My thanks to Gooniegirl3333 for beta-reading and to CSIMiamiFAN for commenting on the last chapter. I have no idea where the comments for this story are going, but please know that I am getting them by email even if they aren't showing up on the site. And I do appreciate them!
For those wondering, the last line in the previous chapter was a nod to M*A*S*H. I think Hawkeye said it.
And now, on with the story! Not mine, don't sue.
Ryan attempted to stretch and abruptly realized that he had been sleeping on his living room sofa. Opening his eyes - eye - threw him into a panic. Reaching up, he gently touched the gauze and tried to remember how it got there. I came home from court and I fell asleep on the sofa ...
"Hey, Handsome." His thoughts were interrupted by a warm Southern drawl. "How're you feeling?"
His good eye travelled over to his armchair, where Calleigh Duquesne sat in the lotus position wearing a white T-shirt and yoga pants. Her long blond hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she had a magazine open in her lap. He looked at the can of Diet Coke sitting neatly on a coaster on the coffee table and wondered how long she'd been sitting in his living room, watching him sleep.
"What're you doing here?" His mouth felt like dry cotton. As he struggled to sit, Calleigh rushed to his side.
"Hey, no quick movements, Ryan, okay?" As his stomach lurched unhappily, he had the sudden image of Alexx holding a trash can near his head as he vomited. Alexx was here?
"You were pretty sick earlier. Do you think you can take your medicine now?" When he nodded, she hurried into the kitchen. He heard the sounds of cupboards opening and ice clinking in a glass. Soon, a cup of white soda was in his hands. "Sip this," Calleigh instructed, handing him a tablet.
As Ryan swallowed the pill and took small sips of soda, he tried to remember the rest of his day. Walter and Eric came over and took me to the eye doctor ... A flash of nausea accompanied that thought. He set the glass down, sans coaster, and put his head in his hands.
He felt the sofa cushions dip on one side of him, and soon a cool washcloth touched the back of his neck. "Shh, Ryan, it's okay. You're going to be okay," Calleigh soothed.
He found himself slumping toward her touch, falling into her arms for comfort. He felt vaguely ridiculous, craving her reassurance this way. But he was shivering and scared and ill and she was warm and solid and comforting. A soft kiss graced his temple. "Oh, Ryan," Calleigh whispered. "I hate to see you like this. Why didn't you tell anyone you were so sick?"
He felt her hands gently stroking his back, and wondered again how long she'd been there. She'd never answered him and he was having trouble remembering anything past the doctor's office.
Walter and I had a fight and then he drove me home ... Before he could finish the thought, Ryan had fallen asleep.
When Ryan woke next, sunlight was streaming around the edges of the curtains in his living room. He sat up experimentally and was glad to find that the nausea had lessened. Finding a tepid glass of soda on the coffee table, he took a small sip. Immediately, his thoughts flashed to Calleigh and he could feel his cheeks warm. She held me last night and rocked me to sleep! How am I ever going to live that down?
"Ryan! You're awake!" Natalia's perky voice sounded from the doorway to the kitchen. "Do you want some jell-O?"
Ryan blinked at her, surprising himself when he answered, "Yeah. Thanks." When did Natalia get here? Where's Calleigh? And Alexx? And why don't I remember any of this?
Natalia disappeared into the kitchen, then reappeared to hand him a small bowl and a spoon. He raked his eyes over her. She was wearing faded jeans and an oversized sweatshirt. For once, she wore her long brown hair in a ponytail and Ryan could see her hearing aid. Definitely not heading to work then.
He wrinkled his brow and tried to think. "Why? How?" He shook his head and rubbed his left eye. "Ugh." He tried a taste of red gelatin and found it surprisingly good, which, coupled with his inability to form complete sentences, gave him a pretty clear picture of just how far gone he was.
She sat down next to him on the sofa and pulled out her cell phone. "I've got to call Alexx, Ry. She wanted to know when you woke up."
He listened to his friend on the phone. Natalia had been there, she said, since 6 am. He squinted at the small clock on the mantle over the fireplace. 10 am. So, Natalia's been here four hours and Calleigh was here before that ... He shook his head, wondering why he was having such a hard time thinking straight.
"Ryan?" He hadn't realized that Natalia had ended the call until she spoke.
He blinked at her, wishing he was wearing his contacts. Maybe if his vision cleared, his fuzzy thinking would disappear too. But he had a sudden memory of Dr. Medby telling him not to wear his contacts until the infection had cleared. And he was definitely not wearing his glasses in front of Natalia. Which left him squinting at her, wishing he could see her properly.
"Alexx is going to be here in about twenty minutes. She's going to check you over." She bit her lip and patted his blanket-covered knee. "You really gave us a scare." At his blank look, she added, "Walter called Alexx after he got you home from the eye doctor's. Apparently, you've got some kind of virus plus a bacterial infection. Your fever spiked before the medicine kicked in. Alexx didn't think you should be alone and then Walter got called in to help cover the night shift. Eric couldn't come because he was working a double on that Roberts case, so Calleigh stayed with you overnight." She paused, seemingly to make sure that he was following her story. After he nodded, she continued. "And then I got here." She smiled at him.
"Aren't you ..." He stumbled over the words. "Why aren't you at work?"
She frowned and crinkled her brow. "You needed one of us to be here."
"So, you took the day off?" He wanted to argue with her, to tell her that he didn't need a nursemaid, but if her story was any indication, maybe he did.
"Yeah." She resumed smiling at him. "I wanted to watch talk shows and soap operas with you." Natalia picked up the remote and clicked on the television. Ryan studied the blurry TV for a moment before closing his good eye. Within minutes, he had drifted back off.
