Sue fell asleep on the couch after having too many drinks with her mom on her 21st birthday. Sean sighed and got up to clean out the waste basket that held Sue's 'booze soaked layers' of greasy bar food. When Sean was at the kitchen sink, Aiden finally came out of the bathroom.
"Sorry about that, bro. I just..." Aiden began to say when he noticed what Sean was doing. "Oh God...is that...? I have to get out of here." Aiden panicked and covered his mouth as he ran to the door. Before leaving, he turned back to see Sue asleep on the couch and he stopped and pointed at her, silently questioning to Sean if she was okay. Sean nodded.
"It's cool, she's fine...just got a little sick is all." Sean joked as he tilted the waste basket so Aiden could see its contents. Aiden took that as his cue to leave before he got sick himself. Sean just chuckled quietly. "What a marshmallow." He said to himself. The sound of the door closing caused Sue to stir and she bolted awake on the couch, looking side to side in a state of confusion. Sean noticed her panic and quickly went to her.
"What's going on? Sean? You're still here? Oh, I don't feel so good." Sue cringed as she rubbed her stomach. Sean held the empty waste basket up to her but nothing happened so he set it back down on the floor.
"You just fell asleep a few minutes ago, I was just cleaning up a bit." Sean said with a smile, taking a moment to tuck a strand of hair behind Sue's ear.
"Oh...thanks. You should totally be a doctor." Sue chuckle/burped but stopped when it caused her to feel sick again.
"That's the plan." Sean laughed. "You should get some rest, Suzy Q." He said and Sue agreed. She struggled to kick off her boots that were still zipped up. "Here, let me..." Sean said as he got down on the floor to remove her shoes. He set them aside and offered to help Sue get more comfortable by removing her jacket. She accepted the offer and he slid her slim arms out of the sleeves and set it on the back of the couch. He sat back down next to her and wrapped her in the throw blanket that was neatly draped over the back of the couch. She snuggled into it and her head began to drift toward Sean's lap. Just before her head was about to hit his leg, Sean quickly shoved a throw pillow underneath her and she fell gracefully onto it, already fast asleep. He chuckled softly at the sight of her and he leaned back to get comfortable on the couch. It was clear that she had no intention of moving any time soon and she looked quite comfortable. When he shifted, she woke up slightly, looked up at him and smiled.
"Shhhhh...go to sleep." He whispered and lightly traced his fingers along her cheekbone. She gently closed her eyes again, letting out a content sigh before falling back into a deep sleep. Sean continued to softly stroke her face and hair, finding that it was soothing for both of them. Not long after, Sean drifted to sleep himself for a few hours. He woke up to the sound of Frankie coming into the kitchen in search of a pack of cookies. Frankie was only half surprised to see him there taking care of Sue. He was a Donahue after all and it was a Donahue thing to do. Frankie shuffled over to him, cookies in hand and one in her mouth.
"Is she okay?" She whispered and he nodded, suddenly feeling like he was out of place now that there was someone there to witness what had happened. Sue had a boyfriend and here she was, sleeping on the lap of the guy who was secretly in love with her. He wondered how much of that night she would even remember. He especially wondered if she really meant it when she said that she liked him. He thought about staying until she woke up to take the chance to ask her while she was sober, but the awkwardness of the moment with Frankie standing there took over. He gently slipped off of the couch, gently lowering Sue's head and pillow to the couch. She remained asleep, but shifted slightly. Sean adjusted the blanket so she was covered fully and Frankie smiled as she watched.
"Are you feeling okay, Mrs. Heck?" Sean whispered as he got up.
"I will be, now I just need to get some sugar in me." Frankie laughed. Sean could tell that she had already sobered up despite how drunk she had been just a few hours earlier.
"Well, I better be going. It's..." Sean said as he checked his phone for the time. "..wow...it's 5am already. I didn't mean to fall asleep..." Sean stammered. Frankie just waved it off like it was no big deal and Sean headed for the door. "Well, good night...I mean morning? Whatever it is." Sean laughed awkwardly. Frankie waved as he stepped out and closed the door behind him.
As he walked down the hallway, he wondered if he should talk to Sue about the things that she said to him. Maybe she really did like him. Maybe it was just the alcohol talking. He thought about the way she smiled at him while she drifted to sleep on his lap. That must have meant something, but Sue was always smiling so it was hard to tell. He decided to wait until the next time he saw her and see if she would bring it up first. All he knew was that he hoped that she would remember that night the way he would remember it forever.