Chapter 7

She tried to convince him to go home, that he didn't need to stay with her constantly, but he steadfastly refused, saying that he'd be too antsy to come visit her if he went home. A couple days after the tube was taken out, they were sitting there, enjoying a comfortable silence, him lovingly stroking her hair and face, as she rubbed his hand softly, but she looked antsy.

She finally broke the silence. "Nick? I want to get up…I'm tired of never leaving this room all day…" She gazed out the window longingly, and Nick was quiet for a moment before speaking.

"You heard what the doctor said…you're not strong enough to move around much yet…" He trailed off, seeing the sad look in her bright blue eyes. He continued to think for a minute, then stood up, glancing around the room, which was void of machinery. She still had an IV in her arm, attached to a pole that could be wheeled around. He thought for a minute before leaning down, brushing his lips against hers before grinning. "Put your arms around my neck and hold on tight."

Dani did so without question, and squeaked as Nick slid his arms under her knees and behind her back, lifting her up bridal style. "What are you doing?" She asked, snuggling her head into the crook of his neck. He didn't answer right away, just motioned towards the wheeling pole.

"Grab that, I guess we can't leave it behind." She let go with her left arm, secure enough in his arms that she didn't have to hold on with both and got a firm hold on the pole. Once he was sure she had a tight hold, he started walking, out of the room and into the hall, looking around as if to make sure there was no one around to catch them. He was grinning mischievously.

"Where are we going?" She asked again, but he didn't answer, shushing her gently. He made his way to an elevator, walking in, making sure that nobody came in behind them, then clicked on the top floor button. She raised an eyebrow at him, but continued to rest her head on his neck, smiling softly. She had no idea where Nick thought he was going, but the little romp outside of her hospital room was cheering her up immensely.

Once they were on the top floor, he carefully carried her out, and searched until he found the stairs to the roof. He climbed the stairs, carefully making sure that the IV didn't fall down. Once they were on the top, he held her tightly as the wind blew against them, and they both smiled. The sun was just setting over the city, making for a beautiful scene. He carefully sat down, and set her in his lap, as she leaned against his chest, her skin lit a golden colour by the setting sun, she seemed more happy then she had in ages, and that made him happy. It was as if she were seeing life for the first time, through new eyes. She sighed contentedly, and they sat there like that for a long time, his arms wrapped around her, blocking the cold wind that started to blow as the sun disappeared below the horizon.

Although the cold wind blew directly against his bare arms, Dani's body heat kept Nick from becoming uncomfortable, as they watched the stars come out, trying to forget that this freedom was short-lived, that there were already doctors searching for them, pulling their hair out in frenzied anxiety. To them, nothing existed in the world except the stars and the two of them.

How long they were out there; neither of them would ever be able to say. It could have been an hour; it could have been five. Dani soon started to yawn, for her internal clock had been reversed from CSI to normal person. Tired at night, awake during the day. Nick gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, then picked her up again, trying to think how he was going to get the IV down the stairs while she was asleep, when the roof door opened, revealing one of the nurses. She put a finger to her lips and motioned for him to come on, and she took the IV with practiced ease, carrying it down the stairs behind them.

When Nick gave her a questioning look in the elevator, she whispered her reply, seeing as Dani was asleep, her head resting against his neck. "I know that she was anxious to get out, and I know that she's probably safer with you then she is with anyone else. So when I saw you guys on the security monitors, I covered for you." She shrugged and Nick smiled, thanking her quietly.

When they reached Dani's room, the nurse pulled down the sheets and Nick gently set Dani down into the folds, brushing her forehead gently with his hand. The nurse quietly left, leaving the IV next to the bed. Nick carefully pulled the blankets on top of the sleeping form, smiling. She was so beautiful…he sat down, and noticed the 'box of memories', not looked at since the day Dani had awoken.

He was curious as to what other stuff Dani had placed inside the box that he was unaware of, and, seeing as he was not at all tired, he made sure Dani was covered, then walked over to the table, rummaging through the box.

