Dress You Up
Song prompt: "Dress You Up" by Madonna
Halloween in the City of the Apple was usually the busiest time of the year as residents took to the streets dressed as their favourite ghouls or heroes to earn the sweet rewards of candy and other sweets. But that wasn't what was on Joss Carter's mind as her pen doodled on the pad. It was all she could do to stop counting down the minutes until her shift was over and she could get dressed up for the annual Halloween party.
Suddenly the phone rang on Joss Carter's desk. Laying down her pen, she picked up her burner phone and hit talk.
"Don't tell me that you're cancelling our date," she answered briskly to the person who she presumed was on the other line.
"I didn't know we had a date, Detective," Finch replied evenly, although slightly amused by the mistake.
Joss looked around, then lowered her voice. "Finch. What's wrong?"
"It's Mr. Reese."
Joss felt her heart pause for a second. John! She tried to calm her hearbeat, then asked, "What happened, Finch?"
"There was an accident."
"Is he hurt?" She could barely think, shock filled her brain. John was hurt? Immediately her hand went for the drawer containing her service weapon and badge.
"Broken leg. I'm sorry, but he is going to have to cancel tonight's date," Finch regretfully informed.
Joss stood up. "Where is he? I'll get him."
"That isn't necessary, Detective. Fusco is taking care of it."
"Fusco?" Joss cast a glance at the empty desk across from hers. "He was supposed to be on vacation."
"He was...sort of." Finch cringed. Okay, so he had forgotten that little detail. And with any luck, the white lie would, too, soon be forgotten.
"Sort of?! What kind of vacation ends with someone getting their leg broken?" Joss growled into the receiver.
"I don't have time to get into the specifics, Detective," Finch swiftly changed the subject. "I need to arrange private care for Mr. Reese."
"No. Let me."
"I'm not sure I understand what you are asking."
"I want to take care of him. He got hurt and he can't attend the costume party tonight, so I want to help." Joss grabbed her purse and looked at her watch. It was quitting time, so she would have enough time to go home and change.
"What do you have planned, Detective Carter?" Finch cautiously broached. It wasn't that he didn't trust the homicide detective with an unbendable moral compass, but when it came to his friend and partner, well, he still had his doubts.
"Something different and unique," she replied. "But I'm going to need your help."
Ah, now he was understanding her method of madness. Finch smiled. "Tell me what to do."
********
"I think I got it from here, Lionel," Reese said as he set the crutches on the floor and used them to haul himself out of the wheelchair.
"Let me help."
"Always the hero."
"No, Superman, that would be you. Although the next time you decide to try and stop someone from jumping off a building, you might want to wait for backup," Lionel advised.
"I thought I could do it," Reese defended his actions. He wasn't going to admit that his foot had gotten caught at the moment he leapt.
"Well, your pride might be bulletproof, but your bones are kryptonite," Lionel teased.
"I had it under control," Reese grumbled. He hobbled from the chair to the king sized bed. He was thankful for never having moved it upstairs.
"Yeah, but that cast on your leg says otherwise."
"Anyone ever tell you that you have a remarkable bedside manner, Lionel?" Reese panted breathlessly as he tried to block the pain and save face.
Lionel rubbed the back of his neck. A part of him wanted to help, but he realized that it was Reese's leg that was broken, not his hand.
"No."
"You won't be breaking your record with me."
"At least it's still intact," Lionel returned cheekily. "Unlike your leg."
"Smart ass."
"At least mine is still in one piece." With a big kool-aid grin, Lionel guffawed. A knock sounded on the heavy oak door. "I'll get it. You stay here."
"Couldn't run if I wanted to," Reese grumbled under his breath and tried to make himself comfortable.
Lionel opened the door. "Carter. What are you doing here?" He took in the crisp, white nurse's uniform and the nurse's cap placed firmly on her head that seemed to be holding her hair in place. Add in the glasses on a chain, stethescope and the hospital clipboard, well, it didn't take a detective to figure out that despite Reese being bed-ridden, there would be some Trick-or-Treating happening tonight.
"I heard we have a patient in need of some TLC," she read primly from the clipboard.
"Already put to bed and waiting your examination, nurse. Follow me." It was taking every bit of his energy not to burst out laughing as he led Carter to the far side of the roomy loft and to where Reese lay.
"Hey, Humpty Dumpty, you have a visitor," Lionel announced. Startled by the announcement, Reese looked up to see Joss walking toward him. He blinked twice. Maybe the painkillers were making his brain fuzzy, but he could almost swear Joss was wearing a nurse's uniform.
"I got it, Lionel."
