Lora's eyes filled with moisture as she walked into the room. It was just as she left it. Armchair below the window, beige cover thrown neatly over it. Aiden's drawings were still attached to the wall, the antique hourglass waiting patiently by their framed family photo.

"Hey, Scout, mind holding the door for us? We have a VIP coming through," Mike announced with evident humour in his voice and eyes.

Lora smiled through her sorrow, appreciating her old friends more than ever. He and Cara came down personally to collect Jonathan from the ICU as soon as Dr Brandon told them he was fit for transfer. She held the door while they wheeled him in with his bed. Jonathan had a grim look on his face as he chanced a wary glance at his young wife.

"There you go, Jona. All settled in. It's good to have you back," Cara said with a wink that would have sent his ego soaring on any other day.

"Thank you, Cara. Thanks, Mike," he replied, his voice still hoarse from the intubation apparatus.

He woke up smoothly and quickly, without further complications. He spent another six hours under intensive observation and then he asked to be sent back to the Neurosurgical ward. Dr Brandon examined him and gave the order for transfer. Fifteen minutes later, and there they were. No drips, no drains, no catheters. It was all good.

"We'll let you rest, guys," Mike smiled at them. "Press the buzzer if you need anything. Dinner will be in about an hour."

"Thank you," Lora replied tying up her short ponytail.

She started unpacking some fresh clothes and sorting them in his cupboard for the next day.

"Lor," Jonathan called out finally after watching her work for two tense minutes.

Lora grunted without looking him in the eye. She moved on to organise his drawer, which turned out to be very unsatisfactory as it was already super neat.

"Lor, come here."

Lora's hands stopped fussing and she trudged towards his bed. Her hands were shaking and her heart felt heavy. Jona lifted his left hand weakly in search of hers. She sighed and gave him what he wanted.

"Are you going to stay mad at me?" he asked.

Lora's eyes finally found her husband's and in them, she saw how truly forlorn he was. "Why would I be mad at you?"

She knew what he was referring to. The first word Jonathan said when he woke up, in front of her, her whole family and two nurses, was 'Hannah.' Hannah.

Lora wasn't surprised. She wasn't angry either. She was uncomfortable. She was aware of the tense silence that filled the room save for the fast beeping coming from the heart monitor. She couldn't say it didn't hurt, because it did. But she wasn't angry at him. She wished Hannah was there too.

"I was still confused, Lora. I am sorry. It wasn't because I wasn't happy to see you. You know I'm always happy to see you, right? You're the... Jesus fucking Christ!"

Lora's chest constricted not just at his obscene language but also at the emotion consuming him. It so rarely did. "Jonathan-"

"No!" he interrupted squeezing her hand and struggling to lift it to his chapped lips. He fixed his beautiful eyes on her and said, "I don't tell you enough, but you're the best thing that ever happened to us."

Lora's heart overflowed with various emotions, none of which made her happy. "God bless you, Jonathan," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

The door to their room opened and Jess, Krista, Aiden and Siena walked in. Aiden and Siena held balloons in their hands while Krista and Jess came bearing coffee.

"Hey guys," Jonathan welcomed them, a bright grin spreading over his face. Lora smiled as the kids sat down scattered across the room. "How's the shop?" he asked, turning back to Lora.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "It's fine, Jona. I finalised that deal with Georg. He said hi, by the way. And we finally got rid of that suede chair that you restored three years ago."

She saw his eyes beam with happiness at the news. "That's great! I know you think I'm obsessed with work but I just want to make sure we're still paying the bills, is all."

It was strange how normal it all felt. No shouting. No ill feelings. It took two seizures, a coma and calling her by the wrong name to get to this.

Jonathan asked them what he missed. Luckily, they all talked about school. Jess was careful to not mention James and Jona did not once comment on the fact that she lived with him instead of at her home. Lora felt the tightness in her chest loosen a little. She did not want to get too comfortable though. Something told her this wouldn't last long.

About twenty minutes later, she got her answer. The door opened and Dr Owen Shaw made his way into the room. His eyes tried to avert hers but they failed miserably and once they landed on her, she could barely breathe. Lora felt the blush creep up her neck as she tried to keep the memory of the thrilling, white fire at bay. But her ears and her cheeks were burning up and her breaths became shallow to compensate for the sudden tightening in her abdomen.

Oh, dear Lord! How could she ever look at this man in the same way again?

It was as though Owen knew exactly what she was thinking, the way he quickly turned to Jonathan with a wide grin, welcoming him back to his ward thankfully shifting the attention elsewhere. But Lora wasn't even done exhaling when Siena let go of her balloon and went running straight to Owen squealing, "Piggy Ride! Piggy Ride!"

Instinctively, Owen laughed, kneeled down and caught Siena, easily transferring her onto his shoulders, just like he did when took them to the sinkhole. Aiden also stood up and walked slowly towards him.

"Dr Shaw?" he mumbled shyly. Then he stretched out his arm and handed him what looked like a new sketch.

Lora observed the three of them, rooted to the spot with apprehension. But it didn't even cross Owen's mind how inappropriate all this familiarity looked to Jona and the girls. And just as Owen opened his mouth to praise Aiden's work, Jona started coughing violently.

