Sophia started out of her half-doze at the sound of the door to Dean's room opening, and her body practically floated with relief when she saw who walked through.

"Sandy." It didn't take for Sophia to stand and for Sandy to stride across the room and gather Sophia in her arms. Sophia gripped Dean's mom tightly, some of the tension lifting from her thanks to Sandy's embrace.

"I hear he's going to be okay." Sandy smoothed down some of Sophia's frazzled hair. Her gaze was steady, grounding Sophia and keeping her calm.

Sophia nodded. "Yeah. He should be waking up soon." She sank back down in the chair next to Dean's bed and grasped his hand.

Sandy pulled up a chair next to her. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked quietly.

The question caught Sophia off guard. She hadn't even been thinking about how she might be feeling in the near future. Everything had been about the present, moments spent when everything seemed so uncertain. "Yeah," she eventually found the answer, "yeah, I'll be okay. I just, I just want him to wake up."

Sandy squeezed her hand and then trained her gaze on her son. "I know," she said. "And he will."

"How are you so calm?"

Sandy gave a chuckle that couldn't quite be described as humorous. "Well, this isn't my first rodeo," she said. "Let's just say him crashing his car during his driving test was not the first or last motor incident he was in." She let out a sigh. "And I've had a lot longer to adjust to the realities of his job than you have. And then there's you."

"Me?"

"The last time Dean was in a hospital bed, I came into his room and it was empty. I had been home, so it took less time to get here, but I still worried the entire time about him not having anyone there for him. But this time, even though I was out of state, the moment I got the call I knew he would have someone. It put me more at ease with the whole situation even though I was still worried about his injuries."

Sandy gave her hand another squeeze. "Everything is going to be okay." She stood up. "And given my nerves on my flight back, I'm starving, so I'm going to go find something to eat. But I'll be back soon, okay? And call if you need anything."

Sophia looked up at her and nodded. "Thank you, Sandy."

Sandy gave her a smile and then her son a final look before leaving the room.

Even though Dean's mom had left the room, the calm she had brought with her remained. The waiting game Sophia currently had to play was still infuriating, but now she could relax back into her chair, her eyes skating back and forth between Dean and his vitals without her heart rate jumping every five seconds. Sandy was here, and if Sandy thought that things would be okay, then they would be okay.

Not five minutes later, Dean's eyelids began to flutter and his eyes blinked open. He shifted around, and Sophia shot up from her chair to sit on the edge of his hospital bed, taking his hand and hoping to ease some of the confusion he was probably feeling at that moment.

His eyes focused on her. "You're here," he whispered, his voice scratchy and hoarse.

"I'm here," Sophia whispered back. She reached forward to smooth out some of his hair, and Dean's eyes closed at her touch. "Of course, I'm here."

Dean's hand closed around hers, not gripping very tightly but enough to send another wave of calm through Sophia.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Like I'm on a lot of drugs," he replied.

Sophia chuckled softly as he gave her a cheeky grin. "Well, at least I know you're still not funny," she teased him. But then she softened. "What do you remember?"

"Pretty much all of it," he said. Then his eyes flashed. "The guy I was getting out, did he—"

"He's okay," Sophia quickly reassured him. "Scott told me he would be fine."

Dean relaxed back into his bed. "Good." Then, "How long has it been since the collapse?"
"I'm not completely sure," Sophia admitted. She glanced at her phone, almost shocked to see that it was almost eleven at night. "I got Scott's call around seven," she told him. "I've been here around four hours. Your mom's here, too. She just got here but went to find something to eat. She was a lot calmer than I was."

"I'm sorry I worried you."

"Hey, don't be," Sophia chastised him. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Dean's gaze flitted over her, taking in the outfit and makeup she had put on for whatever special plans he had made for the night. "You look beautiful."

Even lying drugged up in a hospital bed, he could still make her blush. "Honestly, I kinda forgot I was wearing all of this," Sophia said, looking down at herself. "I think I'm a little overdressed."

"Today was supposed to be special."

"Today is special," Sophia whispered. "Every day with you is special."

"You know what today is though, right?"

She gave him a soft smile. "Of course, I do."

"I had this whole plan," Dean said, "to take you back to the pier, exactly one year after we first met."

Sophia chuckled. "Hopefully staying on the pier, this time."

"Ideally, yeah."

Sophia leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. "I love the idea," she told him, "but I love you more. So as long as we're together today, that's all that matters."

Even as they talked, Dean's eyes drooped, and Sophia could tell that he was struggling to stay awake. "You should get some rest," she told him.

At her words, Dean's eyes fell closed. "I love you, Sophia."

And before Sophia could say anything, he was out, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

Sophia let out a breath and fell back into her chair. Now, as a lot of the stress that had kept her body in knots had fallen away, she realized how tired and hungry she was. But she didn't want to leave him alone, not even for a second.

And once again, Sandy had impeccable timing. About half an hour after Dean had woken up, she came back into the room. "How are things?" she asked.

"He woke up," Sophia confirmed. "We talked for a little bit, but he needed rest."

