Chapter Eleven: He Needs Her
Sterling woke suddenly and breathed deep. He winced in pain still recovering from his broken ribs. He held his side and kept his suffering silent. It had been two weeks after the accident and two weeks that Maggie stayed with him and Olivia. She had taken responsibility of two people she didn't have to take care of.
He slightly shifted and looked at Maggie as she rested peacefully. He carefully slid out of bed and walked to the bathroom. He leaned against the sink finding slight relief from the pain in that position, but not much.
Sterling reached for the pain killers on the side of the sink and took two in hope that the larger dose would muffle the pain to sleep. He glanced down at the cast that impaired him to do a lot of things with his hands. His whole body ached still from the accident even though it was two weeks ago.
"Jim," Maggie's voice drifted to his attention.
Sterling turned and looked over at her as she sat up. He walked carefully to the bed not to irritate his broken ribs with even the slightest movement.
"Are you alright?" she asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Just in pain," he said as he took shallow breaths.
Maggie lightly rubbed his back and slide beside him. She kissed his shoulder and leaned her head against him.
"Would you be more comfortable down stairs on the couch?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine here," Sterling answered as he turned and kissed her head.
She gave a nod and lightly stroked his head. "Lie down and try to rest."
Maggie slid over and Sterling ever so carefully slid into bed. Maggie turned on her side and reached over stroking his head.
"I'm right here, Jim," Maggie whispered.
Sterling's eyes became heavy and he once more fell asleep. She kissed his head before slipping under the covers and draped her arm around him.
As the morning hours slipped by and the gloom of the day showed signs of brightening up, Maggie and Sterling came downstairs.
Maggie made them breakfast and fixed coffee as well. She was getting to know her way around his house. And when Olivia was not at school Maggie made sure to help her with homework.
She sat a plate in front of him and kissed him.
"I'm going to head to the museum and pick up some paper work I need to finish. I won't be long." Maggie sat down.
"I'll be fine. Don't feel you have to rush home on my account," Sterling said.
"Who said I was," Maggie said with a smile.
Sterling looked at her and gave a slight smirk.
"I would rather be here with you than at work." Maggie reached over and placed her hand on his. "And I'll pick up Olivia at two."
"She has study hall today; she won't get done until four." Sterling looked at Maggie.
"Well, then I'll pick her up at four."
Sterling gave a nod and Maggie stood up and kissed him.
"Don't stress yourself out, Jim. No work and don't overdo it. That means no lifting heavy things." Maggie kissed his cheek. "I mean it, Jim."
Sterling chuckled and held his side. She smiled and finished the last of her breakfast.
"I'm going to take a shower and head on," Maggie said.
"I'll be here." Sterling grabbed her hand and kissed it.
Maggie smiled and headed up upstairs. Sterling grabbed the paper and pulled his normal section out. He leaned back to relieve and slight pressure that he was putting on his ribs. It was all about adjusting to new things and not being afraid to ask for help.
Once Maggie had left the house Sterling made small attempts to clean without the restrictions that she placed on him. But he did take it easy with lifting among other things.
By the time he felt as if he had done something he took the time to relax and catch up on some reading. It wasn't easy for him to just take it easy. He felt that he always had to be doing something to make time pass.
As the afternoon hours came Sterling had fallen asleep on the couch with his book still in his hand.
It was the feeling of a gentle touch that made him stir a little. His hand reached up and grabbed the soft hand that stroked his cheek. His eyes opened up and saw Maggie standing there.
"Hello, darling," he whispered.
"Hello," she softly said.
He grabbed his book and set it to the side before he sat up.
"Go lay down, Jim," she said. "I know you didn't sleep much."
Maggie took a seat at the edge of the sofa.
"I'm fine," he said.
"You look tired," Maggie said.
She gently stroked his cheek feeling the roughness of his five o'clock shadow. She smiled and patted his cheek.
"You need to shave," Maggie softly said.
"I'll shave later," Sterling said.
"Come on, Jim, I'll lay down with you." Maggie grabbed his hand.
She stood up and he got up carefully. He stood straight and Maggie grabbed his hand leading him upstairs.
Sterling sat down on his bed and took comfort of its comfortable surface. Maggie slid beside him and she rested her head gently on his chest. Sterling wrapped his arm around her as he leaned his head close to hers.
"I'll be here," Maggie whispered.
She always told him that. For some reason it brought comfort to him and seemed to be the one thing that put his mind at ease to sleep. The pain was soothed by the medicine and the idea the best medicine rested in his arms was another comforting thought.
