The group practically ran down the hall.

"Are you sure?" Nosedive asked.

"Yes, nosedive, for the umpteenth millionth time, Wildwing said she's awake." Mallory was exasperated.

"And this isn't like last time?" Nosedive asked.

"Oh my god! Nosedive, how am I supposed to know? I wasn't there when she woke up! I know just as much as you do!" Mallory snapped. With that, Nosedive shut up as they reached the door.

Mallory had led the group here, and now, she hesitated outside the door.

"Mal?" Jason asked.

"What if Wildwing was wrong? What if she slipped back into the coma before we could get down here?"

"Open the door, and we'll find out." Jess pushed. Mallory took a deep breath, turning the doorknob.

First, she saw Duke, and then she saw the bed with Wildwing on the other side. They paid no attention to her as they were focused on Anna, who was awake as promised.

"Anna!"

Anna turned her attention from Duke and Wildwing to the redhead who was rushing at her.

Mallory practically jumped into the bed with Anna, hugging her.

"don't ever do that again!" Mallory scolded, punching Anna's arm lightly.

"Sorry, I'll try to avoid getting shot by psychos from now on," Anna said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Good to see your humor's still intact," Jess muttered, grabbing a light hug from Anna's other side.

"How ya feeling sis?" Jason asked, coming up next.

Eventually, everyone moved in and gave their hugs.

"So, you were saying…" Duke grabbed her attention back, "you don't remember much about the club?" he asked.

"No. I've been told what happened, but the last thing I remember was shoving my way to the bathroom, turning around and seeing Oliver. The rest of it is… gone. Sometimes I'll remember blurs but not enough to piece anything together."

"Probably for the best." Wildwing stated.

"Enough about me," Anna leaned forward in the bed, "tell me what I've missed. Duke said I was out for four months!"

"Yes, and he hardly left your side," Jess said.

"Really?" Anna turned quickly to look at him. He rubbed the back of his neck, apparently not liking the attention.

"Dive, why don't you tell her about the Zamboni." He tried, turning the attention back to someone else.

"Zamboni? Why do I feel like I've heard about the Zamboni?" Anna suddenly said, looking like she remembered something.

"You were in a coma, but I still talked to you. Maybe you heard my stories Afterall, even if it was just little bits and pieces." Duke tried. She smiled at him.

"I think you might be right. I still want to hear about it though." She prompted.

Luckily, Nosedive was so excited his best friend was awake that he jumped right into the stories.

Nosedive did most of the talking, being the storyteller of the group. Wherever it was needed, someone else would jump in and fill in the blanks, but for the most part, Dive wouldn't shut up.

Eventually, it started to get late. The ducks began to head out, leaving Duke and Wildwing there again. The doctor walked in, checking vitals.

"Considering everything, vitals look good. Blood count is looking better than ever. Heartbeat is strong, given what happened. All in all, it's a miracle." He smirked at both ducks, referring back to when he had told them it might take a miracle to pull her back.

"I think we'll keep her for a couple more days just for monitoring, but honestly, there's nothing to worry about anymore. You guys can probably head home."

"I think I'll stay here the night." Duke offered.

"You will?" Wildwing asked.

"When's the last time you slept in your own bed?" the doctor asked, raising an eyebrow, "I know for a fact that recliner is not comfortable." He said, pointing to the chair next to Anna's bed.

"eh, I've slept on worse." Duke shrugged.

"You're sure you want to stay the night again?" Wildwing asked.

Anna sat quietly, observing it all. He had stayed the night with her while she was comatose? How long had he been waiting here?

"Yeah. Don't want Anna to be stuck in a hospital by herself." Duke smiled at her. Anna smiled back.

Wildwing shrugged.

"Suit yourself. I'll probably see you guys tomorrow." Wildwing said, moving for the door. The doctor wasn't too far behind, switching the lights off on his way out.

"Okay, spill," Anna said, turning on Duke.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"Have you really been here every day?" she asked. He looked embarrassed.

"I still went on missions. I still helped fight Dragaunus while you were out." He defended.

"What about what the doctor said. When WAS the last time you slept in your own bed?" she asked. He avoided the question.

"I wanted to know the second you woke up." He tried. She smiled at this, looking down.

