Beep--Beep--Beep--Beep--Beep--Beep--
Brady woke with a start. The beeping alerted him, and he assumed, in a groggy haze, that it was his regular alarm, waking him at the regular time. However, a heavy lidded look at his surroundings told him that nothing about this was regular.
Chloe Lane, her body unusually small looking in the white covered hospital bed, lay peacefully now, but Brady couldn't help remembering the emergency room visit early that morning.
After running Chloe to the hospital--Brady hadn't thought to leave a note for Belle or even call an ambulance--a Dr. Lorrin had quickly revived Chloe, and, after running tests and a head CT, she had told Brady what he suspected, gathering from what Belle had sleepily told him earlier. Chloe had gotten a concussion somewhere, somehow, the prior day, and was very lucky to have not slipped into unconciousness the night before.
"Hey, Brady," came a soft voice from the bed, and he whipped his head around to look at Chloe. Her eyes, though barely open, were, and Brady went to her bedside to take one of her slender hands in his.
"How do you feel?" he asked her, his thumb skitting over the IV needle that lay embedded in Chloe's hand.
"Fine. I'm fine," Chloe told him. Brady shook his head and smiled.
"Chlo, you're in a hospital, it's not like you have to be brave for *my* sake, good lord," he laughed.
"No, really, Brady, I'm fine!" she said, her eyes earnest.
"Are you?" he asked, grasping her hand tighter, like an expectant 5-year-old dragging his mother to the toy store.
"OUCH!!!" Chloe yelped, swatting his shoulder with her free hand. "That hurts!" Brady looked down at her hand and remember the present needle. Looking back up sheepishly, he apologized before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"I'm just really glad you're okay, Chlo," Brady said as John, Marlena, Belle, Shawn and Craig and Nancy opened the door to the hospital room and everyone started talking at once. Before he faded to the back of the room, Brady glanced a quick kiss on Chloe's forehead. Temptation made him make the 2 steps back to the bedside quickly enough to buffer her pliant lips before anyone noticed, and then he walked past the group into the corridor beyond.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The red-flashing, signaling clock read 7:20 AM two days later. Brady groaned and rolled back under the sheets, trying desperately to get back into his dream. Chloe had gotten the concussion, and yet he couldn't find her anywhere...and he kept searching, and searching, and no one would help him, so Brady had gone on alone, trying to find her...he knew he was a breath away when he was rudely awakened by...well, what *was* he awakened by?
*Aw, heck, who cares...* he thought sleepily and tucked himself back into sleep.
"I don't think so......." came a voice that took seconds to register. With a start, Brady fell out of sleep...and onto the floor.
Damn. It.
Chloe cracked up so hard that *she* was practically on the floor. Brady scowled, opening one eye and giving the girl a death glare.
"Chlo, what the frikkin' hell are you doing here at...this ungodly hour?!?" he growled from the floor.
Chloe played innocent, opening her gorgeous eyes wide and fixing them on the grown man who had fallen out of bed, trying her best not to burst out laughing. "I don't know, Brady, why *am* I here?"
With a moan, he untangled himself from the covers and unfolded his long, lean body, clad only in rumpled, drawstring pajama pants, into a standing position. Chloe took one look at the tight, bronzed line of his torso and....quickly back up again. *Okay, Lane...* she told herself, *maybe this wasn't the best of ideas you've ever had...* "Didn't I just ask you that, Chlo?"
"Yes..."
Brady reached for his cane, but, as it was on the other side of the bed...he shot a dark glare at Chloe...so he had to pull himself up. *I hate this morning thing...* Brady thought sourly. He was *definitely* not a morning person.
A split second later, Chloe was trapped between his two arms.
"What are you doing here, Chloe?" he said between his teeth, his eyes still sleepy looking, and his brow loose.
Chloe leaned up and blew a cold breath against his lips. "We're spending the day together."
With a resigned look, Brady dropped back to the floor.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Okay, I have, like, one or two errands to run, but other than that, we're free to do whatever we want," Chloe said happily, sitting on the edge of Brady's bed a bit later.
"Turn around." She turned around. "Okay, Chlo, what are you *really* doing this for?" Brady asked.
"You really wanna know, Brady?" she asked. "Oh, wait, is it okay to turn around?"
"Yes, I wanna know, and yes, you can turn around now." Chloe shifted on the bed to face him.
"I want to spend the day with you. We always fight, we can never communicate right, we're always at each other's throats and we drive those around us crazy. But I still want to spend the day with you...fight free, of course," Chloe told him honestly.
*Does she know how beautiful she is? Sitting on my bed...all innocent, sitting on those sheets that I just slept in...there's something so wierd about that...dang it, she's amazingly beautiful.*
"Fine, Chloe. Whatever you...want."
"I want you, Brady Black, I want you..." Chloe muttered under her breath, and Brady stopped in the doorway.
"What did you say, Chloe?" His bright, now awake, eyes, looked at her with a mix of expectation and teasing.
