Note From The Author-- You'll have to bear with me a bit on this one, mostly as I haven't got a clue in hell how long this type of surgery would usually take and my research didn't turn it up. Either way, I want to let you all know that I always appreciate your feedback and your encouragement. Thanks for sticking with me.

They took Stella into surgery just after midnight. The time was a bit random, but considering the circumstances the doctor wanted her in as soon as possible, so midnight it was. After they wheeled her away Flack went out to sit with the others in the waiting room, knowing it would be better if he wasn't alone at that particular time.

"How was she?" Danny questioned when his friend sat down.

Flack shook his head. "As okay as could be expected. She's been in a lot of pain and obviously she's scared, but in typical Stella fashion she's soldiering through it. Like the doctor said, thankfully they caught it early enough that there shouldn't be any problems. Still…"

"You two work some things out?" Mac asked, trying to distract him from thinking of the ifs.

"Yeah, we did. I'm not gonna say at this point that everything's perfect, or that it will be anytime in the near future, but we both know how we feel."

Lindsay nodded. "And that's more than you had earlier."

After that they all went quiet, none of them sure that there was anything to be said until they knew the outcome of the surgery. But gradually the silence became too much, and everyone began to speak again. A couple of them posed questions to Flack, and about the sixth time he took someone's head off Mac sent the incredibly tense detective to get some coffee, or anything that would take him away from the situation momentarily.

As Don started out of the room Danny couldn't help but mutter to himself. "You'd think someone who just worked out that he and his woman are in love with each other would be in better humor."

"I heard that Messer, and shut the hell up," he tossed out just before walking out.

When he made it to the coffee machine Flack went through the motions, depositing change and pressing the button before he leaned his exhausted frame up against the wall. Everything in him logically knew that what the doctor had told him was probably true, and that Stella would more than likely come through just fine. Still, there was one little part of him that was absolutely terrified. Even the most routine of surgeries could go wrong, and the fact that she was in surgery for a condition that was life threatening all on its own didn't exactly put him at ease, no matter what the doctors told him. The more he thought about it, the more he felt his pulse start to pound, and he noted with some interest that he seemed to be shaking. Leaving the coffee in the machine, he sank to the floor.

"Flack are you okay? Is Stella okay?" Adam's voice was filled with worry.

Don looked up at the lab tech, shaking his head. "Stella's in surgery right now, and as far as I know she's fine. I'm just…" He took a deep breath. "I'm a little shaky."

Adam nodded, taking a seat next to the detective on the floor. "I can understand that." They were both quiet for a moment, lost in thought, but he finally spoke again. "Look, I hope you don't mind but Jess sort of filled me in on what's been going on. Not everything, I don't think, but enough."

"I royally screwed up with her, Ross," Flack told him.

He nodded. "Yeah, you probably did, but I'll tell you what I told her; you can't help who you fall in love with, and it's pretty obvious to me that you're in love with Stella. That makes it hard for Jess, but there's nothing about it that can be changed."

"You're a smart kid, Adam, and you're right, but that doesn't change the fact that I've hurt her."

"No, it doesn't, but I'm guessing that eventually, when she's ready, you'll be able to make amends."

Don sighed, pushing to his feet, watching as Ross did the same. "I hope you're right. How is she now?"

Adam shrugged. "She's upset, exhausted, and she's worried. She wanted to come down but considering the circumstances thought it might be better if she stayed put. I promised her I would let her know when we heard anything."

"You're a good friend." They both came to a stop just outside the waiting room, and Flack extended a hand for Adam to shake. "She's a good friend of mine, and I appreciate you being there for her after I was so stupid."

"She makes it easy," he told him, but shook his hand nonetheless.

They shared a quiet smile, and together they walked back into the room to live through the long wait with their friends and colleagues. And as it turned out, the long wait took them a good distance into the morning.

The doctor came to find them at nearly four in the morning, and the subdued smile on his face did a lot to alleviate Don's fears. "Everything okay Doc?" he asked.

Dr. Carr's smile grew the tiniest bit. "The surgery went well. It took us a bit longer than anticipated due to that anomaly we talked about, and we had a few moments that could definitely qualify as scares, but she's doing just fine. She'll be off her feet for a while, but I'm confidant enough to say that she'll make a full recovery."

