Jorge could only smile as he felt Gemma press in close and nuzzle him in the most reassuring way. Yes, he knew that none of this was his fault, that it was sheer luck of the draw and that he had nothing to do with the events that unfolded. After all, if they had not had been there and things still progressed the way that they did, the whole inn would have appeared in some news story about a massacre. At least they prevented that from happening. He had to try and at least feel good about that. But the more he focused on that good time, but more he began to feel just a little cheated. This was supposed to be their a weekend, a chance to get away from the crazy, not run towards it. The whole thing just felt wrong.

But the detective could not waste time feeling sorry for himself for their situation anymore. He was tired to lamenting against the universe over how their free time was interrupted. He was a police officer and she was a guidance counselor at a school for mutants. There was bound to be crazy no matter what! It’s not like if they split up that their lives will get any less dangerous. As a matter of fact it was probably better that they always spend time together. That way they at least have one another’s back.

He smiled as he reached over and gently began to run his fingers through her hair. Slowly he was feeling better. So long as he drank his water and remained in bed, he should theoretically be able to leave the hospital tonight. At least that is what he was going to convince the doctors of the second they came back into the room.

>> "Once you get better, we can get out of here, and look for another place to hide... one of them's bound to work."

With a nod, he leaned over and kissed her very gently on her lips. He had to admit that he had a very understanding woman at his side. Most any other woman probably would have bolted by now. First having to deal with a crazed, large handed mutant that wanted to rip them in half, then a nutso night where he ran around with thousands of other New Yorkers who believed they had become their costumes, and finally being attacked by a legion of bloodthirsty apples! Yes, most definitely anyone else would have taken their leave of the man and his lifestyle. Then again it was not like he ran around in tights with a large “X” across his chest. He was not a vigilante, he was a cop and cops always had “danger” attached to their name. And apparently that very notion kept Gemma around.

He was happy to know that. He hated putting her through those types of situations, but at least here was there to help her out of them now and then.

But as he lay there, looking into her deep brown eyes, seeing the understanding and the care and the stubbornness of a woman who would not leave his side…a strange feeling occurred. It felt like a lightness over taking his body, filling in through his pores as he continued to gently caress her cheek, letting her hair roll through his fingers. Then…before he knew it, as he watched her closely, he sighed…

“I think I love you.” he whispered...

>>“I think I love you.”

Gemma sighed. It was a happy, content sigh. He was beaten up and exhausted, but he was going to be all right, and so was she. Everything was fine with the world.
She hadn't been in love for a very long time. It seemed like... a very long time. She was not lonely, she had kids, and friends, and people she could trust... but someone to care so deeply for, that was something else. She was wise enough to know it when it happened.

"I think I love you too" she said simply, enjoying the embrace for a few quiet moments "... unless that was the medicine talking, in which case, I want some of what you had too." she added with a smirk, kissing him.

It was a nice moment. All right, so not quite perfect, but so what. It was still good for the two of them.

A few mintues later, the doctor came back. He was bound to, sooner or later...

>> "I think I love you too... unless that was the medicine talking, in which case, I want some of what you had too."

Now…Jorge grew up in the 80s. It would have been easy for him to have responded with something cheesy like “the only medicine talking…is love” or “you are my drug, baby”, or something along those very horrible lines. Instead, with a twinkle in his eye, the detective only smiled as a warmth filled his chest, leaned up and very gently kissed her on the lips, smirking with each breath at her comment. No, instead of some funny or cheesy line, Jorge only caressed her cheek as he looked her squarely back into her eyes…

“Trust me, it’s not the medicine talking.” He was utmost sincere as he said this, kissed her softly once more.

It really had been a long time since he felt anything like this. So long, in fact, that it felt just slightly alien to him. He felt both relieved and a little fearful, weak and strong, and just a little excited. To hear those words from her meant the absolute world to him, especially knowing that she still felt like that after all that they have been through. It was one of those things that simply surprised him. Too long now he had been dealing with women that run at the first sign of danger with dating a cop. And yet here was this woman who has taken on many of his worst situations and still remained by his side.

If that was not love…he really did know the meaning of it.

He was about to speak again, his mind still boggling with what were the possible ramifications and changes that would come to his life after this advertisement when, who he supposed, was his doctor walked in.

