"Not even YOU would eat this crap, Duo!" She complained again.

"Look, you are NOT getting pizza and that's THAT!" He retorted, sternly crossing his arms. Cornflower blue rolled in annoyance at him as she pushed away whatever was in front of her.

"I'm telling you that hospital food is worse than being in PAIN. At least you can find a way OUT of the pain. Hospital food they SHOVE down your THROAT."

Violet rolled at her exaggeration. "Will you just QUIT WHINING already and EAT it?"

A raven brow rose at his exasperated tone. "I will...when you get what I'm talking about." Reaching down, she grabbed the spoon and ladled a full portion, holding it out to him. He stared at her hand, a little fear in his eyes.

'The wuss...he needs a little PRODDING.' She evilly thought.

"Too chicken, Duo?" She asked, gauging his reaction.

His eyes narrowed a bit. "It CAN'T be as bad as you're making it out to be." He muttered, quickly taking the spoon from her. Putting it in his mouth, he grimaced when he realized she was RIGHT. What the cooks put in...WHATEVER this gooey stuff was, it wasn't worth feeding OZ! He wouldn't wish this junk even on THEM! He took the spoon out of his mouth and hastily walked to the small connecting bathroom, quickly spitting what was in his mouth into the sink. After washing his mouth out, he walked back to a smug Hilde.

"Can we order pizza now?" She asked through a widening grin.

He sat back down, tossing the spoon back at her. "No can do. I'm not sneaking something THAT good smelling up against doctor's orders. You think they won't smell that up the hallway?"

Hilde looked at him funny and fought not to laugh...it still hurt to. Both arms lightly over her bandages and smirked. "Why Duo, I never knew you actually FOLLOWED orders...from ANYBODY." His mouth gaped open, then closed without a word. She smiled and bit her lip to keep from laughing.

His eyes rolled, but smiled despite himself. "You know, I almost liked you BETTER when you had that tube down your throat. Couldn't talk back missy." He wagged a finger at her through a humorous look in his eyes.

A brow rose. "What, so you can give me that worried look every five minutes? THAT got old REAL quick." She patronized.

Duo's eyes narrowed at the cheap shot and got out of the chair by her bed. "What do you EXPECT?" His hand shot out, waving up and down her fragile body. "Of COURSE I'm worried about you. You can't even sit UP by yourself yet. You have to have about five pillows from other rooms to aide you! I mean, you didn't exactly ASK to be put here for a solid WEEK already."

"Will you quit BLAMING yourself?" She loudly ordered. "How many times do I have to TELL you...it was an ACCIDENT?"

He cynically snorted as he paced one side in the room. "I'll BELIEVE what you tell me when I stop BLAMING myself. When I see that SCAR you'll probably get MAGICALLY disappear and you're able to take a full breath without pain or bandages in your way. I'll BELIEVE it when I SEE you out of THAT BED."

Her head sadly shook at his outrage. Even a full WEEK wasn't going to sway his thinking. Though she regained the ability to speak and take SOME deep breaths, he wasn't fooled. "You're wrong. Why can't you SEE that I DON'T CARE? What I care is that I'm alive and here to help you out with this." He stopped pacing and walked to the end of her bed, staring at her slightly wide-eyed. She stared back, not backing down. "Do you think I LIKE being here any better than YOU do? I'M the one on the receiving end, not YOU. I know if the rolls were reversed, I would probably be saying what YOU are, and you'd probably be trying to make ME feel better. We just have to ACCEPT what's happened and work on getting my sorry ass OUT of this BED." She stopped short, feeling the strain of arguing with him. She didn't WANT to argue with him, it hurt her to do so. Even play arguing was only minimal fun because she NEVER wanted to fight with Duo. Raising her good hand in between them, her eyes closed with a sigh. "We're getting nowhere." Lowering her hand, she looked at him. "We can go at this till the nurse kicks you out again and it STILL won't change anything. I can't change how YOU feel and you can't change how I feel." Duo sighed and cast his eyes down. Closing her eyes, she suddenly realized how tired she was. Leaning back on the pillows, she sighed again. "Besides, arguing with you wears me out too much, and I need to conserve my strength for the battle to heal." She looked back at Duo when he took her hand.

