OK, this is probably going to be a bit cheesy and mushy... That's ok... It's supposed to be. Now, I've only seen up to P9, and the other new OAV's up to 16... so if some of this has already been done, bear with me.

"Asuma!!!" Noa's horrified cry rang out, as she watched the labor casually toss the command car behind him. "Asuma... Asuma! Are you all right?" All she could hear was his labored breathing, which was starting to weaken...

The unidentified labor pilot started to laugh. "That little thing shouldn't try to stop one of these babies. All right! Who's next?" The pilot's cocky speech penetrated her ears, and a mist of anger rolled in over her. She couldn't hear anything, see anything but that obnoxious face, laughing at...

A cry of rage rang out from Alphonse, as Noa started to attack in a berserk rage. She dimly heard Captain Goto's anxious voice, directing the ambulance crew... NO! was all she could think. No...no. It couldn't happen. The command car was the one that was supposed to be safe. Only the Ingram pilot was ever in danger...

The labor pilot saw the enraged police officer charging him in her labor, and started to get a bad feeling. "Oh, shi..." was all that he could say, before the Ingram smashed into his labor. He could only watch in total shock as the police officer started to systematically dissemble his labor, limb by limb. When he was helpless in his cockpit, she used her Ingram to grab him and his seat out out the labor, before another police Ingram charged in.

"Izumi! Are you all right? I took care of the other one-" Ohta stopped speaking as he saw her, and the wreckage of the labor around her. "Noa, are you all right?" he asked, and became concerned when she didn't respond. "Noa..."

He looked into the cockpit, and saw something he had never really thought he would see. The usually cheerful Noa was in the cockpit, breathing heavily. The look in her eyes, one of rage and fear all at the same time, made him want to back away.

"Noa... what's wrong?" was all he could say, as she transferred her gaze from the terrified labor pilot sitting in the remains of his seat to him. She replied, "This... this... he crushed Asuma's command car... Asuma wouldn't respond... Captain Goto took him to the hospital..."

Suddenly, her gaze turned back to the once-cocky labor pilot. "You... how dare you... and then you laughed about it! I'm going to-" Ohta saw the look on her face, and took the seat and pilot away from her grasp. "Ohta-san!! How could you? He hurt Asuma..." Ohta told her, "Noa, you can't do anything to him. His labor is out of commission. Our job is to hand him to the police."

Then the barely suppressed rage in his voice emerged. He gazed at the pilot, and then added, "He doesn't have to be all in one piece, though... just alive. And Noa, you were about to cross that line." Ohta had been a police officer long enough to know what having a friend disabled like this was like. With a voice of experience, he gently told her, "Get out of the labor, and get to the hospital right away. You're not going to be able to do anything while you're worrying like this. Don't worry- I'll take care of this."

Noa looked at him, surprised he wasn't shooting the place up. Then, with gratitude in her voice, she told him, "Thanks you, Ohta-san. I'll get there right away." Then she started to head toward the hospital while still in Alphonse, disrupting traffic all along the way.

Ohta looked at the Ingram causing mass destruction, and decided not to try to stop her. In her condition, it probably wouldn't be a good idea... He told Taeko what had happened, and told her to inform all the people who would need to know. He would take care of the wreckage, and the inevitable questions.

Taeko took this all in stride, and just warned Ohta not to break too many bones. Ohta then looked at the terrified labor pilot, and gave a nasty smile. "You and I have a lot to talk about..."

Nurse Mariko Suzuki looked up with frightened eyes as a labor suddenly came running up to the entrance of the hospital, and then squatted down. She started as the cockpit's entrance opened, and a young woman jumped out recklessly. Noa looked at her, and then with panic in her voice, asked, "Where is the police man who came in here a few moments ago? Is he... is he ok?"

