Author's note: Am I the only one anxiously awaiting the season premier this fall? Until then, here's a nice long chapter to hold you over. Just a few more chapters until the end :(
(Don't worry, I'm already planning on a sequel of sorts to this story, playing around with a few other ideas, and am also working on a separate story that delves into the unraveling of the Will/Nina fiasco. Keeping in mind that I'm not a huge fan of writing sappy, "fluffy" type stories, feel free to private message me any suggestions for Will/Nat, Will/Jay, or just plain ol' Will stories you would like to "see" play out.)

Will awoke two days later with a sense of determination. Natalie and Owen had stopped by again yesterday evening before going home after Natalie's shift. After they had left he had managed to convince Jay to help him take a short walk around the hallway outside his room. Will found himself driven to push his recovery so he could be discharged sooner rather than later. He wanted nothing more than to be able to spend as much time as possible with them outside of the hospital walls. Will slid down the bedrail and sat up, taking a few seconds to adjust to being upright. After attaching himself to a portable heart monitor, Will stood and grabbed onto his IV pole for support. He took a few shaky steps before gaining his bearings. Thankfully there was no one in the hallway as he exited. That's all he needed was for someone to try and persuade him to get back in bed since he had yet to walk anywhere on his own yet. His stride grew more stable the closer he got to the elevator. The elevator doors slid open and Will entered, dragging his IV stand behind him. He pressed the button for the ground floor then leaned against the rear wall of the elevator. Will felt the elevator stop moments later, a quiet ping signaling that he had reached his destination. He waited for the doors to once again open and found himself face to face with Sharon Goodwin when they did.

" Ms. Goodwin," Will simply stated as he stepped off the elevator.

" Dr. Halstead. It's good to see you back on your feet. How are you feeling?"

" I'd say I've been better, but I think that's pretty obvious," he replied.

" Don't over do it now. Your body has been through alot and you need plenty of time to heal," she reasoned.

" No need to worry. Just stretching my legs," said Will. Sharon stepped forward, carefully enveloping Will in a hug.

" I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, but you had us worried there. Take care of yourself."

" Will do," he said as she released him and headed back towards her office. Will continued his journey as he turned a corner and found an oblivious Natalie just a few feet away, standing next to a supply cart.

" Hey beautiful," he stated as he walked up behind her. Natalie turned around, clearly surprised to hear Will's voice.

" What are you doing down here?" she asked as Will leaned in and kissed her.

" I got bored," replied Will.

" Are you sure you're ready to be up and walking like this?"

" I have to build my strength up somehow," Will pointed out as Natalie selected a suture kit.

" True. I just don't want you to jeopardize your recovery," Natalie reasoned.

" I'll be fine," he stated.

" I need to get back to my patient. If you want to stick around for a little bit maybe we can grab an early lunch when I'm done?"

" Sounds good to me," he replied as he gave Natalie a second kiss. He watched her walk away before continuing down the hallway.

" What do you think you're doing?" Will stopped in his tracks at the sound of Maggie's voice.

" Good to see you too Maggie," he replied.

" You should be resting. You're going to over do it."

" Relax. I'm actually on my way to the lounge to lay down before Natalie and I go to lunch."

" Good."

" Have a good day," commented Will.

" Mhmm," she muttered before running off towards the ambulance bay, the sound of an alarm notifying her of an incoming patient. A part of Will wanted to follow Maggie and dive into whatever bloody trauma surely awaited. The rational side of him knew doing so would be too taxing on his body. Will sullenly dragged his IV stand a few more feet before reaching the ER's lounge. He pushed the door open and found the room empty. After stretching out on the overstuffed futon, Will grabbed a stray copy of the National Enquirer and began flipping through it. He was a few paragraphs into a story about the latest Bigfoot sighting when the door swung open.

" You must be really bored." Will looked over the top of the magazine to find Connor staring at him.

" If you would just go ahead and discharge me I wouldn't have to be camping out in the lounge reading Maggie's trash magazines."

"And tear you away from such fascinating literature? I wouldn't dare," Connor remarked sarcastically.

" Did you know some lady saw Big Foot roaming around New York City?"

" Was he hanging out with Elvis?" asked Connor.

" No. Elvis was in Los Angeles at a Dodgers game. Get your story straight," Will said with a laugh before throwing the magazine onto a table.

Hey, could you hand me that blanket?" Will asked, stifling a yawn. Connor grabbed a nearby blanket and tossed it to Will as his pager began beeping.

" Great. They're rushing one of my patients back to the OR. No rest for the wicked," he said with a sigh.

" If you see Nat, let her know where I am?"

