AN: The people have spoken. After reading all your comments and giving some serious thought, this is how I decided to continue. I like the idea of their relationship being more brother-sister, but I'm going to save that for another story. Thank you so, so much to all of you who reviewed and gave your input: Dee, writinglover23, naquada, runrenyarun, kensi jj, Whiz, and everyone who reviewed as a guest. I appreciate it so much! This chapter is for you first-time reviewers!

Warning: This chapter gets a *little bit* fluffy.

Maggie POV~

At first I'm not sure if he's real or another hallucination. But OA is here, he's trying to get me down, unhook me from the ceiling. He starts to lower me, working gently but quickly. There is a mask around my face to help me breathe and I'm thankful. The cloud had completely encompassed the room while I was sleeping, and I don't think I'd be able to breathe without it. The pain my body is experiencing as I'm lowered is worse than that I felt while hanging. I wish he would pull me back up, but then I'm on the ground and I feel his hands. He's here. It's real. It has to be. If he's not, I know I'm too far gone to save. He is talking to me, begging me to hang on. It's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. But my eyes are closed again and for the life of me, I can't open them again, can't speak, can't move. I feel him pick me up and then we're moving. He carries me up the stairs and I want to hold him tighter, say thank you, do anything. Instead, I sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next thing I feel is something in my throat making it hard to move. It's to big, too uncomfortable and I start to try to grab it. Then I hear something ringing, beeping, making noise and I'm instantly back in the basement, not really even sure if I ever left. I start to fight harder and then there are hands on me trying to keep me still, yelling for help and telling me to stop moving. Everything is so blurry and blends together. I don't know what's real and what isn't.

Then someone else is by my side. One of my hands is warmed in his, and another warm hand touches my cheek. I'm afraid he's here, my captor, as I feel his hand on me and am reminded of being in the basement. But I look and it's OA. Instantly I know things are okay, that I'm safe. He did pull me out of the basement; it was real. He's telling me so, whispering sweet things into my ear making sure I know that it's over. Even so, I feel the tube in my throat and become agitated that it is so uncomfortable. I try to pull it out. Then a nurse is here holding a syringe. Panic fills me as I relive the beginning of the whole ordeal, how I was injected with drugs so I could be strung up and tortured. I am terrified. Again I wonder if being rescued was a dream.

I hear OA again, begging me to listen. I look into his eyes and know he will protect me, that he won't leave my side again. As I am forced to sleep I pray I'm right, that his words are a promise, because I can't hold my eyes open any longer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I hear my heartbeat coming from a monitor before I'm aware of anything else. Then I make out the hum of a fan of some sort. As I return fully to consciousness, I feel a hand around mine. I smile, because it's firm and calming yet gentle. I turn my head to see him, but the tube down my throat makes it uncomfortable. I'm annoyed. I try to say something, knowing I can't, but the sound is enough to get him to move closer so I can see him.

"Hey," he starts soothingly, "Don't try to speak. The tube is helping you breathe even if it is annoying."

I see the doctor entering the door to come into the bubble we seem to be in.

"Maggie, can you hear me okay?" he asks. I can't nod or talk so I just look at him.

"Your blood oxygen level is almost high enough for us to take out the tube, but we can't yet. Are you in pain? Blink once for yes and twice for no."

I wrinkle my brow for a moment. My body is in so much pain I'm surprised I'm awake, but the relief I feel at being awake, alive, safe is too much to risk. He senses my hesitation, but it's OA who voices my concern.

"Are you too worried to sleep?" he asks. It's a nice way of asking me if I'm afraid. I wish I could blink twice, ashamed at how scared I really am, but it would be a lie so instead I answer with one.

He nods while the doctor tells me sleep is important, but he doesn't understand. I look to OA.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise. I'll be here the whole time. Nothing will happen." His voice is so sure, so strong, so real. I close my eyes and then nod. My hand tightens around his, but he doesn't pull away this time like he did days ago when I was first brought to the hospital. Instead his squeezes mine in return and I know I'll be safe.

The doctor gives me something to take the pain away and I feel it begin to work immediately. I just keep my eyes on OA, so thankful he is here, until my eyes become too heavy to fight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The doctor must have removed the breathing tube when I was sedated because I didn't feel it as it was taken out. I'm relieved I can turn my head, and when I do I see OA right there where he promised he'd be. He is sleeping, but his hand is still around mine. I'm so thankful that he kept his promise even though I knew he would.

The doctor comes into the bubble when he sees I'm awake. "How are you feeling?" he asks quietly.

"Okay," I manage, my voice hoarse. "Can I have some water?" I ask. He hands me a small glass only partially filled. I suck the water up through the straw greedily.

"That's all for now, I'm afraid. Let's see how that sits in your stomach and if it goes well, we'll get you some more." I nod but my throat is sore and parched.

I feel OA shift his hand and see him sit up. My hand squeezes his and again, he doesn't pull his away. He squeezes mine in return. He has a smile on his face as our eyes meet. "Hey," he greets. I return his smile.

The doctor pulls my attention away as he asks how the pain is on a scale from one to ten. "There's a poster here to help," he adds.

I look at the poster which is a series of smiley faces with brief explanations for each level. "25?" I try to joke, but it comes out too strained and no one smiles.

"I'll give you something that will take the edge off, but I need to be able to update you on your condition without you falling asleep on me." Now he's trying to joke. "After we're through, I can give you something stronger."

I nod again and wait. As he goes through each of my injuries and the surgery I have I can't believe I'm still alive. Surely that amount of damage should be too much for any person to survive. If it weren't for the pain, I wouldn't believe him. Then he informs me about the anthrax. It's amazing to me that I was so unaware at the end, that I was so oblivious to what was going on. I had no idea I was exposed.

