Her resolve starts to fade as worry sets in. What will he look like? Will he be in pain? The thoughts swirl around in her brain as she walks toward ICU room number 8. She pauses outside the door and uses the time it takes to wash her hands with sanitizer to collect her thoughts. She was excited and nervous, she had accepted that she was opening a door to her future, if he would have her. She inhaled sharply and turned the handle to enter the room. She stepped inside a stood just inside the room.

Alicia realized that the past few months of her life had been peppered with more awkward moments than ever before, and this moment was not exempt. As she had entered every eye in the room had turned towards her. Will's sister, Aubrey, was the first to speak.

"You must be Alicia." It was a statement more than a question.

"I'm Aubrey," she offered her hand to Alicia, then gestured to her older sister, Sara.

"And this is Sara." Then she pointed to Will, who was watching Alicia,

"And the crazy guy in the bed we think you already know, he sure knows you, didn't stop talking about you for 2 hours after he woke up."

Alicia had taken Aubrey's hand when she offered it then offered her hand to Sara.

"Yes I'm Alicia, it's nice to finally meet you two; Will used to talk about you a lot."

Feeling like she had been accepted she stepped closer to the bed and looked at Will. Will's eyes caught hers and she felt a relief so grand it could not be described in any words known to man.

"Hey, you." She said as she looked at him.

Will appeared to be thinking for a moment then quietly whispered back

"Hey"

Alicia turned to look at Sara and Aubrey still feeling a little unsure about what she was about to do, but for her own self-preservation she needed the next few minutes to be between just her and Will.

"Aubrey, Sara, I know you don't know me and I probably shouldn't even ask this of you guys since I can't say that I really deserve it, but can I have a few minutes alone with your brother?"

The two women looked at Will as if asking his permission and when he gave a small nod they headed toward the door patting his leg and telling him they were just going to go get some coffee and something to eat but they'd be around if he needed them.

Alicia knew in her head and heart what she wanted to say to Will, but putting it into words was proving to be more difficult than she had thought. She was about to change everything in her whole life, and hopefully she would be changing Will's too. She sat in the chair closest to Will that Sara had vacated and took his hand in hers. As she held his hand she looked at him in the eyes. And solemnly declared,

"You scared the hell out of me, William Paul Gardner, and if you ever scare me like that again, I'll kill you myself." Alicia had thought she could hold it together but as she said the words the fear leaked back in. She had been so close to losing him and she would never have had the chance to tell him everything she needed to tell him. Salty liquid escaped her eyes and tracked its way down her cheeks. Suddenly even the weight of her head seemed to be too much. She laid her head down on their joined hands. She just needed a moment to let the storm inside her calm. With her head still on his hands she continued,

"Will, I was so scared, I've made so many mistakes the past few years and I thought I'd never be able to tell you how sorry I was. Will I- I need to tell you something. The last few months have been a blur, and the last few days have been a nightmare. I realized when we weren't sure whether or not you would make it, I realized that I need you. My life without you would go on but there is this piece of me that you own, a piece that mattered much more than anything I thought could, "Alicia looked up at Will,

"William Paul Gardner, I love you, and I know that this won't be easy but Will, if you'll have me, I want you, only you, forever."

Will looked stunned and seemed to forget about his injured shoulder and abdomen as he tried to reach for Alicia. He groaned instead. Alicia ever the mom went into protector mode and asked if he was alright and if she needed to get a nurse.

"No Alicia, its fine. Just got a little caught up in what you just said. "

"I'm going to David Lee to file for divorce tomorrow morning." Alicia announced quietly. " I'm sorry it took you getting shot to realize how very much I need you." Using his good hand Will placed his hand on Alicia's cheek and used his thumb to wipe away the tears still running down her face.

"Alicia, do you remember the day you asked me about the second voicemail? Remember how I said that I thought you made the right choice with Peter? That was a lie. I told you I loved you that night, my plan was I loved you, to be honest I've probably loved you since Georgetown."

Alicia had thought she was all cried out those nights of lying in bed waiting for news of Will, but as she sat there with her face resting in his hand but the torrent of tears that poured down her face after hearing those words from Will proved the tears had simply been hiding behind a dam and now the dam was broken.

Just then there was a knock and Sara and Aubrey came back in followed closely by a groups of doctors. Alicia raised her head and took Will's hand in hers. Everyone gathered around the bed while Sara and Aubrey glanced nervously at Will and Alicia, it was obvious they had all walked in on a very emotional moment. The doctor who seemed to be the head of the group spoke up,

"Well, Mr. Gardner, it looks like we're going to move you down to the regular ward and have the physical therapist look at you tomorrow morning. Depending on how your pain is and how you're feeling in general you should be able to go home in about four days. "He paused, "depending on how comfortable you feel we recommend having someone stay with you or staying at someone else's house for a few days. So we'll let you have a few more minutes here and we'll see you tomorrow." With that the doctors replaced his chart at the foot of the bed and headed out the door. And Aubrey spoke up,

"Well looks like I get to spend another exciting week with my big brother!"

Will looked at Alicia and used his eyes to beg her to save him. He loved his sisters but he'd already had his fill of them in the hospital. Alicia gave him a small smirk, would she save him or feed him to the wolves?