Chapter Six

The sound of birds on the windowsill woke him, the alarm not going off at its normal time for whatever reason. He blinked his eyes slowly, bringing a hand up to rub at them slowly. He glanced down to see Lin sweetly looking at him with a small smile.

"Good morning." she said, voice barely a whisper. Her hand on his chest rubbed softly before she moved to sit up. She leaned down and kissed him, trying to ignore the pain it caused in her side. Bumi's hand cupped her cheek and she leaned into his palm, sighing quietly. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, it was alright. Who cares about how I slept…? How did you sleep?" his thumb rubbed her cheek and she placed her hand on his. He looked at her shirt where her bandage was under and it seemed to have worked well, nothing had bled through.

"Like a baby. You're quite comfortable, you know." she chuckled softly. Lin yawned and pulled away from his hand, taking it in both of hers and kissing his knuckles. She looked at him, trying to find words for what she wanted to say. "Bumi… Um… Thanks. For everything…" she managed to say before kissing his nose.

He laughed lightly, "Of course. I couldn't let you try and patch yourself up!" he smiled and kissed her properly. His free hand propping him up so he was no longer laying back but sitting up as she was; smiling when the kiss broke, he looked into her eyes. He rubbed her shoulder, "Should probably change that bandage…"

She placed her hand on his chest, "No, I meant everything, not just last night…"

He raised an eyebrow, "I love you. You don't need to thank me for that."

"But-" he placed a finger on her lips and she gave him a look.

"No 'but's." he kissed her then once again before he moved to stand up. "I'm going to check how your wound's doing. Let me get a new bandage." Bumi walked to the bathroom and popped open the first aid kit, snatching a fresh bandage and medical tape. He returned to her and helped get her shirt off, "Lay back." he sat on the edge of the bed as she did, moving her arm so it was out of the way.

"So… were you serious last night?" she asked, turning her head slightly to look at him.

"What?" he peeled the bandage off slowly, seeing that the wound had sealed decently enough. It would definitely scar, but at least it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

"Did you have a medical specialty?" she elaborated, genuinely curious. He removed the bandage completely to make sure there wasn't a sign of infection or that some piece of metal – or bone – was loose inside that he hadn't seen. She was lucky, and he was lucky because of that.

"Oh that! Yeah, I did for a few rates. Didn't really matter after I became a proper officer that much. When I was lower down in the pecking order it was important. Patched up a lot worse than this…" he trailed off lost in thought. He blinked and looked back at her, "You're all good, just need a new bandage now and then. But… you're not going to be able to wear your armor for a good week or two. And with how it looked you'll need new armor anyway. You're officially on medical leave." She frowned at that, but knew he was right. She wasn't looking forward to having to get a proper doctor's notice for it, though.

"Fine…" she pouted, crossing her arms. "Can I get dressed now?" she asked, moving to sit up.

"No wrapping, twisting your arms like that'll tear the stitches. Just nice comfy shirts, ok?" he could, of course, do the bindings for her. But then again, he had a hard enough time getting them off than putting them on. She smirked at him, leaning back on the pillows. He stood, going to throw away the old bandage which had some of the dried blood on it. He tossed the rest of the roll of tape back into the kit and closed it before casually dropping the soiled bandage into the bin.

When he returned, Lin was sitting on the edge of the bed about to stand up and he quickened his pace. He put his hands on her shoulders firmly, looking into her eyes. "Oh, come on… Not even to the living room?"

"Not even to the living room." he confirmed, helping her get back into bed and pulling the blanket over her legs. "I'll make you breakfast. What would you like?" he wasn't allowing her to leave bed at least until the evening. More just because she never rested enough than for her injury.

She rolled her eyes and realized she wasn't going to win this battle, with a sigh she said, "Just some eggs, I guess…"

"How do you want them? And by that I mean how scrambled do you like them?" he laughed. "I'm kidding." Even if he wasn't the best at eggs, he still could do most types.

She tapped her chin in thought, "How about sunny-side up?" she smiled. "Haven't had that in awhile…" she added. Lin didn't have the time during the week to make them unless they were scrambled, usually undercooked because she was in such a hurry. Bumi smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Sunny-side up it is!" he went to the kitchen, grabbing the nearest pan and setting it on the heat. It didn't take him long for the eggs to be ready, sliding them onto a plate and returning to her. He was surprised she hadn't tried to get up again, but he was glad she was taking his directions. He sat down next to her and smiled. "Breakfast is served." Bumi kissed her cheek.

She looked back and opened her mouth. He laughed and rolled his eyes, cutting the egg with the side of the fork and bringing it up for her. He couldn't stop smiling at her, slowly working his way through the three eggs until there was just a small amount of yolk left on the plate that he hadn't gotten. She smiled, "Thanks." and kissed his cheek in return. She thought for a minute, "Bumi… I just can't walk right? So… You could just carry me…"

He smiled, having not thought of her making such a request. "I… guess so!" he put the plate on top of the one from dinner the night before. "Let me take care of these dishes first, ok?" He grabbed them, heading to the kitchen. He set the cutting board back in place but the wine glass and plates in the sink. He ran some water on them so they'd be easier to clean later.

When he was back for her, she gently put her arms around his neck, lazily hanging. His arms went under her, one at the back of her knees and the other around her back to her side. He was extremely careful to keep his hand away from her bandage. He lifted her slowly and headed into the other room. "Couch, please…" she rested her head against his chest. He walked over and gingerly set her down onto the cushions. She smiled at him, tugging on his arm for him to sit as well, which he did. Lin adjusted to lean against him, rubbing his arm. "I just didn't want to be stuck in the same room all day, is all."

He looked at her, "I guess that's understandable. But I just don't want you hurting yourself needlessly…" She nuzzled against his shoulder, squeezing his arm. Her eyes widened slightly, "Bumi… have you been working out…?" She hadn't seen it, but they definitely felt like they were more muscular. She lightly squeezed his bicep and traced her finger along it.

"Uh, not really… I mean, I've been cleaning up stuff? I guess? If that counts…" he honestly couldn't recall lifting much the past few weeks. She didn't buy it, wanting to ask again but instead just settling to hold onto him. She sighed, not realizing just how draining it was for her to be injured. She hadn't even done anything today and still felt tired. Well, she had gotten up earlier when the alarm went off to stop it… Then again, opening an eye and bending the nearest object to slam the alarm until it shut up doesn't really count as getting up.

"Bumi… can we have some tea soon?" she asked quietly. "Not right now though… I don't want it now." she added. Lin just wanted to stay with him for a few more minutes, tea could wait.

"Sure, no reason not to." he turned his head slightly and kissed the top of her head. He didn't know what else to do for her but make her comfortable until she was fully recovered. If that meant laying in bed in an odd position so long his neck hurt the next morning or if he had to carry her around the house, he would.