By the time Carl pulled up in front of his house, he was exhausted. He wanted nothing more then to crawl into bed and pull the covers over his head but that wasn't exactly an option. He looked over at the sleeping man in the passenger seat and wondered again if he had made a horrible mistake in bringing him here. After all, the man was apparently on familiar terms with monsters. Was he inviting that kind of trouble into his life by taking this man home with him?
He studied the features of his houseguest and had to admit he looked rather peaceful and almost boyish in his sleep. But the man was hardly an innocent – not with the work he did. He remembered the brutal efficiency he displayed in fighting the gargoyles and shuddered slightly. He definitely didn't want to get on his bad side.
Still, he could have sworn he caught a look of relief when Carl offered to take care of him for the night. Didn't this man have any kind of backup? Remembering his negative response when Carl asked him if there was anyone to look after him, he realized that there wasn't. Carl felt a real pang of sympathy over that. This man must live a really hard existence and to have no one there to help him… that was wrong. This man fought terrible nightmare creatures that most people never even imagined were real and he did it with no one there to patch him up when the dust settled. Carl straightened up as much as the car allowed and made a pledge to himself. Tonight he gets taken care of like he deserves.
Gently he reached over to wake the slumbering man. He touched Van Helsing's arm and then everything went a little crazy. Van Helsing, sensing someone near, grabbed Carl and yanked him down. He wrapped his hand around Carl's throat and began to squeeze.
Carl, who wasn't prepared for this, began to panic and tried to flail. However, there wasn't a lot of room in the car and so he banged his elbow painfully on the dashboard. The gear shift was digging into his belly, adding to his pain and he began to think he was going to die right here in his driveway.
Complete awareness returned to Van Helsing and he realized he was chocking the man who had offered to take him home and patch him up. He immediately released his chock hold and Carl drew in a gasping breath. Unfortunately for Van Helsing, the defensive move had opened up one of his gashes and he groaned with pain.
Carl's head was spinning. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins and he couldn't stop shaking. He sprawled across the man who had just attacked him and panted, unable to gather his shaken mind. What the hell had just happened? He continued to lie on Van Helsing's chest and a small portion of his brain noted that it was really quite hard and well muscled. Carl's mind stopped racing for a moment. What? Where the hell did that come from?
However, with his brain having come back from its panic induced vacation, it now began to function in a much more practical manner. And the first thing it noticed was that he felt something wet against his cheek and that something was likely blood. This man was injured and he had gotten injured saving Carl. That he almost undid that work just now was something he'd deal with later.
Straightening back up, Carl pulled himself together and said rather anti-climatically "Well, we're here." Van Helsing looked for the first time out the windshield and realized that they were sitting in the driveway of a rather large house. When Carl had said he'd be taking him back to his place, he had been expecting a small apartment somewhere. This was… well, rather impressive. Apparently his geek was a little higher up the food chain then he had thought. Looks like this night was going to end a lot better then expected.
Carl got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side. He had a feeling that the Hunter was going to need some help getting into the house. Van Helsing had opened the door and was levering himself out when Carl reached his side. At first the offer of support was refused but then Van Helsing swayed dangerously when he let go of the car. He decided that pride was not so important since keeping it would mean spending the night out here in the driveway.
The pair lurched its way to the door and Carl propped Van Helsing against the wall so he could open the door. He fumbled a bit with the keys since he was still a bit shaky from the adventure in the car…. Hell, he was still a bit shaky from the whole night! Finally getting the door open, he retrieved the injured man and they began their staggering progress into the house. Carl mentally reviewed his options and decided to put him in the guest bedroom across from his room. It had its own bathroom and was close enough that Carl could hear him if he needed anything. Not that Carl was expecting to get much sleep tonight. Thanks to Van Helsing's freak-out in the car, Carl was now wide awake and likely to stay that way for hours. He sighed and maneuvered them both towards the stairs.
Van Helsing looked around at the spacious foyer with its wood paneling and silently whistled to himself. His little geek was definitely very well off which really made him wonder what the hell he was doing in that part of town? Perhaps, geekboy had some interests that he couldn't fulfill in the classier part of town. His train of thought got derailed when they reached the bottom of the stair and the jolt of trying to climb the first step jarred his ribs. He bit back a groan, trying not to come across as pathetic but as they continued to climb, the dizziness returned and he couldn't help but moan.
