Chapter 5
After Carolyn was chased out, to allow Max to have his meds and get some rest, she left the hospital feeling lighter and happier than before. And all who looked at her, saw a twinkle in her eyes. Even her goons were trying to hide their smiles, as they approved this new Carolyn.
Immediately after getting into the car, she got on the phone with her personal assistant, and tasked her to do several important things. She then tried calling her father directly, only to be told by his PA that he was in a meeting and she could call back at 2pm.
After hanging up, they arrived back at the hotel where she exited the car with her army of guards, quickly ushering her through the hotel to her room.
Entering, Carolyn decided she needed a quick shower to wash off the hospital smell. Only ended up in a long relaxing shower, where she felt all the stresses from her past washing away. There, she prayed and thanked the Lord, for all the years of praying have now been answered. She cried with relief and drew on the Lord's blessings and allowed the Holy Spirit to wash over, coating her in a new protection, filling her so that it overflows. When Carolyn exited the shower, she knew she was renewed, reborn. She felt she was. And she felt she was now ready for the path the Lord had blessed her with.
After dressing in jeans and t-shirt, and having to forego drying her hair, she simply tied it up in a pony tail and headed towards the kitchenette of the suite, where she discovered Selene, her personal assistant, was sitting at the counter, typing away on her tablet while talking on the phone with her handsfree kit in her ear.
Selene silently quickly acknowledged Carolyn, by bowing her head and continued. Carolyn smiled and proceeded to start the coffee machine, knowing full well that Selene would have one with her.
Snooping in the fridge, she found a meal had been made and left wrapped in cling wrap, ready for her to simply pop in the microwave and warm up to eat. God bless Selene. She always knew what Carolyn needed, when, where and how.
Sitting at the other end of the counter, she dug into the warmed meal, enjoying it when Selene finally hung up on the call, removed the ear speaker and sighed.
"Your Highness. To find out someone's contact details in this country is absolutely terrible when you don't have access to the country's facilities, or with your status, is useless. But I have managed to get hold of his mother and arranged for you to meet with her. Regrettably, it will have to be here in the suite as the paparazzi are still camping outside. Mr Max's mother is frail, and we would have to discreetly arrange for transport, which I have managed to arrange through Raul. He will hire a middle-class car and fetch her, then bring her here per your request. I have also spoken to the consul, both here and in Denmark, and they have started with the visa needed for Mr Max and his daughter to come with you back to Denmark. But we need to get their identification papers as soon as possible. Your father's PA has informed me the jet will be sent back and ready to take you all to Denmark on Friday. I have also spoken with Dr Gerber and might I add with great difficulty, manage to find that, unless Mr Max is not in need of any further urgent operation or has any setbacks, he is allowing him to fly with you. But has to be in a lying down position to keep all weight of the hip and spine. Plus will need a nurse, preferably a doctor, on the plane for the journey to monitor him. I will try to arrange that we have a doctor and nurse from Denmark, sent with the plane. Max can use the bed in the rear of the plane."
Selene said all this, speaking nonstop, while ticking off various notes on the pad next to her tablet.
"Oh and we still need to sort out his rental, family, etc. But I don't see any hold backs that we need to be aware of."
She pauses and looks up at Carolyn. "Ma'am. Is Mr Max aware of this? He is aware you are arranging to take him and his daughter to Denmark" she questions, worriedly.
Carolyn smiled while chewing her food, and taking her time. She knew this was causing great stress on Selene as she was an impatient person. After swallowing and getting up to pour the coffee, she handed one to Selene and smiled brightly.
"Yes," she answered.
But Selene was not convinced and glared at her charge. "Ma'am, please tell me he knows. And that he has agreed to all this," she pleaded, panicking.
Carolyn smiled and said: "Selene, calm down. We had talked about it and yes, he agreed to come. Just - not the date on which we are departing."
She swiftly darts into the lounge with her coffee and flumps down on the extremely comfy couch.
Oh, she must get one of these, she made a metal note.
Selene quickly follows with panic on her face. "Your Highness, how can we arrange all this without his final approval!"
"Simply, we prearrange it all. Then when I go see him later, I will duly inform him that we will all be leaving on Friday, and Dr Gerber approves this too. Easy. Now please could I be alone for a bit, and let me know soon as his mother has arrived. I need to call my parents and the Queen."
Selene relents and leaves the room.
Relaxing and sipping her delicious coffee, better than that ghastly hospital version. Carolyn, for a bit, was guilty. She was enjoying this delicious coffee and meal, while Max had ghastly food and drink in the hospital. And the hospital was a private, non-government hospital. Shockingly, she realizes just how spoiled she was, as everything was made available for her, and was to the highest quality, and always just the way she liked it. She also realised she needed to start being more grateful for what she has, and try to see if she could help the people who were financially struggling or poor to have access to better options. But that was something she would deal with when she was back home. Time has come for her to call her parents, something she normally dreaded, but surprisingly was not so much now.
After a bit of a delay, she was finally transferred to where her parents were waiting for her call and put on loudspeaker for them both to hear her.
"Hello Father, mother. Thank you for taking my call," she said in Danish.
