Nick had just a fraction of a second to realize he was in a hospital bed before the pain overtook him.

"Ahh!" he cried out. He tried to wrench away from it, but it was everywhere and the movement made infinitely worse. He hissed through his clenched teeth, trying and failing to breathe through it.

"Nick," came a soft, comforting voice. Sabrina appeared over him. Her hand was feather light against his cheek. "You're okay," she soothed. "It's okay."

"Sabrina…" he gasped. Everything hurt. It more than hurt. He had never felt physical pain like this before.

"I'm okay," she assured him, anticipating what he was going to ask. He felt her moving around beside him, the loss of her touch, but all he could focus on was the pain that chorused through body, no matter how badly he wanted to look at the girl next to him, see for his own eyes that she was okay.

"Can I help you?" a voice filled the room.

"Detective Scratch is awake," he heard Sabrina saying. He tried to take deep breaths, but it just hurt too much. His breaths came out short and choppy instead. "He's in a lot of pain."

"Someone will be right there," the voice said.

"Thank you." Her hand returned to his cheek, her thumb moving back and forth to comfort him. "Someone is on their way," she told him. "We're going to take care of you. You're going to be fine, Nick." She pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"Sabrina…"

"I'm here," she soothed. "Shhh. Rest now. We can talk about everything later." He was in too much pain to argue. "You're safe. We're all safe."

Someone, a doctor, he thought, entered the room, said something to him about being in a lot of pain. He couldn't form words to answer as another wave of what felt like a thousand tiny shards of glass washed through him. He heard Sabrina confirming, asking the doctor to please give him something to help. He was vaguely aware of another person, a nurse, replacing Sabrina at his side, talking about pain medicine and an IV He heard Sabrina asking questions he couldn't register. The nurse was doing something at his side, but the pain was so intense his vision was blurred.

"Sabrina…" he gasped again.

"She hasn't gone anywhere," the nurse said, moving to allow Sabrina to return to his side.

"I'm here." Her hand wrapped around his. "Rest, Nick. I'll be here when you wake up. I promise."

She kissed his forehead again as he closed his eyes and let the pain overtake him.

When he woke up again, the pain was still there, but it wasn't as blinding as it had been earlier. He turned his head, searching for Sabrina. She was there, curled in a chair at his bedside, reading a magazine.

"Sabrina." His voice sounded hoarse.

She turned to him. Relief colored her features.

"Nick." She stood and perched on the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot," he muttered. He had a hazy memory of gunshots and the feeling of bullets barreling into his vest. He wasn't worried about himself though. He tried to sit up. "Ahh!" Pain blazed through his upper body, pinning him back to the pillows. He realized then that his left shoulder was heavily bandaged and strapped to his chest. There was blood on the bandage.

"Nick, don't." Sabrina helped him settle back against the pillows. "Don't try to move too much right now."

He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, riding out the fresh wave of pain his movements had caused. When the worst of it was over, he blinked his eyes back open. Sabrina was still there, looking at him with concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Her fingers wound through his and she once more perched on the edge of his bed. "A few bumps and bruise and a sore wrist from when I fell, but I'm okay."

"And Harvey?"

"He's in custody. He's not going to hurt anyone else."

"You're sure you're okay?" Nick pressed.

"I'm okay," she promised. "Really, Nick. I'm okay. They checked me over when they brought you in, did a few x-rays. I didn't even need a brace for my wrist." She raised his hand to her lips. "How bad is the pain? Tell me the truth, Scratch."

"Not great, but not as bad as it was earlier," he answered honestly.

"You're on some pretty strong pain killers," she told him. "The doctor said you will be pretty drowsy for the next few days."

"What's my damage?" he asked. "I can tell from the amount of pain I'm in that its more than a few bumps and bruises." Sabrina's hand tightened around his.

"You were shot three times." He winced, but not for himself. Sabrina was there. She had seen it. He was certain she was terrified in that moment, and he hated that he had scared her. "Two bullets were stopped by your vest. You have got some nasty bruises and the force of being shot a such a close distance broke a few ribs. The doctor said they were 'kill shots.' You would have been dead without that vest, Nick." Her voice hitched, giving away how hard she was working to keep her own emotions in check to be strong for him. "I'll save us the argument and let you know you are never taking it off again."

