"Woody, can you hear me?"

The voice seemed distant, as if it were coming from the end of a long tunnel, and he felt as if he were hurtling toward it.

His eyes opened, and she was there, her cheeks damp with a thin trail of tears.

"Jordan..." he croaked. "You're here."

"I told you I would be. They wouldn't let me see you until now, but I'm here."

He blinked hard as his eyes adjusted to the light. He was alive, back in his room, and yes, she was here. He had always felt fearless in the face of death, but he had been terrified that morning as they wheeled him back into surgery. But then he closed his eyes and retraced every curve of her face in his mind.

Jordan. She would be there when he woke up. It didn't matter what the surgery held. Jordan was coming.

There was no pain yet from the surgery, and his head still felt thick with the anesthesia. He felt her hand slip into his, and this time, he squeezed it tight and held it there.

"The doctor said you came through the surgery just fine." She sniffed and gave a small, reassuring smile through her tears. "He said there was no permanent nerve damage and there's no reason for you not to walk again."

He meant only to smile back up at her, to say something clever, but as he opened his mouth to speak, the words caught in his throat, and he choked on his own tears of relief.

She leaned down and brushed his cheeks with her gentle hand. "It's okay. You're going to be okay."

"I didn't think I'd ever walk again."

"But you will." She smiled slyly. "And I'm going to be there kicking your ass every step of the way. Hear me?"

He laughed and reached out to touch her face as he bathed in the warmth of her smile. "I'm so sorry..."

"Sorry for what?"

"The things I said to you. The way I spoke to you. You didn't deserve it."

Her face clouded over. "Hey. We don't have to talk about this, Woody. Water under the bridge, okay?"

"No. I need to say this." He was weakened by all he had been through and knew this would take all the energy he had, but he had to speak. "I know now how hard it must have been for you to say those things to me when I was on my way to the O.R, but I really thought the only reason you said them was because you felt sorry for me. I'd been waiting for so long, and all of a sudden..." He shook his head. "But then when you left, and I was lying here, all I could think about was you and how miserable I was without you. And I realized that sometimes it takes almost losing someone you love to make you realize just how much you love them."

She couldn't speak for the fresh shower of tears that had spilled down her face. She gently stroked his pale forehead.

"I'm asking you to forgive me," he said simply. She paused a long moment, and her eyes were dark. She could not look at him. "Jordan?"

Finally, she shook her head emphatically. "You don't need to ask for my forgiveness, Woody."

"Then do I get another second chance?" She could only nod, and then she leaned down to kiss him. When she stood up again, he looked at her with a perfect smile. "That's the best medicine I could ever get, Jordan."

"Let's just put this behind us. Start fresh." Her smile was gone, and her voice was hard. He cocked his head. Something was wrong.

"Are you all right, Jordan?"

She looked back at him suddenly with wide eyes. "Fine. Why?"

"I don't know..." he said warily. "Did the doctor say something? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No! I swear! I'm just..." She put her heads on her face. "I can't tell whether I'm coming or going anymore." She managed a small laugh. "I'm running on fumes here."

"I know. And I'm sorry I put you through that."

"Stop apologizing. You were shot in the gut, Woody. You have nothing to apologize for." She stopped suddenly and looked away, and he narrowed his eyes at her.

Had he heard that correctly? You have nothing to apologize for. You. It was a funny word to emphasize. As if she did.

But she was here, and she loved him, and nothing else mattered. It was just a word.

She seemed to be pulling away, and he reached out again for her hand. "Don't go just yet."

"I won't. I'm not going anywhere. But you need to rest."

He nodded and let his eyelids fall as he watched her there, wanting her face to be the last thing he saw before he drifted off.