DORIS RETURNS
Chapter thirty two
By doodlegirll
----A/N----
Wow.
We have come such a long way since July when I started this little story! I never expected it to last this long, and I never expected it to turn out like it has! It's really gone great, guys! I've loved every minute of this story, from the beginning to now the end. It's been a thrill ride full of ups and downs, twists and turns of fate, fun, humor, sadness, suspense, romance, and adventure. Of all of these, I think the biggest thing is fun. We've had a lot of fun writing this, and not only that, but we've gained some experience in coauthoring. It's been so much fun!
But, unfortunately, all good things, like this story, must come to an end.
So I propose we hold yet another blog party for this, like the one Cali threw for me when I left for Arkansas, but I say we wait til about November to do it. That'll give us a little time to relax and not have to worry about who has it next and whatnot, and it'll possibly also give Joey some time to brainstorm up the idea for the next one's plot :D
Not only that, but the DVD will be out by then (9 more days, guys! 9! Remember when it was THREE MONTHS?!) and maybe we can get some ideas from there to seep into our minds!
One thing I'm very proud of is the fact that though we took little breaks between chapters and things, this comm never died like so many others do. We've established something that stays alive, and that's something to be proud of in my opinion.
Anyway, so here's chapter 32!
Oh, and if this is a little awkward, keep in mind, I wasn't sure how Marc was going to react to being told he was never going to walk again, so I did the best I could. Sorry if it's iffy, guys!
After a minute, Marc broke the kiss and laid his head back on the pillow. Amy buried her face in his shoulder and burst into tears again.
"I was so afraid I'd lost you." She whispered. Before Marc could open his mouth to say anything, the door opened a crack and Tim poked his head in.
"Amy, Nurse Andrews says --" He never finished his sentence. His eyes widened at the sight of Marc awake and he froze. "Marc..." He whispered. He turned away from the door for a minute to say something to the four other people in the hall and then threw the door open wide and came running into the room, Trina, Cornelius, and Franny close behind while Nurse Andrews ran to find Dr. Atticus. Amy sniffed and looked up, smiling when she saw Marc's brother and the others in the room.
"Marc!" Tim said as he rushed to his little brother's side and wrapped him in a brotherly hug, carefully avoiding the tender place where the gash had been. "You're awake! You had us scared to death!"
Marc weakly hugged his brother back, his arms stiff from not using them in a while. "I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to."
"We know you didn't, Marc." Trina said.
Tim let go of his brother and took a step back, tears of relief rolling down his face. "And all that matters is that you're awake again."
Marc nodded and looked around the room, confusion evident in his brown eyes.
"What happened?" He asked.
"You were hurt stopping Doris from hurting Wilbur." Cornelius said, stepping forward. Marc turned his head to look at him.
"Is he alright?" He asked. Franny smiled and nodded.
"Thanks to you, he is." She said. "Thank you for saving our baby."
Marc smiled. "I did what I knew was right." Fear suddenly flashed in front of his eyes. "What about Doris?" He asked.
"Don't worry about her." Cornelius said. "She was deactivated and taken apart. I saw to it myself that the parts were destroyed."
Marc gave a sigh of relief and nodded. "Good." He said. .
Before anyone could say or do anything else, Nurse Andrews and Dr. Atticus came running into the room.
"Ah, good." She said, smiling. "You are awake." She walked over to him. "Can you tell me how you're feeling?"
Marc nodded. "I guess I'm feeling better, though my chest and right temple are a little sore." He said. He furrowed his eyebrows for a minute, thinking, concentrating. "But…I still don't feel quite right."
"Can you tell me where?" Dr. Atticus said calmly.
"My feet." Marc said. "I can't feel my legs or feet." He said.
Dr. Atticus's eyebrows went up slightly in surprise at how no one had told Marc the news yet. Amy let out a small sob and her grip on his hand tightened. Marc looked from her to Tim, Trina, Cornelius, and Franny. They all had the same, sad expression on their faces. Marc looked back to Dr. Atticus.
"Why can't I…?" He started.
Cornelius took a deep breath. "Marc, when you grabbed Doris from the air when you saved Wilbur, Doris stabbed you in the chest accidentally, cutting a vital artery and your right temple."
Tim nodded and took over from there.
