Disclaimer: Nope, don't own.
A/N: Inspired by a picture on asofterworld
The heat from the oven drifts out as he quickly checks and then closes the door again. The old hinges protest and close with a loud noise. Mick tosses the oven mitts back on top of the old, gas stove top and decides that they need a couple more minutes.
"Are you even listening to me?"
He jerks, startled, surprised to see her there. But, he thinks back, and his sister has been there all afternoon. Visiting him, she'd said when he'd opened his door to find her there with a single suitcase.
"Yes." He lies and turns back to Jenna giving her his most charming smile. She rolls her eyes but lets him get away with it.
"I said your team's nice."
Mick blinks, confused for a moment because he's never introduced Jenna to them.
"From what I've heard from you." She continues with a pleasant smile and Mick relaxes.
"They are." He agrees easily and slides onto the bar stool across from his sister. She pours them both a glass of wine, red, something he only ever drinks when he's with her. "They're family."
His cell phone beeps on the table, announcing itself but Jenna reaches out and tugs it gently away. She checks the display and smiles, not handing him back his phone.
"And Sam Cooper?" She asks with just enough innocence for him to know that it's false.
"What about Cooper?"
"Well, last I heard he wasn't just nice." Jenna grins wide and smug as Mick buries his face in his hands. "I heard that he was excellent." And if it is possible, Mick is certain he is about to die of embarrassment. He vows to never get drunk with his sister again. "How are things going?"
"Things are…complicated." Mick offers and takes a long drink of his wine. He finishes it in one go, but it's not nearly strong enough for the headache that is forming at the base of his skull.
"Ah." Jenna nods like she understands and perhaps she does.
"So," Mick reaches for the bottle and pours himself another glass, topping up his sisters. "How is auntie?"
"Still terrified to fly." She rests her head in one slender hand and peers across at him thoughtfully. "Or she'd be here, right now."
"I know." Mick also knows their aunt. She had been on a plane once when she was young, and had had to be rushed to a hospital right after landing from the severity of her anxiety attack.
"It's killing her, being unable to be here." Jenna continues and for a moment it's like she's staring right through Mick. "I think she'd like Sam Cooper."
"You haven't even met Cooper." Mick reminds her with a teasing grin.
"Perhaps not in person," Jenna waves Mick's cell phone in front of him. "But over the phone, through stories, in the person you've become."
Mick can feel his face heating up and he swallows, but his mouth is too dry, so he takes another long sip from his glass.
His cell starts to buzz in his sister's hand and she checks the display.
"He's calling you." She says with a soft grin. "And your cupcakes are burning."
Mick blinks and stumbles off of the stool. His phone stops buzzing as it goes to voice mail and he grabs the oven mitts and pulls out his cupcakes. They're okay, a golden colour and they smell amazing as he places them on the stovetop.
He turns to Jenna with a triumphant grin on his face but she's frowning at him.
"When did you learn how to bake?" She asks and Mick has to admit, he doesn't remember.
::
"You're doing it again."
Mick rests his hand on the door to the oven, mitts on, and twists his neck to peer curiously at his sister.
"Doing what?"
"Checking the cupcakes." She shakes a long, manicured finger at him. "They're not ready. Leave them be."
Mick rolls his eyes and pulls open the oven, feeling the heat drift out. They're not quite ready, perhaps another couple of minutes. He closes the door and the old hinges protest and the door closes with a loud snap.
"I told you." She says with a grin. Seated on one of his barstools she pours them both a glass of wine, red, the kind he only ever drinks with her, and passes him a glass. "I talked to auntie."
"How is she?" Mick asks and takes a sip from his glass.
"I think it's breaking her heart not to be here." Jenna's beautiful face twists into one of grief and Mick reaches across the counter top to squeeze her hand briefly. She smiles and squeezes back and they both take a sip of their wine.
"I'll call her tomorrow." Mick says. "I'll try and come and visit her in a month or so. It'll be nice to get away for a bit."
"The team driving you crazy?" Jenna asks. She reaches into her purse, rummaging around until she pulls out a package of cigarettes and an old zippo lighter. He recognizes it as their uncles. "Smoke?"
"I don't smoke." Mick frowns. "And neither do you."
"Only when I'm stressed." Jenna corrects and plays with the lighter for a long moment. Flick, swish, flick, swish, flick, and swish, Mick watches the movements entranced.
"You're stressed?" Mick blinks and tries to remember what they were talking about. Jenna puts the cigarettes away but the lighter remains sitting on the counter top next to his cell phone.
"Your team driving you crazy?" She asks again, ignoring his question.
"No." He says. His cell phone beeps on the table, announcing itself but Jenna reaches out and tugs it gently away. She checks the display and smiles, not handing him back his phone.
"And Sam Cooper?" She asks with just enough innocence for him to know that it's false.
