Brooke looked hazily around her, before remembering with a start that she was in Lucas' bed. She glanced down under her covers and yelped in surprise when she noticed that she was still naked in his bed. She debated the wisdom of getting up and searching for more appropriate attire to wear when she heard footsteps down the hall outside her room. Brooke quickly pulled the covers up to her chin as Lucas strode through the open door.
"I see you're awake. How are you felling?"
"Alright." Her respiratory system behaved erratically as he started walking towards the bed. "Really, I'm good," she repeated, not sure who she was trying to convince, him or her.
"So I see," Lucas said, his eyes staring intently at her face. "The snow is slowing down," he pointed to the window across the room. "The worse of it should be over by midday." He reached down and pried one of her hands loose from the death grip she had on the blanket. "Don't worry Brooke, I'm not going to ravish you… yet" He chuckled at the bright shade of red her face turned. "I just want to check your pulse."
"I told you I'm fine, there's no need to do that." Brooke struggled slightly to pull her hand away from his, only to feel his grip harden.
"You look far from fine Brooke," he corrected, as he released her hand. His fingers reached up to brush against her cheek. "First, we have to get some food in you." Rising, he held out a large flannel robe that he had dropped at the foot of the bed. "You'd probably feel better if you had something on." His smile was gently mocking. "Can you manage to get into this yourself?"
"Of course I can." Brooke snatched the robe from his hand while keeping a grip on the blankets. "I'm not an invalid you know."
"Then you better start thinking like one, you being in the condition you're in. Put that on, then get back into bed. I'll bring you up some breakfast."
"You don't…"
"Stop arguing with me Brooke." The words were swift and final. He was gone before she could say another word.
Brooke tossed the covers back and slipped her arms into the robe. When she stood, the room swayed and spun around her. She started to sink back onto the bed, but managed to support herself on the edge of the bed. Her limbs felt heavy and weak, and she felt a throbbing pain in her ankle. Gripping the poster on the edge of the bed, she waited till the room steadied.
Brooke rolled up the sleeves of the robe until her hands became visible, than moved to the bathroom to study herself in the mirror.
The sight of her own face caught her breath. Her skin looked pale and her eyes were vacant of life. She pinched her cheeks and watched as it turned red, providing the only hint of color to her face. She ran a hand through her hair and attempted to tie it into a knot, only to no avail.
Brooke glanced at the robe she was wearing. It must be his, she realized, looking down at the sleeves, which swallowed her arms, and the hem, which fell nearly to her ankles. She felt a strange sensation flooding through her body as she hugged the material to her skin. Turning away from the mirror, she studied the bed.
"Humph, I'm not getting in there again. Oh no, not if I can help it." She muttered into the empty room, and with a small gesture of defiance, belted the robe more securely around her. "I can eat at a table like a normal person."
After a moment, her progress down the hall turned into more of a crawl than a walk. Her legs were heavy with weakness, which infuriated her all the more. The stillness of the house vibrated around her, playing havoc on her nerves. She cursed the waves of giddiness that swam around in her head, forcing her to stop time and again to rest her head against a wall.
"God, I'm pathetic…" she muttered disgustedly. "This is ridiculous."
"You won't get an argument from me there."
The harsh agreement came from behind as Lucas' hands gripped her shoulders.
"What the hell are you doing out of bed? I thought you were smarter than that."
"You know Lucas, now is not the best time to insult me. Unless you get a thrill out of knocking me when I'm already down." She swayed against his chest. His hands gripped her waist in support, and she rested her hands on his arms. "I'm just a bit dizzy, and I seem to have a little trouble with my ankle."
Lucas let his gaze travel down the rest of her body, before it landed at her feet. "You probably sprained it when you fell off the horse."
"I fell off the horse?" Her expression was incredulous.
"You were unconscious at the time. Now, get back in bed and stay there." Effortlessly, he swept her into his arms, and she laid her head against his shoulder.
"Lucas, please don't make me get back into bed. It's so quiet in there, and so lonely."
He bent and brushed lips that parted in confusion. "If you think you can sit in a chair without falling on your face, than you can come to the kitchen."
Brooke nodded her head emphatically. "I can, I promise. I just hate causing you so much trouble."
She felt him shift her weight under his arms before he began the journey down the hall. "Hate to break it to you Brooke, but I knew you were going to be trouble the moment I laid eyes on you."
"I'm being serious Lucas, so don't tease me. Not when I'm trying to say thank you."
"What do you have to thank me for?"
Brooke lifted a hand to his cheek, turning his face so that he would look at her. "For saving my life."
"Don't thank me for that. I didn't do anything. Just take better care of it in the future," he suggested.