"We got you here as fast as we could, and Dr. Atticus informed Cornelius that the only way to save you was surgery, and to do that, they would have to give you a special vaccine that's new to the medical world to stop the blood from leaving the body temporarily."
Marc nodded, his scared eyes begging for him to continue.
"Anyway, because it was new to the medical world, Dr. Atticus had to have family consent before they could prep you for surgery, and luckily Amy was here while I had to stay behind at the courthouse."
"But what does this have to do with me not being able to feel my legs and feet?" Marc asked. His family and friends all sighed and glanced at each other sadly. Amy gave another small sob and bit her lip. Marc looked at her for a moment, and then looked back at his brother, who took a deep breath before saying:
"You were in surgery for seven hours. I was still on duty at the courthouse, or else I would have been here with you, but Amy, Cornelius, Franny, Wilbur, and Lewis were here. Judge Mardy and I met up after the trail to discuss your sentence, and we decided that you would spend six months under house arrest; three here and three at home. Anyway, we stopped by to tell Cornelius when the hospital called me back."
"And?" Marc asked. Tim closed his eyes.
"Marc, at the end of your surgery, you went into shock, and you lost your reflexes below your waist."
Marc's eyes widened in realization at what his brother had just said. "You don't mean…" He said, looking from Tim to Dr. Atticus to Cornelius and Franny back to Tim. "You don't mean…"
Dr. Atticus nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, Marc, but you're paralyzed." She said.
Marc stared at her in shock for a minute as what she had just said seeped into his brain. He was paralyzed. He would never walk again. He would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, however long that happened to be.
Dr. Atticus went on. "We were hoping the paralysis was only temporary, but your body had a different reaction to the vaccine in its final stages than most patients. I'm sorry. You'll never walk again."
Amy broke out in another fit of sobs and buried her face into the bed. Her naturally curly bronze-blonde hair covered her face and she squeezed Marc's hand hard. Marc looked from her back to Tim, who had a sad, solemn look on his face.
"I'm sorry." Dr. Atticus said again. She turned to Tim. "Would you mind filling out some paperwork for me?"
"Not at all." Tim said, looking at Marc and patting his brother's shoulder.
He said, "I love you, bro."
With that, he and Trina turned and followed Dr. Atticus and Nurse Andrews from the room.
"We'll be back a little later to visit, alright, Marc?" Franny whispered. Marc closed his eyes and nodded.
"Thanks." He whispered.
Cornelius and Franny sighed and turned, walking out of the room, leaving a shocked Marc and a heartbroken Amy behind.
Marc looked at Amy at his side, who continued to sob. Marc couldn't stand to see her cry. He just couldn't. For a moment, he forgot all about his paralysis and turned all of his attention to calming her down, assuring her it would all be alright.
"Amy, please don't cry." He said, squeezing her hand. Amy looked up, a few strands of her hair sticking to her tearstained face. "Ple-please don't cry." He said.
Amy quickly wiped the tears from her face.
"I'm sorry." She said, leaning in to wrap him in her arms once more. "I'm so sorry."
Marc bit his lip, trying not to burst out in tears himself as he hugged her back. Amy could feel him trembling slightly and she hugged him tighter, pulling back when he yelped from the pain from the gash in his chest.
"Oh, Marc, I didn't mean to hurt you!" She said, a new set of tears brimming her eyes.
"I know you didn't." Marc said quickly, seeing the tears form in her eyes. "Amy, it's alright, you didn't mean to. Please don't cry. Please…you're scaring me."
Amy nodded and sniffed, sitting down on the side of his bed and taking his hand in hers again. "I'm sorry if I scared you." She said. "It's just…the thought of you…" She tightly closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't stand the thought of you being hurt."
Marc didn't say anything, just sighed deeply. The two sat in silence for a minute before something Tim had said earlier came back to his memory.
"Amy, what did Tim mean by 'it was a good thing you were here' earlier?" He asked. Amy smiled.
"Dr. Atticus wouldn't give you the vaccine without family consent, and Tim had to be here to sign the paperwork before they would take you in for surgery. I wasn't about to let you die, so I blurted out that I was your fiancée and I signed the paperwork." Amy said. "I had to, Marc. I couldn't let you die. Franny said I could consider it a proposal but…" She laughed a little. "Well, you get it." She bit her lip again and her blue eyes grew misty again. "And then when I heard you were paralyzed…my hopes and dreams were shattered."
