Lila was woken up suddenly by someone shaking her shoulder.

She sat up and immediately looked down at Wooyoung. He was still sleeping soundly, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Lila..."

She turned around to see Yeosang's panicked face in the morning light. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't stop it, but Rachel is on her way here. There's only so long we could keep her out of here."

Lila's heart sank. She really didn't want to leave Wooyoung, but she also couldn't risk being seen. "What should I do?"

"I don't know. You can try hiding somewhere in the hospital, but that will be risky. We can also call you when she's gone.

"I'll try to find somewhere around here, Seonghwa was my ride so I don't have a way to get home anyway, and I'd rather not take the bus." Lila turned back around to place a soft kiss on Wooyoung's cheek before slipping out of bed.

"I'm so sorry." Yeosang said, pulling her into a hug.

Lila just shook her head and hurried out of the room, making sure to have her phone, badge, and wallet with her.

She found an oversized chair close by and pulled it into a corner so she could curl up and wait.

After getting situated, she checked her phone and saw a few missed calls from Nate and several texts. Feeling slightly guilty for not checking in with him like she said she would, she quickly typed up a message to him.

Lila

Sorry. Poor service in Hospital

San is recovering.

No ETA on when he can leave.

She was surprised to get an immediate response with how early it was.

Nathaniel

Are you doing ok?

Can I do anything for you?

Lila

I'm fine. Thanks though.

Nathaniel

What hospital are you at?

I came to visit but they didn't have a Choi San on record...

Lila felt her heart stop as she messaged. Why on earth would he do that?? She didn't even know how to respond to that message, so she just ignored it for now and glanced back at where she could see just the edge of Wooyoung's door.

Now all she had to do was wait.

.

.

.

.

Wooyoung groaned as the pain started to make itself present again. That was the first thing he noticed.

The second was that he didn't feel Lila next to him.

He forced his eyes open and looked around. "Li-"

"Hey Youngie." Yeosang said quickly, cutting him off and giving him a strange look. "How are you feeling?"

"Yeosang? Whe-"

"Look who's here to visit." Yeosang said through gritted teeth.

"Oh Wooyoungie! I'm so glad to see you're ok!"

Fuck...

Wooyoung winced as Rachel came and gave him an awkward bed hug and then sat down next to him. She fussed over little things like straightening out his hospital gown and fixing his hair.

"Are you warm enough? Are you hungry?"

Wooyoung lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to get his sudden headache to go away. "I need you to stop talking, Rachel. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to take care of you, silly. I've been so worried."

"He doesn't need you. He's got us." San huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at the girl.

Rachel glared right back before turning back to Wooyoung. "Well now you can take a break because you obviously haven't been doing a good enough job. Look at how pale my baby looks. I-"

Wooyoung growled and batted her hand away. "I'm not your baby! Leave, Rachel. I don't want you here."

She gasped and covered her mouth. "You don't mean that. Wooyoungie..."

"And don't call me that anymore. I'm never filming another movie with you again."

"You don't mean that, this is just the virus talking. Please Wooyoung..." She said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Get out." Wooyoung said, turning away from her and glaring at the wall. He just wanted her to go so Lila could come back. He hoped she was ok...

Rachel made a sound of frustration and stood up so fast her chair fell back. Wooyoung glanced to watch her go, but she paused to look at something.

Wooyoung had no idea what it was, but he snapped, "Leave!"

She gave him one last heartbroken look and hurried from the room.

All three boys gave a collective sigh of relief before San hurried out to follow her.

"Sorry, Youngie. I tried to keep her from coming.

"No, it's ok. Where did-"

"She's supposedly waiting somewhere here in the hospital. She didn't want to leave. Once San gives the the all clear I'll call her."

"Fucking Rachel..." Wooyoung groaned, pressing the buttons on the side of his bed to raise the back up so he could sit. "I can't wait to be done with her."

"I know, Youngie. You just need to hang in there through the movie promotions. Once it's released then hopefully we won't have to deal with her again." Yeosang said, coming to sit next to him. "But I know that's going to be the hard part because of the interviews..."

