Disclaimer: We do not own Ten Inch Hero.

Unwrapping Life

Chapter Four – Written by LadyWallace

By the time they got Priestly signed out he was ready to sleep for a month. He was exhausted, and the pain in his ankle, accompanied by the full body ache brought on by the fever were making it hard to be comfortable in any position, especially when Tish helped him get into her car as he awkwardly juggled the crutches he had been given to help him get around without putting any weight on his sprain. He almost fell asleep again on the ride back to Tish's place, and was surprised when they stopped in front of her apartment.

"Hey, you up?" she asked with a fond smile as he blinked groggily. "I'm going to get you settled and then go pick up your prescription, okay?"

"Sure," he mumbled and reached for the door handle. Tish was already around the car before he got the door open and she helped him out and handed him the crutches.

It was a long way to her apartment—at least that was how it seemed—and by the time they got inside, Priestly couldn't do anything but collapse on the couch.

Tish quickly collected some things for him, a box of tissues, a blanket and an extra pillow to prop his leg up on, then she went and made him some lemon and honey tea because his throat sounded wrecked from coughing so much. Priestly gave her a slightly bewildered smile as he watched her do all this.

"Thanks, Tish, but you really don't have to do this," he told her. "I'm fine just sleeping."

"Hush," she told him teasingly, as she handed him the TV remote. "Just let me take care of you."

"Sorry I ruined our date," he grimaced.

Tish felt a warmth of affection wash through her. "It's okay, Priestly. It wasn't your fault that you got sick. Or that the horse threw you."

"That was a mean horse," Priestly muttered. "Don't think he liked me."

Tish bent and kissed his forehead gently. "Okay, I'm running to the pharmacy, I'll be right back. Anything specific you need?"

"M' good," he mumbled.

Tish smiled as she figured he was probably just going to sleep again and left the apartment.

Priestly had hoped he could sleep but his body was very uncomfortable and he was starting to feel nauseous, though was unsure whether it was just from the sickness or from the medicine the doctors had given him at the hospital. Sometimes pain medicine didn't agree with him, and probably especially not when he was already feeling so bad.

He tried to just close his eyes and forget it, but he continued to feel worse and worse until he knew he was going to have to get up or just throw up on the couch. He groaned, rolling over and forcing himself into a sitting position to reach for the crutches, but even that movement distressed his roiling stomach more than he could handle and he lurched from the couch in the attempt to hop to the bathroom if needed. Unfortunately, his head was spinning from his fever and he simply collapsed a few feet from the couch and threw up there on the floor. And all over his lap.

Priestly groaned and tried to breathe for a few seconds to get his strength back. He needed to clean himself up, because there was no way that he was going to make Tish do it for him. That would be even more mortifying than this whole situation already was. Sure she might think it's a cute girlfriend thing to do wiping his fevered brow, but he didn't think she'd be as thrilled about cleaning up his barf.

He eventually pulled himself together, grabbed the stupid crutches that he had a hard time using, and headed slowly to the bathroom where he took off his soiled jeans and left those for a moment so he wouldn't spread more mess around. Then he carefully made his way to the kitchen for paper towels and a trash can.

He almost ended up in the vomit again as he realized getting onto the floor with crutches was harder than he thought, but he caught himself on the coffee table before he fell. His ankle was throbbing, but he could get it back onto a pillow in a minute. He grabbed the paper towels and started trying to clean up but unwanted memories assaulted him violently before he could stop them. He closed his eyes as he tried to push them away, but they were still there.

"Look what you did, boy! You clean this up now!"

"I-I'm sick."

Then came the stinging blow, like a whip crack. "I don't care if you're dying, you will clean this up, do you hear me? No one's ever gonna want to take care of you, boy, so you may as well learn that now."

Priestly forced down the lump in his throat that had nothing to do with his illness and got to work, even though he was already exhausted by his trip to find supplies.

It was only a couple minutes later when he heard the door open and Tish came in quietly, probably figuring he was asleep, but when she saw him on the floor, she stopped and gasped.

"Priestly, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Priestly said, his face burning with shame. "I uh, I just threw up, but I'm cleaning it up, and when I'm done, I'll wash my jeans."

"No way," Tish said firmly, throwing her bags by the door and coming straight over to him. "You need to be lying down, you look terrible."

"Tish, really, I got this," he tried to assure her, getting more embarrassed by the second.

"Priestly come on, I'm not afraid of a little vomit, I had a sister who I cleaned up after on occasion."

"But that's different," Priestly said. "You shouldn't have to do that for your boyfriend."

He wasn't looking at her but he could tell she was smiling. "What, you're afraid I'll think you aren't manly enough or something?"

"Tish…"

"Come here," she was behind him now and wrapping her arms around his torso. "Let's get you back on the couch."

Priestly half-heartedly helped get himself up on his good foot and then sat on the couch, or rather slumped, since he didn't have much energy for anything else.

"Now, I'll take care of you first, then I'll clean up. Arms up."