He smiled just a little.

"The bullet to your shoulder did a lot of damage, she continued. "You have what they called a proximal humerus fracture. Basically, the bullet crashed though this bone." She motioned to where her own arm connected to her shoulder. "It also nicked your brachial artery. You lost a lot of blood before they could get you here. They had to do emergency surgery to stop the bleeding, repair the fracture, and try to prevent nerve damage." Another hitch. "They think they were successful, but we won't know for sure until the swelling goes down and you start physical therapy. You have a nice collection of titanium holding everything together now."

Nick let his head fall back. It wasn't the first time he had been hurt on the job, but he had never been hurt this badly before.

"You have an assortment of bumps and bruises, including a nice goose egg." She very lightly touched a place just above his left eye. He winced. "You got this when you collapsed after cuffing Harvey. Thankfully, the doctors don't think you got a concussion."

"There's some good news," he muttered.

"The good news is you're alive," Sabrina said pointedly. "As for your foot, Nicholas Scratch, I'm sorry to inform you that you are going to need surgery in a few weeks to repair the damage done by not listening to your doctor in the first place."

"Excellent," Nick sighed, feeling discouraged. "My whole left side is out of commission for the foreseeable future."

"You will be as good as new before long." Sabrina brushed a curl of hair from his forehead. "You're alive, Nick. I don't care if your left side doesn't work all that well right now. You're alive, and you're here, and that's all that matters."

"How long have I been out?" he asked, leaning into her touch as her hand trailed down his cheek.

"Two days," she answered. "You were in surgery for a few hours, and then you have been in and out of consciousness for the last day and a half or so. This is the first time you've managed to string together more than a few mumbled words."

He frowned, trying to figure out the day, no recollection of waking up at all between the time he collapsed at the hunting cabin and now.

"It's Thanksgiving," he realized after a moment. Sabrina shook her head.

"Thanksgiving was yesterday, Scratch. We will have to celebrate at a later date." She rested her hand on his jaw and looked into his eyes. They were tired and a little cloudy. Hers, he noted were full of worry and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. "I love you, Nick." A tear escaped. "I love you so much."

While the monitor attached to him didn't show it, he was sure his heart skipped several beats. Those three words from her were everything. They gave him purpose.

"I love you, too, Sabrina," he replied in a rough voice that revealed the storm of emotions he was feeling at finally hearing her say those words. "I had no idea it was possible to love someone the way I love you."

She leaned down and pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back, wishing he could do more, wishing it didn't hurt so badly to simply kiss his girlfriend.

"I love you," she said again as she pulled away. She smiled just a bit, her eyes watery. "I'm going to say it a lot."

"I love you," he replied. He squeezed her hand, weakly, three times. She wiped at another tear and squeezed back, one long, hard, reassuring squeeze.

"Do you need anything?" she asked. "Something to drink? I'm not sure where they stand on letting you eat yet, but I can ask if you're hungry…"

"Water," Nick decided. "My throat is sore."

"From the ventilator during surgery," Sabrina said knowingly. He missed her the moment she left his side. She was back almost right away, this time with a cup of water and a straw. He tried to reach for it with his right arm, but hissed in pain. "Don't try that," she shook her head. "I've got it."

She held the cup for him while he took a long sip. The cool liquid felt good on his throat.

"Where's Dublin?" he asked, settling back against his pillows. "Is someone looking after her?"

"She's at the mortuary," Sabrina confirmed. "I made Ambrose go get her."

"Ambrose is terrified of dogs." Sabrina smirked.

"I know." His chuckle quickly turned into another hiss. "Careful," Sabrina soothed. Her hand ran through his hair. She couldn't stop touching him, reassuring herself that he was there, that he was okay. "Your only job right now is to relax and get better."

"I'm going to be at your mercy for the foreseeable future too, aren't I?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so, Scratch," she confirmed. "If you think I was a pain in the ass over your foot, imagine what I'm going to be like now."

"You're here and you're safe," he said. "All of this is a small price to pay. There is also the fact that I don't think I have a choice in the matter." He was already calculating what he could and couldn't do for himself in his current state. The list of what he couldn't do far outstripped what he could. If Sabrina wanted to play nurse, he wasn't going to stop her. "And you're pretty cute."