The portly detective gave a short chuckle. "I'm sure you do." He reached over and patted the cast on Reese's leg. "Looks like that was my cue. Don't give her a hard time," he ordered. "They loaded him up, so he might get cranky; don't be afraid to check his temp on the hour, if you know what I mean."
"It's under control. Good night, Lionel," Joss dismissed her partner.
"Good night." Turning on his heel, Lionel hurried across the loft to the door. He closed it soundly behind him.
"Can I say that you're looking pretty hot in that uniform, Detective?" Reese remarked.
"You could, but that isn't going to earn you any points. We had a date."
"It was kinda out of my hands," Reese argued. With his hands, he gestured toward his left leg.
"I heard. You decided to get into your costume early and really be Superman and try to leap a building in a single bound," Joss chastised with a click of her tongue.
Reese shifted uncomfortably. "It wasn't like that, Joss. He jumped...I jumped..." He tried to give what he thought was a charming grin. "So I over shot the jump by six or seven inches..."
"More like two or three feet." Joss glanced down at her notes. "Says here that you over shot the jump, then crashed into a roof air conditioner. Still got the bad guy, though." She looked up. Her eyes were dancing. "Pretty commendable."
"Yeah, well, considering I got a cast on my leg, I could live without the accolades," Reese groused. He tried to move the second pillow under his head. He growled in frustration as he failed.
"Hey, let me," Joss said and reached over to grab the pillow. "Lift your head." She stacked the pillows under his head. "Okay." She leaned over to adjust them. "Better?" she asked, not moving from her position.
"Better." Was it him, or had the room suddenly gotten very warm? "You can move."
"What?" Joss asked coyly.
"You. You can... move." The air seemed to be trapped in his lungs as the sweet oriental musk scent of Joss's perfume weaved around him.
"I'm checking your respirations." She pulled back. "You seem a little flushed," she observed. "I think you might be running a fever."
"No thermometers."
Joss laughed. "There is more than one way to check a temperature." She leaned over again. This time she made sure her body touched Reese. She heard the sharp intake of breath. She pressed her lips to his forehead.
"Seems a little warm. I may have to find a way to cool you down."
"Well, Joss, the last couple of things you've down hasn't helped."
"That's Nurse Joss to you." She touched his forehead with her index finger and traced a path down the ridge of his nose, to his lips, over his chin, to the second button of his tailored shirt. "Are you being insubordinate? Because I have a stethescope and latex gloves, and I am not afraid to use them."
"As long as there aren't any thermometers hidden in those pockets, I promise to try and be good," Reese conceded meekly.
"Heh. We'll see about that." Joss gave Reese a quick looksee. "Are you sure you didn't hit the air conditioner when your leg did?" she wondered, touching the angry bruise on his cheek.
Reese tried not to flinch at her touch. "Unfortunately, the bad guy got a punch or two in before I could incapacitate him."
Joss rolled her eyes. "Comforting. From what I see, he landed more than a punch or two. Between your face and leg, you look like you're one kick and punch away from having had the crap beat out of you," she corrected.
"If you think I look bad, you should see the other guy," Reese weakly joked.
"Lucky for you, I got the report. Once he gets out of traction and finishes his prison sentence, you two can sit down and compare scars," she replied tongue in cheek.
"No, thanks."
"Yeah, well, you should be thanking Fusco for being there, or else you would be comparing scars with your number. I don't know how you've managed to evade arrest, but you must have been born under a lucky star," Joss reprimanded in a half-serious tone.
"Yeah, lucky me. Guess I have a detective or two in my pocket," Reese boasted unashamedly.
"All of this hero role playing caused you to stand me up."
Reese cocked an eyebrow. "I guess that would explain the costume."
Joss looked offended. "Costume? I will have you know that I was a full fledged candy striper when I was younger, and I excelled at every First-Aid course the Army sent me to. Oh, and I can do field triage in a pinch. This is not a costume."
"Excuse me."
"Careful, mister, I have the whole kit and kaboodle of medical tools at my disposal to conduct thorough exams—inside and out."
Reese tried to make amends. "Uniform?"
"Ah, now you're getting it. Your temperature is normal," Joss remarked as she picked up the clipboard. "Your respirations are... a bit on the rapid side." She made quick notes as she continued to summarize. "Any joint stiffness?"
"I can think of one," Reese quipped and tried to shift his weight.
"I'm sure you can." Joss placed the clipboard on the night stand. "Can you take those off?" She motioned toward Reese's tattered pants legs. "Or do you need help?"
"Help for what?"
"Your sponge bath."