Mariko had seen panic like this before, though not in a person who had enough firepower to destroy large sections of the hospital. She spoke in a calm, soothing voice, trying not to make Noa even more panicky. She replied, "He was rushed to the ER. Don't worry. His condition was critical, but it was stabilizing, and our doctors are some of the best in Japan."

Noa rushed past her, and yelled, "Where is he? I have to see him... it's my fault that that labor got past me-" Mariko blocked her way, and told her, "You're not allowed in the operating room. I'm sorry. If you want, you can wait with the gentleman who brought him in." Then gently, she took Noa's hand and lead her to the waiting room, casting one last anxious glance at the labor.

Captain Goto was sitting in one of the chairs, smoking a cigarette. His normally impassive face was drawn with worry, and he seemed to be staring out into space. "Captain! Is Asuma all right? How is he? Have you heard anything?" The barrage of questions seemed to wake him from his reverie.

"Izumi... don't worry. It's not as bad as it seemed from the car. He has broken bones, and some internal bleeding. He just has to regain conciousness, and then he'll be fine." He took a look at her distraught, pale face, and gently told her, "Stay here at the hospital as long as you like. I'll tell Shinobu-san to fill in with the First unit if there's any trouble. Ah... I'll call Hiromi to take the Ingram back..."

He watched as she collapsed into a chair, pale and dazed. He took the nurse aside. Taking a look at her name tag, he whispered, "Suzuki-san. Please take care of her while she's here. The man that was brought in is her partner, and this is the first time anyone near her has been seriously injured in the line of duty." He looked back at the young woman, and then added, "It was too much to ask, I suppose- that one of the infamous 2nd unit would not eventually be seriously hurt... I just expected it to be Ohta, not Shinohara..."

He looked at the nurse, who nodded. Then, Goto glanced one more time at the anxious Noa, before heading back to tell everyone the bad news. Minako looked at him leave, before bringing Noa a blanket and a pillow. She smiles as Noa looked up at her, and told her, "You look like you're going to be staying here a bit. Why don't you try to get some rest, while you wait?" Noa thanked her and settled down to wait, wrapping herself in the blanket.

How could he have gotten hurt? He is the command car. He's the one that's always safe, while she’s the one getting in trouble. How could this happen? He should be waiting here, and I should be the one in the hospital... that's the way its supposed to be.

Noa looked at herself. She felt so tired... She should have stopped that labor before he had had a chance to do anything. She had had the stun stick out, and was about to decommission him, and then he had feinted, to the left. He had been trying to avoid her, while the command car had tried to get away from both of them...

Asuma had been yelling out strategy to her, warning her about letting the labor get away to wreak more havoc on the surrounding area, when the pilot picked the car up, tossing it aside. The sickening crunch of crushed metal and breaking glass was still ringing in her ears... that and Asuma's fading breath.

The captain's voice was still in her mind... "Broken bones and some internal bleeding... he just has to regain consciousness..." What did that mean? Wasn't he going to be ok if he doesn't wake up? Oh, Kami-sama... How could she have let that labor get past her like that?

It had just been a disgruntled construction worker who had probably been drinking too much, and had started to wreck the surroundings with his labor. It should have been an easy capture, with no more than a wrecked buildings to show anything had happened... that's all that it should have been.

What if Asuma didn't regain consciousness? What would she do without him? He had become a huge presence in her life, her partner and best friend. Backup and Forward should be two in one. She had grown accustomed to him, and couldn't imagine life without him...

And... there was that secret hope that she had, that one day, they might become more than friends. Maybe... but she hadn't wanted to risk their good relationship, and she knew that he hadn't wanted to, either. So instead, they were just good friends, partners who backed each other up, and that was all they were- though there were times when it seemed like...

She couldn't help but remember all the times that they had spent together... the surprisingly few arguments that they had had, the small number making each of them even more difficult... the fun they had had when he had spent Christmas with her in Hiroshima... The fact that he didn't laugh at her, or think that she was crazy for loving her labor...

