BEEP BEEP BEEP. Somebody needed to turn off the damn alarm. I tried to reach for it but all I felt was pain. I decided to go back to sleep.

I opened my eyes again and there she was right above me smiling. Just like in my dream. She kissed me. Then there were more faces. I wanted to tell them to get out of my dream but I couldn't make my mouth work.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Guess I had to get up and turn that damn alarm off myself! I tried to get up but it hurt again so I went back to sleep.

I opened my eyes again. There was a pretty face looking at me. She smiled but didn't kiss me. A good thing. I didn't want Christina to get jealous. I wondered how she got in my bedroom.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. I was going to throw that damn alarm clock out the window. If Christina bought it we were going to have words! Funny I never noticed the ceiling was white. Too bright. I closed my eyes. I'd just rest them for a while.

I heard voices. What were all these people doing in my bedroom? You'd think one of them would shut the alarm off! I tried to tell them to be quiet and let a guy sleep in peace but they ignored me. I decided, 'fuck em,' I'll just ignore them and go back to sleep.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Geez, can't a guy get some peace and quiet? I opened my eyes. This time I was going to find the infernal alarm clock and take a hammer to it.

Christina was there again. She was talking, no, she was crying. Her eyes were closed and she looked so sad. I reached up my hand to touch her cheek.

She jumped and screamed, "He's awake!" Of course I'm awake. Who can sleep with that godforsaken alarm going off! I stroked her cheek and she grabbed my arm and held it to her cheek.

And then it came back to me. I saw Rick's face. He yelled at me and I felt a horrible pain in my chest. He shot me! I heard Christina scream and she was saying something. I needed to warn her about Rick but my mouth wouldn't work.

I tried again but my throat was dry. Christina put something cold on my lips. It was wet. My tongue felt fuzzy so I licked the cold wet thing. I needed to talk to warn Christina!

"RICK!"

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEEEEEEEP. There was shouting and then Christina must have hit me with the stun gun! Why did she do that? I thought I hid it.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. Am I the only one who can hear that damn alarm?

They'd almost lost him. I was shoved out of the way as the nurse and doctor yelled for a crash cart. I was nearly run over by another nurse as she ran into the room pushing a cart.

Was I going to lose him after all? I could only watch and pray that I wouldn't hear those awful words again.

I had screamed then and some woman was in my face and slapped me.

"You must be the bitch my no good husband was seeing! Well the gravy train is ended. It would have even if he hadn't died since he got himself fired."

"Tony? I didn't know he was married and he didn't get fired, he quit."

"The lying bastard didn't even tell you his real name? It figures."

A nurse came over and grabbed the woman, pulling her away from me.

"Mrs. Wilson. That's Tony Falzone's girlfriend. The man your dead husband shot!"

The woman gasped and then started in on me again.

"You're the tranny faggot he told me about. Screwing things up for us regular women."

That got me pissed. I should have cut her some slack. After all, she had just lost her husband but he also was the one that shot Tony.

"If regular women were like you I can understand your husband looking elsewhere."

The bitch broke free of the nurse and the next thing you know we're rolling around on the floor until a couple of beefy security guards pulled us apart.

She tried to blame me but the nurse told the guards exactly what happened. She was escorted out the door with orders not to come back or be arrested for trespassing.

Now here I was again waiting and hoping. I sighed in relief as the monitor returned to a steady BEEP BEEP BEEP.

I wondered what got Tony so excited? I hope it wasn't seeing me or the doctors weren't going to let me near him again. Something had set him off. He'd been slowly waking up and I'd been giving him ice chips like the doctor suggested.

I swear he'd been trying to say something to me when things went crazy. The nurse was trying to get me to get up from the floor where I'd slumped down out of the way.

"He's going to be ok. I suggest you go home and get some rest."

She was wearing protective gear like everyone else. In all the furor surrounding the shooting I had forgotten about the virus. Rick Wilson's wife! We had been fighting. I may have exposed her to the virus. I didn't like her but she needed to know. Just another reason she'd have to hate me. I told the nurse.

Jessica too! I remembered her hugging me. I reached for my phone but I didn't have it. I asked if there was a phone I could use. The nurse asked if I could use Tony's phone. It had been in his pocket. She saw no reason why I couldn't.

