Chapter 1

Posted on 2009-05-18

Anne walked away from Lois's hospital room, her shift finally over. She put Lois in the hands of Dr. Harvey, still unconscious from her near-drowning in Los Angeles. Her ex-boyfriend, Fred, was in the waiting room, anxious. She had half a mind to tell him she regretted bringing up the idea of breaking up seven years ago. Maybe when she got home, she would call him.

As Anne drove away from the hospital to her father's new apartment in Burbank, she wondered if Fred would answer if she called him. Trying to take her mind off of her anxiety, she turned on the radio and a familiar tune came on the radio.

Suppose I called you up tonight and told you that I loved you
And suppose I said "I wanna come back home".
And suppose I cried and said "I think I finally learned my lesson"
And I'm tired a-spendin' all my time alone."

Anne blushed as she heard Carrie's soprano fill her car. Her lame excuse for considering a breakup was medical school and his was the war in Iraq. Now both of them are on their way to great careers; her getting residency at St. Luke's Hospital and him getting an Honorable Discharge from the Navy, allowing him to retire with a good sum of money, enough for college, a house…Not that she wasn't poor, but she was surprised that she allowed herself to consider breaking up because he could die in the war or because he was in the Navy to pay for college.

If I told you that I realised you're all I ever wanted
And it's killin' me to be so far away.
Would you tell me that you loved me too and would we cry together?
Or would you simply laugh at me and say:

It's too late now, Anne thought. Lois has been infatuated with Fred since his brother became the latest philanthropist to donate to St. Luke's. They've been hanging out together most of the summer. Fred hasn't shown any sign of wanting to get back together. Maybe he's moved on. Maybe he didn't want her anymore. But something in her told her to drive back. Maybe she just needs to talk to him. Even if he already moved on, at least she'll have closure.

"I told you so, oh I told you so
I told you some day you come crawling back and asking me to take you in
I told you so, but you had to go
Now I found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again".

Little did she know that back in the hospital, Fred was hearing the same song through the hospital speakers.

If I got down on my knees and told you I was yours forever
Would you get down on yours too and take my hand?
Would we get that old time feelin', would we laugh and talk for hours
The way we did when our love first began?

Fred fingered the box he kept in his pocket. Ever since he got back from the war, he wanted to get back with Anne and pick up where they left off. If it wasn't for that stupid fight they had, her so-called advisor would never have told Anne to break up with him.

"She told me I needed to focus on my career," Anne said. "that the longest-lasting relationships develop after college, and…you're going in the war anyway. She told me that I'd end up divorcing you anyway because you're gonna be away from me for a long time. I'm sorry, Fred."

He lashed out at her, saying things that he didn't mean. And then, when he came back, recovering from a war injury, he ended up at her hospital. But the bullet in his leg was easy to remove. That surgery intern, Lois Mason, however, wasn't. She got it into her head that since she took the bullet out of his leg, he owed her by being her boyfriend. And he was nice, but didn't have the heart to tell her that he was in love with Anne.

He was amazed that Anne saved her life when she swam too far into the Pacific, but then his friend told him about how Lois told her family that he was going to propose to her. He had to fix this situation and talk to Anne as soon as possible. But there's something he needs to take care of first…

Would you tell me that you'd missed me too and that you'd been so lonely
And you waited for the day that I return.
And we'd live in love forever and that I'm your one and only
Or would you say the tables finally turned?

As he walked to Lois's room, a horrible thought went through Fred's mind as he realized that Anne had seemed to move on since he left. He remembered her sister, Liza, talk about this guy Bill that her dad wanted Anne to meet. Apparently, he was going to be her father's new partner and try to bring the company out of the recession's dangers. And Anne's old advisor actually approves of this guy. Fred shook his head. He never even met the guy, but what if Anne did…

Would you say: "I told you so, oh I told you so
I told you some day you come crawling back and asking me to take you in
I told you so, but you have to go
Now I found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again".

"Now I found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again".

Chapter 2: I Will Be

Posted on 2009-07-08

Fred went inside Lois's room and saw Dr. Harvey holding her hand.

"Harvey. What's going on?"

"She's waking up. I was reading her some poetry, talking to her about how my first wife died. She was listening."

"How do you know?"

"I…I was holding her hand when I talked about Helen. She held back."

"Is she awake?"

As if on cue, Lois stirred awake and opened her eyes. She blushed in embarrassment when she saw Fred standing at the door.

"Lois," Fred said, "I'm sorry for leading you on like this, but I was never interested in being your boyfriend."

Lois gazed, wide-eyed at him. She hung her head down. "I understand."

Fred sighed with relief. "Thanks. See you later!" He walked out of the room only to run into a familiar pair of scrubs.

"Anne!"

There's nothing I could say to you
Nothing I could ever do to make you see
What you mean to me

"Hi, Fred. I was just looking for you."

"I was going to go find you, too."

They walked to a private spot in the waiting room.

"Fred, before I say anything else, I need to ask you something. Are you really interested in Lois?"

"No."

Anne looked up in surprise. "Really?"

"I went to her room to set things straight with her. I realized I was leading her on and she had to know the truth."

"I always did admire your honesty, Fred."

"So what did you want to tell me?"

I know I let you down
But it's not like that now
This time I'll never let you go

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ever thinking about breaking up with you and letting other people's opinions get the better of me."

"But that's who you are, Anne. You look over the details of things and come to a decision. It comes with your job."

"I also have to make decisions on the spot a lot of the time. And to be honest, I still have to work with that. And right now…I want to say that I love you, Fred."

Fred held Anne's hands and tried to look into her eyes. She was staring at her feet, scared of what he would say. "I'm glad you said that, Anne. I love you, too."

Anne finally looked up and smiled. Fred pulled out a small box from his coat pocket and said, "I never got rid of the ring I wanted to give you."
Anne held the box in her hands and opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.

I will be, all that you want
And gather myself together
Cause you keep me from falling apart
All my life, I'll be with you forever
To get you through the day
And make everything OK

"I know it's a little fast, but I don't want to risk you changing your mind again. Will you marry me?"

Anne didn't need to think twice. "Of course, Fred!" She slipped the ring on her finger and hugged Fred. The two of them laughed as they walked out to the elevator. They had a long way to go, but they were happy that they'd take their new road together.