Each moment in darkness was a hushed torment that he was unable to escape. His only reprieve was the sound of her words soothing his anxious soul. Her voice seemed to come from far away; telling him that she missed him, she loved him and that he would be ok. It was the sweetest siren that his ears ever heard. Her voice. Each day that sound was the life line needed to lure him back to daylight.

Dax couldn't recall seeing any white lights, a room filled with people or any other trappings of the afterlife, for that matter. He only felt as if he had fallen into a dreamless state and then woke up the same, as any other person would, go to bed on any given night. The only difference for him was that he couldn't not remember who he was, where he was or the life that was his.

Dax woke up suddenly and scanned the room; unsure of what it was he was hoping to seek out. His eyes landed on the young doctor, he faintly remembered having a brief exchange with days before.

Waking up had been a whirlwind affair. He met with at least a dozen doctors; and had been subjected to countless examinations. The last thing he remembered, before taking some pain medication and drifting off to sleep, was the sight of the beautiful female doctor holding his hands and telling him that she was so happy that he was awake.

-----------------

"Where am I?"

"You are at Mercy Hospital."

"Who am i?" rubbing his hands over his face, Dax was making sure that he was fully awake this time.

"Your name is Ethan Daxton, but everyone calls you Dax. You were injured in a building collapse and you've been in a coma for the past three months. You woke up a few days ago but you've been in and out ever since."

That news should have shocked him but it didn't. He searched his mind for anything related to a building collapse but nothing surfaced.

"Three months? That's not good is it?"

"Well you're awake now and talking, so that is a moot point." Adam reassured, "Despite your amnesia Dax, I am concerned about the fact that you are able to move your upper extremities but not your lower."

"Are you saying that I am paralyzed?"

"We haven't ruled anything out yet; but I want you try to move your legs?"

Dax attempted to move them but saw no movement; Dr. West observed the same and moved to the bottom of the bed and began pushing against the balls of his feet.

"Can you feel my hands here?"

"Not really; but I do feel warmth there."

"This is rather encouraging; you have full use of your arms; though only minor sensations in your legs. I believe that the paralysis may only be temporary. But I want run a few more tests; just to be sure."

Just then Doctor West Sr. and Zhay entered the room.

Zhay's eyes met Dax's and she quickly averted them, lest she broke out in tears yet again.

"And how is our patient this morning?" Charlton asked, attempting to break the tension in the room. "You many not remember meeting me but I am Dr. Charlton West, your Neurologist and this is Dr. Daniels; she has been managing your care."

Zhay offered a half smile and quickly moved to the side of the room to read the latest updates to Dax's charts.

"I remember you both; and I am feeling much better than yesterday; I still have the headaches and I can't move my legs but I don't feel as groggy as I did before."

"Well that is great news." Charlton exclaimed. "Dr. West, Dr. Daniels a word."

The three doctors stepped out into the hallway to hold a mini POW wow.

"So you think it's best too, not tell him everything right now?" Zhay asked, though she still was not sure that this was the best cause of action.

"No, not in his case. He has experienced tremendous trauma and I think that his memories should come naturally and not forced. I know that is not what you want to hear, Zhay; but I think that is what's best." Charlton offered, pulling her close for a fatherly hug.

"I respect your opinion Dr. Shaw and...I..."

"Listen honey, in some cases it's a matter of days or weeks and then everything just simply falls into place. The memories can come flooding back in no time. I know that this is hard, but you have to be patient." Adam assured, hoping that the tears he knew were on the verge of spilling didn't make an appearance.

"I know that you are both right; it's just so hard. I've waited for him to wake up and now that he is... it's..."

"I know that this can't be easy; but you have to be brave, to face this challenge with Dax. Imagine what it is like for him?" Dr. Shaw had a point. Zhay told herself from the night of the building collapse that she had to be strong for him; and that was exactly what she intended to do.

"You're right. Getting him back to the old Dax is the most important thing."