All eyes turned to him. Owen quickly put down Siena, who went straight into Jess's arms and ran to the vacuum apparatus. Lora instinctively handed him a wide suction catheter and an airway which Owen swiftly pushed into Jonathan's mouth. He suctioned the large piece of bloodied phlegm that blocked his airway and watched the colour return to his face. Lora snapped the saturation monitor to his ear and watched the number on the screen go up to ninety-six per cent.

She started to breathe again and looked meaningfully at Owen who closed his eyes momentarily before returning to his patient.

"Okay. You're okay," he assured him removing the airway from his mouth and reaching for the stethoscope around his neck. "Let me listen to your chest."

But Jonathan didn't move. He was scowling at Owen with so much hatred in his eyes that Lora expected smoke to start blowing out of his nose any second.

"Don't touch me you piece of shit!" he growled at the young doctor.

"Dad!" Jess scolded just as Krista and Lora gasped.

Owen simply looked back at him, brows furrowed, light green eyes appraising the angry man in front of him.

"Stay away from me!" he continued, his face contorted with rage. "Stay away from my children! Stay away from my wife!"

"Mr Scicluna-"

"Do you think I'm an idiot, boy?" Jonathan spat. "I see how you look at her! And now you're giving piggyback rides to my daughter and my son is showing you his drawings? What happened while I was in that coma?"

"Jonathan, calm down," Lora stepped between them. But that was a mistake, she soon realised, as she felt Owen's hand settle instinctively on her lower back, as though there was nowhere else it could possibly belong.

Jona's eyes settled on their point of contact then shifted from one to the other growing wider and wider with accusation, astonishment. A low snarl escaped his lips. "What the fuck is going on?" he roared.

Owen instantly lifted both hands in the air but Lora stepped closer to him. "Jonathan, please, it's not what you think-"

"Are you fucking him?"

"What? No!" she yelled, her cheeks blushing instantly.

"Did he touch you? Did he try something? Tell me, Lora, or I swear to God!"

"Nothing happened, Jona!"

"Why should I believe you, you fucking whore?"

"That's enough!" a livid-looking Owen cut in. His hands were back on Lora's shoulders, pulling her back, not giving a damn that Jonathan's eyes were almost popping out of their sockets. "You don't get to talk to her like that!"

"She's my wife and I will talk to her how I damn well-"

"No, you won't!" Owen gritted before Jona could finish his sentence.

Jonathan stopped shouting and stared at Dr Shaw for a long time, considering whether all this was some twisted joke. Then, without warning, he started laughing. It was a manic laugh that sent shivers down their spine. Aiden let out a tiny sniffle. Lora wanted to go to her son but she was too scared to move.

"You love her! You idiot! You really fell in love with my wife, didn't you? What the fuck? Did you think I'd never wake up from that coma? Did you really think I'd let you have her that easily? Or were you hoping that I'd just die and your way to her would be clear? That's what you want, isn't it? Well, fuck you! I may be stuck in this bed but I'm more of a man than you will ever be! I don't give a shit who you are, you will not touch my wife! Do you hear me? She's my wife!"

"He knows that, Jonathan!" Lora finally let out in a shaky voice.

Owen squeezed her shoulders once more before letting go and stepping in front of her, he said in a low and patient voice, "Mr Scicluna, I get that you don't trust me. You don't know me. But you know your wife. She would never do anything to hurt or disrespect you. But apart from that, I am your doctor. Even if what you're saying is true, I take my profession very seriously. Rest assured, that my priority will always be my duty towards my patients, no matter the circumstance. I took an oath. So, whatever you may think of me as a person, don't question my morals as a doctor. I will never do anything to harm you nor will I let any difference between us stop me from fulfilling my duty to the best of my ability. Now please, let me listen to your chest. I think you need some antibiotics."

Nobody made a single sound as Owen examined Jonathan. He was right. He had the first symptoms of a chest infection. He prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics IV and left the room without so much as glancing at Lora.

But Lora couldn't keep her eyes off him. She didn't care that her kids were in the room. She didn't care what Jess and Krista would think. She was embarrassed and disgusted but most of all she was scared. Scared that Owen would never speak to her again. That they would never again go for coffee. That they wouldn't be able to talk about their long days anymore. She wasn't ready to let him go, and if she didn't know that before, she knew it then.

She ran out after him and saw him leaving the ward in a hurry. Without thinking, she followed after him.

"Owen," she cried when she reached him. "I'm sorry about that. You know he has a temper. He can be very possessive. I mean, you can't blame him, he's-"

"He's right," he said turning to her. Owen's eyes met hers and what she saw in them took her breath away. Defeat. Desperation.

"What?" Lora breathed, unable to comprehend.

"He's right about everything. Everything he said is true."

"What do you mean it's true? How can it be true?"

Owen exhaled in frustration, light green eyes burning, fingers running through his soft curls.

"Owen!"

And as his name fell from her lips, Owen could not restrain himself any longer. Her eyes were too innocent. Her lips were too inviting. He closed the distance between them in just one step, took her face in his hands and crashed his mouth to hers.

He drank her like she was water in the desert, breathed her in like air at the bottom of the ocean. And when he realised she was kissing him back, his heart sang in relief, like a choir of pilgrims reaching the promised land.

When they grudgingly pulled apart, Lora's eyes were wide with shock. Owen's were heavy with guilt. But both could see the heartbreak clearly in each other. And before Lora could open her mouth, Owen Shaw was gone.