"You scared me so much," Ren says, eyes roving desperately over her phone screen.
"I'm sorry," Donno mumbles, blinking sluggishly at her, the light of Tonya's phone dimmed so as not to hurt his vision so quickly after waking up from surgery. "DIdn't mean to."
"I know." Ren exhales, trying to release the tension that had been making it hard to breathe since the night she'd woke up, feeling like she was hyperventilating. "I know you didn't. God, if anyone should be apologizing, it should be me."
Donno's fingers twitch, making the phone lose focus on him for a minute. Tonya's voice comes, muffled, from the background, and the phone stabilizes, remaining steady while Donno takes a deep breath, letting his hand drop to his side. "What do you have to apologize for?"
"I sent those guys to you," Ren says, struggling to keep her voice steady as she stares at Donno's pale face. "I thought you'd be ok with the job- the money, all of it. Instead, I dragged you away from what you really wanted to build your life into and almost got you killed. I'm amazed you're bothering to talk to me at all right now."
"What you used to say about me back when I was your enforcer," Donno says quietly, "Is it still true?"
Ren frowns at him. "You and Dhruv were like brothers to me and Jag. You always will be. Of course."
"Then I know you never meant to hurt me," Donno tells her. "It was supposed to be simple. Not your fault it snowballed."
"Yeah, but-"
"Ren," Donno says, cutting through her worries, her guilt. "Would I ever lie to you?"
"No, of course not," she says.
He stares at her for a few moments, gaze fixed on her face, intent and steady, before he sighs softly, his eyes sluggishly fluttering shut.
Ren feels a flash of fear, her fingers digging into the sides of her phone as that old desperation overwhelms her again. "Donno? Donno- hey, don't-"
Before she can really panic, the phone shifts, and there's Tonya. "Hey, it's ok," she says, voice barely a whisper. "They've got him on the good drugs after surgery, doctor said he'll keep drifting in and out for a couple of days. Nothing to worry about."
Ren sinks back into her chair and rubs at her collarbone. "God," she breathes. "Tonya, I- I need to apologize to you too," she says. "I put you both in trouble, and I... I just... you know, I was so used to Donno always being at my beck and call. I'm still adjusting to the fact that he chose you. That he wants a life where he runs a restaurant, and you run a real estate business, and there's... you know, just whatever peace looks like for you two. And I- I'm so glad that you're both safe, and neither of you are walking out of this empty handed, and I'll... try to do better at keeping you both out of this side of things. I promise."
Tonya nods along, listening to this as she quietly walks out of Donno's hospital room and shuts the door behind her. Ren stares back at her, shrewd and expectant, and Tonya shakes her head. "I kissed him," she says quietly, staring at the faded paint job of the boring, faded paintjob of the hospital walls.
"Excuse me?"
"He was shot, multiple times, there was so much blood," Tonya sighs. "I thought he was dying in my arms, and I just... I kissed him. Told him to stay with me."
"Well, he definitely seems to have listened," Ren chuckles.
"It's not funny," Tonya gasps, fingers pressing to her lips. "I don't... He has a long road ahead of him, he has to recover, and I don't... I don't want him to feel like I'm pressuring him, I don't think either of us are in a place to even think seriously about something like this. You know?"
"Would you want to?" Ren asks.
It's Tonya's time to look confused. "What?"
"Would you want to think about a relationship with Donno?" Ren asks slowly. "Listen, he's like a brother to me, and he's quirky and kind of weird, but I think you two have been good for each other. If it goes beyond business, and beyond friendship, it'd make sense, you know? At least in my opinion. What do you think?"
Tonya tenses her shoulders, squares her jaw, then turns back to the phone. "I'm not sure," she says honestly. "He's just gotten shot and almost died because of me pushing him to continue the job. I also don't want to risk everything we're building because of... grief, or guilt, or... whatever this is." She waves a trembling hand at herself, biting her lip. "And he's going to need time and care, and I want to be there for him. I refuse to hurt him worse."
Ren's lips twitch up into a smile. "All sensible," she nods. "I'm glad you're considering his needs so much. But when you're both past this, and maybe you consider starting to revisit that moment when your kneejerk reaction was to kiss him, I'm just letting you know you have my blessing." Tonya gapes at her, shocked, and Ren continues, a steely glint in her eye now, "But Tonya?"
"Ye- yes?"
"If you break his heart, I can easily direct the private jet back to Montana and see you never make that mistake again, alright?"
Tonya swallows, then nods. "Alright." The counter on the screen ticks by quietly for a few moments as Tonya glances around the hall, starting to walk away from Donno's room as soon as she sees a sign with arrows directing towards the gift shop, wondering about their stock of stuffed animals. "Hey, Ren?"
"Yes, Tonya?"
"Could you look into the legalities of owning a fox farm for me?"
The End (until season 4...?)