*******************************

Zhay snuck quietly into Dax's room and took her seat next to his bed, just as she had every morning before he woke up. She eased down into the bed next to him and watched him as he slept. Since waking up she was no longer afforded moments like this. Once the news spread around the hospital that he had emerged from his coma, the floor he was now on morphed into a circus.

Zhay stroked his arm, as she stared at his sleeping form; it was hard to believe that this was the Dax that she lost over a year ago; or the Dax who could have easily been killed in a bulding collapse. She took in the sight of him. The steady rise and fall of his chest, reminded her that he was breathing on his own effortlessly. Seeing him lay their so peacefully, she could think of nothing better that crawling into bed with him and snuggling up next to him.

Though she was more than thankful that he was now awake; she missed their private times together. It was nearly impossible now to have any time with him, without someone intruding; she knew that everyone was simply doing their job, but still some part of her wanted her Dax all to herself.

Dax. She took in all of his features and considered each one. He seemed so foreign yet familiar to her. It wasn't because of his obvious amnesia that he seemed unrecognizable; but it was related more to his physical appearance.

Gone was his slight tan that lingered year round, only to be replaced by a pale dull hue. He had lost a significant amount of weight; which made him appear to be much younger than he was. And the look in his eyes, his beauty sea foam eyes, told the story of a man who was hurting more mentally than physically.

Combing her fingers through his limp hair, she recalled the frantic call she received from Claire, telling her that Dax had been injured. Her heart broke into a million pieces that night; especially when the doctors told her that they did not expect him to make it through the night. But here they were, three months later and he was quite alive; despite his injures. She quickly kissed his forehead in thanks, as she thought about what could have been.

Standing there watching him sleep, Zhay wanted nothing more than for Dax to wake up and call for her. But that didn't happen. When he woke up briefly days ago and couldn't remember his own name, she thought that he rworld had shattered around her. Chloe was there quickly reminded her that she had to be tougher than she felt at the moment; for him. And she was trying to do just that.

Each time she saw him though, her heart broke; she wanted so desperately for them to be together again and this set back had the potential to derail them all together; lost memories were a hard faction to tumble with. But in her heart Zhay new that she was more than ready to meet that challenge.

"I've missed you so much E. I am holding on to our memories so we can have something to smile about when you are up to it. I know that we've been through so much this past year and I hope that everything will get better soon. You are a wake and that is wonderful." Kissing his lips and stroking his cheek. "I love you so much, you know that? Even when you didn't want my love it was still all yours; and nothing will ever change that."

---------------------------------------

Both Barron and Alise were relieved and scarred when they received Zhay's call letting them know that Dax was awake. But they were upset that for nearly a week neither was allowed to see him awake or speak with him until the doctors could agree on the type of amnesia Dax had.

Barron thought the doctor's requests outrageous and called the Chairman of the Hospitable Board personally to threaten him with a lawsuit, if they tried to keep him away from seeing Dax.

Thank goodness for Rosie. Zhay didn't know how Rosie did it, but she managed to get Barron agree to back off for a few days and give the doctors the time that they needed to better asses Dax's condition.

**********************

Dr. West continued his examination of Dax's neurological functions and was truly amazed to discover that besides the amnesia, he appeared to have normal brain functions.

 "There is no slurring of speech or blurred vision; you have the concept of most things but in your current state you have yet to experience them. It is my opinion that you are exhibiting signs of retrograde amnesia." Charlton surmised.

"What does that mean? Is that good or bad?" Dax questioned.

"Well it means that your memories will surface when both your mind and body are ready for them."

"We sometimes see this grade of amnesia, when our patient has experienced some sort of stress prior to receiving a blow to the head." Adam chimed in still looking over his chart.

"So I was upset about something before the building collapse?"

"We can't be sure; perhaps you were anxious about the construction project. No knows for sure only you can answer that." Charlton advised.

