Hi all!

Apologies for the delay - I've literally had about 5 days off work in the past 3 weeks.

I'm so excited that Chryed are back on the 18th October! I don't want them to split up or anything, but I'm kinda looking forward to the drama which is to come!

Two weeks can't come quickly enough!

Hope you enjoy this chapter, it just carries straight on from the last one.

xoxoxo

Christian POV:

I must have fallen asleep sometime during my stay with Syed; the next thing I felt was a hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me awake. I woke with a slight start, my hand still grasped tightly around Syed's limp hand. I looked up and groaned inwardly as I saw Nurse Touchy-Feely leaning over me. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as he continued giving me 'the Look', despite the hold I had on Syed's hand.

"Sorry to wake you, but I need you to sign this," he handed me a form, his hand lingering over mine a little too much. I quickly scanned the form, signing it eagerly; it was a from which meant I could be discharged from hospital care. "I also thought you might like to change back into these," he handed me what I assumed to be the clothes I had worn before my admission. They would be a little battered and worn, and was probably thick with blood, but at least it was better than wearing this hospital gown.

"Thank you," I handed the form back to him, taking my clothes from him.

"Oh," he had made his way to the door (reluctantly), before he turned back. "And, there's someone here to see you." I watched him leave, watching the door eagerly to see who my surprise visitor was. I broke into a slight grin as Roxy's face appeared in the doorway. I put my finger to my lips, gesturing to Syed's sleeping form. She nodded her understanding, closing the door softly behind her and tip-toeing her way over to me. She perched herself on the arm of my chair, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

"How is he?" her voice was laced with concern and regret, and I caught her eye as she glanced over at Syed's broken body.

"Broken leg, dislocated shoulder. He's covered in cuts and bruises, and he inhaled a lot of smoke," I saw her cover her mouth with her hand out of the corner of my eye. I still couldn't take my eyes off Syed.

"Oh, babe. I am so sorry." I could hear the tears in her voice, and I risked a glance in her direction. Her eyes were streaming with tears, and I put my free arm around her shoulders.

"It's OK. He's gonna be OK. It'll take a while, but he should be back to his old self." Back to being that perfect Syed that I loved so much. "None of this is your fault, babes."

"It is though," I gave her a questioning look. She took a deep breath, her head falling into her hands. "It was Phil. He was the one who started the fire." A range of emotions ran through my body. Anger, for the mere fact that the actions of a single person almost cost me the most important thing in my life. Sadness, that Roxy was blaming herself for the actions of a member of her family. Pain, for the fact that I had come so close to being alone again. Fear, for what the future would now hold for Syed and myself, and our relationship. And pity. Pity, for the fact that Phil had got himself in such a state that he felt the need to destroy everything in his path.

"Babe, I don't blame you. It was Phil you burned the pub to the ground, not you. It was Phil who almost killed my Syed, not you. You're not responsible for the actions of your family any more than Syed was responsible when his family turned against us. Besides, it's not as though you could have stopped him." I kissed the top of her head, showing her that I really didn't blame her for anything. "Look, d'ya mind sitting with him while I get changed?" I gestured to the pile of clothes in my lap. "I just don't want him to be alone when he wakes up."

"Course I will. It's the least I can do." I gave her a weak smile, bundling my clothes up into my arms and hurrying out of the door. I really didn't want to leave Syed, but I knew that I would have to eventually. I hurried into the nearest toilets, changing out of my hospital gown and into my tattered clothing as quickly as the pain in my body would allow. I had to bite my tongue a couple of times to stop myself from crying out. As I made to leave, I checked myself over in the mirror. I looked like hell. My face was as cut and bloodied as Syed's, and I had a bruise forming above my right eye. I hadn't even noticed that I'd hit my head. I had been so high on the adrenaline, I hadn't even felt the pain.

Maybe Syed had been right. When he had said that he felt that our luck was about to run out, I had shrugged it off. I thought that our relationship was built on more than good luck. Maybe he was right, maybe the forces were conspiring against us. I knew that our relationship was right. I had known that ever since our first kiss. Everything that had happened between us had felt so right that there was no way it could be called wrong. But ever since our first kiss, our first time, it was as though the fates were trying to keep us apart. Every time I tried to get Syed to see sense, to see that we were meant to be together, every time we had gotten that little bit closer, something had ripped us apart again. No, I was being stupid. There were no external forces in this world that were trying to keep us apart. There was no God trying to punish Syed for loving me. Sometimes, things just happened. There was no rhyme or reason for some of the things that happened, they just were.

