Author's notes: I hate myself for letting poor Spike and Sam sit in limbo. First I should mention that I lost(misplaced) the flashdrive that houses this story (sorry this happens a lot!). Then it was another story that has been pulling my muse in a different direction. Tonight I decided to work and get this chapter up! I hope it satisfies.

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It was the light caress of a finger against the back of her hand that brought Winnie out of her doze. Opening her eyes, she could see the finger in question was that of one, Michelangelo Scarlatti. Lifting her head she could see that his left eye was slightly open, the other still being swollen shut.

"Hey, welcome back." She said in a low voice and reached out to take his hand.

Spike's mouth turned upwards into a smile for a moment before he grimaced in pain.

"Are you hurting somewhere?"

"Yeah, but it's okay. Means I'm alive if it's hurting" Spike spoke slowly; his words somewhat muffled due to his swollen face.

"I'll call the nurse."

"Not yet."

"They've been waiting for you to wake up for hours. Earlier you opened your eyes but went right back out again. Give me one good reason not to go tell the nurse?"

"Like being with you." Spike swallowed, trying to get his dry mouth to work better. "We in Toronto?"

"No. You're in a hospital at Fort Hope. I flew up here with your mom."

"Mom's here?"

"She is at the hotel next door. It's the middle of the night. I can call her if you like."

"Let her sleep."

They sat quietly, Spike's eyes drooping slightly. Winnie had thought that he had drifted back to sleep when he surprised her by speaking again.

"How's Sam?"

"He's doing fine."

"Not lying?"

"No, he's in the room next to you. He's been awake off and on."

"Can he see?"

"Yes, the doctors seem to think that everything will be just fine. They had to drain some fluid off."

"Good."

Winnie continued to speak softly to him, filling him in on what had transpired on her end. She left a few details out, giving him only the highlights. He could be filled in later and Winnie was sure that he would be reliving the events of the last several days as investigators wrote their reports.

Spike's eyes had closed again, so Winnie took the opportunity to walk out to the nurse's station and let them know that he had regained consciousness.

Immediately, the nurse rang for the doctor and then went into the room to get a set of vitals on the man.

"Constable Scarlatti, it's nice you could join us." The woman placed her hand on his shoulder to wake him.

"Sorry I'm late." His voice was soft.

"I think he is having some pain, but he won't admit it." Winnie interjected.

"I would imagine so. As soon as the doctor gets here, he will probably prescribe some pain meds."

"Spike, I'm going to go let Jules know you are awake. She's been worried sick about you."

"Not me. Sam." Spike tried to joke.

"She was just as worried about you. I'll be right back." Winnie left the room and walked down the short hallway.

"Jules." Winnie whispered so as not to wake the injured man.

"Huh? What?" Jules sat up and saw Winnie. Scanning the woman's face quickly, she knew that the news was good. "Spike?"

Winnie nodded with a broad smile. "Awake and talking."

Jules slid her hand from Sam's and followed the dispatcher from the room. "How's he doing?"

"As well as can be expected."

The doctor was in with Spike, so the two stood outside the door and spoke quietly to one another.

"I wonder how long it will be until they can transport them back to Toronto." Winnie questioned.

"I would imagine as soon as they are out of intensive care. Of course, knowing Mrs. Scarlatti, she'll want her baby home soon."

"I think someone else would say the same for Sam." Winnie smiled at her co-worker.

"Greg said something about the team flying out tomorrow. I guess that means I'll have to put my nursing skills on hold for a while."

"You can't seriously be thinking about heading back with the others."

"I can't give Greg a reason not to let Sam and I continue to work together."

"Don't sell Greg short. I think he would be alright with giving you some time to stay with Sam."

"Team One will be two short already, we can't keep putting it onto the other teams."

"One or two days won't matter to the others. I know everyone would want to do the same if the roles were reversed."

The doctor and the nurse stepped into the hallway. "You ladies can go back in."

"How is he doing?" Winnie questioned.

"Everything looks good. Constable Scarlatti is a young, healthy man. I don't see why he won't be making a full recovery."

"That's good news. I'll make sure to pass that along to his mother."

"Excellent. I'll be back around seven for my final rounds." The doctor and nurse walked off together to the nurse's station.

Jules opened the door back up and motioned for Winnie to enter. Winnie entered and took up a spot on the far side of Spike, leaving the chair for Jules.

"Hey there sleepyhead." Jules spoke softly. "See how it is Winnie? He has a couple of days off of work and he just wants to lay around."

"Been keeping your boyfriend out of trouble." Spike opened his eyes and gave a slight smile to his friend. "He's high maintenance."

"I know it." Jules ran a comforting hand along Spike's brow. "I'm glad you were there to keep him safe."

Spike could hear the emotion building in Jules' voice. "I was afraid of what you would do to me if I didn't bring him back."

"Speaking of Sam, I should probably head back to his room. When he wakes up again I'll tell him you are in here talking smack about him." Jules smiled as she teased her co-worker.

"I can still take him."

"Copy that. I'm glad you're awake Spike." Jules squeezed his hand lightly and placed a comforting hand on Winnie's shoulder. "Try to get some sleep."

"Back at you."

Jules left the room, the door closing behind her gently.

Pulling her chair back up to the side of the bed, she reached over and placed her hand back on Spike's. "Why don't you close your eyes and get some rest?"

"Could say the same. You look tired."

"Worrying about you two cut into my beauty sleep."

"Lucky you don't really need it."

"Always the sweet talker."

"Winnie," Spike's voice was hesitant. "When I was out there I spent a lot of time thinking."

"Spike, you don't need to say anything. It's ok, just rest."

"I need to Winnie. I can't keep pretending that I just want to be friends. I love you. Even if we can't be together, I wanted you to know."

Her eyes filled with tears, "I was thinking too. That finding balance is about finding the right person to keep everything on an even keel. You have done that for me in so many different ways." She wiped the tears with the backside of her hand. "Michelangelo Scarlatti, I love you too."

Spike's face broke in to a smile, causing him to suck air in as his injuries made themselves known. He reached his hand up and wiped another set of tears away. "I guess something good is coming out of all of this."

Winnie kissed his hand gently and looked at him sternly. "If you ever put me through something like this again, you'll wish you had stayed lost."

"You got it." Spike closed his eye; contented as he held onto Winnie's hand. "I'll always come back to you."

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Author's note: One chapter to go