"Is there anything that you want to add, Dr. Daniels?" Adam asked, noting that Zhay had been relatively quiet during the examination.

All eyes were now on her as she stopped making notes on Dax's chart. All eyes including a pair of sea foam green ones that had been staring at her for the past half hour, even though he was supposed to paying attention to Charlton's questions.

She was mute. Zhay was trying her best to not look over to Dax as Adam and Charlton examined him. But it was an exercise in futility and he caught her staring back more than once. She had to stop herself several times from leaving the spot where she stood to rush to his side encourage him that both his memories would emerge and that he would have the use of his legs in no time. But for as close to each other, as they were in this room, they were still miles apart.

"I want a full body MRI done as soon as possible; and full blood work up. I want to be sure that we don't miss anything."

"Sure thing, I'll set up the order right now; that is if you don't mind, taking Dax back to his room to wait?" Adam didn't wait for her response as he breezed out of the room to make his calls.

Zhay wasn't sure if she was ready yet to be alone with Dax. It was silly, but she was actually nervous.

"Finally, I get to be alone with you." Dax smiled playfully. He had been watching her the whole time Charlton and Adam examined him. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her and she had a hard time doing the same to him.  Zhay's stared into his soft green eyes and was immediately tongue tied.

*******************

A week later

Dax watched as Zhay spoke to the nurses at that ICU station and smiled. He thought that Dr. Daniels was stunning and his body came alive whenever she was near. Whether she was dressed in scrubs just like the other doctors; wore jeans and a t-shirt or a black pencil skirt and a wrap shirt, like she was wearing today; his blood began pumping vigorously every time he caught a glimpse of her. Whatever the outfit she wore only enhanced her body, which Dax had been admiring since emerging from his coma; and each day it only had him wanting to see what was underneath. No matter what she was wearing, to him she was his wet dream all day long.

He took a moment to study her face, just then and was instantly stuck on her lips. His lips slowly crept into a lascivious smirk as his thoughts drifted into a sea of lust filled possibilities. He may have been paralyzed but he wasn't dead.

 "So what's the story with Dr. Daniels?" Dax asked Adam as he conducted yet another examination of his legs.

Excuse me?" Adam's head popped up in surprise at Dax's question.

"Dr. Daniels; you know, hot chocolate with the killer rack." Dax made the universal guy symbol indicating that a voluptuous female was in their midst. "She's hot for me."

"Is that right?" Adam asked playing along with Dax's juvenile antics.

"She sure is; she always manages to find some excuse to check me over even when you've done it a hundred times already. I think she just likes touching me. Plus, I get a good morning kiss every day. She thinks that I'm a sleep when she comes in but I'm not." Dax revealed, though he wasn't sure if the kisses were a dream or reality as flashes of his memory tended to drift in and out while he was asleep.

Adam didn't respond to Dax's musings. He knew that Zhay did visit him every morning when she thought he was asleep.

"Damn you just don't see natural quality like that too often; look at the way they move when she walks. They've got to be the real deal right, Doc?" Dax pointed out as Zhay moved between two nurses holding charts.

Adam nearly choked on his laughter when he heard Dax's question. He had to remind himself that Dax had no idea that Zhay was his wife. Because the Dax he knew wouldn't take it too kindly, two guys eyeballing her breasts.

"Umm...I don't really see Dr. Daniels that way. We are old friends; she is more like a sister than anything."

"Ok if you say so, but that pair right there is pretty hard to ignore; if you're not interested in her, then that means that's one less man I have to eliminate to get to her. Good for me then, so is she single, is she married. What?"

Adam swallowed his laugh but continued his examination.  "She is married."

"Damn!!! I should have known that someone would have claimed them already." Still checking out the view that Zhay was giving him, "Is he a doctor, too?"

"No, an architectural engineer."

"Sounds like money."

"He's loaded."

"I hate him already. Older guy?"

Returning to his spot testing Dax's leg, Adam did everything he could to smother the laugh that was bubbling to the surface.

