I woke up around 2 am and had to pee. Jason was draped across my left side, and looked so peaceful I really hated to wake him for something this stupid. I reached across to grab my crutches, and started getting up when one strong arm gripped my stomach firmly but without causing pain.
"You weren't trying to do something on your own like you promised me you wouldn't do, were you?" an irately amused voice asked me in the dark.
"You looked so peaceful!"
"I will peacefully help you to the bathroom, nutjob. My God, woman, but you are stubborn." Jason crawled around me and helped me stand, and whisked me up with ONE ARM to shuttle me to the bathroom. Once I'd finished, and washed hands, he picked me up again, and gently placed me back into bed. "No more 'me do's' ok? I'm serious, Thea. I don't want you to get hurt doing something as mundane as having to pee."
"I hear and I obey, oh benevolent overlord," I said, making Jason smile. His smile was so bright I could see it in the dark.
"Ya know, that's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."
"Being my benevolent overlord?"
"Something like that. Is this a conversation for 2 am? How awake are you?"
"I'm awake. You?"
"I'm awake." He said. I waited. And waited. Even in the pitch black of my bedroom, I could tell he was nervous. "So."
"So. Benevolent overlord, what'd you want to talk about?"
"Well. About that."
"Jason, are you nervous?"
"I…may….be. I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about…dating."
"Ok…."
"Because that's what we are. We're dating."
"Are we?" I asked seriously.
"I always thought so, did you not?" He said, sounding extremely unsure.
"I…didn't. I just kinda figured I was a stop on your rounds."
"Thea, why?" He sounded so hurt when I said it. "Why would you think that? You are important to me!"
"Jason, I still don't have your phone number. I didn't have any way of contacting you, and I truly did think that was on purpose. And…you'd just…show up. When you wanted to. In my experience, that's a hallmark of a 'booty call'."
"Well, aside from the distinct lack of 'booty', you are so much more than a booty call to me."
"To me, too."
"Am I?" he asked seriously. "After Celia, I…wasn't really sure."
I closed my eyes and sighed. "Yeah. That was bad timing all the way around, for everyone."
"Have you…seen her since?" Asking that sounded like it was painful for him.
"I've seen her at work, and at bouts, but not in a romantic way. No more kissing, or anything else." I paused. "Jason, I don't want to be intimate with anyone else but you."
I heard him sigh, and he sounded greatly relieved. "Good. I don't want you to be intimate with anyone else but me, and I don't want to be with anyone else, either." He paused. "So, I guess that means, I'm your…boyfriend?"
"I would like that very much."
"Me, too." Jason had snuggled up to my left side again, but before settling down, asked if I needed a refill of anything. I asked for one of the industrial strength illegal narcotics in the living room, which Jason was more than happy to fetch. Jason said he'd administer it this time, and had to turn the light on to make sure he didn't stab me anywhere unfortunate. He took my left arm, and did all the things I would have done to find a good vein, then injected the pain meds.
"You're…awfully good at that."
"I've had some practice over the years."
That made me raise my eyebrows, but I didn't push it. It was 2 am after all. Jason snuggled back down, wrapped as gently around my left side as he could without hurting me. We usually spooned, and I was the bigger spoon most of the time, but with the casts, everything was harder. I'm a side sleeper, and this was not ideal. Having Jason there definitely made me more comfortable, which was evident in the rapid slowing of my heart rate, and my eyelids not wanting to stay open. I looked over at him.
"Hey, you."
"Hey, yourself," he said, watching me.
"I really like you."
"I really like you, too, Thea."
"Thank you for staying with me, even though I'm a bad patient."
"You being a bad patient's part of the fun – means I get to boss you around a little," He kissed me gently on the lips. "Go to sleep, tiny terror."
"Sweet dreams, beautiful one."