"Are you really trying to flirt with me right now?" Sabrina asked.

"Distracting myself from the pain," Nick answered. Sabrina rolled her eyes but smiled. She leaned down for another kiss.

"Did that help?"

"A little," he confirmed. He squeezed her hand, aware again that he didn't have his full strength. "One more time, for my peace of mind. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm positive." She kissed their joined hands again. "I'm also positive you're going to ask me again in a few minutes."

"Guilty," he admitted. "Could I have some more of that water?" Sabrina obliged, grateful he was being amenable. She knew it wouldn't last. He was too stubborn to allow her to take care of him but for so long.

A knock sounded on his door. It creaked open a moment later.

"How is he?" came Ambrose's hushed voice.

"Awake and in pain," Nick answered. Ambrose with a relieved grin.

"I've told you, Scratch, if you want a few days off, just ask," he said. "Crashing cars and getting shot seems excessive."

"I agree," Sabrina said. Nick looked from her to Ambrose.

"I'm going to need a few days off, Captain" Nick said in an attempt to lighten the mood. Ambrose chuckled.

"If I see you around the station before the New Year, I'll suspend you myself," he said, only half joking. "Take some time, Nick. You have certainly earned it."

"The New Year is only a month away," Sabrina said. "Nick, you're going to need more time than that..."

"You really think Scratch is going let someone else testify against Kinkle?" Ambrose asked.

"This might be the first time I've ever looked forward to court," Nick agreed. He squeezed Sabrina's hand. "We'll play my return to work by ear." He saw her bite her lip to keep from arguing, but he was certain the argument would happen, be it today or a few weeks from now. He turned back to Ambrose. "Sabrina said Kinkle is in custody?"

"He had a pit stop here to have his knee and thigh treated, "Ambrose answered. "Well-placed shots, by the way. You subdued him, but didn't kill him."

"I didn't want to kill him," Nick said. "I want the son of bitch to face a jury, pay for what he's done. Killing him would have given him the easy way out." Still, he wouldn't have hesitated to take Harvey's life if it meant saving Sabrina's.

"He's been booked, charged, and is currently residing in isolation," Ambrose continued. "Prudence had a field day charging him. Murder, attempted murder, evidence tampering, false imprisonment… The list is long."

"False imprisonment?" Sabrina asked.

"He held you against your will," Nick explained. "Even if you went with him willingly, he wouldn't let you leave." He approved of what Prudence was doing. She was charging Harvey with absolutely anything he was remotely guilty of.

"No matter," Sabrina shook her head. "He deserves everything he gets."

"Did he confess?" Nick asked. "He would be a fool not to."

"He did, but it wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't." Ambrose nodded towards Sabrina. "Nancy Drew over there recorded their entire confrontation."

"Nancy Drew?" Sabrina asked.

"You know, the sleuthing teenage detective…"

"I know who Nancy Drew is," Sabrina interrupted. "I just think it's a bad comparison. But yes, I did record it all. I had just charged my recorder. I put a fresh memory card in it before I got to Harvey's. I turned it on before I knocked on his door and kept it in my bag, which I left on the kitchen counter so it could pick up what we were saying. I didn't know how things were going to end, and I needed to make sure I left something to solidify Harvey's guilt."

"We're going to have a conversation about you taking off to Kinkle's like you did," Nick told her. "That was stupid, Sabrina."

"You mean you're going to have a fight," Ambrose corrected. "Good luck, Scratch. I've already had words with her. Had we not been in the hospital waiting room, I imagine there would have been slamming doors and thrown home décor."

"Your timing was terrible," Sabrina reminded him. "Nick was in surgery, fighting for his life, and you decide to lecture me about my choices over the last few hours…"

"I'll let Scratch have his turn when he sees fit," Ambrose said, raising his hands in surrender. The last thing he needed was for Sabrina to get wound up. "As for Kinkle, he's been arraigned. He pleaded guilty, was obviously denied bail. Prudence plans to go for the most severe punishment available."

Nick knew what Ambrose was alluding to. Prudence would seek the death penalty. He wasn't sure how Sabrina would feel about that, in spite of her desire to see him pay for his crimes.

"And Theo is okay?" he continued.

