Peter hated hospitals. His past experiences have not gone so well. The last person he waited for in a hospital had died in a manner of minutes. That being his own mother. So far, it wasn't so bad. Xandarian hospitals were a lot different from Terran hospitals. They were more technological and advanced. If you were waiting for someone in surgery, and you had permission, they would allow you to see them through the one way glass that separated the patients and doctors from the visitors. Other than that, nothing was new. You could hear the beeping from other rooms, intercoms going on and off, doctors yelling orders around and the screams and cries of agony when visitors realize that the patient they were waiting for had passed on. He really wanted to leave, he truly did. He didn't feel comfortable here, but this was Gamora. The person who has risked her life multiple times for him, the person who always deals with his obnoxious attitude and irritating flirts. The only woman who ever succeeded at seeing him for who he really was and accepting it. The only woman who would ever give him a second chance. He couldn't leave her.

They had reached the hospital on Xandar about a day after the incident. Gamora was unconscious when they brought her in and lost too much blood. At first, the doctors had almost lost hope, seeing the amount of blood she had lost. But, Gamora was a fighter. She'd pull through, right? It had been three days since her surgery and she was still unconscious. Peter hadn't left her side, since.

He knew what he was doing was unhealthy; he didn't sleep or eat anything. He just sat in the same plastic, white chair, that was next to Gamora's hospital bed, and waited for her to awaken. He couldn't stand to see her so...weak. She was always a warrior, a fighter. She was always so headstrong and passionate, but now, she wasn't, or at least it looked that way. Peter grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb across the back of it.

As for Rocket, Groot, and Drax; they needed money. They may have accidentally gambled it all away at a bar that was close to the hospital. They decided that while Peter stayed with Gamora, they would regain the units they lost, somehow...

It wasn't until later that night, when Peter was asleep, when he felt something shifting around in the bed. He opened his eyes and saw Gamora wide awake and looking at him. She slowly lowered her gaze to their intertwined hands. To his surprise, she squeezed his hand softly, instead of pulling it away. "Hey." She whispered.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." He greeted back with a chuckle. She raised a weak hand to his head and slapped him. "Ow."

"Got anything else idiotic to say?" She asked with a small laugh.

"Yes, actually." She rolled her eyes playfully. "You see when I saved you, I had to give you mouth to mouth and I thought I would've been dead by now." She slapped him weakly again. "Ow, or that."

She chuckled a little. "Thank you."

"Thank you? Why are you thanking me? This is the part where you put your precious knife to my throat and accuse me of using, wait what do you call it? Pelvic sorcery?"

Gamora chuckled again. "No. You saved my life and i'm grateful for that. Thank you, Peter." She gazed into his eyes unsure of what she was about to do was right or wrong. She decided to do it anyway. Gamora sat up weakly, leaned in and gave Peter a butterfly kiss on his cheek. Then, slowly, she planted an actual kiss there. She slowly sat back down.

"Gamora? Did you just kiss me?" Peter asked rhetorically with a wide smirk across his face.

"I didn't kiss you. I merely showed my profound gratitude." She replied with just as big of a smirk.

"Then, what do you call that?"

"A friendly gesture."

"Can you remind me what a kiss is? I forgot?" Peter asked leaning into Gamora. She started to lean in as well. Their lips were merely centimeters apart when-

"Hey, hey! We got units!" Rocket yelled, as he barged into the room.

Peter and Gamora slowly backed away from each other.

"Units for you." Rocket threw units at Groot. "And you." And Drax. "And you." And Peter. "And, hey Gamora! You're awake! Isn't this great? We just made a ton of units!"

"Is Rocket drunk?" Peter asked Drax.

"I am afraid so." Drax muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

"Rocket! Go to bed!" Gamora yelled.

"Ugh, fine. But, only because we're CELEBRATING!" Rocket walked out of the room. "Woo!" He yelled from across the hall.

"I will make sure he gets to the Milano." Drax whispered, following the very intoxicated raccoon.

"I am Groot." Groot said following the two.

The automatic door finally closed.

"Where were we?" Peter asked, as he started to lean into Gamora, again.

Gamora laid down and rolled over to the other side, ignoring the pain in her leg. "I'm tired. Goodnight, Peter."

"Wait, what just happened?"

"I said goodnight, Peter." Gamora closed her eyes.

"What's going on right now?"

"Peter, shut up and go to sleep!" She snapped.

"Fine." He responded, clearly getting hurt.

Gamora was almost in tears. Why did she just do that? She knows Peter loves her, but when he tried to kiss her, why did she refuse? She regretted what she did. She regretted everything she did to him; when she put the knife to his throat on Knowhere, the numerous times she punched, kicked, and hit him and those numerous times she felt like she was ready to tell him how she really felt towards him, but didn't have the guts to do so. What if he's the same 'Star-Lord' she was told about before she left the Dark Aster to find him? The same womanizing 'Star-Lord'? What if he's just being kind to her so he could use his pelvic sorcery on her? However, he forgave her for her past mistakes. She should forgive him. Then it finally came to her; the reason why she cared so much, the reason why it'd hurt to hurt him, the reason why her heart always felt like it would sink to her stomach when Peter was crowded with beautiful exotic girls, it was because she loved him. But it wasn't just that; she was in love with him. But, did she even know what love was? She would tell Peter soon, about her feelings, she would. It was just a matter of when.