I sat in the chair next to Denny's bed and held his large, limp hand. I haven't left this spot in probably about twenty-four hours, watching the various wires attached to his frail body that led into various machines keeping him alive to make sure they were doing their job. He had to make it through this.

"How's he doing?" A soft voice asked from the doorway. I turned to see Preston leaning against the door frame, surgical cap still tied around his head and his surgical scrubs stained with blood. I hope he didn't lose someone because of me.

I nodded my head and looked at Denny. "BP is good, oxygen level has stabilized. I guess all we have to do now is make sure he doesn't reject it."

"Izzy," Preston took a few steps in the room and shut the door with a soft click. "I know that now is not the time, but I just want you to know that regardless of the amount of immaturity and stupidity you've shown, not to mention the countless ethical rules you broke in the last fourty eight hours, I'm turning in my recommendation for probation."

I searched his face for any hint of insincerity, but it wasn't there. I knew when I cut Denny's L-VAD that I would never practice medicine again, never hold a scalpel again, but the idea of Denny being okay outweighed my desire for any of that. "Why?" I asked in disbelief.

"Because you're a good doctor. And everyone deserves a second chance," he mumbled and turned toward the door. Something must have happened between him and Christina. I shook my head and pushed the thought away. I couldn't worry about my friends right now, Denny had to be my priority. "Page me when he wakes up." With that, Preston slipped out of the door, closing it with a soft click as he went.

When, not if. Preston was the best cadio surgeon there was, and if he was hopeful that Denny would be okay then I had no reason to not be. I took a deep breath to settle my nerves and gently slid on the side of the bed Denny wasn't occupying. Careful not to interfere with any wires, I wrapped my arm around him gently, laid my head on the pillow next to his, and inhaled his scent. My Denny. I don't know how long I had laid there when I felt, or thought I felt, him move slightly under my arm.

"I wouldn't mind waking up like this every morning," a gruff voice said from next to me.

I sat up quickly and slid out of bed. I had to make sure I didn't just dream that. "Denny?" I asked softly, looking down into his chocolate brown eyes which were, in fact, open and looking up at me.

"I knew you were into me." He smiled and motioned for me to come toward him.

"Do you need anything? How do you feel?" I asked as I poured some water into a cup and gave it to him. While he sipped on that, I paged Preston and began checking his machines and vitals.

"Other than hurting like a bitch, I feel great." He smiled. "Izzie." He grabbed my wrist gently to grab my attention. "I have a new heart."

I smiled and planted a kiss on his forehead. "You have a new heart."

A soft knock came from the door and Preston slid in, not waiting for an invitation, "How are you feeling, Denny?"

Denny smiled and nodded his head. "All things considered, I'm fantastic. All thanks to you two. You saved my life."

I shook my head at Preston, asking him to not tell Denny about the mess I had gotten myself into. Everything would sort itself out in one way or another and right now all of Denny's attention had to be on getting better.

"Well, if you don't reject the heart in the next twenty four hours I would say we're out of the woods," Preston leafed through Denny's chart while he talked. "But you're going to have a long recovery."

Denny nodded his head in understanding. "But I'm alive."

Preston smiled and shook Denny's hand. "But you are alive."

As doctors, we're always told to not show emotions around patients- trained specifically not to for this exact reason. But Denny's special, there's just something about him that gives you hope and makes you smile despite how hard you try not to. That's part of the reason I fell in love with him. With him, it didn't matter if I was a world renound surgeon or a waitress at Hooters because I knew I would be happy with Denny- a kind of happiness I had never felt before. He'll be okay, I told myself as I slid back into my chair and grabbed his hand. He had to be.