"Yeah, and I'm going to tell Roger to keep those to a minimum."

"I bet he can do that, especially after you being in here." Yeosang chuckled and took Wooyoung's hand. "We are going to get through this."

Wooyoung smiled at his friend, feeling so grateful that he was here with him. But then again, Yeosang had always been by his side. He was there for him more than his own parents were...

"Has... Has there been any word from Mom and Dad?" He asked quietly, staring down at his lap.

Yeosang squeezed his hand and shook his. "No. Roger's been trying, but he hasn't been able to reach them..."

The younger nodded and closed his eyes. That's the answer he was expecting. He knew deep down that his parents loved him, but they did a lot of traveling for work and they liked to extend their visits. Wooyoung had always been an independent kid, so they never worried about him. He knew they would call at some point once they got Roger's voicemails.

Yeosang, Lila, San, and even Seonghwa was his family now.

"My brother called though, he said he wishes he could be here but he's tied up with work too. He wishes you a speedy recovery." Yeosang had a soft smile on his face.

"You should go visit him soon, I know you miss him.

The older hummed. "Maybe once the movie is finished. And I can bring San with me to introduce him." A slight blushed crossed Yeosang's cheeks as he looked down.

"That would be really nice." Wooyoung chuckled, then looked at the door as San walked in.

"God I want to pull her hair out!" He snapped.

Wooyoung was about to ask what happened, but Lila peered around the corner and a bright smile crossed her face when she saw Wooyoung was awake.

He opened his arms up and She immediately returned to her place by his side. "Good morning." Wooyoung whispered, holding her tight.

"Good morning, baby." Lila whispered into his ear, giggling a little when he turned red.

She nestled in, wrapping her arms around his waist and placing her head over his heart. Wooyoung tilted his head so it rested on top of hers and closed his eyes.

He still couldn't believe she was here sometimes. Waking up to her holding his hand and bent over the side of his bed was the best thing he could have asked for. And having her glued to his side was even better. Not that he would willingly let her go, but still.

It was nice to see that she missed him as much as he missed her. And seeing that he had on his necklace did things to him that he couldn't even explain.

But he knew that he wanted to make some changes, and he would be talking to Roger about that as soon as he was better and done promoting the movie.

He as tired of hiding and creeping around. And if Roger hadn't thrown Lila out when she got here, then there had to be a chance for them to be together publicly.

There had to...

"Ah! I see you're up." Yunho said as he all but pranced into the room.

Wooyoung liked the young doctor. He was fun and kept things light, which was nice since everyone tried to avoid the fact that Wooyoung had almost died on the plane...

There was a point, Roger had told him when Yeosang and San couldn't, that his heart had stopped from the trauma his body was going through. The altitude change while going in for a landing, the throwing up, couching, tremors... It was too much for his body to handle and it shut down.

But the nurses had been quick to shock him and get his heart going again. They upped the oxygen intake and rushed him into the hospital.

Wooyoung didn't remember any of it, and was glad for that. But he felt bad that Yeosang and San had to see the entire thing...

"How are you feeling today?" Yunho clicked the back of his small flashlight and looked at Wooyoung's eyes.

"A lot better." Wooyoung said and smiled when Lila squeezed him gently.

"I'm glad to see you're sitting up already, that's a good sign. One of our doctors called out today, so I'll be here for a little while longer."

"That's not right, you must be exhausted!" San said from where he was sitting in the corner of the room with Yeosang.

Yunho just shrugged and moved to check on the machines behind Wooyoung's bed. "I have a place where I can go lay down for a little bit, and my boyfriend is going to open his record store late so he can bring me some breakfast. That will help. But I'd much rather be here to check up on you then leave you unattended." He smiled down and Wooyoung and placed a hand on his shoulder. "From the little I know about this disease, I'd say it's almost out of your system. Your skin looks clearer and I know you haven't thrown up for several hours, so that's a great sign. I bet in another day or two you'll be able to go home, with some restrictions, of course. We don't want you doing anything too extreme until we know you're rested and your strength has returned."

