Scott made his way to the hospital room and peeked in the door. He'd heard the good news that Cosima was awake and talking.
"… broke your ribs, you silly girl. How did you run around all that time after that? What were you thinking?"
"Mmm, I dunno," Cosima rasped, her eyes half-closed but her lips pulling sideways into a slightly sheepish but still mischievous smirk. "I honestly didn't feel it that much. Maybe the shock, or something. I guess I thought there were other things that were more important. How did you run around with your foot sliced open?"
"Hmm, touché," the other woman acknowledged, with a fond smile. "But you—"
Cosima's eyes glanced over and caught sight of Scott's face in the doorway.
"Hey, Scotty-boy," she called, almost at normal speaking volume, "how ya doin'?"
"I'm fine," he smiled, looking briefly down at his bandaged arm and shrugging. "Stings pretty bad, but nothing that got all the way through the skin." He entered the room and pulled up a chair next to Delphine. "I actually came to ask the same of you," he prompted, taking in the bulge of the plaster under her arm, and curve of the small tube that came from a hole in it and went to a collection bottle. "Glad to see you finally got cleaned up, but you're looking a little Frankenstein's monster, there," he teased.
"Ugh, picking on the invalid. Hit 'im, Delphine."
Delphine responded with a playful tap on his head, laughing with Cosima when he yelped "hey" in mock offense.
"So what's the prognosis," he inquired.
"She'll be here a little while to make sure she's alright, and will be on antibiotics. She can't move too much until the doctors are sure that her ribs are stable. We don't want them injuring her lung again."
"Yeah, what she said," Cosima acknowledged. "That and I'm on some pretty nice pain meds. Hope I don't go back to San Francisco only to end up in an opium den." The others laughed.
"How about Danielle? Delphine tells me she may be able to get out of here soon."
"Yeah," Scott nodded, "she's doing really well. Respiratory system not too bad at all, considering everything. The LaFranges are staying with a friend who has extra room, so we'll be staying there, too, when she doesn't have to be in the hospital anymore."
"Well, Scotty, it sounds like you truly saved her life," Cosima told him, both praise and respect in her voice. "I'll tell ya honestly, when I saw those attic stairs aflame, I was so scared. I thought for sure you'd never make it out. But then there you came, carrying Danielle with you. You're a regular hero."
"Awww," Scott dismissed, looking away and hunching his shoulders.
"How did you do it, anyway? Get out of that conflagration in the attic? It looked like there was a hole clear through the roof. How did you get from there to Danielle's room?"
There was a pause, and colour began to rise on the young man's cheeks.
"I, uh… I wasn't in my… the attic room…"
Both women looked at him, slow realization breaking over their faces. Delphine's hand moved over her mouth to cover a small gape of surprise. Cosima's eyes bugged out.
"Scott! You dirty dog," she yelled, with just a wheeze to betray the effort it cost her. She reached out and punched him in the arm. "You and Danielle?"
A slow grin spread across his face, and the women's expressions followed suit.
"Sacre bleu… I didn't know," Delphine murmured.
"Who did know? Wow. Wowie wow wow. How long has this been going on?"
"Not long," he said quietly, with a shrug, but his face betrayed his delight. "I mean, I don't… whatever's gonna happen… but, yeah, I… however it happened, I… she's amazing, you know?"
Delphine reached out and patted his hand, her expression warm and gentle.
"You both are," she told him, and he blushed again.
"Well, then. Don't let us keep you from your… damsel in distress you rescued," Cosima winked. "I'm fine over here. Keep her company."
Scott rolled his eyes a little, but rose.
"Okay, yeah," he nodded, side-stepping towards the door. "Oh, and she sends her regards. Oh, and Delphine, you can come by and visit later if you want. I mean, take your time, but she'd love to see you."
"Okay, Scott," Delphine smiled, and gave a little wave. "See you."
They were quiet until his footsteps retreated down the hallway, and then they both looked at each other with nearly identical gasps.
"What?" Cosima began to cackle, and then cut it off when a small series of coughs intruded on her laughter. She looked amazed, bemused and amused.
"I don't know…" Delphine answered, slowly shaking her head. "But, I'm happy for them. They are both such good people. Very different, you know? But… I want them to be happy."
