A/N: Another piece of "Little Moments Like That". A companion piece to "I Missed Wearing It". Any ideas where I should go next?
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The TV hummed softly in the background. Both Don and Jess were fresh from the shower, settling in for the evening. Don was lying across the big bed on his side, staring down at his wife. She was lying on her back; her dark curls scattered underneath her. Her brown eyes looked up lovingly on Don. He had pushed her t-shirt up to expose her abdomen. He left feather light kisses on the traces of yellowing bruising nearly hidden on her olive skin. It had been almost two weeks since Jess's run in with the particularly strong suspect that put her in the hospital. Her head still hurt her from time to time and after long days her ribs were tender but they no longer hurt to the touch. Other than those minor things, she was basically back to normal. Don smiled against her skin as he inhaled the scent of her soap.
"So what do you want to do tomorrow?" Jess asked softly.
"Hmm, I don't know" Don replied, smiling at her. He replaced his kisses with soft touches, making invisible shapes on her skin with his fingers. A loud knock filled the apartment. "I'll get it" He acknowledged, pushing himself off the bed. Jess instantly missed the warmth of his body next to her. She hoped whoever was at the door would leave soon so she could have her husband back.
The sound of glass breaking instantly called for Jess's attention.
"What the hell!?" Don voice echoed through their home. She instantly jumped from the bed and grabbed Don's spare piece from his dresser drawer. As she slid down the hallway, she stumbled on a scene she never expected. Don was fending off strong punches from none other than Jess's second oldest brother Andrew.
"How could you let her get hurt?" He grumbled, twisting Don's wrist until it was behind his back and his face met the wall. Somehow Don broke free from his grasp and turned on his brother in law, clipping his chin with his fist.
"Trust me, I didn't allow it" Don growled.
"Andy! What are you doing?" Jess gasped. She watched, horrified as her brother's fist met her husband's eye. He stumbled backwards, tripping over himself and hit the floor with a loud noise. Andy was on him instantly, pinning him to the ground. "Andy! Stop it, get off of him!" She begged, moving in to break up the fight. Jess pried the two men apart. Andy stood up, panting heavily. Don moaned in pain, still laid out on the floor. His wife kneeled at his side. "First off Andy, you're nearly two weeks late; secondly, it was not Don's fault I got hurt. It's just part of the job. There was nothing he could do, we were on separate cases. You have no grounds to come in here and beat him up!" Jess screamed. Don pulled himself into a sitting position and took the gun from Jess's hand. She could see the anger still consuming her brother. She stood up and approached him. "I think you should leave" She said sternly. Andy gave her a curt nod and left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
Jess spun around to see Don on his feet; she could tell he was making a general assessment of his condition.
"You alright?" She checked.
"Been better, but I'm doing ok" He answered. She walked towards him and took his face in her hands. She could already tell his eye was going to be hurting in the morning. She then turned her attention to the small scrape above his other eye.
"I can't believe he did that to you" She breathed, softly kissing him. "And to think, we just got you cleaned up." She added with a laugh. A smile broke through Don's confused expression. He still wasn't exactly sure what happened.
"Well, I guess, you'll just have to clean me up again" He replied with a wink. He took her hand and led her back to the bedroom. Jess detoured into the master bedroom to get a wet washcloth.
"Come here baby" she called, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Don knelt in front of her. His wife gently dabbed the washcloth over his face, cleaning his scrape and removing any excess. She then looked down at his shirt. "Now, I'm not sure if this is your blood or Andy's but whoever's it is, the shirt needs to be changed." She commented. He reached back and pulled the piece of clothing over his head. He tossed it in the direction of the hamper.
"How's that?" She heard a playful tone dance through his question.
"Better" Jess approved. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She met his lips, her tongue slid across his mouth as he granted access. As they broke away she pressed her forehead against him. "I'm so sorry Donnie" She whispered.
"Honey, please stop apologizing. I knew what I was getting into when I married a woman with four older brothers" Don laughed. He watched her expression change.
"Fine, I was going to make it up to you, but since I don't need to, I guess I won't" Jess shrugged a sly grin crawling across her beautiful face. She gently pushed him out of her way and left the room. Don glared at his wife's petite figure walking away from him down the hall away from him. He got to his feet and followed her. He found her in the kitchen, flipping through the mail. He approached her and set his hands on the counter on either side of her.