The two sat in silence for a minute before finally, Amy brought up the memory she had discussed with Franny earlier that day about when she and Marc were younger. She laughed a little.
"Do you remember when we were about five and six and we decided to run away to Canada to get married?" She asked. Marc smiled – a real smile this time – and nodded.
"How could I forget?" He said. "We decided to change our names to Jack and Sarah, and when we got the train station, my dad caught us and –"
"Towed us back to Mildred." He and Amy finished together. The two smiled at each other and Amy squeezed Marc's hand again.
"I remember you kicked and screamed the whole way. You did not want to go back to Mildred!" Amy said, laughing. Marc laughed, too, and nodded.
"No, I didn't." He agreed. "She wasn't happy with us, either!"
Amy shook her head. "I remember she made us do the dishes with her that night, and I spilled too much of the liquid soap into the water when she left to answer the phone. That was a mess!"
"I remember that, too." Marc said. He paused for a minute, then gave her a quizzical look. "Why do you as if I remembered that?"
"Well…because…" Amy said, suddenly embarrassed. "Why don't we get married for real? We're much older now, old enough to get married without going to Canada to do it."
"Amy, I…" Marc said, turning his face towards the wall. "I…I don't know. It would have to be after…after whatever it is they're planning on doing to me…" Marc's eyes suddenly filled with tears and he tried desperately to blink them away. "It'd be too awkward for you, Amy. You deserve better. You always deserved better."
"What do you mean?" Amy asked, a confused look on her face. "If you mean because you'll be in a wheelchair, I don't care. Nothing could ever make me stop loving you, Marc. We'll find a way to make this work." She said. Marc turned his head to look at her, tears running down his face. "I promise. I'm not leaving you, Marc."
Marc smiled and relaxed against the pillow sleepily. He hadn't realized how tired he actually was until just then, when he was finally able to relax. "Thank you, Amy." He said, then yawned.
"Get some rest." Amy commanded. "You've had a hard, long night."
"Will you be here when I wake up?" Marc asked in a small voice and Amy could see the innocent fear in Marc's brown eyes, as though he was a child afraid of the monsters under his bed.
"I promise." She said, leaning over to kiss his forehead. "I'll be here."
With that, Marc nodded and closed his eyes. He sighed deeply and drifted to sleep within minutes, this time peacefully, with Amy's hand still in his.
----Robinson Mansion----
Meanwhile, Cornelius knocked softly on Wilbur's door and opened it a crack, poking his head in. He could hear a few inaudible mumbles from the upper half of Wilbur's room, and he walked over to the levitation platform and hit the button, causing it to lift him off of the first floor and take him to the upper part where Wilbur's bed was located.
Both his son and past self were fast asleep, Wilbur in his bed and Lewis on the floor in a sleeping bag, and it was Lewis who Cornelius had heard talking when he had first come in. Cornelius shook his head and walked over to Wilbur and Lewis, shaking the two of them awake.
"Lewis, Wilbur, wake up." He said. The two of them groaned and opened their eyes, blinking from the early morning sun that shone into Wilbur's room. Lewis dug under the pillow and pulled out his glasses, slipping them onto his face as he sat up and stretched.
"Wha ih ih, ad?" Wilbur asked as he yawned. "I was sleeping good there!"
"Me, too." Lewis said, rubbing his eyes. Cornelius chuckled.
"I though I might let the two of you know Marc's awake." He said. The two thirteen year olds smiled.
"That's good." His younger self said. "How did he take it?"
"As well as he could have, I suppose." Cornelius said. "He's scared, no doubt, but I'm confident he'll make it through this."
"At least he's not headed to jail..." Wilbur said.
Cornelius nodded. "But it's still not going to be easy for him. He's under house arrest for six months. He'll spend three at the hospital in therapy and then three at home. It's going to be hard, no less, especially since he's going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life."
The two boys just nodded, unsure of what to say.
"You two can go back to sleep if you want to, but I'm headed to bed. We told Marc we'd come by later." Cornelius said. He looked at Wilbur. "He asked if you were alright and so did a couple of the nurses there, and I think Dr. Baker is wanting a check up."
