Thank you for your wonderful feedback on the last two chapters! Surprise... I'm posting another chapter now because I made a slight miscalculation on my posting schedule and since this is basically a continuation of the last chapter posting it today seems like the best option to get back on track.

I hope you enjoy!

Endgame
Chapter 20

Tripler Army Medical Center, Patient Room
Same day / Tuesday, 1213 hours

Aided by the pain meds Steve had managed to sleep through the ride from the post-anesthesia unit to his room, waking just long enough to assist the transfer by scooting over from the gurney to the bed. Catherine moved one of the chairs close enough to Steve's bed that she could comfortably reach him to hold his hand and settled in to wait.

A short time later Danny knocked gently on the open door and poked his head in.

Catherine rose and accompanied him out to the hall, just outside the door so she'd know if Steve woke.

"How's he doing?" Danny asked quietly.

"He's doing okay," Catherine told him. "He's been sleeping since they gave the pain meds which is good. He's too stubborn to take them sometimes but I hate it when he's hurting."

"Yeah, I hear that." Danny agreed. "You know, uh, usually I'm the one who has to sit around and wait for him to wake up-"

"Danny, I'm sorry," Catherine said in a rush. "If you want-"

He held up a hand. "No, it's okay. I was going to say I'm glad you're here this time. He'd rather have you than me sitting by his bed."

"You want to come sit with him?" Catherine offered. "There's another chair."

"Maybe later," Danny told her. "I know you've got this so I think I'm gonna head out for a bit. One of the guys from HPD brought my car and it's downstairs in the lot. I already swapped my stuff over so here are your keys," he said, handing them to her, "and thank you for the loan."

She smiled, "You're welcome, Danny. Any time."

"I figured you'd want to stay with him so brought the go bag up from your car," he told her, motioning to it on the floor, "I'll be back later, so let me know if you me to bring you anything, okay?"

"I will, Danny. Thank you so much for everything," she pulled him in for a hug. "I don't know what I would have done without you here."

"You would have been fine," Danny told her, "of that I have no doubt." He smiled. "But you're welcome. I'd say 'anytime' but I'd rather we not find ourselves in a situation like any time soon, so let's not jinx it, huh?"

Catherine chuckled lightly and nodded, "Okay."

"Steve told me he screwed the pooch and forgot to send in the paperwork to make you his next of kin so I asked the nice nurse how to get that fixed and she said he can fill out the paperwork here, once he's lucid and they're sure he's in full control of his faculties." He waved his hand. "I told them they shouldn't get their hopes up but I don't think they found that funny."

Catherine smiled, appreciating her friend's sense of humor but knowing full well the military personnel at the hospital wouldn't.

"Anyway, so I arranged for them to bring him the paperwork to sign and they can have someone witness it, blah, blah, blah."

Catherine was touched and felt incredibly guilty that she and Steve had not yet told him about their engagement. "Danny, that's… You didn't have to do that."

Danny shrugged. "You didn't see him when he realized he forgot to submit those forms. I figured helping make sure that gets taken care of is the least I could do to help the poor guy out, right? He talked to you – got everything straightened out?"

"Yeah, we talked about it."

"You know he was really broken up – and I believe him one hundred percent that it was just a mistake."

"I do, too, Danny. But thank you for understanding."

"What? That you get to deal with wrangling him when he wants to leave AMA or go back to work before he's cleared? I should be thanking you." He paused for a moment. "You call me if you need anything at all."

Catherine smiled and nodded. "Thanks again, Danny."

"You got it." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a warm hug before stepping back. "I'll come by tonight, okay? Try to get some sleep., you look exhausted."

"Gee thanks," she deadpanned.

She watched him go for a moment before picking up her bag and heading back into Steve's room to resume her place next to his bed.

Tripler Army Medical Center
1454 hours

Catherine was seated at Steve's bedside when he finally stirred so she stood and stroked his forehead with one hand and was rewarded with an immediate smile when he opened his eyes and gazed at her.

"Hi," she told him quietly with a smile, "Welcome back."

He opened his mouth to reply but closed it and swallowed.

"Wait, wait," she told him and filled a cup from the pitcher on the table, placing a straw in it. "Here," she said as she held the straw steady for him to drink.

"Thanks," he told her, his voice raspy.

"You want some more?" she asked. He nodded so she filled the cup again but he raised his hand to take it.

"Stop, let me help you," she admonished, holding the straw to his lips.

He drank more and she placed the cup on the table when he was finished.

He reached up and tugged her down to give her a gentle kiss. "Time is it?" he asked once she had straightened up.

She looked at her watch. "Almost 1500 hours." She told him.

He looked at her as closely as he could in the room's dim light. "You look tired," he said. "You get any sleep?"

"Not really," she admitted.

He gestured to the bed. "Climb in here."

"Oh Steve, I don't think-"

"Please? I want you close to me."

"Okay," she acquiesced. He shifted over gingerly to make room for her on his right and she climbed up, appreciating that his IV was on the left side, same as his injury. She settled next to him and rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his right arm around her and leaned his head against hers. She fell asleep within minutes, but even though he closed his eyes and rested, having already slept for several hours he remained awake and just enjoyed the comfort of having her next to him.

A short while later the door opened and a nurse entered, pushing a cart. She noticed Catherine in the bed with Steve and frowned but then noticed the patient was awake.

