Wow, ten years later! So sorry everyone, other bunnies began eating my ankles and I was forced to obey their every demand! But, at long last, the happy cheesy conclusion to Holding On To All That's Ice and Snow.

Ch. 9

"Neela."

She stood, anxiety flooding over her. Dr. Dubenko reached up and pushed his hand under his cap, pulling it off. His face was grim, but he gave her a flat smile.

"We got him through the surgery. He's stable, for now."

She looked down, closing her eyes. For now.

"We'll keep him sedated for a few days, give the new stitches a chance to heal before he's up and trying to have the run of the hospital again. He should be alright, but this can't happen again."

She nodded in agreement, biting her fingernail. His body simply couldn't handle another surgery.

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"Ray."

He refused to acknowledge the voice that was causing his head to scream. Refused. Even if it did sound an awful lot like Neela. And he really wanted to see Neela.

"Ray, look at me. Open your eyes."

He shook his head. No. Not happening.

"Ray, open your eyes and I'll kiss you."

They opened. Neela felt tears forming in her eyes as she leaned closer and gently pressed her lips to his. The kiss was brief, but told him so much.

"Hi." She leaned back, her hand brushing against his cheek, the other wrapped around his cold hand.

He coughed cautiously, his throat dry.

"Hey hey, don't do that. Here." Neela lifted a straw to his lips. He sucked gratefully, then rested his head back against the pillow.

"What happened?"

Neela set the cup down, leaning back in her chair, her hand still in his. He was gripping tightly, unwilling to let her go.

"You nearly coughed yourself to death, scared me quite badly, but I'm sure I can put it behind me."

He looked at her, his eyebrow raised. She laughed quietly.

"You'll be fine, Ray. Go back to sleep."

It was becoming harder and harder to keep his eyes open, but he didn't want them to close. They drifted shut, but he kept talking.

"How long have I been here?"

Neela was quiet.

"Neela?" He cracked one eye. She was fiddling with his IV, not looking at him. "What day is it?"

"It's Friday." Her voice was quiet. She didn't want him to know just how long he'd been scaring her.

"Friday…" He was thinking. "I remember Thursday. Yesterday?" He squinted at her.

She shook her head faintly.

"Last Thursday…I've been out for a week?" His voice rose. He'd been unconscious for a week. Almost dead for a week. God, it was bad.

"You're alright, Ray. You're okay, you'll be at work again in a couple of days." Neela bent close again anxiously. "Just relax, it's not that bad."

Ray closed his eyes and let out a breath of frustration. "The shooting was a week ago, and I'm still here." He cursed softly. He was quite tired, actually. Thinking about this was beginning to scare him as it had scared Neela. But he couldn't decide what frightened him more, the fact that he'd almost died or that he was scared.

"Hey." He opened his eyes again. Neela was gently stroking his cheek, her face inches from his. She kissed him again, softly. "You're alright." She could see the fear behind the haze in his eyes. He smiled and shifted, wincing.

"Come here." He motioned to the bed beside him. She looked at him, confused. He winked, pushing the seriousness of the situation away. She giggled quietly, then carefully lowered the railing and climbed onto the narrow bed. She pressed against him, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her to keep her from falling off. The giggles faded as the exhaustion set in, and his smile slipped down, though she couldn't see the frown that creased Ray's forehead before he fell asleep.

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Three Days Later

Ray pushed against the bed, his feet on the ground. The tiny room they'd stuck him in was empty, but he needed to go the bathroom and he refused to need help. He pushed the IV pole ahead of him, then braced himself and took a step. A sharp pain in his chest caused him to nearly fall, and he stepped back, grasping at the side of the bed.

"Damn," he whispered. Dr. Corday had removed the chest tube last night. He still had two IV's, but saline and meds were it. He could do this. He didn't need Neela holding his hand, Pratt haunting his room trying to look like he didn't really care, a steady stream of ER staff that didn't know how to handle seeing one of their own in the bed. The pain was sharp, and he lifted his chin, breathing slow and deep.

"Alright. One step at a time," he whispered, glad no one could hear his little pep talk. He again slid his foot forward, his knuckles white around the pole, the other arm flung out for balance.

"One step," he muttered, cursing as the pain returned, nearly throwing him to his knees. Suddenly a hand grasped his elbow, firmly holding him upright. He closed his eyes in frustration.

"It'll take a while. You lost a lot of strength, you need time to get that back." Dr. Carter didn't look at the intern, his gaze on the bathroom door, steps away. Ray took another breath and shoved his other foot forward, a good part of his weight in Carter's hand. He was shaking, sweat damp on his skin.

Nearly twenty minutes later he again sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, gasping for breath. Carter sat on the bed next to him.

"I couldn't go back into that room for three weeks. I walked by it, looked at it, but I could not open the door."

Ray stared at the floor, wondering if he was really that easy to read.

"You're scared."

Silence followed this statement.

"You'll go back, someone will drop a pair of scissors, you'll jump out of your skin. You'll curse them out, you'll shake for a few minutes, maybe even throw up, but you'll go back."

Dr. Carter never looked at Ray, who kept his gaze on the floor.

"You'll go back, you'll see patients, you'll walk around behind your ego. You'll be fine, Ray. You'll never be the same, but you'll make it. You will be fine."

Dr. Carter left Ray sitting on the side of the bed, staring at the floor. Hours later, Neela entered, her smile bright. Ray looked up, a trace of redness around his eyes. He pulled her close, kissing her gently.

"How do you feel?" She asked, her eyes searching his. There was a maturity there, a sadness and understanding unseen in the young doctor before. Her smile faded slightly, but he grinned, the cocky Ray faintly visible.

"Fine," he murmured, pulling her back into his arms. "I feel just fine."

And he was.

The End.

Finally.