Carlton left the room and made his way back to the bathroom where he picked up a towel and the cup of water off the floor. He dumped the remaining water into the sink, threw the towel into the dirty clothes basket and made his way back to the kitchen.
He turned on the coffee maker and glanced at the clock on the wall, noting it was 1:30 before grabbing the newspaper and sitting down to the table to read. He quickly turned the page to the sports section and located the article on the upcoming game between the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns.
He rolled his eyes when he read the Browns were favored to win, and then laid the paper down when the timer on the coffee pot went off. He reached over and grabbed a mug out of the cupboard and poured himself a steaming cup of the dark liquid.
He closed his eyes and inhaled the strong aroma.
"Did you leave any of that for me?"
Carlton startled and cursed, almost dropping the coffee as he shot a glare towards Shawn. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Carlton threw a glance towards the clock that now read 1:55. "I just left you in there a half hour ago."
Shawn gave a lazy smile to his boyfriend before taking a seat at the kitchen table. "I couldn't sleep."
Carlton snorted. "You were doing a fine impression of it when I left you earlier."
Shawn shrugged. "I need some company."
Carlton rolled his eyes, something he found himself doing a lot around Shawn. "You need to eat something." He said changing the subject.
A weary look came over Shawn's face as he placed a hand over his stomach. "I'm not really hungry, Lassi."
A sympathetic look crossed over Carlton's face as he moved towards Shawn. "You need to eat." He laid a hand on Shawn's shoulder and rubbed his thumb lightly over the cotton clad shoulder. "I'll make soup and you can drink the broth, ok?"
Shawn groaned. "Do I have a choice?"
Carlton grinned. "No." He moved back toward the cupboard and started getting everything ready to make chicken noodle soup.
Ten minutes later Shawn found a steaming bowl of broth in front of him at the table, as Carlton took a seat across from him with his own bowl of soup.
Carlton watched Shawn eye the bowl in front of him. "Eat what you can, Shawn."
Shawn sighed and picked up the spoon and took a careful sip. "Pretty good."
"Of course it is." Carlton smiled again, he was glad to see Shawn feeling better.
Carlton finished his bowl a few minutes later and placed it in the sink before heading towards their room.
"What are you doing?" Shawn asked, watching him carefully.
"I'm going to gather some clean clothes for you." Seeing the confused look Shawn was giving him he explained further. "You'll feel better if you get a nice warm shower."
Shawn gave him a wink. "Will you be joining me for this shower, Lassi?"
Something sparkled in Carlton's eyes as he grinned at Shawn's suggestion. "Another time." He bent down so that is head was just above Shawn's, "When you're feeling better, babe." He gave Shawn a kiss on the head before leaving the room again.
Shawn smiled and leaned his head back against the wall behind him; he was just going to close his eyes for a moment.
Carlton nudged Shawn's shoulder. "Come on, Shawn."
Shawn opened heavy lids to look back at Carlton and then let out a jaw cracking yawn.
Carlton ran a hand over the messy hair of his lover. "I know you're tired Shawn, but you can lie down after your shower."
He handed the towel he was carrying to Shawn. "Your clothes are in there and the water's running nice and hot for you."
Shawn stood up gripping Carlton's arm a moment for support. "What are you going to be doing?"
Carlton showed him the cell phone in his other hand. "I need to check in with Juliet."
Shawn nodded before shuffling down the hallway. "Tell Jules hello for me."
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Carlton heard the shower turn off ten minutes later. "I need to go, Juliet. Call me if you need anything."
He closed the phone and laid it on the table before moving down the hallway, he decided to wait in the bedroom for Shawn.
Shawn came in scrubbing a towel over his wet hair before dropping it on the chair near the door.
"How is the SBPD fairing without their best detective?" Shawn asked as he took a seat on the edge of the bed.
Carlton shook his head. "They seem to be fairing just fine."
Shawn nodded his head and then brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck.
Carlton walked over towards Shawn and kneeled on the bed next to him before placing both his hands on the younger mans shoulders. "Your body still aches?"
Shawn nodded.
Carlton started massaging the shoulders under his fingers and smiled when Shawn groaned in appreciation.
Carlton continued the massage for the next few minutes before straightening up and making his way to the door. "Get under the covers I'll be back in a minute."
Shawn did as instructed and watched as Carlton returned a minute later with an arm full of stuff.
"Take these." He gave Shawn two Tylenol and a glass of water to wash them down with. "I also brought the heating pad for you."
Shawn placed the cup of water on the bedside table and grabbed Carlton's hand before he could move away. "I've got a better Idea." He said patting the empty spot on the bed next to him.
"Shawn, I've got too much to do to take a nap in the middle of the day." Carlton said as he let the heating pad drop to the floor.
"Exactly." Shawn whined. "You took a day off for me; you need to rest before you get sick."
Carlton huffed. "I don't get sick."
It was Shawn's turn to roll his eyes. "Please just lay down with me for awhile."
"Fine." Carlton grumbled before shedding his shoes, pants and button up shirt and crawling under the covers next to Shawn.
Shawn grabbed the older man's arm and pulled him close and then guided Carlton's head to his chest.
He heard Carlton give off a heavy sigh before he started running his fingers through the other man's hair. He smiled as Carlton shivered at the contact.
Shawn continued dragging his fingers through Carlton's hair for the next several minutes. "I'm not tired, Shawn." He heard Carlton sleepily mumble a moment later.
Shawn smiled. "Sure, you're not."
A minute later he felt the soft rumbling of Carlton's snores against his chest, he reached a hand up to his boyfriend's forehead and confirmed what he already knew.
"You're hot Carlton." He whispered to the sleeping man, "And for once not in the sexy way."
He laid a hand on Carlton's shoulder as he scooted further down in the bed, trying to get comfortable. "I guess I'm going to need to get some sleep so I can take care of you." He whispered, his eyelids already starting to droop closed.
His thumb started an unconscious slide back and forth on Carlton's shoulder. "Sleep well, Carly."
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Hope you enjoyed. One more chapter to go : )