"What about Cooper?"
"Last I heard he drives you wild."
Mick blushes and takes a long drink of his wine. He finishes it in one go, but it's not nearly strong enough for the headache that is forming at the base of his skull.
"Don't you ever tire of hearing me prattle on about Cooper?"
"Never." Jenna gives him a wicked grin. She opens his phone and starts idly scrolling through his messages and he lets her, unwilling or unable to reach out and take the phone back.
"It's complicated." Mick admits and scrubs a hand over his face. He suddenly feels so weary.
"You said that last time."
"I did?" He frowns and tries to remember the last time they talked about Cooper. "I guess I did."
"You're sleeping with the guy, what's so complicated about that?" Jenna asks, curiosity written across her features as she taps a steady beet against the side of her glass. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, beep, beep, beep, tap-
"Will you stop that?" Mick snaps, irritated. Jenna arches an eyebrow at him but stops nonetheless and Mick sighs, feeling his irritation slip away like it was never there. "Sorry."
"You can apologize by telling me what's so complicated about sleeping with Sam Cooper." His sister says with a grin.
"We haven't…" he trails off and goes to take a drink from his glass only to find it empty. Jenna refills his glass and tops up her own and he drinks half of his in one go. "We haven't had sex in, it's got to be over a month now."
"Too busy?"
"Yes." He lies. "No. Maybe?"
"And is sex all you want from your relationship?" She asks with a knowing look on her face. Mick looks away and isn't sure what to say. His phone starts to buzz and Jenna checks the display.
"He's calling you." She says. And Mick feels frozen in place. "Your cup cakes are burning."
Mick blinks and stumbles off of the stool. His phone stops buzzing as it goes to voice mail and he grabs the oven mitts and pulls out his cupcakes. They're okay, a golden colour and they smell amazing as he places them on the stovetop.
He turns to Jenna with a triumphant grin on his face but she's frowning at him.
"When did you learn how to bake?" She asks. He doesn't remember.
::
"They're not ready." Mick freezes in front of the stove with his oven mitts on. "You're going to have to accept this."
He turns to peer at his sister sitting across the counter from him, pouring two glasses of wine, red, the kind he only drinks with her. She glances up at him from under the fringe of her bangs and rolls her eyes.
"You'll ruin your cupcakes if you keep checking every two minutes." Jenna scolds lightly. Mick hesitates and then turns back to the stove and pulls open the oven, feeling the heat drift out. They're not quite ready, perhaps another couple of minutes. He closes the door and the old hinges protest and the door closes with a loud snap.
"I told you." Jenna hands him a glass of wine as he takes a seat on the barstool across from her.
"Did you talk to auntie?" He asks instead. Jenna looks at him, surprised for a moment before nodding.
"She's threatening to take a boat over here."
"A boat?" Mick laughs at the absurdity of it. "You two worry too much, I'm fine."
"You're not fine." Jenna says and Mick winces at the harsh tone to her voice. "Sorry." She apologizes, sheepishly. "Tell me more about Sam Cooper."
"Don't you ever tire…?"
"No, never."
"Alright." He sighs and takes a sip of wine. "I've never met anyone quite like him before. He's so intense, so determined that everyone gets their happy ending that I'm not sure he thinks about his own."
"And he paints?"
"Yeah," Mick nods. "These beautiful, dark images, things he sees in his head, pictures from cases."
His cell phone beeps on the table, announcing itself but Jenna reaches out and tugs it gently away. She checks the display and smiles, not handing him back his phone.
"Who is it?" He asks, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Does he know how much you care for him?" Jenna asks instead. The phone sits on the counter top next to her hand and Mick watches its blinking light for a moment.
"Who?" He tries to play dumb but his sister just levels him with a long look and he sighs. "No, no- I don't think he does."
"You should tell him." Jenna purses her lips together and holds a hand up to halt his protests. "What is the worst that could happen?"
So many things, he thinks.
"Who sent the message?" He asks again, nodding at the phone.
"Hmm?" Jenna peers down at the phone before picking it up and flipping it open. She reads the message and a delighted smile spreads across her face. She closes the phone but keeps it held tightly in her hand. "Your team cares a lot about you."
"I know." Mick agrees. He takes a sip of wine. Their uncles' lighter still sits on the counter, shining lightly like it's been polished recently. "Why are you stressed?"
"Who says I am?" Jenna asks, spinning the lighter on the counter top.
"You did." Mick reminds her gently and reaches out to grasp the lighter. It's cool to the touch and there is an engraving on it but it's been worn away with age so he cannot read it.
"Ah. I suppose I did." His sister agrees with a faint smile. "Well, if you must know, you are the reason I'm stressed."
"Me?" Mick repeats, incredulously. "Because of Cooper?" He asks hesitantly.
"Because of everything. Because of all of this," she gestures around the kitchen in frustration. "And because of those damn cupcakes."
