Part Five:

No one noticed Jace's approach because they were all watching through the window for some sign that Aries was waking up. Marco had closed his eyes with his hand still pressing against the window.

Jace cleared his throat and everyone looked up towards him. Marco pushed his way over to where Jace was standing.

"I wanted to let you know that one at a time, you all may go and see her now. Try to remain calm and say only pleasant things so that she does not become distressed. She's not out of the danger zone yet." Jace said calmly looking around at the small crowd. He saw Sherry and Rita approaching. By now, the word had spread throughout all of CLHQ about what had happened. It's a wonder there wasn't a bigger crowd. He turned and looked to see Nahla standing farther back for support. He smiled a little at the sight of her.

The others were chattering softly trying to decide who would be the first one to go inside and visit Aries. They all knew that if Marco went in first, none of the rest of them would ever get a chance and Marco agreed to be the last one in.

North ended up being the first since she had known Aries the longest. North walked in and closed the blinds so that her visit with Aries could be private. Then she walked over and sat down on the stool next to the bed.

"Hey there." She said softly. She wasn't good at this sort of thing but she would have to be strong for her friend's sake. Aries, of course, remained silent.

"Well, you don't have to worry about Jessica anymore. She's been taken care of. Come back to us please!" North said softly hoping that Jessica being taken care of would help her friend fight harder.

"Please fight harder and come back to us. We all need you and we miss you." She said, tears were beginning to fill her eyes and she decided that that would be a good time to leave. "I'll be right outside, if you need me for anything, call me." North patted Aries' hand lightly and then stood up and walked out of the room. Michael walked in next.

He sat down on the stool and picked up Aries' hand in his. He sat there silent for a few minutes just willing her to draw on his strength.

"Fight. You're a fighter, now fight!" He said forcefully. "You've been strong for me many times, now draw on my strength. Even though you've decided to end our relationship, I still love you and can't bear to lose you like this. Fight hard and come back." Tears were beginning to fill Michael's eyes, which was something that only happened when he was around people that he trusted and cared for. Aries was among the small selected
group that he allowed his emotions to show.

Aries laid there silent. He looked down and gazed at how peaceful her face looked and let a couple of the tears slide down his face. He was thankful that North had closed the blinds. He sat there quietly for a few more minutes silently and then kissed her hand softly.

"I'll be outside for as long as it takes. I'll always be here for you, draw on my strength and love to pull through this." Michael said, his voice almost a whisper next to her ear. He straightened and wiped the tears that had streamed down his face and exited the room.

After several minutes of arguing, DeLeah entered the room and sat down on the stool. Not sure what to say at first, she sat there quietly. Then she leaned forward.

"Come on Aries! I know you better than this! You're too stubborn to allow yourself to die like this! Besides that, if you die, who's going to help me the next Black Ops day? Who's going to be there for me when no one else will? I need you! I love you! You can't die!" She said letting tears flow down her face in a way that was highly uncharacteristic for her. "Please!"

DeLeah's head fell forward as she let the tears flow until they wouldn't flow anymore. She remained silent as she cried just being near Aries somehow made her feel stronger through this. Aries was much more than a friend to her and she couldn't find the words to express that so she let the silence do the talking. Eventually, she stood up and left the room to wait outside with everyone else. She saw that more people had gathered outside to lend more support for Aries in her time of need. They didn't know her well, but they knew that she was a good person who cared a lot about each and everyone of
them.

Genie entered next. She didn't have a lot to say but wanted Aries to know that she was there for her and offered her strength and courage. She watched Aries lay there silently and wondered what was running through her mind. She held Aries' hand lightly and said several prayers silently for Aries. After a few minutes, she laid Aries' hand down and walked outside. Several others went in to offer their support before Marco finally entered the room.

