Kiss Your Feet
Disclaimer: Sadly, I own neither Saving Hope nor Daniel Gillies.
Pairing: Joel & Alex (or if you prefer) Alex & Joel.
Rating: T
Summary: Picks up a few weeks after Mistakes & Missteps left off.
Alex Reid had never been so happy to see her home. She exhaled deeply and leaned back against the upholstery of her car's driver's seat. She'd worked a double shift to make up for the fact that she'd been forced to take several weeks off.
She had sprained her left ankle when she tripped over the soccer ball that her six-year old son Luke had left on the stairs.
Poor little man feels so guilty about it. I couldn't bear to punish him.
She pulled the car into the driveway and opened the driver's door slowly getting to her feet.
She was so exhausted that it took all the energy she had just to stumble up to the house and unlock the front door.
Her ankle throbbed so much that she could barely keep herself upright.
She pushed the door open and leaned heavily on the doorjamb for balance, inhaling sharply as the pain from her injured ankle radiated all the way to her hip. The pain was so intense that it brought tears to her eyes.
The kids and Joel are probably already asleep.
She'd missed her children fiercely today after being with them for so many weeks. But she wasn't about to wake them for fear that she wouldn't be able to get them back to sleep.
She made a mental note to thank her husband for putting all three of them to bed in her absence.
She practically fell into the house, which was silent and dark save for the small lamp on the end table next to the couch, where to her surprise Joel was stretched out flipping through the channels with the television on at very low volume.
"Hey Reid," He said, looking up, as she entered the house.
"Dr. Goran were you waiting up for me?" Alex asked, smiling momentarily distracted from her pain. Thanks for getting the kids down."
It was Joel's turn to smile, "You've done it for me often enough lately. I figured it was my turn."
His smile disappeared when he noticed the pained expression on her face. In seconds he was on his feet and standing at her side.
"Hey Alex, what's wrong?" He asked, his fingers tenderly brushing against her arm.
"It's just been a long day. That's all." She answered, wincing against the pain.
She could hear the clear skepticism in his tone when he spoke, "Right. That's why you can barely walk. Is it your ankle? Is it still bothering you?"
He knows me too well. I can't get one over on him.
She nodded reluctantly as he steered her toward the couch that he'd just vacated, taking most of her weight.
"God, I'm exhausted," She said sitting down on the couch and reaching for the remote to switch off the TV."
"Don't try to change the subject Reid" Joel said, kneeling on the carpet and lifting up her still sneakered left foot.
"Have you been on your feet all day?" Joel asked as he untied and unlaced her shoe.
"Yeah, pretty much." Alex replied, "But it doesn't really hurt that much…Ow!"
Joel chuckled as he lifted his wife's foot and gently removed her shoe and her sock. "You were saying Reid?" He said smiling as his fingers softly brushed against her swollen ankle, flexing and extending it slowly.
"It hurts," Alex whispered under her breath.
Joel nodded, "It's also swollen to twice its normal size. Don't move. I'll be right back." He said, giving her a quick kiss before turning and going into the kitchen no doubt in search of an ice pack.
Seconds later, Joel appeared with a glass of red wine in one hand and an ice pack and an ace bandage in the other.
"There are still bottles in the fridge so I thought you could use this."
She took the glass from his hand, and took a sip, "Thanks," She murmured, as she closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the taste of the wine.
"Don't thank me yet, Reid. This is probably gonna hurt." Joel said, softly meeting her eyes.
"Be gentle," Alex whispered.
"Yes, ma'am." Joel replied, tenderly caressing her foot with a feather light touch that still made her breath catch in her throat.
Then suddenly Joel was kissing her foot, his lips against her skin felt as even softer than his touch had been.
Her toes.
Her swollen ankle.
Her shin.
Her knee.
Her thigh.
She gasped, "Joel…"
This time the gasp that escaped her lips had nothing to do with pain.
"Have a told you lately that you have great legs?" Joel asked, his breath tickling her skin as he spoke.
"Doctor Goran, I do believe you're pulling my leg." Alex said, smiling.
It was Joel's turn to smile, "No, actually, Doctor Reid, I wasn't."
"My feet probably smell. I can't believe you'd actually kiss them. Alex joked, leaning back into the couch cushions as her husband continued to caress and kiss her ankle as he wrapped it with the ace bandage.
"I'd kiss your feet everyday. And twice on Sunday. You're beautiful. Do you hear me, Alex Reid?" He whispered as he pressed the ice pack against her ankle and propped it up on a pillow.
She was about to reply, but she yawned instead.
"That's it. You're exhausted, Reid. I'm taking you up to bed."
She nodded, her head falling softly against his shoulder as he lifted her into his arms.
"That sounds good. Thank you. Joel, baby… I love you…" She whispered the words running together as she drifted off to sleep.
"I love you, too Alex." He replied softly as he ascended the stairs.