"Commander," she said quietly, "I'm Corporal Katie Stengel. How are you feeling?"

"I feel okay. Better," he told her keeping his voice low, not wanting to wake Catherine.

"Good. I need to turn on this light and it may seem bright to you so if you'd like to close your eyes please go ahead."

She proceeded to check his IV site and change out the bags. "You know," she chastised softly. "Visitors should not be occupying patient beds,"

"She's my fiancée," he said, liking the way it sounded rolling off his tongue.

"Oh? I wasn't aware of that."

"I know. It was only last night that I proposed and um… we hadn't really talked about telling people. You're actually the first person to find out." He looked up for a moment.

"Oh! Well, congratulations."

"Thank you," Steve said sincerely. "And, actually, if you wouldn't mind keeping the news to yourself, I should talk to her first."

"Of course," Corporal Stengel assured him.

"About this," he said, gesturing to Catherine nestled into his side. "It's my fault," he told her, continuing to keep his voice low. "When I woke up I asked her to get up here with me. She looked exhausted and I wanted her to get some rest."

Corporal Stengel looked at him for a moment then relented. "It's fine for now, but she'll need to move before rounds start at 1900 hours."

"Of course," Steve agreed. "Thank you."

She finished her check and examined the dressing on his leg before rearranging the blankets to cover him again.

"Are you currently having any nausea or pain?" she asked.

"No nausea. I have a bit of a headache but no real pain." He told her.

"Good. You should try to eat something. There's a menu on your tray. Dial 3754 on the phone. They have a list of what's currently approved for you and can assist you with ordering some dinner. If you keep everything down you should be back on a regular diet for breakfast tomorrow. Do you need anything before I go?" she asked.

"Is my watch in the patient belongings bag? Would you mind getting it for me?"

She smiled, appreciating he was heeding the time limit she'd given him. "Not at all," she told him before fetching the bag from the closet and handing the timepiece to him.

"Thank you," he told her.

"Anything else I can do for you?"

"No, thank you, Corporal. I think I'm good."

"Remember, 1900 hours," she said before turning out the light, pushing her cart to the door and exiting the room.

Steve's watch beeped at 1830 hours and he woke the sleeping beauty next to him. He ordered a dinner tray while she used the bathroom and washed up. The doctors arrived to round on him at 1918 hours. They were happy with Steve's vitals but told him he wouldn't be cleared to get out of bed until it had been at least 24 hours since the surgical repair of his artery. So, he was immensely frustrated that he couldn't get up and move around. But, he was distracted from it when Catherine sat on the bed next to him and took his hand.

"I know we haven't talked about it, but when do you want to start telling people?" she asked him. "I felt like I was lying to Danny earlier, not telling him, but I thought we should talk about it first."

"Uh," Steve looked sheepish, "Actually, I told Corporal Stengel when she was in here earlier. But I asked her not to repeat it because I hadn't talked to you."

Catherine smiled. "I told the doctor when he came to update us. So, I guess we're even."

He reciprocated her smile. "I guess so," he agreed. "I really liked saying it out loud, but I also kind of like the idea of keeping it ourselves for a little while, especially with all this," he gestured to encompass his general condition. "Is that okay with you?"

"Absolutely," she told him. "I think we can manage to keep it from Danny for a few days. Although, knowing him, there's a chance he'll figure it out."

"True. But we both know how to keep a secret, so I have faith in us."

She squeezed his hand. "So do I."

"I uh, I owe you a ring."

She smiled. "Not unless you want to give me one. Then I'll happily accept it."

"I do. I still have the one I bought two years ago and I'd really like you to wear it. Unless you want something new."

She shook her head and bit her lip. "If you picked it out I'm sure it's perfect. I will be honored to wear it," she told him softly.

He tugged her hand. "Come here." She leaned forward to press her lips to his and he groaned when she pulled away. "I hate being out of commission."

"I know you do. But your recovery shouldn't be too bad. It could've been a lot worse," She told him with a tilt of her head.

He sighed. "I know. But I had this whole proposal planned out and…"

"Would you rather have done it the way you planned?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, not at all." he told her immediately. "I waited too long last time because I was trying so hard to make it perfect and that's what I regret. Last night on the beach may not have been what I planned, but it ended up being perfect. It just hit me… sort of like everything else just faded into the background and I knew exactly what I wanted. So, I asked, and you said yes, and made me so incredibly happy." Catherine's eyes were shining as she watched him. "But I kind of want to do the traditional thing with the ring and get down on one knee again…" he grimaced, "but I don't think I'm going to be able to do that for a little bit."

She smiled, "I don't mind waiting." She bit her lip. "But does that mean you don't want to start planning like we talked about last night?"

"Uh, would you be upset if I told you I don't really care that much about the ceremony as long as I end up as your husband?"

"How can I be when you put it that way?" she said, smiling. "Will you try to be involved, at least a little?"

"I just want you to be happy. So, if that's what you want I'll do my best," he agreed.

She leaned forward to kiss him again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he told her with a smile.

"Now, be honest with me," she said. "Are you feeling okay? Is your headache getting worse?"

He looked at her, surprised. "I guess sometimes I still forget how well you know me," he said softly.

She pushed the call button. "Don't worry, we have the rest of our lives for me to keep reminding you," she told him with a soft smile.

A/N: It seems Steve's on the mend - hopefully Catherine will be able to take him home soon. :)