Lilian groaned softly, trying to get comfortable in her hospital bed. Lifting her head she glanced around the room, the pristine white sheets, blank walls and machines reminding her why she hated hospitals so much. Hearing a knock at the door she stiffened slightly, silently praying it wasn't Kurt. "Uh...come in."
The door opened and much to her relief, Trish, Maria and Shawn were on the other side, sending their friend what they hoped were comforting smiles. Looking them over, Lilian couldn't help but laugh. Maria had get well balloons, Trish was carrying a big teddy bear and Shawn was carrying a vase of light pink and white roses.
"You didn't have to get me anything guys."
"We know, but we wanted to." Trish smiled and leaned over giving her friend a gentle hug. "Besides, when I saw this bear I couldn't say no!"
"How are ya feelin'?" Shawn asked, hugging her as well after Maria.
"I'm bored out of my mind," she replied flatly.
"I think he meant your head," Maria said softly.
Lilian's hand immediately went to the swollen bump on her temple. "I'm fine, really." She smiled and lowered her hand.
"Have you talked to Vince?" Trish asked.
"Yeah, he called this afternoon."
"And what did you tell him?" Shawn prodded.
Lilian thought for a minute, looking down and gripping her sheets tightly. "I just told him that I tripped over my boots and I hit the coffee table." Noticing the look her friends exchanged, Lilian spoke up once more. "And I don't want you guys telling him any different."
"We wouldn't, especially since we really don't know what happened."
"Besides the fact that it involved Kurt," Maria added as an afterthought to what Trish said.
"Guys please. I don't even know what really happened. It could have been Dave that hurt me…"
Shawn sat down on the edge of her bed, gently taking her hand in his. "Darlin', please tell me you don't believe that. Dave would never hurt you. Wasn't he the one who punched Kurt last week?"
The small blonde nodded her head and looked away. "I don't know who to believe." She sniffled, obviously trying to fight back tears. She turned back to her faces, holding her fingers under her eyes to stop the tears from falling. "Sorry, I shouldn't cry."
They all three exchanged glances. Shawn sighed. "You need to get out of this relationship as fast as possible."
Maria nodded. "Lilian, Kurt is completely ruining your life!"
Trish went to sit on the other side of her bed. "You know that Dave would treat you better. I think anybody would treat you better than Kurt does, actually."
"What?" Lilian asked, confused. "You guys, I don't have feelings for Dave. We're just friends."
"You might not, but he clearly does."
"Maria!" Trish bit her lip, nudging the younger Diva.
"What? She has a right to know. I mean you see how he is when she's near him, he worships the ground she walks on."
Lilian sighed loudly. "Don't...don't say that, not now."
Shawn reached up, wiping away the few tears that had managed to escape. "We're not trying to add more pressure on you, we just thought you should know."
She sent him a soft smile and trying to stifle a yawn.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" he offered. "We will see you Monday, right?"
Lilian nodded. "Oh yeah, I will definitely be there."
Trish grinned. "Good, I'll see you then okay? You get some rest." She hugged her friend and then started for the door.
Maria hugged her as well. "We miss you!"
"You know where to find us if you need us," Shawn said, hugging her before following the girls to the door. He sent one last smile back to her before leaving.
She sighed and fell back against her pillows. Groaning, she rubbed her face with her hands. She closed her eyes and was quickly asleep.
While she was sleeping, Dave finally decided to go see her. He had paced his hotel room for so long, he was sure there was going to be a permanent rut in the carpet. The last time he saw her, she screamed for him to get out.
After spending a few minutes outside of her room, Dave finally knocked softly on the door. Getting no answer, he pressed his luck and pushed the door open slowly. Finding her asleep he started to turn away but thought better of it. He carefully eased himself into the chair beside her, reaching up to brush a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. And that's how he stayed for the whole visit, silently watching her as she slept. Finally forcing himself to leave, he got up and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple.
The next morning, much to Lilian's relief, she was able to go home. She tried to hide her disappointment as Kurt opened the door to take her home.
"Let's go, I need to get packed for the show," he said quickly. "I already filled out the papers. Can you walk? No, I'm sure you want a wheelchair."
"I'm fine. Just get me out of here," she replied, ignoring the rude tone in his voice.
"Well, the nurse says you can't be left alone because of your 'head injury' so who do we need to call in order for you to 'not be alone'?" Kurt tapped his foot, growing impatient.
"I'll be fine on my own, Kurt, really. Let's just go."
Gratefully, he escorted her out of the hospital and back to her apartment. He helped her into bed and then kneeled beside her. "I'll be back in a couple hours, okay?" He brushed his fingers over her cheek. "I'll call before I come to see if you want me to bring you home some food." He kissed her forehead and left quickly.
Watching him go she sighed. Part of her almost wishing he would just be mean, that she understood. But when he was randomly nice to her, it made her even more confused. With a groan she pushed herself out of bed, only to quickly sit back down as a dizzy spell hit her. "Come on, Garcia you can do this," she murmured softly, resting her head in her hands. She could feel the headache starting to build, feel the sense of helplessness that never seemed to go away. Close to ten minutes later, using the wall to keep her balance, she made her way to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She shut the water off and turned around, stalling, she screamed softly, the glass slipping from her hands. Quickly, she kneeled down to pick up the broken glass.
"You shouldn't be out of bed," he said matter of factly.