As she nodded off, she couldn't help but to remember the time that he had taken her to his older brother's grave. That he had entrusted her with that knowledge had meant so much to her... but now, she couldn't help but to imagine his grave next to his brother's, with her standing over it...

It had already been two days, and Asuma still hadn't waken up. The doctors assured her that he would wake soon, but she could tell that they were worried. She had gotten in the habit of spending most of the day by his side, talking to him about everything and anything- trying to get him to wake up.

"Asuma, aren't the flowers pretty? Everyone contributed to them. The maintenance crew also brought over some of their stash of dried fish, and even the First unit came over to visit. Don't worry. Shige-san told me that they fixed up your car, and that it was ready for you when you come back."

She looked at him, lying there so still and silent, and started to talk to try to fill the silence. "Did you know that the city isn't blaming the 2nd unit for the damage? She shakes her head. "Oh, Ohta-san... I should have known you were being too calm... Everyone is just worried about you, and wants you to get better. There hasn't been anything in the paper bashing the infamous 2nd unit... instead, they're actually remembering the good things that we've done..."

She looked around the sterile room. There were so many machines hooked up to him, humming and beeping. It almost felt like they were swallowing him up... "That idiot who did this to you was just drunk... we didn't think that you would want him in jail for attempted murder of a police officer but I don't think that he's going to do anything anymore. He was terrified by the time Ohta-san gave him to the police... he swore never to drink again."

She stopped talking, and stared at him. She couldn't think of anything else to say, and she felt so alone in this cold room... Everyone had dropped by, and was planning on dropping by as much as they could. But they were working, covering for her while she was with Asuma, and besides, it was too far from the headquarters to the hospital for them to be here long. There were still labors that needed to be stopped...

Behind her, she heard quiet conversation. She looked out the door, and saw a older man standing there, arguing with Suzuki-san. The man had a bouquet of flowers with him, and seemed to want to come in...

"Damn it, let me go in there. Do you know who I am? I am President Shinohara of Shinohara heavy industries. I have more net worth than everyone in this hospital combined, and I'm not going to let some nurse stop me from visiting my-" Mariko interrupted the man's rant with, "I don't care who you are. No one is just going to go in without some proof, and all I've heard from you is some claim to be-"

They were both interrupted by a tired Noa, who said, "What's going on?" Then Noa exclaimed, "I know you! You're Asuma's father! I didn't think that you would show up... Suzuki-san, it's all right. I know who he is..." Mariko gave the man one last glare, before going back to her duties. Noa led the older Shinohara into the room, and then told him to sit down.

"You... you're my son's partner, aren't you? I remember seeing you when Asuma came to visit his brother..." Shinohara looked at her tired, drawn face, and added, "You seem to care for him a lot. I wish that he had told me about you."

Noa looked at the older man, who was gazing at his son with sorrow in his eyes. "I didn't think that you would come. You and Asuma were so stubborn about this feud that you were having... Why are you here? I don't think that Asuma would like it if you just came because you were supposed to..."

Shinohara sighed. "My son and I have had many arguments over the years. But he is still my son, and I love him, even if we can't stay in the same room for ten minutes before starting to argue. When I heard about this, I was in America. I left immediately, and came here from the airport... after all, he is still my son."

Noa looked silently at the man, as he sat near his son's bedside. Then she started, as he said quietly, "I suppose that this is all my fault. After all, I was the one who made him join the police force... if I had just let him-" Noa interrupted him angrily. "It's not your fault. How could it be your fault? I'm his partner, and I'm the one that let that drunken labor pilot get past me... I'm sorry. Would you please excuse me? I have to go get a drink of water-" She rushed out of the room, leaving him with his unconscious son.

"Asuma... even if we are estranged, you could have brought your girlfriend home to tell me. She reminds me of your mother- headstrong and active. I never thought that I would see you married before I left this world... but seeing her, you're a fool if you don't realize... Damn it, son! Get up and make sure that that girl stays with you... I've seen it before, love like that... You'd better not let her go." Then he put the flowers near the others, and left, saying, "I'll come back later, and I'll make sure we talk."