By five o'clock the mouth watering smell of something baking in the oven tickled his nose. He opened his eyes and turned his head to see Maggie wasn't beside him. He glanced over at the clock and moaned a little. He sat up and slipped out of bed. His hands rushed through his short hair as and he rubbed his face from the sleep.
As he came towards the kitchen he heard laughter and chatter coming from it. His feet carried him into the kitchen to see Maggie pulling out a batch of cookies. He leaned against the frame of the kitchen and watched them. It was like watching a memory of when he would come home from a long day at the office to find Olivia and her mother making cookies. It never failed to bring a smile to his lips.
"What do we have here?" Sterling finally said.
Olivia and Maggie glanced up and smiled at him. Olivia walked over to him and wrapped her arms lightly around him.
"You look better, Dad," Olivia said.
"I looked horrible?" Sterling looked down at her.
"Yes," Olivia said.
"I felt it too," Sterling wrapped his arms around her despite the pain he felt.
"Maggie and I made cookies for dessert and she made dinner." Olivia looked over at Maggie.
"I can't wait to taste what you have cooking," Sterling said.
Maggie smiled and let the cookies cool before walking over and kissing him.
"You slept for a good bit, Jim."
"I was tired after all. You were right, I was wrong."
Maggie smiled and looked at Olivia as she smiled at the sight.
"Come have a seat. I was about start serve up," Maggie remarked.
Sterling and Olivia walked into the kitchen and took a seat. Maggie pulled some bowls from the cabinet and served them the hot soup that she made. She sat it in front of them then herself before sitting.
"It smells wonderful, Maggie," Sterling said.
Maggie smiled. "I hope it taste just as good."
Sterling took a bite and nodded. The spices alone were a balance of the soup.
"Dad, are you feeling better?" Olivia asked.
"I'm feeling a little better, although only time will tell." Sterling reached for the glass of water.
"Well, you have Maggie to help you and me when I come home from school. We'll get you back into shape."
"I know you two will," Sterling chuckled.
Later Sterling once more sat down and enjoyed his book as Maggie cleaned up around the kitchen and Olivia did her homework upstairs. He turned the corner down on the page he was on and glanced over at Maggie. He pushed himself up and walked ever so slowly.
He walked into the kitchen as Maggie dried some dishes before washing more. He walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her. He kissed her shoulder and leaned his head on her shoulder.
"I feel useless," Sterling said.
"Well, you'll have to feel useless until you are better." Maggie turned and looked at him.
"I'm not use to being benched."
Maggie turned off the water and faced him. She looped her arms around him and kissed him on the nose. He smirked a little and kissed her.
"There's nothing wrong with taking some time," Maggie said.
Sterling grabbed her hand and Maggie stopped.
"Jim, I need to finish these dishes." Maggie gave him a look. "And you aren't in any condition to being doing that."
He smirked and pulled her into his arms and lifted her chin up.
"You were saying?" Sterling looked at her.
"You'll regret it later," Maggie said.
"Then I have you to take care of me," Sterling whispered in her ear.
Maggie smiled and patted his cheek.
"Not to night," Maggie said. "Give you something to look forward to for another night."
Maggie kissed him and slipped from his hold. He smirked a little and sleeked off back to the comforts of the couch with his book.
Later that evening Sterling climbed the stairs and walked to Olivia's room. He knocked lightly and opened the door. Olivia looked up from her screen and smiled.
"Isn't it getting late, Liv?" Sterling said.
"I'm almost done. I have about three hundred more words for my paper then I'll be done. I promise," Olivia answered.
"Alright, finish up."
"Dad," Olivia said.
"Yes?"
Olivia pushed her chair out and walked over. She opened the door wide and invited him in. He walked in and Olivia shut the door.
"What is it?" Sterling asked. "Something going on at school?"
He took a seat at the end of Olivia's bed and she walked over. She bit her lip a little and he raised a brow. It was something she did when she wanted to say something that she observed.
"Liv?" Sterling looked at her.
Olivia looked at him. "I don't think you should let Maggie go to London."
"Liv, it's her job," Sterling said.
Olivia sighed and stood up. "She doesn't have to go to London for a job. She can get a job close to us."
Sterling sighed and put his arm around her. "It's only for eight months."