It was as if a collective sigh of relief went through the room, and Don felt his heart lift higher than it had in a long time. "I promised her I'd be there when she wakes up."

"I know, and it won't be for a couple hours yet, but I'm certainly willing to let you wait it out in her room. The rest of you should be okay to see her later in the day."

The whole team knew they could feel at ease, and as Adam drifted off to call Angell, Mac told them all to go home and get some rest. Unfortunately they all had shifts to work, and though they had caught a few hours sleep here and there everyone was largely exhausted. As they trooped out they all said a few words to Flack, but he barely heard them. He just wanted to be in the room with Stella, and it seemed like an eternity before a nurse came to tell him that he could go back.

When he saw her, Flack knew he would be overcome with emotion. Though he had expected worry or fear, what he felt was relief. When he walked through the door and saw her lying there, he was so intensely relieved that he was amazed that his legs didn't give out. She looked peaceful and rested, which did worlds to soothe his frayed nerves; and as he took a seat next to the bed, he took a deep breath.

Don hadn't been able to sleep in the waiting room. While the others had been able to doze here and there he hadn't had any luck with his mind whirring and his heart racing. He was completely exhausted, and being able to see her there completely safe made the fatigue hit him like a truck. Though he would have liked to have made it until she woke, it wasn't too long before the weight of it all overtook him and he dropped off.

The next conscious thought he had was that his ass was asleep. When he woke up in a plastic hospital chair with his head leaning against the wall it wasn't difficult to understand why. Still, he couldn't suppress a groan when he shifted.

"Shouldn't I be the horribly uncomfortable one?" Stella asked.

He turned to look at her, thrilled when he saw alert green eyes looking back at him. "Well probably, but you know me, always making things difficult."

She smiled. "I think we both do a pretty good job of making things difficult actually."

"Have you talked to the doctor yet?" Don asked as he scooted closer to the bed.

"Yeah, he was in here a little bit ago. Looks like I'm going to make a full recovery, but I won't be able to do much for a little bit. Thankfully it won't take me off my feet too long."

It was so completely Stella, and he found himself grinning at her. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to take a bit of a break, even after the Doc gives you the go ahead."

Stella nodded solemnly. "It wouldn't kill me, but if I weren't working we both know I wouldn't be happy."

"I know." They both seemed to reach for each other simultaneously, and their fingers twined together easily. "It was a rough night. Even though I knew you would probably be perfectly fine, I was scared to death. Guess it really must be love."

He said it jokingly, but Stella's eyes filled with tears just the same. "I wasn't sure I'd ever hear you say that to me again."

"I wasn't sure I'd ever hear you say it at all. Do it for me now?"

"I love you," she said with a smile. "It's not nearly as hard to say as I always thought it would be."

It made him more than thrilled to hear her say it back, and he couldn't help but bend to kiss her softly. "When do we get to spring you out of here?" he asked when they pulled apart.

"Should be the day after tomorrow and definitely not soon enough for me. But it's the best they can do." She looked him over quickly, noting that he still looked completely wrecked. "You should go home, Don. Get some sleep in a real bed. I'm not going anywhere."

"Counting on that."

Flack leaned down to kiss her again, and after a quick goodbye he started for the door. It was only when he heard her voice again that he turned. "We've got a lot more to deal with haven't we?"

He nodded. "I think so, yeah, but that first step is always the one that's really a bitch, and we've taken it."

"Is it ridiculous that I'm glad all of this happened?" she asked sheepishly. "Well maybe not happy that this in particular…well you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do; and you're not ridiculous. I'm glad that something pushed us to take that first step and that we've at least worked out some of the basics."

Stella smiled. "There's still more to do, but I'm here for the long haul, Don."

"Me too Stell," he told her quietly.

The way he said her name still made her shiver, but she knew there was a lot of recovery, physical and emotional, to go before they would go there again. So she just smiled, and waved her hand at him. "Go, sleep. I'll see you later."

"See you."

It was only moments after he left that a nurse came in with a huge smile. "That's some man you've got there," she told Stella.

Her smile was subdued, but on the inside she was positively thrilled. "Yeah, he really is something isn't he?"