Once he entered, he sat down on the stool and grasped her hand tightly in his. To him, this was not only her battle but also his. She needed his strength as well as his love and support and he gave her all of it. He talked to her about everything he could think of that was cheerful which was extremely hard. He talked about some ideas for decorating her apartment, the day when they'd finally move in together, they're dinner they'd planned before this happened, and finally he talked about how much he cared for her.
He thought it might be a bit soon to tell her he loved her but that was how he felt. He was in there for hours. Several times, nurses came in and checked her vitals and then left. Jace had come in twice to see how she was fairing. Each minute felt like hours to Marco. At some point, he'd laid his head down on the bed next to Aries and had fallen asleep. He was still sleeping when Aries managed to find her way back to consciousness. She groggily turned her head towards where she slightly felt Marco's head touching her and painfully raised her hand to touch his hair lightly. At the touch he awoke with a start and sat straight up. He looked at her and saw her eyes open. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming.

"Hey you." She whispered. The pain in her chest was making it hard for her to talk.

"Hey." He said softly, tears welling up in his eyes again.

That was all they said. Marco knew that Jace needed to examine her so he got up reluctantly and opened the door looking for Jace. He didn't see him but everyone looked up rather surprised to see Marco standing there. He was smiling and they all figured that they knew why.

"Is she… Is she awake?" North asked hesitantly breaking the silence.

"Yes. Where's Jace? She needs some pain medication." He said looking around again.

"Probably in his office, I'll go get him." Sherry offered trying to help out.

"Thanks." He said gratefully and watched Sherry walk off before re-entering the room and sitting down next to Aries on the bed.

"Marco…" Aries tried to speak but he placed a finger over her mouth. He didn't want her to cause herself more pain by talking.

"Shhhh, don't talk right now. Sherry's going to get Jace and he will give you some pain medication. We can talk later." He said softly and then placed a kiss on her dry lips. Just then, Jace entered the room with a smile on his face.

"Welcome back!" He said cheerfully.

"Thanks." Aries managed to squeeze out painfully.

"Man, you are truly one stubborn woman aren't you?" Jace asked beginning his
examination of her.

Aries simply smiled in response.

Once Jace was finished with his examination he gave her some pain medication that made her more comfortable as well as very drowsy causing her to doze off for a while.

After Aries was asleep, Jace asked Marco to join him in his office. They walked off letting Aries rest in peace.

When they were in Jace's office, they both sat down and looked at each other.

"What's up?" Marco asked slightly confused.

"She's still got a long way to go Marco. She's not out of the danger zone yet." Jace said forthrightly. There was no use in trying to beat around the bush with this.

"What do you mean? She's awake." Marco said, not wanting to hear what Jace was saying.

"Yes, she's awake right now but her vitals are not very strong. I'll do my best but it's mainly up to her right now." Jace said feeling rather helpless.

"In other words, you're saying that she could still die." Marco said bitterly.

"Yes." Jace replied lowering his eyes from Marco's intent glare.

"She won't die." Marco said forcefully. "She won't die because you won't let her."

"I can't make her live, Marco." Jace said sadly.

"You will do everything that you can to keep her alive, you're best in this case is not good enough." Marco bit out a bit more seriously as if Jace had not gotten the point.

"Look Marco, I wanted to keep you warned of what could happen so that you would be prepared for any situation. Don't turn it around." Jace warned.

Marco sat there glaring at Jace not saying a word. They sat there for quite a while before Nahla knocked lightly on the door and then entered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything!" Nahla said when she saw the two sitting there. She started to turn and leave the two alone but Jace stopped her and Marco stood up.

"That's ok. You weren't. I was just going back to check on Aries." Marco said and exited the room throwing Jace one more glare before finally exiting. Nahla walked over and sat down on Jace's lap.

"Now what exactly was that all about?" Nahla asked a bit confused and worried.

"Not much. Aries woke up but her vitals are not strong enough for her to be in the clear yet. I asked Marco in here to tell him that and being in the position he's in, he threatened me to make her live. It's perfectly understandable." Jace said hugging Nahla close to him. "I would do the same thing if I was in his position."