"I'll say," Cosima agreed, including all of Delphine's statement. "Wow. Hard to imagine, at first, but… well, he did save her life, y'know."
Delphine nodded, patting her friend's hand.
"Oui, that he did. But are you saying that was a seduction tactic?"
Cosima made an exaggerated face of denial.
"Oh, no, nooo," she insisted. "But it could be a good technique, you know, now that you mention it."
They both laughed, buoyed by the gleam in each other's eyes. Delphine threaded her fingers together with Cosima's, and the woman in the bed looked down, her laughter fading. She paused for a moment, seeming to hesitate.
"You, uh… you saved my life, you know," she pointed out quietly, giving a small squeeze to Delphine's fingers. "Seriously, I could've died if you hadn't turned into some kind of, like, samurai Dr. Kildare back there with the needle…"
Delphine felt a flush in her cheeks, and as though her stomach quickly flipped. She looked down at their joined hands and used her thumb to gently stroke Cosima's fingers.
"Well," she said after a moment, letting out another dismissive pfft of breath, "you pretty much saved my life, too, back at the house. You supported me with my wounded foot and helped guide me out."
"Meh, come on," Cosima shrugged. "You would've gotten out of there without me. Probably faster, without that freak-out I had when we saw the attic door."
Delphine tsked.
"What is this, a competition? I say you helped me, then I helped you. That's what you do when you care about each other." She took a breath and looked back up at Cosima's face. The smaller woman swallowed, seeming to mull it over.
"Yeah…" she said quietly. "We kind of saved each other, I guess." She didn't look up, but when Delphine leaned forward to press her forehead to hers, she closed her eyes with a tiny smile, and pressed her forehead slightly back.
They stayed there for a moment, just feeling each other's closeness. Delphine breathed in deeply, the mere warmth and softness, the subtle smell unique to Cosima somehow soothing her.
"Delphine," Cosima murmured, in almost a whisper. "I…" Her jaw tightened, and her breath hitched.
Delphine leaned back enough to see her friend's face, and lightly touched Cosima's jaw with her free hand.
"Yes?"
Cosima cleared her throat. She leaned back, and her eyes moved from Delphine's face to over her shoulder, to the ceiling and down, and finally back to someplace just left of center on the Frenchwoman's cheek.
"I just want to thank you, again. And also say I'm grateful I met you. And…" Her eyes rolled a bit and she pulled a smirk. "I hope there's a lot of room at the Lafrange's neighbours' house, because I definitely do not need to be too near Danielle and Scott if they're going to share a room."
Delphine's hand moved up to cover her giggle, and she bit her lip.
"Mon Dieu, non," she mused. "I think it's cute they've been together, and I hope they are well, but I definitely don't need to hear that, either."
They both laughed, and then Delphine patted Cosima's hand.
"Don't worry, I've got good news. I heard some rumours and I was able to contact my lawyer. It turns out my apartment is vacant. There was some Nazi officer staying there, but he's gone, and it's still in good shape. So, you can stay there with me."
"Oh. Oh, that's wonderful, for you. I, uh, thanks, yeah, if you have a spare bed, that would be so nice…"
"Of course," Delphine assured her, smiling fondly. "It will be fun to have you there, in my actual home. Like a sleep-over party." Her eyes dipped, and her voice came quieter. "You know, when we used to talk on my father's wireless, and then after… sometimes I'd imagine what it would be like to have you there with me. What your smile would be like, what you would think of the view, the furniture, my childhood pictures… what it would be like if the Germans were gone and we could go to my favourite café. We could talk about California and have pain au chocolat…" Her gaze focused again on Cosima's. "I'm just so grateful to you, too. You know, in a way, you saved me before we even met."
Cosima slowly raised her eyes to Delphine's. This time, she was the one who bit her own lip. Then she blinked and looked away.
"You're a great gal, but you're sappy," she said, and looked at the window. "I, um, I'm getting pretty tired. I'd better get some sleep. Why don't you go check in on Danielle, if Scott isn't locked in there with her."
Delphine let out a little chuff of amusement.
"Alright. Rest well, ma cherie." She leaned forward, and pressed her lips gently to Cosima's forehead, then rose and left the room.
Cosima looked up at the ceiling, blinking rapidly.
"Shit," she hissed.