Lofty blinked his eyes open slowly as he woke, arching his back as he stretched. He furrowed his eyebrows as he became aware of his surroundings, realising he wasn't in his own bed. He wasn't in any bed for that matter.
It took a few seconds for Lofty to realise he was on Dylan's boat. He must have fallen asleep after listening to A Christmas Carol. A sense of guilt washed over him, he had probably annoyed the ED doctor by overstaying his welcome.
Sitting up with a wince as his back cracked, probably from being curled up in Dylan's armchair all night, he noticed something. There was a blanket draped over him. That hadn't been there last night. Lofty cheeks flushed as he looked at the dark green blanket, running his fingers over the soft material. Dylan must have covered him with it last night after he'd fallen asleep.
For some reason, a strange flutter erupted in Lofty's stomach at the kind gesture on the doctor's part. He played with a loose thread on the blanket as he looked around the room. The coffee table had been cleared, their drinks and the cassette recorder gone. Lofty's gift from Dylan still remained, however, and the nurse smiled to himself as he looked at the small blue hairbrush sitting in the gold box.
The ED doctor had all but thrust the box into Lofty's hands last night, muttering something along the lines of "it seems as though you've never used one before, so now you can start". Lofty had laughed at that. He knew Dylan hadn't meant it as an insult, although he did think Ben's hair could be neater.
Lofty smiled to himself at the memory and looked to the clock hung on the wall. It was still early; he and Dylan had a couple of hours before their shift started. The bushy haired nurse stood with another stretch and a quiet yawn before heading to the kitchen, deciding to whip up a nice breakfast for Dylan as a thank you for letting him stay.
He rooted around the small kitchen before deciding on scrambled eggs and toast. He placed some bread under the grill, as Dylan didn't have a toaster, and set to making the scrambled eggs.
Just as he was finishing up, Dervla padded into the kitchen and rushed over to greet Lofty. The nurse grinned softly, kneeling down to give her some attention.
"Morning, girl." He said softly, in case Dylan was still asleep.
Dervla licked at Lofty's face in response, her tail wagging excitedly. Ben chuckled, stroking her coarse grey fur for another moment before getting back to the breakfast. Dervla sat at his feet while he cooked, looking towards the bedroom door as if she were waiting for Dylan to wake.
Lofty dished up the scrambled eggs and buttered the toast before setting it all down on the small wooden kitchen table. Just as he finished making two cups of tea he heard Dylan emerge from the bedroom.
The doctor shuffled into the kitchen, still looking half asleep. He was dressed in some dark blue pyjamas and a pair of brown slippers adorned his feet. His hair was a bit of a mess, sticking out at all different angels, but Lofty thought it made him look younger. It was cute.
Woah.
Cute?
Lofty shook his head quickly, noticing Dylan frowned when he spotted the table, laid with food, and looked to the nurse who grinned sheepishly.
"Morning." Ben said as he placed the mugs on the table, smiling at Dylan. "I made breakfast."
"I can see that." Dylan responded, voice deeper due to sleep. "Why?"
Lofty shrugged, sitting down at the table and wrapping his hands around the steaming cup of tea. "Just wanted to say thank you and sorry for falling asleep. You didn't have to let me stay."
Dylan also took a seat at the table, gaze focused on Lofty. "Yes, I'm well aware I didn't have to."
The comment caught Lofty of guard and he stared at Dylan as the doctor tucked into his scrambled eggs. Was that Dylan's way of saying he wanted Ben to stay? Lofty wasn't sure, but he pushed the thought away and tucked into his own breakfast.
"Merry Christmas, by the way." The curly haired nurse said after a moment of silence as the two ate.
Dylan glared slightly as he sipped his tea. "I almost forgot it was Christmas."
Lofty rolled his eyes, smiling softy. "I don't understand how you can't like Christmas."
"And I don't understand why you've never used a hairbrush before."
Lofty narrowed his eyes playfully, kicking the doctor lightly under the table. "Rude."
Dylan looked up at him then, and Ben swore he saw a small smirk tugging at the older man's lips. Lofty continued to glare, however, and even pouted his lips.
"Do you really hate my hair?" he asked with a fake sniff.
It was Dylan's turn to roll his eyes then, looking back to his plate as he shovelled some egg onto his fork.
"I don't hate your hair, I hate your hair on other people. It's messy and untidy, and it just looks like overused mop. But not on you."
And with that, Dylan gulped down the last of his tea before heading off to the bathroom.
Lofty blinked as he watched Dylan's retreating figure.
Was that a compliment?
If it was, it was by far the strangest compliment the nurse had ever received.
The strangest compliment that had Lofty's stomach fluttering and his cheeks flushing pink. It was the same sensation he had felt with the blanket earlier.
Lofty swallowed roughly, gulping down his own tea. Dervla watched him from where she sat beside the table, her head tilted to one side. Lofty gave her the rest of his eggs while he finished his tea, no longer hungry. He stared blankly across the room, the doctor's words playing over in his head.
Once the two had both showered and dressed, they left the house boat and dropped Dervla off at Doggy Day Care before making their way to work. In the ten minutes it took the pair to reach the hospital, Lofty had tripped and skidded at least six times on the icy roads. Dylan had caught him each time, grabbing the nurse by the arm and steading him. Lofty was grateful, of course, he didn't exactly want to end up a heap on the floor every time they walked across a patch of ice, but it didn't help his situation.
The nurse was now noticing more and more things that Dylan said or did that had his heart thumping in his chest and his stomach doing backflips. He was starting to act like a silly little school girl with a crush. He swore he had even felt sparks when his hand had brushed Dylan's as they hung up their coats in the staffroom.
Lofty shook his head at his ridiculous thoughts and headed out of the staffroom, eager to work. He made his way to Rita who stood at the nurse's station and decided that the best thing that he could do would be to focus all his attention on his work. If he kept himself busy and distanced himself from the doctor, then surely his unusual feelings would go away and everything would go back to normal.
So that was his plan.
Work hard and avoid Dylan.
Problem solved.
"Ah, Lofty." Rita smiled at him as he reached her. "You'll be working with Dylan today, alright?"
Or maybe not.