Chapter Twenty-One

(The Next Day - Afternoon - Hospital)

Chloe came bounding happily into Brady's room, knowing that in less than an hour, he would be out of here for good.

"Hey... Are you ready?"

Brady was sitting on the edge of his bed, still in his pajamas. He smiled innocently at her, and Chloe frowned in reply. "Alright, you're not ready. Why aren't you ready?"

Brady held up his injured arm, still wrapped in a brace and bandaged up. "It's not easy getting dressed, when you've got a bad wrist and arm. Plus, trying to get these pants over the knee brace with only one hand... It should probably be a new Olympic event for 2004."

Chloe laughed and walked closer to him. He greeted her with a gentle kiss. She broke away from him and pointed at the clothes sitting on the edge of the bed. "Well, why did you have your dad bring you this? You should just wear sweats or something with elastic that you can just pull up, and something that fits over the brace better."

Chloe rolled her eyes at the nice pair of dress pants and white button-up shirt that John had brought him earlier. Brady placed his hand on her arm and pouted. "Because, I want to look good for my party. I've had exactly two ensembles in the past two and half weeks, one was a hospital gown and the other is these stupid pajamas. I want to wear something NICE."

Chloe nodded in understanding and motioned for him to stand. "Alright, I'll help you. But, you'll need to stand up."

Brady used his good hand to push himself up and Chloe helped him the rest of the way up. She grabbed his crutches quickly and handed them to him, so he would have something to keep himself propped up on. Chloe paused tentatively before she went to undo his pajama bottoms.

"Uhm... Brady... You ARE wearing underwear, aren't you?"

"Nope."

Chloe's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh boy..."

Brady laughed loudly and shook his head. "I'm just kidding, Chloe. Yes, I am wearing underwear. A clean pair and everything."

Chloe nodded and deftly undid the drawstring on his striped pajama bottoms. She dropped them easily to the floor, and Brady was grinning at her as she kneeled down to take them all the way off. Chloe tried not to look at Brady's facial expressions as she undressed him. She hadn't planned on making this some sort of sexual experience, it was more of a necessity.

She grabbed his black pants and instructed him to lift his left foot. "Left foot, please." Brady did as told, and she put his foot into the left leg of the pants, repeating the same procedure when she said, "Right foot."

Chloe pulled the pants up over the brace on his knee, leaving them unzipped and resting at his hips. She put a gentle hand on his chest and smiled. "There, I think you can sit down for a minute now."

Brady nodded and put his crutches down, sitting back on the edge of the bed. He was still grinning at her, and Chloe just rolled her eyes sarcastically. "You know, Brady... I think you really can dress yourself, you'd just rather have me do it."

He shrugged innocently and shook his head. "I have no idea what you could mean by that. I needed help, and you just happened to show up at the right place and the right time."

"Yeah, right, okay." Chloe chuckled and began undoing the buttons on his pajama shirt. She paused for a second and made a clear cut decision. If Brady wanted to enjoy this, then so would she.

She undid the last button, and opened his shirt, exposing his perfect abs and well-muscled chest. She used the tips of her fingers to gently run over his abs and up to the top of his chest. Chloe winked at him and slowly began to pull his shirt away, running her fingers down his arms as she yanked the sleeves away. She most definitely loved Brady for what was on the inside, his mind, heart and soul. But, what was on the outside was so appealing, it was like the cherry on top of the hot fudge sundae for her. That little extra bonus that makes everything the right amount of perfect.

Chloe reached an arm around his chest, and threw the pajama shirt aside. She realized that her hands were on Brady's bare back and his face was positioned near her neck. He must have too, because he tilted his head slightly and gently pressed his lips to her neck. He kissed her gently, repeating the motion a few times on the side of her exposed neck. Chloe felt a jolt of electricity go through her body, but somehow kept herself from melting into a puddle in the middle of his hospital room.

She backed away from him slightly and grabbed his pressed, clean white shirt. Chloe slowly helped him pull his arms into the sleeves, and Brady used his good arm to wrap around her waist, pulling her even closer to him. Her clothed skin was pressed tightly against his exposed chest, the heat from his skin radiating through her clothing. Brady made a trail of gentle kisses from her collarbone and back up to her neck.

Chloe moaned softly, but Brady silenced her when he pressed his lips to hers. Chloe ran her hands under his shirt, craving the heat from his bare skin, as Brady gently and lovingly explored her mouth. She felt her knees began to wobble, and heart was beating faster and faster as they continued.

Chloe broke away from him and tried to catch her breath. "Oh, wow... Brady... Wow."

Brady grinned proudly at her. "Yeah. I never knew getting dressed could be this much fun. Maybe I should have you come to my house every morning before work and get me dressed."

Chloe laughed softly and quickly finished buttoning up his shirt for him. "Well, as much as I AM enjoying myself, and I am... We have a party to get to."

Brady stood and propped himself up on his crutches again, tucking his shirt into his pants and Chloe zipped and buttoned them for him. He paused and raised one eyebrow curiously. "Where is everyone else anyway?"

Chloe shrugged nonchalantly. "Who cares?"

"What?"

"I mean... I like having a little time alone with you, that's all. Besides, Marlena and Belle had to finish getting all the food ready, and your dad had some work to finish up before the party."

Brady nodded in understanding. "So, you were the lucky one who got nominated to pick me up at the hospital?"

Chloe smiled at him and stuffed his pajamas into the overnight bag on the nightstand. "Yup, and I'm glad to do it. Are you sure you're not going to need me to get a wheelchair?"

"Nope, I can do it. Just me and my crutches. I have past experience, you know."

"Yes, I remember it quite vividly." Chloe took a quick glance around the room, making sure there was nothing left behind. Marlena had been here earlier and taken all of his flowers and get well gifts to his loft, so all Chloe had to worry about was one overnight bag and Brady.

Brady smiled at her and briefly touched his hair. "How does my hair look?"

"Your hair looks perfect." Chloe grinned and ran her hand through it, he had brushed it to hide the scar and shaved spots, and it wasn't noticeable at all. "I swear, Brady. Sometimes you are so much like your sister it scares me. Now, are you ready?"

"One more thing..."

Chloe hefted his overnight bag on to her shoulder and looked at him curiously. "What?"

Brady smiled and pulled her close to him. "Thank you, Chloe."

"For helping you get dressed? It's not like I had much of a choice. You can't go to your party in your pajamas."

"Well, yes, thank you for that. But, that's not what I meant. Thank you for being by my side through all of this. And, thank you for never giving up on me."

Chloe smiled shyly and nodded. "You're welcome. I could never give up on you, I need you too much."

Brady smiled and gave her a brief kiss. "I need you too, Chloe Lane. And, when I needed you the most, you came through for me. Thank you."

"Anytime, Brady. Just remember this when I need a favor someday."

Brady chuckled and nodded in understanding. "You got it. Come on, let's get out of here. I'm really tired of this place."

Chloe smiled and went to open the door for him. "Me too..."

She sighed softly as she watched him move through the door on his crutches. He got around pretty well for a guy on crutches, and Chloe was impressed. She took one last glance at the hospital room that had been their home for the past two and a half weeks, and grinned slightly.

She muttered under her breath as she walked away, "Good riddance."

***

(Okay, I was mistaken previously. There are at least THREE happy Broe chapters in a row. This was supposed to be the first part of a much longer chapter, but I thought it would work better if I divided it here. So, you get this one, and at least two more after this. Yay!)