Mother Hen Nick
By Janet BraydenCody Allen swayed dizzily as his friends helped him to his feet. In attempting to break up an apparent kidnapping attempt Cody and his friends had jumped the men who were dragging a kicking and screaming teenaged boy toward a nearby van.
Cody's partners, Nick Ryder and Murray Bozinsky hadn't fared that well either but they had quickly recovered. Murray, for all his good intentions, just wasn't any good in a fight. He'd jumped on the back of one of the men Nick was fighting with but the man had easily thrown Boz into a pile of baskets and such. On the way down Murray had gotten tangled up in a string of small lights that were part of one of the booths on the Chinatown street.
Nick had done okay for a moment but a one, two, three punch and knee to the stomach combination had sent him to the concrete almost as fast as Murray had gone down – and this after he'd managed to take two down in a horizontal attack from the rear as if he were still playing football at Lincoln High.
Cody had stayed on his feet a little longer but he was no match for his last opponent – the man had to have had a couple of inches and probably fifty pounds on him. Cody had found himself sailing through the air and coming down hard among some cartons of souvenirs behind the booth he had been in front of. Afterwards he could never be quite sure whether he'd hit his head on the post of the booth or on the boxes. All he knew was that he was only dimly aware of Nick and Murray's concerned voices as they called his name and ran to his aid.
"My eyes are rolling around in my head," had been his response to Nick's concerned question as the brunet steadied his friend and Boz questioned the father and son as to whether or not they were all right.
All that was over and done with. Kyle Jennings, and his son Chad, had left the area. The Riptide detectives were alone in the midst of a minor disaster area. Cody was looking very pale in spite of his assurances to Nick that he was now ok and Nick wasn't going to let it pass.
"Boz, go find the girls and bring them back here," Nick told the youngest member of the trio.
"What do I tell them?" Murray asked.
"Tell them…", Nick hesitated for a moment. "Just tell them that Cody's had an accident and he needs to go home and rest.
"Nick, I'm fine," Cody protested to no avail.
"Sure you are," Nick returned. "That's why you're white as a sheet and can't stand on your own.
It was true. Cody's face had gone pale as soon as he tried standing. Even now he was starting to sway again.
"What part of 'my eyes are rolling around in my head' don't you think I understood, Code?" Nick scolded his friend. "Sit down before you fall down."
In spite of his firmly spoken reply Nick's hands, and arms, were gentle as he guided Cody to a safe spot to sit. Fifteen minutes later they were still there, Cody sitting with his head down on his knees, when Murray returned with their dates. Nick had his hands on Cody's shoulders gently rubbing them in a soothing motion.
Nick left Murray and the girls with Cody while he went and got the Jimmy. Upon his return he and Boz helped Cody up – his date hovering nearby all the while – and got him in the truck. The girls declined to crowd them saying that they would get a cab. Their dates stayed with them until the cab arrived to ensure that they got safely on their way home. No apologies were necessary. The girls didn't know the whole story but they could tell that Cody needed to go home and lie down.
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"Easy does it now," Nick said as he guided Cody from behind.
Murray waited on the deck of the Riptide by the sliding door, which he'd already unlocked and opened. Nick had ensured that Boz was safely aboard before turning to help Cody since Murray often had trouble climbing over the rail.
"Nick, I'm fine," Cody protested.
"No, you're not," Nick retorted. "Quit arguing with me and let's get you inside.
Cody shut his mouth on his next protest when he saw the determined look in his friend's blue eyes. Murray also looked like he was determined to see that Cody do as he was told. Both partners were in fullblown "mother hen" mode.
Once inside Cody stopped in the main salon intending to sit on the couch that sat on one side of the cabin. Nick nixed that idea in a hurry.
"Huh-uh," the brunet said firmly. "Bed. Not the couch – your bed. Come on."
Cody swayed dizzily again and Nick kept a firm grasp on his partner's shoulders as he ushered him below decks to their cabin. Murray scampered ahead to turn down the bedding and fluff Cody's pillow. When he was through he stepped back and let Nick take over. Together Cody's partners got him ready for bed. Murray got a glass of water and a couple of aspirin from the boat's small bathroom.
"Take these, Cody," the scientist said to his friend. "They'll help with your headache."
"Who says I have a headache?" Cody asked.
Nick answered. "If you're squinting and avoiding the light – and you most definitely are doing that - that's a sure sign, Buddy, that you're not feeling well." A little more solicitously he asked, " Do you feel sick to your stomach at all?"
"No, I'm not sick," Cody answered.
He swallowed the aspirin with a big swig of water and then lay down. Murray watched as Nick gently pulled the covers up to Cody's shoulders.
Seconds after his head hit the pillow Cody was sound asleep. Murray neatly folded Cody's jeans and sweater placing them where they would be convenient in the morning but out of the way for the time being. He placed Cody's sneakers on top of them. Then both he and Nick retired to the main salon for about an hour before retiring for the night themselves.
Nick was roused several times during the night, from a light sleep, when Cody moaned. Quietly slipping out of his bunk so as not to disturb either partner, the brunet went to the bathroom for a washcloth, which he soaked in cold water and wrung out before returning to the cabin he shared with Cody.
Sitting on the edge of Cody's bunk, Nick placed the damp cloth on his friend's forehead. While not feverish Cody was a little flushed and warm when Nick laid his left hand on Cody's forehead. Deciding that it was mostly stress, leftover anxiety and dreams about the attempted kidnapping that was disturbing Cody's sleep, Nick tenderly applied the cool compress to Cody's cheeks and forehead.
"Ssh," Nick said. "It's all right Cody. It's all over. You're safe in your own bunk. No more big guys throwing you into souvenir booths or anything like that."
Cody continued to mumble for a few minutes, his head moving back and forth on the pillow. Remembering something he'd read - or heard - about the effects of cool water on a racing pulse, he also applied the compress to Cody's wrists. The effect was soothing and Cody soon settled down and went back to sleeping peacefully. Nick sat with him a few minutes longer before putting the damp cloth in the bathroom to dry and returning to his own bunk.
Quietly he slipped under his covers knowing that his friend would be fine. They'd go see Quinlan in the morning and report what they had witnessed – just in case Kyle Jennings didn't make a statement himself. There was just something about that guy that set alarm bells to ringing in Nick's brain. But for the remainder of the night Nick, the mother hen, was able to sleep soundly, knowing instinctively that his mother hen skills would not be needed any more that night.