The Wrong Side

"I don't understand."

"Baby, you said you needed me to see what I might be missing before you could believe that I wanted to be with you. So that's what I did. I wanted to be able to honestly tell you that I had gone out with some guys at Stanford and that I still wanted only to be with you. That's still how I feel. I love you, Henry. More than you can possibly know."

"Did they...? I mean, did you let them...?"

She smiled. "No way, baby. This body still belongs only to you. They never got anything more than a quick goodnight kiss. You got more on our first date than they ever did." She took his hand and leaned in close to his face. "Do you love me Henry?"

"Yes baby, I love you very much."

"Do you believe me now, that the only one I want is you? Or do we have to keep being apart and going through this nonsense."

"No baby, I believe you. Please don't ever leave me again."

"I won't. I'm going to make you all better and then we'll figure it out from there."

Kelly did her best to give Henry a gentle hug without hurting him.

"So what happened to me anyway? I was working out at that farm and the next thing I know I woke up here."

"You've got burns down the left side of your body. They said you got electrocuted."

Henry got agitated. "That's not possible. I tested everything. It was all dead. I had it locked out. Something's wrong."

"Calm down, baby. I only know what they told me. We'll find out more later. Please try to relax."

"Okay, okay. Say, how'd you get in here anyway? Isn't it family only?

Kelly held up her finger. "You and I got married rather suddenly when we found out you were hurt."

"Where'd you get the ring?"

"It's moms. We needed to convince them so I could get in to see you."

"So you used your mother's wedding ring to trick the hospital so you could get in? I'm gonna make a bad girl out of you yet."

They both laughed at that.

Kelly got a little somber. "Baby, how come you didn't tell me your dad died?"

"I didn't think we would be together anymore. I didn't want...I don't know. I guess I figured you weren't part of my life anymore."

"I would still have been your friend, and could have been there to support you. What happened?"

"He wouldn't do anything but sit there. Eventually he got some blood clots and threw one. It went into his brain and he stroked out. I found him one day when I came home for lunch."

"Thank God Abby didn't find him. And she said your mom is in a hospital somewhere?"

"Yeah. Even with all the years of abuse and stuff, dad was some kind of emotional steadying force for her. Once he was gone she would just cry and scream until she got exhausted and fell asleep. Then she'd wake up and it would start over. We had no choice. They keep her pretty sedated most of the time now. It's likely permanent. We visited a couple times but she doesn't even know we're there and it's hard on Abby so we stopped."

"So it's just the two of you now. That's quite a change from when I left. I wish you had told me so I could have been here for you, but I understand. But I want to know everything from now on."

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Epilogue

It's been 12 years since that meeting of destiny on the streets of Oaktown. Kelly ended up following Katie into medical school, and they're getting ready to open Krisner Pediatrics. They both have excellent reputations in the community and already have a number of families ready to make them the primaries for their kids. Katie did finally marry Robert, the guy she was dating at Stanford.

Abby did get to attend Hampton Academy, but it was not on scholarship. Mr. and Mrs. Krisner asked if they could pay her way, and Kelly's mom led the charge to ensure she was admitted. After all, they argued, she was family, or was going to be, anyway. She ended up being the valedictorian at a school that is top-rated. She took that and ran with it all the way to Harvard and Harvard Law School. Mr. Krisner had a job for her in his firm as soon as she graduated. She's working her butt off but is highly regarded and is making more money than Henry ever did. She recently started getting pretty serious about her boyfriend, a doctor named William. They're talking marriage and family. Henry knew that everything he had sacrificed for her was worth it.

It turns out the farm Henry was working on had an improper power hook up to an emergency generator. It was on a separate circuit and hidden panel from the rest of the building. Somehow the power arced to the lines he was working on. As it turns out the jump probably reduced the voltage just enough to keep it from killing him, which was pretty lucky. He got a huge settlement from their insurance company. He actually could have paid for Abby's tuition at Hampton but it meant so much to Randall and Julie. He was as surprised as anyone, and he seems to have relaxed his objections to having people pay for him.

Kelly and Henry are still together and madly in love. They were married right after she got her undergraduate degree. Kelly is currently carrying baby number 3. Alexis is 8, a product of their honeymoon (and yes, she was a virgin on their wedding night, but it wasn't easy), and Olivia is 4. Kelly's hoping for a boy this time and Henry hopes she gets it. He tells her over and over how much he loves her and wants her to be nothing but happy.

Henry's mom died about 2 years after dad did. There was nothing obviously medically wrong with her. After his father died she just slowly deteriorated. For all he did to her she seemed to have loved him unconditionally. The human heart is beyond understanding.

Henry eventually took over Art's Garage. As a family, they've spent the last few years trying to revitalize the area. A number of businesses have opened up and they've obtained several neighborhood revitalization grants. Crime is way down and the shop is actually doing great. There's even some new home construction going on. Bones and the guys like him have moved on to other areas. They haven't been seen in years.

And cell phone service coverage is perfect.

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fin