Okay- here is the next chapter. I'll be honest, I am running on empty with this story. I lost a lot of steam during my finals week (molecular biology sucks out all of the creativity a person has in them). So now your reviews more than ever are important to the life of this story. Where do you see it going from here?

Sam opened his eyes, blinking slowly. The fuzz of the pain medication left him with blurred vision and dulled hearing and a nasty headache. He could hear the steady noise of the bedside machines, and as his eyes slowly focused, they found the television playing an infomercial for those backwards robe things. Those things are ridiculous, he thought to himself absently.

With a groan, he lifted his hand, wanting to rub the sleep from his eyes, but was found with immediate resistance from the stabilizer placed on it. A spark of pain shot through his shoulder, and he pushed his head back into the pillow to weather the sting.

Almost immediately his eyes fell on Andy. She was asleep, leaning forward with her head resting on the hospital bed near his hip. She was on his good side, so he took the opportunity to smooth her hair away from her face. He had no concept of what time it could be.

Upon arriving at the hospital, they had ushered him into a bay where they could inspect the wound further. It only took a minor procedure to remove the bullet, but they had given him the good drugs for pain.

He reached for her hand that was lying haphazardly near her face, and grasped it in his. He wanted to see her eyes. He knew he needed to tell her himself that he was fine. She turned her head and grumbled, sitting up and back slowly. She ran her hands through her messed hair and looked at him. Sam gave her a small smile.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him artlessly.

He made a move as though he wanted to shrug but had thought better of it and said, "Feel like I've been shot."

"Humph," was returned, as well as a raised brow.

"It hurts, but they've got me hooked up to some good pain killers. And you're here."

"Wow. Those must be some good drugs, eh? The Sam I know isn't so mushy."

"Humph." It was his turn now. "I've already said I love you. I'm allowed to be "mushy" with you." He had even attempted air quotes, even more entertaining with the pulse-oximeter attached to his other hand. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments until the commercial in the background annoyed him to death. "God, what time is it, anyway?"

She glanced at her watch, and then back to him, "Four-oh-eight." She stood up and popped her back before she walked over to the window to look out the blinds. "Oliver should be around here somewhere. Jerry called him after they left your place."

"Speak of the devil!" said Sam as the missing party arrived.

At that exact moment he walked in with two paper cups of what could be assumed was a poor attempt at coffee and passed one over to Andy. "You're an angel, Oliver."

Sam looked between the two of them for a moment before asking, "Where's mine?"

"Yours?" repeated Andy, "Oh, no. No coffee for you. You're on the mend."

"Coffee is not going to further damage my shoulder, Andy."

"Ugh, fine. I'll be right back. I promise it's awful, though." She made a face as she downed hers and threw the paper cup in the trash. "Where is the cart?" she asked, looking at Oliver.

"Uh, down the hall to the left." She walked out of the room, and Oliver took her chair next to Sam. "You okay, brother?"

"Hurts like fucking hell, but I've had worse."

"Yeah? I believe it." He took a sip from his cup and grimaced, "This is awful." He paused for a few minutes, before his urge to talk over took him. "So… How was your date, otherwise?"

"You've been dying to ask me that, haven't you?" At Oliver's nod, "You are like a high school girl, Ollie. It was great. Things with her are just easy. We're not trying too hard to be something that we aren't, because what we are is already perfect."

"They are giving you the good pain meds aren't they?"

"Yeah. You know, I actually love her. I didn't feel for Jo a fraction of what I feel for Andy. It's a little unexpected. I mean she was just a one night stand… And now I am in love with her. I want to marry her. Like, for good."

"We have got to get you off these drugs, Sammy. If Jerry heard you just now…"

"I know. I know. I'm gonna sleep some more now."

"Okay, brother." Oliver chuckled to himself. Andy entered the room and took one look at Sam and rolled her eyes. She had been standing outside the room waiting for them to finish talking before she interrupted, and everything he had said made her happy. She set his coffee to the side and perched herself on the window sill.

"He's chatty on morphine, huh?" she mumbled.

"Yes he is. It's like truth serum, you know."

"Yeah." She took a step forward and leaned into the bed, smoothing his furrowed brow with her thumb. "Yeah, I know."

Mushy, I know. But its almost Christmas. With the right inspiration I might get another one out by saturday.