Rudy turned off the electro-sleep machine.

"Help me turn him on his side, Vicky," Rudy requested. The two rolled Steve away from them. Rudy then pulled down the sheet partially revealing Steve's bare buttocks.

Jaime's eyes went wide and she blushed.

Rudy swabbed Steve's left buttock with alcohol. Vicky then handed Rudy a hypodermic needle and he gave Steve an injection in the cleansed area. Rudy pulled the sheet back up and Vicky helped him turn Steve on his back.

"It'll take about 20 minutes before he comes out of it," Rudy explained. "Jaime, I'd appreciate it if you could stand out of his line of sight. I want to assess his condition first. I don't want him distracted by your presence. Once I've determined his condition, then you can say hello to him."

"Umm…of course," Jaime stammered as she moved back against the wall.

Twenty minutes later a quiet moan escaped Steve's lips and his eyelids began to flutter.

"He's coming out of it," declared Rudy. "Steve? Steve? It's Rudy."

"Rudy?" Steve mumbled.

"Do you know where you are?"

Steve opened his eyes and looked at Rudy. It took him a few seconds to find the answer. "Hospital?"

"That's right."

"How long have I been out?" Steve asked slowly.

"Three days," replied Rudy as he shined a light at Steve's eyes. "How's your vision?"

"Blurry…but not as bad as before."

"Any dizziness?"

"Not much."

"Okay, I want you to follow my finger by turning your head, not just your eyes."

Rudy raised his index finger in front of Steve's face and moved it slowly to the right.

Steve felt a slight twinge of pain from the incision on his neck as he turned his head to follow Rudy's finger.

"That's good. Keep up with my finger. Now let's go the other direction." Rudy moved his finger slowly to the left.

Steve slowly turned his head to the left. "Uh…" He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is the dizziness worse?" Rudy asked.

"Yeah," Steve admitted.

"Okay, I can definitely see some improvement but that swelling needs to come down even more. I'm going to put you back to sleep for a couple of more days and then I'll reassess your condition," Rudy explained. "But first there's someone here who wants to say hello." Rudy motioned to Jaime.

She stepped forward. "Steve?"

"Jaime?" Steve struggled to focus his eyes but all he saw was a blurry outline of Jaime.

Jaime came closer and took Steve's hand and gently caressed his cheek with her other hand. "I'm here."

Her soft touch almost made Steve forget about the vertigo. Almost. He tried to focus his eyes but Jaime was still blurry.

Jaime noticed his struggle. She sat on the bed beside him and moved even closer…her face just inches from his. She ran her fingers through his hair.

"You're here?" He squeezed her hand gently and looked into her eyes. "I'm glad."

She smiled. "Me too."

Steve shut his eyes for a moment. "Rudy, I want to stay awake." He was digging deep to fight the dizzy spell that momentarily overtook him.

Jaime looked at Rudy who shook his head. Rudy was afraid this might happen when Steve saw Jaime. He knew how Steve felt about her. But he didn't have to say anything to Steve. Jaime handled the situation.

"You're my hero, Steve, but you need to be a patient right now. Okay?" Jaime continued to run her fingers through Steve's hair.

Steve started to pull an electrode off of his forehead. "No, I want to stay awake."

Jaime took his hand and stopped him. "Don't fight this. You need to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

A pause and then, "Promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay."

Jaime gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

Steve placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer to him as he deepened the kiss.

Their lips parted and Steve smiled before squeezing his eyes tightly as another wave of vertigo hit him – but that kiss was worth it. "Okay, I'm ready," he whispered.

Jaime gave a nod to Rudy who turned on the electro-sleep machine.

Steve's grasp on Jaime's hand slipped and he fell into unconsciousness.