Noa woke up from her restless sleep, plagued by a nightmare... a nightmare that wasn't one, that Asuma was hurt, and wouldn't wake up. She automatically glanced at him, and saw that he was the same. He looked better than he had before, his bruises fading, though he still had casts on his arm and legs.

She walked over, and smoothed the blanket over him. Looking at his peaceful face, she could imagine that he was just sleeping... It had only been a week of him being unconscious, but in that time, she had come to realize how much she depended on him. Depended on him for companionship, to lighten her mood, or just to be with.

"Asuma... I wish that you could hear me. Why aren't you waking up? Don't you want to be awake to get your medal? I can't believe it... they're finally acknowledging both SV2 units for their hard work, and you won't be awake for it."

Holding his hand, she just tried to speak to him. "Your father visited you again yesterday. He's as worried about you as I am, and I think that he's willing to stop feuding with you. He's even willing to let you become heir to the presidency of Shinohara Industries... not just because of the guilt. I told him about how much you knew, not just about the Ingrams, but about everything else, too.

She couldn't help but to smile. "Did you know that he has been collecting all of 2nd unit's exploits in a scrapbook? He brought it in, and we have done quite a lot of damage... but we've also done a lot. I wish that you would wake up... I want to show it to you. It even has the one with Ohta-"

She stopped talking, just staring at his prone face. Knowing that if he had been awake, that he would be joking about that time, and probably yelling at her for letting his father in the room... She rested her head carefully on his chest, and sighed. She felt herself drifting back to sleep, but couldn't manage to get up... It felt so warm...

Asuma felt as if he were in a fog. His head hurt, worse than the time when he had downed five bottles of sake on a dare... he couldn't move. It was as if he had a weight all over his body, especially over his legs. He tried to open his eyes, and managed it.

Where was he? He could see sterile walls, with curtains and flowers on one side, and an open door on the other. He saw a woman about to enter, and then gasp. He couldn't really seem to connect events... everything was so disjointed. That woman quickly ran out of the room, and seemed to be very excited...

What was that beeping? He looked next to him, and saw a lot of machinery hooked up to his arm... He wondered why. Then he saw the reason why he couldn't move his body. His left arm and both his legs were in casts... Why?

Then he started to remember. A labor, who reached down, and- Damn! He remembered feeling like a ton of bricks had come and smashed him... actually, more like him smashing onto a lot of pavement... Noa! Was she all right? He remembered her frantic voice, yelling at him as if from a great distance.

Asuma looked down. There she was... why was she leaning on his chest? She was asleep. Hmm... she looked really tired, and as if she had been crying. Was that because of him? Probably... he had managed to get himself hurt, and she had probably been here worried about him all... day?

Then a lot of people came into the room. They were all yelling and seemed very excited... Asuma felt rather dazed, as if he were waking up from a long sleep. Soon, he shushed them. He pointed to Noa, and said, "Don't wake her up. She looks tired." He was surprised, because he couldn't seem to make himself heard over a whisper.

Still, they heard him, and started to speak in a lower tone. One of the nurses woke Noa up gently, and moved her to the chair. Noa didn't seem to be aware of the crowd of people as she snuggled up to the pillow and went back to sleep. Wow, she must really be tired...

He felt kind of tired too. He smiled at the doctors, and then decided to go back to sleep. He'll talk to her in a little bit...

Noa woke up, and was surprised to find herself in the chair. She supposed Suzuki-san or someone else had moved her. She looked at Asuma, and saw that there didn't seem to be any change. She repeated her usual routine of going to sit by his bed, and speaking to him. One of the doctors had told her that seemed to help...

