By Ginny
Thanks for the reviews.
"Get in the wheelchair," Abby said with an edge of frustration in her voice. As she had worked the night before, she was working on only a few hours sleep. She was cranky, Lucien was cranky and the nursing staff was more than happy to see him be discharged. Lucien looked at her face and knew she wasn't kidding. He sat in the chair without further complaint.
After a trip to the Dunkin' Donuts drive through for hazelnut coffee their moods improved greatly. Ten minutes later Abby pulled into Lucien's driveway. She'd been to his house once or twice to pick him up or drop him off, but she'd never been inside. It was a small, two story Cape Cod, not extravagant at all.
One step inside and Abby realized the house suited him perfectly. Well lived in with enough clutter to be bordering on chaos. Lucien led Abby past the sparsely furnished living room, through the kitchen, to the family room in the back of the house. It was clearly where Lucien hung out, books, medical journals, CDs and DVDs littered every available surface.
"Sit," Abby said as she tossed his duffle bag on the steps heading upstairs. She dropped his backpack next to him on the couch and sank into easy chair, kicking off her shoes and propping her feet on the coffee table.
"Comfortable?" Lucien teased.
"Don't start with me; I've had four hours sleep," Abby whined. As she closed her eyes, Lucien picked up the remote and turned on the television. After quickly scanning the channels he settled on ESPN. Abby cracked her eyes open to see if he'd stopped on anything worth watching. Deciding she didn't really care what was going on in the world of sports she closed her eyes again, figuring if Lucien needed anything he would wake her.
About an hour later, Abby woke with a start. It took her a minute to gain some sense of time and space. The television was off and she glanced towards the couch to find it empty.
"Lucien," she called out as she stood up to find him.
"In here," his voice floated down the hall, from the back of the house. Abby followed the sound of his voice to his home office. She found him sitting on the small window seat that looked out over the backyard. He'd obviously showered and shaved while she had been asleep. His hair was still damp and his curls a little more in control than usual. Although he looked better, all cleaned up, there was something in his eyes that worried Abby.
"You ok?" she asked as she walked across the room. She took a seat on the opposite end of the window seat, pulling her knees to her chest.
"I don't know," he said softly as he wrapped his arms around himself and leaned his head back, letting his eyes fall closed. "Not really looking forward to being bored to tears for the next few weeks."
"It'll fly by, you'll be back to work before you know it," Abby assured him, even though she cringed at how lame her words sounded.
"Nice try," Lucien said as he nudged her with his foot.
"Yeah. Look, uh, are you going to be okay by yourself tonight?"
"I guess. I'm not going to try the stairs. I'll just sleep in the guest room down here."
"Good idea. Do you need me to get anything from upstairs, make up the bed...anything?" Abby asked suddenly feeling and sounding a little awkward.
"I'm good. Actually planned ahead. Everything I need is already in the guest room," Lucien replied, completely oblivious to the fact that Abby seemed like she wanted to stay and give him a hand.
"Oh, okay," Abby said with a little edge to her voice. She turned her attention towards the window overlooking the backyard. Lucien watched her as he took a few deep breaths in an attempt to ward off the returning pain.
"If you want to stay and keep me company, I promise I won't take it the wrong way," Lucien said a minute later when the light bulb finally went on. He shifted uncomfortably as the pain meds were really starting to wear off.
"I think I'll stick around a while, see how you do by yourself. Do you want to take something?" Abby asked as she glanced at her watch.
"Do I want to...no. Am I going to...yes," Lucien said with a weary sigh as he brushed his hair back a bit.
"I'll get it," Abby said as she waved him back down. While she was gone, Lucien got up off the window seat and shuffled to the leather recliner on the other side of the room. He did his best to curl up into a ball, which was still no easy feat for him.
Abby came back a few minutes later with the pill, a bottle of water and the plaid quilt they'd brought home from the hospital. "Why don't you close your eyes for a while. I'll just snoop around your house and make myself at home," Abby teased as she covered him up with the quilt and brushed back his hair in a not so subtle attempt to check his temperature. She turned off the light but left the door open so she could hear him.