Wilbur groaned and lay back on his bed and covered his head with his pillow. "A check up?! What am I, a lab rat? My memory's back; I'm fine! And I think that means my blood work is fine, too!"
"Dr. Baker I'm sure is just wanting to make sure everything's alright." Cornelius said, knowing very well that Wilbur hated hospitals for one reason and one reason alone: needles. "I highly doubt needles will be involved."
Wilbur just gave a small grunt and mumbled, "I still don't think I need a check up."
Lewis rolled his eyes. "Whatever they do to you, they do it to make sure you're fine so you don't have to come back for a while." He said.
"Right." Cornelius agreed. He looked at Lewis. "And you should be getting back to 2007 before too much longer." He pointed out.
Lewis nodded and sighed. He had to admit that he had had a lot of fun on his mishap, even if most of it had been quite serious at times. "Yeah, I know."
"Aw, come on, does he have to go now?" Wilbur asked, sitting up. "Can't he stay for another week or something? At least until I can beat him at Chargeball!"
Cornelius cocked an eyebrow. "He beat you at Chargeball?"
"Beat him five times out of six." Lewis said. "And he's still not over it."
Cornelius chuckled. "I'm sure a couple more days couldn't hurt." He said, remembering quite well how much fun he and Wilbur had had when they were kids. "A week tops, no more. We need to get you back there and the Time Pause 3000 back here."
"Sweet!" Wilbur said. "Thanks, Dad!"
Cornelius chuckled again. "Good night, you two."
"Night." The boys chorused together. Cornelius turned and walked over to the levitation pad and hit the button. He heard Wilbur and Lewis follow close behind as he left his son's room, closing the door behind him.
"Okay, Lewis, best four outta five…"
----Later that day, Marc's hospital room----
Marc squeezing her hand tightly in his sleep awakened Amy. She had fallen asleep at his bedside making sure he slept well, and she looked up to find him troubled once again in his sleep. He was trembling terribly in his bed and his face was twisted with a mixture of pain and fear.
"No!" He suddenly screamed and tried to sit up, but Amy caught him before he could.
"Marc, Marc, wake up! Wake up!" She said, shaking his shoulders gently.
Marc's eyes flew open and he breathed in heavily for a minute, staring at the ceiling. He looked next to him at Amy and his face flooded with relief.
"Amy." He said, close to tears. Amy nodded and shushed him as she stroked his sweaty forehead.
"Sh…it's alright. It was just a dream." She soothed and Marc's trembling hand squeezed hers again. "It was just a dream."
"It seemed so real, though." Marc said. "You and I were there, and so was Tim and the Robinsons. And Doris." Amy stiffened at the mention of the horrible bowler hat. "Doris was there, too. She…she was trying to make me…hurt you…and there was nothing I could do to stop her!"
Amy quickly stopped him from going on. "It's alright, Marc, it was just a dream. It wasn't real, and you don't ever have to worry about that hat ever again. Cornelius destroyed her, remember?"
Marc nodded. "It was just so real." He whispered.
"Do you want me to call the doctor and see if they can give you something to help you sleep?" Amy asked. Marc thought about it for a minute and nodded. Amy reached above his bed and pressed the nurse button. After about a minute, Nurse Andrews appeared.
"What can I do for ya'll?" She asked.
"Can you get something to help Marc sleep better?" Amy asked.
Nurse Andrews smiled. "I'll get him some Benedryl." She said. "Anything else?"
"Some water, for me, please." Amy said. Nurse Andrews nodded and turned on her heel and walked from the room. She came back a moment later with a small white pill and two glasses of water. She handed one of the glasses to Amy and the other and the pill to Marc.
"That should help you sleep a little better, Mr. O'Brady." She said. "And it'll help with any pain you might have, too."
"Thanks." Marc said as he drowned down the pill and handed the cup back to the nurse. Nurse Andrews took the glass and turned to leave again.
"If ya'll need anything else, just give me a buzz!" She said.
"Thanks." Marc and Amy said together. After she had gone, Marc looked back at Amy.
"You look tired." He said. Amy sighed and nodded.
"I am." She admitted. "But you need me and I'm not leaving you."
Marc smiled and relaxed again. "I love you, Amy."
