A/N: Hi all, time for another update. I'd just like to thank everyone who has read and/or reviewed so far. It means a lot to know that other people are actually enjoying what I write. Thankyou all so very much.

Songs that set the mood (or mine at least) for this chapter… "Beautiful," (Tala) and "Green." (Vince) Both are by Alex Lloyd. Checkem out.

P.s. Jet! I quoted you in my profile hun.. I hope that's ok. If not, just let me know and I'll take it down.

Sparkly green

Tala rolled her eyes tiredly, phone pressed to her ear. Nobody liked being woken up at seven in the morning on their day off and she was no exception. She tugged on the oversized sleeve of her sweater, the soft knitted cuff falling over her knuckles as her fingers drummed on the counter top.

She winced to herself as a particularly high shriek attacked her eardrum. My boss is a harpy she decided. The shrieking continued.

"Good lord," she mouthed silently to the empty room, resting her head against her hand, fingers tangled in her already tousled hair. She stared out the kitchen window, four stories up. Outside the sky was greying, that small hint of blue slowly disappearing behind thick dark clouds. Her favourite kind of weather. She smiled when she thought of crawling back into bed and sleeping the day away.

"- and if you think you can just leave whenever you deem it necessary, you've got another thing coming!"

Tala sat up straighter, her sweater swamping her tiny form. "Now just you wait a minute," she started, shrugging the shoulder of her sweater back into place, "I told my supervisor that I had a family emergency! I asked if I could leave and despite what that old bat told you, I had permission and it was necessary!" She snarled into the receiver. She felt like tugging her hair out. The only people on earth who infuriated her more than her bosses were her stuck up relatives on her mothers side of the family. Pompous shits.

Her boss seemingly ignored this little outburst. "You're scheduled for the afternoon shift this afternoon. I expect you to show your face or else it's your job, Miss Mackenzie."

Anger flooded Tala's body, her jaw clenched tightly. "But it's my day off." She ground out, trying to remain the least bit civil.

"You will show up for work this afternoon Miss Mackenzie, or you will not have a job to come to tomorrow." The voice spat haughtily. "You make the decision. What is more important?"

Slender fingers pinched the bridge of her nose, fighting off the tension headache. "Fine," she muttered.

The syrupy tone that met her response made the normally placid girl squeeze the phone until she could feel her knuckles start to ache.

"We'll see you at two thirty, Miss Mackenzie." Click.

Tala scowled, gently replacing the cordless into the cradle. "I hate my life," she grumbled, dropping her head into her hands. Tears of frustration sprung forth, wetting her lashes. She had promised Vince the night before that she would go with him to physiotherapy at four and the thought of disappointing him unsettled her more than the thought of being fired.

"Shit," she rubbed at her face. "Shit, shit, double shit."

With a heaving sigh, she slipped from the stool and padded across the cool tile and into the carpeted hallway. The pale walls gave the small space a larger feel, making it much brighter. This was greatly due to the small window at the end of the short hall, pale light flooding through it. Tala tugged the blind down and instantly, the hall fell into a dim, early morning glow.

She leant in her doorway, arms folded across her chest. Shirt abandoned, Vince lay on the side of the bed closest to her, face down with his head turned toward her. His eyes were slitted, barely open, his hair a mess. Tala was happy now that the store had been unable to get her bed in any size smaller than the queen, otherwise the large man sprawled across her bed would never have fit. Not that she had any inkling that she would be sharing with anyone when she purchased it.

He wriggled his fingers slightly in greeting, fighting back the grimace that the movement evoked. "Morning." He rasped.

Tala smiled and pushed away from the door, walking over and sitting on the soft floor beside the bed. "How'd you sleep?" she asked, brushing her fingers through his horrid bed hair. It only served to spike up the dark strands even more. He nodded slightly.

"No nightmares," he admitted, shifting his cheek closer. His eyes took on a pleased gleam when Tala smiled at him.

"That's wonderful," she cooed, gently rubbing his arm. At first he whimpered at the sensation of pressure on the damaged limb, then gradually as he became used to her touch, the pain seemed to ebb away to a dull ache. Either that, or he was just more accustomed to hurting than he thought.

Careful not to touch the denser scarring on his forearm, Tala ran her fingers over the light, already fading silvery pink lines just above his elbow. The ones that cut through that beautiful tattoo. "Does it hurt, Vince?" she motioned to his fingers, twitching ever so slightly of their own accord. "When you twitch?"