The man was tall, very dark skinned and balding very short, very tightly curled hair. Still though, as imposing a figure as the older man cut, he did have the nicest and most friendly face. His tag labeled him as Dr. Amos and he grinned as he walked into the room, setting his chart down and looking over both Gemma and Jorge. He chuckled deeply as he walked in, brow raised.

“Well, I see you’re finally awake, Mr. Cervantes,” he smiled as he nodded a hello to Gemma and turned his attention back to his patient. “Let’s see how you’re doing.”

“Hey doc, I’m feeling okay. Just tired.”

“I’m not surprised. You were extremely dehydrated when you came to us,” he said as he leaned over and began to checked instruments that were near Jorge’s bed. “But it looks like you’re on the up and up, so let me just check your vitals…”

Jorge was quiet as the man did his work and just looked over at Gemma who seemed to be standing by the side. He could not read her expression but he knew it had to be some mixture of worry for him and affection. He really did feel like a heel for putting her through this. This weekend was supposed to be about getting away and relaxation, not fending off fruit monsters and comas. But she was right, hopefully the next place they go will be a better situation…

“Okay, Mr. Cervantes, you’re looking pretty good,” he smiled as he patted the detective on the shoulder. “We should have you out of here by the end of the night. Don’t go pushing yourself too hard again. I know how you got ill, I was informed by the medics, but I’m surprised your heart was able to take that much strain. You be careful out there, understand?” he smirked as he turned and nodded to Gemma. “You make sure he takes care of himself, will you?”

>>“Okay, Mr. Cervantes, you’re looking pretty good. We should have you out of here by the end of the night. Don’t go pushing yourself too hard again. I know how you got ill, I was informed by the medics, but I’m surprised your heart was able to take that much strain. You be careful out there, understand?... You make sure he takes care of himself, will you?”

"I will." Gemma smiled, shaking hands with the doctor "Thank you."

A few hours more, and he really was out of the hospital. It was early in the morning; Gemma was driving the car, as a result of a short but heated argument with Jorge about whether he could or could not drive in his condition. As usual, she won. So now she was driving the Impala back towards New York City.
It was Sunday; a quiet and clear Sunday. The road was almost emply. They had been quiet for a while now.

"Looks like we'll have to take another weekend off to sleep off this one" she chuckled, glancing at Jorge "Just kidding. I'm just as okay with sleeping in my own bed now..."

She was driving his car. It was not that Jorge was in fear of letting her drive, even though the whole reason they met was because she totaled her last car. It was more one the fact that he felt a little chastised. He was not an invalid, after all, then again the doctor did make Gemma swear that she would make him take care of himself. Maybe driving wasn’t the best thing for him to do at the moment, but that did not cause his pride to be hurt any less.

The argument they had when they had left the hospital was a pretty good one. They had never really raised voices to each other before, but this really was not that big of a fight. It was more about who could take control the situation faster. Gemma exerted her control and Jorge was left with no other option than to comply. The whole thing made him laugh though, now that he thought about it. He was being stubborn by trying to insist that he was fine with driving his own car and it was more his ego that was hurt now than anything. He let that go pretty quickly. That was no way to really start an “I love you” relationship.

He smiled over at Gemmas as she drove. He really was starting to feel tired again. Maybe it was a good idea she drove, after all. He did overexert himself a heck of a lot more than he should have, so it was only natural that he was feeling a little tired. Reaching down, he grabbed a bottle of water from the cup holder, snapped open the top and took a long sip. It felt as if his body took only one notch up towards feeling good. He would need a lot more water.

Then Gemma broke the silence…

>> "Looks like we'll have to take another weekend off to sleep off this one…Just kidding. I'm just as okay with sleeping in my own bed now..."

“No, no, we should definitely try again.” he smirked as he relaxed back in his seat some more. “At least the inn was kind enough to refund the money after what happened out there, though they apparently still don’t know all the details.”

Cover-ups, weren’t they grand? Apparently the owners of the inn were going to try and keep the incident quiet. Though there was no way they could hide the dead body of Al, they were going to try to bury some of the details. The story he heard was that they were going to chalk up the incident to either some rogue mutant or a biker gang. It would not hold water. The real story will come out before they know it. There are just some things that are not meant to be kept hidden.