"No, he's your age."

"Lucky bastard."

"He thinks so." Adam smiled, biting his lip.

"Well I guess I must have been dreaming about my good morning kisses;" Dax scratched his head in confusion. "As much as I hate to move on...Does she have a sister?"

Adam did laugh out loud this time. "Yes she does, actually."

"Is she as cute as Dr. Daniels?"

"Well she is a supermodel, so I guess so."

"Nice. Is she single?"

Adam stopped his examination. Initially, Dax's questions seemed harmless, but know he wasn't sure if this was the best approach with regards to Dax's amnesia.

Though they had agreed to keep Dax in the dark for a few days longer until they could assess his paralysis and ensure that there were no lingering affects from the blows to his head; he didn't want Dax to think that he was having a laugh at his expense.

"Dax about Dr. Daniels..."

"Dr. Shaw..." Zhay interrupted, before Adam had a chance to continue.

"You just can't stay away from me can you Dr. Daniels." Dax winked.

---------------------------------

Next day

"Do you remember anything about that day?" Adam asked Dax.

"No."

"What about meeting me before for the day you woke up?" Charlton chimed in.

"No?"

"Do you remember meeting Dr. Daniels before waking up?" Adam moved to stand next to Zhay and watched for Dax's reaction.

Dax looked over to Zhay, even in scrubs and wearing a ponytail she was still beautiful. She half smiled at him, as he searched his mind for any memory of her but he couldn't find one.

"No, I can't remember meeting her before that day. Do we know each other? I mean outside of the hospital." Dax asked her directly.

"Yes," Zhay replied softly, she looked to both Charlton and Adam before continuing. They gave her the silent ok to go on.

"My name is Dr. Zaire Daniels-Daxton, and I am your wife." She didn't mean for the tears that she had been holding in, to spill down her face at that moment. But she had been holding them in for the past few days and they seemed to have a need to be seen.

Dax was in shock. Dr. Daniels was his wife. All this time, she had been sitting by his side he thought she was just doing her job as a doctor. Although he had to admit that she had been more attentive than the others, and this morning he thought that he had dreamt that she had kissed him when she thought that he was still asleep.

His heart ached at the thought of everything that she must have been living with for the past few months; and it had Dax silently fuming, that he was oblivious to the fact that she had been his wife the whole time that he had emerged from his coma.

Through clenched teeth, he bit out, "You have obviously kept this from me for a reason, why share it now?" his irritation clearly directed at both of the doctors.

Hating that he was confined to a wheel chair, he reached for Zhay's hand. Her tears had quiet to faint sniffles, and Dax wanted nothing more than to comfort her, dry her tears and reassure her that all will be back to normal soon. He hoped.

Knowing that this situation had to be handled delicately, Adam spoke up first, "Dax, we were hoping that by telling you this now, that it would help to determine the type of amnesia you have. In some cases a patient's memory can return rather quickly if sparked by the right stimuli. I know how much you've come to ah... admire Dr. Daniels, so I was hopeful that the revelation that she is your wife would help stimulate your recall."

"Dax, we thought it best to not overwhelm you, with information the first few days out of your coma. Especially since we still are unsure of the extent of your paralysis." Charlton attempted to smooth over.

"We didn't keep this information from you with any malicious intent, quite the contrary; we just wanted to be sure that we are managing your care the best way we see fit."

Dax was still in shock from the news and wasn't sure that he had the energy to deal with it at the moment. His only thoughts were of the woman whose hands he was holding.

"Could you two, please give me a moment alone with Dr. Daniels?"

Both Adam and Charlton looked to Zhay for her okay and when she nodded in the affirmative, they quietly got up from the room and left the couple to speak in private. Dax didn't immediately speak, or release her hand. He was still in shock over the news that he'd just received and he wasn't sure what exactly he should say.

"So I haven't been dreaming?" the words seemingly coming from nowhere, surprised him.

