Author's Note:

Johnny nurse did not have a name in the movie and is only credited as "sexy nurse." In the novelization, she was named Marie Carter, so that's what I went with here.

With a huff of impatience, Johnny shifted restlessly in the cushioned leather chair, trying to find a different position. It wasn't that his seat was uncomfortable—like everything else in Victor's state of the art facility, the chair was lavish, with no expense spared, while also designed for maximum efficiency and practicality. But after spending hours of waiting by Ben's bedside for him to wake up, he couldn't help the urge to get up and stretch his legs.

However, he refused to abandon his post. He'd paced around the room several times, but he didn't even want to risk taking a brief walk down the hallway. Johnny wanted to make sure that he was there the moment Ben woke up. After all, there had been plenty of times when Ben could have easily washed his hands of Johnny and given up on him, walked away without ever looking back. But he hadn't, even though Johnny was well aware that he'd been a trial for Ben to deal with on multiple occasions. And now that Ben needed his help, Johnny didn't want to walk away from him—even if it was only for a few minutes and he would come back as soon as he could. Besides, it just didn't seem right to choose relieving his own boredom over being there for Ben.

The sound of approaching footsteps drew him out of his musings, and Marie, his nurse, entered the room.

"I suppose it would be pointless to advise you again that you should be lying down?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

In spite of his worry for Ben, Johnny offered her a grin. "Hey, I appreciate anyone who gives me advice. But it doesn't make me any less gracious just because I just don't always listen."

Marie scoffed. "I have a feeling it's not that you 'don't always' listen as much as you 'rarely ever' listen." Taking a thermometer from her pocket, she pressed it into Johnny's ear, holding it there for several seconds to wait for the reading to appear. When she withdrew it, she frowned. "Your temperature is a little higher than I'd like." She eyed Johnny with vague exasperation. "Though that might be because you haven't been resting."

Realizing that he might soon lose this battle with Marie, Johnny decided to propose a bargain to make himself appear reasonable while also buying himself some time. "Tell you what. You're checking in on me every hour, right? If you come back an hour from now and my temperature is any higher than it should be, I'll go back to my own room and lie down. Deal?"

"Deal," Marie agreed. "I will warn you, though, Mr. Storm. I don't typically make deals with patients. You get one exception and only one. This is it for you." But she gently rested a hand on his shoulder, sending a soft look at Ben. "He'll be fine. And he'd understand that you need to get better, too."

Johnny gave her a quiet smile in return. "Thanks, Marie."

She gave his shoulder a squeeze before exiting the room, and once she was gone, Johnny slumped back in his chair. Now that she mentioned it, he did feel somewhat ill, overheated and feverish, and every muscle in his body ached, sore at being coiled with tension for too many hours.

But he would wait. Ben was worth it.

Weariness creeping over him, Johnny closed his eyes, promising himself he would only relax for a few minutes before going back to his watch. But he must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, a deep, gravelly voice was speaking, one that was welcome and familiar.

"You're hangin' around here, then? Figured you'd have ditched me to go snowboardin' by now."

"Ben!" Johnny was up out of his chair and launching himself at his fiancé before he had even fully blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He caught himself just in time, slowing his movements to make sure he was being gentle, but Ben wasn't having any of it. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Johnny's waist and pulled him close, holding him tightly.

"It's good to see you," he murmured, tucking Johnny's forehead under his chin.

"You, too," Johnny replied thickly, a lump rising in his throat at the sheer relief of having Ben back with him. The doctors had said Ben would be all right, but it was one thing to listen to their reassurances and another entirely to see the outcome with his own eyes.

Pulling back slightly, Ben frowned at him. "Hey, you're real hot."

"Oh, I don't believe that's the first time you've noticed that," Johnny said coyly.

The remark brought on a duo of groans, both from Ben and from Marie, who was reentering the room. Johnny grinned at her and then went on with his flirting, knowing it would make Ben blush be so openly complimented in front of someone else.

"Though now that you mention it," he continued, giving Ben's bicep a squeeze, "your muscles do feel even more rock solid than usual. I kind of feel like putting them to the test."

"That's enough," Ben said gruffly, even as he gave Johnny a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't you embarrass this poor lady. It's bad enough that she's stuck taking care of you in the first place."

"Oh, he would have to do much worse to embarrass me," Marie replied, sticking the thermometer in Johnny's ear again without missing a beat. "Though I do wish he would be more cooperative when it comes to listening to me."

Ben snorted. "Trust me, I know the feeling. I used to be his CO."

Marie chortled. "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, don't be all that sorry for him," Johnny told her, raising Ben's hand with one of his own to show her their matching gold engagement rings. "He proposed to me just last week, so he's sealed his own fate."

Marie gave both of them a kind smile. "Congratulations. I do hope you'll be happy together. But I'm going to have to separate you two again now." She looked at Johnny. "Your fever has risen further. We had a deal, so now you need to go rest. And besides," she turned to Ben, "I don't doubt the doctors will want to examine you again now that you're conscious again."

"She's right," Johnny admitted to Ben. "I did strike a deal with her. And you've always told me that I should be a man of my word. But don't worry—I'll come visit you again as soon as I can sweet-talk Marie into it."

"Unlikely," Marie informed him. "Come on. I'll escort you back to your room myself."

Johnny gave Ben a kiss goodbye. "I'll see you later. And once I'm better, maybe we can hit the slopes." He waggled his eyebrows. "A honeymoon before the honeymoon, if you will."

"You spoil me," Ben deadpanned, but he still drew Johnny in for a parting embrace and gave him another kiss.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Johnny promised, as he rose to leave with Marie. "Man of my word, remember. I won't desert you."

"I believe you." Ben gave Johnny a gentle nudge. "Go on and get yourself better. Don't worry about me. I'll be waiting for you right here."

"Goodbye, Ben," Johnny said with one last smile before heading out into the hall with Marie.

"So, he's the one, huh?" Marie asked as she led Johnny back to his own room.

"My one and only," Johnny declared. "And as Ben would no doubt tell you, he's certainly my better half."

Marie chuckled. "Have you set a date yet?"

"Neither one of us are much for weddings," Johnny said with a shrug as he sat down on the hospital bed. He grinned. "We agreed before the mission that the moment we debriefed, we're running off and getting hitched at the nearest courthouse."

"Very practical," Marie observed, bringing over an IV. "Hopefully, you won't have to wait very long."

"Definitely." Johnny winced as the needle pricked his wrist, but his grin returned in an instant. "As far as I'm concerned, the faster I can marry Ben, the better." He raised his arms over his head and stretched before lying back. "Neither of us can have these cosmic tests finished and get out of here soon enough."