Jess sat in the lawn chair she'd installed beside the bed and graded papers while Nick snored, coughed, and muttered beside her. It had been over an hour and the NyQuil had definitely kicked in. It was cute. Pitiful, she thought with a sympathetic smile as she looked over at him, but cute.
She just reached down to pick up her tea, bopping along to her iPod, when her movements sent everything in her lap to the floor. The papers just swished, but she winced as her grade book landed with a bang.
Nick shot straight up in bed. "Zombies! Schmidt, zombies are attacking the loft!" He shouted, his eyes still closed. "Damn it man, I told you so!"
Jess had gone still, one hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. When Nick started pushing his way out of the covers, she cleared her throat and tried her best Schmidt voice. "It's okay, Nick. You defeated all the zombies, remember?"
He stopped trying to get out of bed. "Oh yeah." Jess thought he sounded smug. High as a kite and smug.
Must not giggle, she reminded herself.
Nick lay back down only to shoot back up once again. "Jessica! Is Jess okay, Schmidt?" His eyes tried to open, but weren't coordinating with each other very well.
Awww. Sooo cute. "Jess is fine, Nick. You saved her from the zombies, buddy."
He immediately calmed down and flopped down once more, eyes closing with a relieved sigh. "Okay, man."
He started to curl up again and Jess smiled as she realized he'd kept hold of the rabbit the whole time. He hugged it closer, bringing it under his nose. She winced as he took a deep breath. It had been quite a while since she'd given Snuffles a bath.
"I can smell her in my sleep," he mumbled into the rabbit then yawned. "I dreamed of her again."
Jess froze. "What?" She blurted out in her own voice. She cringed, lowering it once more. "You what?"
Nick snickered drunkenly, "You're the one with the cold, ya idiot. You sound like a girl." He yawned once again, snuggling deeper into his pillow. "I had that dream again. Fought zombies. Totally won. Jess was a turtle for awhile."
Jess rolled her eyes impatiently. She'd heard about the turtle debacle.
"Then she was a girl Again. Saved her. Danced." His voice was getting sleepier and softer. "Kissed her."
Jess' hand went to her chest as her breath caught. She knew he was almost asleep, but she couldn't resist. "You kissed her in the dream?"
"There too," he mumbled and promptly conked out.
Jess just sat a moment and tried to calm down.
It's no big deal, she told herself, snapping out of it to reach down and gather her papers. He'd told her before that he'd dreamed of her. And, she reminded herself, sleeping Jess had had her fair share of dreams about Nick. Especially since...
Nick groaned at that moment, followed by a quietly sighed, "Jess."
Oh god.
She stood up and put the mess of papers on the chair. Whether that had been a miserable call for comfort or...or something, she had to get out of there for a moment.
Soup! She thought frantically as she headed for the door. She had chicken noodle soup to make.
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