When Gage woke up the next morning, he could tell by his surroundings, that he was in a hospital. His head felt like a sandbag, heavy and barely movable. He started to sit up but the pounding of his head quickly changed his mind for him. After a few minutes passed, he tried again only slowly this time and succeeded in sitting up to see Sydney sitting in a chair across from him. She was back in her regular clothes with the addition of a couple of small bandages, a fully developed black eye and a piece of a visible bruise on her chin.
She smiled at him and said: "I have two things to tell you Francis Gage." Gage knew he was in for a chewing out now; Sydney never used his full name unless he was in trouble. She stood up and walked over to his bedside and sat down on the edge of the bed. Gage was able to stammer out: "I know, I know. That was really". . . "Stupid of you." Sydney finished for him. Gage said: "Sorry." Sydney smiled at him then and said: "That was the first thing, the second is this". She leaned in suddenly and kissed Gage square on the mouth.
Gage felt his eyes go wide then surrendered himself to the moment. The kiss felt like forever but was only a handful of seconds before they broke apart. Sydney smiled and said: "Thanks for trying to avenge me."
As she said it, there was the sound of a throat clearing. They both turned to see Trivette walking in and saying: "I'm not interrupting am I?" Gage and Sydney stammered out: "Uh, no. No. Nothing at all." Trivette smiled and said: "Your secret is safe. Don't worry." Trivette walked over and said: "Sydney was able to give us a description of this guy Ryu. Here. Look at this. Is this him?" He held out an artists' rendition and said: "That's him alright. I've gotta say though, I've been hit by almost every type of punch or kick at some point. I've been hit by power and I've been hit with skill. But this guy is something more than both of those. I mean, somehow, I know that no matter how many times I ever get hit between now and the day I die, I will always remember him." Sydney nodded in agreement with her partner and added: "I have no doubt that he was holding back. I'm certain he could have killed us both if he wanted to."
Trivette made a whistle of amazement. He knew that Gage and Sydney both were skilled and strong in their respective fighting styles and anyone who could get past them without breaking a sweat was someone to be watchful of. "Okay. The doctors say they want you both to go home and take a day to rest because you both have concussions so since it's Saturday now, I'll see you both back at the office on Monday. Okay?"
Gage and Sydney nodded understanding. Trivette left then, leaving Gage and Sydney in a moment of agonizing silence before they both tried to speak at the same time. They laughed a little and this time Gage was the first to speak: "So where do we go from here Syd?" She thought a moment and said: "First, you need some clothes on so we can go to dinner somewhere quiet and talk about this." Gage countered with: "Well, you heard what the doctors told Trivette, so how about we order ina pizza?" Sydney said: "Your place or mine?"