Lucy regained consciousness around one in the morning.

Her eyes slowly opened, immediately recognizing the walls of a hospital room. Her ears picked up the steady beeping of a heart monitor. Her nose the familiar sterile scent.

The room was dark, the only sources of light coming in from the window, and the door.

Her mouth and throat felt dry and she was thirsty; the result of the surgery they performed on her leg to stop the blood loss.

Her knee was gone, she felt it go when it was hit by that bullet. The pain wasn't so bad now; there was a dull ache in her leg and shoulder. Her right thigh was fine. She was on morphine through an IV.

Then, she saw Carter asleep in a chair, his head resting on her bed. His hand was still holding hers.

She called out his name "Carter" her voice hoarse.

She squeezed his hand, calling out his name again. He began to stir. Pulling his head up, he saw that Lucy was awake and smiled.

"Hi." he said, his other hand stroking her hair.

"Hi." Her voice slightly better.

He kissed her on the forehead. She was alive, and was going to make it. "Water please... thirsty" she said. Carter filled a plastic cup with water from a pitcher on a nearby table and added a straw. Careful not to aggravate her injuries, he eased her up enough so that she could drink.

After a few healthy gulps, she nodded in content and he helped her lay back down. "Thank You." Her voice sounding better, but the words affecting him more than he realized.

The tears came back and threatened to overwhelm him.

"Shh. It's ok," embracing him with her good arm, letting him cry into her shoulder. Tears formed in her eyes as well. It pained her to see him go through this again.

They stayed like that until the nurse came in, to check her vitals, and saw that Lucy was awake. Carter sat back up, wiping the tears from his eyes, and waited for the Doctor.

The surgery had, indeed, gone well. Her being awake and lucid was a good sign that she had no brain damage from the blood loss. Her shoulder would be fine in a few days. Unfortunately, her left knee was gone, as the surgeon was well aware, being the one that conducted the life-saving surgery on her leg. Lucy didn't even blink at the news. Partly, that was because she already knew, and also because she knew something they didn't.

Two FBI Agents then came in. They only asked her a few routine questions, saving the longer ones for the morning. To Carter's surprise, given all the tv shows and movies he'd seen, they had shown respect and compassion for her. Also admiration, considering that she taught him Bomb Disposal 101 over a cell phone while in hot pursuit of a terrorist. They told her that no one else was hurt, the guard that Namen at shot at was fine and home resting. The bomb at Cook County was safely disposed of and they resumed operations less than an hour later.

The two Agents thanked her for her time and left her and Carter alone.

What Lucy was going to do next was going to be hard for him. She couldn't stay in the hospital, let alone wait for the FBI to find out that she was not with Interpol and arrest her.

Carter still had the cell phone she gave him that morning. He handed it over to her, along with the earpiece, and hid them under her pillow.

She took his hand, "Do you love me?" He didn't hesitate to answer, "I love you." Those words meant a lot. "Do you trust me?" Again, no hesitation. "I trust you."

She took a breath. "Go home and get some sleep." Sensing he was about to protest, she squeezed his hand and continued. "Please. Just go home and rest. I promise, I'll be fine. I will fully recover and you will see me again." She sat up and kissed him, a kiss which sealed her promise.

He did as she had asked and went home, took a shower, and crawled into bed. Sleep claimed him quickly and he slept soundly. He had no nightmares, and no doubts as to what would happen in the morning.

He got up, showered, dressed, gave Gamma a hug, had breakfast, and drove to Mercy. He took the elevator up to the ICU to find police and FBI running around. He went to her room...

...and her bed was empty.

--

This was not the end of their story, just the end of the story of how they met.