The first thing Leela felt as she regained consciousness was discomfort. Her whole body felt sore, and she had no idea why. She barely remembered anything. Her mind felt hazy and blank, as if she was on something.

She tried to move, but couldn't. She felt like was under restraints, and somehow her left arm weighed four times its normal weight. Her mouth tasted like dry blood and her nostrils were clogged, making it hard for her to breathe through them. She was so drowsy it felt like the room was turning.

As she slowly opened her eyes and tried to adjust them to the almost absent light of the room, her gaze fell upon Steve, who was sound asleep with his head on her lap. Besides that, all she could see was that she was in a hospital room with a broken arm.

She didn't want to wake him, but she needed to find out what had happened to her that she was required to be in that particular place. She noticed her right arm was fine, apart from the catheter inserted into her vein, and slowly lifted it up to give him a nudge.

"Don't wake him. This is the first time he's slept in days." she heard someone whisper next to her. She wasn't able to move her neck, but she managed to turn her head to her left enough to see that that command had come from a blue female cat she had never seen before in her life.

"Who… who are you?" she asked weakly. The feline was giving her a warm smile, like she had known her all her life.

"My name is Nicole. I'm an old friend of Steve's." she explained. "I've been here keeping him company while you recover."

"What happened? Why am I here?"

"You where in an accident. All I know is that a truck crashed into you on the road. You've been in a coma ever since." Leela's eyes widened.

"A coma?!" she exclaimed, feeling completely disorientated. "For how long?"

"A little over five days. You were very lucky, you know? You probably wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him." she pointed towards Steve with her head.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, from what I heard, when the ambulance reached the place where the accident occurred, Steve was holding you firmly in his arms, desperate for your wellbeing, and the paramedics said that his body heat was what kept you from losing your live." Nicole stood and headed towards the bed, placing a hand on Leela's shoulder. "He hasn't left your side ever since. He hasn't eaten in the time he's been here, because he refuses to leave you for even five minutes."

Leela's gaze slowly drifted from the cat to fall upon the sight of her sleeping lover. From the time she knew him she had realized he was kind and loving to anyone and anything, but this one took the gold. She knew he cared for her, but on no circumstances she had thought he would sacrifice his health just to make sure she was OK. That made her eyes water up as she watched him sleep with a smile across her face.

"I should go. Visiting hours will be over soon." said Nicole as she looked over at the clock on the wall. "Take care, darling." she softly brushed Leela's cheek with her knuckles and quietly exited the room, slowly closing the door behind her.

Leela stared at the door for a few more seconds for no particular reason, allowing her mind to wander. What Nicole had told her touched her in a way she had never been touched before, mostly due to the fact that no one had ever done something so loving and altruistic for her. Steve could have died of starvation, but it was obvious he didn't care the least about it.

She turned her attention back her loved one, still sleeping like a baby on her lap. A small trickle of drool escaped his mouth as he breathed through it, making her smile as she realized how innocent and adorable he looked. She wanted to hold him close and cover him with kisses, but she didn't dare to awake him from his sleep. She just watched with love-filled eyes, feeling extremely thankful for having someone so wonderful at her side.

At some point her eyes started to feel tired, and as she leaned her head back against her pillow she drifted away into a deep slumber.

"Sir, please, go home and take a shower. You're unsanitary."

"I don't care, I'm not leaving her!"

"But you could contamina– "

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?! I AM NOT FREAKING LEAVING HER!"

Leela was awaken by the sound of a fight going on around her, recognizing one of the voices to be Steve's and the other being from who she assumed to be one of the nurses.

"Sir, you are a liability!"

"No, you're a liability! It's been a week now and she still hasn't woken up!"

"That's just how comas are! Some of them can take years! There's nothing I can do about it!"

"Then just get out of here, YOU'RE COMPLETELY USELESS!"

Yikes, it sure didn't take long for him to forget all he had learned about keeping calm under pressure, Leela thought to herself.

She heard the unmistakable sound of stomping feet go across the room and a door slamming hard. She figured the nurse had taken enough insults for one day and left. Not very long after she felt some weight on her lap and heard Steve sobbing hardly against it.

"What am I going to do?" he asked with apparent desperation in his voice, muffled by the bed sheets. "I'm the one who's useless! I can't do anything to help you!"

Leela opened her eyes to see him cry, his face buried on the linens, slowly getting soaked by his tears.

"I should have respected your privacy!" he continued, his anxious tone increasing. "It should've been me… If only I had gotten to you sooner… then maybe I could've saved you!"

Leela felt terrible. All that had happened was because she had been a complete tool, and he was blaming himself for it. If there was anyone who hadn't had any fault in this, it was him.

"I miss you so much…" he declared, making her snap out of her thoughts. "I miss the sound of your voice…"

"Steve?"

He quickly lifted his head to see the source of that calling. His tear-drenched face froze as he saw Leela looking at him with half-lidded eyes and a warm smile on her lips.

"L-Leela…?" he stuttered in disbelief.

"Remind to sue my mechanic." she faintly joked.

Steve's shocked expression turned into the widest of grins once he had processed the scene in front of him: Leela was awake. She was FINALLY awake! He wanted to hug her as tight as he could, but due to her condition all he did was grab her good hand and kiss it tenderly.

"I thought I was going to lose you." he said as the tears returned to his eyes, now tears of joy. Her smile dropped as she remembered what had happened that had lead to that situation.

"I'm sorry…" she felt the tears emerge herself. "This is all my fault…"

"No, it's OK, I understand. The doctor told me about your heart."

She looked up at him, at his sincere gaze. How could she have ever kept anything from him? The guilt she felt was unbearable.

"I should have told you sooner. It's just… I'm not very comfortable sharing personal details about myself with other people." she sighed and looked away once more. "I never have been…"

"Don't worry, I understand." he gently clutched her chin with his thumb and forefinger and lifted her head so he could look into her eyes. "You've had a lot of traumatic experiences. I would never force you into doing something you didn't want to." he brought his face closer to hers, so much she could feel him breathing against her nose. "I love you."

Leela's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't noticed it before, but she had been waiting to hear those three words for a long time now, yet she still couldn't believe her own ears. He loved her. He really loved her!

She felt her eyes water up again as her lips trembled into a big smile.

"I… I love you too!" she replied, her voice cracking as tears rolled down her cheeks.

He locked his lips with hers for the first time in a week, making her heart beat faster and the tears run down more abundantly. As he pulled back, he very carefully wrapped his arms around her and held her close, savoring that moment in absolute silence.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"No offense, but the nurse was right. You really need to take a shower. You reek."

AUTHOR'S NOTE (PLEASE READ)

Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been really busy. But hey, the goods new is I'm officially on summer break, so I can update more often! =D

Getting closer to the end, so stay tuned!