"I'm sorry Hilde. Let's keep the fighting minimal till you heal okay?" He grinned that loving grin and she lightly squeezed his hand in reassurance, giving a small smile at his lame joke. Of COURSE they would probably start back up once she was able to move more freely; he'd probably be ANAL by then... She could still see troubling emotions in his eyes, but was getting too tired to fight back and tell him to not worry.

"Agreed." She said with a soft smile. "Now that we've called a truce for a while, can you take this toxic waste away so I can get a nap?" She grinned when Duo snickered and nodded. Carefully lowering herself into the pillows against the pain, her eyes closed when the door clicked shut.

~*~*~

"That's the last of it. Good riddance!" Having the distinct feeling to wash his hands multiple times and shudder, he left the cafeteria in the now familiar hospital. "They outa put WARNING LABELS on that...that...WHATEVER it is." His tongue stuck out in remembrance of his poor taste buds as his hands shoved in his pockets. When he got back to Hilde's room, he quietly opened the door and shut it just so to keep from waking her. Sleep was most necessary right now and she needed all she could get. Treading silently across the carpet, he noticed her peaceful face and smiled tenderly.

'She's even more cute when she's sleeping. Kinda like a baby.' He mused. Stopping on the far side of the room, he kneeled down on his cot and slowly eased himself into it to keep from creaking the springs. He had one put in after convincing the nurses he wasn't going to leave Hilde's side until she left the hospital. He heard them muttering when they thought he wasn't listening about how romantic it was that he stayed, almost literally, by her side day and night. 'That's me.' He silently quipped. 'An old-fashioned romantic.' Using his hands as a pillow for his head, he stared at the ceiling and listened to Hilde's even breathing. 'I wonder how I missed something as good as these feelings for her.' He thought. His eyes closed and he pictured her smiling face, giving a dreamy smile. 'They're too nice to ignore. Gotta take the bull by the horns kinda deal. But I don't wanna scare her with my own realization until I know SHE feels the same.' His lips pursed. 'IF she EVER feels the same... I HOPE she does.' In all the excitement of her slow recovery and relishing in being by her side with what he felt, he forgot how SHE would take these emotions inside him. Feeling slightly dejected, he sighed. He paused his train of thought when he heard shuffling. Peeking an eye open, his gaze turned toward her bed. The sheets moved a bit, and with a curious smile, he slowly sat up to spy. He saw more of her in sitting position, but he felt like listening in. Grinning evilly, he stood up silently and watched.

Her eyes popped open and the first thing she was aware of was the familiar setting. Looking around, but not moving, she saw everything was the same when she left it. Experimentally taking a small breath, she was surprised when she felt no pain. Moving her arm, surprise kicked into shock. Everything moved normally. Feeling bold, she sat completely up, then stood. 'Okay, so nothing seems to be broken and all the pain I felt earlier is gone. What's wrong with THIS picture?' She sarcastically thought. The lights were still on...Duo knew better than to leave a room before turning the lights off! He knew how much she HATED that! 'Duo?" She called out. She waited, expecting him to come from the kitchen with a sheepish look on his face, waiting to apologize. 'Hey DUO!' She shouted, waiting for a funny retort. Her lips pursed when he didn't answer and figured she'd have to go looking for him.

Leaving the living room, she walked into the kitchen and found him sitting at the table, cradling something in his hands. She walked over and purposely gloated, but he didn't seem to hear. As if he were ignoring her. Stomping over, she raised a hand and went to slap his back, but it went right through him. It confused her. When she moved to get a better look, she saw how guilty he looked and felt slightly bad, dropping her head with a small measure of guilt. 'Hey now Duo, I'm alright. See?' When he didn't move, she sighed and her eyes tossed heavenward, asking for patience, as moved to pull up a chair. 'Duo, you're such a worrywart. I'm-' She stopped when her hand ALSO went right through the chair. Her eyes drastically widened and her hand stopped a few inches from her face. She could see and feel herself start to shake from fear from the obvious. She could see almost completely THROUGH her HAND! 'What the hell is GOING ON?!' She cried out, the panic rising through her words. She frantically turned to Duo and tried to touch him, but her hands still went through him. 'DUO! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!' She yelled close to his ear, but he acted like she wasn't in the room. He didn't even FLINCH. 'This is not happening, I'm still blacked out and dreaming.' Hands to covered her ears, trying to block out all the terror she was feeling. 'WHAT'S HAPPENING?!' Her mind screamed.