He nodded silently, his face solemn. "It always hurts." He admitted quietly, his eyes downcast.

Hurt, mixed with anger, filled her. He was in unnecessary pain because of a select few people's bias. One of which had taken great pleasure in making her life hell as of late. That stupid hose beast, Claudia. It was her fault that Tala was in trouble.

Her expression must have darkened at the thought of the senior nurse because Vince sat up. His feet dropped to the carpet, knees spread wide.

"What's wrong?" He asked, agitated all of a sudden. Tala knew that if she didn't calm him straight away they would have a repeat of yesterday on their hands.

"Nothing, nothing," she shook her head dismissively, urging him to lay back down. Stubbornly, he refused. Although calmer, he looked suspicious.

"Tala.." he growled, eyebrows furrowed. She felt her chest swell at his concern, and a little awe at his determined face. It was the first hint of his old personality shining through, aside from the teasing big brother side, that she had seen from him. Letty had filled her in on what he used to be like. A hard-ass, loner type with serious trust issues. Aggressive and more than a little mean. He was the team's henchman. The thought of him being that person didn't quite scare her, she just had trouble envisioning the self conscious, shy man as that kind of person.

She let her breath out in a big whoosh, scratching at her dishevelled hair. "I got a call from my boss," she looked up at him, glad to see his face had softened into just plain concern. It was then she decided that it was best never to lie to Vincent Noah Orello. "I have to go into work this afternoon because I left like I did yesterday."

He mouthed 'oh' and rubbed a hand over his unruly locks. When he was done he looked like he'd stuck his finger in a power outlet.

"So you can't come to my session with me then?" he asked unsurely, trying to clarify things. Tala nodded.

"I'm so sorry, Vince. I know I promised I would," she stroked the side of his thigh, still clad in his loose denim jeans, "-and I would still go with you even though I have work any other time.."

His eyes narrowed. "But?"

Tala inwardly cursed. Perceptive shit! She thought affectionately. "If I don't go in this afternoon, I could lose my job."

He frowned. "That's fucked, Tal." He stated. "It's not right."

Defeated, Tala nodded, leaning her head against the edge of the mattress. "I know, babe. There's nothing I can do though.. I hate disappointing you, but I love my job." She met his eyes, amazed at the warmth she saw in them. "I can't lose my job, Vince."

He stared at her for a moment, then with his good arm, he tugged her to her knees and directed her in between his.

"Promise me one thing?" he asked timidly, roughened fingers tracing the lines of her features.

Tala nodded, bemused. "Name it."

"Promise me you wont be as nice to any other patient as you were to me," he smiled slightly at her laughter, "At least the male ones."

"I think I can swing that." She laughed and leant into his chest, rubbing her cheek against the skin over his heart. His good arm squeezed her to him.

"I didn't mean to get you into trouble," he whispered close to her ear. Tala smiled at the feel of his stubble scraping against her skin.

"For this, it was worth it." She leant up and pecked him on the lips, quickly standing afterwards. Not even noticing his stunned expression, she started out of the room. "I'm going for a shower, big guy." She called back over her shoulder. As she was turning out into the hall, she caught a brief glimpse at his pink face. She frowned quizzically. Wonder what that was about?

Letty glanced at Vince out of the corner of her eye, paranoid. Ever since she had picked him up from Tala's he had been unnaturally quiet, staring out the window at the passing traffic. Occasionally he would flinch, or shift positions, but he remained silent for the first fifteen minutes of the trip.

"Alright," she said finally, tired of the silence, "What's the matter? Did you two have a fight or something?"

He stared out the window, not looking at her. ".. I got Tala in trouble. She has to go in to work on her day off."

"Is that why I'm going with you to this gig instead? She got called in?"

He nodded, adjusting the seat belt around him. "They were going to fire her if she didn't go in," he added quietly, "It's my fault."

"Vince, you did not make her come running to your side yesterday. She did it because she loves you to death and was scared for you. She wanted to be there for you."

He turned to her, a bitter, sad smile on his face. "She can't love me Letty."

He sounded so sure of it that Letty almost drove off the road, shocked. How the hell can he think that? Can't he see how she feels about him?
"Vincent.." lost for words, Letty trailed off. Finally, "Why can't she?"

