I do not own anything H5-0. No copyright infringement intended.

For those of you that have stuck with me, thank you! I know it's been a long time since I've posted but life has been crazy over the last few months.

I appreciate all the reviews and there are a few I'd like to address here since I can't answer guest reviews, though I wish I could :). My other stories came down because I recently got the opportunity to publish two books. I am also working on a third book now! Anyway, two of the stories here were related to the books that I published. One inspired a story I posted here (Stolen Moments) and the other was inspired by something that I wrote here though lots of changes were made (Delivery of Fate). Stolen Moments was actually inspired by a manuscript I had written and had been trying to get published, and the writing here even helped me to make the original story more cohesive and ultimately resulted in getting the original published! But for that reason, I also had to remove them. If you would like more info on how to find them please PM me.

The other stories were removed because they were originally written for a couple of friends who passed away. After a few months, I still wasn't able to complete them and got a few unkind messages and reviews about leaving them unfinished…so I took them down. It was a really hard decision to make. As was pulling any of the work. I love my loyal readers so much and I hated to take them down. So much of what I have done here has made me a better writer and I still spend a lot of time here reading others stories. I read mostly H5-0 stories, but sometimes lurk around other fandoms, too :) If you've read anything great let me know, I love to read new stories or find old favorites!

At any rate, I may post some new stories down the road and if I do they will be stories I do not plan to publish so that I will not have to remove them as long as FF and my publisher continues to allow it. And I will probably post a few more chapters for The End as well :)

Thanks for coming along for the ride. Reads and reviews are much appreciated!

E

And now, I will shut up and get back to the story!

The next morning, Steve woke up with the sun warming his skin. He glanced over to the window and saw Danny looking out on the courtyard.

"Morning." Steve croaked.

Danny turned in his direction and said, "Better than the last few. It's good to hear your voice again. You had us all a little scared."

"Sorry about that. It wasn't exactly a cake walk for me." Steve said with a smile.

"I don't doubt that at all. How's your pain? Want me to get the doctor?" Danny asked.

"No. I want to stay awake for a little while. No meds yet. Where's Lori?" He whispered.

Danny pointed to Steve's right.

Steve slowly turned towards the other side of the room and saw Lori curled up in the other bed. Her lashes obscured the dark shadows, but he'd seen them the night before.

"Has she been asleep long?"

"No, maybe an hour. She's barely slept in the last week. I think she's taken this harder than all of us. Maybe feels a little responsible?"

"I know. I know how she feels. But, I wouldn't have changed a thing. It's my job to make sure my team stays safe."

"Babe, you and I both know it's more than that."

"Yes, it is. I couldn't imagine living in a world where she didn't exist. You know I have never needed anyone. Prided myself on that fact even but, then she came along and I started to feel differently. I mean I had you guys, but she was different. It pissed me off at first, I didn't want to need her but, it's hard not to get attached when we have so much in common. I mean, I took you hiking and you bitched the whole way. I took her hiking and ended up chasing her the whole way. Of course, chasing her wasn't exactly a hardship. I don't know, she just makes me feel happy, and happy is something I never expected to feel after my dad died. I think I'd kind of resigned myself to feeling alone." Steve whispered as he watched her sleep.

"You already loved her. You just weren't ready to admit it." Danny said with a smile.

"I think so. I think I was afraid that maybe she wouldn't love me back. I'm not exactly an easy person to love." Steve whispered.

"You got that right babe." Danny said with a smirk. "Good thing we all love you anyway!"

"I love you, too Danno." Steve said.

"I know and for the record…She does love you."

"I know, she told me. Made me kind of wish they hadn't given me pain meds last night. I would have given anything to tell her she wasn't the only one ." Steve said as he looked at her again.

"There'll be time for that later. You needed the rest." Danny said as he looked out into the corridor to see Dr. Hathaway. "I'll be back in a few. I'm going to see what the good doctor has to say about your recovery."

On his way out Danny leaned down and whispered, "He's awake," to Lori as he gently touched her shoulder. She quickly glanced in his direction and was instantly alert, moving towards Steve with a little hesitation.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Better now." He answered as he reached for her hand.

"God, it's good to see you awake and outside the influence of pain medication for a change." She smiled. "Are you in much pain?"

"Some, but I don't want to go back to sleep yet." He said as his thumb coasted over the soft skin of her wrist.

"Well, I'm sure the rest would be good for you." She said as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Steve still held her hand, but he felt the surge of adrenaline as her other hand moved to rub his calf. Even through the blanket, her effect on him was undeniable.

