XXIX

He was wrapped in a soft cocoon of warm darkness. The emptiness of it was peaceful, as if nothing could ever go wrong there. Nothing could touch him, nothing could hurt him. But something was missing.

What happened?

His memory slowly came back to him, piece by piece like a child's puzzle. He heard a beeping noise, a quiet sigh. His whole body ached, his joints and muscles feeling as if they were made of water, and yet it wasn't a bad sort of weakness. It was the kind of weakness felt after a long, physically demanding task, the kind that tells the body it was time for a much-deserved rest.

Ryan's eyes flickered open. He was lying in a hospital bed, a breathing mask around his mouth and nose. He took one quick glance to his left and suddenly wished he was asleep again.

"Viral pneumonia," a very familiar voice growled.

Ryan gulped. He didn't think he'd ever seen Alexx so angry with him before.

"You've had it for a couple days now," she continued tightly. "Horatio tells me you've been sick for a while, but you decided to ignore taking care of yourself. According to your tests, you contracted the flu a week or so ago and then developed the pneumonia because you weren't resting enough."

Ryan reached a shaky hand to his face and pulled the mask off.

"But... Natalia..." he rasped, his voice feeling like wood splinters.

"Yes, Horatio told me all about that too," Alexx sighed, her demeanor softening. "I didn't say I didn't understand. You've been unconscious for almost seventeen hours now. Ryan, do you know that you could have died from this?"

He looked away, unable to meet her eyes. He couldn't admit it to her face that he had suspected, but he simply hadn't cared. He wasn't sure she would be that understanding.

"We almost had to put you on a respirator just to keep you from drowning in all the fluid built up in your lungs," she continued harshly. "And how would that have helped Natalia?"

He blinked, still not meeting her eyes. He felt like a child being scolded by its mother.

There was a moment of silence. Then Alexx sighed.

"I know you two are tight," she said quietly, leaning forward to put a comforting hand on his arm. "I know what it's like to want to do anything and everything to save someone you love. But I'm gonna need you to promise me that you will never do something this stupid ever again."

He sighed. It was a promise he was unwilling to make, but he also knew that if he didn't, Alexx would be on his case until he finally did.

He turned to look at her. He saw the remnants of fear in her eyes, how worried for her friends she must have been when two of them were rushed to her at the same time. He saw compassion and motherly love there. She just cared about what happened to him, that's all.

"I promise," he whispered.

Alexx nodded. "All right then."

They sat together in the sunlight for a little while. Then Ryan asked the question that had been pricking his heart like a razor blade.

"Is Natalia okay?"

She smiled. "Yeah, sweetie, she's okay. She came out of surgery just fine yesterday. She spent the night in the surgical ICU, but she was moved to recovery this morning."

Ryan closed his eyes in utter relief.

Alexx squeezed his hand reassuringly. "She'll heal up just fine. And so will you."

"Can I see her?" he asked quietly.

Alexx smiled wryly. "She was asking about you too. Something tells me the only way we're gonna get either of you to rest is to let you have a visit."


Author's Note: Yay! The bad guy's caught and the good guys are all okay. But the story ain't over just yet! Stay tuned for one more chapter, my friends.

P.S. HOW AWESOME DOES SUNDAY'S EPISODE LOOK? I'M RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED.