Adrien, Tom and Sabine where sat around Marinette's bed, telling each other jokes. Each trying to be funnier than the other. Adrien was using lots of cat jokes, which Sabine and Tom were finding hilarious, even saying he'd make a good Chat Noir. Marinette slowly opened her eyes. Everything was blurred so she blinked a few times to try and focus. At first she thought it was another dream, with them all sat around her, but when she closed her eyes and opened them again, she could feel intense pain all through her body. She knew she was finally awake. Sabine noticed first, quickly standing and rushing over to her.

"Look who's finally awake! How are you feeling?" Sabine said softly.

"I...I feel awful." Marinette croaked.

"Well you don't look it!" Tom chuckled.

Adrien grabbed her hand "Marinette...I'm...I'm so sorry."

"Wh-what? Why are you sorry?" She tried to sit up but her body screamed in pain.

"No Marinette, don't sit up!" Her father quickly said. He pressed the buzzer next to her bed.

"I shouldn't have shouted at Chloe, I upset you and Chloe. It's my fault…" Adrien began to apologise but Marinette interrupted him "No, no! It's not your fault!" She winced.

A swarm of doctors and nurses came into the room, surrounding her.

"We should go now Adrien, Sabine, we will come back later sweetheart." Tom said.

Tom and Sabine kissed her on her forehead and started walking to the door. Adrien stood and squeezed her hand gently.

"If you want to talk, you can ring or text. Doesn't matter the time." He quietly said. He then leaned over and lightly kissed her forehead.

After the doctors had finished flapping around her, talking to her, prodding her, she reached over to her phone and looked at the screen. Thankfully someone had charged it up for her, but then she saw the date...it must have been wrong, she thought. No way had she been asleep for 17 days! She looked around as much as she could, hoping to see Tikki, but she couldn't. She suspected that she was with Master Fu. She felt so alone without her and she began to cry. she wanted to see her, to make sure she was ok and not mad with her. Master Fu had been very insistent that she not transform, but she couldn't just leave Chloe to Chat, she was far too powerful for him to handle and he couldn't have captured the akuma. It was justified in her mind, but she knew Tikki wasn't happy, rightfully so, but surely she'd understand. She dropped her phone on her bed and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. Her phone buzzed making her jump in surprise.

21:37 Hi, how are you feeling? What have the doctors said? A xx

Marinette slowly started typing back, but the glare from her screen was making her head throb so she stopped, she turned the brightness down on her screen and carried on.

21:52 I'm feeling a bit better than before thanks. Not much, they want to do some x-rays and scans in the morning. Thank you for coming to see me! Mari xx

21:54 Good, I'm glad you are. No need to thank me, I wanted to be there for you. We've got lots to talk about when you're feeling better! A xx

'Lot's to talk about? What does he mean by that? Maybe he is talking about Chloe' she thought. She stared at her screen, trying to think how to reply. She longed for Tikki, she was always there when she was stuck for words. She felt a lump forming in her throat again.

22:13 Mari? Are you ok? It's nothing bad we need to talk about! I just want to wait til you feel better. A xx

She looked at her phone again. She felt so lonely, the big room she was in felt so cold and sterile. Marinette took another deep breath and tried to sit up a bit, her body screamed in agony but she managed to reposition herself to a more comfortable spot. She thought about how silly she was being. She'd been awake a couple of hours and on her own for no more than 30 minutes. Each time a nurse came in, she would make small talk as she checked all of her obs, so how could she feel lonely? But she couldn't help it, the overwhelming urge to cry kept threatening to release.

22:17 I'm just a bit emotional, I don't like it here on my own. I can't wait for visiting hours in the morning when my Maman and Papa come. Mari xx

22:18 Try to stay positive, why don't you try to get some sleep so time goes quicker? I'll bring some puzzles and a teddy for you to cuddle tomorrow. Axx

Marinette smiled when she read his message. But she wasn't going to sleep again. No way, she'd slept enough already!

22:26 Aww thank you! I can't sleep, I've overslept a little these past few days :O. I'm just going to count the staff who walk past my window lol. Mari xx

22:27 THAT'S an understatement! Haha. What, do they not have any sheep for you to count? How rude. Axx

She laughed, causing her to wince again. She wondered why Adrien was so concerned for her? Why had he been at her bedside with her parents? So much didn't make sense, but she was grateful he was there for her.