"Theo is going to be fine," Ambrose nodded. "He was shot in the arm, but he was otherwise lucky. He's at home, being waited on hand and foot by Billy."

"We'll have to compare battle wounds," Nick mused.

"You'll win," Sabrina told him.

"It wouldn't be a contest," Ambrose confirmed. "Theo's got a paper cut compared to what you're sporting."

"What happened after I entered the cabin?" Nick asked, eager to know everything. The pain ebbed at him, tried to come for him, but talking to Ambrose and Sabrina helped keep it at bay, at least for now.

"Well, I didn't listen to you and your nonsense, for one," Ambrose said. "Scratch wanted me to hang back, let him go it alone," he explained to Sabrina. "He also didn't want me to call in the backup I had to convince him to have waiting at the bottom of the mountain in the first place."

"I wondered why you were by yourself," Sabrina said to Nick. "Isn't it a sort of general rule that cops should enter active scenes in pairs if at all possible?"

"Ideally," Nick admitted. "But it was just Ambrose and I at that point, and someone needed to hang back to call for backup when it was time." He squeezed Sabrina's hand. "It was you in there, Sabrina. I wasn't thinking about much besides how to get you out of there safely."

"I told him not to do anything stupid," Ambrose supplied. "So he tightened the straps on his vest and was out of the car before I could stop him, his gun raised."

"We parked at the end of the drive," Nick told her, filling in the blanks. "We didn't want the sound of the car to cause Kinkle alarm. The slush from the sleet covered up my footsteps, and he left the door unlocked. It was easy for me to get inside without him noticing."

"I stayed back at the car long enough call in backup. I gave them orders to move in, which took a couple of minutes, tops, and then followed Nick. It may have felt like forever, but it was less than five minutes between the time Nick entered and the time he had Kinkle in cuffs."

"And then they stormed the place," Sabrina said. "I don't remember Harvey being taken out of the kitchen. I just remember trying to wake Nick up."

A heavy silence fell over them. All Nick could do to comfort her was offer another squeeze of her hand. Ambrose would never forget the way Sabrina had clung to Nick, begging him to wake up, or how she had broken down when Craig and Spriggs carried him out to the police car for transport. He had used all of his strength to hold onto her, keep her from going after them. He could still feel her, dead weight in his arms when she finally gave into her fears and collapsed in his arms.

"We had to transport you to meet an ambulance in the back of one of the cop cars," he told Nick, breaking the silence and stopping his own trip down memory lane. "They wanted to life flight you, but because of the weather, the helicopter couldn't fly. It's probably a good thing you were passed out the whole time. It couldn't have been a comfortable ride out of the mountains in the back of a cruiser."

"It all worked out," Nick mused, sensing Sabrina had heard enough. "I'm a little beat up, but I'm going to be okay, Kinkle is off the streets, and most importantly, this one," he nodded at Sabrina, "is safe and sound."

Ambrose stayed a while longer, making small talk, offering to pick up food, to check on Nick's house, anything at all he could do to help, feeling helpless all the while as he took in his detective, beaten up and weak, his cousin, exhausted, emotionally and physically. He noted that they never let go of the other's hand. He parted with a promise to visit the next day, and to Sabrina's chagrin, keep Nick posted on what was happening at the station. He left as a nurse entered.

"Good news, Detective Scratch, you get to eat a little something," she greeted.

"Hospital food," Nick said wryly. "I can hardly wait."

"It's not too bad," Sabrina assured him. She had eaten enough of it the last few days.

"Grilled cheese and tomato soup," the nurse confirmed. "Something hearty. Sabrina's right. Its not all that bad – certainly one of our better dishes. But before we bring you dinner, we need to change those bandages. Sabrina, do you want to wait in the hall?"

"No," Nick answered before she could protest. "She's okay here."

He found comfort in having her there. It wasn't even the fact that she was safe. It was the feeling of having someone by his side, someone that loved him. He wasn't too proud to admit that he was overwhelmed by being in the hospital, injured and in pain. He needed Sabrina, and she wanted to be there.

Tears burned his eyes as the nurse – Elsbeth, he thought Sabrina called her – worked as gently as she could to remove his bandages, clean his surgical wounds, and rebandage him. It hurt like hell, and he couldn't bring himself to look at the damage. Sabrina, however, watched closely, almost as though she were taking notes.