"What do you mean?" Zhay asked confused.

"You've been coming into my room every morning, to kiss my forehead and to tell me that you love me."

"Yes."

Hearing her confirm what he thought had been a dream, made him smile inside. Ever since waking up and laying eyes on her he had this unexplained pull to her. Sure he thought that she was gorgeous and he flirted outrageously with her; but it was something else. He felt it every time she touched him under the guise of a medical examination. And her soft tender kisses offered so much, in their brief assail on his senses each morning; how could he not remember her.

"Dr. Daniels..."

"Zhay," she interrupted. "Please say my name; I've missed hearing you say it."

"Zhay," Dax whispered, his voice sounding shaky to his own ears.

His eyes searched hers and he saw so much emotion flitting around in them; sadness, tenderness, weariness, happiness, angst, fear, but most certainly love. And it was the love that clearly shone through her cognac depths that had him probing for more answers. 

"I can't imagine how hard this has been for you over the past three months, to manage my care day in and day out, for me to emerge from my coma, only to find out that I have no memories of you...of us...why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"We, your doctors and I thought that it was best to wait and determine your grade of amnesia. You have so much physically still to overcome; that we didn't want to bombard you mentally. We had to be sure that you were 100% free of any lingering neurological conditions; some amnesia patients can suffer traumatic episodes when they realize that they can't recall significant memories in the life. I didn't want that to happen to you. That's all."

Dax thought on her response for a moment but was not satisfied with her words.

"I can understand the doctors need to keep me in the dark...but for you as my wife...this could only have been the worst type of torture for you. Caring for me every day; knowing that I had no idea who you were...I just hate that..."

"You're alive and that's the most important thing." Zhay cut off, holding his hands tighter and truly meaning what she said.

"No, your feelings are very important to me, Zhay." Dax's words startled her a bit; but as his cool green eyes met hers, she knew that he meant them.

"I may not be able to recall memories of our life together, just yet; but the moment that I saw your tears, it felt as if I was suffocating; I get the feeling that your tears are my kryptonite." He smiled at her and she returned it.

 "I cannot remember most things, but I know that I never want to see you hurt." He took her hands and kissed them softly, and then placed them so she could feel his heart beating. "I can feel it, right here."

 "And whether you want to admit it to me or not, I have to imagine that it hurts you to know that I don't remember you or us."

"Dax..."

"I know, getting me better is the goal; but not at the risk of sacrificing your happiness. You are my wife and correct me if I am wrong; but there should be no secrets between us, right?"

"Right." Zhay smiled, through fresh tears.

"No more tears and no more secrets; no matter how hard you think the truth will be for me to hear, you'll tell me from now on; agreed."

"Yes."

"Good; now that we've cleared that up. Can you sit and have lunch with me? Besides being hungry, I have a million questions that I want to ask you."

"I'd like that very much."

Zhay picked up his file and released a breath that she didn't realize that she was holding. She thought that Dax took the news much better than she expected and she was surprised that he was more concerned about her feelings than his own. She smiled at that; her Dax was in there somewhere.

----------------

Flashback 5 years prior

"What are you doing?" a groggy Zhay mumbled; still sleepy from a whirlwind weekend that started in New York and ended in Madrid? She wasn't quite sure where they were.

"Watching you sleep. I am trying to take as many memories of you with me to Dubai, next week." Dax replied, still combing his fingers through Zhay's thick chocolate tresses.

"I love the way your hair feels; it's like cotton candy and silk wrapped into one."

"Take a picture; I think it would last longer." Slapping his hands away, Zhay pulled the sheets higher over her head; trying to get a few more Zs in before they took off for home.

"I took one already." He picked up his cell phone and slipped it under the covers; he flipped it on to show her the picture.

 "Dax!!" Zhay screamed. "You took a picture of me sleeping nude?"

"No of course not...just topless." He smirked, quickly moving to avoid the pillow that Zhay threw at him with the intentions of hitting his head.