Suddenly the doctor gets very serious. "Maggie, you were extremely lucky. OA risked his life to get you from that basement. If he would have hesitated or waited for even a few more minutes you would most likely be dead. He gave you his own mask to keep you safe. You are blessed to have a partner like him. I'd keep him around," he finishes on a lighter note. I can't help but turn to look at OA. Stare might be a better word as I take in the doctor's words.

The doctor excuses himself. "Call me when you want something more for the pain." I can't even respond.

"You're in here because you gave me your mask, aren't you?" I ask him finally.

He scoffs. "No, Maggie. I'm in here because I couldn't protect you the first time but I wasn't going to fail you again." He won't meet me eyes.

"You've never failed me. Ever. This is not on you," I'm silently begging him to look at me but he won't. I know he blames himself, and I just can't handle that.

"Look at me. OA." He still refuses so I put my other hand on his arm. "Please."

He finally meets my eyes and I see tears there. It catches me off guard for only a moment. "OA, you heard him. You saved my life." I end in a whisper and I find there are tears in my eyes, too. "You came for me. I knew you would. When I needed you most, there you were."

I blink hard and OA closes his eyes trying to compose himself. The raw emotion in this room is almost too much. I'm sure the glass around us is about to burst, but it doesn't scare me this time. I don't think it scares him either. At least, not too much to stop it.

He exhales long and hard before he speaks, and he is so quiet I have to strain to hear him. "Not soon enough. I thought I lost you. I was so scared you were dead. I never should have left you in the hospital. Never. And to see you there in that room chained up like you were when I got to you? I've never felt so useless." He's done speaking and his words break my heart.

"I'm not going to say it was easy, or that I think the days and weeks to follow will be easy. It was so completely unbearable that I don't have words for it. But never once did I blame you. Not even at the lowest point when I was sure I was dying and he was screaming at me that you don't care. I never blamed you."

He's looking at me now soaking it in, and I can't stop. I can't keep the words in knowing how desperately he needs to hear hear them and how desperately I need to say them. "There were so many times I thought you were there. Dreams, hallucinations, I don't know what to call them. But they kept me sane. They kept me alive. You saved me over and over and over again even when I didn't think there was reason to fight."

Then I'm crying. A few tears fall soft and slow down my cheeks. "There was one time, toward the end I think, when he came down and touched my cheek. It was so gentle I thought it was you, wanted it to be you. And then he kissed my cheek. And my lips." I pause because I'm crying hard enough that my weak lungs can't keep up. He's looking at me, his hand that's not holding mine is balled up in the bed sheets. His knuckles are white. He doesn't want to hear this, has both anger and pain etched on his face, but he can't turn away, can't stop listening. I'm too far now to stop, to quit speaking even though I'm terrified at what it means, what he will think.

I take another breath as deeply as I can before I continue. "When I finally gathered the strength to open my eyes and it wasn't you... I needed it to be you, couldn't stand that he was the one touching me like that... i stopped him and he didn't like that. That's when he stabbed me. I needed you and you came. You saved my life. How can you blame yourself?" At this point I'm crying too hard to continue. I don't know what I expect after this huge confession, but he is moving and is suddenly so close. I smell him and it's so familiar to me, so comforting that I hope he never leaves. As our eyes meet any hesitation he has slips away and his lips are gently pressing into my forehead. They sit there for a moment before he begins to move back slightly. I turn my cheek to him, tears no longer falling. He reads my mind and, after waiting for a small nod from me just to make sure we're on the same page, kisses my cheek. His lips sit there for a moment as well and my eyes drift shut. This memory will cover the more traumatic one. I exhale slowly.

He starts to pull away, but I grab his shirt and hold him so our eyes meet easily. "I still need you," I whisper. He smiles easily, his eyes lighting up like they used to. "Never stop," he whispers back. Then I'm pulling him closer and our lips meet. It's slow and gentle, lasting only a moment or two. It's everything I need, everything we need to say, and so much more.

He pulls away slowly, and this time I let him go. He sits back down, mouth turned up on one side in a smirky smile. My heartbeat monitor is giving away my emotions, though the blush on my cheeks and me looking at my lap probably gave me away first.

"Well..." he says in exhale breaking the silence. "Was that as good for you as it was for me, or..." and then we're both laughing at his joke. There's nothing else to do so we laugh and laugh until I'm gasping for breath. It feels so good and I'm so thankful for this man in front of me. Our laughter stops for a moment as Jubal walks into the room. We both make eye contact, both still slightly blushing, and start laughing again at the confusion written on his face. Jubal chuckles, too, with a shake of his head.

"I'm glad you're doing okay, Mags," he says to me. I smile back and nod.

"Thanks, Jubal."

"I'm going to call Dana. She will be glad to hear you are awake and laughing," he says with a smile. For a moment, I wonder if he knows, if he suspects. But then he's gone, and I'm looking back at OA. There are things we clearly need to discuss now, things we have to say, but it can wait. For now, it's just this moment.

BREAK~

I'm starting to get desperate. I'm stuck in the hospital, cuffed to the bed. I was shot in the shoulder and had to have surgery to repair the damage. I'll be here for a few days and then have to face a judge as I'm tried for my crimes. It will be a long process, and I don't know what to do. I need a plan, I need a way out. I need some help. I pray the Zetas will help me but doubt that they care.

AN: I think there are two or three chapters left. I'll update when I can, but by Monday night for sure! Hopefully the chapters so far made this relationship shift realistic and natural rather than forced. Know that it's won't all be this fluffy. There are still a lot of things for these two characters to figure out. Please let me know what you think!