He closed his eyes as realization dawned, she had been awake. She had been awake and she had heard at least part of his conversation with Ben. He tried to go over it again in his mind, work out what he had said, but all he could really remember was the shock of discovering that she was real.
"He is a good kid."
"Yeah."
He met her eyes, mischief still evident but soft and warm.
"He is Alex's kid, isn't he?"
"Yes. I am not sure quite why he came to see me though."
"He likes you."
"I guess."
"So what is it like, working with Alex."
"We work well together now. It was an adjustment at first, but we are okay now. She puts up with me. Although ..."
"Although?"
"Although, sometimes when I look around, I still expect to see you."
Her smile was soft and a little sad.
"I miss you too."
The conversation drifted into easier territory after that. She watched him fight sleep, until he finally dozed off, leaving her to consider. She admitted to herself just how much she had missed him while she was away. As busy as she had kept herself, she had many times felt the impulse to discuss a tricky case with him, and even more, when she was unwinding with a bottle of wine, his absence was a void in the room.
The question now was, now that she had admitted it to herself, what was she going to do about it? He had said in his own way, that he had missed her. But what did that actually mean? What if anything, did he want? She remembered his expression when he had first woken up and his words. She knew he hadn't been himself, but it still gave her hope.
When Alex walked into the room later, she stopped in the doorway at the sight before her. Unsurprisingly Tony was sleeping, what was though, was the blonde sleeping in the chair next to him, her fingers entwined with his and her head laying on the bed by his side. She looked truly relaxed for the first time since Alex had seen her march into the hospital.