A wink and he reached over to run his hand affectionately on her shoulder. “Maybe we can just hole up in my apartment for a weekend and just unplug and turn off all the phones,” he said with a chuckle. It may not be as glamorous as a surprise getaway, but that does not mean it could not be as romantic. “And I promise…there will be no apples there.” he said with a laugh.

>>“No, no, we should definitely try again. Maybe we can just hole up in my apartment for a weekend and just unplug and turn off all the phones... And I promise…there will be no apples there.”

"That sounds like a plan" she smiled, eyes on the road. It was Sunday morning; if everything had gone according to plan, they woud still be in bed now. But tomorrow - tomorrow meant back to work, either way. That's what Mondays are for. "We should definitely do that."

Too bad the mini-holiday went south like this. Glancing over at Jorge, she smiled again; it was just like them, doing the whole 'I love you' thing in a hospital, after a mutant attack. She really wanted to spend more time with him.

"... or we can just do this." she concluded and turned the wheel; tires screeched as the Impala took the nearest exit, and Gemma chuckled to herself. Good thing her kids would never find out about this.

A few minutes later, the Impala was parked in front of a cozy little building that said Bed & Breakfast, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Gemma got out, and left Jorge behind, not really bothering with an explanation; the gist of it should have been dawning on him by now, and there was no need to go into details just yet.

A few minutes later she returned, leaning down to look in through the window.

"Guess what, they had a free room, decent meals, and no apples or other fruits whatsoever." she grinned, dangling a set of keys "No reception though, sadly. And they seem to think we are someone famous." she chuckled "So, would you like to go home to your apartment, or would you rather claim I've kidnapped you and held you hostage?"

>> "That sounds like a plan…We should definitely do that.. or we can just do this."

Jorge was fine with just returning home and maybe at least spending the rest of the day with Gemma at his apartment. It was disappointing because they had had this whole idea for the weekend they would spend away from the city and away from their world they knew so well, but at least they could spend time with each other. Then Gemma pulled a drastic move and before he knew it, she was barreling towards another off ramp that was nowhere near the city.

The move caught him by such surprise that he shouted an explicative. Not out of anger, but more he was fearful that they were either trying to avoid some hazard or they were under attack. But a quick look over and he saw the smile on her face.

“Gemma, what’re you doing?” he asked suspiciously, but with a little bit of humor in his voice.

She did not reply but instead she seemed to be looking out for something as she drove through the isolated roads. They passed various buildings, some homes, others small stores or other types of businesses. He really had no idea what all this was about, but slowly it began to occur to him. The quiet area around, the rustic atmosphere and the fact that they were driving AWAY from the freeway...it all made him smirk as he began to take into understanding exactly was Gemma was planning to do.

And he was right…

Before he knew it, she had found another isolated Bed and Breakfast and pulled into the parking lot. He could scarcely say a word before she had hopped out and made her way inside. Still unsure, the detective stayed in the vehicle, merely watching the front door curiously for her to make her return. The place looked beautiful, he had to admit, and thank the lord there did not seem to be any signs of fruit or other malicious produce. At least none he could see from the outside. Then Gemma had finally reappeared and strutted up to the car with a devilishly grin he could only chuckle at soundlessly…

>> "Guess what, they had a free room, decent meals, and no apples or other fruits whatsoever…No reception though, sadly. And they seem to think we are someone famous…So, would you like to go home to your apartment, or would you rather claim I've kidnapped you and held you hostage?"

“Famous huh?” he chuckled, grinning wide and climbed out of the car and stood before her, unable to do anything else but laugh for a second. “Imagine that.” His arms wrapping around her waist gently and Jorge pulled her close for a small and tender kiss. “Well, I’m definitely in no condition to defend myself,” he winked. “Lead the way, you kidnapper.”

>>“Famous huh? Imagine that. Well, I’m definitely in no condition to defend myself. Lead the way, you kidnapper.”

Gemma chuckled, and led the way. The building was nice, cozy and quiet; their room was on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. No apples, no trouble.

"So" she grinned once they were inside "I made some calls. Looks like Xavier's and the MRC will be able to function without our supervision for another day or two, since we both have been injured and all." she smirked "And this fine establishment, believe it or not, has no mutants in its lovely staff. Nevertheless, we" she winked at Jorge before she turned the lock on the door "Are staying in this room. It's a hostage situation."

And that was that.