There was a knock on the door as Henry opened the door. "Doc?"

"Henry." She said with a smile as she wiped her mouth with a napkin, having finished her dinner.

"I brought your book." He said, walking into the room.

"Thank you."

He walked over to the bed and put the volume on the nightstand beside her bed. "How are you feeling?'

"Better." She assured as she patted the bed beside her. "And you?"

"Me?"

"Will said you'd injured yourself and suggested you might need stitches..."

"Oh, that..." He said, putting his hands in his back pockets somewhat nervously. "The Big Guy took me to the ER."

"Let me see." She insisted.

He pulled his hand out and offered it to her. "Seven stitches..." She counted, studying the wound. "They're not as precise as I would have hoped. You'll have a scar..."

"There are worse things." He said with a shrug.

"I suppose." She said, nodding. "Please, sit down and visit for a moment."

"Okay." He said, sitting beside her as he inhaled slowly.

"Pain?" She asked, looking over at him. "I can have someone retrieve some ibuprofen."

"I'm fine." He assured. "How are you?"

"You already asked me that." She said with a small half-smile.

"Right."

She watched him closely. He was quiet and melancholy. Something was wrong. "Is something on your mind?"

He swallowed. "I was worried..." He admitted. "We were all worried."

"I'm sorry I troubled you." She said, apologetically as she looked down at her stomach which housed her unborn children.

"Look, Doc, with all that's happened lately..." He paused and sighed before he looked at her with watery eyes. "Just...take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will," she promised, recognizing how difficult the last few months had been on him. "Do you want to talk about her?"

"Who? Ashley?" He asked, looking back at her.

She nodded. "You two were very close."

He nodded. "She was like the little sister I never had."

"I'll never forget how often you tried to protect her." She said with a faint smile.

"She usually ended up protecting me," he chuckled.

She smiled appreciatively. "She inherited her father's fire, determination and tenacity."

He nodded absently. "Yeah." He looked down at her stomach for a moment before he looked back up at her. "I can tell them about her, if you want. If it would be too painful..."

"Thank you." She whispered as tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped at her cheeks, flushing in embarrassment. "I can't seem to get a hold on my tears." She laughed mirthlessly. "A single thought about either Ashley or John and I become weak and emotional."

He offered her a handkerchief. "She was your daughter, Doc. And Druitt – although not my favorite guy – he was her father. Even if you hadn't gotten back together, you'd be mourning him."

She nodded, knowing he was right. The relatively few moments of passion they'd shared with one another before his death had been a blessing, not a curse. If not for them, she would probably remember the John who had taken their daughter hostage. The John who had killed so many people in a crazed attempt to retrieve a vial of her blood. She would have refused to remember his quiet, genteel nature from their courtship. She would have refused to consider carrying another of his children.

"How did you get to be so wise?" She asked, looking over at him.

"I had a good teacher." He said, managing a small half-smile.

She gave him a grateful smile before she looked back down at his hand. "I want to see this in a few days. We don't want an infection to set in."

"And you're gonna go crazy if you're in here alone for too much longer." He teased.

"That is a distinct possibility." She smiled appreciatively.

"Look, I know you're not terribly big on television..." He said, looking over at her. "But...this might be a chance to get caught up on all of the movies you've missed over the years."

"You mean, since they first came out?" She teased.

He chuckled in amusement. "I bet that's a lot of movies..."

She smiled softly. "More than a few." She admitted.

"Maybe you can stick with the ones on DVD..." He suggested.

"And where do you think I should begin?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you know...my favorite movie in the whole wide world is "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm already lowering my standards somewhat to even consider watching a motion picture instead of a play or an opera. I am certainly not going to lower them that far."

"Oh, thanks." He laughed.

She grinned. "I like my entertainment to have a discernible plot line."

"Then, I'm out." He chuckled as he stood. "But I'll see what everyone else thinks. I bet Will has some great movies..."

She smiled. "Thank you, Henry. For the book and for the company."

"No problem, Doc." He said with a grin.