A/N: sorry, writer's block combined with the fact i lost wireless so i couldn't get online to upload. but i'm stopping with excuses, i think i kept u waiting long enough.

Sleep came easier then Carlton expected. It must have only been a few hours, but it was still shocking he could close his eyes long enough to rest when Delilah was so close to leaving him for good. He rubbed his face, trying to wake his senses.

Sighing he squeezed Delilah's unresponsive hand, and greeted, "Hey, you planning on waking up today?"

No response. He frowned and continued to hold her hand.

She had no other visitors, it was just Carlton who stayed with her. It was a nurse that pointed out that fact. The nurse came in just to check on her patient, when she saw Carlton.

"Hello, so you must be the mystery girl's family," the nurse stated, smiling at him. "We were beginning to think she had none. The only people that have visited her were that detective and psychic, and that was once. It's nice to see she has someone."

Carlton blinked at her, the words sinking in. He muttered to himself, "I'm all she has."

"So how do know each other?" the nurse questioned, smiling.

He stared at her, not sure what to say. Then suddenly the words came out. "I love her. We met at a local restaurant almost seven years later. She's a very spontaneous person, and she just sat down with me. We talked about couples and relationships, feeling complete and feeling alone. Then at the end of it she left me her number and I called her the next day, and here we are now."

"Everything just kinda clicked into place, huh?" the nurse questioned, getting a goofy love stricken grin on her face.

"No, I was married seven years ago," he told her truthfully and that got that silly smile off her face, replaced by shock. "And nothing has ever just fallen into place with her. It's work, a lot of work. There were times when we couldn't see each other for months, and when we did in the morning one of us would already be gone. We've broken up countless of times, and I barely know anything about her life growing up or before she met me."

The nurse nodded, but looked like she had more to say, just trying to figure out how to put it delicately. "So why do you love her then?"

Carlton looked at the nurse strangely, like the answer was obvious. "She's a mystery that I will never solve, a case I can never close, and I love the thrill of it. And even though I know every time I find out something new about her I'll probably hate it, I still love learning something different, and with her I will always learn something different. That, and she has an amazing smile."

The nurse grinned at that statement. "I think it's great she has someone like you here for her."

He nodded, but suddenly got quiet and solemn. Taking a moment to steady his voice he asked, "What are her chances?"

The nurse also grew silent. "A doctor hasn't spoken to you yet?"

He shook his head. "No, I didn't want to hear it earlier, but I think I'm ready now. Is she ever going to wake up?"

He turned to look the nurse in the eye, and because of that she lost all willpower to tell him the life's not fair, honest truth. His face told the experienced nurse that he was expecting the worse, but the eyes tormented with pain told her he was hoping for the best.

"I'm sure you've heard the phrase that the first forty eight hours are crucial to comatose patients?" she began precisely.

"That is almost up, isn't it?" he replied, casting his eyes down at the tiled hospital floor.

"Yes, but to tell the truth, the third day is just as critical as the first two," she stated quickly. "She still has a chance to come back recover, from any time up till the first week. After that… well, there's still time for her, don't give up. Keep talking to her, she can hear you."

"How much longer till the first forty eight hours have past?" he questioned gravely.

After glancing at Delilah's chart and doing some quick math in her head, the nurse concluded, "A little under three hours."

"I'm gonna stay with her till then," he stated, holding her hand and brushing her hair off to the side.

The nurse gave a reassuring smile. "It might do her some good if you do."

With that the nurse left Carlton alone with his thoughts.

Over the next three hours Carlton did a lot of talking. He told Delilah about his life, growing up, his family, his best friend in high school, stories that he had not shared with anyone; he just wished she would wake up and laugh with him, and maybe share a couple stories of her own.

It was then he realized that even after almost seven years together, he still knew so little. Yet the surprising and frightening fact about the little he did know, was it was worlds more then everyone else. He stared at her lifeless body and wondered why she insisted on keeping so much of herself a secret.

At three hours, Carlton gave her hand a squeeze, hoping for a response. There was nothing, and Carlton let go of her hand. The nurse came in cautiously, and her face dropped when she saw the still comatose body.

"How you doing?" she asked, checking the IV bag.

He just shrugged and got up from his chair. He walked around, just staring at Delilah, till finally he couldn't stand it anymore. "I think I'm going to get some food."

She nodded, understandingly. "There's a great little diner a couple blocks down, Soundwave. Food might do you good."

"I know the place," he told her and headed for the door. He stopped, glancing at her again and cringed as he whispered, "She's an organ donor."

He quickly left, leaving the nurse very confused knowing she heard something.

Carlton did not pay much attention to the diner, he just found an empty booth off to the side and sat down. He flipped through the menu as the waitress, in her uniform that looked like it was from the 60s, came up to him. "Hi, what can I get for you?"

"Coffee and a water," he ordered, and then his stomach growled. Suddenly the words came out of his mouth without him thinking first. "And a couple pancakes."

"I'll get that right out," she replied and then bounced away.

Carlton frowned and wondered why he unexpectedly desired pancakes. He shrugged it off and looked around the diner at all the people. There were a couple of families crowding the tables, with children complaining or talking non-stop. There were a few couples or smaller groups chatting cheerily or sitting in a chilly silence together. The person he really did notice though was a man younger then him, sitting alone at the bar.

His back was hunched over a cup of coffee, glancing around looking at all the people. There was something in his search, some reason for it other then just the curiosity of his surroundings. It was almost as though he was searching for someone.

Carlton could not tear his eyes away from this man, not even when the waitress came over and plopped his drinks down for him, telling him the pancakes would be right out. The lone man entranced Carlton, though there was nothing in particular special about him. He was just a man by himself, drinking a coffee. Still, Carlton had this need to watch him, maybe just because they were both alone.

