When Alex woke up, it took a second to get her bearings and realize that she was in the medical wing of the DEO. She sighed, and rolled over. The pain in her chest caught up to her, and with it, the events of the past hours.
A clock on the wall told her she'd been asleep for at least an hour. She jumped out of the bed, a bit surprised that nobody stopped her, as they usually did.
Wandering through the DEO medical wing by herself, she finally saw a cracked door. She took a shaky breath, as she made her way to the door and pushed it open gently.
Though Alex had stitched many people up in the past, and had been confronted with gunshot wounds, severed limbs and gallons and gallons of spilled blood, her experience couldn't stop tears from rolling down her cheeks.
"Hey, baby…" She whispered, as she walked into the room.
Maggie looked helpless and pale, but if Alex narrowed her eyes and toned out the machines and wires, she could almost pretend Maggie was sleeping.
Alex took Maggie's charts from the foot of her bed, and scanned through them. Every 10 minutes, her blood sugar levels were monitored. Her rates did indeed seem to be going up, they were almost back to normal.
Her fingers found her girlfriend's cold hand, and linked them together, kissing her on her forehead. "I love you. I love you so much, Maggie. You're perfect. This doesn't make you less perfect."
She was about to settle in next to her girlfriend's bed with a gentle squeeze in her hand, when the other woman emitted a quiet groan. To Alex, it was the most beautiful sound in the world. She jumped up, to carefully caress Maggie's face with her thumb. "That's it, baby. Open your eyes, I'm right here."
Slowly taking her time, Maggie opened her eyes, and looked around. Her eyes finally turned to Alex, and she smiled weakly. "Hey."
Alex chuckled, and felt another tear slip down her cheek. "Hey."
Maggie looked down at the IV connected to her hand, and grunted. "Passed out?"
"Yeah. After you saved me." Alex squeezed her hand again and smiled lovingly at her. "Like you always do."
Maggie managed a quick grin, before groaning. "I feel like I got hit by a truck."
"You have a concussion, from hitting the wall." Alex explained quietly, feeling like the moment was finally there. "Maggie, we need to talk."
"Not now." Maggie shook her head. "Please."
The agent opened her mouth to protest, but knew better than to argue with someone who'd just woken up from hours of unconsciousness. "Okay. Whenever you're ready." She gave her a quick kiss to the temple, but Maggie grunted. Alex understood what it meant, and leaned forward to capture Maggie's lips in a careful kiss.
"Good, you're awake."
Alex looked up to see doctor Hamilton entering the room. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better." Maggie said. Hamilton chuckled at the answer. "Seems like you and Alex both have a talent for lying to the wrong people."
"Yeah, it doesn't work on her." Alex said to her girlfriend. Maggie sighed. "I just want to get out of here as soon as possible."
"Well, with your levels going up I'd say you're doing well, but I still want to keep you here overnight for observation."
"No, please. I'm fine, I just really want to go home. There's no need."
"Maggie." Alex frowned at her behavior. "It's not a question, this is serious."
"I'm serious, Danvers." Maggie snapped. The sound of her girlfriend using her last name made Alex wince. Maggie only said her last name when she was flirting, joking, or at work. But never between the two of them.
Hamilton eyed the pair, and then looked down at the chart on her clipboard. "It seems like your levels have been off for about a week now, though."
"That's impossible." Maggie shook her head. "I check at least five times a day."
"Then you'd know that you've been slightly hypoglycemic for days. Why didn't you do anything about it?"
"What?!" Maggie sat upright. Alex leaned forward to help her, but it was obvious that Maggie wasn't in the mood for getting help. "That's ridiculous. I've checked every day for the past ten years, I know when my levels are too low."
Alex settled for taking her hand in hers again, expecting Maggie to snap away. Instead, she clung to Alex' hand as if it were a lifeline. And with a jolt, Alex realized that Maggie was scared.
"Your blood sampler is probably malfunctioning."
Next to her, she felt the detective deflating, and sighing in relief. It was the most logical explanation, after all.
Alex was just glad there wasn't more to the case. She kissed Maggie's hand, and looked at her. "I'll be right back, Mags."
She got up and shot Hamilton a look that didn't ask questions. The doctor sighed, and walked out of the room with her.
"I can take her home and monitor her myself." Alex said. "She's scared, Amelia. She doesn't like hospitals. This is freaking her out."
"Alex." Hamilton looked her in the eyes. "She has every right to be scared. She was too close to slipping into a coma."
The agent took a deep breath. "I'll check her every 10 minutes, and keep you updated. And if something's wrong, I'll be the first person to take her back here, or to an actual hospital, okay?"
Hamilton sighed, and tried to protest, but grunted. "Yeah, okay, fine. You can take her home, but we still need to run some tests."
"Of course, yeah. I'll help you." Alex turned around to go back into the room, but Hamilton grabbed her arm. "Alex…"
She sighed, as Alex stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "I'll have Engineering take a look at her blood sampler. It's probably broken, and she can sue the manufacturer."
Alex nodded. "Keep me posted."
She reached forward and enveloped Hamilton in a hug. "Thank you, so much, Amelia. I'm sorry for being such a pain in the ass."
Hamilton laughed. "When are you ever not, Alex?" She pulled back. "Just be sure to take your painkillers too. Don't play hero for her."
"Wouldn't dare." Alex smiled at the doctor before heading back into Maggie's room.
"Guess what? You're coming home with me tonight."
Maggie looked up, her forehead creased with deep thought. "Alex, I swear I know how to monitor my levels, I don't… understand."
"Hey, it's okay." Alex took a seat next to her, and looked at her. "Don't worry about it, it was just a freak thing."
Maggie sighed, and looked down. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
She glanced up to meet her girlfriend's eyes. "Are you okay?"
Alex nodded, and kissed Maggie's knuckles again. "Better now that I'm with you."