7: Just A Little
08/20/97

"Hi Alex." Fallon greeted, trying to sound cheerful as Shawn carried her into the night's medical station. Her being here was odd enough, her being carried in… this was a moment she didn't want to ever repeat.

Alex straightened up from the file he had been reading through, brushing strands of his pale blond hair out of his eyes as he took the pair in. "What happened?"

"Kick to the back of the knee."

"Alright, boot off." He watched as Shawn placed her down on the table and then proceeded to unlace her boot, arching an eyebrow. Now that was an unusual sight. "I will admit, I was expecting guys to come in needing ice packs for their downstairs areas tonight, not you."

She smiled sheepishly, extending her leg gingerly once the boot was off and tried not to flinch when Alex raised it up.

"Bruised, definitely a sprain." He said after a few minutes of examining, poking and prodding. "Rest, ice, compress, elevate and NSAIDs. Stay off it for a few days and you'll be fine."

"Compress?"

"Wrap your knee, Fallon, and if you have to walk, try crutches… or a brace."

"Alright… anything else?"

He smiled slightly. "Yeah, don't get kicked again."

"Aren't you just a comedian…"

"You want me to wrap it for you? In ice?"

She shook her head. "No… I can do it…"

Shrugging, Alex turned towards the door. "Take a seat Hunter. I'm guessing… ribs?"

"How'd you know?" Hunter dead panned.

"The way you're holding them is a great indicator."

Rolling his eyes, Hunter sank down carefully into a chair, looking at Fallon. "Strained?"

"Sprained would be the word, Huntie boy." Shawn corrected before Alex could, never looking away from Fallon. "I'll take her back to the hotel."

"No, I-"

"Have to get your ribs checked out and possibly be sent to the ER. I got this."

Alex and Hunter both watched as Shawn lifted Fallon gently into his arms again and carried her out of the room.

"Shawn, I can get a pair of crutches and-" She sighed when he simply shook his head no, not all that surprised that he went first to the locker room.

They needed their bags, and Shawn figured Alex's advice of wrapping her knee in ice would probably be a great idea until he got her back to the hotel. Carefully, he set her down on one of the long, wooden benches, arranging her until her injured leg was stretched out on it. "Hold on…"

Fallon watched curiously as he dug around in small cooler, trying to ignore the throbbing, rather hot pain she was feeling. She let out a small groan when he returned with an ace bandage and an ice pack. "I can-"

Shawn simply crouched down and gestured for her to lift her leg, first placing a small cloth against her skin followed by the ice pack.

She hissed at the coldness, watching as he began wrapping her knee, the sensation rather unpleasant at least until the ice started numbing her. When he was satisfied and stood up, she averted her eyes to the bench, catching from her peripheral his hands going to the waist of his tights. That and she figured by not looking anywhere but down, she wouldn't stir up the boys with her presence tonight since she wasn't exactly in fighting, or running, condition.

Shawn had just gotten his jeans up over his hips when 'Taker walked up to Fallon. Gritting his teeth, he stuffed his feet into his shoes before snatching a shirt off the top of his bag. "What d'you want?"

Ignoring Shawn, 'Taker bent down to examine Fallon's wrapped knee. "Sprain or strain?"

"Sprain, Deadman, and I got her." Shawn said, hefting both his and her bag over his shoulder.

Snorting, 'Taker wondered if Shawn would ever let go of his ego. "Ice and rest."

"Yeah, I know, thank you." Fallon was a bit curious about 'Taker and his apparent bi-polar issues.

Nodding, he walked away.

"What an overbearing dick…"

Fallon just kept her mouth shut, not entirely sure what to make of that since the last time she had encountered 'Taker, she had kissed him and then been informed that anything she did to him, he was going to take out on Shawn and Hunter. He was confusing her.

She wrapped her arm around Shawn's neck when he helped her off the bench, having a momentary feeling of vertigo when he yet again picked her up. "Crutches?" If he threw out his back, she was really, really going to feel bad.

"Fallie, you don't weigh that damn much." Shawn said, sounding exasperated, which he was, and shook his head. "You're not walking on that knee, what part of that aren't you gettin'? You can't put weight on it while it's strained."

Fallon felt like a child being spoken down too.

"Now stop being difficult and let me help you." She should feel privileged and lucky that the Heartbreak Kid was willing to do this because normally, Shawn would've let her suffer with the crutches.

Why he was being a nice guy right now, especially after that silver star kiss the night before, was beyond him. He was chalking it up to thinking with the wrong head. Which was a total crock of shit.

She stopped being 'difficult'. She didn't protest as he carried her out of the arena or when he put her in the backseat of his car. She simply sat with her back to the door and her leg stretched out, remaining quiet. She didn't protest when he then carried her into the hotel, through the damn lobby no less. But… she did have to hide her face in his neck when someone recognized him, and her, and catcalled.