"All done," Elsbeth announced. "I know that wasn't especially pleasant, but your incisions and wound are healing nicely. How is the pain on a scale from one to ten, ten being the absolute worst?"

"A six," Nick answered, wincing. He found his ribs didn't hurt as much if he didn't move, but they were screaming now, having had no choice but to move just a bit for Elsbeth to bandage him.

"That's more like an eight in Scratch speak," Sabrina supplied, glaring at him. "Maybe even a nine."

"Let's try to get some dinner in you, then it will be time for more pain meds," Elsbeth said, agreeing with Sabrina that he was in more pain than he let on. As if on cue, an orderly arrived with his dinner. When they were alone, Sabrina perched on his bed and waited to see if he would ask for help.

"Ow," he winched as he tried to pick up a half of grilled cheese. "Damn ribs." He managed a couple of bites, then considered his soup. He sighed. The pain was enough to make his hand shake. There was no way he could manage to spoon hot soup into his mouth. He looked to Sabrina, knowing she was practically sitting on her hands to keep herself from helping. "You're up, Spellman."

She was there, patient as a saint, carefully feeding him soup, allowing him to feed himself what he wanted of the grilled cheese.

"I think I'm done," he said, settling back against the bed. "That's all I can manage."

"You sure?" she asked. "You've only had half of that grilled cheese and not much soup. You haven't touched," she picked up a syrup-packed fruit cup, "whatever this is." She put it down. "I'll take Ambrose up on his offer to bring food tomorrow, get you something better than this."

"The food isn't all that awful," he said. "I'm just not all that hungry. Honestly, I'm a little nauseous."

"It's the pain killers," Sabrina said knowingly. "I was reading up on side effects and nausea is one of them."

Before he could stop her, she had called the nurse's station and requested both his next round of painkillers and something for nausea. The same nurse, Elsbeth, came back in and swapped out his IV bag for a fresh one. He took the pill she offered and sighed in relief when she was gone, hopefully for a while.

"Do you need anything else?" Sabrina asked. "Water? Coffee?"

"No, I'm good," he shook his head and gave her a curious look. "What about you? Where's your dinner?"

"I'll get something in a few minutes," she dismissed. "I'm more worried about you right now."

"You have to take care of yourself, too, Sabrina," he reminded her. "Have you gone home since I've been in here?" Her silence was his answer. "I'm glad you're here, beautiful, but its okay for you to sleep in your own bed tonight. Dublin would be happy to see you. This is the longest she's ever been away from me."

"Dublin isn't going to want to see either of us after a few days with Aunt Hilda," Sabrina told him. "Prudence has the twins there a lot, too, and Dublin is rather partial to them. It's sweet, the way she lays wherever they are." She rested a hand on Nick's leg. "I'm not leaving you, Scratch. Not until you're leaving this hospital, too."

Selfishly, he was glad to hear her say that. He wanted her there, with him. He didn't want to be alone, but he also didn't want her to neglect herself.

"Just promise me you'll eat something?" he asked. "And try to get some sleep?"

"I will," she assured him. She leaned in to kiss him lightly. When she pulled away, something in her eyes had shifted. She looked vulnerable now, almost afraid. "I was so scared, Nick," she confessed. "Looking back, I wasn't afraid when I was confronting Harvey. I was resolute, determined to end this, but I wasn't afraid. But those hours between when you were shot and when I was finally able to see you, hold your hand in the recovery room? I have never been that scared in my life. I thought I was going to lose you, Nick."

She couldn't hold back the tears that filled her eyes.

Nick ignored his protesting ribs and the pain that shot through his shoulder as he pushed himself upright with his uninjured arm. She was more important than his discomfort. He reached for her.

"Come here." He pulled her into him as much as he could. "I'm okay," he promised. "I told you I would do everything I could to come home to you, and I did." He pressed a kiss to her hair, felt her tears on his bare shoulder. "It's over. All of this is over. You're safe. I'm safe. The people you love are safe. It's going to take a hell of a lot more than a gunshot to the shoulder to take me away from you, Spellman."

