Over the next several hours, Shane woke a few times, each time just for a moment before he slipped back into unconsciousness without saying even a single word. Although Kim had been disappointed that Shane had not spoken, she had been relieved to see that, in those few moments of consciousness, Shane had lost the panicked and pained expression that she had seen when he had first emerged from his coma.

That panic and pain had torn at her heart and sent tears to her eyes. She knew only too well how Shane tried to be stoic when he was hurting - the classic, British, stiff upper-lip. What he had felt when he had woken up must have been excruciating.

And, yet, the whole time, he had kept asking for her. In the face of that pain, he had needed her. Even now, as he slept, she could hear him begging her to stay.

So it was now late afternoon and Kim waited anxiously for signs that he would wake up again. There was no way she was leaving until that happened.

She heard a noise to her right and turned toward the door. Eve was standing just inside, a scowl on her face.

"Anything new?" she demanded to know.

Kim shook her head. "I want to be here when he wakes up."

Eve rolled her eyes. "I don't know why. It's not like you're married anymore."

"Eve. . . ." Kim forced herself to take a deep breath. This was about the third or fourth time they had had the same exchange that day. "Shane wanted me to stay. You heard him."

Scowling, Eve turned away and left the room, leaving Kim to sigh. She had hoped Shane waking up would temper Eve's animosity, but mainly Kim had just received more scowls. For a moment, Kim wondered why Eve remained so hostile. Was it jealousy? In some ways, Kim believed that was at the root of Eve's problems with Kim. The little girl who spent years yearning for her father still could not accept the idea of sharing his affection.

"Kim?"

The word was so faint that she thought she had imagined the sound of her name before she turned toward Shane's bed. His eyes were open and he was watching her.

She reached forward and grabbed his hand. "Shane . . . I'm right here."

He swallowed and she saw him wince.

"Here," she said, grabbing a cup next to his bed that had some ice chips. "The nurses said this might help." She fed him one of the bits of ice, then asked, almost reluctantly, "Do you hurt? I can get the nurse."

"No . . . wait. . . ." Shane kept a hold of her hand. When she studied his face, she could tell he was still in pain, but not as much as earlier. It looked like the medications were working. That also might have explained why Shane seemed to be struggling to find words. At least, Kim hoped that was the reason. Finally, he managed to ask, his words halting, "What . . . what happened?"

Kim squeezed his hand. "You don't remember?"

Shane shook his head weakly.

"You were shot," she said. "Can you remember anything? Cal?"

"Cal?" Shane fell silent and his face scrunched up as he thought.

Kim tried to encourage him. "See if you can remember anything."

There was a faint trace of recognition in Shane's eyes and then he blurted out, "You . . . missing. Cal . . . he had you." That was a mix of statement and question.

"That's right," Kim said, feeling relief wash over her. "Do you remember coming to the hangar? You and Steve? You rescued us."

Shane appeared to fight through his memories some more. Then his eyes focused and he sounded worried. "Steve? Cal shot-"

Kim shook her head. "Steve's fine. You pushed him out of the way. That's when you were shot."

"Shot?" Shane sounded confused. He tried to sit up, but cried out and fell back against the bed.

"It's okay. You're okay now," Kim assured him. "You're going to be just fine." She prayed that was the truth. The pain was visible on Shane's face once more and he was gasping as he took short, staccato breaths. Between the injury to his lung and having his broken ribs wrapped so tightly, he could not breathe deeply. "Try to relax, Shane. I'll get Marcus and he can explain."

Shane shook his head. "No. . . ." He laid still and managed to slow his breathing. Kim could still see the pain, but he was trying to mask it. "You. . . ."

"Me?" Now Kim was confused.

"You," Shane repeated. ". . .l right? Cal. . . ." Shane seemed to pause and fight again to find the right words. Finally, still in a very weak voice, he asked, "Did he . . . hurt you?"

Kim blinked, not sure if she was stopping herself from laughing or crying. Shane had barely survived and he wanted to know if she had been hurt. With her free hand, she reached out and brushed his cheek softly. "I'm fine. He didn't hurt me."

At least not physically. Kim had barely acknowledged the psychological wounds Cal had inflicted.

Or the one's you inflicted on yourself. A silent voice, harsh in its accusation, echoed in her head. You know what you would have done. How will Shane react to that - to you agreeing to whore yourself again?

She could not think about that right now. All that mattered was Shane.

His eyes were studying her, but she could not read them. Then he smiled and, in a barely audible whisper, said, ". . . love you."

"I know." Kim traced the line of his jaw. "I know you do." She wanted to tell him that she loved him too, but something stopped her. Her confusion persisted. Could she let herself believe what Shane had said on the tape? Was she opening herself up for another crushing blow? "I . . . I saw the tape you made, the one after Jeannie began walking. . . ."

Shane's eyes seemed to cloud over, and she knew he was struggling to figure out what she was talking about. She kicked herself. Shane was barely conscious and weak; this was not the time to discuss their future. "It's okay," she said quickly. "We can talk about that another time. But I need to tell you something - something very important."

"'kay," Shane said with a weak nod.

"When Cal had us, he told me something. . . . About Jeannie. And Neil confirmed it's true." Kim took a deep breath, but Shane spoke before she could finish.

Shane rasped, "What's true?"

"Jeannie. She's your daughter, Shane, not Cal's." As she said that, Kim watched Shane's face, waiting for some sign of understanding. But Shane had a blank look on his face. "Did you hear me?" Kim asked. "I said Jeannie's your daughter."

Before Shane could respond, a voice from across the room interrupted them.

"What?" Eve said, from just inside the door. "What the hell did you just say?"