Can you

After staying awake for a few days simply watching his wife closely – making sure she didn't die so suddenly, the strain on Fei Huangjin's body finally took a toll on him, and he ended up falling asleep on the newly-placed armchair stationed right beside Ying Yue's bed. His head was turned to one side while his good arm was limply laid beside her. The tips of his fingers were touching hers gently.

The room was filled only by the sounds of the oxygen mask blowing into her airway, and the beeping of the monitors that signaled the continued beating of her heart.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Unknowingly, the beeping slightly quickened its pace, and so did the rise and fall of her chest. Fei Huangjin was oblivious to this, of course, and so were the nurses, who had taken the chance to briefly step out while the terror-inflicting man in the room was asleep. Just like Li Hsiung, they hadn't had a proper break for days already.

And after a minute or so, Ying Yue's eyelashes trembled slightly. She slowly opened her eyes to a brightly-lit room and the annoying beeping of machines all over. Her face crumpled as she felt pain all over her body, from her bandaged wounds down to the needles stuck to one of her arms and all the round things attached to her chest. She was too weak at the moment to shift to her side, but she could feel an overwhelming presence beside her.

She moved her fingers slightly – first her thumb, then her index finger, until she was able to flex all of them. She repeated the movement until she accidentally brushed against something warm on her bed.

There was the sound of something rustling.

The muscles of her neck were weak and aching, but she forced herself to turn her head a little sideways. And there, her eyes met the wide-eyed stare of Fei Huangjin.

His eyes were as big as saucers, and disbelief colored his face at the moment. He ran a hand through his hair frustratingly and muttered something about dreaming. He looked a little lost, and somehow, it made her smile, albeit weakly. Did he think he was asleep? How cute.

Ying Yue's mouth parted slightly, and she moistened her pale and cracking lips lightly with her tongue before whispering, "Huangjin…"

His eyes widened slightly and his hand froze in the middle of running through his hair. "F*CK!" He stood up abruptly, the arm chair making a sharp dragging sound through the tiled floor. And then he leaned over with a hand to her face. "Ying Yue?"

How really cute. "Mmm." She took off her oxygen mask and watched him with droopy, groggy eyes.

A multitude of emotions crossed his face as realization dawned on him that she was very much alive and awake: surprise, delight, relief, excitement, frustration. "Oh f—what the hell?" He took a sharp intake of breath and blinked back repeatedly before pulling her into his arms. "Oh thank—"

"Uh!" She winced in pain, making him recoil.

And now there was apparent worry on his face. "I apologize, honey. Are you alright? Where does it hurt? Did I pull too roughly? Can you move your arm? Can you sit up? Can you—," She pressed a finger on to his lips, effectively shutting him up. All the questions were giving her a headache.

"Water…" she croaked out.

Embarrassment flooded his face at the thought of not realizing that she was thirsty and probably needed medical attention, first and foremost. He was too happy; he just wanted to hold her and not let go. The sounds of chatter reached his ears as the nurses returned to the station, and he pressed the buzzer beside the bed before hurriedly pouring some water into a cup.

One of the nurses rushed in, and when she saw them both awake, she froze by the door and screamed a little. "Oh my, good heavens!"

"What's wrong?"

"Did something happen?"

The other nurses followed behind her, and they, too, couldn't hide their surprise.

"Call Dr. Li!"

Fei Huangjin ignored them and sat beside Ying Yue's bed, holding a cup of water on one hand. His eyes softened as he watched her looking back at him. He had never prayed as fervently as he had when she was unconscious, and he only had one wish – to see her like this again.