He scoffed, eyes closed, head tilted back. "Tala deserves better than me, Let. She's worth more than a handicapped, barely educated, ex-con who can't even take care of himself.." his tone was laced with so much self loathing that Letty felt like slapping him to make him wake up.

"If she didn't want to be with you Vince, she wouldn't be." She told him firmly, nodding to herself. It was the same theory she was using with Leon. If he wanted her, baggage and all, that was just fine with her.

The look on his face was one she had witnessed a few times before during his hospital stay. Defeat. He hadn't even tried, and he was already giving up.

"Vince, you listen to me and you listen good," she pulled the car over and turned to face him. "Tala. Loves. You. Trust me, boo. A woman does not take care of a man the way she takes care of you unless there are some serious feelings involved."

He started to interject. "But she's only known me for a few months. She-"

"No, Vince. You can't push the best thing that has ever happened to you away. Do you love her?"

He paled slightly, eyes wide. "Wh- What?"

Letty rolled her eyes. "Easy question, Vince. Yes or no. I'll ask again.. Do you love Tala?"

This time, he nodded. "I… I can't make her happy, Let.. I try so hard and I always mess things up.."

"Vince… She lights up when we even mention your name. Trust me, you make her happy."

He was grasping at straws. "But I'm broken.."

"Let her fix you then. After all this shit, you deserve some happiness, Vince. Let the poor girl in."

He was quiet for a while, just staring at her. "We're only friends at the moment." He said in a less dejected tone. Letty grinned at his use of 'at the moment'.

"Well then," she started the car and pulled back onto the road, "You'll just have to kick it up a notch then, wont you? I'm sure you remember how."

The rest of the trip was spent in companionable silence, unbroken until they were at the hospital. It was when they were already inside and in the waiting room that he turned to her.

"Letty?"

She looked up from the magazine she was flipping through. "Yeah, boo?"

He stared at her, unmoving even when his name was called. Vaguely, he motioned to a spot on her throat. "You have a hickey."

Tala staggered in the door the next morning, bleary eyed and ready to just curl up and die. She was so tired she was surprised she had made it home alive.

She shuffled into the kitchen for some aspirin, her head pounding. "What's this?" she asked herself, eyeing the note taped to the microwave door. The scrawl was feminine and elegant, so Tala was guessing it was Letty's handwriting. She knew for a fact it couldn't be Vince's, him being unable to write with his right hand and all. She snatched the paper off the door with a confused smirk

'Tala, thought you might be hungry when you got in. Leon made Chicken Caesar Salad for lunch today, so Vince asked me to bring some over for you. Chicken is in the microwave and the rest in the fridge in a container. Yes. It is edible. Letty and Vince.'

Tala, exhausted as she was, felt the tears welling up in her eyes at the thoughtful gesture. She hadn't even considered dinner last night. She wasn't given the chance. It was sprung on her last minute that her shift was actually a double, so all she had eaten was a giant choc chip cookie from the vending machine in the staff room.

Looking at the clock on the oven, she hesitantly picked up the phone and dialled automatically, at the same time reheating the food in the microwave. After a minute or so of ringing, it stopped and she heard a grumble. Her mood instantly lifted.

"Thank you," she said softly, opening the fridge door.

Vince's low timber bought a smile to her face. "Welcome." He mumbled, still half asleep. "You just getting home now?" he asked, disbelieving. He sounded slightly more awake now.

She sighed, carrying the containers into the living room. Shouldering the cordless phone, she dropped onto the couch. "Yeah," she blew an errant lock of hair out of her face.

She could hear the rustling of him rolling around under that down quilt. "Fuck babe, it's quarter past six.. Go to bed."

"I will, I will," she assured, "I'm there as soon as I.. Wait." She grinned, "You called me babe."

There was a silence, then the sound of Vince clearing his throat. "… You give me pet names." He argued weakly.

Tala grinned, slithering lower on the couch until she was slouched almost uncomfortably. Her smile was audible in her tone when she spoke.

"Goodnight Vince."

"… G'night, Tal."

She waited until she heard the click of his phone hanging up, and then, only then, did she bury her face in the nearest cushion and scream happily. Get a hold of yourself, girl! You're not a twelve year old so stop squealing like one!

Then, she dissolved into a fit of giggles.