Carl strained to look at Van Helsing's face. He knew that climbing the stairs was causing the man pain but there wasn't any suitable place for him to sleep on the first floor. His grandparent's house had been designed for formal entertaining and Carl had never bothered to make any changes when he moved into it. He sighed and continued to haul the man up the stairs. "Come on, once we make it up the stairs its all downhill from there. " He tried to sound encouraging but the fact was that he was starting to buckle under the weight of the man and he was wishing he had started that weight training program he had been thinking about. Both men heaved a huge sigh of relief when they reached the top of the stairs and Carl once again propped him against the wall while they both took a breather.
Van Helsing was grateful for the break. His head had been swimming as they climbed the stair and he really didn't want to round off the disastrous evening by passing out on Carl. He looked over at the man from beneath his lashes and had to admit that the guy was full of surprises. Here he was hauling him up the stairs to put him up for the night and this after getting nearly strangled to death by his "guest". He gave the man a closer appraisal and decided that he wasn't half bad looking. He had a better body then you'd expect from a geek… and a good thing too since he's hauling my ass around. Wouldn't necessarily mind a roll in the sack with him… Van Helsing brought that thought to an abrupt halt. Not only was he in no shape for anything like that, this guy was doing him a big favor by taking him in. And that he was still willing to do it after being half strangled meant Van Helsing should just keep his hands to himself. Guy probably was straight anyway.
Carl was trying to catch his breath and get ready for the final push down the hall. Van Helsing was a big guy and it was clear he was starting to fade. He was going to have to get him into bed soon before he just collapsed right here. He opened his eyes and looked over at Van Helsing. The man looked a bit pale and he had his eyes shut – no doubt in pain. Carl felt another rush of sympathy and was determined that at least for tonight; this man was going to see a little tenderness. He pushed himself away from the wall and said "OK, let's get you into bedroom and patched up so you can get some rest." He grabbed Van Helsing's arm and slung it over his shoulder. Staggering a moment under the weight, he recovered his balance and the two of them headed down the hall. Reaching one of the doors, he turned the knob and opened the door.
Maneuvering them through the door proved tricky but eventually they made it through. Van Helsing tried to steer them toward the bed but Carl stopped him. "No, chair first. Let me get you cleaned up and then you can get into bed. Otherwise you'll get blood all over the sheets and that will make for an unpleasant place to sleep.
Van Helsing just shrugged. Wouldn't be the first time he had bled all over his bed. Still, he was a guest so he might as well go along with Carl's wishes. Carl lowered him down into the chair and headed towards the door. "I'll need to get some supplies. I'll just be a minute." With that he moved quickly out of the room.
Van Helsing allowed himself the luxury of a groan. God, he ached all over and it was all he could do to keep his eyes open. To distract himself, he decided to look around the room. The whole thing was decorated in what could only be described as "tasteful" furnishings. The furniture was all some kind of rich wood and there were paintings on the walls that were refined and no doubt expensive. Van Helsing was starting to feel way out of his depths. He began to notice just how scruffy he currently was with his stubble and his leather jacket. Bet Carl's family would be horrified to know that their son had brought home a stray like him. He snorted at the image of Carl presenting him to his family. Nope, not exactly the type to bring home to meet folks. For some reason that thought vaguely depressed him.
Carl came rushing back through the door with a basin and a bunch of supplies. "I'll just need to get some water and then we'll begin." He dumped the supplies on the floor by Van Helsing and then headed into the bathroom. He ran the water until it got hot and then filled the basin. He then slowly headed back over to where the wounded man sat. Van Helsing had his eyes closed and Carl took a moment to look the man over. He looked exhausted and it was clear that he was in a lot of pain. But even with all of that, the man still looked incredibly powerful and well… alive. Sitting in this stuffy room, he seemed to just make everything look dull and lifeless. Carl sighed, he knew he should do something about the décor of this place but the last time he tried to hire a decorator, they had talked about "exciting fabrics" and "fabulous accent pieces" and he had run away in fear. But looking at it now he realized that this was all way too fussy for this man. He really should do something about it… what the hell am I thinking? Its not like he's moving in. He's here for one night and then he will be out of here and out of your life. For some reason this made him depressed.
He pulled himself together and got back to the job at hand. He put the bowl down on the floor and eyed the man assessingly. "First things first. We're going to have to get your jacket and shirt off. " He reached for Van Helsing's arm but the man just barked at him to leave him be. "Fine, do it yourself. But I was just trying to make this a little less painful for you." Carl crossed his arms over his chest with a slight pout.
Van Helsing looked at the man before him and found himself noticing that pouting lower lip. He felt a stirring of desire despite his current state. Knock it off. Remember, you are just a stray that's here's for the night. To distract himself he began the painful process of removing his jacket and shirt. The jacket wasn't too bad but the shirt almost proved to be his undoing. He moaned in pain and felt hands come to help him. He groaned painfully when the shirt was pulled over his head but at last it was done. He sank back in the chair and closed his eyes in relief.