22:32 Nope, no sheep. Very rude indeed. Mari xx

She waited and waited for his reply, but it never came. She assumed he must have fallen asleep. Even though she knew she was being selfish, she really wanted him to text her back. She felt the lump forming again, but this time she couldn't stop it. She put her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes, letting the warm tears trickle down her face.

A nurse came through the doors and started seeing to the machines around her before she noticed the tears streaming down Marinette's face.

"Are you ok? You're not in too much pain are you? All you have to do is press the buzzer and someone will come through." The nurse asked.

"No I just...it's all a bit overwhelming. I just want to be at home." Marinette sniffled.

"Aww I know it's hard. But you need to get better first."

She carried on writing on the clipboard before smiling and walking back out the room.

Marinette turned her head to look through the outside window, her mouth dropped. Sitting on the window ledge was Chat Noir. She blinked to make sure it wasn't just a dream, but he still sat there with a big grin on his face. He jumped down and walked over to her bed, sitting carefully next to her.

"Hello, my lady. It's good to see you awake. I've brought a surprise for you." He said with a goofy grin.

"A-a s-surprise? What surprise?" She asked, confused.

He pulled his arm around from behind his back and there sat Tikki with tears welling up in her eyes. Marinette smiled, before the shock of what she saw sunk in.

Tikki flew over to her and cuddled her, nuzzling her face affectionately.

"Tikki! Wh-what...h-how?" Marinette stammered.

"It's ok Marinette, I'll explain everything." Tikki reassured her.

Marinette looked over at Chat and had an overwhelming urge to hug him, so she lifted her arms as an invitation. He walked forward and carefully embraced her.

A couple of weeks later, Marinette was well enough to return home. When she got home, Alya, Nino and Adrien were waiting for her in her room. They'd brought snacks and drinks and a few DVD's to watch. Two big bean bags lay on her floor with two large blankets draped over them, in front of her computer screen. A small box was placed in between the two bean bags, with a bowl of popcorn and four cups on top. Candles were scattered around her room, creating an ambient glow. She walked over and they all hugged her. Alya walked over to one bean bag and got under the blanket. Adrien sat on the other and held his hand out, which Marinette nervously took. She carefully sat on the bean bag, slowly sinking in next to Adrien. He put his arm around her and pulled the blanket over them both. Tom and Sabine brought up some bottles of pop and pastries for them to share. Nino picked up three of the DVD's and studied them before opening one and setting it up on the computer. He then joined Alya on the bean bag and snuggled up to her.

"So what are we watching first Nino?" Adrien asked.

"High Tension. Duuuude it's s'posed to be well scary." Nino chuckled.

Marinette and Alya looked over at each other and laughed.

"And if that doesn't scare you, we're watching Hostel next, now that is scary! Hope you're ready girls!" Nino said, putting on a spooky voice. Adrien looked down at Marinette and winked, causing her face to go crimson red. Alya discreetly stuck her thumbs up and smiled at her.

They began to watch the the film, everytime the girls jumped and screamed the boys laughed. By the second film, Marinette and Alya clung tightly to Adrien and Nino.

After watching the horror films, Nino put on True Romance to end the evening. Nino and Alya fell asleep, leaving Marinette and Adrien to watch the rest of the film themselves. When it finished, Adrien got up and shut the computer down. He blew all of the candles out except for one.

"Do you want to sleep on there or do you want me to carry you up to bed?" Adrien whispered.

"Erm…" Marinette looked down, she didn't want to sleep on the bean bag as her body was aching but she didn't want to burden Adrien either.

"Come on, I'll carry you up, you must be uncomfortable on there." He said. She blushed, then nodded. He smiled and lifted her into his arms. He carefully climbed the ladders, and placed her onto the bed. He sat next to her and placed his hand on hers. They sat in silence for a while until Marinette asked "So...what did you want to talk about?"

Adrien gently squeezed her hand and took a deep breath in, preparing himself for what he was about to say.

"Marinette, I'm really sorry I couldn't save you...I really tried but I just wasn't strong enough." He said, stroking her hand with his thumb.

"Why are you sorry? There's no way you could have saved me, Chat Noir and Ladybug even struggled. I'm alive, that's all the matters!" She said, puzzled at why he felt guilty. Adrien glanced down at Alya and Nino to check if they were still asleep and he pulled Marinette further up her bed, out of sight.

