Disclaimer: I only own New Tricks in my dreams.
The sound of a gentle knock on the door awoke her from a hazy slumber, which was almost instantly replaced by a sharp pain in her throat and chest. She sighed, sitting up and brushing her hair away from her face in an attempt to make herself look at least half decent, or as decent as she could look under the circumstances.
"Sorry, should I come back later?" he asked apologetically, still with one hand lingering on the door handle.
"Of course not, I need to thank my saviour as soon as possible" she replied, directing a smile at him whilst adjusting the pillows behind her back. He returned the smile tentatively and moved to sit in the chair beside her bed. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, neither knowing quite what to say.
"You know you don't need to thank me, I'd do it again if I needed to" he offered, but she simply shook her head.
"I'd be dead if you hadn't got me out of there," she stated bluntly, "thank you is all I can say when I owe you my life."
He looked down, partly embarrassed and partly still in disbelief at the day's events. "They would have got you out eventually, you know, I just…acted on instinct, I suppose." He trailed off, reliving the rush of fear he'd felt upon hearing that she was unconscious inside a burning house.
"Is it true you carried me all the way to the ambulance? I blacked out after Stokes hit me," she said, based on word from Jack, pausing as he nodded modestly.
"In that case, I'm sorry if I put your back out." He laughed, seeming to relax into the chair at last.
"I can barely walk with the pain," he joked, returning her grin.
"Warn me a few weeks in advance the next time you want to rescue me Superman, I'll try to shift a few pounds beforehand," she smirked, her voice starting to crack from the smoke inhalation. Being left for dead in a burning building had its negatives. She reached for the water on the bedside table, only to realise that he had beaten her to it and was offering her a glass. She smiled and accepted it gladly.
"You don't need to lose any weight, you're perfect as you are" he said, looking into her eyes and then down again as he realised how little he'd thought about that before he said it. Almost like it came naturally to him, which of course it did, but he could never tell her that. Finally looking back into her blue eyes, he saw that she was in deep thought. She continued to stare at him for a long moment, until breaking the silence with a seemingly careless "have dinner with me?"
Not quite believing what he was hearing after years of rejection, even if it was understated and meant in the most considerate of manners, he still had to ask. "Are you sure?"
A fleeting look of guilt touched her eyes. "Definitely. Just a thank you, you know, I just…want to."
"Alright then- on one condition," he challenged, attempting to make himself look as though this wasn't what he'd wanted for years. She sighed, faking exasperation. "I pay half."
"Fair enough, I suppose." She wasn't in the mood for negotiating.
"It's a deal then. Looks like I've taken more than my allotted visiting time, I'd better go." He stood, glancing at an impatient Gerry through the window. He had his hand on the door handle when he was halted once again by her voice. "Rob?"
"Yes?"
"Can it be a sorry for rejecting you so many times dinner as well?"
He paused for a long moment. "Buy me a drink and I'll consider it." He grinned, before exiting the room and thanking his lucky stars that he'd been going to the gym enough recently to lift her.
A/N: I'm willing to continue with this if anyone is interested? x