Into hiding (a sequel for Time and Again)

Chapter 10: It's finally over

Penny:

I opened my eyes, and the familiar sea breeze of San Francisco greeted me with a gentle kiss on my face. I became aware of a numbed pain in my ribcage, as if it's been tampered with.

A rough, warm hand was holding mine, and I looked to see Talon on a chair next to the bed, reading the book in his lap. "Hey sailor." I said groggily, and Talon's gaze shot up, surprised to see me awake.

"Hey, princess. How are you feeling?" He smiled and squeezed my hand. "Okay, I guess. How long was I asleep?" I asked, stretching a bit.

"You've been out for over a week. They did the surgery in Alaska and transferred you here. You had two broken ribs and a sprained wrist, you know." Talon replied, and I looked at my other hand to see it in a cast.

"And the queen of Spades?"

"It's been taken care of. We did it, Penny. It's finally over."

I sat up, aware of how incredibly stiff I was. "You've been fixed, I see." I commented, since the last time I saw Talon his skin was electric blue.

"Yeah, they sucked out the poison, but not before removing the electricity by letting me recharge some car batteries." He replied, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"How's uncle Gadget?" I asked.

"He's doing well. A mechanic is currently fixing him."

"I see."

Those were the last words I said before a pregnant silence followed. Gosh, two weeks of sleep can really set an awkward mood between you and your signifigant other.

"So... What are you reading?" I asked, becoming annoyed by the sound of the heart monitor. I reached over to try and see what it was, but Talon slammed the book shut and held it away from me.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"Um, it's kind of embarrassing..."

"Well, you can tell me, I'm pretty sure I've caught you doing worse..."

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Talon what- it's not fifty shades of Grey, right?"

"Hell no! It's..." He seemed really hesitant to say it. "Talon, what is it?"

"The fault in our stars..."

I took a second to absorb his words, and then I started to laugh. Talon's cheeks and ears turned a crimson red, and he threw the book onto the bed next to me.

"I told you it was embarrassing." He grumbled as tears of laughter streaked down my face. "Okay, I'm sorry for laughing, but if you don't mind me asking, where, or when rather, did you get it?"

"Hey, believe me. You can get really bored after a week in the hospital. I borrowed it from one of the nurses."

"Huh... Well, what do you think about it?"

"I think it's nice. I'm nearly halfway through."

"What page?"

"Well now I don't know anymore, do I? I closed the book without a bookmark." He rubbed his eyes with his palms.

"Oh that's a shame." I replied, my voice laced with mock pity, earning a smirk from Talon. Suddenly, a doctor walked into the room and stopped to look at me.

"Ah! Excellent to see you up, miss Brown. So good to finally meet you in person." She said with a warm smile. "Morning doctor!" I greeted her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, coming closer with a pair of rubber gloves. "A bit drowzy and stiff, but other than that I feel fine." I replied.

She came closer and took my pulse, temperature and blood pressure. "Alright! Everything is perfectly stable, you're free to leave whenever you like."

I tried to hide the grin spreading over my face, but she saw and laughed. "No need to be so eager to get away from us." She teased and left the room.

"So... Shall we get going, then?" I asked, already feeling an itch to be able to use my legs again. "Yes, I think so." Replied Talon, and stood up to give me a hand.

Just when I was about to take it, Talon seemed to remember that I was in a hospital dress that would completely expose my ass if I stood up. "Hold on, better put some clothes on first." He said and put a duffle bag on the bed.

"Oh yeah. Thanks." I replied while he closed the curtain around my bed. I quickly flung on the t-shirt and slipped on the sandals, but I pulled up the denim pants with one free hand (since the other was in a cast) and a lot of effort.

"Okay, I'm done." I said and sat down on the bed. Talon pulled the curtains away and held out his hand.

I took his hand and he helped me stand up on my own two legs. When both my feet were on the ground and I stopped leaning against Talon, I felt dizzy for a few seconds before everything came into focus.

I took a few steps, balancing my weight evenly between the movement of my feet. It felt like I haven't walked in ages.

With a few steps forward I was walking as if I wasn't asleep for a week, and I smiled back at Talon. "You coming?" I said, and he quickly snapped out of his daydreams.

"Yeah, uh, I'll just grab the bag." He replied sheepishly, and turned to pick it up. We made our way out of the hospital and into the fresh breezy air of San Francisco.

The agency's temporary replacement building was a brick warehouse, and everyone was still in a recovery stage from the explosion. All the rooms were being used for medical services.

I was surprised to see Miss Maxwell, Captain Johnson's former secretary, still alive and standing at the information desk with a bandage covering one of her eyes.

When she saw us enter, her good eye widened and she stumbled away from the desk, towards us. Her hands went to my shoulders and she started shaking me.

"You two- but- how?" She stuttered, apparently shocked to see us alive and well. "It's over, miss Maxwell. We did it." I said and smiled at the distressed agent.

She sighed in relief, her shoulder muscles relaxing. She must have been under so much stress to take over the agency after the explosion.

"Sally. Call me Sally."