"Why so formal? What did you do now?" asked her father, only to hear in the background him grunt after what seemed like a smacking sound, which Carolyn smiled as she assumed her mother was smacking him.
"Darling, are you ok?" asked her mother. "We are very worried about you and wish you were back here to us. Clem has being asking us daily when you will be back. How is that man? What's his name?"
"Max," Carolyn inserted.
"Yes Mac, how is he?" asked her mother.
"Mother, it is Max. Not Mac. And he is on the mend, healing and finally properly awake. The doctor said his pelvis is mending, the lower lumbar vertebrae is currently fused and his L4 will need to be re-evaluated in a few weeks' time to see if he needs further treatment or replacement. But for now he has some feeling, more tingling numb feeling. They suspect this is due to the inflammation and compression around the area. He is going to be bed bound for at least 3-5 weeks before they are happy for him to start moving around. So, it will be a long healing process for him."
"Oh, my child. We pray daily that the Lord is working with the medical teams to heal him. And you too," her mother whimpers.
"Carolyn, my dear. You know I love you. And you know time is limited upon us, so I have to ask, when are you coming back? And what are your plans for the forthcoming decision? I don't want to be the one to have to force this upon you, but we have to know what you are thinking. What you are planning, my child" pleads her father to her.
"Father, mother, right now I cannot for certain say 100%, but I believe I have found my soulmate. I believe God has sent him to me and therefore I am asking for your support in this. As time is short, I fear scaring him off."
"Is it this Max?" asks her mother.
"Yes mom, it is him. When I am with him, it is like nothing else matters. No title, nothing. Just him and me. I never felt like this with anyone in my whole life. It is like we are magnetically drawn together. While he was unconscious or when he died for a bit on the beach, I felt a part of me died. I cannot explain it!"
"Hush my dear. I know exactly what you are saying. And yes you are in love. You have found the one God had planned for you. I am so happy. Only the fear of time is against us. We cannot stall the coronation and parliament will force your father's hand to implement the law as soon as possible," her mother interjected.
"Actually, they are already making noises," said her father.
"No, sure not now! I still have two months!" exclaimed Carolyn, so loud, that Selene burst into the room and saw she was on a call and chose to stay as discreet companionship and support.
With Carolyn nodding to Selene, Carolyn put the phone on loudspeaker while continuing.
"Mom, Dad. You are on loudspeaker with Selene now here with me, listening. Please hear what I am about to say. Wait. Is Clem there? Can she please join in on the conversation? This is very important and will affect her too if matters force my hand."
"Carolyn…." Her father was interrupted by her mother.
"One minute. Stewart, please ask Clementine to come at once. It is very urgent, thank you."
Carolyn breathed for a bit as her father spoke to his personal assistant. She breathed to calm herself down.
"Clem will be here shortly," said her father. "And we can all talk this out. While I don't see the need for Selene to be part of this, I know she is your support there in South Africa, trusted friend and companion. So, I will allow her to be part of this discussion as she will be to assist you and manage all the things for you."
Sound of a door opening and closing.
"Clem dear, please come sit. Your sister is on the phone and wishes you to be part of a serious discussion regarding her future and possibly yours too."
"Carol! Are you ok? When are you coming back? I miss you so much!" rattled off Clem like a speed train.
"Clem! Clemie! Stop….. Slow down. I miss you too. But right now, I need you to listen. We will chat later, I promise. Mom, Dad, as I have mentioned, I have found my soulmate," and Clem squealed, resulting in her parents hushing her.
Carolyn smiled and continued. "And I aim to marry him, with or without yours' or parliament's permission."
"But…" her parents tried to interject.
"No. Please let me talk first. Please allow me to finish without interrupting. I love you all. I really do. But I have found God more now than ever before. The last 7 days, while waiting for Max to wake up, I spent hours and hours praying and pleading to the Lord for guidance on my life. And on yours and Denmark too. And pleaded that Max would wake up and heal. After days of praying and with Selene phoning daily to check on Max, and with me sending Philip there too daily, he finally woke up. And it felt like a part of me woke up too. Something I have never felt before and just knew I had to go see him."
Carolyn wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve and continued. "But, I was turned away. I was told to come back the next day, as he was now sleeping from the drugs they gave him for the pain and his headaches. The next day, when I walked into that room… I can't properly describe it. But it was like I found my other half, like a strong magnet was drawing me to him. He was crying silently when I arrived and I just instantly knew I had to go and pray with him, pray for him. When my hand touched his uninjured hand, it was electrifying. But I could not let go, it was impossible, especially when I looked into his eyes. Dad, mom, he is the one. And I am going to do my utmost best to ensure he will be my husband. If Denmark does not agree to this, then I will abdicate and I hope that Clem will find her soulmate within the 9 years before her 25th birthday. I will not give him up. I.. "
"NO!" shouted all three from the other side of the world over the phone.
"No, you will NOT abdicate," her father angrily stated. "You will not do anything rash. I will stand by you in this my child. You have my word."
"I agree with your father Carolyn. We will make a plan. We will discuss this with your grandmother and do our utmost best to not have this forced upon you."
"Thank God," whispers Clementine quietly.
