bandaged?"

"They’re not, Jim."

"Then why can’t I see?"

The doctor moved closer and shone a torch into his eyes.  "What can you see Jim?"

Jim was quiet for a moment.  "Only blackness."

Trixie put her hand to her mouth in shock.

"Trixie?"

"I'm here, baby."

"Trixie, I'm blind."

TBH Main