"My what?" Had he heard her correctly? Reese pushed himself up on his elbows. "No."
"All this dirt and grime..." Joss trailed a finger up the length of Reese's bare leg to just under the cut off material. "How else am I supposed to make a diagnosis of my patient?"
Reese considered her question, then caved. "I suppose you have a point, Nurse."
"Okay. Stay here," Joss ordered before hurrying from the room. From his place on the bed, Reese could hear cupboard doors opening and closing, and then the rush of water, as Joss made her way around the spacious kitchen.
"Where are your towels?" Joss asked. She placed the large basin of water on the second night stand.
"Closet in the bathroom. Second shelf." Reese watched as she walked away. Maybe his eyes were fooling him, but he could have sworn there was a little shake and shimmy in Joss's steps.
"I found the scissors; I hope you don't mind that I am going to have to cut your clothes off," Joss announced.
"Well, I could try to get up and stop you, but I'm at a bit of a disadvantage," Reese joked.
"My lucky day." Joss began cutting the material. "And it's soon to be yours, too." Within a minute she had disposed of Reese's slacks. "Oh, my," she breathed.
"All that you were expecting?" Reese grinned.
"No. Yes. Uh, where was I?"
"Sponge bath."
"Yeah." Joss's fingers trembled as she unbuttoned the tailored shirt. Parting the material, she felt the breath catch in her lungs.
"Like what you see?" Reese asked without shame.
"They say that the suit makes the man; they weren't lying," Joss said. "Sit up." Reese did as he was asked, and a second later the ruined shirt lay beside the pants.
Joss dipped the washcloth in the water, wrung it out, then began to wipe the dirt away. It took everything she had to concentrate on her task.
"At least we can comfort ourselves that you tend to attract more dirt than bruises," she praised. She wrung out the washcloth and repeated the process. "This might hurt," she cautioned before wiping the dirt off of an angry looking abrasion.
Reese sucked in his breath and cursed.
"Sorry." Joss leaned over and blew lightly on the scrape before pressing her lips to it. "Better?"
Body taut, teeth clenched, Reese tried to remain motionless. "Y-y-yessss," he hissed.
Carefully tending to his wounds, Joss felt Reese flinch again. "I'm trying to be careful."
"As long as you kiss and make it better, you can hurt me all day long, Joss," Reese said.
"Even if I do this?" Joss asked and lowered her head to nibble on Reese's nipple.
Feeling the strength leave his body, Reese leaned against the pillows. A low groan of satisfaction was his only response.
"Or this?" Joss moved to the other nipple. She felt him tense, then relax. She slowly kissed a path down to Reese's belly button. Dipping the tip of her tongue in the divet, she slowly teased him until he rasped her name.
"I thought the first rule was: 'First do no harm'," Reese quoted the Hippocratic Oath.
"Second rule is: 'Cruel to be kind'," Joss returned smartly.
"I think I'm starting to like your bedside manner."
"Well, patient, I'm not done with my examination. From what I can estimate, I have a vast area to cover."
Reese chuckled. "I've never heard it called that before."
"Careful," Joss cautioned, but her eyes sparkled with mischief. Kneeling on the bed, she positioned herself between Reese's legs.
Reese held up his hands in surrender. "Examin away. Whoa! What are you going to do with those!?" he protested as Joss picked up the scissors again.
"Don't get excited; I need to see everything if I am going to sign off on your health report. A man who has had fist fights, knife fights, and taken more bullets than the law allows, is afraid of a pair of scissors?" Joss chided in disbelief.
"Well, Detective, I've never had a sharp object come this close to my lower body," he shot back.
"I'll be careful."
The scissors snipped quickly. The material fell away and Joss tried to appear normal, but her hand shook as she placed the shears on the table.
"Well..." Reese prompted at Joss's hesitation. He couldn't help but take a bit of wicked pleasure at her stunned silence.
Joss reached out to touch Reese. "I think a little mouth to mouth might be necessary." Before Reese could answer, she dipped her head and took him in her mouth.
Of all the gunshots and stab wounds, and moments of nearly being beaten to a pulp, absolutely nothing in his life had ever caused his heart to almost completely stop as when Joss loved him. Fingers curled into the 1800 count sheets, eyes rolled back into his head, Reese was incapable of thinking, moving, or for that fact, breathing. He thought he might have said her name, but he couldn't know for sure. All he knew was that Joss was killing him.
Joss raised her head to throw him a glance. "Feeling any better?"
"All I can say is that I'm loving your bedside manner," Reese replied breathlessly. "Is that all?" He laid his hand on her hip.