"Carolyn, tell me your plans. So I can start coordinating with my staff and team here too," asked her father.
"Dad, as you know. You are sending the jet back to me for a planned departure next Friday. But this is subject to the clearance from Dr Gerber for Max. Selene is arranging for necessary medical staff for the trip, which was one of Dr Gerber conditions. I am aiming to go to the hospital later this afternoon and start winning Max over with the plan of flying back to Denmark with me. Not only for us to get to know each other more and hopefully sooner than later, an engagement will be announced before your coronation. And hopefully with this, parliament will back off. Max is aware of my situation and his words were, I quote 'one step at a time'. I believe he too feels the same as me. He did say he didn't care about my title, while he was in shock that a Princess was visiting him."
Smirking, she closed her eyes and said. "I am going to quote what he said to me. 'If it is God's will, then I will gratefully accept this blessing of you being given to me. Of us getting to know each other. I will not push you away. While I am in shock, I am greedy to say I don't want YOU to leave. I want YOU. Not the Princess, but YOU. My Golden Hair Angel. So please know I am not wanting you for your money, title or fame. Let's take it one day at a time'."
She paused, smiling as she recalled this.
"Now, honestly that was the most romantic thing any person has said to me. He didn't even want me to send Phillip to the hospital café to buy him some food after we discovered his food was foul. And I couldn't find his wallet in the cabinet next to the bed. Me, I have money, and he refused to accept any! All the other guys wouldn't have blinked. They would have expected me to pay as I have more than them. Anyways, I am running off the subject. My plan is to get him to join me on Friday, with his daughter, whom I am hoping to meet later today as his, Max's, mother is coming over shortly, so I can try to entice her assistance in arranging all this."
"Daughter?" asked her parents in alarm.
"Yes, he is a widower of 6 months. He has a 6-year-old daughter with autism. And I heard some wonderful things about her. But I need to see if it can work. I will not split them up."
"Go slow, my child" advised her mother. "If needed, you may have to stay a little bit longer there. If needed, stay but go slower in this relationship. Talk to him first. Don't override or force the matter onto him. Let him have some control, especially regarding his daughter."
"I agree. Delay coming aback till the week after. From what I can see, from Stewart now, you will need a visa each. And special passport access into Denmark, as we assume they don't have passports. While I can arrange this through your Grandmother as Queen. I agree with your mother that you need to slow down and discuss all this with him. If you rush him, you will force him away from you."
Carolyn sighs heavily, "Ok, so what must I do… please tell me."
"Talk to his mother when she comes. Maybe leave your title out for the time being and get to know her. Discuss your feelings for him and how you believe it is God's will. Get her on your side. Then go to the hospital and discuss this with him. He needs to decide where his heart is and what he wants. Obviously, you need to also meet his daughter at some stage and get her to like you too. But this will be tough, especially with her disability. As he said, take one step at a time," said her mother.
"I suggest you try to ask him to grant you, or us, permission to communicate with De Gerber on his medical matters. We can incorporate a specialist here in Denmark to be involved too. Especially as he needs further treatment and might need further surgeries too. It would also help us and you, in knowing everything." Her father pointed out.
"You would need a nanny to assist you with his daughter. Especially on the plane as I am sure you will be overwhelmed by having to manage him and her together," spoke her mother. "We can send someone who has experience with autism with the crew."
"I am coming too. I will fly down. I can help look after her. Please let me mom. I want to help," pleads Clem.
"Ok child. But you will still have a nanny with you as backup. Carolyn, are you okay with this?"
"Mother, Clem is more than welcome. And yes, I agree we will need help in all these areas. All these suggestions and ideas are perfect. I think we need to hash this all out more before deciding. But Clem is a yes. Listen, sorry. Selene is signalling that someone is here. I think it is Max's mother who has arrived, so I have to go. I will call you later. I love you all."
"We love you too. Be safe. And God be with you" her mother replied.
"Bye Sis!" followed Clem, with their father too, and the call disconnected.
"Your Highness, Mrs Peters has arrived. She is coming up the elevator now. Do you wish to freshen up?"
"Do I look ugly, puffy?" asked Carolyn.
"Umm, no ma'am. But I wouldn't go out in public like that," replied Selene with a small smile.
"Selene, please. While Mrs Peters is here, no mention of my title. No 'Your Highness', 'ma'am', nothing. Ok. You can say Miss and introduce me to her as Miss Carolyn Sonderburg."
"Yes Miss" her grin grows bigger into a smirk. She nods slips out of the lounge, to the front entryway of the suite.
Carolyn quickly checks her face on her mobile's reflection and sees she looks like all the other average everyday working-class people. She was trying to calm her nerves at this pending meeting. Saying a quick prayer for strength and support, she breathed just as there was a knock on the lounge door.
"Come in", replied Carolyn, standing up.
Selene proceeds into the lounge with an elderly, but elegant in a unique way, lady in a wheelchair, which she duly introduces: "Mrs Peters, this is Miss Carolyn Sonderburg. Miss Carolyn, this is Mr Max Peter's mother, Mrs Joyce Peters."