"HILDE, WAKE UP!" Duo shouted again. A hand raised in front of her face and start shaking. Not a good sign; even if it WAS just a dream! He didn't want to shake her because he was on her left side and that was her dislocated shoulder. He didn't want to risk hurting her again, like he direly feared. "Come on babe...ha, ha. I get it now." He nervously laughed, and stopped when her breathing picked up. "Come on babe...PLEASE wake up!" He pleaded softly. He had to calm her down or she would end up straining something and make her healing stop, possibly even reopen her stitches. When her eyes fluttered open, confusion and fear resided in them, but her pupils were fully dilated, even in the slightly lighted room.

'Duo where are you GOING? TALK to me! What's GOING ON?!' She watched him leave the kitchen and head down the hallway to the living room. Stunned about what was taking place, she stood there as he rounded the corner. When he was out of sight, her senses snapped into attention. 'HEY! Come BACK here!' Taking off full speed, she rounded the corner after him. Closing the gap with a few steps, the lights were still on in the living room as she turned from the hallway. Mutterings and beeping from the machines abound scattered around the center of the room invaded unbelieving ears. Curiosity slowly getting the better of her, she slowly took a step forward, wondering just WHAT this was all ABOUT. When no one seemed to notice OR hear her, she decided to use it to her advantage. Part of a figure was visible and her head moved in between the arms of two doctors. Her shoulders went through part of their bodies, but she didn't bother with that as much as the sight in front of her. There was her body, opened by scalpel, being worked on by a bunch of doctors; her body being held open by two prongs. She stared horrified at what was presented in front of her, hard realization washing over her. Suddenly, she felt some sort of pressure, trying to drag her toward her physical body. Duo's face floated through her mind and she somehow broke the hold. Muscles jerked her body a few foot from the scene and she gagged from the horror of it all.

"Oh my GOD...WAKE UP!" Hilde's body jerked and she painfully gagged. He had to STOP this! Emotion shot through her face, but he was still unable to wake her. Tears started in his eyes when she stopped, but he could still hear her rapid breathing. "Please, wake up." He pleaded weakly, tears starting to fall.

'I have to find Duo, he'll have the rest of the pieces to this puzzle. I hope he's okay...' Her protective side thought. She turned toward the swinging doors, leaving the doctors to their work. She walked to them, but stopped suddenly when a thought sprang up. 'What if I don't end up on the other side? What if I end up in the living room again? How would I get BACK here?' A hand tentatively rose toward the shiny metal and stopped. Duo's face rose in her mind again and her eyes narrowed. 'I have to TRY.' Damned be the consequences when it came to Duo...and her LIFE. Biting her lower lip, she took a giant step and flung herself at the doors. Exhaling a shaky pent-up breath, she smiled in momentary thanks and went down the corridor. Gotta find Duo, gotta find Duo kept ringing through her mind.

He stopped all activity with wide-eyes when she muttered she needed to find him. Hilde was dreaming about HIM?? Her hand moved again, then quickly jerked back for some reason. Fear flashed in her eyes, then disappeared as resolve and courage replaced it. He could only watch in horrific fascination as she went through whatever trials she was burdened with. In the conscience, he was no help to her now.

Knowing of the hospital she was in, but not which room DUO'D be in, it took a lot of guessing and walking around to narrow down the area. Walking into yet another room, a small triumphant smile appeared as she made a beeline straight for him. She knew he'd be near the operating room, and near the nurse's station for updates. She stopped short of him, seeing he didn't move an inch. She observed him and wondered if he fell asleep like that. Since he wasn't moving except for small breaths, it was a possibility. She wryly smiled. Cross-legged in a small, hard plastic chair; elbows digging into his knees; tightly clasped hands accompanying nearly white knuckles were the only thing keeping him upright. His fists rested against his forehead, almost like...like he was PRAYING. That took Hilde aback a bit. She never actually SAW Duo pray, even though he wore a priest's garments. She didn't know if he held a RELIGIOUS bias.