"I love you, too, Marc. I love you, too."
----Robinson Mansion----
"Aw, c'mon, just one more game!" Wilbur pestered Lewis after what seemed like the ten thousandth defeat that day. "This'll be the last one! I can beat you this time!"
Lewis rolled his eyes. "That's what you said five games ago and you still lost!" He said.
"That's not the point." Wilbur said. "C'mon, please?" He grinned.
"No." Lewis said. Wilbur's face fell.
"Why not?" He said.
"Wilbur, I've told you, I'm about to pull my hair out I'm so sick of Chargeball." Lewis said. "Not to mention we need to see if Cornelius and Franny are up."
Wilbur rolled his eyes. "Fine." He said. He followed Lewis from his room into the hallway, and then proceeded to follow him towards the front lobby. Sure enough, Franny and Cornelius stood by the front door, talking to the rest of the Robinsons.
"And to think, vwe vwere set on sending him to jail about a vweek ago!" Aunt Billie said.
"People change, Billie." Uncle Joe said.
Cornelius nodded. "Joe's right. Marc told me when I tried to use the Blink at court that he had thought about killing Wilbur a lot when he first kidnapped him, and he said he had realized he didn't have it in him to harm anyone, especially not someone who had never done anything to him. Personally, I don't think Marc was ever a bad person."
Franny smiled. "He was just being controlled my feelings he didn't understand at the time."
Cornelius put his arm around her shoulder and smiled. "But now he has Amy, and I'm sure he understands now."
Franny smiled back. "You're right." She said. Her gaze then fell on Wilbur and Lewis on the other side of the room and she nodded.
"Oh good, you're here." She said. "We're about to head up to the hospital. Are you ready?"
The two boys nodded and followed Cornelius and Franny outside to the hovercar. They climbed in the back and buckled up as Cornelius started the engine and lifted off, flying towards the direction of the hospital. Cornelius glanced over his shoulder at Wilbur.
"Dr. Baker called, and he says that since you're coming to the hospital that we might as well get you checked up."
Wilbur groaned. "Did he say anything about needles?"
Cornelius nodded. "Sorry to tell you, but he's going to have to give you about three shots and take two blood samples."
"But that's five needles!" Wilbur said, his eyes growing wide. "No way am I going in that hospital! Stop the car; I'm getting out!"
Cornelius laughed. "I'm kidding, Wilbur." He said. "Dr. Baker said he just wants to make sure you're back to your old self."
"And not only that," Lewis said. "But we're about fifty or so feet in the air, and if you got out, you'd have to make another trip to the hospital anyway!"
Wilbur smirked. "Yeah, you're probably right."
"Probably?" Lewis teased.
"Okay, okay, you're a hundred percent right." Wilbur said. "There, I said it."
Franny chuckled. "Alright, you two. Dr. Baker told us we could visit with Marc and Amy for a little while before you have to head down to your appointment, so you don't have to go right away."
Wilbur let out a small 'phew' and Lewis laughed. He wondered vaguely why Wilbur hated needles…
By that time, the four were at the hospital parking lot, and Cornelius parked the hovercar near the front. He opened the hatch and they climbed out. They walked into the hospital and quickly found the elevators that would take them up to Marc's room. Franny hit the button, and the doors closed. After about a minute or two, they reopened, revealing an open, sunny sitting area. They turned to their right and walked down the whitewashed hallway until they came to a closed door, room 254. Knocking softly, Franny opened the door and poked her head in.
Amy looked up from the side of the bed sleepily and blinked a couple times. It took her a second to realize who it was at the door, and she smiled. "Hi, Franny."
Franny smiled back. "How's he doing?" She asked as she opened the door wide and walked in, Cornelius, Lewis, and Wilbur close behind.
Amy sighed. "Well, about an hour or so ago he woke me up having a nightmare. He said Doris was trying to make him hurt me, and I asked the doctor to give him something to help him sleep and he seems to be doing well." She said.
Cornelius nodded and looked at Marc. "That's good." He said. "We thought we might stop by to see how he's doing."
Amy smiled. "Thank you." She said. She looked back at Franny. "I told him what you said about me signing the vaccine papers being some kind of proposal." She said.
"What did he say?" Franny asked.