Carolyn, after a split second of shock, moves forward and approaches Mrs Peters. And she greets.
"Mrs Peters, it is an honour to meet you. Please come and join me for a cup of coffee or would you prefer tea?"
Raul was assisting by wheeling Mrs Peters, when the old lady replied.
"Your Royal Highness," and she bowed her head, formally. "It is I, who has the honour of meeting you. And yes, tea would be divine thank you."
Both Selene and Carolyn faces registers their shock that she realised who Carolyn was. This caused Mrs Peters to start laughing. "Your Royal Highness. I am a true royal watcher and knew that you and your sister were the ones my son tried to protect. But no, I have not breathed a word to anyone about this."
"Okay. Now that that is out of the way, and you shocked me more than I would have expected. Please call me Carolyn. It is so nice to really talk to you."
"As to I, my dear. I heard from the staff at the hospital that you are a frequent person there. One staff member joked they were planning on barring you from the place for harassment," Mrs Peters giggles for a bit.
"But I am thankful for you covering the medical expenses. I know, in a government hospital, he would never have gotten the care he is getting now. Look at me, I have been waiting now for 3 years for a dual knee replacement and probably will never get it. I trust you and your sister are okay."
"Yes, we are doing better. Clementine is currently in Denmark and is hopefully flying back next week when my father sends the jet back to fetch me."
"Oh, okay. Well I hope you then have a safe trip back. But then, why am I here?" she asked.
"Mrs Peters, I wish to speak to you on a few things."
Mrs Peters face starts showing a small smile building.
Carloyn decides to bear it all. "I am in love with your son, Mrs Peters. I wish to marry him. But I know this is very short notice. But God sent him to me, and I believe it so strongly."
Mrs Peters' smile grows bigger and bigger slowly.
"So, I need your help. Max is aware of my feelings and he stated he felt the same. The thing is what I am going to tell you must remain with us for the time being. Okay?" Carolyn looks at her.
"You have my word."
"Ok, in two months my father will become king. As per our law, the Crown Prince or Princess, who is not married by the age of 25, will be forced into an arranged marriage by the reigning monarchy. I am 29 and have been searching for years for my soulmate, till now. So, as I have to go back to Denmark soon, I want Max to come too. With his daughter as well. Now I want you to come too," she declared, suddenly adding without even having thought about this.
"But we need your help, to get his and his daughters identification documents, so we can process a special passport and visa for them. And we will need yours too. I am going to be discussing this part of the plan with him later today. But he already said yes he wants to be with me. Just time is against me. My father has granted me an extension till Monday week after, but I will have to return then as parliament will start causing problems for us."
"Wow, my dear. You royals do have a tough life, not at all what is portrayed in the media. I will help, but only if my son grants permission. But I don't want to live there. To visit, maybe, but not stay there. I would be like a sore thumb around you all. Have you met Ashley yet?"
"No, I haven't. Selene spent hours trying to get the contact numbers of you and Max's mother-in-law to arrange a meeting. But she only just managed to get yours through the hospital clerk."
"Well I can help you in that area, let me get my phone," and she proceeded in giving Selene the numbers and addresses of Max's mother-in-law Lauren Williams, where Ashley was staying, as they stayed together in the house Max was renting.
"I would suggest you get Max to give you permission first to contact them, to meet Ashley because of her autism, she is different from others. While she is a bright and loving child, she cannot talk, but can hear and uses sign language to communicate, which I can only manage at the very basics. She is a very quiet shy girl and with her mother's death, it set her back dramatically with nightmares. Almost nightly for a few months. She is only now coming out of her shell. But she is not aware that Max was in an accident. Lauren told me she believes he is away on a trip. I pretended to be him, and sent her simply text messages, which she believed was from him. Has Max gotten his phone back?"
"The last I heard this morning, the Sister was charging it and would bring it to him later. When I left, he was given his meds for pain and it tends to make him sleep for a bit."
"If I may ask, Your Highness, what did the Doctor say about Max. I am listed as an emergency contact, but the doctor was not very forthcoming on the phone to me."
"Mrs Peters, please, call me Carolyn, except in public, of course. What I know is Max sustained three gunshot wounds, one in the right lower portion of the kidney which they removed that damage section. One bullet fractured his pelvis and they had to use screws and plates to put it back together. The third shattered his L4 vertebra and they removed what fragments they could find, fused that section of spine with an internal brace. They say his spinal cord is okay, but Max is not feeling much down there. Just tingling and numbness. The doctor suspects it is due to the trauma, the inflammation, swelling and compression of the area. Right now, he is stable, and while being given morphine when needed for serious pain, he is getting stronger by the moment."
With tears running down her eyes: "Oh my poor child. I wish I was able to drive there to see him. But with these old knees, I am unable to go anywhere. Thank you. Thank you for looking after him. And before you say anything, I don't blame you or what happened. The Police told me everything."
Carolyn's eyes misted with tears too. "Ma'am, you have no idea the heartache I have endured, blaming myself for this, for having that foolhead bodyguard on my team. For leaving the event just to have some alone time with my sister and an ice-cream away everyone. Your forgiveness is more than I can accept, but I am grateful too."
