I don't see or hear from Hunter for the rest of the day. I'm starting to wonder if he's with Emily still, maybe they've gotten back together; it wouldn't be the first time.

Once visiting hours are over and mum has gone home for the night I fall into a deep sleep, I'm exhausted!

My dreams start off pleasant, Hunter is with me, the sun is shining, it's a warm and beautiful day so we decide to go surfing. We are having so much fun together, just him and me, not another soul in sight.

But then the weather starts to turn, the wind picks up, the temperature drops and the waves start getting bigger and more frequent. I start to panic. Where's Hunter? I can't see him anywhere and as I search around me I'm knocked off my board by a massive wave.

Water keeps crashing over me and I'm struggling to breathe. I keep trying to swim to the surface but something is pulling me down. I try to scream but I just swallow mouthfuls of water.

I open my eyes gasping for breath, I jerk my head up making pain radiate through my entire body. I close my eyes and my whole body tenses as I wait for the ache to subside.

"Maddie? Are you ok?"

I look down at the side of the bed to see a sleepy Hunter sitting in a chair, holding my hand.

"What time is it?" I ask, my voice still a little raspy.

"Um...."

He pulls his phone out of his pants pocket.

"Twenty past one in the morning."

"What are you doing here? And how did you get past the cranky nurse? She turned Sienna away earlier, told her to come back tomorrow."

"Firstly, she obviously couldn't resist my charm and good looks...."

"She's like fifty," I say, interrupting him.

"Fine, she's a friend of mum's and knows how close we are. She said I could stay if I'm out of here before the next shift change at seven," he says with a smile.

"And secondly?" I ask.

His face turns serious.

"You scared the living daylights out of me the other day Maddie. I really thought I'd lost you! Then while you were lying in this bed unresponsive, I had a lot of time to think about the last few months and all the time we've wasted. I was stupid and treated you horribly, I'm so sorry Maddie, can you please forgive me?"

"Is that why you're here? To ask for my forgiveness," I ask him.

"That and after my run-in with Emily I just wanted to be near you. So? Do you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive Hunter, I sprang some pretty heavy stuff on you and it wasn't fair of me. You have Emily and....."

"Had!"

He hastily adds.

"My point exactly, I should've just kept my feelings to myself. If anything I should be asking you for forgiveness for ruining our friendship and your relationship with Emily," I say looking down at my hands.

"Me and Emily were never going to work out, you just sped up the process. And as for you, I've always loved you, Maddie. You're the vegemite to my toast, the apple crumble to my custard, the......"

"Ok, ok I get it," I say laughing at him.

"What I'm trying to say, is that we have an unbreakable bond, a unique connection and you have always been an incredibly important person in my life. I always knew that but it took almost losing you for me to really realise just how much you truly mean to me. I don't just love you, I'm in love with you!"

Ok, that's it! He can't say things like that to me and not expect me to cry. I let out the breath I'd been holding during that very welcome declaration and let the tears fall.

"Hey, don't cry," he says looking at me concerned.

"Don't worry," I say between sniffs.

"They're happy tears."

His expression goes from a concerned frown to a soft smile and he lifts his thumb to my cheek and gently wipes them away.

"You're so beautiful Madison Rose Holloway," he says staring at me intently.

I can't look away, it's like we're both frozen. Then he starts to lift himself up from the chair and I swear everything turns slow motion. As I watch him come towards me all my senses are heightened.

His hand on my cheek sends a tingling over my whole body, the smell of his musky deodorant fills my nostrils, OMG he smells divine!

The room is deathly silent as he gets closer and closer.

Then he lifts my chin carefully so not to aggravate my head wound, he brings his lips to mine oh so softly. Heat spreads through me and as we deepen the kiss I can taste sweet cinnamon and apple on his tongue.

He moves his hands and grabs either side of the bed, it's a passionate kiss but gentle at the same time. I move my hands to his face, I fear if I don't hold on tight I'm likely to float away in a bubble of extreme bliss!

I can feel him start to pull away but I'm not finished yet. I keep him right where he is and grab his bottom lip with my teeth, tug on it a little and then suck on it. He moans into my mouth, good lord! he's making me so horny. It's an odd feeling being horny and in slight pain at the same time but not entirely unpleasant.

When we finally break away we are both panting. For some reason knowing he feels the same way as I do makes the kiss so much more intense and enjoyable. If I wasn't half-broken I'd be rolling around on the floor with him right now.

He stands up straight and looks down at me with a massive grin on his face.

"I better get going so you can get some rest."

I frown, he wants to leave?

"It's not what you think, if I stay here I'm going to want to keep doing that and then I'm going to want to do other things, things that aren't appropriate to do in a hospital!"

I can't stop the smile on my face from spreading, I'm smiling so much it's getting sore. He leans back down and kisses me on the forehead, I look up and pout at him wanting his lips on mine again.

"Sorry Maddie, I don't have the willpower to stop myself a second time."

"Fine, but when I'm all healed I want a demonstration of all the inappropriate things that are going through that gorgeous head of yours right now, K!"

"You have no idea how much I'd love that!"

He grabs my hand and kisses the back of it before heading for the door.

"I'll be back in the morning, ok?"

"I'm not going anywhere, so make sure you get enough sleep, then you can come back and visit!" I say sternly.

"Yes, mum!" He says cheekily.

"Alright get lost so I can sleep!"

Then with one last smile, he's gone. How am I supposed to sleep now, I'm horny as hell, my heart is beating a million miles an hour and my lips are tingling like crazy.

Instead of sleeping I lie there analyzing everything that just happened. He loves me! I still can't quite believe it!

Shit! I forgot to ask him what happened with Emily. Well they definitely didn't get back together and even there's no love lost between us I do kind of feel sorry for her, she just lost the most amazing guy in the world and she knows it!