And here's another chapter of Discovering Hearts up! I hope you'll enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own or make any profit from Flashpoint or its characters. I own only Nikka.

Enjoy!

Lou had been sitting in Nikka's hospital room for the past three hours. The only time he had left was to get her Cowardly Lion Statue so maybe she gain strength from it and wake up sooner.

But so far, it hadn't worked. She was still lying in the hospital bed unconscious like she had been since this morning. And it was entirely his fault, as much as everyone tried to argue against that. But whose umbrella has she brought up? His. And where was she now? Lying here on a hospital bed after being stuck in an elevator for four hours.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a simple golden bracelet. On it hung a charm that had written in silver 'LN'. Those were their first initials, and combining them like that meant something to him. Never before had anyone gotten this close to him. And it both scared and excited him. Excited him because now he knew about those feelings he had always missed but scared him too. Scared him because he didn't know how much he could handle of these new powerful emotions.

Pushing aside his doubts, he reached out to clasp it around her wrist. That way, even if he wasn't there physically when she awoke, she would know that she was in his thoughts.

Lou clasped her hand in his and sat there, his head hanging, until a voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Lou."

Lou's head snapped up, and he stared directly into her open blue eyes. He didn't speak for a minute, just taking in the sight of her awake and O.K. His heart leapt to see her eyes blinking at him and without thinking, he leaned forward and kissed her, threading one hand through her hair. She kissed back softly after a startled moment.

When he pulled back, he rested back on the chair. "How are you feeling? You hit your head pretty hard."

"I feel ok, but I had the strangest dream."

"Was I in it?" he asked, a smile dancing on his lips.

"You were the only person not in it. Everyone else was...Sam, Jules, Alexis, everyone. And the only way I got back was through..." she stopped mid-sentence, staring at her wrist.

"What?" Lou followed her gaze to the bracelet and swallowed nervously.

"I was wearing that the whole time I was in my dream. It's how I got back." She replied, noting his nervous look. "Lou? Something wrong?"

"It's nothing." He told her, turning his head. He wasn't ready to tell her. As deeply as his feelings ran, he wasn't ready to tell her.

"If it's nothing, why won't you tell me?"

"If it's nothing, there's nothing to tell."

"Lou, look at me. Please." She pleaded and the pleading made him turn to meet her eyes. "Trust me."

Captivated by her eyes, he took a deep breath and began. "The first time I saw it, I thought of us. I was going to give it to you tonight but after this happened, if I wasn't here when you woke up, I wanted you to know that you were in my thoughts. That you are always in my thoughts. Because I...I love you." He confessed, shifting his view so he couldn't see her face.

Nikka sat speechless for a moment, so many thoughts running through her mind. She thought about what she wanted to say as she found her voice. "Lou, the whole time I was dreaming, all I could think about was getting back here. Back to you, back to what we have. It was through my dream I realized how deeply my feelings ran for you. How this one word sums it all up, I don't know. I love you."

Lou's gaze was slowly drawn back to her and he could see the sincerity, the honesty plain on her face. Releasing her hand, he stroked her cheek. "What did I do before you?" he murmured, shifting from the uncomfortable chair to her hospital bed to hold her.

"I don't know." She said as she relaxed against his chest. "But I don't think that matters much now, does it?"

"I believe your right."