"My child, think for a bit. If you didn't venture out for that alone time, onto the beach, you would never have met Max. It was God's will for this to happen. Harsh and painful it was, but it is all part of his plan for all of us. Now as my mother would say, buck up and let's move onward. Could I ask for a favour from you please?"
"Name it and it will be done. Anything," declared Carolyn with Selene standing behind Mrs Peters, eyes widening in shock and fear by Carolyn's promise.
"Could you take me to see my son, please"
"Yes! Oh yes, with absolute pleasure. Selene, when are the next visiting hours?"
"Ma'am, from 3pm till 4pm."
"And the time is now - 2h50pm. So we had better hurry then. Selene, can you call Raul to assist Mrs Peters down to the car. Have him take her to the hospital. And ensure he remains with Mrs Peters, to assist. I need to go change and will see you at the hospital shortly, Mrs Peters. I must leave separately, or the vultures will be onto you if they see you leave with me. And I am sure you don't want that, nor want them to find out about Ashely. Selene, we will need to have someone guarding Max's premises, especially his daughter in case they do find out."
"Ma'am, we would have to contact Mrs Williams, and alert her of this, or she will fear someone is stalking the place."
"Might I make a suggestion," asked Mrs Peters. "Max has Atlas Security as his premises security, and is friends with Jonty. Why not contact them, and get a special arrangement to have them have a vehicle camp outside, or near the property for the time being. That would not raise any suspicion from anyone," Mrs Peters suggested.
"Wait. That was who I spoke to on the phone when Max told me to tell the guy on the phone who I was and where we were that night! Selene, can you make this happen? If needed, get his number and I will call him when I am with Max to motivate this."
"Yes ma'am"
"Great. Mrs Peters, Raul is going to escort you to the hospital. I will see you there shortly."
"Thank you."
And Mrs Peters left with Raul wheeling her out of the suite.
"Selene, give me 15 minutes to change and have a car ready at the back please. This time, you are coming too."
Carolyn sped out of the lounge to her bedroom. She heard a "Yes ma'am" as she closed the bedroom door.
Carolyn walked into the room of Max's hospital room, almost thirty minutes later, hearing him talking: "Hey Poppet. I miss you so much. I hope you have been good with granny. I can't wait to see you soon."
She realised he was having a video call with his daughter, and Mrs Peters was trying to hold the phone for him. Max saw Carolyn enter and waved her over to him.
She approached cautiously to his left side, which was covered with a sheet to hide the fixator.
"Ash, poppet. I want you to meet someone, this is Carolyn. She is a very special friend that God sent to us. Can you say 'hi' to Carolyn?"
Mrs Peters angled the phone to include her in the camera.
"Hello Ashley," greets Carolyn, only to see this sweet little blonde light brown hair girl stare at her for a second then duck into her gran's shoulder, with whom she was sitting on her lap.
"Come on Ashley. Say 'hi' to Carolyn," encourage Mrs Williams.
"Please Poppet" begged Max
Slowly Ashley peaked back at the phone and signed a small sign, 'hi', but didn't duck back, only continued to peak at the phone.
"There we go, good girl, Ashley," praised Max with a smile and he winked at Carolyn.
Ashley suddenly started signing again. It looked like three or four signs, but Carolyn had no idea what that meant.
"When am I coming home?" said Max, and Carolyn interpreted as he translated what Ashley asked.
"Poppet. I was in a small accident. That is why I am in the hospital. But I will be home very, very soon. I am sorry I was not able to contact you earlier. But my phone was not working. But soon, I will be back home, I promise."
Ashley started to cry silently, signing away yet again.
"Ash, I know. But I promised you I would not leave you. Yes, I didn't contact you for days. But that was my phone's fault," he lied.
"Now I am able to talk to you again. And very soon I will see you in person. We will be able to hug and hug. I love you baby girl, but you need to be strong for Daddy. You need to help granny too and look after her. Okay?"
Ashley signed two signs which looked like an O and K.
"Ash, I need to go now. I will call you later and tell you a bedtime story, ok. Would you like that?" And Ashley nodded, smiling the most beautiful smile you could ever imagine.
"I will call you later. I love you."
And she signed something back, then the call was dropped.
"Sorry to interrupt your call Max," said Carolyn.
"Never. You are now part of my life. And from what I heard from my mother, you too are planning something big without my input. Hhmm. Something I need to know?" he eye-balled Carolyn, then couldn't hold it in and started laughing.
"You! You want to give me a heart attack! Seriously!" scolds Carolyn then smirks.
"No, just wanted to see your response." He smiled with his eyes twinkling away. "Can I have a kiss?"
"A smack, more like it. Remember, I am on the sore side of your body. Where do you want it? Arm or hip?" and Carolyn slowly advances threatening towards him, while his mother is grinning away at this banter.
"No, please. Have mercy, and kiss this poor soul stuck on the bed with a tube stuck up his, well let's stay it is bloody uncomfortable and a bit sore."
This caused Carolyn. She moved closer to him and bent, pressing her hand to her chest as she shyly gave Max a quick on the lips. And as this was her first kiss with him, she chose to steal another one, which lasted a little longer.