"Just because you don't need to make it up to me doesn't mean you can't kiss it and make it better. " Don stated, his voice was low and seductive. He watched the hair on her neck stand on end. She released a ragged breath. The mail fell to the counter as Jess turned to face her husband. The dark blue color his hungry eyes had succumbed to sent waves of heat coursing through her body. She pressed herself against him. Don met her lips with a searing kiss. Jess leaned back against the counter as she wrapped on leg around him to pull him even closer. He slid one arm down around her lower back while using his right hand of lift her other leg. He was almost too wrapped up in the moment to notice the pain radiating from his wrist. Mentally, he marked it off as a battle wound that he would give some attention to later, right now, he was busy.
The following morning, Jess lazily looked over at her husband's side of the bed. He was not there; instead he was standing next to the bed, stepping into a pair of jeans.
"What are you doing?" She wondered, knowing full well they both had the day off and usually he didn't even get around to getting dressed by the end of the lazy days they spent together.
"I think I'm going to go to the emergency room" He said dismissively. He looked up at her, the angry bruising around his right eye made his baby blues stand out even more.
"What? Why?" Her voice nearly shook with concern as she flew into a sitting position. Don walked around the bed and sat down next to her. Jess set her left hand on his cheek and carefully ran her thumb over his black eye. She left a soft kiss on the edge of the bruise. "Why are you going to the emergency room?" She asked softly. Her eyes followed his as he looked down at his lap where he was cradling his right wrist. She couldn't ignore the swelling and bruising of the area.
"I think your brother might have broken my wrist" Don admitted.
"I see that" Jess exhaled. "We're you not going to wake me up before you left?"She asked curiously. Her husband just stared at her, clearly knowing he was in trouble. "Yeah, that wouldn't have been a good idea. If you need to go to the emergency room, you should probably alert your wife" She added with a laugh as she patted his head and went to the bathroom.
"So you want to come with?" Don called over the running water as she brushed her teeth. He was hoping that was the right thing to say. Jess stepped into the door way and sent him a look that said "duh". He couldn't help but laugh at her standing there, her hair messed up, her tooth brush hanging out of her mouth, just glaring at him. He nodded and went to put a shirt on.
Don was leaning up against the island in the kitchen when Jess finished getting ready.
"Ready to go?" He asked, jingling the car keys.
"Yep, but you're not driving." She replied taking the keys and walking out the door.
"Why not?" Don whined when they were both in the hall.
"Not until we figure out what's wrong with your wrist" She said with a shrug, letting him know she was just being cautious. He couldn't blame her. He took her hand with his good one and continued to walk towards the car.
"I'm glad we didn't have any plans for today" Jess sighed as she entered the apartment.
"I'm sorry" Don said sincerely as he locked the door behind them. They had just spent the last three hours in the ER. As it turned out, Don had a hairline fracture of his wrist and was instructed to wear a brace on it for three weeks until his next appointment.
"Don't be sorry, it happens" Jess replied, kissing him slowly.
"So what do you want to do with the rest of your day off?" Don asked.
"Movies and beer?" She suggested.
"That sounds good to me" He agreed, taking her into his arms. They eventually slipped back into their sweats and wasted away the day in front of the TV.
Don was getting himself ready for work, when Jess walked out of the bathroom.
"I hate this stupid thing" He began toying with the Velcro on his brace. "It makes my wrist sweat and gets caught on everything." He finished. Jess couldn't help but laugh at him. He looked so pitiful standing there in his wife beater and slacks, frowning at the offending object helping his wrist heal.
"I'm sorry, but you have to wear it. Now get your shirt on, you're going to be late for work" she responded. Don huffed and pulled a shirt out of the closet.
"You know Danny is going to give me a hard time" He groaned.
"Just tell him you won" His wife chimed in.
"Jess, does it look like I won?" He asked in a near sarcastic tone. Jess giggled. "My point exactly" He mumbled.
"Again, I'm sorry, but I have to go. Maybe we can do lunch or something. Love you" She added, kissing her husband.
"Love you too" He called after her.
Flack slowly walked into the lab, scanning the area for Danny. He had been lucky enough to draw a case with Stella and Mac, so he was hoping not to run into Danny now.
"Yo Flack!" Flack cringed at the sound of his best friend's voice behind him.
"Yeah Danny" He grumbled.
"I just had to see this for myself, what the hell happened man? You pick a fight with your wife?" the detective joked.
"As a matter of fact it was her older brother and I was at the disadvantage, he had the element of surprise on his side." Flack shot back. Danny laughed.