Kneeling to look at his face caught a slight movement from his lips. She studied him and saw the remnants of a tear track being used as another one fell down. 'But Duo NEVER cries...I've never seen him cry.' She was astounded. 'Oh Duo.' She sadly thought. 'I wish there was something I could do to help you.' But she knew there was not a damned thing; she couldn't even TOUCH him. 'I know there's nothing I CAN do, but I wish you could HEAR me.' If only she could SPEAK and reassure him she was OKAY. If not physically, then 'spiritually' she was still with him. Moving her hand a little, she put it just above his calf, being careful not to move through him; that part was still too weird to deal with yet. Leaning forward, she looked into his closed eyes. 'It's not your fault Duo.' She whispered, wishing she could make him understand.

Duo's head jerked back when upon her emotional whisper. He remembered back to when he heard someone whisper that, when he was in waiting room during Hilde's surgery. He remembered that instant and wondered who said it. When his head jerked up, he was alone, except for the nurses. But their voices wouldn't have carried that softly, that far. Sorrow laced his face as well as wonder. This wasn't happening...there had to be a hallucination from lack of sleep...or that FOOD! He wished he could get inside her head and see what she was dreaming...or to make her wake UP!

She saw his eyes pop open and his head jerked up in alarm. 'Duo, Duo, can you hear me??' She quickly asked. She saw him look around the room, even though they were the only ones there. Confusion apparent in his eyes, it showed through the depths of his sorrow. He heard, but still couldn't see her. Then it was over and he went back to his silent prayer. Her mouth tightly pressed together to halt a despairing cry. Her ears perked up from the sound of a small beeping somewhere nearby. She heard a quick, uneasy scuffle of chairs and looked up to see the nurses swiftly cross the room, leaving the way she entered. Her brows lowered in interest, wondering where they were going in such a hurry. The beeping continued and she saw Duo look up out of the corner of her eye. She looked at his eyes riveted on the nurse's station down the hallway from the open waiting room. She reached the cubicle and walked into the open area, devoid of any staff. She looked around to find the noise. She caught sight of a blinking red light and walked toward it. 'Hmm, room 3109?' She read silently. 'Code red...cardiac arrest.' Her eyes narrowed curiously and she looked up at Duo down the hall.

Duo stared at Hilde as she spoke aloud, partially scared that she was dreaming something he never TOLD her about. The night she was brought in UNCONSCIOUS to surgery. Yet, he was curious as to HOW she knew something he never told her about. He stopped trying to wake her up because he knew it was useless to shake or yell at her since she wouldn't hear. He just held her hand and told her he was right there, hoping her subconscious would hear. When she spoke through her dream, revealing the room number and her stopped heart, he was truly afraid. His body started shaking as he tapped her hand slightly, afraid of what was going on, and desperately wanting answers.

'HNG!' Hands quickly clutched her chest at the burst of intense pain as the cry wrenched from gritted teeth. She felt a slight twinge and then felt as if her body was being lifted off the ground. In a heartbeat, it all clicked. 'I'm a ghost as far as I can tell. I saw my physical body on the operating table, opened.' She shuddered as a strong shiver ran up her spin. 'Not an experience I want to live through again.' Her head shook. 'If the nurses rushed through where I came from, then that means that the cardiac arrest signal was for...ME!' Already wide eyes widened some more. She felt the upward pull on her body and wondered if it was heaven or hell calling for her. 'I can't go.' She dejectedly knew. She looked over at Duo and took a few steps toward him. 'I can't leave him like this, I have to come back.' She couldn't leave him in this state, or any state other than happy. He already lost so much in his life, she didn't need to be added to it. She walked toward the path of the nurses, then faced Duo. 'Don't worry Duo, I'm not leaving you. I'll come back to you! I'll wipe that sorrowful look off your face!' She yelled, taking off in a dead run for her E.R.

Duo's eyes watered at the heartfelt words she spoke. He remembered praying to God to let Hilde stay with him so he could show and tell her how much he care for her... Maybe God directed Hilde BACK to him. It was hard to tell what the fates held in their hand. He watched her legs jerk as she 'ran' again and moved her head, then legs and body. He wondered if he should get the doctor in here in case it was a seizure, but her eyes popped open and halted the urge.