When they separate, their eyes staring at each other, communicating their feelings of that kiss, more in a fraction of a moment than what could have been said aloud.
But then suddenly Max started groaning in pain, and his right hand flew downwards to cover this lower area. "Damnit! This bloody tube, oh crap that hurts, Urg….!"
Mrs Peters lets out a massive laugh, nearly doubling over while Carolyn backs away in absolute shock and fear.
"Wa.. what happened.. Max! Are you okay? What did I do? Do you need the Sister? Max! Please speak to me!"
Mrs Peters was laughing away with tears coming out of her eyes. Max was mixed with glaring angrily at his mother or groaning in pain, which seemed to now intensify.
Carolyn ran out the room and shouted for help. Luckily the friendly sister was on duty and was heading their way when she saw Carolyn in a panic state. The sister sped up and entered the room. After quickly assessing the situation, she turned around and exited the room, shaking her head and guided Carolyn out with her.
"Miss. You know that Max has a urine tube as he is unable to go to the toilet, right?" she asked.
"Yes" answers Carolyn with a minor stutter.
"And you know what happens when a man gets excited?" the sister continues, eyes even wags at Carolyn.
"He smiles and gets happy"
"No. I mean," the sister sighs and whispers. "His penis. What happens when a man gets excited?"
Carolyn blushes, doesn't answer.
"It grows or rather swells in size. And with the tube in place, this makes it very uncomfortable for a man. It hurts him and if not stopped and controlled quickly, it can damage him internally, causing bleeding and/or tearing of the bladder or urine track."
Carolyn turned so red it was incredible to almost match her to the red roses in the vase on the nurse's counter.
"My dear, I know who you are, and I promise you, you are safe with me and us here. We've all known you arrived and signed a bunch of paperwork. But besides that, I can see you had a very sheltered life. So, while I am on duty and Max is here in the hospital, you must come to me for any questions. Especially his in care as he will need it after he leaves. There will be things you will need to assist him with and I am sure you will have a nurse on hand to assist. I want you to be able to help him, care for him because he needs you. You were what gave him the will to live, and fully wake up. You were the reason his healing faster than we had expected. He is already rejecting the recommended pain medicine dosages, and is trying to work parts of this body already against advice. His will is stronger now than before you walked into his roof. I see it now. God's hand was in this and I am glad you are here. So, try to hold off on exciting him for the time being. We don't want to damage him down there."
Sister smiled and encouraged Carolyn to go back into the room.
"Oh dear, I see you had a lecture by the queen bee," Max jokes with a grin. Mrs Peters was trying to restrain her laughing and wiping her eyes.
"Oh, that was so funny. I am sorry, but it was," and she giggles again.
"Mom! Stop it," Max exclaimed to his mother. "Enough of that. Please, you are scaring her. Go elsewhere and giggle at the babies or something."
"Oh, come on, Max. It was funny. You have to admit. I know it was sore, but hell, I haven't had such a laugh since I got news you were shot. Give this old lady a bit of happiness."
"Fine, it is over now. Can we move on from it? It is still sore and I don't want to think about it. Bloody embarrassing. And I am sure Carolyn thought she had done something to damage me."
He looked at her, and coached her closer to him. "I am sorry, angel. It is not your fault that darn thing wanted to react on its own without permission."
Only Carolyn blushed again, while holding his right hand.
"Blah Ha Ha HA! Max, if you want me to stop, please stop!" pleaded his mother.
Max grinned at Carolyn and ignored his mother.
"So, what are you scheming behind my back?"
Carolyn, now managed to get over the situation and saw the way they were baiting each other. So she took a deep breath and blurted out.
"Friday next week, unless Dr Gerber says otherwise, you are being kidnapped, with your daughter, onto a private jet with me, with Selene," and Carolyn points to the lady standing near the door. "The goons, with a provided nanny for Ashley, and a nurse and doctor too, which will be on hand for the flight your needs. We are flying to Denmark. I had invited your mom, but she declined. When you are there, you will meet my parents and grandmother. Then we are to have a private ceremony. After that you will live with me at the Sorgenfri Palace. We will have a specialist review your medical case, and if you need further surgery, he will be dealing with your needs. When you are able and ready, whether you are in a wheelchair, crutches, or walking again, we will have a public wedding for the world to see. Then in less than two months, my father will be King and as Crown Princess, you will be my husband, my solemate, my love and I will ensure you will be titled accordingly."
She stopped, breathed while her eyes were closed, waiting. The silence was daunting, what was he thinking? Did I screw this up, she wondered? Slowly she opened her eyes, peaking at him to see his expression. Only to see a massive smile across his face.
Shocked, her eyes flew open and she gawked at him. She quickly checked his mother, who too was smiling and went back to him.
"Max?" she asked nervously.
"Can we go earlier?" he replied, not at all what she was expecting. His eyes were lit up, bright with a hint of tears.
"You mean you will marry me?" she asked, carefully.
"Babe, as I said, I don't care about the title. I want you, YES, I will marry you. Right now, right here. But what do your folks say? Won't this cause an issue for you and Denmark?"