"I can do that. Thankfully filming is done so I won't be needed for a little while." Wooyoung said, rubbing Lila's arm slowly.

"Good." Yunho paused when his pocket started buzzing. He pulled out a pager and smiled. "Excuse me, Mingi's here, I've got to go!" He said quickly, running from the room.

"Wait, did he say Mingi?!" Lila said, sitting up quickly. Then she started laughing as she clutched her stomach.

It took a moment for it to click for Wooyoung, but then he too started laughing. "Wow it's a small world!" He said, leaning forward to pull Lila back into him, not liking the empty feeling she left him with when she had sat up.

"I'm lost. What just happened?" San said, staring at the couple with a confused look.

"Mingi is the guy I interviewed for my last article. He's really cool. And a really good rapper. And he owns a record store! Well, he sells more then just records, but vinyl is a big part of his business. That's why I interviewed him." Lila said as she curled back into Wooyoung's side and kissed his cheek.

Yeosang and San just exchanged a look and smiled at each other before offering to go get food for everyone.

When they left, Lila tilted her head to look up at him. It made Wooyoung so happy to see the gold flecks in her eyes, a sure sign she was in a good mood. "So you're feeling better today?"

"Yes. Much better." Wooyoung hummed, and pressed his lips to her forehead. "And when I get out of here, we are going to go out. I don't care if it's just to Hwa's. I missed you so much and I want to spend as much time with you as I possibly can."

"I'd like that. I missed you too."

"What did you do while we were gone?"

"Not much really. Just work and home. I did spend some time with Abigail and Nate. Mostly Nate, because Abby's been gone traveling." Lila said, tracing patterns on the un-tubed part of his arm.

He just nodded, feeling jealous that Nate could spend all this time with her when he couldn't. "I'm glad you weren't alone."

"I spent time with Seonghwa too, when I could. But I promise, Nate means nothing to me." Lila sat up. "He was just someone to be with so I wasn't alone... And he did help with that crazy reporter."

Wooyoung smiled and cupped her cheek. "I know, I believe you."

"Are you sure?"

"If he meant anything to you, then I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be here right now." Wooyoung chuckled at the blush crossing her face.

She bit her lip and looked down. "Exactly. Because right now, this is the only place I want to be."

Wooyoung felt his heart beating faster, and that was confirmed by the heart rate monitor that started beeping faster as well.

Lila chuckled as she glanced up at it before her eyes fell on him. She took his hand in hers and placed it over her own heart, indicating she felt the same way.

"I've been wanting to tell you since we spoke during my interview. But I wanted to do it in person."

Wooyoung had every imaginable thing running through his head right now, but there was one thing he knew he wanted her to say.

And he wanted to say it back.

Lila let out a shaky sigh, showing her nerves before she moved a little closer.

"What is it?" Wooyoung whispered, begging her to tell him. He needed to hear it. He needed to know that all the pain of the last two months was worth it.

"I love you." She whispered, not looking away from him.

All the air was knocked out of Wooyoung as he pulled her to him and connected their lips. It's was the first time they had kissed since he came home and it set him on fire.

Lila tried to press herself into him while still being careful of his cords as he ran his tongue over her lower lip. She opened her mouth immediately and they deepened the kiss and Wooyoung tangled his fingers in her hair.

After several minutes, she pulled back once the machines behind him started beeping louder, and a new one started going off that could alert the nurses, but Wooyoung didn't care.

He pulled her to his chest. "I was hoping you would say that. I love you too, Lila. So much." He whispered, holding her tight.

She let out a small giggle and tilted her head back to look up at him. "It was so hard not to say anything to you every time we spoke. And then when I thought I might never see you again..."

"Sshhh." Wooyoung said, placing a finger on her lips. "That didn't happen so we don't need to worry about it."

Tears came to her eyes but she nodded and smiled.

She was his happy Lila, and he knew she was crying from happiness as she buried her face in his neck, kissing it a couple of times before settling in.