"I believe you" He said, tossing his hands up defensively. "So I see the shiner, Stella said you did something to your wrist" Danny added.
"Yeah, it's broken and I have to wear this stupid brace until it heals" Flack informed him a little more than frustrated.
"That sucks" His friend empathized. Lindsay snuck up behind her boyfriend.
"Quit picking fights with your wife's family and you won't get hurt" She teased.
"Ohh, good one Montana" Danny praised, kissing her on the cheek and walking away.
"Thanks" Flack mentioned sarcastically as he went to deliver the file he had to Stella.
When Jess got home from work, she was surprised to find her husband had beat her home.
"Honey, what are you doing home so early?" She inquired as she found him laid out on the couch.
"We wrapped the case quickly, and I was caught up on most of my paperwork, so I decided to call it a day." He explained as he stood up from the couch. He took her jacket and went to hang it up. "I was thinking I was going to cook dinner tonight, anything you want?" Don asked.
"That's so sweet of you!" Jess gushed as he took both of her hands. He leaned down and gently kissed her. "Umm, I'll let you pick" She decided, leaning up to kiss him again. Don wrapped his arms around his wife. He slid his hands up under her shirt and extended the kiss. Jess could feel the Velcro rubbing up again her skin. She knew it would take a few days for both of them to adjust to his injury. They broke the kiss when they heard someone knock on the door. Don approached the door and looked through the peep hole not taking any chances. He sighed heavily.
"Jess, babe, answer the door" He groaned, stepping into the kitchen. His wife sent him a strange look, then connected the dots, getting a pretty good idea of who was on the other side of the door. She opened the door and as she expected, there stood her brother Andy.
"Didn't get enough last night?" She hissed. Her husband walked up behind her as almost a warning. He noticed Andy was nowhere near as bruised as he was.
"I, uh, well, can I come in?" Andy asked sheepishly. Jess looked at Don for the answer. He just stood there with his hands shoved into his pockets. He tossed his hands up, signaling that he didn't care and turned towards the bedroom. "No Don, wait please" His brother in law called after him. He stopped and turned around. Andy started at his sister's husband as he stood before him in his wife beater and running pants. He winced slightly as he noticed his black eye and the brace on his wrist. He's done him up good and for no good reason. "Look, I'm really sorry" He managed. Jess knew this was hard for her older brother; it was rare that he actually admitted he was wrong.
"You should have just called, you had no right to come barging in here" She tossed back at him.
"I know Jessie, and I'm really sorry. I mean I was out of town when you got hurt and when I got back, nothing could stop me. I should have just talked to you."He explained.
"Ya know Andy, it's not really me you need to apologize to" Jess pointed out. Andy set his attention back to Don. "You broke his wrist" She mentioned.
"I'm sorry" He murmured again, then looked back to his sister. "I just don't like you getting hurt. I mean I know it comes with the job, but it still never sat right with me" Andy continued with a genuine expression.
"I know, but Don takes pretty good care of me I promise. He's not going to let anything happen to me" His sister assured him. A smiled graced Andy's features as he took a step towards his brother in law.
"I really appreciate that and I can't say I'm sorry enough. I over reacted, but if it's any consolation, you really gave me a run for my money" He broke the tension with a slight laugh. Jess sat on edge, nibbling on her lip as she awaited Don's reaction. She knew Andy had wounded his pride as well as his body. She breathed a sigh of relief as her husband smiled.
"I do the best I can to keep her out of harm's way." Don started seriously. "And, if you wouldn't have surprised me, I would have had you" He added in a more lighthearted tone, both men laughed. Andy reached in for a handshake. "We're going to have to go left to left. My right hand is out of commission for the evening, it's still kind of sore" Don stopped him. Andy corrected himself and completed the handshake.
"Well, I'm going let you two get back to your evening. Jessie, I'll call you sometime" Andy excused himself.
"That went well" Jess commented after she shut the door.
"Yeah, I guess it did" Don added, rather proud of himself. "Now, I am going to make you dinner. You go get comfy" He smiled.
"Yes sir" She giggled, ready to do as he said, but first she wrapped her arms around his waist. She hugged him and settled her head in the center of his chest. She smiled warmly as she heard his heartbeat. Don ran his hand over her back. "Even though I should be making dinner for you, my knight in the white wife beater" She whispered against his body.
"Nah, I'll treat you, but I'll be your knight anytime" He promised, seeking out her lips for a sensual kiss.