Sorry I missed yesterday - work :o(

...

In another bed in the same house, morning came a little differently.

Bianca moaned as she woke, her back was aching. She was disorientated for a moment expecting to be in her hospital bed. She had rolled over in the night but there was a comforting warmth against her side. Then she smiled, remembering that she was home with Marissa beside her.

"Morning." she whispered.

Marissa simply groaned. She was not quite ready to be awake.

"Not yet." she moaned, as she nuzzled deeper into Bianca's shoulder. "It can't be morning yet."

"I'm afraid it is." said Bianca, giving her fiancé a little shake to wake her properly.

Marissa moaned again not moving.

"Marissa… Come on, you're worse than Gabby. You need to move. I need to turn over, I'm sorry."

Marissa blinked, suddenly remembering where she was and how gently she was supposed to be treating Bianca.

She sat up, her expression full of concern... only she found she couldn't. Her arm was pinned under Bianca. Trying to sit up had only yanked Bianca sideways on the bed.

"Oh god, are you okay?"

"I think so." said Bianca. "What happened?"

"You're on my arm." Marissa explained.

"At least that explains the back ache." said Bianca, grimacing as she got on with the uncomfortable job of rolling onto her side.

Marissa helped the best she could.

She then extracted her arm. It had gone completely numb. Marissa picked up the limb with her other hand and it felt like it belonged to someone else.

"Are you okay?" Bianca asked as Marissa started wriggling her fingers to get the feeling back, waiting for the shooting pain to start as her circulation returned.

"Dead arm." she explained and then she stopped. She looked down at Bianca's left leg under the covers. Is this what it felt was like for Bianca all the time? Attached to a body part that doesn't feel a part of you? She'd never thought…

"Are you okay? Can I help?" Bianca asked not noticing Marissa's distraction.

Before Marissa could answer the first shooting pain shot up her arm and around all the joints in her fingers.

"Ow! Ahhhhh!" she exclaimed as Bianca reached up to help rub the feeling back.

"Well you're awake now at least." Bianca laughed.

Marissa smiled and nodded.

"So should I get Maggie?" she asked as the pain subsided and she had finally stopped flexing and twisting her resurrected arm. Now that little drama over the next thing to do was to take care of Bianca.

"No, no. I'll be fine for a minute. What time is it?"

Marissa turned and focused on her bedside clock.

"It's just after seven." she said.

"So it is morning." Bianca said.

"It is."

"And we've got two hours before we collect the kids."

"Right." replied Marissa. "So maybe I should get Maggie after all?" she asked.

"Not before the most important thing." said Bianca.

"And what is that?" asked Marissa, her thoughts now full of the problems of getting Bianca ready in the morning and her morning exercises and the pills she needed to take with breakfast…

Bianca turned her head to face Marissa. She was smiling sweetly and pointed to her lips.

"I need a proper good morning." she said.

Marissa grinned, thoughts of the day vanishing at the sight of the love in those deep brown eyes.

"Good morning." she said and bent down to kiss Bianca warmly on the mouth.

"With a start like that I just know it is going to be a good one." Bianca sighed

…

Marissa eventually skirted from the bed to fetch Maggie, their resident doctor.

She cross the landing to Gabby's room and knocked quietly on the door.

There was no response

She knocked a little louder.

"Maggie! Maggie are you awake?" she called.

Still nothing.

"Maggie?"

Marissa cautiously pushed open the door and peered in. She found the bed empty.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. Then, realising the implications, she grinned. "Ooh!"

So did she need to go down to Reese's room to wake up the good doctor?

…

Downstairs, two friends, lay side by side.

"About last night…" Reese began.

Maggie looked away.

"It was just a bit of fun." she said dismissively. "We don't have to get all heavy about it, do we?"

She was already climbing out of bed and gathering her clothes up off the floor, ready to make a retreat.

Reese watched her friend for a moment. Maggie was clearly regretting last night. Reese had to say she didn't feel the same. She'd always hoped after they got close…

But she didn't want Maggie feeling uncomfortable so she just smiled.

"Of course. Just a bit of fun." Reese said in a hope to allay Maggie's fears. "Nothing to worry about."

"Great." said Maggie, not actually looking all that relieved. She pulled on her shirt. "I'd better run though, before I'm missed."

Reese nodded but then they heard Marissa call from the top of the stairs.

"You might be too late for that." observed Reese.

…