"Delete it!"

"No. I love it. These tits are golden." He grinned, ogling the picture of her bare breasts on his cell phone. "And seeing them every day is going to help get me through a very lonely week in Dubai."

A very naked Zhay jumped off the bed and began chasing an equally naked Dax around the room.

"Come on, what if someone else sees it?" Zhay reasoned.

"Who would see it? It's on my cell phone..." Dax taunted jumping out Zhay's reach.

"Please delete it." Zhay pleaded. "I would be so embarrassed if anyone else saw it...please."

"Trust me darlin' you have nothing to be embarrassed about."  Dax smirked as he continued to ooh and ahh over her picture.

"I'm serious, Dax."

Ok. I'll delete it; only on one condition, though?" Dax offered, slowly moving to his discarded jacket from last night.

"What is it?" Zhay asked slightly miffed at him for taking a naked picture of her.

Dax opened the small red velvet box that he pulled from his jacket pocket, to reveal a stunning 10 carat, emerald cut rose pink diamond engagement ring.

"Marry me." No flowery speeches or overdone melodrama; just a simple statement, much like the man offering the words; direct, honest and without pretense.

Zhay stood stunned at Dax's proposal. "Marry you?" she repeated to be sure that he had said the words, she thought she heard.

Dax's plan was to propose last night in Ibiza, but the right moment just never seemed to surface. It wasn't until he woke up this morning with her in his arms that it just clicked. He had purchased her ring months ago and wanted to propose every time he saw her; but he knew that she would say it was too soon to take that step.

But lately he found himself longing to be with her more than just a weekend here or a day there; and she echoed the same sentiment more than once. So he decided to put an end to their misery and make their lives together more permanent.

"I can't imagine spending the rest of my days with anyone else. I love you, Dr. Daniels. Marry me."

"I...I don't know what to say?" Zhay stumbled as Dax got on one knee and affixed the fairy tale Harry Winston jewel to her finger.

"A yes will suffice." He smiled looking up at her.

"Yes." Zhay screamed, pulling him to his feet. Sealing the deal with a kiss, that instantly grew more arduous with each caress, both moved with swiftness to the abandoned bed.

"Wait...I'll marry you only on one condition." Zhay bargained with her hand placed firmly on Dax's chest.

"What's that?" he asked, burying his face into her neck, plying her with soft kisses; though he was more than eager to enter her hot spot yet again.

"You delete that picture."

Dax picked his phone up off the bed and scrolled back through the pictures. He took one last look at the image. "This picture?" he asked holding it towards Zhay. She nodded her head and he reluctantly deleted it.

 "Ok..." he sighed, "That's it?"

"Yes."

"You don't know how happy you've just made me darlin'." Dax smiled and slowly began pushing into her.

"Yeah...why don't you show me how happy you are?" Zhay coaxed, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"I intend to...oh and by the way just so you know, I took about twenty pictures of you with my phone. I only showed you that one..." Dax confessed matter of factly, as he popped Zhay's right nipple into his mouth and slowly increased his sexual pace.

"I should have known. What do I have to do get you to delete the rest?" Zhay asked as she reached between their bodies and began slowly stroking the exposed part of his shaft.

"Oh...I think that is a pretty good start to the negotiations, Mrs. Daxton." Dax grinned, loving the feel of her hands sliding up and down on his member as he moved in and out of her body.

"And you are sure that there isn't anything else that I could do in the interim to persuade you to delete them all?" Dax whispered into her ear and Zhay moaned at his suggestions.

"I can do that." She barely got out, loving the feel of Dax's sweet assault on her body.

So lost in their negotiations, they barely registered that the morning had soon slipped by and gave way to the afternoon or noticed the barrage of text messages that chimed on their phones.

Zhay missed Dax's quick move of sending out a text message to their family and friends, that simply read, ‘she said yes!' before he deleted her naked picture.