By Ginny
With this chapter, the story is complete. The series, who knows? I am starting a full time job in a few weeks and with that, a husband and two kids, who knows how much time I'll have for fan fiction writing. I certainly hope I have some.
Thanks to all who read this. What started out as a short little prequel to At the End of the Day has grown into a multi-chapter 45+ page story. It's amazing how encouraging reviews can be.
The snow fell steadily through the night, leaving Chicago covered in about 8 inches of snow, way too much snow for early November Abby thought to herself as she pulled the covers back over her head a little before 8:00. She had the day off and other than going over to check on Lucien some time; she had no other plans for the day.
A few miles away, Lucien woke up with much the same reaction, to pull the quilt back up and roll over to get some more sleep. But more sleep wasn't quick in coming, thanks to the sound of the kid from across the street who was starting to shovel the sidewalk. But Lucien couldn't really complain as he wasn't ready to walk around the block, let alone shovel snow. He padded down the stairs, grabbed the paper off the front porch, talked to Eric, his young neighbor for a few minutes before going back in and settling down on the couch in the family room. He was still tired and found it hard to concentrate so he found his iPod, put on some soothing music and tried to go back to sleep.
The ringing phone woke Lucien an indeterminate amount of time later. He blindly reached for the phone. "Yeah," he muttered as he hunted for his glasses.
"Hey Lucien, it's me," Abby said as she started to pace around her kitchen. "You okay?"
"Phone woke me. I'm fine, I think," he answered as he tried to gain a little sense of time and space. He pulled the iPod headphones completely off before he strangled himself with the cords.
"You think?" Abby teased. Lucien laughed a little. "I have a few errands to run, after I dig out the car. Do you want some company?"
"Sure, can't promise I'll be the best company though."
"I'm pretty much used to that by now," Abby teased.
"Cute. Be careful driving. I'll leave the door unlocked."
"See you in a while. Call me if you want me to bring anything. Bye."
"Bye." Lucien hung up and rubbed at his eyes. He pushed back the quilt and shivered as he padded towards the thermostat. It was set at 69 degrees, a few degrees warmer than he usually kept it. He decided on a warm shower instead of bumping up the temperature. Hearing the voices of both Eleanor and Abby in his head, he went to the kitchen to get a bottle of water before heading to take a shower.
After showering and shaving he wandered around for a little while, finding nothing to hold his attention. Ending up in his office, he checked his email and pushed some paperwork around in his desk. He finally put his feet on window seat, staring out at the snow for a while. But the glare of the sun on the white snow just added to his slight headache so he closed his eyes for a few minutes.
"Lucien...Lucien," Abby called from the front door. It took him a few seconds to realize she was calling him and yet another few before he responded.
"Back here," he yelled over his shoulder as he reached behind him for his bottle of water and quickly drained it so Abby wouldn't nag him about drinking enough, or more precisely, not drinking enough. He left the empty bottle on the desk, in plain sight.
Abby kicked her boots off and shook the snow from her hair before heading down the hall to find him. She found him in the office, still sitting and looking out the window. Sneaking up behind him, she pressed her chilly hands against his cheeks. "Hey," he yelled as he squirmed to get away from her cold hands. Abby laughed and pulled her hands away before he squirmed too much and hurt himself.
"You okay?" Abby asked when he turned the chair around to face her. He looked a little pale and some of the spark in his eyes that he'd regained over the previous days was missing.
"Just a little...I don't know, headache I guess," Lucien muttered, honestly unable to describe what was going on.
"Did you take anything?" Abby asked as she sat on his desk. Lucien just shook his head.
"Interesting reading?" she asked as she pointed to the magazine in his lap. It was clear he wasn't interested in discussing how he felt.
"Very. Pat came over yesterday with the answer to my boredom problems."
"Pat?"
"Eleanor's husband," Lucien said as he launched into description of the video hook up as he started to pace around a bit.
"Wait, back up. Who the heck is Eleanor?" Abby asked in an amused tone as she took a seat on the couch to avoid being trampled as he paced.
"Sorry. Eleanor is my housekeeper, Pat is her husband. He's a retired computer geek. Look at this stuff," he said as he sat down next to her on the couch.
Lucien spent the next half an hour excitedly telling Abby about the system, how it worked, what he would be able to do. She listened closely but in all honesty, computers weren't really her strong point. She could email and shop but that was about it. But Lucien getting excited about something was certainly nice to see even if his excitement was a little clouded by the fact he just wasn't feeling well.
At the end of his rather long and involved explanation, the doorbell rang. It was Eric, announcing he was done the shoveling. Abby invited him in for hot chocolate but he declined, he had more sidewalks on the block to clear. Lucien grabbed some money out of his wallet which Eric took with a big smile and a promise to come back the next time it snowed.