I called Jessica's cell but there was no answer. Tony had his landline programmed into his phone. I tried that. I think it rang in the house and the cottage. This time she answered.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. My mind was clearer now. The sound wasn't my alarm clock but some kind of monitor. I could even make it go faster if I moved around. That brought someone running. It was the pretty face again. Where was Christina? I tried to ask. Pretty face put something wet on my lips and I sucked it up.

I tried to talk again. I was worried when I didn't see Christina. Had Rick found her? I managed to get some words out.

"Rick. Gun. Christina. Warn"

"Easy Mr. Falzone. Christina is safe. We sent her home to rest. You'll see her in the morning. Just rest. You've had a very severe trauma."

Pretty face's words sunk in. She must be a nurse.

"Hospital? Nurse?"

"Yes, I'm Samantha."

"Pretty face."

"Thank you. Now try to get more rest. I'm sure your girlfriend will be here when you wake up."

Sleep. It sounded like a good idea. Christina was safe. I still wondered why she used the stun gun on me. My chest ached. I closed my eyes. Pretty face said Christina would be here when I woke up.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. I opened my eyes and she was there, just like pretty face promised. She smiled. That made me happy. She was safe. But I still had to warn her about Rick.

I wanted to talk but she put her finger on my lips and said, "shhh."

"You were shot by Rick and you are in the hospital. You came very close to dying. I almost lost you!

Rick ran away after he shot you. The police chased him and he crashed and died."

Christina was safe. I was in the hospital. Rick is dead. I moved my arm again to touch her face. It hurt but I wanted to make sure she was real, that I wasn't dreaming. She just smiled and kissed me. I was happy.

Jessica had been waiting when I got home. She had told me over the phone that when she heard the sirens and gunshot she thought it was me that got shot. She was relieved yet scared when she saw them taking Tony away. She was happy to hear he was alive.

She didn't care that she'd been exposed. Of course she was young and invincible just like we'd all been once. It was good to have her loving arms around me. I nearly collapsed in them. She dragged me to my bedroom and helped me undress. I never even thought about it and she didn't say anything, she just crawled into bed with me and held me until I fell asleep.

I was up early but Jess had gotten up earlier. I showered and dressed. Someone during my stay at the hospital had given me a scrub top I needed to wash and return.

The tee shirt was still lying on the blood-stained tile by the front door along with medical detritus from the emergency services. I'd come in through the garage entrance and hadn't seen it until now.

It evoked memories of that awful moment. I'd have to get the names of the paramedics to thank them. I'm sure Tony would too. I'd clean it up before he came home. Right now I wanted to distance myself from the scene.

I found Jess in the kitchen having breakfast.

"I was going to make an omelet but there aren't any eggs."

Jess couldn't understand why I was laughing so hard. Had it really been only two days ago? I finally told her an abridged version of the story. She nodded like, 'yeah, tell me another one.' Kids!

I had some bagels and cream cheese. Some fresh juice and I was ready to head back to Tampa General. I knew I was supposed to stay home but nothing short of the police arresting me was keeping me from Tony.

So it was with complete surprise that I opened the door to the garage and when I went to back out found a police car in the drive and the same officer who tasered Tony and gave him the ticket standing by his squad car smiling.

"The department wanted someone to check on you and I volunteered. You probably didn't realize I followed you all the way to the hospital with flashing lights and a siren so you didn't kill anyone."

It was a little late for me to think about that. I waited as he wrote me a ticket. When he handed it to me all it said was 'tell your boyfriend I told you so.' I looked at him.

"He'll understand."

With that he smiled and left.

I drove at a much more sedate pace today as I noted his squad car in the rear view mirror until he turned off with a quick flash of his lights. I really needed to ask Tony what the hell the cop said to him.

I went up to Tony's room and a smiling nurse came out.

"He's doing good. He woke and asked for you. Tell him 'pretty face' would date him in an instant if you ever left him."

I laughed. I definitely had some things to talk to him about. 'Pretty face indeed!

He woke and I told him what had happened. All was forgiven when he smiled and we kissed. Forgiven but not forgotten.