"What?" Priestly asked, confused as Tish started to tug at the hem of his t-shirt.

"Your shirt is all sweaty, it can't be comfortable," she told him and tugged more insistently until he complied and allowed her to pull it off. He was even more embarrassed now that she was caring for him like a child, and also somewhat surprised that anyone could truly care that much to help him like that.

"I stopped by your apartment and grabbed you some comfy clothes," she told him, heading back over to where she had dropped a duffle bag and rummaged through it for a shirt and pair of sweat pants.

She helped Priestly into the sweat pants first and then handed him the shirt so he could put it on himself. Priestly was vaguely surprised to see it was one of his snarky tees, this one said Sarcasm, one of the many services I offer. It made him smile slightly.

"Okay, time to get that foot elevated again," Tish said gently as she pushed him to lie down and positioned the pillow under his foot again. "I'll be back soon."

She then finished cleaning up the vomit, knowing Priestly was embarrassed and trying to do it as quickly as possible. She then went to the bathroom to find his jeans and grabbed them for the wash.

As she picked them up, Priestly's wallet fell out of the pocket and she bent to pick it up before she realized a photo had slipped out of it. She frowned and reached for the old tattered picture.

In it there was a young couple, both smiling, the man with his arm wrapped around the woman and her arms full of a bundled baby. They looked so happy, and the man resembled Priestly slightly, though in this picture was a few years older. She knew this had to be his parents, which meant the tiny baby was Priestly. Tish smiled at this, thinking of teasing her boyfriend a little.

She put the picture safely into her pocket and then went to clean up. Priestly was lying on the couch with his arm slung over his eyes, looking even more miserable now than he had earlier. She cleaned up as quickly as she could, and then brought him a glass of water before she slipped the picture out of her pocket, smiling at it again.

"You sure were cute as a baby, Priestly," she said.

Priestly frowned up at her, moving his arm from over his eyes, but when he saw what she was holding, his reaction was not what she had expected. He reached out to snatch the picture from her.

"Where'd you find this?" he asked hoarsely.

Tish was taken aback. "It was just in your wallet, it fell out when I went to throw your jeans in the wash. Are you okay, Priestly?"

He looked at the picture and gently set it on the coffee table. "Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean…" he trailed off with a cough and Tish started to get the feeling that there was more to the story than her boyfriend was letting on. She was eager to know, but at the same time, didn't want to push him, especially in his current state.

"It's okay, I know you're not feeling well," she told him and then sat down on the side of the couch at his shoulder and curled up against him, wrapping one arm around his shoulders and drawing his head over to rest against her.

"Tish, you're gonna get sick if you stay with me," Priestly said with a sigh, his body tense. Tish frowned at his seeming discomfort.

"I don't mind, I'm here to take care of you, you idiot," she told him with a fond kiss on the forehead. "Is something wrong, Priestly?"

He was silent for a long time, shifting uncomfortably before he said. "I'm just…not used to having anyone to take care of me. I guess I'm bad at it."

Tish smiled gently. "Well, I'll teach you, then. It's easy, you just let me do everything you can't. And don't be embarrassed to ask, you need to keep that foot up, so you really shouldn't be getting up more than you have to. That's why I asked you to stay here, silly."

Priestly gave a deep sigh and turned his head to press against her neck. "How was I ever so lucky to find you?"

Tish's heart stuttered in her chest at hearing that. No one had ever said anything like that before. She had always just been an object, and for some reason she had always been happy to let that happen. But since she had been Priestly's girlfriend, she had finally seen what it was like to truly be cared about by someone.

"I think I'm the lucky one," she replied quietly, holding him closer.

They just lay there for a long moment, until Tish thought that Priestly had fallen asleep, but he spoke, startling her.

"They died when I was a kid," he said. "My parents. Car crash."

Tish's breath caught in her throat at this sudden admission. "Priestly…I'm so sorry." She didn't know what else to say.

"I was only five at the time. I…don't remember much about them, but that they loved each other and the three of us made a happy family." His body tensed again. "Then I had to live with my aunt and…and her boyfriend, and that wasn't so nice. I wasn't wanted there, and they made sure I knew it."

Tish felt tears prick her eyes as she reached up and ran her fingers through Priestly's hair to soothe him. "I'm sorry," she said again, lamely. What could you really say to someone who had lost everything?

"I just…that's why I'm not good with the whole depending on people thing. I never had anyone I could depend on, I always had to take care of myself, so it's just… bizarre for me to think that someone cares enough to do that, I guess."

Tish's heart broke and she turned Priestly's face upright so she could meet his eyes. "Priestly, don't ever think that again. I…I love you." As soon as she said it, she realized how true it was. Even though they had been dating for only a short time, she definitely felt more for Priestly than she ever had for any other man who had come into her life. She instantly felt the difference.

"You do?" he asked hesitantly, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"I do," she whispered and kissed him softly, feeling him finally relax against her. If Priestly could teach her what love really was, than she was determined to show him that people really could care about him. She would make sure of that.

To Be Continued…

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