Lucien flipped through the mail Eric had handed him, tossing aside the bills and throwing away the junk mail. Abby hopped up onto the counter to read the paper while Lucien started pacing around. He was restless and Abby knew the best thing to do was to just stay out of his way.
"Are you hungry?" Abby asked without looking up about 10 minutes later.
"I don't know," came Lucien's answer as he leaned against the counter wearily. Something in his tone made Abby put down the newspaper and really look at him. He was looking very pale and tired.
"You okay?" she asked as she put the paper down and motioned for him to come a little closer.
"I don't know. Is it me or is it freezing in here?" he asked as he shoved him hands into the front pocket of the faded red sweatshirt he was wearing.
"It's you," Abby said simply. Lucien just gave her a pathetic look as he tried to check his own temperature by pressing his hand against his cheek. "Yeah, like that's going to work," Abby teased. She started to reach out with her hand but stopped short and motioned for him to lean closer so she could press her lips to his forehead.
"Hey, you did it right," he teased without the usual little smile.
"You're a little warm. What's up?" Abby asked as she slid off the counter and steered him in the direction of the family room.
"I don't know. Headache, just don't feel well," he whined as he curled up on the couch. "Probably picked up something during my visit to the germ infested hospital yesterday," he muttered.
"Could be. Where's the thermometer?"
"Bathroom counter."
"Blood pressure cuff?"
Lucien just gave her a little glare, he wanted a friend who would comfort him, not a doctor who was going to poke and prod him. But he also knew that fighting her would not be in his best interest if he actually hoped to get a little comforting. "Fine, under the sink in the bathroom."
Abby got everything she needed out of the bathroom and then sat down on the coffee table in front of him. Lucien sat up with a sigh and turned his head a little so Abby could use the ear thermometer on him. "99.9," she announced as she set the thermometer down and picked up the blood pressure cuff. "Sweatshirt off," she said. The fact that Lucien didn't make some comment about his taking off his clothes almost worried her more than his slight fever. He winced as she pumped up the cuff. "100/72, normal for you?"
"Really low for me," Lucien admitted.
"Have you eaten today, had enough to drink?"
"No and probably not." Abby gave a little glare of her own as she set aside the blood pressure cuff. She slid off the coffee table and sat next to him, pulling up the edge of his t-shirt. With as much clinical detachment as she could muster up, she slid the end of the stethoscope under his shirt and took a quick listen to his heart and lungs. Lucien didn't make it easy as he wouldn't stop talking and fidgeting. "Would you please sit still. Take a deep breath," Abby sighed as she banged her head against his shoulder in frustration. He eventually cooperated and sat still long enough for her to get a good listen and take a quick look at his throat and ears.
"Well, what's the diagnosis?" he muttered.
"You're a pain in the..."
"Besides that," Lucien muttered as he pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes a bit before letting them slide closed.
"A little dehydrated, a little feverish. Incision and catheter are okay?" Lucien nodded without bothering to open his eyes. "Did you take anything for pain this morning?"
"No, nothing since bedtime."
"Okay, so let's try some Advil and some fluids. What do you want to drink?"
"Cranberry juice is fine. I'm sort of getting used to it," he teased.
"Here, drink this," Abby said when she returned a minute later with a bottle of cranberry juice. Lucien drank a little while Abby went to get some Advil out of the bathroom. As she passed by the office she noticed the quilt on the couch so she grabbed that too. When she made it back to the family room, Lucien was about to stretch out on the couch and relax. "Whoa, take these first," she said as she held out the Advil. He sat up just enough to swallow them without choking before he curled up under the quilt. "Anything I can do for you?" Abby asked as she knelt down next to the couch and rubbed his shoulders for a minute. Lucien shook his head and rolled over, facing the back of the couch.
For the next few hours, Abby alternately read a book she'd brought along with her and kept a close eye on Lucien. Although he did stay asleep, he was restless and in general just seemed uncomfortable.
After he'd been asleep for a couple of hours Abby felt she really needed to wake him and check on a few things. It didn't take much to wake him, his eyes shot open as soon as she knelt down next to him and reached to brush back his hair. She pressed her hand against his forehead, checking his temperature. "Cooler," she said with smile. "Feel any better?"
"No," he answered miserably.
"Head hurts?" Abby asked as she noticed he was squinting against the sunlight streaming in the window. Lucien just nodded as he ran his hands over his eyes. "How long was I out?"
"About 2 hours. You need to check a few things?"
"Probably."
Abby handed him his glasses and helped him to his feet, steering him in the direction of the bathroom. She didn't hover but didn't get out of earshot either. After a good half an hour she gave up on not hovering and knocked gently on the door.
