He swept me off my feet and kept me off-balance, but he never let me fall. Except to fall in love, that is. That I did all on my own and I fell hard. So to have him lie to me...

Although it does occur to me that I never followed up on the annulment. I never once asked him about it after we left Vegas. I may not be a lawyer, but even I know something like that would require at least a signature, maybe even a court date. Did I really think it would all go away with one conversation?

And the truth is, I didn't want it to go away at all. The reason I got flustered every time the wedding was brought up was because I assumed Drax didn't want to be married to me, not the other way around.

As it turns out, he wanted it all along, so much so that he wouldn't even file the paperwork until he was certain there was no hope. There's something touching and romantic about that, yet he still deceived me. I can't let that slide.

I'm pondering the best way to tell Drax what I've decided, and not really paying attention to my surroundings, when I step out onto the street to cut across to Ghirardelli Square where I plan to treat myself to a sea salt caramel sundae. Visions of gooey caramel sparkling with chunks of sea salt are blasted out of my head by a blurry, chirring blob of pink.

The next thing I know, I'm lying on the pavement, my head starting to throb with a dull growl that I sense will become a full-blown scream very shortly. Other parts of my body join voices with my head, but I'm too dazed to pinpoint which ones.

Another voice screams in unison with my body, but this one's louder, and outside of me. Then a raging red face hovers above mine, screaming something my brain has trouble processing. Spittle flies everywhere as she fumes, but I barely notice. It's all I can do to concentrate enough to figure out who this mad woman is.

It's Barbie!

I try to reach out to her, push her away, but my arm won't budge. I can't even turn my head to look at it. All I can do is lie here and stare into Barbie's lunatic eyes. Finally her words start to make sense...sort of.

"...mine, I tell you! You're fucking crazy if you think he loves you, bitch! I don't care what he said in Vegas, he loves me! Stay away from him or next time I'll kill you!"

"I tink she waking up."

The voice is familiar, comforting. I know I love this person long before I recognize who it is. More voices chime in.

"Lauren? You awake, honeybear?"

"Come on, darlin', flash those beautiful brown eyes at me, 'kay?"

"Lo, you better wake up now. My chilled cucumber soup isn't gonna last much longer with this crowd."

All people I love, I know that much. But where am I and why are they all telling me to wake up? As much as my body is telling me to go back to sleep, I don't want to disappoint them.

Bright light burns my retinas for a second as my eyes adjust. Smiling faces are looming over me, and the smell of disinfectant permeates the air so much that the light scent coming from the bouquet next to me barely touches it. Ah, I'm in the hospital.

"What...happened?" I groan, trying to sit up. Pain scorches through my leg, setting off the pounding in my head.

"Easy now," Drax says, concern etched into his face. "You don't remember the, um, accident?"

"Accident?"

Dad leans in. "You were down by Ghirardelli when you were hit by a car. Ring any bells?"

"Um..." Something is trying to pierce the fog in my head, but I can't quite make it out.

"Maybe this will jog your memory." Pepper shoves them both back and puts her face in mine. "He's mine, bitch! I'm a crazy freak who's stalking your man so I think I'm going to hit you with my puke-pink Bug! Boogaboogaboogaboo!"

Leave it to Pepper to make me laugh, but damn! It hurts!

"I remember now. What the hell? She ran me over?"

"Witnesses say it was a glancing blow, thank God," Drax says, smoothing curls off my brow. He looks so worried that my heart would break for him if I wasn't in so much pain. "But she definitely hit you on purpose. A couple of German tourists tackled her before she could do more damage. She's in jail, and it doesn't look like she's getting out anytime soon."

"Did you ever find out what she did to you while you were roofied?"

"Not exactly, but the cops searched her place and found a bunch of photos. I was passed out in all of them but she wasn't. I haven't seen 'em and, frankly, I don't want to."

"Honeybear, don't worry about all that now," Dad says, giving Drax a dark look. "You should focus on getting better, okay?"

He's clutching Papi's hand for dear life. More worry that I wish I could take away.  I blink away the tears of shame I feel coming on.

"Dad, I'm so sorry for yelling at you. You and Papi were right. I was a jerk. I love you both so much."

I can't remember the last time I saw Dad cry, but they're both weeping openly as they lean down for a very gentle hug. When they pull back, I notice someone else in the corner, keeping her distance.

"You don't have to hide, Grace." I wave her over. "Thanks for coming."

Her fingers are cool as she tentatively slips them into my hand. The childish part of me must still be asleep because I know it would demand that I yank my hand away. I'm sure it won't be gone forever, but for now I take comfort in my mother's touch and give her a squeeze.

"Lo, what were you doing down in tourist central, anyway?" Pepper asks as she pulls a carton of soup from a paper bag. My stomach breaks the tension in the room by rumbling loudly.

Even though Pepper asked the question, I turn my gaze to Drax. It's time to tell him. "I was caught up in what I decided."

He tips his head in a 'go ahead, I can take it' nod.

"Drax, I can't stay in a marriage that's based on dishonesty. Not only was I completely obliterated when we went to that chapel, but you broke your promise to take care of it. I hope you understand."

His lips are a thin, hard line, but he nods again. "Yeah, I get it."

"We need a fresh start," I continue, trying not to smile. "That's why I think we should get married again, this time in front of all our friends and family. And preferably with me sober this time."

Drax grins and whoops loudly, gathering me into his arms, heedless of the tubes and wires connected to my arms. "Ouch!"

We're all laughing when Dad interrupts. "Wait. What? When did you get married? Why wasn't I informed?!"

"Shh, mi cielo," Papi soothes, pulling him away to give us space and dabbing at his eyes with a tissue.

The door to my room swooshes open and a tired-looking doctor hurries in and scans my chart.

"Miss Raines?"

"Mrs. Maxwell," Drax interrupts. The doctor blinks in irritation. He doesn't have time for nonsense.

"You should all leave the room."

Irrational panic stabs at my gut at the thought of being alone right now. "No! They can stay. Please."

He shrugs and presses on, clearly in a hurry. "You suffered some minor lacerations and a mild concussion when you fell. The worst of your injuries, as I'm sure you've noticed, is a broken tibia." He nods at the cast that I had not actually had time to notice. "You'll want to take it easy for a few days for the concussion, but you should make a full recovery. Of course, you'll want to follow up with your OBGYN as soon as possible, but it appears the baby is just fine."

Silence falls across the room. He must sense that we're all gaping at him because he looks up.