I was so caught up in my musings that I never heard the door of the toilets open. I never saw someone enter. But I did feel the hands that were placed tentatively around my waist. I immediately knew that this touch was wrong. I could discern Syed's touch from any other touch in the world, I was so used to feeling it. And those hands weren't Syed's. Even if he hadn't been unconscious and attached to machinery in the room along the corridor, I would have known that it wasn't his touch. His touch, even through layers of clothing, awakened something deep within me, something which I had no control over. I glanced up into the mirror, knowing who it would be before my eyes found his face. Great, just what I needed. Nurse Touchy-Feely was back, and he looked determined to get what he wanted. Which just so happened to be me. Which just so happened to be the one thing he would never, ever have.

"What d'ya think you're doing?" I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but the pain of my injuries was almost too much for me to take.

"I think you know," his voice was low and husky. Just the way my voice used to be when I was trying to pull someone. He leaned in to kiss me, managing to brush his lips against mine slightly before I managed to find the strength to ignore the pain in my body and push him off me. I angrily stormed out of the toilets, heading back into Syed's room where Nurse Touchy-Feely couldn't follow me. Roxy noticed my agitation the moment I entered. I slumped back down into the chair beside Syed's bed, taking his hand in mine once again.

"Any change?"

"No," Roxy shook her head. "But what happened to you?"

"Don't matter." I reached over to push some of the hair out of Syed's eyes. "All that matters is that Syed gets better." I caught Roxy looking at me out of the corner of her eye. "What?" I turned to face her, a slight grin on my face.

"You really love him, don't you?"

"No," I shook my head. "Love isn't the word. The way I feel about him...there are no words for it, Rox. Seasons change, circumstances change, people change, but the way I feel about Syed, that stays the same. No - it gets stronger. Every day, every hour, every second, my feelings for him intensify more than I ever thought possible. I tell Syed that I love him, but that doesn't even scratch the surface of what I feel for him. But you know the best thing, Rox?" She shook her head, looking at me expectantly. "The best thing is that I know that he feels exactly the same about me."

"He's changed you so much, I feel like I don't even know you anymore!" She laughed softly, and I laughed with her.

"I don't even know myself anymore, babe. Syed, he's taught me so much, changed me so much, for the better. Before him, I was floating aimlessly through life, one bed to the next, wasting my life away on pointless one night stands. Before he came into my life, I didn't know what love was. If I ever lost him, I dunno what I'd do." She squeezed my hand gently, as I tried to overcome the wave of emotion which had just washed over me. "Sorry, babe. Ignore me. I just..I need him so much. I don't even know where to start. Whenever I try to tell him how I feel, how I really feel, I can never seem to find the words."

"I think he already knows, babe." I looked up at her questioningly. I followed her gaze to where Syed was lying, the breath catching in my throat. His eyes were flickering open, the hand I wasn't holding was trying desperately to remove the mask from his face. I pulled the mask away for him, my right hand never leaving go of his, my left resting lightly at the base of his throat.

"Syed.." I breathed his name, the relief I felt evident in my voice.

"I.." his voice came out a strangled whisper.

"Shh, don't try and speak." I caught Roxy's eye briefly, and she understood my question without my needing to ask.

"I'll go get a doctor," I silently thanked her, praying that she didn't end up running into Nurse Touchy-Feely first - she would recognise him and might bring him back instead. My eyes locked back with Syed's as soon as she left the room, and I cupped his cheek with my left hand.

"I..love..you." I could hear the effort it took him to say just those three words. I kissed his forehead gently as he closed his eyes again. I could tell that he was still conscious from the way his hand grasped mine as firmly as it could.

"I love you, Sy," I whispered in his ear, knowing that he had heard me from the way his hand squeezed mine ever so gently.

Syed slipped in and out of consciousness as the doctor - luckily not Nurse Touchy-Feely - examined him. I reluctantly let go of his hand while the doctor checked him over. Roxy held me while the doctor informed me that Syed was over the worst. His shoulder was healing well, his leg was going to be fixed up, given time, and his lungs were clear of any trace of the smoke he had inhaled. He would need intensive therapy to help him walk again, but with my help at home - which he was certainly going to be getting - the doctor was confident that he would regain full use of his legs in no time at all. The doctor left us once he was happy that Syed was stable, and I immediately resumed my place at his side. I knew that he needed to rest, and so I let him be, simply taking his hand in mine again and watching him as he drifted in and out of consciousness. After sitting with me for a while, Roxy left, taking my keys with her so that she could fetch some things back for me and Syed in the morning. I was so grateful for her for everything she had done for us. She also promised to tell Tamwar that Syed was going to be OK, and that he could come visit any time he liked. She kissed me lightly before she left, and I pecked Syed's lips gently before laying my head down - awkwardly - next to Syed's and drifting off to sleep myself.

A/N: Hope you liked it! Next chapter will see loads more deep Chryed, so I hope you're ready for it!