AN: Thanks again for all of the reviews! You ppl are amazing and you totally motivate me to write. I have so many ideas for this fic that I just can't seem to stop. I have at least a few more chapters planned. As always, please review and let me know what you think, good or bad. It'll help me finish the next chapter a lot faster!

AN 2: I heard the perfect TATE song today that inspired another fic. I hope to have it up within the next week or so, depending on my class load, so keep an eye out for it!

Chapter 6

The doctors had cleared the room so they could examine Kate. Her family had gone to the cafeteria after Kate had assured them that everything was ok. Of course, no one had expected Tony to leave. He was even more protective now that Kate was awake. He kept resisting the urge to growl at the doctors as they continued asking stupid questions and staring at Kate like she was something to be studied.

Dr. Foster and her team of colleagues had poked and prodded Kate, probing her memory and mental ability. It felt like forever, and Kate and Tony were both ready to throw them out of the room. She was fine now! Couldn't they see that! All's she wanted to do was talk to Tony, and all he wanted was hold her in his arms. The doctors were really becoming a pain in the ass, and Kate glared at the doctor who asked the last question.

Tony had spent the entire time hovering nearby. He didn't want to risk letting her out of his sight for even a minute. She clearly felt the same way. Except for when the doctors prodded her to focus on a certain spot, Kate spent the entire time staring at Tony. He was cute and rumpled from the past few days. His hair wasn't perfectly styled and he had bags under his eyes but he was smiling. Maybe it was the love in his eyes or that she'd almost never gotten a chance with him, but she swore he looked better than she ever remembered. That was saying a lot since Tony always looked sinfully delicious.

Finally, the doctors reached their conclusion. They'd asked enough questions to safely conclude that her brain was fully functioning and she would suffer no long term effects from her injury and subsequent coma. Tony could have told them that! They stepped back to leave and he quickly reclaimed his seat on the bed. Kate scooted over so Tony could lay back. He slid his arm around her and she immediately melted into his embrace. He kissed her temple. She fit perfectly, just like he'd known she would. But all the times he'd dreamed of this very moment, minus the hospital room, he'd never come close to how it really felt to hold her in his arms. It was simply heaven.

"I never thought I'd get to feel this." She broke the silence with a look of pure contentment on her face. "I felt you and I heard you talking, but I couldn't make myself wake up. I used to dream about you and me together, but I never thought it would happen. I never thought you could love me. Then you finally said the words I always hoped you would but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't tell you how I felt. I couldn't collapse into an earth-shattering kiss. It was total joy and total torture all at the same time."

A tear slid down her cheek as she remembered the feeling of helplessness. He brushed it away with his thumb and held her even tighter. He continued stroking her cheek, wishing he could take her pain away.

"I just kept focusing on you, on your voice and your hand in mine. I was scared I wouldn't be able to wake up and I'd never get to be with you. I was kicking myself for not telling you how I felt, for not taking that chance a long time ago. I kept thinking about us and the future you were talking about and then I moved. I moved because of you."

"You have no idea what you did for me. I was completely in the dark and it felt like I was totally alone in this black world. I was so scared and so lost. It was like one minute I was on the roof with you guys and then everything went dark. I didn't know what happened or where I was. Then I heard your voice and felt your hand and I knew everything was ok. As long as you were there I knew I was safe. Then you started talking and I concentrated on filling the black with everything you were talking about. I imagined the house and the white picket fence. I imagined my life with you and I forgot about the black. I would never have made it without you."

Silent tears were streaming down both of their faces, but she was smiling. She turned her head, looked into his eyes, and enjoyed the earth-shattering kiss from her dreams. When they finally broke apart, Tony wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I meant every word of what I said. Since the moment we met on Air Force One all I've wanted is to be with you. I tried to ignore it, but no one else was you. I used to stay awake when we had to work all night just to watch you sleep. Most of the time I got slapped on the head for not paying attention it was because I was thinking about you or staring at you. You were perfect and I definitely wasn't. I never thought I had a chance."

He paused, trying to find the right words. "Life wouldn't be worth living if you weren't in it. Even when I thought I'd never have you I was still ecstatic just to be near you, just to have you in my life. I want to spend the rest of my life making sure your life is as perfect as you've made mine. I want to spend summers holding you on the porch swing and winters warming you in front of the fire. I want to run through the rain with you in springtime and walk through the park with you in the fall. I want to hold you every night and wake up with you every day. We can do anything and everything you want, as long as we do it together."

She choked back the tears that were shining in both of their eyes. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Their lips met again, this time tender and slow. There was no need to rush. They had an entire life time of kisses ahead of them and no worries in the world.