"Those were the longest hours of my life," she said. "I was terrified. They were talking about how much blood you had lost, how you needed emergency surgery to save you…"

"I felt the same way when I realized you had gone to confront Harvey," Nick told her. "I was sick on the stomach, knowing you had willingly walked into the arm of a murderer."

He couldn't hide how much the wave of pain that washed over him hurt this time. Sabrina noticed and sat up.

"You should be resting," she chastised. "Lay back, Scratch." She guided him back to his inclined pillows. "Better?"

"Not really," he confessed. He patted the narrow space beside him. "Lay with me?"

"No," Sabrina shook her head. "You're in too much pain."

"You can't hurt me," he said. "Lay down, Sabrina. Please. It'll make me feel better."

"Now who's going for the jugular?" she asked, even as she caved to the puppy dog eyes he was giving her. "The first sign of pain, and I'm getting out of this bed."

"That's fair," he agreed. There was an immediate sort of relief when her body was stretched alongside his, her lying on her side so she could face him and fit into the tight space. The physical pain didn't go away, but his body still seemed to relax with hern ear. He didn't try to put his arm around her, but took her hand in his.

"I'm sorry, Nick," she said softly. His brow furrowed.

"For what?"

"When I went to Harvey's, I knew I was doing the very thing that would hurt you the most, especially if I didn't make it. But I had to end his reign of terror, even if that meant he might take my life." She wiped at her eyes. "I wasn't going to go down without a fight, though. I wanted to live, Nick. I wanted to tell you I love you."

Tears burned at Nick's eyes.

"I love you, too," he choked out. "I know there's no use now in saying you should have come to me, but you should have. Who knows what would have happened, but me, Ambrose, the rest of the department… We would have taken Harvey out, one way or another. There was never a reason for you to put yourself in harm's way."

"I know that," Sabrina admitted. "But I felt so responsible." She shuttered. "I still feel responsible, from the Wardwells all the way to you, lying in this bed hurt and in pain. It's my fault."

"You are not responsible," Nick said firmly. "Not for the Wardwells, Cassius, Angela, Blackwood, Tommy, Theo, or me. You didn't do this, Sabrina. Harvey did. He will pay for his crimes."

"You weren't responsible for Amalia," she said softly, reminding him that he knew all too well how she felt.

"No," he agreed after a moment, "I wasn't." He squeezed her hand. "I wish I could hold you. That's what I really need right now – you in my arms, your head on my chest. I need to feel your heart beating against mine."

She heard the frustration in his voice. He was already starting to struggle with his limited mobility. The next several weeks would be hard, but she would be there, help him through.

"Will this work for now?" She took their joint hands and placed them over her heart. He closed his eyes and breathed out, his ribs protesting, as he felt the reassuring pulse of her heart pounding against his palm.

"For now," he agreed.

"I love you, Nick," she whispered.

"I love you, Sabrina." She kissed him again. "You'll get some dinner soon?"

"I will," she promised. She watched his eyelids growing heavy as the pain medicine took effect. "Rest, Nick. I'll still be here when you wake up."

"Hmmm…" he answered, sleep coming for him fast. "Dinner."

"Soon," she assured him. "Rest."

She watched him fall asleep, then focused on the steady rise and fall of his chest for several minutes. Careful not to wake him, she pulled the blankets down and surveyed the bruises left from where the bullets had hit his vest. A deep red and purple bruise bigger than her hand bloomed across his lower abdomen. Had the shot gone in, it would have blasted through his liver and other vital organs. Largely hidden by the bandages holding his shoulder in place was another deep and spreading bruise. That bullet would have gone through his heart.

More tears leaked from her eyes.

She had been so close to losing him.

She knew she should get out of bed, go find something to eat, maybe even dig through the bag Hilda had brought her earlier for a change of clothes. But she couldn't bring herself to move. She put her hand on his chest to feel it move under her hand as he breathed in and out. Her eyes fluttered shut, the events of the last few days finally catching up with her.

Elsbeth found them like that, Nick on his back, sound asleep, his right hand laced through Sabrina's, her other hand on his chest. She smiled, took out her phone, and snapped a quick photo. She texted it to Sabrina, then deleted it from her phone.

She slipped out, leaving them to sleep. A check of Nick's vitals could wait a little longer.