Walsh walked down the hallway towards Taylor. He had hoped to brace himself before seeing her in a wheelchair. He hoped that she didn't think he was starring at her or making faces.

She reached up to hug him.

"I know you didn't want any visitors." He said as he leaned down towards her

"It's okay now." She said, "I missed you."

The therapist smiled

"This is my therapist, Dr. Kalons." Taylor introduced the strange man

He held out his hand towards Walsh. Walsh shook hands with him.

"She's not giving you a fit is she?" Walsh asked

"She's a pistol." Dr. Kalons replied with a Southern accent. "I'd hate to be the man who tries to get her to settle down."

"Yeah, he's in for a real treat." Walsh cracked

Taylor playfully slapped Walsh's stomach.

"Violence is not the answer." Walsh cracked

"So what'd you bring me?" Taylor asked

"How do you know they're not for some nurse that I may or may not be dating?" Walsh asked

"Um… because the card says "ALEX" on it." Taylor said sarcastically. "And the only woman you're in love with is Betty Crocker. You're getting a little bit of a belly on you."

"Aren't you the funny one today?" Walsh cracked

"I think I'm going to leave you two to catch up." Dr. Kalons said

Taylor looked at Walsh.

"I'll hold them if you return me to my room." She smiled

"Nah, I'd rather leave you in the hall." Walsh laughed

"Hey!" Taylor said

But Walsh wasn't kidding, he walked towards her room.

"You're so mean!" She called out

He started laughing.

"Your arms aren't broke." He said

Then she thought about it.

"Oh yeah! I can wheel myself in." She said

He just laughed as he sat down on the bed.

"I'm glad you came." Taylor said

"Thought you didn't want to see anyone." Walsh replied

"It wasn't that I didn't want to see you…" Taylor paused, "I was ashamed, and didn't want people to pity me because I was paralyzed."

"Didn't bother you with Dr. Talons." Walsh said

"It's Kalons, and are you jealous Billy?" Taylor asked

"No." Walsh replied

"Then why are you so angry?" Taylor asked

"I'm not angry." Walsh replied

"Then act like the Billy I know." Taylor said

Walsh got up to leave but Taylor grabbed his arm.

"Don't leave." She said

He stared at her.

"I can't do this." He said

"Can't do what?" She asked

"I can't pretend that everything's a bed of roses Alex. I can't pretend that you're not in that wheelchair." Walsh replied

"Is that why you're angry?" Taylor asked

"No!" Walsh said sharply

"You're arguing with me about a simple question. What's wrong with you Billy?" Taylor asked

She had been glad to see him, but she didn't expect him to seem so angry.

"Sit down and talk to me." She urged

Reluctantly he sat back down.

"I'm GLAD that YOU came." She said again

"It's not the same around the firehouse." Walsh said

"You miss me that much?" Taylor asked playfully

"More than you know." Walsh looked down

"I miss having you all picking on me all the time." Taylor admitted

"Yeah, it's too quiet at the house now." Walsh said

"What's bothering you?" Taylor asked

Walsh couldn't ignore her persistent questioning anymore.

"Is it hard?" He asked, "Is it hard to give up the life you knew?"

Taylor was shocked by the question, but then she thought of the answer.

"Yes. In all honesty it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do. To accept the fact that I was paralyzed, almost died, and now have to learn how to go through life without the use of my legs. I miss it. We take everything for granted when we are healthy. It made me bitter at first. Now I realize that I need to have the support system around me. That same system that I pushed away." Taylor took Walsh's hand in hers. "I'm sorry."

"You've got nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who acted like an ass just now." Walsh said

"Apology accepted." She laughed

"What… what was it like to be in the coma, I mean do you dream or?" Walsh was curious

"It's strange. You have an awareness that everyone's around you, but you can't move, talk, or even open your eyes. I dreamed a little while I was in the coma too. I dreamed about my dad, my future. It's changed a lot of things. Made me rethink a lot of things." Taylor admitted

"I thought that we lost you." Walsh said

"In all honesty, at first I would have rather died. But now I realize that there's so much to live for." Taylor said

Walsh looked at her oddly. Could she sense his feelings for him? Or were her own feelings overwhelming her?

He put his hand on her upper arm and looked at her.

"I should have said this a long time ago." He smiled

"What's that?" Taylor asked

"I…" He was interrupted when the nurse walked in the room.

"I'm sorry; I didn't realize that you had a visitor. I'll come back to give you your bath." The nurse said

Taylor laughed.

"It's okay. You can do it now." Taylor told the nurse

Walsh was in shock.

"I should go." He said

"Are you scared Billy?" Taylor asked

"No." He replied

"You were going to tell me something and now you're scared to." Taylor noted

Walsh turned his head as the nurse helped Taylor take off her shirt.

"This makes you uncomfortable doesn't it?" She asked him

"A little, yeah." Walsh replied without turning around

Taylor laughed

"What were you going to tell me?" She asked

Walsh hesitated.

"I was going to tell you…" He paused as he turned back around and looked at Taylor. "I was going to tell you that I think you're beautiful." He said quickly and turned back around so that he couldn't see Taylor's reaction

"Can you excuse us for a minute?" Taylor asked the nurse

The nurse nodded and left the room. Taylor wrapped a robe around her body.

"You can turn around again." She said to Walsh

He slowly turned back.

"I'm… I'm sorry." He said, apologizing for the fact that he looked at her and then turned away quickly.

"It doesn't bother me. I mean you've seen me in my underwear at the firehouse when I've changed there." Taylor reassured him.

"But…" He stuttered

"Is that how you really feel about me?" Taylor asked

"It is." He nodded his head

Taylor smiled, "Do you feel anything else?"

"What do you mean?" Walsh asked

"Do you have any fantasies or other feelings for me?" She was curious

He paused for a moment. "Well, yeah. I do."

"Would it help if I told you that I dreamt about you while I was in the coma?" Taylor asked

"You dreamt about me?" Walsh replied with a question

"How do you really feel about me?" Taylor countered

"I…" He paused again. "I think I love you."

Taylor realized that his answer was truthful. She had thought that there were unexplained feelings between them before, but never knew exactly how he felt.

Walsh worried about his response to her. He thought that she'd think he was silly for saying that he loved her, but it was true what they say- absence does make the heart grow fonder. He spoke again.

"I want to be here every step of the way for you Alex. You should have never been alone to deal with this."

"I love you too Billy." She replied

"You do?" He asked

She nodded. "Yes."

It was great news to him.

"So will you let me help you?" He asked

"Yes. I want you to help me. I'm going to walk again. I have my whole life ahead of me." She replied

"So you wouldn't mind if I kissed you then?" Walsh felt like a school boy asking permission to kiss a girl.

"What's taking you so long?" She asked

He leaned in and kissed her.

"You don't know how long I've waited to do that." Walsh said

"I think I have an idea." Taylor laughed

They sat and talked for a long time. He went to her therapy session that afternoon. Walsh wanted to spend every waking hour with her. But he realized that she needed some alone time too. So finally he left, it was well after dark. As he walked to his car he caught himself looking back towards the window of her room. It was like a giant weight was lifted off of his shoulders.

"I love you!" He said before he got in his Jeep and drove away.