Pain.

He was so tired of pain, literally. It sucked all his energy away. He made himself take another breath. At least that was easier now that Doc had sucked out more blood from around his lungs.

"Hi Cliff. Are you awake?"

His wolf raised his head for the first time all day, then lay it back down with a little sigh. Should he open his eyes and just get it over with? He'd convinced himself he still had a chance after their ride from the airport and their nearly Nate-free conversation. She had left Nate behind in Yellowstone, after all. After Nate had shown up and proposed with less than stellar results, he knew his chance was slim, but he still had hope. Seeing Aiyana and Nate through the window half-an-hour ago, walking across the driveway hand-in-hand with the sun shining on golden boy's irritatingly messy yet attractive hair, he realized the truth. He'd lost her forever. She probably wouldn't tell him about their engagement until he was better, but he knew it was inevitable.

His hand tingled as she gently ran her fingers over the back of it and then wrapped her fingers around his. It made his heart hurt worse, if that was even possible. The seconds turned into minutes. How long was she going to sit there? Could she tell he was awake by the way he was breathing? Would it seem odd if he suddenly opened his eyes? What was she doing? Why was she breathing so close to his ear? Oh. He concentrated on breathing as the tingle from the kiss on his cheek spread through his body and all the way to his toes. Her warm breath against his cheek sent another tingle firing though his body. "I'll be back later." She kissed him again, this time on his forehead before he felt her move away. Did she always kiss the patients when they were unconscious?

He opened his eyes. "Aiyana?"

She beamed at him and something inside him leapt. He hoped it wasn't something the bullet had knocked lose. "Are you all right? Do you need anything?"

How could he make her stay a little longer? "Water."

"Of course."

He tried not to stare as she poured him a cup full from the pitcher by the bed, but he couldn't seem to help himself. She still wasn't wearing a ring.

"I'm going to raise you up. Will that be okay?"

"Yeah."

He should have pushed the button to raise the bed while she was pouring the water. She was going to think he truly was an invalid.

"Thank you."

He took the cup from her before she could put it to his lips. Maybe he should have let her help him with that too.

"I better get back to the meeting. Colum has told his side of the story, now it's Tamhas' turn. He's fuming mad because I told him to be quiet before we left the barn and he hasn't been able to say a word." She snickered, then turned serious. "I'm actually a little concerned that he's going to have a heart attack or a stroke or something. It's a good thing Doc is around."

"Everything is going okay then?"

"So far. Doc will be back shortly."

Did he dare? How would she react?

"Aiyana, why did you kiss me?"

She turned in the doorway to look back at him and gave a little shrug. "Because I wanted to."