A selfie with Jim and Liam granted them the nurse's unconditional assistance, and Silvia didn't hesitate to abuse it openly. First, she asked for a safe spot to smoke. Next, she put Ron to the task of getting trash food for the musicians, to smuggle it into their room with the nurse's help. Then she went back to Deborah's room.

"Jim's downstairs," she informed, and turned to Jo. "D'you think you can walk a few steps?"

"What are you up to now?" asked Deborah, narrowing her eyes.

"Taking Jo to see Sean, if she can get up."

Jo was sitting up before Silvia was done talking. She helped the girl out of bed and grabbed the IV bag. They paused at the doorway and looked to the nurses' station, where the young nurse had taken over the screen showing the hallway cameras. As soon as she waved her hand discretely, they came out.

Sean opened his eyes the moment they walked in, and Jo couldn't hold back her happy tears as Silvia took her up to the bed.

"Oh, love," the girl whispered, leaning forward to kiss his forehead.

Sean's good hand patted the bed, so Silvia helped Jo lay back on the narrow strip of mattress by his side, keeping wires and tubes out of the way. She hung Jo's IV bag with Sean's and covered the girl with a blanket she found in the small closet.

"Try to stay awake, Jo. I'll be back in thirty," she whispered, smiling at the way they closed their eyes, their heads together, perfectly calm and contented.

Jim was back before Ron. He let Tim go ahead to brief Deborah and went around the bend in no hurry. Silvia was outside Sean's room like a soldier, but she forgot about it when she saw him coming.

He waited for her by the vending machines, thinking her presence felt unexpectedly soothing to him.

"Dinner on the way," she said. "Everything okay downstairs?"

Jim nodded, patting his pockets. "Yeah, the usual. D'you have any change? I need a coffee or I'm gonna drop asleep right here."

Silvia produced some bills of local currency and ordered a decaf with one sugar.

"Us and coffee machines," he said. "It's gotta mean something, right?"

"That we always meet at public places?"

Jim let out a weary chuckle and threw his good arm around her neck, holding her to his chest.

"I know you must hate me, woman," he said in her ear. "But I'm fucking grateful that you're here."

"I don't hate you, moron," she replied, putting her arm around his waist.

Jim had just sipped his coffee, still holding Silvia, when Ron walked by them, carrying three paper bags that smelled as to raise bad cholesterol with a single sniff.

"Dinner, Jim," he said, about to stop. Jim's look was enough for him to keep going.

Silvia stepped back to go after Ron, but Jim didn't let her. He gulped up the coffee and rested his hand on the back of her neck, making her look up at him.

Even his muddled mind could tell she didn't want to have any kind of a moment with him. What a pity. Because he didn't know how right Sean had been about some of the things he'd said. But he'd been right about one, and after such a blind date with death that morning, Jim wasn't about to overlook it just so she wouldn't feel awkward.

He waited for her to meet his eyes and leaned in toward her to whisper, "You know I love you, right?"

The way she stiffened felt like a slap. It wasn't that she didn't believe him, but that she didn't want to hear him say it. She held his eyes, her lips pressed together, her face reflecting something like sadness.

"And I love you," she replied.

Jim could only kiss her. She was telling the truth, yet it sounded like she felt forced to say it. As if she hated loving him. Because of the rollercoaster weekend and the blowjob and the acoustic two nights earlier, and who knew how many more things that escaped his stitched head.

She kissed him back with an intensity that surprised him, but she tried to step back right away, as if she regretted letting her feelings show. He let go of her lips to hold her tight again, swallowing a thousand curses.

He knew her. She hadn't lied. She still loved him and she wasn't mad at him, and even so she didn't want to... what?

"Let's have dinner, Jay," she said softly, putting a step between them.

Jim breathed deep and nodded. What else was he to do?