I know. It's a tiny chapter. but this is all I had time for and I honestly don't know what the heck happened here. It kind of... Got taken over. By a ghost. Or an alien. Yeah, I'll go with that one.
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A loud, piercing noise was the first thing I heard when I woke up the next morning.
"Nuh," I groaned out. "Javi, I's your phone." I opened my eyes and watched blearily as the hand not tangled in my hair reached out and slapped along the nightstand until it found the phone.
"Esposito," Javi answered, holding the phone up to his ear. How he could sound so awake at five in the morning, I would never know.
"Whoissit?" I mumbled tiredly.
"Beckett," he answered. "No, that was Ryan… Yeah, he's fine." I sighed and closed my eyes again, letting myself revel in the warmth and comfort brought on by laying half on top of Javi.
"Bro, wake up." A finger prodded an uninjured portion of my face and I groaned, cracking an eyelid open.
"Wha?" I mumbled. Why on earth is he waking me up? I thought, annoyed. Surely work can wait until I can actually move from the bed.
"Neither of us are going into work today," he told me, still sounding perfectly awake. "I'm on permanent guard duty, and you're on bed rest. That means no moving. Got it?" The hand in my hair shifted slightly and I hummed my agreement.
"That's nice," I said. "Sleep, now." I closed my eyes again, but felt Javi shift underneath my cheek.
"Kev, I gotta get up," he said. I thought he sounded regretful, but it was probably just wishful thinking on my part. "I forgot to check the locks on the windows, and I'm hungry." I sighed and shifted slowly away from him, turning to lie on my stomach. I winced as my ribs twinged and then sank into the mattress.
"You need more meds, bro?" He asked, noticing my flinch. I shook my head against the sheets.
"It can wait till I wake up," I muttered, and promptly fell back asleep as Javi exited the bedroom.
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"Kev, Kevin, wake up." A hand was shaking my shoulder gently. I swatted it away and buried my face back into the bed sheets.
"Corazon, you've got to wake up now." The hand came back, more insistently this time, but still gentle.
"No," I growled. "'M tired." Javi sat down on the bed with a sigh.
"I got Jenny to come see you," he informed me. I lifted my head from the covers and blinked at him. He did what?
"Why?" I asked stupidly. He smiled down at me, obviously glad that he had caught my attention.
"Cause I thought you could use a friend besides me." I smiled back up at him.
"Thanks."
"Oh, Kev! I was so worried! Beckett wouldn't tell me what happened since we're not next of kin anymore and I thought the worst had happened. I'm so glad you're alright." A blonde blur flew across the room, and landed in the bad next to me. "What happened?" She asked, letting Javi slide past so that he could leave. I thought about asking him to stay, but I was sure I could handle Jenny on my own.
"What do you want to know?" I asked between clenched teeth, turning around onto my back.
"Everything," she replied. "Don't hold anything back." I sighed and told her the whole story of my kidnapping, rescue, and realization that I liked my partner a lot more than I should.
"And if I told him, it would just make things awkward between us. You can't have an awkward detective partnership." Jenny made a soothing noise and brushed some of my hair off of my forehead.
"I'm sure that it wouldn't make things awkward," she told me. "I mean, he was obviously hell-bent on finding you and he even cuddled with you last night. He could feel the same way." I snorted.
"Fat chance. Javi's straighter than an arrow." Jenny smirked.
"Really? Because I know for a fact that Javi had a boyfriend in his twenties." I looked up at her, my mouth hanging open in shock.
"W-what?" I spluttered. Jenny nodded, still grinning like a hyena.
"Yeah, he was dating my cousin." I shook my head in disbelief.
"This is ridiculous," I said. Not that I didn't believe her, but that Javi could actually be gay or even bisexual. Jenny laughed at my expression.
"Oh, Kevin, you clueless boy." I glared at her until she stopped chuckling.
"How on earth am I clueless?" I asked. She patted my hand gently.
"Lanie called, and I agree with her. The two of you have been head over heels in love with each other for years. Kiss the poor guy, already." I shook my head in amazement at my ex-fiancé.
"I'm not promising," I told her, giving into her pitiful wounded puppy look. "But I will try to talk to him about it." Jenny beamed, elated that I had at least considered it.
"Thank you!" She squealed, throwing her arms around me and squeezing. I cried out as pain shot through my ribs and the lash marks. Jenny let go and held her hands in the air.
"Oh, geez, Kev," she gasped. "I'm so sorry. I forgot. I managed to smile at her through the pain.
"It's okay. It was an accident." She shook her head frantically.
"No, no," she said. "Let me make it up to you. When you and Javier finally hook up, we can go on a double date with my new beau. My treat." I laughed, even though it hurt.
"You certainly move fast, huh?" She smiled and nodded, a dreamy gaze stealing over her features.
"He's so sweet, though. I think you'd really like him." I listened for a while as she prattled on about 'Thompson', who she had reconnected with just a few days ago from high school. They had gone on one date, and immediately became an item.
"Kev?" Javi opened the door, smiling lightly at me and Jenny. "Time to take your medicine." Jenny sighed and got up.
"That's my cue to leave, dear," she told me, reaching out to pat my head. "Remember what I said about that double date." I choked on the water Javi had handed to me and glared at her. She smirked and winked, and then she was gone.
"What was that about?" Javi asked, glancing between me and the still open door.
"No clue," I lied, shrugging and downing the rest of my pills. He gave me a doubtful look but seemed to accept that I wasn't going to say anything more on the matter.
"Beckett called," he told me instead, sitting down in Jenny's vacated seat. "Said they didn't get much from Mikhail." I shuddered and squeezed my eyes shut at the name. Javi apparently noticed my reaction and reached out to grab my hand.
"Oh, Corazon," he murmured. "I'm so sorry, I forgot." I opened my eyes and forced a smile at his concerned face.
"It's fine." I set my glass down at the table and frowned, thinking of something.
"Javi?" I asked. He looked at me questioningly. "Why do you call me that?" Javi looked shocked.
"What do I call you?" He asked; face getting more and more confused by the second.
"Corazon," I informed him. "Lanie said it means 'heart', but I think she's mistaken." Javi's eyes seemed to darken and a haunted look spread across his features, quickly followed by determination.
"She wasn't wrong." I gulped.
"Uh- what did you say?" He smiled at me, but it was slightly sad.
"I said, she wasn't wrong. Corazon means heart." I frowned, unable to wrap my mind around the fact that Javi was calling me 'heart.'
"Why.. Do you call me that?" I asked him. He laughed darkly. I didn't like the sound. It wasn't the Javi I knew.
"Because you are my heart, Kevin. If something happened to you, I would die." My eyes widened even further as I stared at him. He smiled bitterly and got up to leave.
"W-wait." I sat up to quickly, reaching for his arm, and gasped, falling to the side in pain. A warm arm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me back onto the bed.
"Oh, Corazon," A soft voice muttered in my ear. "Go to sleep. I won't be here when you wake up." I shook my head, even more confused. I could feel weariness creeping back even though I had just woken up, and within a few seconds, I was falling asleep.
"Javi?" I whispered. Warm lips pressed against my forehead.
"Shhhh." I shook my head again, trying to clear it.
"You drugged me," I mumbled. It was the last thing that I remember before falling back into a drug induced sleep.
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Um... Don't hate me? Or review about how much you hate me? Either one works.
