Disclaimer: See chapter 1
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"What do you mean?" Linda looked confused.
"I mean I'm staying right here so you can and will stay right there." He pointed to her place on the sofa. "I'll be here to fetch you anything you need."
"That's very kind of you but you really don't have…" Linda argued.
"I know I don't have to, I want to…to make sure you're alright. I'm sorry this happened. I shouldn't have gone after that kid. I should have stayed with you. You were my date. If I had stayed with you, you might not be sitting here with a swollen and very painful sprained ankle."
"Of course you had to go after him. He was in danger of running into a busy street. It's who you are. I wouldn't l…uh…respect you as much as I do if you weren't that kind of person. It's the same thing that sent you into Nichols' house when you saw him on the floor in a pool of blood. You knew it could be dangerous but you went in anyway because that's the man you are. Don't ever apologize for that."
"Okay," Reid stood there awkwardly.
"Are you going to sit down? If you're going to be here all night I want you to make yourself comfortable." Reid almost laughed at her statement. She didn't realize how uncomfortable it would be to sit beside her and not touch her but he sat down anyway.
"Feel free to go anywhere in the house," Linda told him.
Reid jumped up. "Do you need anything? Do you need something for pain, some Tylenol maybe?"
"No, not right now, they gave me 60mg of Codeine in the ER. It's made me kind of sleepy." She yawned. "Sorry."
"That's okay, it's going on for 2am anyway, here," Reid grabbed another throw pillow, "let me put this behind your head." He grabbed a rust colored throw from the back of the sofa. "I'll just cover you with this." He went to the light switch that dimmed the recessed lighting to almost dark. "I'll leave just a little light so I don't trip on something in the dark."
Reid went to the front door to make sure it was locked and to set the alarm system. Suddenly remembering his jacket on the floor of Linda's car, he went out to retrieve it along with her shoes before locking up for the night. He stopped in the dining room to hang his jacket over the back of one of the chairs and removed his vest, his tie and his glock. He undid some buttons on his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. When he returned to the living room Linda appeared to be asleep. Her breathing was slow and regular. He fixed the throw so she was completely covered, sat on the other end of the sofa and removed his shoes and socks, setting them off to the side. He sat there wondering if he should try to sleep or sit up in case she needed anything. He eventually decided to lay his head down on the arm of the sofa, scrunching his legs up so they wouldn't hit Linda, something he was used to from sleeping on the jet. He closed his eyes as weariness took over and thought, this gave sleeping together on the first date a whole new meaning.
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The light was filtering softly through the grass blinds covering the bay window. Reid sensed movement at the end of the sofa and opened his eyes. It took a moment for him to register where he was. He sat up and turned in Linda's direction. She was sitting up with her right foot on the floor reaching for her crutches. "What do you need Linda? I'll get it for you."
"No, you can't help me with this," she said as she stood with the aid of the crutches. "You can't go to the bathroom for me." She hurried down the hall as fast as her crutches would allow. Reid heard the door to the powder room open and close.
He waited for a few minutes but when she didn't return he walked down the hallway. He tapped lightly on the door. "Linda, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine, I'll just be a minute."
The door opened a few minutes later and Linda made her way back to the sofa. She noticed Spencer was in the kitchen when she passed. "I made you a new ice pack," he said as she settled herself back on the couch. He put the ice pack around her ankle. "How did you sleep?"
"Pretty good, I only woke up when nature called."
"How's the ankle?"
"It's a little sore right now," she said and Reid dashed for the stairs.
"Is the Tylenol upstairs in the medicine cabinet?" He asked.
"Uh huh," Linda replied. She could hear him walking around above her. He returned shortly with a bottle of Tylenol which he handed to her and went in search of water.
He came back with a glass of water. "I'm going to go make coffee and then I'll start on breakfast."
"What are you making for breakfast?" Linda asked.
"I don't know what you have. I thought of omelets. I'm not too bad at those. I used to make them for my mother a lot when I was a kid," he called out from the kitchen as he filled the coffee carafe with water and began filling the reservoir on the coffee maker.
"I want to help," Linda's voice was not far behind him startling him so he spilled water all over the counter.
Reid's mouth and eyes both opened wide when he saw her. "What are you doing up? I'll make the omelet and bring it to you. Go back and sit down with your foot up."
"I'm going to sit at the dining room table and put my foot up on one of the chairs," she informed him firmly. "You can bring me that chopping board, a knife, onions, mushrooms, a pepper and ham. I'll get chopping while you work on the eggs." With that she turned into the dining room and set herself up at the table and waited for him to bring the requested items.
Reid loaded the mushrooms, onions, a pepper and some cooked ham on the cutting board, grabbed a knife from the block of knives and carried it to her, plunking it unceremoniously in front of her with the words, "Doctors make the worst patients."
"You would know," she giggled. Once she had cut everything up, Reid tried to send her back to the living room promising to bring the meal when it was ready. "I'm fine here Spencer. I'm sitting; my foot is up. I'll eat breakfast here then I promise to go back and sit in the living room like a good girl."
"Do I sense a little sarcasm?" Reid asked as he concentrated thoroughly on the task at hand, uneasy with Linda's undivided attention.
"Sarcasm, who me!" she said as she fingered the corduroy of his jacket hanging over the back of the chair. "I see you went out and got your jacket."
"Yeah, last night, I brought your shoes in too. I put them in the corner of the living room." Reid told her as the eggs fried in the skillet.
"I don't ever want to see those shoes again," Linda lamented.
"I never could understand how you women walk in those things. By my calculations it would throw your center of gravity off big time."
"Ya think," Linda chuckled. "Vanity thy name is Linda. With my height I like to try to look a little taller if I can and, well, stilettos are supposed to make one's legs look more sex…uh…shapely."
"What are you talking about? You have great legs," Reid blurted out absently, then turned scarlet. How could you have just said that? He headed quickly for the fridge. "Orange juice, that's what we need, orange juice." He set about pouring the liquid into glasses.
Reid didn't speak again until he set an omelet, toast, orange juice and coffee in front of Linda. "Enjoy," he said as he went back to the kitchen for his own.
"This is so good," Linda mumbled with her mouth full. "Sorry about that," she said after she swallowed.
"Thanks," Reid replied after which they ate in silence, each suddenly seeming acutely aware of the nearness of the other.
"Now, back to the living room for you while I clean up," Reid took their empty plates and glasses into the kitchen.
Linda saluted, "Yes sir," and stood awkwardly on her crutches, refusing Reid's offer of help and made her way back into the living room.
After loading the dishwasher, Reid returned to the living room and set about examining Linda's entertainment center. "You've got quite an eclectic collection of music, jazz, rock, country, gospel, classical, what, no rap?"
She shook her head, "No rap."
"What do we have here?" Reid said as excitedly as a child on Christmas morning when he pulled a box set of DVDs from the bottom of the entertainment center. "I don't believe it. Linda Kimura, you're a trekkie!"