Carl eyed the man before him worriedly. The gash across his ribs looked pretty bad and he had a wound on his shoulder that wasn't too much better. Add to that the blood loss and Carl was beginning to think maybe he should have insisted on taking him to the hospital. But it was too late for that now so he'd best get started. He dipped a washcloth in the basin and rung it out. He then began to wash away the blood and dirt off Van Helsing's chest. He found himself admiring the well-defined chest and blushed fiercely. What was going on with him? Surely it hadn't been THAT long since he had been with someone? Clearly this was just a side effect of all he had been through today. Yes, that must be it. The combination of stress and adrenaline was just wreaking havoc with his libido. Didn't people usually have a heightened sex drive after a near death experience? He nodded to himself and dropped the washcloth back in the basin. Best thing to do was to finish this up quickly and get away from Van Helsing. Surely a little distance would take care of this.
Quickly picking up the bandages, he said briskly "Ok, we'll just bandage you up and then get you into bed. I'm sure rest right now is the best possible thing for you" He started to unroll a bandage and realized he was going to need Van Helsing to lean forward so he could wrap the bandage around his ribs. "I hate to say this but I'm going to need you to move. If you don't lean forward, I'm not going to be able to bandage your ribs." Van Helsing groaned but complied. Unfortunately for Carl, this brought Van Helsing much closer to him and he found this somewhat disturbing. He could feel Van Helsing's breath against his neck and it was proving rather arousing. His hands trembled a bit as he bandaged him up and he heaved a huge sigh of relief when he finished. He leaned back a bit and said, "OK, you can lean back now" He knew he was flushed but he was planning to play it off as just the nature reaction to such a stressful day.
Van Helsing eased himself back and looked at Carl. The man was looking a bit flustered and he was biting his lip. It was actually rather endearing. It had been a long time since Van Helsing had been around someone who wasn't a street tough like him. Stop it; this one is not for you he reminded himself sternly. He leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. Just a few minutes more and Carl would leave and he could go to bed. Sooner he got some sleep, sooner he could get out here and away from temptation. Carl lived an upscale life and a scruffy Hunter like him had no place in it. He would enjoy his one night of luxury and then head on his way. If nothing else, he was going to have to head to HQ to get his weapons fixed. He sighed to himself. Sometimes he really hated being a Hunter.
Carl continued bandaging Van Helsing with a single-minded focus. He was determined not embarrass himself in front of this worldly man. He would finish this up and then head down to his lab to work through his frustration. He imagined tonight was going to be a productive night. He taped off the last bandage and slowly got up. His legs had grown stiff from kneeling and he wobbled a bit for a moment. Van Helsing reached out a hand to steady him and Carl blushed a deeper red at the contact. He really needed to get out of here.
"Well, that should hold you for tonight. Do you need my help in getting over to the bed?" He was rather hoping the man would say no so he wouldn't have to make contact with him again but luck was not with him. Van Helsing swayed when he got to his feet and Carl quickly grabbed for him. He pulled the man tightly against him and began to drag him toward the bed. Just breath. Just breathe and get him on the bed. Then you can flee to your lab where you are safe. When they reached the bed, he lowered the Hunter onto the bed. "There you go. You get some rest and I'll be by to check on you later." He moved quickly away from the bed and bent over to gather up all the supplies.
Van Helsing looked over to where Carl was bending over and found himself admiring the view enormously. The man did have a particularly fine ass. He quickly looked away when Carl straightened and turned. No point in getting caught admiring the scenery – bad form that. He grinned to himself and settled back on the bed.
Carl gave one final look at his unexpected houseguest. "Well, sleep well. I'll stop by in a couple of hours to make sure you are OK. He started to walk away and then realized that Van Helsing wouldn't know where the light switch was. "There's a light switch on the wall by the bed. Is there anything else I can get you?" As much as he wanted to get away from Van Helsing and the weird feelings he was stirring in him, he also felt awkward about leaving the wounded man.
Van Helsing could see Carl's indecision and said, "I'm fine. Right now, all I want is sleep". Carl nodded and said "Well then, I guess I'll leave you to it." He walked to the doorway and then turned and said, "Sleep well, Van Helsing" Then he closed the door and was gone.
Van Helsing looked at the door for a moment and then shook his head. That one is way out of your league, Gabriel. Don't go mistaking kindness for interest. He's no doubt acting out of some noble obligation of the rich.
Feeling a wave of tiredness wash over him, he lifted his arms and unstrapped the tojo holsters from them. Putting them on the bedside table, he turned out the lights and settled down to sleep. It had been a long and strange evening – even for him.