Liz awoke to the steady beeping of a heart monitor and incomprehensible murmuring, no it couldn't be a heart monitor, when did she check into the hospital? No, it had to be the smoke detector. Dammit, she must have left something on the stove while she passed out on the couch. That makes sense, the last thing she remembers was pulling an all-nighter after the writers had all called in "sick" after someone's bachelor party, she couldn't remember whose, and who really cares. That doesn't explain why her head hurts like hell, or why she can't remember anything. Did she go out too? This must be Tracy's doing.

She shifted a little, but wasn't able to open her eyes before a sharp pain consumed her and she winced in pain. She heard the smoke detector no, heart monitor? Speed up as she felt her heart begin to race from the pain. She felt a hand cover her right hand then heard in the distance:

"Oh, Mrs. Donaghy, you're awake"

Mrs. Donaghy? Was Colleen in the hospital? Oh, okay, that makes more sense. Something must have happened with Jack's mom and she accompanied him to Florida. She is one of his closest friends,anyway. She must have fallen asleep on a chair or something in the hospital room. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to adjust her eyes to the light. She saw two blurry outlines of people, one who seemed to be wearing a white labcoat and the other a suit. She blinked a few times as the image came into focus: a doctor standing to her left and a concerned looking Jack to her right, who was holding her hand.

She tried to speak but it ended up coming out as more of a squeak, apparently she hadn't talked in quite some time. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"I'm sorry what?" she whispered weakly.

"Well you've been out for quite some time," the doctor continued "Fairly normal after a traumatic accident".

"No what you said before that...what accident? What accident?" she raised her voice, beginning to get nervous. She started to push herself up into a sitting position but was stopped both by the immense pain in her head and Jack easing her back onto the pillow, who was still holding her hand. She complied, looking at him nervously.

"Mrs. Donaghy? Well that's what your chart says here" the doctor said glancing at the chart in his hands. "You were in a car accident a couple of days ago, you have been out since then," she looked at him with shocked disbelief, her mouth agate. "Of course...you did have quite a concussion, this explains your amnesia."

"Married? I'm...Married?" she looked to the doctor, then back to Jack, who looked like his heart had just been ripped in half. "Since when? And to whom?"

She of course knew the answer to that last question, but felt it would greater reveal the sense of panic she felt right now. How can she be married and not know it? And to Jack? The same Jack who was one of her closest friends? The same Jack who was her ever-present, domineering boss. That Jack?

"A year last month" said Jack, who bit his lip as he said it. He blinked and looked the other way looking like he was trying to hold back...what tears? Jack, crying? Clearly something had happened and she had slipped into an alternative universe or something...right....right?

"I'm sorry, I think I would remember my own wedding. That would be a momentous occasion right Jack?" she joked half-heartedly, trying to hide her apprehension behind her sense of humor as always. He was constantly on her case about that stuff, he would get the joke. He didn't.

"Like I said you had a fair sized concussion, which is resulting in your amnesia. It should be gone in a couple weeks." the doctor said, putting the chart back on the edge of her bed. "Everything seems to be fine with your recovery. I'll leave you two alone to reconcile. I'll come back periodically to check up on you." the doctor hesitated, then "I'm Doctor Jacobs by the way. Dr. Spaceman is out on vacation"

Liz nodded apprehensively, absent-mindedly as the tried to figure this out. She heard Jacobs' footsteps going out the door and then the sound of the door closing as she put her face in her palms, not feeling the cold metal of her wedding ring, which should be the first sign that this is all a dream. If she were married she would have a wedding ring...right? No, they probably took it off for the MRI after her accident they're saying she had. Her head started throbbing massively, and she felt a massive urge to cry, or eat a nice meatball sub, food always helps calm her down.

"Liz..." she hears as she feels a comforting hand on her shoulder, instead of a broom handle.

"Jack, what's going on? Did this really happen? Or is this some cruel prank? Because I swear to god if the pranksmen are responsible for this I swear I'll kill-"

"Yes, it happened" he said more confidently now.

"How..?"

"It doesn't matter Liz, right now you just need to focus on resting"

"What? No, I feel fine. I mean, I have to get back to work at some point. I have a contract I-"

"No, you don't. You have to rest, you spend way too much time at work anyway" he said, looking worried.

"Jack, this isn't the time to be all mentor-y. Just tell me what happened. I can take it, I promise"

"I have never told a potentially traumatic story to anyone on Leo's pain medication and I'm not about to start now. I believe it's the same drug I was on when I thought I had gotten Nixon to appear on the show. Which, in retrospect may not have been the best idea even if it were true..." he looked away, biting his lower lip in thought. Watergate... he seemed to have mouthed.

Come to think of it, her mouth did taste a little bit like purple, but that wasn't the point. She was still massively confused. "How am I supposed to take this advice from the same man who said that his greatest regret in life was to never have worked more?" she snapped, but soon regretted it as her head began swimming. She felt a massive sense of vertigo, and moaned as the closed her eyes and leaned back, suddenly feeling very sleepy.

"I hate to say I told you so but..."

"Just...don't. Don't brag, it makes you seem too man-ish"

"There," He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Is no such thing" Which, both filled her with a strange, but familiar sense of warmth, but as if she hadn't felt it in quite some time.

Before she falls asleep she sees a look of relief on his face as he clutches her hand as if he never wants to let go.