"My parents support this one hundred percent, as I threatened them that if they weren't, or parliament caused any issues, I will step down and my sister will then become Crown Princess, but I am not letting you go."
"Good But now I have to try to buy you a ring. I just can't do that right now."
Carolyn laughed. "A ring is not important to me, Max. You are. I love you. I fell for you that day on the beach, and I didn't know then. But I know today, one hundred percent, you are the one. It will be a long struggle, you learning to become a royal, and recovering from these injuries. But I will never, never stop loving you," she declared with tears in her eyes.
"Come here, Angel. Come hug me. Normally I would come to you, but well you know you have to do it all for the time being." And she hugged him, ignorant to the fixator and the possibility of hurting him, tears dripping on to his chest.
"I love you too," he continued, holding her with his right arm around her. "You save me. I was stuck, shut down, drowning in my past, my sorrows, fears and when you came running down the beach, before I saw the bad guys, I knew you were sent to me, you were the answer to my prayers." .
Knocking on the door caused Carolyn and Max to separate and Carolyn stood up. She had forgotten there were other people around watching them.
"Hello, how's everyone doing this afternoon? Oh, hi. I am Dr Gerber," he introduces himself to Max's mother and Selene, who was standing in the corner of the room the whole time.
"Hi. I am Max's mother, Joyce Peters. Nice to meet you, Doctor. Thank you so much for fixing my boy up."
"It was my pleasure. But I can tell you most of the healing is himself and God's intervention. Max, how are you?"
"Better than this morning. I thought you were only coming tomorrow!"
"Yeah, about that. I got a call from Denmark and thought I should pop in, for a chat. It seems, someone is trying to steal you away as soon as possible," He winked at Carolyn, causing her to smile and blush.
"So, I hear too," confesses Max, grinning up at Carolyn. "Seems I am to be kidnapped and married off as soon as possible." Max was smiling away, as he winked at Carolyn.
"Well, let's see what we can do to speed the process up. Firstly, I have been requested to share your medical case with a specialist in Denmark. Do you grant me permission to do so?"
"Doctor, yes, by all means. I also want Carolyn now as the primary person for my care. As my fiancée, I grant her full rights to my care," responded Max.
"Ok, great. I will have the Sister update the system and will compile a copy of your medical case for you to take with you. Max, the MRI scan is scheduled for 4h30 today. So I will review the scan tomorrow morning and report back to you then, unless I am alerted of anything critical. I see that you are rejecting the morphine medication now too. That is good news, but I will keep it on your chart in case you really need it. Also I heard you are trying to move your left arm around. Just be careful not to overdo it. I will put in a request for Physio to start coming in tomorrow to work more on the areas they are able to access. But your hip must remain still or extreme minimal movement, as well as your lower back. At least for two weeks or more. So, you are to still take paracetamol every six hours with your allergy and chest meds. I think you could even be released sooner, if you have someone to nurse you at home. You will need to keep your wounds clean. The bandages need to be tended and have the urine bag emptied regularly as you will still have to keep using the catheter for a bit longer, sorry. Right, so your heart rate and blood pressure are normal, and I am done. Cheers everyone" and off he went.
"Strange guy," commented Mrs Peters, watching the doctor disappear.
"Who cares, I get to go home sooner, yippee!" said excited Max. "Can't wait to see my little girl again."
"But, you will be bed ridden for a while longer. When can you sit up?" asks Carolyn.
"Max can slowly start sitting up a bit as long as his pelvis does pain and his lower back is supported and kept straight," commented the sister, as she walked into the room
She moved to Max, and fiddled with the bed, edging the top section of the bed up a bit, while watching him for signs of pain or discomfort.
"Max, you have to tell us if it starts to hurt. Even if it is a little pain or discomfort. We will need to know, or it will be worse before better if you hide it."
Max nodded and eventually indicated to stop the angling of the bed after a bit. She lowered it a bit. "That already is a good angle. I am happy with that. But we will do this in small doses to get your back and hip used to it. When you are ready, or feel it is starting to become uncomfortable or hurts, get Carolyn or one of us to lower it again."
Max nodded at the sister and she quickly pulled down the sheet covering the fixator and his chest to inspect the sites.
"Carolyn, these are the areas you need to monitor at all times. At the moment, they are still a bit puffy and discoloured. But I can see where the pins of the fixator are, they have a build-up of seepage and needs to be cleaned. I will show you shortly how to do this yourself. If you look at his left side, the stitches need to be cleaned too, and to have antiseptic cream put on to ensure it does not get infected. Down this way," as she maneuvered the sheet to show his whole hip and left leg while ensuring his privates were covered.
"Here, you will see this area has special transparent bandages. So you don't need to clean these. The nurse caring for him, whether here in hospital or with you guys, will know when to remove them, clean and replace them with new ones. After a while they will remain off and you just ensure the site is clean all at times. The stitches should be removed about 10-days after surgery, but I saw the doctor and he mentioned wants it longer on the hip. He has noted 15-days. The kidney side will be removed next Monday."
The Sister looked at Max and asked, "who's going to clean your private area especially with the tube, which needs twice daily sterilization to ensure no infection in that area?"