She stared at him with confusion and worry. He tried to think of the best way to word it, but no matter what he thought, he couldn't find the right words. Instead he whispered "Plagg, claws out". A flash of green surrounded Adrien as he transformed into Chat Noir. Marinette sat there in disbelief. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He nervously smiled at her and grabbed her hand once again.

"Please forgive me, I really did tr…" He began to say but Marinette put her hand on his mouth to stop him from talking. His stomach dropped, tears began welling up in his eyes. Marinette put both of her hands on his face and looked into his eyes.

"Silly kitty, you tried your best, heck even Hawkmoth couldn't bring down his own akuma. We all tried and we won in the end. It was my decision to transform, I knew I might not survive. That was no one's fault but my own. Please don't blame yourself Minou." She softly whispered. He nodded and she began to stroke his cheek with her thumb, in awe of the boy in front of her.

He slowly moved his head closer to her, looking into her intense bluebell eyes then down to her mouth. His own mouth felt dry from anticipation so he licked his lips. She watched his tongue run along his lips causing her to bite her lip. She pulled his face until their lips gently brushed together. He pulled away to look into her eyes, she blushed and started to look away in embarrassment but he put his hand on her cheek, gently caressing her face.

He lightly kissed her, and felt her relax as he gained more confidence. His tongue brushed her lips, causing them to part and allow him to explore her mouth. The passion ignited between them as their tongues danced with one anothers. They began lie down, Chat's hand moving from her face, slowly making its way down to her body. Marinette groaned in pleasure, causing him to melt more into the kiss. She pulled him on top of her, feeling his excitement on her. She gently bite his lip, making it his turn to groan. He broke away from her mouth, kissing his way along her jawline and onto her neck. She put her hands into his hair, gently tugging at it. He kissed his way down to her collar bone, gently nipping her making her body arch up against him in response. He moved his hands down to her hips and pulled her against him.

She pulled his face back up to hers, hungrily kissing his mouth once again. He began to tug at the top of her pants, he managed to pop open the button and he felt her smile.

Feeling brazen, Marinette grabbed his hips and pushed his excitement onto her. He stopped kissing her and looked at her with a big grin on his face.

She bit her lip and whispered "Adrien I want you…" into his ear.

Chat closed his eyes, pressing himself against her. He sucked at her neck and when he stopped he quietly said "Claws in".

Plagg quickly darted away, joining Tikki in her hiding place.

Adrien went back to work at Marinette's pants, pulling them off, chucking them to the end of the bed. She sat up and started to undo his pants, but her stopped her and grinned. He tugged at her top and pulled it up over her head, throwing it to the side. She suddenly felt self conscious, aware that she was completely naked in front of the person she'd been in secretly in love with for ages. He gently pushed her down and started trailing kisses up the inside of her thigh. She threw her head back and groaned. He made his way up to the top of her thigh and teasingly ran his tongue up across her intimate area, causing her to throw her hands to her mouth to stifle a loud moan. He sat up and pulled his shirt off as she put her hands to work on undoing his pants. She finally undid them and pulled them down. She bit her lip and looked up at him.

Adrien shuffled his pants off and slowly crawled over her, gently resting on top of her. He looked into her eyes, as if to ask permission. She grabbed his hair and pulled him into a passionate kiss. He gently entered her, and slowly gathered pace. She threw her head back again in pleasure and put her hand over her mouth to suppress as much noise as possible.

She could feel the pressure building inside, she wrapped her legs around him as she climaxed.

He followed almost immediately after, collapsing on top of her.

They led there for a while, trying to catch their breath. He pushed up onto his elbows and brushed the hair away from her face. She was flushed, but for once it wasn't from embarrassment. She smiled and pulled him in for another kiss. He happily complied.

He moved to the side of her and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. They led there for a while, smiling at each other. Marinette's eyelids began to feel heavy. She started to sit up but because all the adrenaline had worn off, she was feeling the pain in her body again. Adrien noticed her wince and sat up concerned.

"Are you ok Marinette?" He whispered.

She nodded and then replied "My ribs are starting to hurt and I…" She stopped and blushed.

He smiled and said "and what?"

"I-I need to...go to the...bathroom." She said hesitantly.

He grinned and grabbed his pants, pulling them on with grace. She pulled her top and pants back on and kissed him on the cheek.

He picked her up and took her to the bathroom, being as quiet and cat-like as he could, so that he wouldn't wake anyone in the house up.