While Lucien slept, Abby walked around the house for a bit. While she did look around she didn't snoop around. She didn't go upstairs and she didn't peek in all the cabinets, although she did look in the fridge for something to drink. The fridge was full, Lucien really had planned ahead. A quick peek at the freezer revealed half a dozen frozen casseroles, apparently Lucien knew how to cook. Abby peeked into the top pan, finding baked ziti. She set it on the counter to thaw before pouring herself a glass of iced tea.
Lucien slept for almost 3 hours, surprising both himself and Abby. When he woke up he wandered into the family room, still wrapped up in the quilt. He sat down next to Abby on the couch, where she had been flipping through his medical journals. "Not to be mean, but you look like crap," she teased as Lucien dropped his head to her shoulder, taking her by surprise. But she'd come to realize over the past few days, that when he sought her out physically, he wasn't doing well, emotionally, physically or both. "Nap didn't help?" she asked softly as she pressed her hand to his forehead.
"Not really," he sighed as he sat up a little staighter. "What's that smell?"
"Baked ziti, I raided the freezer. Hope you don't mind."
"Not a problem," Lucien said as he pushed himself to his feet. He paced around the room for a minute, finally heading down the hall. "Where's my duffle bag?"
"Bottom of the stairs," Abby called from where she was still sitting on the couch.
Lucien grabbed the bag and took it into the laundry room. He started the washer and shoved the dirty clothes in without waiting for the washer to fill. The top to the washer slammed down as he pushed it with much more force than necessary. He tossed the bag in the corner as Abby came into the room. She hopped up to sit on the washer and to get out of Lucien's way as he was starting to pace. She watched him walk out of the room, down the hall to the back door and then back. Her repeated his trip a few times until Abby finally grabbed his hand during one trip past the washer.
"Lucien," she whispered as he stubbornly stopped, resisting the urge to pull his hand away. He stared at his socks until Abby reached out to tip up his chin. "What's wrong?"
With a shrug of his shoulders, Lucien didn't say anything. Abby was at a loss about how to help him. It was obvious he didn't really know what was wrong, or what he needed. She did the only thing she could think of; she grabbed his other hand and pulled him into her arms. His chin dropped to her shoulder and he allowed Abby to comfort him, to the surprise of both of them. Abby rubbed his back a little but gave up on trying to think of something helpful to say. After a minute it was clear that Lucien wasn't going to remain upright for much longer. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "You need to sit down," Abby said before lightly kissing his cheek. She slid off the washer as Lucien shuffled towards the kitchen.
The sun was beginning to set so Lucien pulled the shades in the kitchen down before taking a seat at table. He glanced through the pile of mail he'd tossed there when they got home, skimmed the newspaper and flipped through a magazine while Abby put the garlic bread in the oven and make a salad.
"Do you have any tea bags?" Abby asked as she rubbed her hands over her arms as she was a bit chilly.
"Over the stove. There should be a sweatshirt hanging by the back door if you're cold," he said as he got up to nudge up the thermostat a little.
Dinner was delicious but a little on the awkward side. Lucien wasn't real talkative but he did eat, which Abby was glad to see as his appetite hadn't been the greatest since the surgery. He waved off Abby's efforts to help with the dishes. She sat down at the kitchen table with a magazine and another cup of tea while Lucien loaded the dishwasher. Abby snuck glances at him as he cleaned up. She could tell he was in a fair amount of pain but he was doing his best to hide it. She turned her attention back to the magazine as Lucien reached into the cabinet over the stove to grab himself a tea bag. He turned too quickly, or stretched too far and end up all but doubled over in pain. Abby jumped out of the chair and was at his side in a second.
"Breath through it," she said as she crouched next to him, one hand on his back. "Turned the wrong way?"
"I think, or stretched, I don't know," Lucien replied as he took a deep shaky breath and stood up straight. "This sucks, Dr. Lockhart," he groaned as he walked to the family room and dropped gingerly to the couch.
"Give it time, you just had major surgery. Your body needs time to..."
"Abby please," he whined as he cut her off.
