A constant yet familiar drumming sounded in his head. Every beat made his skull feel like it could crack open at any moment, unfortunately for him, it didn't. Absently lifting a hand to his head he pressed it against his forehead but didn't count on the sudden shot of pain he felt from the action. Changing his mind, he moved his hand down to cover his eyes. The room was much too bright for him to stand. Feeling something tickle him at the back of his mind a need to know where he was he began to sit up and allowed his eyes to open, it was in vain as he closed them again rapidly and let himself fall back against his pillows.

"Oh…God! What did I drink last night? My head feels like a French man's been living in it." Kit moaned clutching the sides of his head with his hands.

"I know that feeling," A voice responded with considerate softness.

Kit opened his eyes again in surprise, "Doc Cole? What in the name of God's pyjamas are you doing here?"

"I'm a Doctor; this is a hospital, hmm?"

"Hospital? Wait, now I remember. Where's Robyn? I've got to find Robyn!"

Seeing that Kit was about to attempt to make an impromptu exit from his bed, Doctor Cole restrained him. He practically had to sit on Kit to prevent him from leaving. Eventually Kit gave over but he gave the doctor a dirty look that would make a whore blush for the man's trouble.

"It's for your own good, Kit." Doctor Cole scorned waggling his finger, "Robyn is fine. She just went to get a drink with Robbie. You, on the other hand, aren't so well. Whoever attacked you burst a blood vessel in your stomach. It wasn't a vital blood vessel nor was it overly serious but it prompted me to take you into surgery."

"What kind of surgery?"

"Just basic keyhole. We were able to cauterise the vessel but if you keep moving about you'll damage it again so stay still."

Kit pulled a face before looking at the doctor again, "How long am I going to be in here?"

"Not long. Three days at the most. It depends on how you progress but aside from your stomach there's nothing else vitally wrong with you. A few bruises and a little swelling but nothing that time won't fix. Needless to say you'll have to rest up a little."

Kit was about to answer when the doctor's beeper sounded, its tone shrill. The doctor nodded a goodbye to him as he proceeded to leave the room as if responding to an emergency that required his attention. Left alone for the moment he pursed his lips as he looked around the room. His eyes wandered from wall to ceiling, from ceiling to wall. It struck him that he'd been conscious for ten minutes if not less and was bored already.

Looking around him again he decided that he would view the fruits of Doctor Cole's surgical labour. He slowly began to peel away the blanket covering him to waist height and grimaced at his all too revealing, and yet convenient for his purpose, bed gown. Cautiously he lifted a corner of it that rested on his thigh and slowly peeled it further and further away from his body. With every centimetre that was exposed a grimace formed on his face and grew larger and larger.

His stomach was a complete mass of bruises, some worse than others. A small piece of gauze covered a wound that he guessed was a result of his surgery. It itched slightly but he knew well enough to leave it alone, scratching it wouldn't do him or his wound any good. Looking further down his body he almost opened his mouth wide in shock as he saw the state of his groin area, it was almost as badly bruised as his stomach and now that he had noticed the damage inflicted to it he found that it was almost as painful. Lifting his eyes and his gown higher he could see that his chest was almost as bad and it took him a few moments to realise that something was missing, his nipple ring had been removed.

Displeased with this revelation he cast his eyes over to a locker that he'd not noticed beside his bed before. He managed to find a door in it that he could reach and searched it for his belongings. He found his nipple ring and his favourite earring in a small box with his wedding ring. That was the first thing he claimed back. Putting the blanket over his sensitive areas in case someone happened to come into his room he hooked his gown under his chin while he fiddled with his nipple ring. He was so caught up in this activity that he didn't see the door open and someone walk in.

He was fully rested, he could feel it. His excursion into the town and subsequent run in with Doctor Cole's temper had done him good. As he yawned he was aware that someone was sitting in the chair beside his bed. Turning his head he opened his eyes and looked at them, he almost fell out of the bed from the shock of seeing them. It took him a while to realise that they were really there and not some figment of his imagination.

"How the mighty have fallen," Robyn said, her tone filled with spite.

Sportacus was dumb for a few moments. The coldness in Robyn's voice was almost unreal.

"We need to talk, Robyn." He replied at last his voice also cold.

"I thought we'd done enough of that."

"No we haven't. We never got a chance to finish talking before I was interrupted, before you vanished. There's more that I have to say."

"Like what? Like how you're sorry? Like how you would have told me sooner if you could risk damaging your 'golden boy' reputation?"

"No," Sportacus paused preparing himself to ride out a storm, "Like how I love you."

Robyn scoffed, "How you love me? If you loved me you wouldn't have waited until then, until that day to tell me."

"I do love you, Robyn. I always have. If I didn't love you I would've let Mr Snail keep you at the orphanage. Do you remember when he tried to take you away? Do you remember how I tried to stop him, to save you? You watched me run after the car when he drove away. When the car was out of my sight it felt as if a piece of me had been ripped away. I never told you this but I cried like a baby. After they found you on the mountains I almost lost you, if the doctors hadn't gotten you back I never would have had a chance to tell you. After all you'd been through it didn't seem right to add more pain to your life. You were happy with me as your uncle. Can you tell me you weren't?"

Tears had begun to bead in Robyn's eyes. She kept her eyes fixed to the floor unable to look at him, at those eyes. The memories that Sportacus had caused to resurface hurt but she could see the validity of his words. He had done all that he had said he had done and she couldn't deny that she had been happy with him. Aside from what he had made her remember she remembered other things, how she had told him once that he had been like a father to her. Her own words, that statement full of her feelings, rung in her ears as she thought of her words to him before she ran away.

Afraid to push Robyn further from him, Sportacus watched as Robyn evidently battled with her thoughts. He had said all he could say, he had delved into a place within himself that he barely ever registered. It had proved itself enough to make her think but he wasn't certain if it was enough to help them sort through their problems.