She just focused on the fact that her room was one floor up, she had a great bed and a fully stocked bar… and she would probably owe him big time for this. Fallon tried not to grin at the thought of her attempting to cart his ass around. She'd of dropped him in the attempt.

Once he had her in her room, Shawn set her down on the bed, even helping her to scoot back on the pillows, grinning slightly. "Thanks for bein' such a good sport." He teased, turning to look around and then strode to the mini-fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. "Uh, got something for the pain and swelling?"

"Bathroom sink."

He retrieved a bottle of Tylenol and brought that and the water back to her. While she popped a few pills, he then made her a drink. Shawn was a firm believer that alcohol could solve almost any problem, including hers, and brought her the tumbler of whiskey. "Now, swallow that down and call me in the mornin'."

Fallon rolled her eyes, accepting the plastic cup and took a sip. "Thank you."

"You want me to stay with you?"

"Oh sure Shawn, you can carry me to the bathroom when I need to piss, help me shower… then you can dress me and tuck me in, story completely optional." She snorted, nudging him gently with the foot that wasn't connected to her aching leg and smiled to let him know she wasn't trying to be snotty.

She eyed the whiskey in her hand, taking a large swallow. Definitely not doctor prescribed but it would work much quicker than the Tylenol. She scanned the room, mentally plotting out how she was going to do a one-legged, grip the furniture shuffle to the bathroom because she did need a shower and was eventually going to have to pee.

"Tell you what…" Shawn had watched her, wondering what the Hell was so fascinating about the room. It was the same as any other high-priced hotel. "I'll stay here until you're sleeping."

Fallon's attention was now firmly on him, the word 'no' forming on her lips.

He held up a hand, gesturing towards the couch with a knowing smile. "I'll even be a gentleman and sleep on that tiny thing. And all I want in exchange for the night's labor is to use your shower and possibly a back-rub."

"Night's labor?"

"What do you think I've been doing? Carting you around the way I have?"

"Thought I wasn't that heavy?"

"You're not, doesn't mean it's still not a pain in the ass." Shawn retorted, ignoring her warning growl. "Come on, Fallie, I scratch your back, you scratch mine, deal?"

She considered it, wondering idly if he wouldn't like to rethink that as her manicured nails were rather sharp, and finally just nodded.

Grinning, Shawn took her glass from her, drained it himself and then rolled out of bed to refill it.

With less enthusiasm, she eased herself off the bed as well and began doing the one leg hopping thing to the dresser where he had dropped their bags. "I'm going to use the shower first, then you can have it and afterwards… I will give you a backrub." Actually, she was going to sit in the tub with the shower running on her, already knowing standing on the wet stall floor was definitely out of the equation.

"Stop." Shawn ordered, having watched her with a strange mixture of amusement and irritation. He had said he was here to help her, what was wrong with the woman? He set down his –no wait, it was technically hers- freshly made drink and walked over to yet again lift her up. "What did I tell you? I'm stayin' here for a reason, not just for a shower and a backrub, Fallie."

He wasn't a total prick. She was injured and he wanted to help her out… with a little something on the side in it for him. So yeah, not a total prick, just a bit of one.

Once they were in the bathroom, Shawn set her on the sink counter, moving to stand between her thighs. "You know, I think we should give that kissing thing another try. See if maybe we can't bump it up to gold star quality."

He had lied. He was, indeed, a total prick.

Fallon stared at him, wondering if he was serious. "I don't think so, Shawn." She said, her hands resting on his forearms since his were on the counter on either side of her legs, not exactly giving her a lot of room to work with. She could feel the heat radiating from his body when he nestled in closer, feeling those strong palms of his running up the sides of her thighs and guiding them around his waist. She promptly kiboshed that.

"Why not?"

"You use way too much tongue for my taste. I don't like sloppy kisses." The man was freaking… there were just no words to describe him, and she really wasn't amused by that damn silver star thing.

When she had kissed him, she hadn't even been trying… wait, yes she was pleased by it. She had given him a closed mouth, emotionless kiss and he had awarded her a silver star. She was definitely awesome and she could not keep a smile off her face.

"Darlin', I don't do sloppy kisses." He informed her, his pitch dropping to a low, seductive tone as he skimmed his hands up to rest on her waist. "I do like a little tongue…"

Fallon watched tensely as he leaned towards her, her breath catching in her throat when his cheek brushed against hers, feeling his breath on her ear.

"A little tongue can be very pleasurable…" He demonstrated by running the tip of his tongue along her lobe, rubbing slow circles against her skin with his thumbs when he felt her stiffen.