"So… Anna. You really… you don't remember…"

"Duke, I've told you." She snapped slightly, "I turned around, I saw Oliver. I saw him holding a gun. I heard the shot. I felt pain, and then I was falling." She closed her eyes for a second, "if I think about it long enough, I can see Wildwing and… you. Hovering over me." She opened her eyes to meet his gaze. He looked disappointed.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. I'm… overwhelmed. I'm glad you're awake." He said simply with a smile. "Now, better get some sleep." He murmured, adjusting the recliner. After he adjusted, his thoughts clouded his mind. Anna didn't remember him telling her he loved her.

A few weeks later, most everything was back to normal. Anna was allowed back on the ice, and she was back to coaching. Duke was agitated.

He had finally dared to tell her how he felt, and she didn't remember it. Wildwing and Mallory knew how he felt, but they didn't say anything. Jason had a pretty good idea but kept it to himself. So, in a way, it was all back to normal. Mallory and Wildwing hadn't even acknowledged that kiss. It was almost like it hadn't happened. If they were ever left in a room alone together, Wildwing would quickly come up with an excuse and hastily exit before anything could come up. Mallory was annoyed, to say the least, but let it slide. Her feathers were ruffled about it, though, and she wasn't sure exactly how much longer she could allow it to slip.

Duke sat on his bed, thinking about all that had happened. It was about 2 in the morning, but he couldn't sleep anyways. Almost every night, his dreams would haunt him. He'd close his eyes, and then he'd wake up in a cold sweat after seeing Anna lying on the floor in a puddle of blood.

His thoughts were interrupted by a scream down the hall. He jumped into action, flying out of his room. He ran directly to Anna's room, flinging the door open. She was sitting up in her bed, breathing hard. She seemed startled at seeing him.

"I'm sorry…" she breathed out.

"It's ok, Anna." Duke walked forward into the room. "It's alright."

"Did I wake you?" she asked.

He shook his head, "sleep is for the weak." He murmured.

"You don't sleep; you don't eat breakfast. Do you do anything that's good for you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Hockey?" he shrugged.

"Oh sure, name the obvious one." She laughed light-heartedly. Duke just smiled lightly, turning away.

"Wait," Anna saw that he was leaving. He stopped, turning back to her. "um, would you stay with me? That last one… it was-"

"scooch over." He said, cutting her off.

She seemed surprised at how easy it was to get him to stay and obliged to the request. Pretty soon they were both sitting up in her bed, backs against the headrest.

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"no, but I feel like I need to." She tried. He motioned for her to continue, so she cleared her throat.

"I had this dream, obviously…" she trailed off, shooting a sideways glance at him, "um, you were there. It was back on Puckworld. I was looking for my dad. It was the same night he was killed by Falcone. When I got to the alley, though, he was standing there as if he was waiting for me. I was, older than I was when my dad was… um, anyways, I pulled out my own saber but I didn't stand a chance against Falcone."

"Well, that's not likely in real life." Duke murmured.

"I know!" she exclaimed, "but he actually got the upper hand. He grabbed me by my throat and asked me if I had any last words. And then," her words wouldn't come to her as she relived it all over again.

"I think I get it," Duke said, wrapping his arm around her. He could hear in her voice that the memory of the dream was still vivid.

"I can't sleep. I have nightmares almost every night." She revealed.

"Me too." He admitted. She looked to be in shock at this and he looked away. "It's not that trauma is anything new to me. I watched my brother die. I lost my eye and a chunk of my beak. I've seen things, been through things and then some. But seeing you laying there, in that puddle of blood. I don't know what changed in me, but I've been having nightmares ever since."

"Duke, it's understandable. I wasn't the one who died, yet I had nightmares for weeks after my dad was murdered." Suddenly, it flipped, and she was consoling him.

"Think it's time we see a therapist?" Duke said, a smile hiding behind his beak.

"Oh sure, I'll book my appointment so it's back to back with yours." She said sarcastically.

It was silent for a moment between them, as they both stared out in front of them. Both of them had things to say, yet neither one knew how to put it into words. Duke only knew he loved sitting like this, with her nuzzled against his side. He didn't ever want it to change between them.

"What are you thinking about?" Anna asked suddenly, and Duke's breath caught in his throat. Had she been reading his mind? Did she know somehow that all he could think about lately was her?

"Oh, about how it's late and you should probably try to get some sleep." He moved to get up but her arm latched onto his.

"Duke?"

"Yeah?" he turned to look at her. She wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Thanks." Was all she muttered. He sensed there was more, but she wouldn't say, and he wasn't going to pry.

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, Duke."