Despite her ability to keep calm, Sandy looked relieved that he had been awake. "That's good," she said. "And how are you?"

"Hungry," Sophia admitted.

Sandy smiled. "Go," she told her. "I'll stay with him."

Sophia nodded and got up. "He'll probably be in and out," she told her.

Sandy had her eyes trained on her son. "I'll let him know where you went if he wakes up," she assured her. "But you should keep your strength up."

Sophia gave Sandy another hug. "I'm glad you're here."

"Go eat, Sophia," Sandy said, her eyes warm, "that's an order."

The hall was empty when Sophia stepped out of the room, her legs screaming at her for taking more than five steps at a time after sitting down for several hours. The cafeteria wouldn't be open at this time of night, but Sophia knew where she could find food. She didn't get very far, however, when she almost crashed into someone as she came around the corner.

"Mrs. McBride," Sophia said in surprise. Then another pit of worry hit her stomach. "What are you doing here?"

"Sophia." Mrs. McBride seemed just as surprised, but pleased, to see her. "I don't think I've ever seen you out of scrubs."

Sophia looked down at herself again. "Yeah, I'm not working right now. How's—"

But Mrs. McBride's involuntary smile stopped her from completing the question. "I know, it's been a while, hasn't it?" she said. "I can't remember the last time we've seen you."

"That's usually a good thing," Sophia pointed out. "That means you haven't been here as much."

"Evie has been doing a lot better," Mrs. McBride said. "They got the medications right and so her side effects stopped. We came in a few weeks ago for a routine checkup, and, well, she's in remission."

Sophia's face gave way to a wide smile. "That's incredible."

"She just went through surgery, that's why I'm still here," Mrs. McBride said. "They said the tumor shrank enough so they thought they could get it out. There's still a long way to go, but apparently, the procedure went well."

"That's amazing, Mrs. McBride," Sophia said. "Really." The good news was just what Sophia needed at the moment.

"You're here visiting someone?"

Sophia nodded. "Uh, my boyfriend," she said, not wanting to get too into her personal life at the moment. "But everything's going to be okay."

"I'm glad to hear that," Mrs. McBride said. "And if you ever want to drop in and say hi to Evie, you're more than welcome. We'll be here for a few days as she recovers."

"I'll be sure to," Sophia said. "I'd love to see her."

"I should get back," Mrs. McBride said. "Nice to see you, Sophia."

"You as well."

***

The rest of Dean's hospital stay passed by in a blur. Sophia barely left, only to go home and pack a few changes of clothes. But after that, she was either working one of her shifts or camped out in Dean's room.

Not without protestation, of course. Dean had tried to convince her to go home many times at least for the night, but Sophia refused, even after the doctors were certain that no complications would arise from either the injuries of the surgery. She had all the right contacts to get her the comfiest chair possible, and that's where she slept. After all, visiting hours didn't really apply to her.

When Sophia wasn't there, she could always count on someone to keep him company. Sandy, a member of his crew, even Raina dropped by a few times. When Sophia was there, it was like a train station, someone was always coming or going.

Dean stayed in the hospital for a week, but after the first three or four days, he was itching to get out. It went against everything in him to stay put in one position for such a long time, but the doctors suggested he stay put for a few more days, so Sophia put her foot down. Even after getting out, his path to full recovery would be a long one.

After the week was up, though, Dean wasted no time in signing all of the discharge paperwork and insisting that they go home. As much as Sophia wanted him to get all of the best treatment, she was relieved, too. The whole ordeal had been exhausting.

"Welcome home," she told him as she wheeled him through the front door. Dean had been adamant about getting himself on crutches, but his doctors had vetoed that. His side injury still needed time to heal properly.

"I should say the same thing to you," he told her. "You've been at the hospital almost as much as I have."

Sophia rolled her eyes. "Where do you want to go? Couch, bed? Just let me know."

"Bed."

Sophia got him into the bedroom and helped him to lie down. "What do you need? Hungry? Thirsty? I can—"

"Sophia," he cut her off and looked at her with adoration in his eyes. He stretched out his arm. "Come here."

But she hesitated. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not going to," Dean replied patiently. "This is my good side, anyway. But it's been a week since I've been in my own bed, and a week since I've gotten to wrap my arms around you. So this is what I need."

Sophia hesitated again, but her resolve quickly crumbled. She had missed him, too. In the hospital, she couldn't do much more than hold his hand when all she wanted to do was curl up next to him and forget about everything.

She eased herself onto the bed, careful not the jostle him too much, and then laid on her side, her head resting on his shoulder, as she felt his arm bend around her.

He smelled like the hospital. She probably did, too. But the warmth that seeped into her body from him was unchanging.

Dean exhaled. "I feel better already."

Sophia's eyes fluttered closed. The absolute exhaustion of the past week was catching up to her, and it was as if her muscles were cementing in place, unable to move even if she wanted to. "Me, too."

"Can we just lie here for a bit?"

"Yeah." Sophia was already half asleep. "Yeah, I like that idea."