"Can't I do it. Enough that I have to try to control myself around the young juniors and hell no, I will not allow a man to touch me there."
Sister laughs at this and looks at Carolyn. "Seems you will have to help him then," and Carolyn gasped, blushed red again.
"Don't expect me to wash your dick Max. I am too old to look at them," blurts his mother, breaking the tension in the room as she laughs.
"Sister. I can't yet expect her to do it. Can I not do it?" asks Max.
"Max, I suppose you could. But one handed, you are not going to succeed properly. It needs to be properly cleaned. Trust me, an infection down there will burn like hell for days on end. And you don't want that."
"Ok, I will help," relented Carolyn. "I will have to see it sometime soon, I suppose. As we are going to be married soon."
"You are! Congratulations! Wow, I am so happy for you both." Exclaimed the Sister. "Well, let's start teaching you the basics of caring," with a smile at Carolyn.
"You are enjoying this, aren't you!" groaned Max to the Sister.
"Yip," she confirms and turns to his mom. "Oh mother. You will have to wheel back for a bit while I close the curtain. Don't want you to shock your poor heart," grins the Sister.
"Urg! Let's get on with it before I lose control," Max huffs, clearly embarrassed and knows that the control down under is going to truly test him, majorly.
After succeeding in giving Carolyn expert tips on how to quickly clean the area, it was done in less than three minutes and the area was covered up again.
"See nothing to it," Laughs the Sister while Max lets out a breath. It was like he was holding it the whole time.
Sister quickly showed Carolyn how to clean the pins and holes of the fixator, and the stitches on the kidney side. She applied betadine to the areas and reapplied gauges, taping them to keep the areas protected.
Next, she showed her how to empty the urine bag without messing. "Remember to ensure that this area never touches anything, and to sterilize it before reconnecting it, to prevent germs and infection. There you are all done."
Max starts to relax again after this daunting experience. He feared Carolyn was about to flee and never come back. But Carolyn finished up, and smiled back at Max, pleased she had accomplished the task with minimal issues.
"Sister, what if Max needs to do a number two" she asks.
"He has a nappy under his bum, but I think the nurse will deal with this as he would need to carefully roll onto his side to allow her access to clean him and change the nappy without injuring himself. Let's hope he will not need to use this for long and can actually go to the toilet to do his job there. Max, how's your legs and feet feeling?"
"I must admit I can feel my feet and legs more. Still a bit of tingling and numb but definitely more feeling. I suppose until the pelvis/hip is healed there will be no standing or walking."
"Or fully sitting too," says the Sister, as she cleans up. "You will need a good cushion under your bum for a long time. A lazy boy chair is best to use, if you want to 'sit' in the lounge."
"Lazy boy?" asks Carolyn.
"It is a chair that opens out into a mini relax stretching bed like chair," answers the Sister.
"A recliner. I can show you a picture," Max inputted.
"Okay" she replied, nodding.
"Well kids, let me be off to my next patient, I know visiting hours finishes in 5 mins, but will allow you another 15 mins after that. Then he needs to go down for his MRI and after that, he needs to have a bed bath."
"Thank you, Sister," says Max and Carolyn together, and they grin.
"I think I would like to leave now, if that is ok with you too," came a voice of Max's mother, still in the room on the other side of the curtain, which they forgot was in the room still with them.
"Mom, crap. Forgot you're still here, sure. Umm, Carolyn, can you arrange this, please love?"
Already Raul was entering the room to collect Mrs Peters and as she was wheeled out, she called out: "Bye you two. Be good and keep in touch."
And off she went.
With Selene exiting, she closed the door, giving them privacy.
"Love, can I ask you a question" asked Max
"Sure, anything," answered Carolyn, claiming a chair and sitting next to him, taking his hand into hers.
"Are you a virgin?"
Shock registered on her face followed by deep red blushing.
Max squeezed her hand and said: "Babe, there is nothing to be ashamed of. I am sorry your first experience was to clean it, instead of enjoying it in bed after you are married."
Carolyn light smacked him on the chest playfully, and started to laugh. "Yeah. Wasn't what I would expect my first vision of a penis would be. But I will do it again to you anytime because I love you. But why is it so small?"
Max groans. "Don't encourage me to show you a fully erected penis just yet please, it hurts early when you really kiss me like that, causing it to erect and that caught me unprepared and I lost control. Hell, if it wasn't for the bloody need of the bag, I wouldn't have cared about it and kissed you loads more. And you would have seen a tent down there afterwards."
"A tent?" she asks, frowning and glancing downwards for a second.
Max groans and begs. "Let's rather change the subject please." Only to discover she was leading him on when she smirked at him. "Why you sneaky girl. You knew!"
"I suspected, but it was fun knowing I have this effect on you."
"Grrrrrr."
Knocking on the door, Philip popped his head in and said: "Ma'am we have been advised to leave now. Seems a bit of an issue outside. Please come now."
"I will have to see you tomorrow," she said, standing after nodding to Philip. She looked at Max.
"Give me your number, so we can message or chat on the phone," requested Max.
And she recited to him, per personal number, which he dialled and hung up when he heard it ring.
"Bye babes," he said and kissed her goodbye.