Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews for chapter one. Here's the next little bit.

Harry stayed there all night, listening to the reassuring beeping of her heart monitor, watching her chest go up and down and permanently holding her hand. He must have dozed at some point because he came to with a jerk, and looked out of the window. Daylight was suddenly flooding in, and he looked at his watch. Ten in the morning. Yes, he must have slept. He squeezed Ruth's hand tightly before stretching, trying to make his body work from the uncomfortable night.

A nurse came in and smiled at him. "How's she doing?" he asked before the nurse even looked at the chart.

"Okay," she said after a few moments, examining her figures.

"Just okay?"

"Okay is pretty good after that kind of trauma," the nurse said, smiling in a reassuring way. "She should wake up today. Go and get yourself some coffee or breakfast."

"No," he said gently. "I can't leave her. I won't. Especially if she's going to wake up today."

She didn't even try to argue with him. One look at Harry Pearce made it perfectly clear that he wasn't moving until she awoke. "Let me bring you a coffee then. If you won't leave."

"I won't argue with that," he said. "Thank you." Harry watched Ruth for long minutes. The nurse checked her stats, went, and reappeared with a coffee a few minutes later. He thanked her profusely just before the caffeine started to work through his system. It was only then that he realised it. His hand, the one that was holding Ruth's had a gentle pressure on it.

"Ruth?" he questioned eagerly. He looked at her face, begging any deity in existence to make her wake up. "Come on, open your eyes. Please look at me." After about sixty seconds, her eyelashes fluttered and she did. Blue eyes, looking at him in fear. He smiled at her. "You're going to be all right," he said. She let go of his hand and moved it to her mouth, where the tube was, clearly wanting it gone. Harry shook his head quickly and took her hand back.

"No, you can't," he said firmly. "It's helping you to breathe. Your lung collapsed. It might do it again. Can you hear me?" he added, as she still looked completely blank. She nodded, eyes still wide and a pained expression on her face. "Are you hurting?" She nodded, eyes wide, as if begging him to understand and Harry pressed the call button for help.

"Please, she's in pain. She needs some painkillers or something," he said when a doctor appeared quickly. He nodded, checked her chart and then spoke to Ruth.

"Hi, I'm your doctor. Are you in pain?" She nodded eagerly. "Okay, I'll give you some drugs to deal with the pain, but it'll knock you for a few hours. Is that okay?" Her eyes flicked to Harry for a moment, as if considering before she nodded again.

"Right." He gave her an injection of a fast acting painkiller, and within seconds her eyes were going heavy lidded and her grip on Harry's hand slackened again. She was asleep again. The entire incident had probably lasted two or three minutes, and he'd lost her to sleep again. But she had woken up. And that alone had him smiling.

Ouch. She was just on the edge of consciousness, beginning to wake up and she felt a massive ball of pain in her stomach. And leg and arm now that she thought about it. Everywhere was pain. White hot, burning pain. Was this hell? Is this what it felt like? Permanent agony? She tried to open her eyes but they felt too heavy. Where didn't it hurt? Her left arm didn't hurt so much now that she thought about it. Actually, her left hand in particular. There was a slight weight on her and she tried to move her fingers to find out what it was. Was someone touching her?

"Ruth?" A mans voice wanting her. She knew that voice but couldn't pick up the name. Words had all become mixed and jumbled in her mind. "Come on, open your eyes. Please look at me." She loved this man. She loved his velvety voice, but at the moment his name was escaping her. Out of sheer curiosity, she opened her eyes. His face swam into view, hazel eyes concerned and he smiled at her. Ah. Harry. That was it.

With the return of consciousness though, she could feel every pain in her body as if it were magnified. Her throat felt raw, her body felt as if it were on fire. She had something stuck down her throat and she tried to get rid of it. Her right hand wouldn't move, so she picked up her left, but Harry stopped her. He said a lot of words that didn't make sense. Collapsed lung? She was in desperate pain, why didn't anyone understand? She needed help, she felt like she was dying from the pain. She tried to tell him with her eyes and finally he got the hint.

"Are you hurting?" She nodded as vigorously as she could. After a few more moments, a blessed relief ran through her. The pain was distant. Dull. Manageable. And then she felt reality fade from view.

More soon.