"Lucas, come on, I'm serious. I owe you…"
"Nothing, you owe me nothing." She heard his voice harden in annoyance. "Brooke, I don't want your gratitude." The reached the kitchen and he placed her in a chair at the table. "Which ankle did you say hurt again?" He crouched down by her feet.
"The left one. Lucas, I…Ouch!"
"Sorry." He grinned up at her, then rested his hand with friendly ease on her knee. "It doesn't look swollen."
"But it still hurts," she argued stubbornly.
"Then keep off of it." He advised with simple logic before turning away to finish breakfast.
"You know, you've got some bedside manners, Dr. Scott," she observed sharply.
"Yes ma'am, so I've been told." When he turned to face her, his smile was bland. "Tell me B, does Haley have a mole on her left hip too?"
Brooke could feel color flooding to her face. "Why you…you…" she faltered, and clutched the robe tightly around her throat.
"Oh, don't be so modest Brooke. Here, have some coffee," he invited with sudden graciousness, pouring a cup and setting it down on the table. "Start on this bacon," he ordered, sliding a plate in front of her. "I see that whatever color you managed to get on your face didn't last long, you're as pale as a ghost. When was the last time you ate?"
"I…at breakfast yesterday, I guess."
"Probably toast and coffee, I imagine," he said disgustedly. "You know, it's a wonder you can manage to sit up at all. Eat." He plucked a piece of bacon from her plate and held it out to her. "I'll have your eggs ready in a minute."
Brooke obediently accepted the bacon and took a bite. "Aren't you going to have any?"
"In a minute," he answered absently, involved with breaking and beating eggs into a bowl.
After taking that first bite of the bacon, Brooke realized she was suddenly ravenous. Through her preoccupation with food, she watched Lucas cook with a deftness that amused and surprised her.
After a brief moment, he sat across from her, his plate piled high. She wondered absently how he could eat with such vigor and still maintain that hard and lean body of his.
She watched him from under the cover of her lashes, and the thought came unbidden into her mind that never before had she shared a breakfast table with a man. The intimacy of their situation washed over her; the scent of bacon and coffee drifting through the air, the house quiet and empty around them, the soft flannel of his robe against her skin, the faint masculine scent of him clinging to every inch of the fabric. It was as if they were lovers, she thought suddenly, as if they had shared the night, and now they were sharing the morning. Her face flushed at the thought.
"I don't know what you're thinking about, but whatever it is, keep it up Brooke, you've got some color in you again."
Her eyes lifted to his, and she had the uncomfortable feeling that he knew exactly what she had been thinking about. She dropped her eyes to her plate. "I should call Haley and let her know I'm all right."
"No can do. The phone lines are out," he stated simply, and her eyes flew back to his.
"Out?" she repeated.
No telephone, her mind screamed. Without a telephone, they might as well be on a deserted island. Their isolation complete with the surrounding snow.
"When you have a storm of this magnitude, it's only common to lose power. We're running on a generator right now. Don't worry about Haley, she knows you're with me." His words did nothing to ease her tension.
"When do you think I'll be able to head back?"
"Couple of days at most," he returned with an easy shrug, and sipped his coffee. "First the roads will have to be cleared. And besides, you're not in any condition to be traveling."
"A couple of days?"
He leaned back comfortably against his chair. "Of course, by the you'll be hopelessly compromised, not a scrap of your stellar reputation left in tact. I mean, alone with me for two days without a chaperone to add a thread of decency to the situation." His eyes traveled down her slim figure. "Wearing my robe too nonetheless." He shook his head. "Not too many years back, I'd have to had married you."
"Thank goodness for progress," she retorted smartly.
"Oh, I don't know Brooke." His sigh was convincing. "You know, I'm an old fashioned kind of guy."
"That's just silly. It's only a matter of circumstances that we're here alone in the first place. And besides, it's not like you've compromised me in any way." With great dignity, Brooke crossed her arms over her chest.
"You don't think so? Well, let's recap shall we?" He watched her through lazily narrowed eyes. "So far, I've undressed you, tucked you into bed, made you breakfast. Who knows what else this might lead to."
His smile might've been lazy, but it was packed with meaning. Suddenly Brooke found it extremely difficult to breath.
"Relax B." His laugh was full of arrogant enjoyment. "I told you I mean to have you, but it's not in my plans to take on a pale child who barely has the strength to stand by herself." He paused, lit one of his long, thin cigars and blew smoke at the ceiling. "When I make love to you, I don't want to have to worry abut you passing out in my arms."
A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. But I hope you enjoy this chapter. Depending on the reviews for this story, I'll either update sooner or later. Your choice. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Sorry to end it like this, but I had to leave something to write for the next chapter. Thanks again.