Disclaimer: As before. I think this is a bit longer than the previous one, I hope you like, I couldn't quite work out how to do it as it was obviously going to be quite a lot of conversation, but I'm pretty pleased with what I ended up with. This chapter is M rated.

Trying not to look, trying to resist, eyes pulling downwards, tearing them up to look at his face, his body, anywhere but his legs. He was looking good, better than she expected, better than the girl lying in his bed.

'Hey' the skin on her lip had never been so tempting, her teeth seeking it out to chew.

Her nostrils flaring in anger, her lip jutting out in a pout, her eyes blazing with passion, memories.

'How are…?'

'How is…?'

Words spoken at the same time, a look, him conceding.

'How are you doing?'

Talking passionately about surgery, eyes bright, gesticulating wildly. Shouting with despair at the mess in the apartment. Murmuring sweet nothings in his ear.

An incredulous look, a shake of the head.

'Unbelievable, I've been climbing the walls here Lockhart, waiting to find out what happened to her, and you're asking about my health'

'Ray…'

His colleague, his roomie, his ally, his confidante, his best friend, his love.

He walked to the table. A change of gait, that's all. You'd never know.

'No Abby, you've no idea how worried I've been, you can't skirt around this anymore, she's here, I know that, but that's all I know'

His girl, in his bed, the thought came to him again.

She cuddled into the reassuring warmth of her son 'I don't know where to begin'

'You said there was an accident?'

'You have to understand that a lot of this is guesswork. The last thing she remembers from that day is saying goodbye to you'

Her lips on his skin, eyes meeting, a promise made.

The enormity of those words hit him 'the day I left?'

'Yes...'

He leant his face into his hand, and took a long shaky breath 'to come here? But that was 2 ½ months ago'

Watching her disappear into the distance. Warm, salty tears on his face.

'I know, she only woke up two weeks ago'

He looked up, meeting her gaze, eyes bright, voice shaking 'Abby, what happened?'

A snowy night, lips meeting for the first time.

'There was an anti-war rally on that day, she ended up at it, as I said she doesn't remember any of it, she was brought into the ER around 5pm with crush injuries, we...' she took a deep breath 'we only realised who it was when we found her County pass'

Moving closer, his tongue seeking out the contours of her mouth, his hands tangling in her silky hair.

Watching as the incomprehension on his face faded into realisation.

'I'm not going to lie to you Ray, it was touch and go, she was in the OR for hours, I didn't think she was going to make it, she shouldn't have. But she's stubborn, she made it through. They kept her sedated for the first few days, as it wore off she didn't come round'

Her pulling back, him tensing, waiting for rejection, but instead an invite inside.

Silent tears trickled down her cheeks 'there were nights when I lay awake waiting for my pager to go off, days she was lucky to make it through. I would lie there wondering how, if I ever found you, how I could possibly tell you'

Pulling her into his arms as the door closed, lips searching out her mouth again.

'I didn't live, I functioned, I got by minute by minute, I couldn't make any plans. Everything I did had a purpose, I worked, I sat with her, I played with Joe, I worked and so on. It was the same for all of us, we did what we had to do, but that was all. She was never alone, there was always someone with her'

Slowly unbuttoning her shirt, awestruck that this was really her, savouring every second in case he was dreaming.

She raised her eyes to his 'that's what got me about your email. Katey was one of those people. She sat with her, I spoke to her about you, but she never once told me that she knew where you were, or about your accident, and she never told you about Neela'

Her hand trailing under his t-shirt, teasing the skin at the bottom of his back, t-shirt joining hers on the floor, clothes shed.

'I couldn't find you. Your cell was cut off, the person in your apartment hadn't heard of you. All Admin would say was that you'd resigned. Yet she sat there and didn't say a word'

Legs wrapped around his waist, her smooth soft skin pressed against his, carrying her to the bedroom.

'And then two weeks ago, my pager went off, I was in the ER and they were paging me to go upstairs. I was terrified, I didn't want to go, I was convinced it was over. Sam, Morris and I were on, and they went up with me, they told us her pressure had changed, that something was going on, but no one knew what to expect, half a dozen doctors in that room, and not one of us knew what was going to happen'

Pausing, taking in the sight of her naked in front of him, overwhelmed by the love in her eyes, lips on lips, sliding into her, as close as can be.

She nuzzled into Joe's hair 'her hand moved…'

Her hand gently touching her stomach.

'…And she took a strong breath and her eyes fluttered open. For the first time in two and a half months I felt I could breathe again'

Words of love slipping out as he came inside her, so close, never wanting to be apart.

He gathered his thoughts 'the baby? What about the baby?'

A gasp. He turned. His eyes taking her in. Absorbing every detail. Collapsing back in his seat.

'How did you know?'

A hand resting on the gentle swell of her stomach, the question shining in her eyes.

Realisation dawning.