"He's worried that it will be too awkward for me." Amy said. "He's worried that him being in a wheelchair and me not will make things seem a little odd."
"Then why don't you both be in wheelchairs?" Wilbur asked. "That way, Marc doesn't have to feel so weird and people won't look at you strange! OW!" He grabbed his head at the last comment when Franny slapped him upside it.
"Wilbur! Don't be so inconsiderate! Marc's going to and has gone through enough as it is!" She scolded.
"No, no, Franny, that's a good idea." Amy said, thinking it over. "If I were to be in a wheelchair during the wedding, maybe he wouldn't feel so awkward!"
Cornelius nodded. "It just might work."
"It will work." Amy said confidentially. "I know it will." She smiled. "Thanks, Wilbur."
"Just doing my job." Wilbur said. Lewis rolled his eyes and Amy laughed.
"You look tired, Amy." Franny said, noting the tired look in Amy's eyes. Amy nodded.
"I am." She said. "But what I really need is a change of clothes and a cup of coffee."
"Do you want one of use to drive you to your house so you can get a change of clothes?" Cornelius offered. "And we could stop by on the way back at the courthouse for your hovercar."
Amy nodded gratefully. "That would be great, thank you." She said.
"No problem." Franny said. She looked at her husband. "I'll go. You and the boys stay here with Marc."
Cornelius nodded and kissed her forehead. "Alright." He said.
With that, Franny and Amy turned and walked from the room and into the hall as Cornelius, Lewis, and Wilbur seated themselves in the corner.
----About an hour later----
"Amy?" Marc asked as he stirred slightly in the bed, waking up from his short sleep. He opened his eyes and blinked sleepily.
"She's not here right now, Marc." Cornelius said, getting up from his seat in the corner. "She went with Franny to pick up her car at the courthouse and to get her a change of clothes."
Marc turned his head in Cornelius's direction. "Cornelius? What are you doing here?"
"Franny, Lewis, Wilbur and I came by to see how you were doing." Cornelius said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lewis and Wilbur get up out of their seats and walk over to where he stood at the mention of their names.
Marc smiled. "Thanks." He said.
"So how are you doing?" Cornelius asked. Marc sighed.
"Alright, I guess." He said. "A little tired and scared, but other than that, I'm fine."
"That's good, and perfectly normal." Cornelius said. "It's not going to be easy, but I'm sure you'll be fine."
"I hope you're right, Cornelius." Marc said, fear flickering in his eyes. "I hope you're right."
"Hey, Dad's hardly ever wrong, unless he's going against something my mom said, in which case he's always wrong." Wilbur said, speaking up. Marc gave him sort of a funny look and Cornelius laughed.
"He's right. Franny's always right."
Marc smiled and nodded. He looked at Wilbur.
"Hi, Wilbur." He said.
Wilbur grinned sheepishly and gave a small wave. "Heh, hey, Marc." He said. "Uh…how are you doing?"
"Aside the face that I'm a little tired, I guess I'm alright." Marc said.
Wilbur nodded and chewed his lip slightly. "Uh…good." He said. "Uh…I just wanted to say thanks. You know…for saving my life."
Marc looked a little surprised by Wilbur's thank you, but after a minute, he nodded.
"You're welcome, Wilbur." He said. "And I'm sorry for what I did to you…kidnapping you, I mean."
Wilbur shrugged. "That? It was mostly Doris's fault. I forgive you."
"Thanks, Wilbur." Marc smiled.
Just then, the door opened and in walked Franny and Amy. Amy looked like she felt much better, and she had changed her clothes. Her hair was a little damp, and so it was everyone's guess that she had grabbed a shower, too. She smiled when she saw Marc was awake and appeared to be doing alright.
"Hi." She said. She took her place beside Marc in the chair and took his hand.
"Hey." Marc said, smiling. "You look like you feel better."
"I do. It's amazing what a hot shower and a cup of coffee will do for you!" Amy said. "What about you?"
"I'm fine." Marc said. "I slept a lot better than I did before."
Amy nodded. "Good." She said and smiled.
"You're doing really well having only been out of surgery for a few hours, Marc." Franny said, walking over to stand beside Cornelius.
Marc shrugged. "I guess so." He said.