"I'm sure that Dr. Hathaway will come in any minute and agree with you, but for now I just want to talk to you." Steve said as he lifted her hand to his cheek. He closed his eyes as he took in her warmth and the light scent of hibiscus and vanilla that he had come to associate with her alone.

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked as she allowed her fingers to gently sift through the hair at his temple. The sensation made him tremble beneath her touch. "Are you cold? Want me to get another blanket?" Lori asked.

"No. I'm fine, just don't stop doing that." He smiled.

She laughed as she moved her other hand to the right side of his neck and watched as his eyes slid closed. She leaned forward and let her lips gently touch his forehead. For the first time in days, he didn't feel like he was burning up and relief washed over her.

Lori closed her eyes as she just listened to him breathe before leaning down and allowing her lips to gently brush Steve's. Her eyes snapped open the instant she felt his hand in her hair only to connect with his eyes and the fire that burned behind their blue depths.

Moments later, he closed his eyes and leaned back to collect himself. Her heart beat frantically as she waited for him to say something. It felt like an eternity before the words came, so she started to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." The words died on her lips as she felt his hand touch her cheek.

"I love you, too." He whispered. "I wanted to tell you last night, but the clouds moved in too quickly."

A tear tracked down her cheek and landed against his thumb before he swiped the remnants away.

"Please don't scare me like that again." She whispered. "I can't let you go now."

"I'm not going anywhere that I can't take you. I promise." He smiled as his fingers slipped into her hair so he could ease her down for one more kiss before Dr. Hathaway came to ruin the moment.

Seconds later, a pair of throats were cleared from the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to check on our patient. Though it appears you are feeling better." Dr. Hathaway said with a little chuckle.

"I am. Sore and tired, but better." Steve answered.

"Glad to hear it. We've all been worried about you. This has not been the easy recovery we'd been hoping for but, it seems like you are heading in the right direction now."

"I sure hope so. I'm ready to get out of here. How long until that might be a possibility?" Steve asked as he looked at Lori.

"Unfortunately, a week or two would be my best guess. You've been through a lot. I'm not ready to turn you loose anytime real soon." Dr. Hathaway said. "But, hopefully in a day or two we can start getting you out of this bed and moving around just a little. Maybe that will make you a little less antsy."

"Maybe. I guess it will have to do. I'm not to keen on having anymore setbacks, so I guess I'll have to take it easy." Steve said.

"Wait a minute, what? Did I just hear Steven admit that he's not invincible?" Danny interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah. I hope you had a tape recorder because it's likely to be the only time you ever hear it." Steve laughed.

"Well, I'd like it if you could eat a little something before we give you something to help you sleep and ease any pain that's still lingering. I know you're not a fan, but the rest is what's going to get you out of here the fastest." The doc said.

"I suppose I'll have to deal with it. It's not like I can run away from the nurse. I'm pretty much at their mercy until I can get out of bed anyway." Steve said.

"Agreed. I'm going to have the nurse get you something to eat and then perhaps you can visit with your friends for a bit before they put you out." The doctor said with a laugh.

"Okay, doc. I'll try to behave."

Danny and Lori both laughed at that comment.

A few minutes later, one of the nurses came in with some juice and a bowl of soup. It wasn't the most exciting thing, but he was sure it was the best they could offer given his last week or so. The nurse helped him to sit up a bit and raised the back of the bed slightly which made his pain a little bit more persistent, but when Lori sat on the edge of the bed the pain was forgotten. Danny excused himself to take a shower while she helped him with his soup. He figured it was a little embarrassing, but better than having a nurse do it.

Lori set the bowl aside once he'd eaten all he could handle and his eyes began to flutter closed. She helped Steve get the bed back into a more reclined position and then moved to stand up, but Steve's hand closed around hers as he said, "Please just stay here with me."

She felt him slide over closer to the opposite rail to make room for her to climb further into the bed with him. He lifted the covers and let them fall over her as she rested her cheek against his shoulder and within a few moments he fell asleep to the soft sounds of her breathing beside him.

Danny came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and smiled as the nurse rounded the corner with a syringe to administer his pain meds and ensure he slept peacefully. She quietly moved to the other side of the room and pushed the pain meds through his IV as Danny crawled into the bed Lori had been sleeping in earlier allowing himself to finally get some much needed sleep.

I hope that you liked the chapter. I will try to post another chapter this week sometime if I can :)

Thanks to all who have stuck with me!