When Stephanie was finished throwing up and was empty, the nurses that had been in with her cleaned her and her bed up and placed her back in to bed to rest. Before they left they gave her some meds to settle her stomach and some to help her sleep, I watched as her eyes dropped closed and heard her breathing even out. When I knew she was asleep I kissed her head and went out to find the guys.

I closed the door behind me and walked across the hall to the nurses' desk, I had a couple of questions that I needed answered before I left to find Ranger. One of the nurses that were taking care of Steph noticed me and came up to me.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked me

"Yea I was wondering how long you thought Steph would sleep?" I asked

"Well we gave her something for her stomach and some meds to help her sleep so she can rest due to the fact she's sore from all the vomiting"

"Would be ok if I went off for a bit to get something to eat?"

"Oh sure she will be out for a few hours at least" the nurse said

"Thank you" I told her turning to walk off

"Sir" the nurse said stopping me, I turned back to see what she needed. When I looked back at her she took a step back and bit into her lower lip.

"Forgive me for asking, but we noticed you're in casts and wondered if everything is ok?"

"Oh yea everything is fine, I had an accident at work. I'm actually getting them off next week" I told her. I thought being kind to her was the way to go; she was already afraid of me and was taking care of Stephanie so telling her to get lost and mind her own business didn't seem appropriate.

"Ok if you need anything just ask" she said and I smiled and nodded to her as I left the desk

I walked down the hall and stopped when it opened into the small waiting room. I looked around and saw that the only people in the room were the guys. Lester sat with his legs stretched out in front of him and had his head back laying against the wall, Bobby was over by the coffee pot filling his cup, and Ranger was standing over by the window looking out. I took a brief moment to think about how this was what they must have looked like when it was me that was in here and in the coma, walking on in to the room Brown noticed me.

"Hey how is she?" he asked coming over to me. I knew it had to be killing him that he couldn't help her. Ranger heard Bobby and came over to us and Lester picked up his head.

"Man it was rough; she finally has stopped puking and is now resting. They came in and gave her something to settle her stomach and to help her sleep" I told them

"She asleep?" Bobby asked

"Yea and I'm starving. They assured me she would be out for a while"

"Downstairs cafeteria?" Les asked

"Sure" I said and we all walked out of the room and found the elevators

We walked into the twenty four hour hospital cafeteria and made our selections. I thought about going back and getting something for Steph when she woke up, but I wasn't sure how she would feel about seeing food right now. She had told me after throwing up for the hundredth time that her throat hurt, but when I suggested some ice water she turned green and denied it. Sitting down when I got my food we all began eating.

"You think Beautiful will see Hartly now?" Santos asked opening his bottle of water

"I don't know there hasn't been much talk since the throwing up has stopped" I told them taking a bite of my sandwich

"Well she probably really can't and doesn't want too. Steph is probably sore for heaving and has been through the ringer. Doing what she had to is hard on a body" Brown said

"Yea, I'd like for her to go with me" I told them " But I don't know what she thinks now about it and she still has the right to say no and I'll have to accept it if she does"

"But surely she sees now that she needs help, look what she just had to go through" Santos said

"I don't know what she is thinking, but I guess I'll just have to see how she is feeling when she wakes up" I told them and they all agreed.

We finished our meals and went back upstairs. I sat out with the guys in the waiting room as each of them took a turn to go back and say goodnight to Steph. It was nice to get out of the room for a little bit, but I knew when Ranger and the guys left I was settling in for a long night of waiting.

"You staying?" Ranger asked when Bobby came back from his turn in seeing Steph

"As long as she is here I'll be here" I told him and he nodded

"Take care of her" he said locking eyes and hands with me

"I am and will" I promised

"Call me if anything happens, I'll come over" Brown said when he was leaving

"She should be out for the rest of the night, but if anything happens I'll call" I assured him

"You know right?" Les said being the last to go

"I know" I told him

"Let her know I'll come in to see her sometime tomorrow"

"I will"

I watched as they disappeared down the hall and I turned and walked up to Stephs door. Before I opened her door, I went over to the desk again and asked about food for Steph and when she would be able to go home. I was told that if her heart rate and her blood pressure continued to stabilize during the night and tomorrow she could possibly go home by late tomorrow evening. The nurse also told me that Steph would still be pretty sore and that her system would still be coming down from the high volumes of caffeine that was in her.

"She doesn't need round the clock care, but she shouldn't just be left alone at home when she leaves here. She will have some bad head aches, be jittery, and have a hard time concentrating until it all leaves her system" she said

"She won't be alone" I guaranteed the nurse. Steph was going to stay with me and if I couldn't be there then there was a whole building full of willing able bodied men who would care and watch over her. I didn't see anyone else but me doing it, but just in case they were there if needed. Stephanie was not going back to her apartment.

After talking to the nurse about Stephanie's care, she was called to another room on the floor and I went into Steph's. All the lights had been turned off except the one over the small sink that was in her room, which gave enough light for the nurses to see by when they came in to check on her. I walked up to her and kissed the side of her head and was shocked when her eyes opened and she turned her head to look at me.

"Hi there" I said happy to see her looking a little better

"Hi"

"How are you feeling?" I asked placing some hair behind her ear

"Tired, sore, and my throat hurts" she whispered

"I know just try to rest, you've had a hard day"

"Lay with me?" she asked

"I don't know Steph if I can" I told her wondering how I was going to get myself into that small bed

"Please"

I sighed knowing I was going to have too. I learned how to get myself in and out of my own bed but hospital beds are different and a lot higher than normal beds and I wasn't sure how to maneuver myself in it. Steph scooted over and watched me, I turned sideways to the bed, placed my hand on the back of the bed, and hoisted my casted leg up and into the bed I then managed to set my hip in the bed and push with my good leg and kinda rolled myself into the bed next to Steph. As I laid back and got situated, Steph scooted over and placed her arm around my waist and laid her head on my chest.

"I'm sorry" I heard her say

"Don't worry about that now honey I'm just glad you're ok" I told her kissing her on top of the head

"But I'm not" she said and I held her tighter against me

"Steph"

"I want to see Hartly, I want all of this to stop" she said. I kissed her again and smiled relived that she had finally agreed to go.

"Ok I'll let Ranger know so he can set it up"

"K" she said drifting off to sleep again. I kissed her head one last time, laid my head back on the bed, and for the first time in a long time fell asleep with a smile on my face and a sense of hope for the future.