He paused, leaning down and reaching to the very bottom of the box, pushing aside a few birthday cards, and pulled out another book, only this one looked more like a photo album or a journal. Curious, he opened it up to the first page, and recognized Dani's neat handwriting. Dani kept a diary? He frowned, then started to read the first page, deciding it wouldn't hurt, as long as he didn't read anything private.

July 5th, 2001

11:30am

Dear Diary,

This is my first entry in you so far, I decided to start writing a diary to record every memory about my life. So that if I am, for some reason, unable to tell my friends, family, and my love myself how much they meant to me, they could read it here.

This made Nick quite a bit less anxious that he would get in trouble for reading the diary, if indeed she had meant it for him to read, if she had…died…even thinking it now made a lump rise in his throat. Shaking the thought out of his mind, he continued to read.

Last night, Nick took me to see the Independence Day fireworks. It was a beautiful night for them, there was no moon out to dull the brilliance of them, and they were absolutely beautiful. Although the last few fireworks are a bit blurry on my memory, considering how the evening was ended off.

Nick smiled, knowing what was coming next, and able to remember everything as clearly as if it were only yesterday. He didn't even finish reading the entry as he slipped into a trip down memory lane. ((A/N: In case that's not clear, this is now Nick's memory, not the diary entry))

The night was perfect, with the fireworks bursting above him, his arm around the shoulders of the most beautiful girl in the world, and his heart pounding as his thoughts continually got drawn away from the fireworks and down to the girl sitting next to him.

The fireworks were almost over, the big finale was going up, and suddenly, he knew that the time was right. Then, before he could have second thoughts, he turned her face to look at him, and kissed her. The fireworks burst unnoticed above them, and they pulled away as the last flare disappeared, followed by thunderous applause from the spectators of the fireworks, unaware that there were still fireworks going off inside the heads of the two. That had been their first kiss, and both were a bit dazed, and he was afraid for a moment that he'd acted too quickly.

However, her face slowly broke into a smile and then she'd leaned in, giving him a soft kiss. Not passionate or strong, very gentle, and it only lasted a second, but it left him breathless, and he pulled her into his arms. They'd sat like that for a few minutes, wrapped in each other's arms, just enjoying the moment, and imprinting it forever on both their memories…

He was pulled out of his memory by the sound of Dani stirring fretfully on her bed. He carefully placed the diary down on the table, for reading later, and moved over to Dani, frowning as he saw her face creased with fret, and she was flinging off the blankets. She was moaning, as if caught up in a horrible nightmare, and he swiftly leaned over, gently shaking her uninjured shoulder, and her eyes flew open, flying around the room until they settled on his face. She was breathing heavily, and she looked terrified.

"Shh…Dani, it's ok, it was just a dream…" He said, brushing her sweaty blonde bangs off her forehead gently, and she sat up, and reached forward, wrapping her arms around him, burrowing her face in his shoulder. "Shh…what's the matter, what was it?" He asked, gently rubbing her back, feeling how she was shaking.

"It was…the gunshots, and the pain…and I thought I was going to die…" She started to sob, and he understood, rubbing her back gently, kissing the top of her head, and sitting next to her in bed. He gently shushed her, and slowly her sobs died to sniffle, her eyes closed.

"Did you see…who it was?" He dared to ask, once he was sure she was calm. She pulled away, so that she could look at him, but shook her head, eyes hooded with despair.

"No…I was caught off-guard, I never saw anything…" She sniffled, and he gently lay her back down in bed, but lay down next to her, knowing that the diary could wait. He left his arm around her shoulder, and she curled up with him. She drifted off to sleep, and he, surprisingly, found that he was quite tired as well, and soon fell asleep, pulling the blankets on top of them both.

((And, another chapter completed…actually, I have yet to post Chapter 5, because I have no access to the bloody internet here…Anyway, don't think that things are all fine and dandy again, there is a reason it's labeled Tragedy, you know... You'll see…evil grin))