"Yeah, but who's going to take care of you while she's away?" Olivia asked. "She really likes you, Dad. Maybe she took the job to see how much you really like her. I'm just saying these last couple of months has been like we're a family. And since your accident it has really felt like one."
Sterling looked down at Olivia and kissed her head.
"Talk to her, Dad, about it. Just think I'm fourteen years old in high school. I'm going to have a lot of things that I can't talk to you about, but I can talk to Maggie about them." Olivia smiled.
Sterling chuckled and Olivia laughed. She wrapped her arms around him and he wince.
"Easy, Liv," he said.
"Oh, sorry, Dad, I forgot." Olivia smiled.
"I'll talk to her about it. Right now you need to finish your paper. I want you to get ready for bed before it gets too late." Sterling hugged her again. "I love you, Liv."
"Love you, Dad." Olivia looked up at him.
He got up and walked out. Sterling took a moment to think what his very observant daughter observed about his relationship with Maggie.
Sterling walked to his room and saw Maggie turning down the bed. She glanced up at him as he walked in and smiled. He walked towards her and slipped his arms around her. She slipped her arms around him.
"Jim," Maggie said.
"I just had a very interesting talk with my daughter," he said.
"About what?" Maggie asked.
He looked at her and lifted her chin up. "You."
"Me?"
"She doesn't want you to go to London," Sterling said. "She wants you to stay right here determined that you can find a job to stay close to us."
Maggie stroked his cheek and smiled.
"And what about you, Jim? What do you want?" Maggie asked.
"I don't want you to go, Maggie, but I know this is what you want. You become starry eyed when you talk about this job. And I can't take that shine out of your eyes."
Maggie smiled and kissed him.
"We'll talk about this tomorrow." Maggie smiled. "But I am glad you brought this up."
As another week came to a close, Maggie began her routine of making lists for what she needed. Sterling unwillingly helped her with the routine by supporting her in her decision. He couldn't find any which way to convince her to stay. But he knew that she'd find some way to keep him and Olivia in the loop.
"When will your plane be leaving?" Sterling asked.
"I'm going to leave Sunday Morning. I'll get to London about noon." Maggie sat down on the bed beside him. "How are you feeling?"
"Delightful," Sterling said with sarcasm.
Maggie shook her head and stroked his cheek. "Six to eight weeks and your ribs will be healed."
"They can't heal fast enough." Sterling reached over and tucked some of her hair behind her ear.
Maggie grabbed his hand and kissed it. Her eyes met his and he leaned towards her and kissed her.
"Jim," Maggie said.
"Don't say anything," Sterling whispered as he kissed her. "Just take a moment."
Maggie smiled a little seeing even a few broken ribs didn't stop him from taking charge of certain situations. He pulled her into his arms and ignored the sharp pains that reminded him of his healing ribs.
It was later that he felt the consequences of his impulsive actions, but didn't regret it. He glanced at Maggie as she rested her head on his chest. He stroked her back and pushed away her hair from her face. Despite the pain he was feeling it was not worth the peace that Maggie brought him.
Sterling listened to Maggie's gentle breathing as she rested in his arms. And her gentle touch as she ran her hand gently over his wrapped ribs.
"Maybe I'll take a week off to fly back to see you and Olivia," Maggie whispered.
"We've already made our plans to visit you for the summer. Olivia is going to enroll in a program to study over there."
Maggie raised her gaze as he looked down.
"Did you ever think she wanted to be just a teenager for the summer?" Maggie said.
Sterling smiled and kissed her head.
"That's exactly what she will be doing."
"How is she going to do that when she's in school?"
"Because, my dear Maggie, the program is none other than sightseeing. And being that I'm from there it will be father daughter time."
Maggie smiled and kissed his chin. '
"She's welcome to come to the museum as well."
"We have every intention of come to visit the museum."
Maggie closed her eyes as Sterling stroked her back.
"You're a good man, Jim Sterling," Maggie kissed his chest.
"You are the reason I've become that way," Sterling remarked.
As the afternoon came close Sterling made them lunch and Maggie helped with the daily chores around the house that Sterling still was unable to do. He watched as Maggie became a domestic goddess the last three weeks since his accident.
"Dad, Maggie, I'm home," Olivia's voice came.
Sterling walked out the kitchen and looked at the clock on the wall.
"It's only twelve thirty, Liv, what are you doing home?"
"Faculty planning day. The school gave us an early day," Olivia said as she sat her bag down. "I got a ride home."
"Liv, you didn't tell me." Sterling looked at her.
"I forgot." Olivia looked at him.
