Love is the Best Medicine

Chapter 10

Don didn't know how long he had been asleep, but he was guessing he fell asleep not long after he ate some of the dinner Meryl had brought him. He didn't eat half of it, but Meryl was just happy he ate. He remembered his eyes closing voluntarily and his wife running her fingers through his hair as the food and pain medications took affect and he fell asleep. Meryl. Don smiled as he looked down at his side and she was curled up next to him. She must have fallen asleep reading while holding his hand, as she was still holding his hand, the book she was reading was on her chest, her glasses were still on, and she was still wearing jeans and a sweater; she still had her boots on. She hadn't changed into the pajamas the girls had brought her; Don just shook his head at his wife, in worry. Don couldn't imagine what she had gone through these past few days. It had become more apparent that day as she had broken down many times, he now knew how close she had come to losing him and how terrified she was of that. His beautiful and amazing wife. He would die if he lost her, and knew she felt the same. He remembered how he felt after she was shot by Kevin Mann, how he begged her to wake up, how he felt when she almost died both times. He knew that is exactly what she was feeling now. They were each others worlds. While they were separated alot due to the kids and their careers, it never weakened their marriage, if anything it brought them closer together. While they didn't necessarily depend on the other for their own happiness, being together added to their happiness. They were one. They were a unit. They were a team. He remembered how she once said in an interview that he was related, he was home; well, that was exactly how he felt about her. They were each others everything; the perfect match. Don began to remember a time in which his fear matched hers in the past few days.

***

The screeching of the alarm clock woke Don from a sound sleep while spooning behind his wife. He reached over and smacked the alarm quiet. He looked around and remembered where they were, they were in their bedroom at their rental house in Montana where Meryl was filming the movie The River Wild. When Meryl first agreed to do the movie she hated the thought of being separated from her family for so long especially from Louisa who was only 2 years old. Don said she wouldn't be since it was the summer they would all go with her. He could have supplies shipped and work from there while Louisa was napping, the kids were playing and on her days off. He didn't want to be separated from her for that long, and he sure as hell didn't want their children to be separated for that long. They found a beautiful, large, cabin on the river that was completely furnished to rent for the summer, and so far everything worked out great except for the amount of energy it took out of her. Don was brought out of his musings when he noticed she hadn't even stirred which was a testament to how tired she was from the physical exertion of shooting the movie. Don placed soft kisses on her neck and smiled as she moaned, he deduced that she was enjoying the kisses just as much as he was. "Baby, wake up."

"Uh uh." She moaned making Don laugh.

Don turned her on her back and brushed her hair out of her face as he placed kiss after kiss on her neck, on her cheek, on her lips. "Come on, beautiful, you need to get to the set. After tonight you have three days off."

"In a row?" She asked cracking her eye open.

Don laughed as he gave her a sweet peck and brushed her hair out of her beautiful face. "Yeah, baby, in a row. I've never seen you so tired from making a movie.  You fall asleep with the kids every night, that's unlike you."

"I'm sorry, I know it's been a while since we've..."

Don shook his head. "That's not what I mean. Yeah, of course I miss you like hell, but I'm really worried about you. I don't know if I've ever seen you so exhausted, even with the babies when you were nursing."