However, the man at the bar was not alone for long. A woman came over, slinging her arm around the man's shoulders, and pecked him lightly on the lips. Carlton tore his eyes away, scowling.

He did not like being jealous, he thought it was petty and beneath him. Nonetheless, when Carlton saw the seemingly happy couple jealousy washed over him and there was nothing he could do. He wanted that, he wanted Delilah to waltz in the diner, causing every head to turn, with only eyes for him. However her eyes were closed tight in the hospital room five sixteen.

The waitress wiggled her way over to Carlton's booth, dancing to a song in her head. She was humming to the tune as he dropped the plate in front of him. Pausing in her song, she smiled and asked, "Anything else I can get you?"

He glanced up at her, shocked by the song. After a moment, the waitress started to turn around and he suddenly requested, "A box for these pancakes."

Gripping the non-eco-friendly Styrofoam box of pancakes, Carlton took a deep breath and entered the hospital room. Delilah was still lying there, looking stiff as a board. He had not expected her to change, but he had secretly wished she would at least twitch.

He placed the Styrofoam container on her nightstand, and opened it up. The still warm pancakes wafted through the small hospital room. He cleared his throat and began singing the same song the waitress was humming before.

"Why do you build me up, Buttercup baby just to let me down, mess me around. And the worst of all, you never call baby when you say you will, but I love you still. I need you, more then anyone baby; you know that I have from the start. So build me up, Buttercup baby, but don't break my heart."

He waited, holding his breath, till he got a response. But he quickly stopped himself from hoping that she would reply. He knew better, so he took a deep breath and almost missed her groan.

"Delilah," he cried hopefully, and leaned over her hospital bed. He saw her eyes flicker open, and her mouth open in a gasp.

The gasp turned into a moan, and then she mumbled the word, "Pancakes."

He smiled, and stroked her face. "Yeah, I brought pancakes."

She glanced around confused. "Why?" she asked, her voice a harsh whisper.

He stared at her for a moment, before his thoughts burst through his mouth. "Because you were unconscious, and I didn't know if you were going to wake up. And I don't know anything about you except you sing when you make breakfast, you used to kill people as a living and you have the best smile I have ever seen. I shouldn't know about the first one because of the second one, but yet I do because I love you. And now I know something else about you, you're the person I love and I don't care about your past, I just want to spend my days getting to know everything about you. I want to wake up to you singing off key while you're making food."

Words like that would have normally made any girl go into a whirlwind of giddiness and happiness. Instead, Delilah got sad at his words of love.

"No," she stated simply.

"What?"

"There are some things I can never tell you, or anyone, things I will take to my grave. And there are things you can't understand, even if you try. I'm not someone you should be with, personal or professional."

Carlton shook his head. "Delilah for the last time, work is not all I care about. I want to be with you, I know what that means for my career, and I don't care."

"You could have been chief," she said, turning away from him.

"I knew what I was doing," he assured her, cupping her face. "I would pick you over chief any day."

She smiled at him, but then quickly frowned. "There are things I can't tell you though, I'll tell you everything else, but when I say I can't tell you, I mean it, got it?"

"Yes," he told her. After a moment he grinned and asked, "So does this mean we're in a relationship?"

"I guess we are," she answered back, with her first real smile since she woke up. "What do we do now?"

"You can tell me where you're from," he suggested.

"Montana," she replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Carlton grinned at her, and she grinned back. There was something in the smiles that just let the two lovers know everything was going to be all right. So, with that in mind Carlton leaned in and gave her a kiss that he hoped made up for all the time they lost dancing around their feelings.

Their kiss was interrupted by Shawn saying, "Aww, what a perfectly unexpected couple, that's only slightly awkward."

Carlton and Delilah glanced over and saw Shawn making a heart with his hand, peering through at the couple, standing next to Gus and Juliet.

"Spencer, what do you want?" Carlton growled.

"Freedom from my father's watchful eye, peace on Earth, my favorite coffee shop to start selling pineapple scones, but mostly I just wanted to see how my favorite hired gun was doing," Shawn explained finally dropping the handmade heart.

"I'm doing good," she told him from behind Carlton.

"That's great, so soon are u gonna show me how to kill a man with my thumb? Because I'm free all next week, and I figure by Wednesday you should be out of the hospital, so Wednesday night you could show me, using Gus as a-OW!"

Shawn stopped his rambling when Gus pinched his elbow. Rubbing his bruised elbow Shawn glared at Gus, who just rolled his eyes. "Shawn, I think they want some alone time. Let's leave them."

"But-"

"Now Shawn," Gus ordered, pushing Shawn towards the door. Nodding towards Carlton, Gus forced Shawn to exit, and followed him.

Juliet turned to leave too, but Delilah called out to her. "Hey Juliet?"

"Yeah?"

"We still on for lunch this week?" the former killer asked.

Juliet smiled and replied, "Yeah, same time and place?"

"Of course, see you then."

"Bye Delilah," Juliet responded and walked out grinning.

Carlton glanced at Delilah, completely confused. Delilah just grinned at him, and asked, "What, you don't think I can have a friend?"

"I'm just surprised it's someone who doesn't kill for a living," he told her.

Delilah just shrugged and stated, "Well, you know, you've changed me. I figure I've got to start hanging out with respectable people."

"Delilah, I… I-" he started, but could not finish.

"Just kiss me, I think you said enough already," she told him.

He followed orders, and kissed her. Afterwards, neither one could stop grinning.

The End

A/N: yeah, she lived. I couldn't kill her. sorry for the long wait, but at least I gave everyone a happy ending! Thanks to everyone who stuck with the story, love ya!