[IC] The Long Road Home

[Andrew Blade]

"Actually," he told her, pleased with her vulnerability and feeling quite special that she felt so comfortable near him, "I was just enjoying being alone with you. We don't have to talk, if you don't want. You don't have to say anything. I don't have to ask any questions."

Doing his best to adjust himself, he sat up in his bed. His injured shoulder ached, but the painkillers he was on made it easier to use, and he was even experimenting putting some weigh on it a little bit. His other arm was kind of useless still, but he was able to shift in bed. As he did, he realized that her narrow waist and body would fit pretty easily into the hospital bed next to him. It was a silly thought- she no doubt dealt with plenty of other patients and made them feel just as comfortable as she did him, and there had to be rules about snuggling with patients- but he couldn't help but scoot his body closer towards her in the chair, making the amount of space next to him in the bed as obvious as possible.

"I like not being alone," he told her, as if he was talking just to fill the silence, "at least, when you're here. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, it would actually be nice to have another person's hand to hold for a little while."

The idea was a spontaneous one- he hadn't planned on asking her anything of the sort until she offered to leave- and he tried to conceal his nervousness in asking the question. Being a patient here made him feel almost like he was anonymous in a new environment. He had already been forced to deal with swallowing his pride due to his injuries and the level of help he needed, and it was almost as if that made him bolder.

[Vixere]

Pale eyes watched him as he tried to move, surprised that he was willing to do such a feat while in such a vulnerable state. Even still, he was trying to get closer to her and she responded in kind by quietly coming forward a bit more as her Pumas scuffed on the floor. For a moment, Celeste thought about standing and leaving the room - this was dangerous, getting close to him. At the same time, the large man couldn't hurt her in his current state... but his voice could bring her comfort. That was, until he spoke about having a hand to hold. Quietly, the nurse regarded the hand closer to her.

Without truly knowing it, she had responded in kind by reaching out the hand closest to his own as she had the first time they had spoken. This time, as his cast-clad fingers no doubt tried to close around her own, a tiny smile dared to play on her lips. Exhaustion written all over her features, her face softened a bit in relaxation at the touch of another person that wasn't in a clinical setting. While the professional in her certainly wanted to pull away, she couldn't bear to. Not yet.

"Thank you," was murmured after a moment. "I don't think I really have it in me to talk, if that's okay. I just kind of want to drink coffee and listen to the TV."

True to her word, Celeste let herself relax in that chair - and with the lack of sleep over the last few weeks, it didn't take long for her head to twist and rest on the back. Before she had even known it, her breathing had deepened until she was outright asleep.

[Andrew Blade]

Chambers could not help but smile at the nurse sleeping in his room. He didn't know if there were rules against it, but he figured if there was, she'd still be okay. As he browsed through the tv channels, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at her every now and then. When she was awake, he was always so conscious of his gaze, but now that she couldn't catch him, he allowed himself the opportunity to admire how beautiful she was. A strand of her fell in front of her face, and he cursed the bomb that injured him, because he wanted nothing more than to reach over and brush it behind her ear.

It wasn't even an hour later when a several nurses walked into his room. The noise of their arrival was no doubt enough to wake the sleeping woman in the chair next to Jason's bed. Apparently they had come to prep him for surgery. Chambers frowned, because he had hoped Celeste would be able to take over that role, but it couldn't be helped. The hope was that after this operation, he'd be able to regain the use of his legs again.