Joss raised her eyebrows. "All? I think we'll have to finish things off with a stress test." Reaching under her uniform, Joss pulled down her thong. She twirled it around her finger before tossing it at Reese. He gave them an appreciative sniff—musk with a touch of jasmine. His body hardened.
Joss reached up and pulled the pins from her hair to let her black locks fall over her shoulders.
"Well, Jocelyn Carter, aren't you the naughty nurse?" Reese chided.
"Not quite." She straddled him. Eye to eye, she lowered herself on him until they were one completely. Moving her hips, she teased him. Rocking her hips, she tormented him. And from the way his hands were cupping and kneading her breasts, she was succeeding at pushing him over the edge.
"Joss. Joss. Joss..." Reese chanted as his hips kept in time with hers. Perfect rhythm, they were made for each other.
Joss lifted her hips, then impaled herself on him. She repeated until Reese's hand reached out and grabbed her hip.
"Come here," he demanded as his arm reached around Joss and pulled her down so her lips could meet his. Their mouths fused together. Their tongues mating wildly to match in tandem to the wild dance they were creating.
Hearts beating furiously, bodies drenched in sweat, each gave and took until the coil of ecstasy deep inside tightened. Each thrust brought them closer to the edge of no return. But neither wanted to give in.
"Come with me, Joss," Reese begged breathlessly as he tried to hold back. It was killing him to wait for her release. Licking his thumb, he pressed it against the pink nub of her desire and slowly rotated it. Joss forgot how to breathe and think as her body went into overdrive. Moving faster, she met each of Reese's delicious thrusts.
Joss braced her hands on Reese's chest and let loose. Bucking wildly, she felt a sensation start at her toes and build to overtake her body. Wave after wave of the most intense orgasm of her life, washed over her causing her to sob Reese's name.
Feeling her velvet heat grip and hold him tight, Reese was unable to hold back. Pulling Joss to him, he covered her mouth with his as he thrust his body deep into hers. As white lights flashed, he poured his life into hers and claimed her for his own.
*************
Had the world stopped? Joss wasn't sure, but she didn't care, either. Taking several deep breaths, she tried to calm her rapid heartbeat.
"Are you alive?" Reese asked, his voice thick from the afterglow of lovemaking. One of his hands was placed firmly on Joss's waist, while the other gently stroked her hair. "Or am I going to have to use your CPR method to bring you back?" he teased.
"Give me another minute to think about it," Joss purred. "Although, CPR sounds pretty inviting."
"If I had known about your medical expertise earlier, Detective, I would have put myself in traction sooner," Reese joked.
Joss lifted her head to shoot his a look. "That's not funny. You stood me up for our date," she accused. "Not easily forgiven."
Reese cupped her cheek and lovingly stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I thought I had made it up to you."
"You made it up to me? I'm the one in the nurse's uniform," she reminded him. "And you're still the Man in The...uh...well, the Birthday Suit." Joss felt her cheeks burn hot.
"I love it when you blush."
"I don't blush."
"Yeah, you do." Reese chuckled lightly. "Here I was expecting Nurse Ratchet when I saw you walk in, but I ended up getting 'Hot Lips' Hoolihan," he joked. His finger traced the outline of her lips. He leaned up to steal a kiss.
"'Hot Lips' was a doctor," Joss corrected.
"Oh, well, that would explain the thorough examination you gave me." Reese grinned.
"Beside, I was only running preliminary tests."
"Oh?"
"I had to make sure that your leg would be able to withstand the rigorous examinations I have planned," Joss said with unveiled smugness.
"Which one?"
"Pervert. I should have used the thermometer."
"No, thanks. How did I do?"
"Passed with flying colours."
"I've never had a 'Trick-or-Treat' quite like this before," Reese confessed. "It definitely has me rethinking the whole holiday thing."
"Maybe next year we can catch that Halloween party down at the station."
"I was thinking more like an intimate party for two."
Joss rubbed herself against Reese's length and felt a thrill as he stirred back to life. "Minus the bobbing for apples and carving pumpkins."
With deft fingers, Reese unbuttoned the front of Joss's uniform. He licked his lips as he parted the material to expose two perfectly round breasts. He pressed a kiss to each one.
"I see two apples I would really love to bob for right now," his voice full of sexual want. "But I'm not quite dressed for the party."
"It's okay. I'm going to dress you up with love," Joss said seductively and lowered herself on him once again.
"Will it fit?"
"Guaranteed. It's a one size fits all."
"Best. Halloween. Ever," Reese said before Joss kissed him silent and showed him that tricks could be just as sweet as the treats.
Happy Halloween!