"Yeah. He's really worried about her isn't he?" Nahla asked softly putting her arms around him and holding him close.

"Yeah, he is. He loves her even though he has not admitted it. I hope she pulls through this." Jace said and laid his head down on her shoulder.

"So do I." Nahla said and then let silence fall around them thanking God that it was not them that was going through this ordeal.

***Meanwhile***

Marco walked back into Aries room and resumed his vigil by her side. He was determined he would see her through this. She was still sleeping so he sat there quietly watching her peaceful features. She was so beautiful. He tried to imagine his life if she died but couldn't. This was too much for him and tears slid down his face once again.

One of his tears dripped down onto Aries arm and woke her up. She turned his head towards him and opened her eyes. The pain was minimal due to the painkiller.

"What's wrong?" Aries asked worried.

Marco quickly wiped the tears away and put a smile on his face.

"Nothing. Did you sleep well?" He asked with emotion choking his voice.

"I slept fine. Now tell me what's wrong Marco." Aries said clenching her face at a sharp pain that slipped through the painkiller.

"It's nothing for you to worry your pretty face about! You worry about getting stronger and feeling better." Marco said trying to put her off, but she wasn't falling for it.

"Stop avoiding the question Marco." Aries said tightly. She was beginning to get upset and that wasn't good because it was causing her more pain.

"Please, we'll talk about it later, just worry about getting better now." Marco said seeing the pain that her stress was causing her. He picked up her hand and kissed it lightly.

"You promise you'll tell me later?" Aries said, the pain getting the better of her.

"I promise. Now get some rest so you can get out of here sooner and we can have that dinner I promised you." He said putting a smile on his face.

"You'll stay won't you?" Aries asked, her eyes drooping closed.

"Of course. Wild horses couldn't drag me away from here." Marco said and kissed her cheek. Aries smiled and then fell asleep. He sat there watching her until Jace walked in.

"How's she doing?" Jace asked softly.

"She woke up a little bit ago but I managed to talk her into going back to sleep. She's still in pain though." Marco replied looking up at him.

Jace nodded. "The pain is to be expected. I'll add some more medication to her IV line to help her rest easier." He moved over and pushed a few buttons on the medication dispenser. Marco watched his every move.

"Look, Jace…" Marco started but Jace cut him off.

"Don't apologize. I can understand what you are going." Jace said holding up his hands.

"It still wasn't fair to you. I shouldn't have done that." Marco said looking regretfully at Jace.

"Like I said, don't worry about it! I'm certainly not going to hold it against you! You're just doing your best to hold on to her in a situation where you have no control." Jace said and then walked over and patted Marco on the back.

"I see why Nahla loves you so much. You're a good man. She's very lucky to have you." Marco said and smiled.

"Thank you. But I think that you need to go get a shower, get something to eat and then get some rest. You sitting her exhausted is not going to do her any good. If she wakes up, I'll let you know." Jace said seriously.

"I can't. I promised her that I would stay." Marco said looking back down at Aries.

"I'm sure that she'll understand. She needs you to be well rested and fed so that you can be strong for her." Jace said. He knew that convincing Marco to go for a while wasn't going to be easy but it was actually easier than he thought it would be.

"Will you stay with her?" Marco asked softly.

"For as long as I can." Jace said and smiled.

Marco nodded and stood up after placing one more kiss on Aries' hand and whispering to her that he'd be back very soon. He left the room and headed to his apartment for a shower and change of clothes.

Part 6 and End

Marco enjoyed his shower and grabbed a quick sandwich down in the cafeteria before heading back to MedLab to see how Aries was doing. He was in a much better mood.

He walked up to the MedLab to see a crowd of worried faces. North saw him and walked over. She put her arm around him and pulled him off to a corner before more people noticed his appearance.

"What's going on North?" He asked highly concerned.

