DISCLAIMER: I don't own 7th Heaven or anything related to it besides the content and characters that I created. I also don't really know anything about police business or jails, so sorry.

She had been awake for less than a half an hour. Her body hurt like pain she'd only ever experienced in the basement. She was stiff and achy. She was connected to machines and gizmos, helping her stay alive so her weakened body wouldn't have to do it alone. And yet, she couldn't be happier. She was alive.

Chapter 15: Displaced, Disconcerted, Disaffected

In the weeks that followed Kay's awakening, the initial happiness she felt began to dwindle and then diminish all together. She was in a coma for two months, inevitably missing Thanksgiving and Christmas. Her friends visited her a lot but as they sat there, next to her, telling her about their lives since she was in the coma, she felt out of touch. The world didn't stop when she was asleep. She felt like she was living in a new time zone, a true example of the term 'jet lag'.

She sighed and slowly shifted her body in the sterile sheets. How many times was she going to be in the hospital before she turned 18? Already she'd be in three times. The day before the doctor actually asked her why she was so eager to keep coming back.

Because I like it here, she thought and in some ways, she did. No one could hurt her here. All her personal problems just disappeared when she was in the hospital; the people there were worried about her physical being more than her emotional one.

Sure, she wanted to get up and get out more than anything but sometimes at night, when the wing was silent and all she could hear was the steady beat of her heart monitor, she felt content. She knew she'd be leaving soon, but not yet. And she was going to cherish the time that she had alone.

Kay closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. Visiting hours were just a few hours away and she wanted to be awake and rested for them. Today, Andrew had promised to come see her and she could barely contain herself. She was so excited that she wasn't surprised that she couldn't fall asleep and ended up staring at the doorway for two and a half hours. Finally, when sleep was about to overcome her, she saw him standing at the door, raising his hand to knock.

"Hey," he said when he saw her eyes open. To him, she looked like a shadow of her former self. Her bruises had faded on the outside but he still saw them in the inside. He was paying attention to that because he knew how strong she was on the outside. She had a tough exterior. But on the inside…

"Hey," she responded before motioning to a chair beside her bad. She sat herself up and spread out the sheet on her lap, smoothing it to keep from staring at him. He was just so damn pretty, in a manly way that is.

"So, how are you feeling?" he asked when he was a mere two feet from her.

"Displaced. Disconcerted. Disaffected," she paused. "Yeah that pretty much sums it up. But I am glad that you're here."

"So am I," he said, promising himself to remember her feelings. It was too early to talk about them just yet but before too long, he knew he had to confront her about them. At the very least, she was going to have to tell her family about them.

For the next hour or so, they talked about trivial things. He mentioned that her favorite TV couple broke up and she was sad. But her mood picked up though when she realized that she had only missed the angsty episodes and she'd be watching in time for their reunion. It gave her something to look forward to, even if it was just a TV show.

"Hey, I never really got to thank you for being here for me when I was in the coma. It was really nice of you," she said shyly.

"Well, I understand. You were asleep; you really couldn't thank me then. But it was no problem. I just wanted to see you better. That was my wish every time I walked through that door and into this room. I wished that one time when I was talking to you, you would just wake up and tell me to shut up because I was disturbing your sleep," he said, staring at the sheets on her bed. He didn't want her to see the emotion he was putting forward through his eyes.

Kay paused and her eyes grew wide. He wanted me to get better that much. Slowly, she smiled and took his hand. Raising it to her mouth, he brought his head up in time to see her place her lips on the smooth flesh on the back of his hand. When she realized what she did, she dropped his hand and blushed. She cleared her throat, "Uhh…"

Before she could say anything more, Andrew's lips were brushing hers. It was over before she could really process what had happened but what she did know was that she wanted more of those kisses. Definitely more.

Yeah that was short. Very short. But I couldn't think of anything else to put in it. I'll update faster now that I'm doing the trial and everything. Reviews are appreciated, although I totally understand if you don't want to. But we're almost at the end of it. And I will be doing another installment focus more on romance. Haven't done that in a while.