She looked up with wild eyes as she finally jerked herself from her dream. 'More like a NIGHTMARE.' Yet, it was one she felt she lived. 'But I would KNOW something that horrible.' She thought, scared at her wayward thinking. She finally noticed Duo on her left, looking scared and frantic as he shook her hand and pleaded with her to answer him and give answers. Her hand flew over her waist and almost fearfully gripped his forearm. Her left pulled from his grip and grasped his upper arm. Her eyes watered as she stared into his violet eyes. She was immediately relieved that Duo was all right and he was near. She wasn't a spirit...yet she knew it WAS no dream and it was REAL. It felt so genuine, so recent. It caused a good portion of the fear she felt and she started shaking at such unknown.

"Duo you're here! I'm okay! I'm not a ghost. I'm in my body! I was so scared Duo... I yelled for you but you didn't answer me and I could see right through my body! I saw myself on the operating table and you were crying and praying to God for him not to take me! I felt my heart STOP Duo! But I couldn't leave you! I ran to my body in the operating room and there were nurses and doctors in the room trying to start my heart beating and I KNEW I had to get back in my body quick! I figured out how and I woke up!" She rambled rapidly. A floodgate opened from somewhere and she blurted everything to him, both too frightened at this odd turn of events to think clearly.

Duo put a shaky finger on her lips to quiet her true ramblings. His trembling legs gave out and he quickly kneeled in front of her, hitting the floor hard. It did little to jog his rationality. Her hands quickly let go of his arm as he moved. He grabbed her hand and stared into teary eyes through his equally watery eyes. This made no sense; he kept telling himself she was just having a nightmare. But the things she SAID...the things she KNEW... He hadn't told her ANYTHING of what happened to her that fateful night...he didn't want to scare her with the facts he was forced to endeavor those long hours. Somehow...she knew those things on her own. The more she dreamt and unconsciously confessed, the more he knew it actually HAPPENED. He wondered about her being a 'spirit', or having an out of body experience. He didn't really believe in stuff like that, but the facts grossly outweighed his doubts.

His hand wiped the tears away from her face. "Calm down babe." He whispered. "Now slow down and take a deep breath before you hurt yourself. THEN tell me what happened." He listened as she told him in detail more than what he already knew about her dream, now convinced she had an out of body experience. But she looked frightened enough and he didn't want to add to it. "Listen Hilde, it was just a DREAM, okay?" He said, unconvinced at his own words. He was just trying to get her, and HIMSELF, to calm down, but neither believed the words that passed through his lips. "Do you know you talked during your sleep?" He whispered humorlessly. "You said not to worry; that you'd come back to me. That you were going to wipe the sorrowful look from my face. You wouldn't leave me."

Her eyes quickly dropped from his as she blushed, bringing SOME color to her still pale face. "I heard you praying to God, Duo." She whispered. His eyes dropped, giving a sheepish grin through a small blush. She knew that too? It was a rarity that he ever prayed, usually out of necessity or dire emergency...just like that night was. "And you were crying too, I don't WANT you to cry over me Duo." He looked up at Hilde's soft, heartfelt expression and his started matching hers. The hand against her soft face moved to lightly stroke her hair.

Silently, and somewhat reluctant, he acknowledged that MAYBE what happened wasn't TRULY a dream. He didn't WANT her to know he cried over her, but he was so WORRIED she would pull through. "You know why I cried that night?" Her head shook a bit. "I didn't want to lose you...because I CARE for you." A surprised and happy look came to her eyes and face. He smiled. Finally, he came clean with the feelings he was trying to deny and hide. It felt SO GOOD to do so, too.

Her heart swelled, yet caused her no pain...not THIS time. In fact ALL her pain lessened greatly at those words Duo uttered. Her smile shone brighter than the sun as she stared at his beautiful eyes, wondering how she could've missed the feelings she could now see so clearly. Her head turned toward his hand and his eyes beamed through tears. "I care for you too Duo. And I won't EVER leave you. I promise." She softly whispered. Turning her lips to Duo's wrist, she softly kissed the inside of it. She never HAD left Duo, it was always him regrettably leaving HER. Though he came back to her, she was always there, waiting for him. There was no shame in the idea of being so stuck on someone that you'd wait your life away for however long it took. She did, and this was its result.