"Asuma, you idiot! Hurry and wake up already! I'm going to be out of a job soon if I don't get back into Alphonse, and I'm not going to go anywhere without my baclup..." Then she realized that she must be yelling, and stopped. She paused to get control over herself, looking at the ceiling, and missed seeing his eyes open a little, before it closed again...

He saw Noa there, and she looked rather angry. He'd heard what she said, and realized that he must have been asleep a lot longer than he had realized...

"Asuma... please wake up. I can't go on like this much longer. Everyone is so worried about you. Even Ohta-san can't seem to shoot up the labors like he used to... and when your father comes to visit, you should see his face..." His father? That bastard? What was he doing coming here? Noa should know that he didn't want to talk to him.

"Your father loves you so much. He reminds me a lot of you. Both of you were so stubborn! But he's kind like you, too. He doesn't blame me, though he should. It's all my fault that you got hurt. How could I have let that drunk get past me? Alphonse and I could have dealt with him so easily. But I didn't, and you got hurt..."

Noa had her head on his chest, and was... crying? Noa was crying because of him... How could she blame herself? She couldn't have done anything... the guy had been staggering around in the labor- no one would have expected him to react and move as fast as he did... He couldn't let her blame herself like this...

Noa started as she felt an arm go around her. She looked up, into Asuma's open eyes, and felt her heart almost give out in shock. "A-asuma... Asuma!!" She couldn't help herself- she threw herself on him, giving him a fierce hug, until he involuntarily moaned. Then she blushed, and let him go, still smiling wildly.

"Asuma! Asuma- you're awake! Finally..." To her shock, she could feel tears starting to form in her eyes, but couldn't stop them. She felt like such an idiot... the first thing he was seeing was her blubbering like an idiot. She couldn't believe it... he was awake!"

She felt his hand as it hesitantly wiped away her tears. She looked up to him, and couldn't help feel a tremendous load of guilt. "Asuma... I'm sorry. It's all my fault... I suppose that you don't want me as your partner anymore... I understand. But I'm so glad that you're awake! So glad...

Asuma couldn't understand the words for a minute. Not be partners anymore? What the hell was she talking about? "Noa, what's wrong with you? What that labor did wasn't your fault. If anything, it was mine for not predicting that last move that he did..."

He looked at her tear-streaked face, and couldn't help but notice the pale, drawn manner she had. She looked so sad... "What have I done to you, Noa? Why are you looking like this? And why aren't you driving Alphonse? Doesn't 2nd unit have duty?"

Noa looked at him with a shocked expression. "How could I have left you like this? You've been unconscious for 9 days. I couldn't leave you alone! Everyone else is covering for us, and is waiting for you to get better. Do you really think that I would abandon you, just to drive a labor?"

Nine days? He'd been asleep for nine days? But even more shocking was what she'd said right now. "Just a labor? I can't believe you just said that. Aren't you going crazy, not having Alphonse around for nine days?" Noa retorted, "Do you think that a machine is more important to me than you? Alphonse is special, but I can always get another Ingram. You... you are not as easily replaced, you know!"

She stood up, and pointed at him. "Don't you realize how much I would have missed you if you were gone? I'm your partner! Backup and Forward are just like one person in two bodies, remember? You could have died! Don't you know what that would have done to me..."

He looked at her with shock. She didn't notice, and went on talking, about how everyone at SV2, and his father and friends would miss him. He looked at this beautiful woman, who had stayed by his side the whole time, and couldn't believe his luck. How could he not have noticed? We stopped really being just friends a long time ago...

He held her hand. Noa looked at him, and stopped shouting. His expression was strange... it seemed like he was stunned. "Hey, Asuma, are you all right? You probably shouldn't talk that much. You have been-" He interrupted her with a question. "How could I have been so blind? I never realized how much..."

He stared into Noa's eyes, and she couldn't help but to feel vulnerable. His eyes were searching, probing. She looked at his eyes, and felt such joy. Even in the middle of her rant, the fact that he was awake, and able to argue with her made it so that she couldn't really get mad at him. She was just venting tension...