" Got it," Connor stated as he ran out the door.

" Hey sleeping beauty," Natalie said, entering the lounge a few hours later.

" What time is it?"

" A little after 1:30 p.m. I came by a few hours ago and you were sound asleep."

" Have you had lunch yet?"

" I was actually just about ready to meet up with this great looking guy I know," she said.

" Oh really? Anyone I know?"

" It's Gus."

" The bald janitor that only has nine fingers?"

" He's so irresistible," responded Natalie, doing her best to not crack a smile as Will stood and followed her out into the ER.

" I hate to break it to you, but I'm pretty sure Gus is married."

" Well damn. I guess you'll have to do then," Natalie stated, eliciting a laugh from Will while they headed for the elevators.

Are you okay?" asked a concerned Natalie as Will suddenly grimaced beside her.

" Just a muscle spasm. I'm not used to being laid up for so long."

" Are you sure?"

" I'm fine," he said somewhat hesitantly as they continued down the hallway. Just a few steps later Will paused, gripping Natalie's hand tighter as he did so.

" Maybe we should sit down so you can rest for a little bit," suggested Natalie.

" I'm good," replied Will, his voice full of uncertainty. Something wasn't right. Out of nowhere a sharp pain in his side stopped Will in his tracks. He let go of Natalie's hand and attempted to take a few steps on his own. After just a few feet, Will braced himself against the wall and grabbed hold of his side.

" I think...I'm going to have to take...a raincheck on lunch," he said, gritting his teeth in pain as he slid to the floor. Fear filled his eyes as he pulled his hand away and found it covered in blood.

" Will!" she shouted, kneeling down beside his slumped over body.

Somebody! Help!"

Ethan was just exiting the lounge when he heard Natalie's cry for help. He followed her voice around a corner and found her beside a partially collapsed Will.

" What happened?" asked a concerned Ethan as he grabbed a pair of gloves.

" We were going to grab lunch and he just doubled over with no warning."

" Will, I need you to move your hand so I can get a better look." Will reluctantly dropped his hand to his side, revealing a large bloodstain on his shirt. Ethan carefully rolled up the shirt and found blood coming from one of Will's incisions.

It looks like some of your stitches tore open. Do you think you can stand?" Will nodded before reaching for Ethan's outstretched arms. Natalie grabbed his IV stand and slowly followed behind the two men.

" Maggie, what's open?"

" Exam two...what the hell happened?"

" Bar fight," Will retorted with a wry smile.

" I'll page Dr. Rhodes," offered Maggie as she rolled her eyes and walked out.

" Thanks Maggie," Ethan shouted before helping Will out of his shirt.

" We don't need to drag Rhodes into this," argued Will.

" I'm sure I don't need to, but the fact that you just had your chest tube removed means we need to make sure your lungs are stable and there's no internal damage done." Will groaned and laid back against a pillow knowing that Ethan was right.

" I knew you were doing too much too soon," Natalie lamented.

" It's just a few stitches."

" A few stitches? What if it causes your lung to collapse again and you wind up needing a second chest tube? You're leaving yourself open to infections not to mention a longer hospital stay." Will stared at her silently, knowing that nothing he said would bring an end to the argument.

" Let's wait until we get a chest x-ray before we start jumping to conclusions," Ethan suggested as a nurse entered.

" Dr. Rhodes just got out of surgery and will be down as soon as he speaks with the family. He wanted to make sure you've ordered a chest x-ray."

" Thanks Nora." said Ethan as he applied pressure with a stack of gauze he had just grabbed.

Do you think you can stay in one piece while I go get a suture kit?"

" I'll do my best," Will quipped.

" You're a pain in the ass," Connor declared as he entered the exam room, still dressed in his dark blue surgical scrubs and scrub cap.

" So I've been told," Will replied, watching Ethan stitch his incision back together.

" Chest x-ray looks good. You got lucky," said Connor as he turned to Ethan.

Put him on low flow oxygen to avoid any unnecessary strain on his lungs and keep him down here for observation for a few hours. Make sure you get a repeat chest x-ray before sending him back upstairs. I've got to head back up to the OR, but page me if anything changes," he instructed before handing Natalie his tablet and walking away.

" See?" Will said, looking at Natalie.

" I've got to go check on a patient," Natalie replied, hastily planting a kiss on Will's cheek before rushing out.

" What was that about?" Ethan asked, clipping a thread.

" I don't know," replied Will, his heart sinking as he watched Natalie walk away. What had just happened?

A strangled smile fell from your face
It kills me that I hurt you this way
The worst part is I didn't even know...

~Lifehouse~ Whatever It Takes