Later that night Stacy went back to the O.S.F., showed her driver’s license, and was immediately buzzed up to Gregory’s room. It was a pleasant surprise—she’d assumed with recent events that security would be more obnoxious than usual, and had doubts whether she would even get in. But Gregory must have left instructions. The big sweetie.

She had assumed he would go to the nearest hospital, but apparently the O.S.F. took care of their own, and had a whole wing full of hospital equipment and beds and doctors and stuff.

She found his room, finally, tapped on his door, and poked her head inside. When she saw he was alone, she stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

“A sight for sore eyes,” Gregory sighed happily. “And sore chest.”

“Just sore, huh?”

“Let’s just say, tonight morphine is my friend.” He smiled at her. “I was hoping you would come by.”

“Yeah?” She unbuttoned her knee-length raincoat and shrugged out of it, putting her hands on her hips and striking a seductive pose. “Whaddya think?”

Gregory laughed until he choked. She was wearing what she thought of as Halloween costume circa 2001, or Slutty Nurse in White Fishnets.

“I think you should spend the night. That’s what I think.”

“Forget it, pal. Tonight you’re just looking. No touching.” She crossed the room and perched on the side of his bed, careful to avoid the many tubes poking out of him. “Gregory, you were nuts to get shot for me.”

“I’m fine, thanks for asking.”

“Oh, hush up. Next time just yell ‘duck’ or something. Okay?”

His fingers tightened around her own. “I couldn’t let her hurt you.”

“You idiot,” she said, pressing a kiss to his eyebrow. “That’s the coolest, most romantic thing ever, but I’m still pissed at you.”

“You dressed up in that charming outfit and snuck in here to see me—”

“I didn’t exactly sneak,” she pointed out.

“—when you’re pissed? I should annoy you more often.”

“I’m sure you will.”

“Come here. Lie down beside me.”

“Uh, Gregory, I’m not sure…” She eyed the beeping machines and the tubes.

“Come here, I said.”

“But what if it hurts?”

“What if it does?”

She cuddled in next to him and they were quiet for a long moment. Then he said, “I had my temp call Manny’s. They’re delivering a prime rib to Caitlyn’s house this minute. I assumed you’d be there.”

Bitch is gonna eat my steak, Stacy grumbled. “Actually, I think she’s shacking up in Mr. Yummypants’s suite at the Marriott.”

Gregory laughed, then gasped in pain. “His name is Dmitri Novakov.”

“Whatever.”

“But I think I’ll start referring to him as Yummypants. That should annoy him nicely.”

“See, this is why people don’t like you.”

“How about you, dear?”

“Oh, I like you fine,” she assured him. “I know there’s a heart under there…somewhere.”

“Hmph,” he mumbled. Then, “Don’t forget. I warned you to be prepared.”

“You really think Jimmy’s gonna go with this guy? Back to the Baltic Sea or wherever?”

“I’m positive. Lithuania, BTW.”

“Whatever. It’s just…I mean, I know she likes him, but I didn’t know she, like, liked him liked him. You know?”

“The horrifying thing is, I understood exactly what you said.”

“Oh, knock it off. Well, if she wants to go, then God bless her. She’s been alone for too long. Maybe I can get her apartment,” she mused. “It’s way nicer than mine.”

“I know the feeling,” he said quietly.

“I assume you’re talking about being alone, not rent control. Yeah. Alone…boy, people do nutty things to avoid it. I still can’t believe this—this mess is because Rebecca thought she was in love with you. I mean, I figured it’d be some super-secret-spy thing, not…you know. Thwarted love. It’s just so Days of Our Lives, doncha think?”

“Please,” he said. “Let’s not talk about it. I’m finding the whole thing extremely embarrassing.”

“Oh, quitcher whining.”

“I am the one who’s shot,” he pointed out.

“I mean, she offed the Wagner team—everybody but the last one, right?”

“Not for lack of trying. But Dr. Roe will live. Not that she seems especially happy about it. She’s still sulking because I won’t let her publish.”

“Yeah, but you explained all that to her…about how it’d be dangerous to Jimmy and Yummypants. Right?”

“Right. But Dr. Roe has…um, other considerations.”

“Bitch. Even if she did almost die, she’s still a bitch.”

“Well said.”

“Anyway, like I was saying, Rebecca did all that bad shit because she thought making Caitlyn was too hard on you. That you were working too many hours. I mean, I think you work a lot of hours too, and wish you’d take it easy, but I’m not gonna, like, kill everyone around you to get you to take a break.”

“Thank you.”

“I must not really love you,” she teased.

“I’ll keep working on you.”

She kissed him again, this time on the nose. “That’s a date, partner.”

“There’s plenty of room on this bed for two,” he said hopefully.

“Forget it. I’ll sleep on that couch in the corner…it’s a convertible, right?”

“Brought up,” he sighed happily, “just in case you needed it.”

“Dude, you’re, like, super-scary sometimes.”

“I know.”

Stacy was silent for a moment, musing, then said, “I guess it’s a good thing that Jimmy was being, y’know, Jimmy. Because her refusing to work for you worked out totally great for Rebecca, but she still had to stop the Wagner team from making any more like Jimmy. But then you totally shocked her by starting to go out with me, so she decided to ace me out of the picture too.”

“Her mistake,” Gregory said coolly.

“Man, the whole thing is just…sad and fucked-up, you know? What a mess.”

“And a waste.”

“At least you’re okay.”

“Not yet,” he said, gripping her chin and pulling her in for a kiss, “but I will be.”