The test results, rushed through because she was an FBI agent and because the doctors had absolutely no idea what to do, came back that evening: poison. The poison was a chemical compound with a frighteningly long name and had been found in her blood and on the knife. Roger had brought it over, and now he waited for Daniel to finish reading the rest of the report, which pretty much just said that they had no idea what this would do to her, and the fact that Kate was still alive was simultaneously cause for celebration and concern.
Roger offered Daniel a ride to the hospital.
Daniel shook his head. "They won't let me see her," he said soberly, handing the report back. "I'd just be taking up space in the waiting room."
Roger didn't seem to accept Daniel's refusal. "She's going to ask for you," he said. The way he said it implied a certainty and a confidence that Daniel couldn't fathom.
Daniel sighed. "I have no right," he said simply.
Roger still wasn't convinced. "You gotta at least come to her apartment and tell me what she needs."
Daniel hesitated, and then agreed. Maybe he couldn't fix her or even hold her hand, but he could do this for her.
Daniel leaned against the wall, staring out of the waiting room window. Waiting was sapping the energy out of him, and he was about to go call a cab, or Lewicki, when the nurse called his name. He turned, the last of his energy poured into hoping. "Yes?" he asked.
The nurse gestured for him to follow, and Daniel felt some of his energy return. When they were in the hallway, the nurse stopped. "Normally, it's not hospital policy to allow non-family members into a patient's room, but... well, you'll see."
Daniel felt a bubble of panic burst and spread through his body. He walked into Kate's room slowly, as if the world might shatter if he moved the wrong way. She was awake, but she looked exhausted. Joe sat next to her, his hands in his lap. When Daniel came in, Joe stood and fixed Daniel with a scrutinizing stare before stepping aside. Puzzled, Daniel sat in the chair.
"Hi," he said quietly.
Kate hummed, then closed her eyes and, with obvious effort, said, "Hey."
Daniel was going to attempt to form a sentence, or a question, or some small bit of conversation that might help clear up his confusion, but Kate took a deep breath and managed a few more slurred words. "Gave 'em a talking-to."
Them? "The nurses?" Daniel asked.
Kate smiled weakly, her eyes still closed.
Daniel sighed. "I should go," he said. "You need to rest."
"No," Kate murmured, her eyes flying open. "Stay," she said. "Please." The words were so clear, so enunciated, that Daniel couldn't deny her.
"I don't think they'll let me," he said. He would have asked the nurse, except that everyone else seemed to have left the room. "But I'll ask when the nurse comes back."
"Told you. Gave 'em a talking-to. Can't argue with the government."
Daniel gave her a watered-down, short-lived smile. Jokes were a good sign: she was still Kate. "Okay," he said soberly, shifting and settling into the chair.
He thought she would drift off then, but she turned her hand over and held it out to him. Daniel dragged the chair until he was sitting parallel to the bed, arm of the chair pushed up against the bed frame. He settled in again and took her hand. She closed her eyes, and her breathing evened out as she fell asleep.
When Joe walked into the room later, Daniel started to get out of the chair, but Joe just shook his head. "Don't," he said, pulling up a different chair. He spoke quietly so Kate would continue to sleep. "You're doing more for her than I can," Joe admitted.
Daniel looked at Kate's hand, wrapped around his own. "She just needs to know someone's here," he answered. His thumb swept lightly across the back of her knuckles.
The corner of Joe's mouth turned upward. "No," he said, shaking his head. "I think she needs to know you're here."
Daniel wasn't convinced of that, but he didn't say anything. They sat in silence, Daniel alternately watching Kate and the floor, and Joe alternately watching Kate and Daniel. After an hour or so, Joe quietly got up, nodded to Daniel, and left.
Daniel hadn't intended to fall asleep, but he woke up some time after midnight, fingers still barely holding on to Kate's. He sat up and rubbed his sore neck with his free hand. Sleeping in chairs wasn't really something he was young enough to be doing any more, but he wasn't going to leave Kate, not if he was allowed to stay. He dug through her bag for the green fleece throw he'd taken from her couch and made himself as comfortable as he could manage. He rested his face against the side of her bed and watched her in the dim light from the window. She shifted, and her fingers tightened around his briefly. He expected her to keep sleeping, and was surprised—and a bit concerned—when her eyes flew open.
She gasped and blinked, and Daniel sat up. She smiled slowly, and whispered a greeting. "Time's it?" she asked.
"It's the middle of the night," he answered, keeping his voice barely above a whisper. "Go back to sleep."
"You're still here," she said.
"Yeah," he said, smiling. "So are you."
It was a morbid joke, but it made her smile.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"A little better." She eyed the chair warily. "You should go home and get some sleep."
Daniel shrugged. "I'm okay."
"It can't be good for you, sleeping in that chair."
"I'm fine," he insisted. "Go back to sleep, Kate."
"You first," she teased, but even in the low light he could see her blinking slowly, heavily. He leaned his head against the side of the bed and rubbed gentle circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. She blinked once more and then closed her eyes and slept.
He followed suit a few minutes later, the image of her in quiet slumber temporarily displacing the horrors of the last couple of days.
A/N: I'm not a medical expert and I'm not a poison expert, so this is all fictionalized.