"Sit down." North instructed and then took a deep breath.

"No. Tell me what's going on." Marco replied getting more anxious by the minute from North's hesitation.

"She's gotten worse. He blood pressure has dropped dramatically and her heart rate has gotten drastically lower. They're in there doing everything they can for her right now." North said letting her concern flow with her voice. She watched as Marco turned and looked towards the room that Aries was in.

"That can't be. She was doing fine when I left." Marco said softly. He was in shock.

"I don't know Marco. It happened about 10 minutes ago." North said and placed her hand on his shoulder showing him that she was there to lend him support as well as Aries. She could tell that he was fighting despair and grasping for any shred of hope there was inside of him. "She'll pull through. You've got to believe that."

Marco simply nodded; his throat too choked up to speak. He walked up to the window which still had the blinds closed and pressed his hand against it. It seemed like a lifeline to her and he was going to grasp anything that he could. He prayed long and hard for a miracle to occur. Minutes passed with no word from inside. The longer they were inside, the more hope that Marco felt because he knew that they hadn't lost her yet. His hand remained pressed against the glass window until the door of the room opened and Jace
appeared.

"She's resting now. We've got her stabilized for now." He reported and then headed off towards his office. He was both emotionally and physically tired.

Marco followed him. Once inside the office, Marco asked him the question that Jace dreaded the most. "Will she die?" He asked fearfully.

"I don't know Marco. I honestly don't know. I know that she's fighting. She's fighting hard and that's a very good sign." He replied exhausted. For the first time, Marco noticed how tired Jace was.

"You really are fighting to save her aren't you?" He asked.

"Yeah. In that room is not only a patient, but a friend." Jace said and flopped down into his chair behind his desk. Marco nodded.

"May I go in and see her now?" Marco asked.

"Yeah. I'm sure that would help her a lot." Jace said. Normally no one would be allowed in for about an hour after what they'd just done to her but he was making a special exception in this case. Somehow Marco knew that. They'd come to a mutual understanding of each other.

Marco exited the room and entered Aries' room. He positioned himself by her side vowing that he would not leave her again until she was through this. He left once and she deteriorated. He was not going to leave again. He held her hand and prayed. At one point, he asked DeLeah to bring her hairbrush from her apartment so that he could brush her hair for her. DeLeah happily got it for him knowing what he was doing.

After hours of pacing and having nurses in and out checking her vitals, Jace came back in with her chart looking much better rested.

"It seems as if her vitals are getting a bit stronger little by little. Keep hope." He said and examined her. He smiled when he was finished. "See, they're a little better than the last check this time around. Keep being strong for her."

Marco nodded and let a small smile on his lips as Jace walked out. Marco began talking to Aries about things that he wanted them to do with each other. Things like watching sunsets, walking along the beach, going horseback riding, candlelit dinners and ballroom dancing, he wanted to sit by a fireplace and cuddle, he wanted them to fall asleep in each other's arms every night and then wake up together each morning. He talked on and on describing each thing that he wanted for them in great detail. As he was talking, nurses came and went periodically smiling at him when they listened to what he was telling her. They all felt that Aries was one lucky woman to have Marco loving her.

Later on, Marco had stopped talking and was sitting down beside Aries holding her hand tightly and willing her to wake up. Jace walked in again.

"How's our favorite patient doing?" He asked smiling.

"You tell me." Marco said. Jace could tell that the man was tired but didn't even bother to try and talk him into leaving. He knew that that wouldn't bode well at all.

"Well, let me examine her and I'll let you know how she's progressing." Jace said and examined her thoroughly. He wrote some notes down in the chart and then sat down across the bed from Marco.

"Well?" Marco asked impatiently.

"She's doing a lot better. Her vitals are improving greatly in the past few hours that you've been here. I don't know what you've been in here doing with her but it's helping. If you keep it up, she'll be out of the woods in no time." Jace said and offered a huge smile. He was greatly pleased with how well Aries was improving and he knew that Marco needed the reassurance that he was doing the right thing. Marco smiled at Jace's news.