"You shouldn't be here," she replied back coolly. Both of them reached for the same piece of glass and she quickly pulled her hand away as if his touch burnt her. "How did you get in here anyway?"
"I knocked, no one answered. The door was unlocked so I let myself in," he offered with a shrug as he stood up and threw the pieces of glass away. "Can you get up?" he asked softly, turning to where she remained on the floor.
"I'm not an invalid," she bit out, trying to keep her guard up. She hated being mean to him, but he could be the one who hurt her, so why be nice?
"C'mon Blondie, let's get you back to bed." He gently helped her up from the floor and easily lifted her into his arms.
She immediately stiffened. "Put me down, David."
He walked back to her bedroom, laying her on the bed. "You're awfully bossy." He smiled softly.
She looked at him for a long time. "Why am I doing this? You don't deserve this. I know you would never hurt me."
"Lil, it's okay," Dave said, moving to sit on the bed so he could wrap his arms around her small body. "You're confused right now, I know that. It's not your fault."
She returned the embrace and immediately broke down into tears. "I don't know what to do. I can't live like this anymore."
"Then don't," he stated, rubbing her back slowly. "You're a strong woman, Lilian, you can get out of this. I'm here for you."
She clung to him as if her life depended on it, doing her best to speak between her sobs. "I'm scared Dave, what if I try to end this and he comes after me? Who's to say he won't hurt Trish or 'Ria just to get to me? I couldn't live with myself knowing I was the reason they were hurt."
He pulled back, gently lifting her head. "Lily, no one will let him hurt them. Just like we're not going to sit back and let him continue doing this to you." He gently thumbed away her tears. "Come on, let's get you packed."
She blinked, looking at him in confusion. "What? Why? Where are we going?"
"You're coming home with me, and don't you start to argue with me young lady." He added the last part in hopes of getting a smile from her and he did.
"Dave, I can't just leave."
"Why can't you? By the time he gets back you'll be in another state, safe with me."
She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Okay, but I don't know if this is the right thing to do." She paused, sniffling a little. "What if he comes after us?"
"Do you trust me?"
Again, she looked at him for a long while, studying every detail on his face, and then finally said, "Yes."
"Okay then, let's go." He grabbed her suitcase that she left out because of its constant use and started to open her closet. He chuckled. "Lord Blondie, you have enough clothes?"
She blushed. "Yeah, just grab whatever. I think you'll do fine picking out my clothes. But if I look like a clown on Monday, I'm blaming you."
"You? A clown? Never." He turned around, grinning and gave her a wink. He finished packing and zipped up her bag. "You ready?"
She nodded her head and took a deep yet shaky breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."
He walked over to her, leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Things will get better for you, I promise. Now you sit tight, I'll go put your bags in the car."
"I can't really go anywhere even if I wanted to."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "Nice to see the sense of humor is still intact."
A few minutes later, Lilian was sitting in the passenger seat of Dave's car. "Are we flying?"
"I figured we'd be better off driving." He glanced over and sent her a playful wink. "Plus I know how much you like driving with me."
She rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Please, the last time I drove with you we were almost killed and were forced to outrun the cops!"
"You had fun though, didn't you?"
"A lot of fun actually," she admitted softly, smiling when his free hand took hold of hers.
After they drove for a bit, they stopped to have lunch, and then continued to Dave's house. He pulled into his driveway and helped Lilian inside and to his bedroom.
"Dave…what are you doing? I know I am drugged up, but you are not getting me in bed that quickly," she joked. "I can sleep upstairs, really."
"Nope, I will. You deserve to have my bed. Besides, you know you love it."
She smiled, remembering the time they had spent an entire afternoon just watching movies until she fell asleep. "Yeah, okay, fine."
He left her to change clothes and get into bed. When he returned, he had a glass of water. He sat the glass on the night stand and pulled the sheets up around her. "When you get hungry for dinner, let me know okay?"
She nodded. "Okay, but you can eat whenever you want."
He shook his head. "I'll wait for you, I don't mind. Now get some rest Blondie, I have a long night of movies planned out for us." He grinned down at her and started for the door, stopping at the sound of her soft voice.
"Dave..."
"Yeah Lil?"
She looked away for a moment before meeting his glance, smiling shyly. "Do you, do you think you can hold me? Only 'til I fall asleep then you can go and do what you want."
He grinned softly, and shut the light off before slipping into bed beside her. He gently pulled her small frame against his larger one. "Sleep tight Lily."
She snuggled against him, resting her head on his chest. "Thanks, Dave. Not just for this, for everything."
Later that evening, Lilian woke up feeling refreshed. She noticed Dave still had his arms around her, and she smiled at the thought. Looking up, she watched him sleep, studying the way his chest rose and fell every time he breathed.
Dave's eyes opened and he looked at her. He raised an eyebrow, but couldn't help to smile.
She immediately felt him watching her. Snapping her eyes up to his, she shook her head.
He let his finger hook under her chin, bringing her face up to his. "I'm going to kiss you now."
Her eyes locked with his, her tongue impulsively slipping between her lips to moisten them. "I…I won't stop you if that's what you're worried about."
Not needing any further encouragement, he lowered his head, brushing a tender kiss over her lips. Lilian's hands quickly came up to his face, pulling herself into him to kiss him back. He didn't fight it, either. His arms quickly wrapped themselves around her body, his hand coming up to the back of her head.
When the kiss broke, they kept their heads together, both of them trying to catch their breath. Her green eyes quickly locked on his before their lips met again.