"Sorry," Abby said, a little more harshly that she had intended. She walked back to the kitchen to pour Lucien's tea.
"Sorry," he muttered when she came back and handed him the tea.
"How about a little time alone?" Abby offered. "I need to go home to get a few things."
"OK."
"Do you need anything?"
"No, I'm fine," Lucien said as he turned his attention to the television. Abby took a calming breath, grabbed her coat and headed for her car.
While Abby was gone Lucien drank his tea, finished reading the mail and carefully moved the laundry over to the dryer. He wandered around the house, feeling a little strange, being truly alone for the first time in days. As the walls began to feel like they were closing in, he put on a jacket, slipped on his sneakers and went out to sit on the front porch swing. The fresh air felt nice, although it was cold, even for a November evening in Chicago. He went back inside, got the quilt and the portable phone just in case Abby called. The night was clear and the stars out in full force. He looked at them for a while, trying in vain to remember the names of the constellations he'd learned as a boy.
The sight of Abby pulling in the driveway brought a smile to his face. He thought about getting up and going to greet her, but he wasn't up to the stairs and he really wasn't supposed to be lifting anything so helping her with her bag was out of the question. So he stayed on the swing, waving as she got out of the car.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked as she climbed the stairs.
"A little, but I needed some fresh air," he said with a sigh as he stopped the swing, giving Abby a chance to sit with him. He offered her the end of the quilt, which she took gratefully. "About before...in the laundry room, I'm sorry."
"For what?" Abby asked as she turned a little on the swing to face him.
"Falling apart."
Abby chuckled and shook her head. "Lucien, you have nothing to apologize for. And that wasn't exactly falling apart."
"True, but then again, the night's not over yet," he chuckled as he kissed her cheek. "Thank you."
They stayed outside for a while longer, until Lucien starting yawning uncontrollably, much to his dismay. "Well, awake for 4 hours and I need another rest," he muttered and sighed. "Don't say it, don't remind me it's perfectly normal," he teased as he pulled the quilt back to stand. What he didn't count on way the fact that he'd gotten rather stiff from being in one position for so long. He silently and grudgingly took the hand Abby held out to him.
Once in the house things were only slightly awkward. Abby set her things in the family room and Lucien went to the guest room to get changed. He wandered back into the kitchen as Abby was putting away the dishes from the dishwasher. While Abby changed and used the bathroom, Lucien took his pills and poured a glass of water to take into the guest room with him. He was halfway down the hall when Abby came out of the bathroom. She was wearing a pair of scrub pants and a faded t-shirt with her hair hanging loose.
"Uh, let me get you some blankets and a pillow," Lucien said as he set the water on the dresser in the guest room. He found the spare bedding in the top of the closet but asked Abby to get it, he didn't want a repeat of what had happened earlier when he tried to reach something.
Abby put the blankets on the chair in the family room and went back to say goodnight to Lucien. She found him staring out the window. Abby pulled back the blankets and turned off the overhead light, leaving the room lit by the lamp on the bedside table.
"Tucking me in?" he teased as he moved away from the window and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Just wanted to make sure you actually got in bed, instead of being stubborn about getting some rest," Abby smirked.
"Fair enough," Lucien said, returning the smirk. He sat down on the edge of the bed, took off his glasses and rubbed wearily at his eyes.
"You need anything, did you take a pill?" Abby asked as she stood next to the bed feeling completely uneasy.
"Abby, I'm fine. I took my pills, I brushed my teeth and I took care of things we're not going to discuss," Lucien teased.
"Sorry, it's just that...I don't know, things are a little..." she stuttered.
"I know," Lucien said quietly as he crawled under the covers. He patted the spot next to him and Abby sat down as casually as possible, but failing miserable. She straightened the covers a little, essentially tucking him in, but he didn't tease. In fact he thought it was rather sweet. Abby took his glasses from him and set them on the table.
"I'll be up for a while. Yell if you need anything," Abby said as she patted his shoulder. She turned off the light as Lucien rolled over on his side.
"Good night," he called as she turned to leave."
"Get some sleep," Abby whispered as she headed down the hall.
TBC