"Thank you." Marco said softly and kissed Aries' hand again. Jace nodded and left the room.

Marco continued talking to Aries about things that were cheerful. He even repeated the things that he wanted them to do together. After another few hours, Aries squeezed his hand while he was talking. He almost didn't notice it at first but then she did it again a bit harder.

"Aries?" He asked almost in disbelief.

She squeezed again a bit harder still. He pushed the button to call the nurse and when she entered the room, he sent her to get Jace.

"Aries, can you hear me?" He asked softly. She squeezed his hand. "Can you open your eyes for me?" He knew it was a long shot but he had to try.

Jace opened the door and walked in wondering why Marco had sent for him so urgently.

"What's going on?" He asked entering the room.

"Watch. Aries, can you hear me? If you can, squeeze my hand once." Marco whispered to Aries as Jace was watching the hands. Aries squeezed Marco's hand once. She still hadn't opened her eyes yet. Jace moved a bit closer. "Aries, can you open your eyes? Squeeze once for yes, twice for no." Jace watched the hands as Aries squeezed once. His eyes shot to her face as she fought to open her eyes. After a few minutes, she succeeded. The light blinded her at first, but she adjusted rather quickly and sought out Marco's face. When she found it, she smiled softly.

Jace quickly set to examining her. He found that her vitals were becoming stronger and she was close to being out of the danger zone. Never before had he seen anything like this. The dramatic improvement was astonishing.

"Well, hello there." He said to Aries with a bright smile on his face.

Aries slowly turned her head towards him and offered him a smile. She opened her mouth to speak but he gently put his finger over her lips to stop her.

"Not now. You need your rest and then you can talk. We need to get you up to par." Jace said, still smiling broadly. He was relieved to see how well she was doing. Aries nodded her understanding and turned her head back to Marco. She closed her eyes with a smile on her face, which told him everything that he needed to know. She was going to be fine. It didn't take long before she was sound asleep.

Jace exited the room to tell the crowd that was anxiously wondering what was going on the good news. Everyone was thrilled and relieved to hear how well she was doing. A few wandered off to grab something to eat and get a little bit of rest while others stayed behind to offer support.

A few days later, Aries was greatly improved. Her vitals were back to normal and she was talking normally. She still had pain when she moved but that could be taken care of with medication. She was arguing with Jace about wanting to go back to her apartment but he wouldn't let her. She had many visitors while in MedLab bringing her flowers and get-well gifts. The support and outpouring of love helped her gain the strength she needed to get through this.

After another week of being in MedLab, Jace finally consented to her release as long as she promised to take it easy. She agreed but had no intention of keeping that promise until Marco volunteered to make sure that she took it easy. She offered him a glare for that one but inside she smiled brilliantly. It was good to know that he cared so much. Marco pushed her in her wheelchair to the car he had waiting outside of Section. He folded the wheel chair and put it inside of the car as well and then got inside directing the driver to escort them to his apartment. Aries looked at him astonished.

"I took the liberty of having your clothes and things moved into my apartment until you're fully recuperated and then you can move back into your apartment after we've finished the redecorating. I didn't think that you would mind, do you?" He asked and flashed her a bright smile that washed away all of her doubts.

"As long as it is temporary. You know as well as I do that this relationship is not ready for us to make such a commitment." She said smiling.

"Ah, it's stronger than you think it is. Much stronger." He said and grasped her hand in his. They rode the rest of the way to his apartment in silence. When they got there, instead of pulling out the wheelchair and pushing her up to the door, he got out and carried her inside. He didn't put her down until she was in his bed. She protested through all of it but he wouldn't listen. This was his chance to convey to her without words how much he loved her. And he did exactly that for the next few weeks.

THE END!

This story ©Aries March 2001