"My cupcakes?" And it seems ridiculous that his cupcakes can be causing his sister so much distress.
His phone starts to buzz and Jenna checks the display.
"He's calling you." She says. "And he's already left two voice mail. You should listen to them. Your cup cakes aren't done."
Mick blinks and stumbles off of the stool. His phone stops buzzing as it goes to voice mail and he grabs the oven mitts and pulls out his cupcakes. They're okay, a golden colour and they smell amazing as he places them on the stovetop.
He turns to Jenna with a triumphant grin on his face but she's frowning at him.
"When did you learn how to bake?" She asks and he doesn't remember.
::
"Do you think they're ready?"
Mick turns to look at his sister, oven mitts held loosely in one hand.
"What?"
"Do you think your cupcakes are ready?" She asks again, elbows on the counter and chin propped up in her hands.
Mick falters and twists the oven mitts in his hands. He glances down at the oven and through the glass window there.
"No." He admits reluctantly.
"Then why check on them if you know they're not ready?" Jenna asks curiously.
"I have to be sure." Mick murmurs and pulls the mitts on. He turns back to the oven and pulls the door open, feeling the heat drift out. They're not quite ready, perhaps another couple of minutes. He closes the door and the old hinges protest and the door closes with a loud snap.
"Come sit down, they'll still be there in a bit." Jenna teases and pours two glasses of wine, red, the kind he only ever drinks when his sister is around.
"Don't you ever get tired of drinking red wine?" He asks suddenly. Jenna shrugs and takes a sip and says,
"Don't you ever get tired of baking cupcakes?"
"I've never really thought about it." He admits.
"Well," Jenna says and takes another sip of wine. "Neither have I. What do you do with all of these cupcakes anyways? Do you eat them all?"
"No." Mick frowns and looks around the kitchen, but its spotless and the only cupcakes are the ones baking in the oven. "I don't like cupcakes that much."
"Do you give them away?" Perhaps that is what he does, and yes- he can see himself giving a dozen to the kind, elderly lady that lives down the hall and the new couple that moved in next door. "Do you give them to Sam Cooper?" Jenna's smile is mischievous and she starts to tap distractedly at the side of her glass. Tap, tap, tap, tap, beep, beep-
He reaches across and grasps her hand lightly and then pulls her glass away.
"I think you've had enough." Jenna pouts at him but makes no move to get her glass back.
"How will he know how much you care, since you won't tell him, if you won't express it in other ways?"
"I…express it." Mick protests feebly but now he isn't as certain.
"Do you give him presents to just to brighten his day? Bring him coffee in the morning? Touch him or compliment him just because you can?"
"I…,"
"Do you lay in bed as the sun is coming up just to watch him sleep for those few extra moments when he isn't troubled or bearing the weight of the world and looks serene?"
"I used to…," Jenna interrupts him, holding his gaze, trapping him there and giving him no room to run even though that is all he wants.
"Do you tell him you love him as often as you can because you may never get another chance?"
"I can't." Mick's hands sting as they hit the counter and he's panting like he's just run a marathon and he's startled by his own reaction but Jenna just watches him with something akin to pity.
"Why?" She asks, like this is all something so easy, like Mick won't get hurt by all of this, like it won't end horribly.
His cell phone beeps on the table, announcing itself but Jenna reaches out and tugs it gently away. She checks the display and smiles, not handing him back his phone.
"Who is it?" He asks, tired.
"You know who it is." She says gently and the phone sits next to her hand, its little light blinking like a beacon. "You love him." His sister says softly and reaches out to hold his hand, an anchor in the storm that is his mind. "And that terrifies you."
"It's hard," he says and squeezes her hand. "Opening yourself up to people, to let them in."
Jenna surprises him by laughing, not mocking, but like they're little again and he's said something silly and she knows better.
"Mick," she says, thumb brushing over his knuckles. "Sam Cooper has been a part of you since the very beginning. You're so convinced he's going to break your heart, but you're doing so much worse to yourself by giving into that fear."
His phone starts to buzz and Jenna pulls her hand away and checks the display.
"He's calling you." She says. "He's left three messages, when are you going to listen to them? I'm not sure your cupcakes will ever be done."
Mick blinks and stumbles off of the stool. His phone stops buzzing as it goes to voice mail and he grabs blindly the oven mitts and pulls out his cupcakes. They're okay, a golden colour and they smell amazing as he places them on the stovetop, but his stomach is twisting, a nauseous feeling that he can't be rid of.
He turns to Jenna with a wavering grin on his face but she's frowning at him.
"When did you learn how to bake?" She asks and Mick doesn't remember.
::
"Aren't you going to check on your cupcakes?"
Mick stands in front of the stove, oven mitts on and hand on the handle. He can feel some of the heat escaping through the window, can smell the cupcakes baking and knows that they're not ready yet. But that's okay, because they will be.
