A/N- Can I just say three words, five syllables? Underneath it all. You know, by No Doubt? Yes. It's a wonderful song. Slightly Jane/Neil-y, also. *grins*
And I'd like to thank a handful of CDs I never listen to and 95.5, WPLJ for providing music for my listening pleasure while I wrote this. Now… onto the fic!
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.:.Jane*Proudfoot.:.

I sat down on one of the hospital beds, with Neil in the one next to me. I removed my boots and socks and lay down on my stomach, pulling the covers over my body until they reached my lower back. I bunched the flat pillow up in my arms and put my head down on it, ready to pass out.
"Hey Jane?" I opened my eyes, and nearly screamed when I found my left one was already starting to get puffier, probably forming a black-and-blue.
"Yeah, Neil?"
"I'm not blaming you for me getting shot, you know that, right? I mean… just because she said it doesn't mean I said it…"
"I know." I smiled slightly in the dark room, illuminated only by moonlight. Because of that light, which made his face an aqua color, I could see him looking over at me.
"I have to tell you… she and I never went out."
"I'm happy for you." I said, starting to close my eyes again.
"It was because… well… never mind."
"No, go ahead, tell me why she was stalking you." I opened them. This should be good.
"I… I thought it would make you jealous." I smirked.
"It didn't work. I don't exactly aspire to be a two-cent hooker. Especially not a blonde one." He grinned at me.
"Good. `Cause I might not like you so much if you were." Satisfied for the moment, he closed his eyes. I closed my own, just thinking. Wait. Did Neil just say that he liked me? I didn't even bother asking. That was impossible. Neil could never like or love me. It was a proven fact. He couldn't love me because I loved him. Which meant he didn't have permission from above to like me more than as a friend or sister. But he did. I think. I buried my face in my pillow. I was confusing myself. Sleep would be best right now. So I did.

~~~

.:.Alyssa*Proudfoot.:.

Hah! Ha! Ha! He SOOOOO didn't get shot because of me! So there! I feel so much better now it's unbelievable. I even got to stay with Ryan last night. I didn't torture him like I said I would, but I had wanted to. Truth is, I was so emotionally tired I just collapsed on the couch. Probably worried the poor guy, too.
I wonder how Aunt Jane and Neil are doing. I wonder if they DID anything… I grinned. Of course they hadn't. They were stubborn. But I could change that. In due time, my friends, in due time. I learned at breakfast that that Sarah girl was being d…ismissed? Is that the official military term thing for it? Anyway, she had tried to break into the hospital last night. One of the people who did rounds found her, and she tried to beat him up. Therefore, she was being dismissed. To quote Ryan after he found out, "Happens to the best of 'em." (Insert sarcasm here). I finished eating and headed on to the hospital without Ryan or Captain- -err… Gray. He told me to call him Gray. Aki was examining Neil's wound when I walked in, and Aunt Jane had a new ice pack to her side, but she wasn't using it. They all glanced up and said in unison,
"Hey, Alyssa." (Aunt Jane)
"Hi, Lyssa." (Unc-err… Neil.)
"Hi, Lyss." (Aki) I blinked.
"Surround sound?" I grinned. "Nice to hear every name you can call me at once though. A handy tool to confuse people with." I sat next to Aunt Jane on her bed. "How're you two feeling?" Neil winced when Aki did…something. I couldn't see what.
"I'm awake. I should be happy. So yes. I'm dandy." Neil responded. Aunt Jane grinned.
"And you?" I said, looking at her.
"Fine." She looked indifferent to the fact that she had a black and blue around her eye, but I knew she must've been fuming because of it.
"Oh, good news, crazy psycho lady got kicked off the island." All three blinked at me. "Sarah what's-her-face got sent home." A look of understanding crossed their faces at the same time. Aunt Jane had a smug little "Good for her" smile stuck on her face, and I grinned once more. The plan, I decided, would be starting up again immediately. And this time, it was going to be improved, safer, and fail-safe.

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.:.Neil*Fleming.:.

I watched her sleep last night for a little while. I know that probably sounds sort of… weird and psycho-ish, but I couldn't help it. The light from the outside played on her face and she looked so innocent, innocent and harmed by some crazy lady I had gotten to flirt with me. I should've done a background check. And she woke up normal time, around five, although we had only gone to sleep at three. This meant we were both up before Aki or Sid came. I found her looking in a mirror while fixing her ponytail, then touching the bruise on her eye. No doubt she was mad she had it, because people would start asking who the hell beat up Jane Proudfoot and how.
"You look fine." I reassured her.
"Gee, thanks." She said, her voice dripping the sarcasm that I loved. She turned and sat down on the side of her bed closest to me. "How do you feel?"
"Like I got shot?" She raised an eyebrow, and I nodded. "Better than yesterday."
"You need anything?" You. You, you, you. But I didn't say that aloud, of course.
"Nah, I'm fine for now." It was her turn to nod as she got on her bed, sitting with her back to the pillows and her feet flat on the bed, causing her knees to stick up in the air. I watched her quietly, and after a minute she looked over.
"What?"
"Did you cry?" A look of confusion.
"Huh?"
"When I was unconscious." She looked away, back out the windows. I knew she couldn't lie while looking Serge, the Cap, or me in the eyes, so I knew she was about to.
"Who told you that?" She asked incredulously.
"Alyssa." I said simply. She looked up, a 'Wait till I get her' look on her face. She didn't look away.
"Well fuck, Neil, it's because of me you got shot. You're my friend, of course I would feel bad."
"It's not your fault I got shot, Jane. I was doing my job. We went through this, remember?"
"You could've died, Neil." I sat up.
"But I didn't." She threw her legs over the side of the bed and we were sitting face to face.
"I said could've. And could've is bad enough."
"Did is worse." She made a face when she realized she wasn't going to win this one. "I'm fine, Jane."
"You're still not going to be fine for a long time." I shrugged.
"I'm awake and breathing, that's all I need." She shook her head. When Jane was in a pessimistic mood, she hated optimism. And not just all optimism, my optimism. It drove her over the edge. I could tell by her grip on the bed that she was trying to calm herself. I figured to play the 'We're alone' card to my advantage, and touched the side of her face, tracing the small cut the psychotic had left on Jane's perfect face. She looked up at me.
"Neil…"
"You only cried because you felt bad?" I asked, cutting her objections off. I was pushing my luck, I knew, but it was worth a try. She looked away, and I turned her to look back at me. She stared at me, before shaking her head and giving in.
"No." Whoa. That had been easier than I expected.
"No?"
"I…" She stopped, and pushed me back on my bed, making sure not to hurt me more. I looked up and saw Aki in the other room, and nearly sighed, exasperated. So close. It was always so close.

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.:.Jane*Proudfoot.:.

Shit. That had been close. Is Neil even ready to know how I feel about him? I tried to calm down. I could still feel his fingers on my cheek, see his eyes begging a truthful answer. This was starting to scare me. I had thought no one could love me, but Neil was starting to break that rule. Aki walked in and started checking up on him, and Lyssa came a half an hour later. Thank God…(or Gaia…or whatever the hell we were supposed to thank now.) I didn't know if I could be alone with Neil again. I might do something crazy like admit I love him. And I couldn't do that. It would weaken me, right? So it's better to deny it. If something ever happens to Neil then it won't hurt as much if I deny it.

Right?

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