Maggie walked up to Sterling and placed her hand on his arm. He glanced at her and grabbed her hand.
"Did I interrupt something?" Olivia asked.
"No, we were just getting ready to have lunch. Come join us," Maggie said.
Olivia nodded and walked into the kitchen with them. Maggie took a seat and Olivia grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
"So, what was this faculty planning day about?" Sterling asked.
"New safety regulations." Olivia looked at him. "I guess maybe after what happened earlier this school year they had to take a look at what they had."
Maggie looked at Olivia as she looked at Sterling. She glanced over at Sterling as he gave a slight nod. He grabbed three plates and served the toasted sandwiches. He took a seat as he grabbed two bottles of water and handed one to Maggie.
"Dad, I need you to sign my permission slip for the chess tournament next week," Olivia mentioned.
"Alright, just put it on my desk and I'll sign it." Sterling looked at Olivia.
"Oh, Emily and her family invited me to go with them to the beach during Spring break. Can I go?" Olivia asked.
"We'll talk about it, Liv?"
Maggie smiled and sipped the bottle of water. She could see that Olivia was embracing her teenage years by getting invited to the beach with friends and eager to get out of class for extracurricular activities.
"Liv, your dad was talking about your summer excursion program," Maggie said deciding to encourage her.
Olivia nodded and looked at Maggie. "Dad wrote the school and asked about studying for a week or so."
"And you have the best tour guide," Maggie smiled.
"I get credit for a culture class thanks to Dad." Olivia munched on the sandwich.
Maggie looked at Sterling as he leaned back. He sat the sandwich down and stood up.
"Jim?" Maggie asked.
"I'm fine. I might have over done myself today," Sterling said with a smile. "I'm going to take something."
Sterling got up and headed out the kitchen and Maggie glanced at Olivia.
"Is he alright?" Olivia asked. "He kind of looked pale."
"He decided he felt fine about lifting some things." Maggie pushed her hair back.
"Dad's stubborn." Olivia smiled.
Maggie nodded in agreement. She didn't need to be told twice about that being that she's known him long enough.
"Maggie, do you want the go to London now that you've been seeing my dad?" Olivia asked.
Maggie looked at Olivia and paused for a moment. She was in tune with people just like her dad. Maggie smiled and wiped her hands on the paper napkin.
"No, I don't, Liv, the honest truth is I would stay here if there was something available for me. But with my job working over at such prestige museums like London is an opportunity that can't be passed up very easily." Maggie gave a sigh.
"Then stay," Olivia remarked. "I really think dad is falling in love with you. And for him to fall in love is hard."
Maggie did not know how to respond to that. For as long as she had known Sterling he never seemed to love anything, but winning. And the darkest moments he seemed to only work twice as hard as anyone she had met. He always got his mark.
"What about your mother?" Maggie asked.
Olivia looked down at the half eaten sandwich and sighed.
"Liv?"
"Dad loved my mom very much, but even I know there were troubles. My mom was always waiting for the next big thing to happen. He settled."
Maggie felt sorry for what she was hearing.
"What happened?"
"Mom had enough of him being constantly gone. And when Dad was home my mom never seemed happy. They would argue and Dad would tell her that money was getting tight because some cases didn't pay out. So, she told him he needed to just find something that would pay."
Maggie swallowed a lump in her throat. "How old were you, Liv when all this happened?"
"Four. Mom woke me up in the middle of the night and we left with a couple of suitcases. Dad wasn't home so she left a note. I asked why we were leaving him behind, but she told me he was going to meet up with us. But he never did…she didn't tell him where we were and the next thing I remember was Mom filing for divorce. Four years later Mom and I moved to Dubai with Livingston. I kept in touch with Dad in secret cause Mom said he never cared about us, but he did. He told me he would come get me when he had the first chance."
Olivia sighed and looked at Maggie.
"And when my mom was killed in the accident I called him to come get me. I was scared and he told he was coming. And he came and got me…he won't admit it, but he was scared for me."
"Your dad cares about you, Liv." Maggie reached over and grabbed her hand.
"And he cares about you too, Maggie. If he wasn't scared to tell you how he really felt he'd probably tell you he loves you. Maggie, you're good for him. You make his life worthwhile."
Maggie shook her head and smiled. "No, Liv, you do. Your dad would give up his life to protect you."
"But he'd also give up everything for you too. I know him, Maggie," Olivia said. "Please, don't go to London. It'll kill him."