"No." He takes off the oven mitts, places them on the stovetop and takes a seat on his bar stool across from his sister. "Wine?" He offers, holding up the bottle.
Jenna smiles a mysterious little smile and stands walking over to the refrigerator. "Let's try something a little different today."
She comes back with two beers, popping the tops and handing one to Mick. Their bottles clink together and he takes a long pull from his. There's no label on the dark green bottle, but it's cool and refreshing and just what he needs. The wine sits untouched on the counter.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Mick asks, playing idly with the bottle in his hands. Jenna takes a drink from hers and shakes her head. Mick frowns. "Why not?"
"You already know." She says and Mick sighs and wishes that his sister weren't quite so difficult.
His cell phone beeps on the table, announcing itself but Jenna reaches out and tugs it gently away. She checks the display and smiles, not handing him back his phone.
"Isn't a bit early for that?" He demands. "Aren't we supposed to talk more, talk about Cooper, about how I feel about him?"
"You don't know how you feel about Sam Cooper?" Jenna asks, arching an eyebrow and looking sceptical.
"Of course I know how I feel about him!" The words burst out unintentional. "I love him!"
"Then I don't see why we need to have that conversation again." Jenna grins, wide and beautiful.
"Because, because- I'm scared like hell and you're supposed to reassure me!" His face is hot and his head is pounding and his eyes sting.
"Oh Mick," Jenna doesn't reach out across the counter top. This time she comes around and pulls him from the stool, hugging him tight. He buries his face in her long hair and shakes and feels too much at once and through it all his sister holds him, keeps him there, and keeps him from drifting away. "I know, but you need to wake up."
"Wake up?" He parrots and even as he says it he understands what she means. He can hear it again, beep, beep, beep, beep.
"Yeah, it's time to wake up." She pulls back. His phone starts to buzz and Jenna reaches out and picks up the phone, checking the display.
"He's calling you again." She says. "He keeps leaving messages for you to listen to and he sounds so sad. The cupcakes are done. They'll last, will you answer the phone?" She holds out the cell phone in her slender hand and he knows that if he doesn't answer soon he'll miss his chance again.
Mick reaches behind him and turns off the oven. The cupcakes are done, they'll be fine, and they'll last. His hand curls around the phone and he answers, holding it to his ear. His head pounds harder and his bones ache, he feels so tired, so heavy and it's a fight to speak.
But he does.
"Coop?"
::
"Coop?" It comes out soft and hoarse and unsure. He forces his eyes open, not sure when he closed them. The room is dark; the light coming from a lamp next to the bed and for that he is grateful, as it is it still sends little pinpricks of pain shooting through his skull.
He swallows, but his mouth is so dry and he doesn't have it in him yet to move, to get someone's attention for a drink, for something.
But then a straw is pressed against his cracked lips and he takes a few hesitant sips until it's pulled away again.
"Hey." Cooper smiles down at him, voice a whisper and dark eyes glittering in the low lighting.
"Hospital?" Mick asks and shifts and it feels like he's been still for a very long time. Coopers there instantly, helping him shift on the bed until he's propped up and can look around the room properly. It is essentially the same as every other hospital room he has ever been in. Except for something that makes it better. Prophet and Gina are curled together near the door, sound asleep. Beth's coat and bag are next to them but the agent is missing and Cooper is still leaning anxiously over his bed like he cannot take his eyes off Mick for fear that he'll disappear.
"For eight days." Coop says and Mick meets his eyes and can tell everything Cooper is thinking.
"Jenna?" He asks because it feels so wrong to wake up and for her to no longer be there. Surprise flashes briefly across Coopers features before it is replaced with a knowing smile.
"We're keeping Jenna and your aunt informed, but the doctors said you would wake up…they just didn't know when." His voice trails off and his gaze is intense.
"I'm sorry." Mick says and Cooper huffs out a shaky laugh.
"Don't. Don't apologize because some asshole got drunk and took a drive." Coopers hand is clutching his, tight, too tight- but Mick holds on just as tightly.
"Okay." Mick grins and Cooper leans in, kissing him, sharing his smile and his fear and every other emotion he's tried so hard not to feel but doesn't mind as much now.
"I was scared." Cooper admits, forehead resting against his. "I never told you how much I,"
"I know." Mick interrupts him softly, lifting a shaky hand to rest on his cheek. He swallows heavily, and tries to breath past the thumping in his chest. "Me too."
"Mick!" And then Beth is waking up Prophet and Gina and they're gathering around the bed, with doctors and nurses coming and going and Mick, tired and close to slipping back asleep, cannot stop smiling with Coopers hand wrapped around his own and his family close.
I love you¸ he thinks looking at Cooper.
Cooper catches his eye and smiles back and Mick knows he's thinking the same thing.