"Oh, nothing, Brady...nothing."
Brady woke with a start. The beeping alerted him, and he assumed, in a groggy haze, that it was his regular alarm, waking him at the regular time. However, a heavy lidded look at his surroundings told him that nothing about this was regular.
Chloe Lane, her body unusually small looking in the white covered hospital bed, lay peacefully now, but Brady couldn't help remembering the emergency room visit early that morning.
After running Chloe to the hospital--Brady hadn't thought to leave a note for Belle or even call an ambulance--a Dr. Lorrin had quickly revived Chloe, and, after running tests and a head CT, she had told Brady what he suspected, gathering from what Belle had sleepily told him earlier. Chloe had gotten a concussion somewhere, somehow, the prior day, and was very lucky to have not slipped into unconciousness the night before.
"Hey, Brady," came a soft voice from the bed, and he whipped his head around to look at Chloe. Her eyes, though barely open, were, and Brady went to her bedside to take one of her slender hands in his.
"How do you feel?" he asked her, his thumb skitting over the IV needle that lay embedded in Chloe's hand.
"Fine. I'm fine," Chloe told him. Brady shook his head and smiled.
"Chlo, you're in a hospital, it's not like you have to be brave for *my* sake, good lord," he laughed.
"No, really, Brady, I'm fine!" she said, her eyes earnest.
"Are you?" he asked, grasping her hand tighter, like an expectant 5-year-old dragging his mother to the toy store.
"OUCH!!!" Chloe yelped, swatting his shoulder with her free hand. "That hurts!" Brady looked down at her hand and remember the present needle. Looking back up sheepishly, he apologized before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"I'm just really glad you're okay, Chlo," Brady said as John, Marlena, Belle, Shawn and Craig and Nancy opened the door to the hospital room and everyone started talking at once. Before he faded to the back of the room, Brady glanced a quick kiss on Chloe's forehead. Temptation made him make the 2 steps back to the bedside quickly enough to buffer her pliant lips before anyone noticed, and then he walked past the group into the corridor beyond.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The red-flashing, signaling clock read 7:20 AM two days later. Brady groaned and rolled back under the sheets, trying desperately to get back into his dream. Chloe had gotten the concussion, and yet he couldn't find her anywhere...and he kept searching, and searching, and no one would help him, so Brady had gone on alone, trying to find her...he knew he was a breath away when he was rudely awakened by...well, what *was* he awakened by?
*Aw, heck, who cares...* he thought sleepily and tucked himself back into sleep.
"I don't think so......." came a voice that took seconds to register. With a start, Brady fell out of sleep...and onto the floor.
Damn. It.
Chloe cracked up so hard that *she* was practically on the floor. Brady scowled, opening one eye and giving the girl a death glare.
"Chlo, what the frikkin' hell are you doing here at...this ungodly hour?!?" he growled from the floor.
Chloe played innocent, opening her gorgeous eyes wide and fixing them on the grown man who had fallen out of bed, trying her best not to burst out laughing. "I don't know, Brady, why *am* I here?"
With a moan, he untangled himself from the covers and unfolded his long, lean body, clad only in rumpled, drawstring pajama pants, into a standing position. Chloe took one look at the tight, bronzed line of his torso and....quickly back up again. *Okay, Lane...* she told herself, *maybe this wasn't the best of ideas you've ever had...* "Didn't I just ask you that, Chlo?"
"Yes..."
Brady reached for his cane, but, as it was on the other side of the bed...he shot a dark glare at Chloe...so he had to pull himself up. *I hate this morning thing...* Brady thought sourly. He was *definitely* not a morning person.
A split second later, Chloe was trapped between his two arms.
"What are you doing here, Chloe?" he said between his teeth, his eyes still sleepy looking, and his brow loose.
Chloe leaned up and blew a cold breath against his lips. "We're spending the day together."
With a resigned look, Brady dropped back to the floor.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Okay, I have, like, one or two errands to run, but other than that, we're free to do whatever we want," Chloe said happily, sitting on the edge of Brady's bed a bit later.
"Turn around." She turned around. "Okay, Chlo, what are you *really* doing this for?" Brady asked.
"You really wanna know, Brady?" she asked. "Oh, wait, is it okay to turn around?"
"Yes, I wanna know, and yes, you can turn around now." Chloe shifted on the bed to face him.
"I want to spend the day with you. We always fight, we can never communicate right, we're always at each other's throats and we drive those around us crazy. But I still want to spend the day with you...fight free, of course," Chloe told him honestly.
*Does she know how beautiful she is? Sitting on my bed...all innocent, sitting on those sheets that I just slept in...there's something so wierd about that...dang it, she's amazingly beautiful.*
"Fine, Chloe. Whatever you...want."
"I want you, Brady Black, I want you..." Chloe muttered under her breath, and Brady stopped in the doorway.
"What did you say, Chloe?" His bright, now awake, eyes, looked at her with a mix of expectation and teasing.
"Oh, nothing, Brady...nothing."