"You've done very well." Cornelius said, nodding. "I have no doubt that you'll do just fine in rehab in the three months to come."
Marc swallowed and nodded. "What…exactly is the next three months looking like?" He asked.
"They're going to get you in a wheelchair, for one thing." Lewis said, finally saying something.
"And they'll want to teach you how to live with it, too." Franny added.
"What happens after I'm out of the hospital?" Marc asked.
"You'll be under another three months house arrest. Tim, Trina, and I were talking about it earlier and Tim's going to try and get them to take you to live the three months with him and Trina so you won't be alone." Cornelius said. "After that, you're a free man."
Marc took a deep breath and nodded, wincing slightly from a small jab of pain in his chest. Amy saw him flinch and she squeezed his hand.
"They'll want to make sure your chest is alright, too.' She said. "The last thing we need is it getting infected."
Marc swallowed hard at the thought. Amy was right. And that was the last thing he wanted, too.
"Oh, and I forgot to tell you!" Amy said, smiling and glancing at the Robinsons. "I – "
Before Amy could even finish what she was going to say, the door to the room opened and a very excited-looking Tim and Trina walked in.
"We did it!" Tim exclaimed. "We were able to talk Judge Mardy into letting Marc stay with us while he's in recovery!"
"That's great!" Franny said.
Tim nodded and grinned at his brother. "Now you don't have to worry about the last three months of your sentencing."
Marc smiled back. "Thanks, Tim."
"You're welcome, Marc." Trina said, smiling and nodding.
Marc looked back at Amy. "What were you going to tell me?"
"Oh! I was going to tell you I think I have an idea about getting married."
"What?" Marc asked.
"Well, what if I was in a wheelchair along with you?" Amy asked. "That way, it would be less awkward for…us both."
Marc thought about it for a minute. It would be a creative way to do things, and Amy was right again – it would make things seem less awkward.
"That's a good idea." Marc said. He smiled. "I like it."
"So does that mean you'll do it?" Amy asked hopefully.
"Yes, it does." Marc answered. Amy suddenly threw her arms around him and hugged him close, making sure to avoid the gash. Marc gently hugged her back.
"Thank you." Amy whispered. "I love you, Marc."
"I love you, too." Marc said. They pulled apart and Amy kissed his forehead.
"Where did you get the idea of you being in a wheelchair?" Marc couldn't help but ask. Amy nodded to the Robinsons.
"Actually," She said. "It was Wilbur's idea."
Marc looked surprised for a minute as he turned his head to look at said teenager, who shrugged.
"It sounded like a good idea to me." Wilbur said.
"It was." Marc agreed. "Thanks, Wilbur."
"I'm so happy for the two of you!" Franny said, coming forward to hug Amy while Tim patted Marc's shoulder. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks." Amy said, hugging Franny back.
"I remember our wedding." Trina said, looking at Tim. "You showed up in your pajamas!"
Tim turned bright red and laughed nervously. Marc laughed.
"I remember that! I had to drive to your house and get your tux!"
Everyone in the room laughed together for a minute.
"Our wedding wasn't quite that hecktic, but I do seem to remember a little food fight incident." Franny said.
Cornelius laughed and put his arm over her shoulders. "You know it was funny when I hit you in the face with a pie!" He said.
"And you know it was funny when you spilled the chocolate ice cream all over your suit, too!" Franny said. "Besides, the look on your face was priceless!"
Cornelius smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You're right, as always." He said.
"Uh oh." Wilbur said, grabbing Lewis's arm and dragging him towards the door. "I sense a PDA fest coming on!"
"Wilbur, it's not that bad, you know. Someday you'll be doing the same thing!" Lewis protested, but went along with Wilbur anyway.
"True, but also not the point!" Wilbur said. "The point is, we need to get out of here before everyone else starts – "
Wilbur groaned and stopped short when he realized he was too late, and everyone in the room – Tim and Trina, Cornelius and Franny, and Marc and Amy – were already laughing and purposely trying to freak Wilbur out.
"Oh come on!" Wilbur said. "Triple PDA fest?! That's just not fair!"
----End of "Doris Returns"----
We'd also like to thank all the people who reviewed, and we hope you enjoyed DORIS RETURNS. Thanks, ya'll!
-Robin, Stacy, and Cali