Never Ending Love

Prolog

May 1999

Tom Dalton stood there motionless, staring through the window at the sleeping beauty as he listened the to Nero surgeon once ask about taking her off life support. He only listened with half an ear, as he looked at her, lost in the turmoil of his own thoughts.

How could he take her off the machines that were keeping her there with him? How could he give her up? He couldn’t they tried too many times before. Sixteen years of fighting and giving up, his hang ups, her hang ups, one rough patch they were throwing in the towel. It wasn’t easy fighting everybody but he wasn’t going to let her go. He was going to fight for them. Well this time he wasn’t walking away and he wasn’t going to budge.

He had a lot of time over the last five months of fighting for them. Yet here was the cocky Nero surgeon asking for him to give up and toss in the towel. Why couldn’t he have fought this hard while she was still conscious for them? He wasn’t loosing her if he had to loose everything else but the most important people in his life.

“She’s still the same then,” Tom said looking over at the young doctor that was supposed to be best in his field at Mercy Hospital. To him though he was just young and arrogant and cocky, a Mr. Know it all.

“She’s in a coma and there’s no way to know when she’ll wake up,” Dr. Drake said in a whisper.

“Nobody could ever push her into doing something she didn’t want,” Tom mused before walking in the room. He pulled the chair over close to the edge of the bed and held her hand tightly in both of his. “You just take your time honey, I’ll wait. I’m not going anywhere this time,” he said knowing they had to pick the side of that line once and for all.

***

2000

"What the hell do you mean she doesn't remember," Tom grounded out looking at the Doctor with murder in his eyes.

"I can't explain it to you all I know is that Vanessa thinks it 1988. Now it could be that something traumatic happened to her back then that she blocked out completely and now she want's like a do over," Doctor Drake said. "Selective amnesia,"

"So you're telling me my wife doesn't remember anything past 1988, when she was fifteen years old."

"That's what I'm telling you," Doctor Drake said.

"How will we know, how much she remembers," Lilia Cartwright asked looking at the Doctor.

"There's no way of telling, she could just be blocking out the wreck, or the last eleven years," Doctor Drake said.

"How do we jog her memory back to the present," Tom asked crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at the doctor.

"Well, we can't," Doctor Drake said with a half smile of remorse on his face. "She might not remember today and something will trigger it and she could have it back in a snap." he said snapping his fingers to emphasize his point.

"So what you're saying is we take her home and throw her back into her life that she had today and hope she remembers the past eleven years," Tom said looking heatedly.

"Well you could start by telling her things, and take things nice and slow." Doctor Drake said.

"That's easier said than done considering she thinks she's fifteen year old," James McPherson burst out.

"First we got to find out how much she does remember fifteen was an important year.” Tom said.

"How are we going to do that?"

"You said we could go in there one at a time," Tom said.

"Yeah,"

"Well I'm going to be the first one in that door,"

"She might not remember who you are," Doctor Drake said watching Tom smirk a smile.

"She might not remember we're married or have kids together but she'll remember me," Tom said walking into towards the door that led to Vanessa's room.

***

"Hey Smokey," Tom said.

"Oh Good it's you," Vanessa purred out smiling up at him. "Maybe you can tell me what's going, on," Vanessa said shifting on the bed.

"What ya mean," Tom asked cautiously.

"Well the Doctor came in here he asked me to tell him the date, when I did he got this funny look in his eyes, before he left to call Daddy I guess,"

"Yeah he's out in the hall talking to your mom and Dad now," Tom said pulling up a chair. "So how do you feel?"

"Awful," Vanessa choked out. "Tom what happened, I don't remember,"

"How much do you remember," Tom said.

"I remembered we were fighting because you’re being stubborn about hearing Kate's side of things,"

"All right let me ask you this, who is Lilia Cartwright,"

"My aunt,"

"And Lydia is..." he questioned softly

"My mother," Vanessa said. "What are you getting at by asking silly questions?"

"Vanessa, how old are you,”

"I'm fifteen, did I fall off of Cheyenne during that event in Houston," Vanessa said watching Tom's eyes carefully.

"Yeah, Smokey, you fell off your horse, and you were pretty out of it for a while," Tom said. "Now a couple more silly questions," he said softly. "Mandy Cartwright is...." Tom asked.

"Miss Socialite of the year, Jace's hot new love interest, my nemesis, and my cousin," Vanessa rattled off.

"I am,"

"My best friend, Johnathan Thomas,"

"And Jenny is who,"

"I don't know who,"

Tom chuckled even though his heart was breaking. "First name I could think of to throw you off," he chuckled.

"Oh you, what's taking Daddy so long?"

"I don't know you want me to go see," he asked.

"Please cowboy," Vess said giving him a full wattage smile.

***

Tom walked back to where Lilia and James were still questioning the doctor. "But how will we know how much she remembers," Lilia demanded.

"You ask her some random questions," Tom said joining the conversation. "She thinks she fell off Cheyenne in Houston,"

"The one where she broke her arm," James said looking at him, watching him shake his head. "She doesn’t even remember Jenny, Lilia being her mom, or Mandy being her twin sister." Tom groaned rubbing a hand over his mouth before he pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. "And to top it all my wife is still in love with my brother," Tom grunted out.

"What do you want to do," James asked.

"I don't know, yet," he sighed wearily as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I got to go home and pick Shasta up from Mom's just for right now play along with her," Tom said wearily.

"Tom, I'll go get Shasta from Kate's, you go home and get some sleep," Lilia said looking at her son in law.

"No, I'm all right," Tom said, walking towards the door.

***

Later that night Tom sat in the stiff back chair drinking his mountain dew as he tried to think about what do, about the sleeping angel in front of him. The past year had been a pure torturous hell for him, seeing her laying there lifeless, and unable to do anything about it. He could take her home and wait and see, maybe the kids would help her remember. But that was part of the problem, he didn't want her remembering those last few hours, he wanted to take them all back. But how? The only thing he could think of was possibly relive the last eleven years hoping that Vanessa would gain her memory back. It would be possible living in the small ranching community of Red Rock, Texas. Half the community was family and they would help, but could he do that to the kids. Could he do it again he wondered, as he moved over towards the bed and stretched out beside his wife.