His intense eyes... he looked like he was about to say something. What could he say? What did she want him to say? She realized exactly how much she cared about him. As a partner, as a friend? Yes... but also as something else... His face's expression was one of revelation. Why? What could he possibly-

"Noa, I... thank you. Thank you for staying with me, for being here. Why? Why did you stay?" She was about to say what she'd been telling herself. That it was because he was her partner, her friend... But his eyes were boring into her, and she couldn't say those easy words that she'd been telling herself. She realized that she couldn't keep it just friends anymore. Safely feeling only friendship, not going anywhere past that line.

"Because... because I care about you, of course. Everyone does-" He looked at her, making her stop. She felt it, that he didn't want her to start mentioning everyone else. "Because... I literally couldn't imagine a world without you-"

He held her hand tight, and he seemed to be struggling to say something. She knew what he was about to say... what she wanted to say. She knew, so instead of waiting for him to struggle with something he could, and would say later, she did a very simple thing. She leaned over, and kissed him.

It was a small kiss, sweet and light. When she retreated to the table to get him a drink of water, they were both blushing. The twinkle in both their eyes said everything. They didn't need to say a word. As she handed him the glass of water, he held her hand again. She was about to lean her head down a second time when the door crashed open.

"Shinohara! I heard that you were up, you idiot! How long does it take you to wake up, anyway. And I thought that you were lazy before..." Ohta's loud remarks were muted by the fact that his eyes were shining, and he was radiating relief. Following him was everyone else who could manage to come. Taeko, Shinshi, Hiromi, Shige, and Goto all came crowding in.

Asuma felt like his heart had burst. First the kiss, and now this... He heard Hiromi say, "Ohta-san. Please! He was through a lot. Let's not excite him..." As everyone clustered around, Captain Goto gave the two of them a significant look, gesturing at their clasped hands. Their blushes told them what he needed to know, and he smiled at the both of them.

Then he heard a voice that he didn't want to hear. Noa yelled out, "Shinohara-san! Come in, please!" He gave her an aggravated look, which she smiled at. Damn it, when she smiles like that, what can he do? He looked at his father, and couldn't believe what he saw. His father had been old when he had seen him at the grave, but now, he looked ancient...

"Asuma! You're awake! Son, you're awake..." Then he came up, and hugged him hard. "Father? Wha-?" His father let him go, and told him, "I'm sorry, son. Sorry for all those years of stubbornness, for forcing you to join such a dangerous profession... I never realized what it would be like to really not have you here, in this world."

He looked at Asuma, and there was a question in his voice. "Asuma... son, if you want, you can have Shinohara Industries after me. Your partner told me of your expertise, and of your growth after all these years. I never realized how much you'd matured, until now. I can tell that you have become a man I can be proud of."

Asuma is shocked. After all this time, his father has conceded, asked him to come back to the company... "Father, I'm surprised... shocked, actually. I can't believe that you would ask me too... after all this time. But... I've truly become what I was only pretending to be, for a while. I'm a police officer, and as my partner said, I'm needed as her forward..."

His father looked at him, and at Noa. He had a faint smile on his face as he saw the two of them so close together, and said, "Fine, you don't have to decide for at least 20 more years- after all, I plan on staying president for a long time. But... why don't you and your... partner come over for a few days? The mansion feels a bit empty without some people in it.

Asuma, who hoped that he wasn't blushing, agreed. By now, everyone had noticed their closeness, and the cessation of the slight tension that had always been around them, even while they had been relaxing. With knowing smiles all around, everyone left the two alone, each pleading some excuse.

"Do you think they noticed?" asked Asuma, who was still blushing. Noa answered, "Yes, I do think that they did..." and started to smile. He joined her, grinning like an idiot, and commented, "I don't mind- do you?" Her answer was the kiss she put on his cheek.

---Finis---