"Come in," Lucien muttered. Abby found him sitting on the edge of the tub looking seconds away from passing out or throwing up. She put a cool, damp washcloth on the back of his neck and sat next to him to rub his back.
"Migraine?" she asked.
"Yeah. I think my briefcase is in the office. In the inside pocket is a dose of Imitrex," Lucien whispered.
Abby found the cartridge in his briefcase and grabbed a can of ginger ale out of the fridge to help settle his stomach and a Tupperware bowl, just in case. As she pushed open the door to the bathroom, Lucien gratefully reached for the bowl as kneeling in front of the toilet wasn't something he was looking forward to. Abby opened the soda and set is on the counter. She helped him pull his arm out of his sweatshirt sleeve so she could inject the Imitrex.
Lucien didn't end up needing the bowl and the Imitrex did work fairly quickly and 20 minutes later he felt it was safe to move out of the bathroom. He crashed on the couch in the family room. "I swear I'll make this up to you," he whispered as Abby tucked the quilt around him.
"You don't have anything to 'make up'. But I wouldn't be opposed to a nice dinner out when you're feeling better," Abby said with a smile as he put the cool, damp cloth back on his forehead. "You want me to stay?"
"Please," he said, cringing at how pathetic his voice sounded.
"No problem, let me find the soda and the remote. You need anything else?"
"I don't think so." Abby returned a minute later with the soda, the remote she found under a stack of magazines on the coffee table and the bowl...just in case. She didn't even bother trying to settle down on the chair or sitting down my Lucien's feet. With a little tap on his shoulder he sat up enough to let her squeeze into the corner of the couch.
"Better?" she asked as she settled him back down. He nodded wearily and closed his eyes. He was starting to regain a little color in his face as the Imitrex kicked in. She brushed back his hair as he drifted off to sleep.
By late afternoon Lucien's migraine was gone and lucky for Abby, so was his grouchy mood. They played poker for a while, with Lucien losing, by Abby's account, well over $5000 to her. He gave her an IOU, written on a yellow Post-It note. She put it on the fridge so he would see it each time he went to get something to drink.
"What do you want for dinner?" Abby asked a little before 5:00 as she was scanning the contents of his refrigerator.
"I don't know," Lucien muttered from where he was sitting at the kitchen table working on a crossword puzzle.
"Here drink this while you think," Abby said as she tossed him a bottle of water. He took it with a roll of his eyes. "It's the water or an IV, take your pick," Abby warned as he really hadn't had enough to drink during the day. She leaned over his shoulder to read some clues and provide a few answers.
"So when do you go back to the surgeon?" Abby asked as she crossed the room and pulled a package of chicken out of the fridge.
"Day after tomorrow. And there's Alfredo Sauce in the cabinet," he said as he motioned towards the chicken still in her hand.
Lucien helped Abby get dinner ready; he made a salad and whipped up a batch of brownies for dessert. His appetite made an appearance and his grumpiness did not, making dinner a rather pleasant experience all around.
"Stay," Lucien said as Abby sat down on the bottom step and pulled on her boots.
"The roads are clear, it's above freezing and you need some sleep," she pointed out.
"I'll sleep, I promise," Lucien said as he stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest. Abby chuckled and shook her head. She felt perfectly comfortable leaving him on his own. He'd been fine since the Imitrex had kicked in hours earlier, his temperature was normal and Abby had made sure he'd had enough water. If she stayed, he'd be up for hours, like a little kid, he'd negotiate for another movie, another snack and for her to sit with him for just another minute.
"I'm working tomorrow. Call me if you're bored," she said as she wound her scarf around her neck.
"OK. I'm sure I'll see you in the halls in a few days."
"Halls?"
"Video monitor, robotic me," Lucien said, jogging her memory.
"Yeah," she chuckled as she zipped up her coat. "Get some sleep," she said as she kissed his cheek.
"Thanks, for everything," Lucien said sincerely as he caught the tail of her scarf and pulled her in to give her a quick hug. Abby smiled and returned the friendly hug before patting his cheek with her gloved hand.
Lucien stood in the doorway and watched as her car pulled away. He couldn't help but feeling it was the end of...of something. His life was slowly but surely returning to normal and he didn't see them spending a whole lot of time hanging out at his place in the near future. But he hoped they wouldn't backtrack and lose what ground they'd covered, the bonds they'd made. Standing there he realized it was Abby's friendship he treasured the most. Whatever feelings he may have had, or thought he had, were pushed aside. It wasn't what either of them wanted or needed at the time.
Lucien shut the front door and padded into the kitchen to get something to drink. He spotted the IOU on the door to the fridge and he raised his Snapple bottle in a mock salute... to friendship.
THE END