A/N: Remember, no medical knowledge whatsoever!
It was mid morning when she next woke up, feeling considerably better than she had before. Sunlight streamed in through a window, illuminating Horatio, who was still asleep. His head was supported by one hand, leaning on the bedside cabinet. She winced as she took in the angle his neck was at. Still, sleep would do him good, even if he couldn't move when he woke up. The sound of the door opening made him wake with a start, and a groan as he moved his neck. He met her eyes and grinned though.
"Good morning Ms Nelson. My name is Doctor Robinson," the man said, and Horatio recognised him as the doctor from the previous night. "You're still here," he said accusingly to Horatio.
Calm blue eyes met the doctor's brown ones, forcing the doctor to look away first. "Yes, and I'm not going anywhere, so get used to seeing me around." Frankie hid a giggle at the two of them.
"How are you feeling this morning?"
"Better," she allowed. She shifted awkwardly, grimacing as the movement sent a shock of pain through her. Finding the bed remote, she brought herself up to a sitting position. "What's the diagnosis?" The doctor sent a very pointed look at Horatio, who glanced at Frankie. "Stay," she said softly. He took hold of her hand, and she smiled.
Rolling his eyes, the doctor flipped open the patient chart. "Well, the three bullets that hid you did some serious damage. Two struck your left kidney, and we had to remove it, while the third hit the renal artery, causing a great deal of blood loss. You're going to be very weak for a long time, and need a great deal of care when we release you."
"When will that be?" Frankie, like most of the world, hated staying in hospitals.
"That depends. It could be as soon as a week from now, if we are sure that you will be taken care of properly. It also depends on your progress over the next few days. We don't want to transfer you out of ICU just yet, due to the amount of blood you've lost, so we need to keep a close eye on you." The doctor made some notes on her chart, before he left the room, saying that someone would be along to check on her in an hour.
Frankie turned back to face Horatio. He looked better for a few hours sleep, but still deeply exhausted. His eyes were still, to her joy, without their usual barriers. He caught her smile and answered with one of his own. Seemingly reading her mind, he said softly, "No more hiding, Frankie. I'm so sorry about before."
She cut him off before he could go any further, holding her finger up to his lips. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you. My temper gets the best of me sometimes."
"You were right," he insisted. "I'm only sorry it took me nearly losing you to realise that. I'm so sorry."
She laughed gently. "Yes, you have to go to church now."
He flushed a little, bringing some much needed colour to his cheeks. "You heard that, huh?" She nodded. "Then you know I'd do anything for your forgiveness. Can you ever forgive me for such idiotic behaviour?"
Wondering whether this was a good idea, Frankie decided to push him a little. "That all depends. Will you play the piano for me?"
He laughed, his eyes lighting up and taking her breath away. "Until you yell at me to stop!" She was suddenly laughing too, laughing hard enough to make her cry. He slowly eased her forward, into his arms, holding her gently yet firmly as she wept. His hands made soothing circles on her back as he murmured, "Everything is going to be fine Frankie. I'm here for you, and I'm not going anywhere. We're going to be all right, you and me. I promise."
He waited until she stopped crying, before laying her gently back down against the pillows. "You and me?" she echoed his words.
"You and me," he said firmly. An abrupt flash of doubt appeared in his eyes. "Unless that's not what you want."
"You and me," she repeated, taking his hand in hers, studying their entwined fingers, "is exactly what I want."
Alexx was relieved to see Frankie awake and alert, although a trace of panic was also there when she realised Horatio wasn't in the room. Frankie was flicking through a magazine, looking bored, so she knocked on the door and went in.
Frankie looked up and smiled. She was deathly pale, but Alexx was pleased to see her smile was as bright as ever. "Good morning Alexx. Sorry to have given everyone a bit of a scare."
Alexx wondered exactly how strong her pain medication was, as Frankie was almost unnaturally cheerful for someone who had just been shot three times. The ME sat down on the chair near the bed and studied her friend anxiously. Her pupils weren't dilated, and she seemed sharp enough, but that was no reason to be that chirpy. "Is everything all right?" she ventured.
"No, everything is perfect," Frankie said with complete contentment.
Alexx raised her eyebrows doubtfully. "Where is Horatio?"
"I sent him on a mission to find some decent food. I can't stand hospital food, and my doctor agreed, under duress, that I need a little pampering. So Horatio has gone to find something yummy, with the condition that he brings enough for himself as well."
"So you two are, um," Alexx paused delicately, not knowing quite what to say.
"We are um indeed," Frankie laughed. "No, I don't know what's going to happen, but the important thing is we're talking, and he's really talking to me. About important things, like how we feel about each other."
"That's wonderful," Alexx said sincerely. Frankie's brain caught up with her ears at that point and she gasped.
"When did you know I was talking about Horatio? Oh God, does everyone know?"
Alexx rushed to forestall the panic she heard in her friend's voice. "I worked it out ages ago. I'm good friends with both of you, so it was impossible to ignore the signs that both of you were showing. As to everyone else, I know Calleigh knows, so I imagine Eric does, but they will have kept it to themselves, not least because I know Cal wants to kill Horatio for upsetting you." Frankie groaned at that. "Calleigh guessed when she saw Horatio's reaction when you got shot, but I think she's starting to forgive him. He took it very hard you know. The Fuentes brothers were very lucky SWAT got to them first."
"He blames himself," Frankie said softly.
"He always does honey, that's nothing new. Still, telling someone that he's blaming himself is new, so that's a good sign." Alexx saw Horatio approaching through the window and smiled. "And here's the man himself."
He greeted Alexx with a happy smile, and she thought how well happiness suited him. "If I'd known you were going to be here Alexx, I'd have bought more food. You can have some prawn crackers though," he added, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes that Frankie adored. He handed Frankie a carton of something, and she giggled appreciatively as she caught the smell of chicken in black bean sauce.
"Hmm, this certainly beats hospital food," she mumbled through a delicious mouthful. Alexx stole a mouthful from her, and nodded in agreement.
"So when do you break out of this dump?" she asked.
Frankie shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. The doctor reckons I can be out in a week, if they think I'll be properly taken care of at home. They might not agree that living by myself is taking care of myself properly though."
Horatio looked up sharply. "You won't be going home alone." She turned to look at him, hope shining in her eyes. "You're coming home with me. Chessie, you can't take care of yourself for a while. You're coming home with me," he repeated firmly. Alexx smiled to herself, and stole another prawn cracker before she stood up.
"I'll come back later on Frankie. Eric and Calleigh, probably Ryan as well, will want to come and visit. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is Lex. You don't have to leave, you know."
"I think I'll take the not so subtle hints that you two want to be alone for a bit. Take care of her Horatio."
"Now there's an order I don't need telling twice," he said lightly, but Frankie smiled as she heard the meaning behind the light tone.
