Ronnie leant back on the hospital bed, her breaths heavy and becomingly increasingly laboured. "This . . . hurts," she panted, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Ron, don't – you'll pull the IV out," Jack chastised her gently, slipping his fingers through hers and bringing her hand back down on the bed so as to keep her from accidentally loosening the medical equipment that had been inserted into the back of her hand.

Ronnie narrowed her eyes at her husband, trying to be angry at him, but realising that at that moment in time, she just really didn't have the energy for it.

"I know it hurts, Ron-"

"You given birth recently, have you?" Ronnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but I did get shot that one time," Jack replied, shrugging his shoulder nonchalantly.

"Unless it was a bullet to your penis, you can't really compare it Jack," she countered, shooting him her best, heart melting smile.

He nodded his head. "True, you're right," Jack conceded, bending down to place a kiss on Ronnie's crown.

"I'm always right," Ronnie told him. "You should know that by now." She let out a small sigh. "How long has it been, Jack?" She asked.

"Twenty five minutes," he answered.

She groaned, sitting forward on the bed and stretching out her, now legging-less, legs. "Is that all? Twenty five minutes since we arrived?"

Tenderly, Jack caressed Ronnie's head with the tips of his fingers, trying to soothe her. "Ron, lie back, get some rest. The doctor says we might be in this for the long haul." Ronnie sighed, but did as she was told and Jack couldn't help but think how amazing a feat that was, Ronnie doing as she was instructed to do.

Well, that's nothing short of a miracle. Jack thought to himself as he looked at Ronnie. She's so knackered already, god I hope she gets some sleep now.

"D'you need anything?" He whispered, his fingers still wound in her long, blonde hair. Jack continued tracing circles on her scalp, knowing how that soothed her. He remembered back to a few months ago, when she had been able to sleep for nights on end. They would go to bed together, but hours later, Jack would wake up and find Ronnie gone. After the initial moment of terror, he would remember that on nights like those, instead of tossing and turning, she would move to sofa. So he would venture out into the living room, his heart heavy as he saw her curled into a ball, lying on the sofa, her eyes staring at the moving pictures on the television screen.

Jack would then sit beside her, placing her head on his lap before running his fingers through the golden web of silk that adorned her head. And eventually, hours later, she would fall asleep.

"You want me to get you a drink or something? Find your mum or Roxy?"

Ronnie shook her head. "No, just stay with me."

"Always," Jack murmured. "Where else would I go?"

Ronnie's lips curved into a smile, her eyelids growing heavier with sleep. "Tell me something," she murmured.

"Like what?" Jack asked, his voice soft and low, as he continued to run his fingers through her hair.

"Anything."

"Anything?"

"Yeah, anything . . . like how you cheated at that poker game." Her voice was quieter, the words taking a little bit longer to take shape.

Jack chuckled, remembering the first showdown between him and his wife. "How d'you know I was cheating?" He asked.

"Because I was cheating too," Ronnie replied, honestly. Three years on and that was the first time she would have admitted that to him. Eh, whatever, I'm having his baby – he can't really hold it against me, can he?

"I knew it, I knew you were cheating," he said, triumphantly.

"You were cheating too, don't forget that," she quipped, cutting him down to size quickly and effectively.

"Oh yeah? How d'you know that?"

"Nobody's that lucky."

"No?" Jack enquired, kissing Ronnie's forehead. "From where I'm standing, I'm about as lucky as anyone can get."