Chapter 7:

I'm knocking on Claire's door at 8:50am, anxious to get my day started. Who would've thought? Owen Grady wanting to get his day started at the ass crack of dawn. Well, is not really that early, but anyone who knows me knows I am not a morning person.

Claire opens the door. She's wearing jeans and a blue blouse, that's tucked into her jeans. She doesn't look as happy as I was expecting her to look.

"Morning, Claire. How you doing?" I ask her with a lift in my eyebrow.

"Not that good. I woke up at 3am with a killer headache. Its mostly passed but I still feel a little out of it"

Yes, she doesn't look too good. I can see she is down playing it, though. Like she is wont to do. Her grip on the door is a little too tight, her eyes are a little unfocused and she looks like she wants to close her eyes and be dead to the world for the next 24 hours.

"Do you feel like eating?"

"Not sure. I think I need to have the food in front of me. Then you'll have your answer" She starts squinting. The light of the corridor is starting to bother her.

"Okay, tell you what. Why don't we go inside and ask for room service. Once the food get's here if you feel like eating, we eat and if you don't, just lie down and rest. Sound good?"

She nods and let's me in. She lies on the bed and throws her arm over her eyes. I grab the phone and call room service. While I'm on hold, I see Claire turn her back to the big floor-to-ceiling window. I walk to it and close the blackout drapes to try and make her more comfortable. It looks like it could be midnight inside the room. She turns and mouths 'thank you' and closes her eyes. A voice greets me through the phone.

"Good morning, my name is Derek. How can I help you?"

"Hello Derek. I would like to order some breakfast, please"

"Of course, sir. Would you tell me your order, please?"

"I want chocolate chip pancakes, cereal and milk and for my lady here, a fruit salad, freshly pressed orange juice and whole wheat toast with cream cheese and strawberry marmalade"

"Perfect, sir. Your breakfast should be delivered to you in the next 15 to 20 minutes. Anything else I can do for you?"

"A jar of ice cold water and a sleeping mask would be wonderful, Derek"

"Yes, sir. Anything else, please don't hesitate to call me"

"Great. Thanks, man"

I hung up and put the phone down. I turn around towards Claire and I see her giving me a lazy smile.

"What?"

"How do you know what I eat for breakfast?" She sits up a little.

Aw, man! That's not going to be embarrassing to answer at all.

"Uh, back on the island, when I saw you for the first time I had no idea who you were. The only thing I knew was that you were obviously from administration and insanely hot." At that, she shakes her head slightly. The amused smile never leaving her face. "I was curious as to what your job was, so later that day after my monthly meeting with the head of veterinary, I looked for your office, you know to see what your title was. When I found it, your secretary wasn't there, so I looked around her desk and found her to-do list for the day. In it, was your breakfast order."

"When was that?"

"A couple of months after I was hired"

"So you remember reading what I liked for breakfast 2 years ago and you just assumed I still ate the same thing?" Oh, she's enjoying this. Torturing me like this even in her headache haziness.

"It's not exactly an uncommon breakfast and you're a woman of habit. Breakfast is a very set thing for most people"

"Hmm. You eat breakfast like an 8 year old, by the way. And what are the ice water and sleeping mask for?" She asks lying down on the bed again.

"They're for you. They will make you feel better, I promise. My mum used to get really bad migraines and those things would ease her pain a lot." I sit on the couch, in front of the tv.

"Okay, I trust you" She closes her eyes. After a few minutes she calls me and pats the bed.

"Do you want to lie down here with me?" Her eyes never opening, her left arm still thrown over her eyes.

I'm about to make some smart comment about her trying to bed me, but I decide to not ruin the moment.

"Yeah"

I walk over and sit on the bed to her right. I take off my shoes and lean backwards on the headboard. I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to be too cuddly cause she's not feeling well, but also I don't want her to think that I don't appreciate the offer.

As if she knew what was going through my head, she grabs my hand with her right one and intertwines her fingers with mine. I give her hand a tight squeeze and leave her be.

The moment of silence doesn't last long because there's a knock on the door. Claire moans.

"Breakfast's here" I let go of her hand and go open the door.

"Good morning, sir. Where would you like me to put this?"

"Don't worry, buddy. I got it." I pull out a $5 bill and hand it to him.

"Thank you, sir. Enjoy"

I roll in the trolley and place it on the foot of the bed. I grab the fruit salad, a fork and a napkin and sit on the bed.

"Okay, do you feel like eating or not?" She sits, leaning back on the headboard and stares down at the plate. She grabs it, stabs a piece of watermelon and holds it in front of her mouth for a few seconds before she pops it in.

She chews slowly and then nods. "I guess I could eat a little bit"

"Awesome! Now, let me grab my pancakes"

I walk over to the trolley and pour maple syrup all over my pancakes. I pour some orange juice for Claire and sit back on the bed again. We eat quietly. She's eating her fruit salad very delicately, eating a piece of fruit at the time, very ladylike. Meanwhile, I'm devouring my pancakes like they were going to be snatched from me at any moment. Bad habit I acquired back on the navy. A group of guys would always choose a victim on the days the kitchen would make pancakes or waffles for breakfast. They would take your breakfast and then you would have to sing a song if you wanted it back. It wasn't malicious or anything, but I really didn't want to sing, so I would inhale my food.

Halfway done with her fruit salad, Claire announces she no longer wants to keep eating.

"Can you please try and eat some toast. I really think that if you don't eat something substantial then your headache will get worse"

She rubs her eyes and exhales loudly. "Okay. Can you spread cream cheese on it? Not too much, please"

"Sure. Some marmalade too?" She nods. I give her two pieces of toast. She eats it slowly, taking small sips of orange juices in between, as if afraid her stomach might react badly to it. When she finishes, I take her plate and glass from her, put it on the trolley and tell her to drink the ice cold water.

"The cold water will help keep you cool. That way we at least make sure temperature is not a factor and the sleeping mask is to completely block out the lights. Here you go"

"Thanks" She drinks the water and puts the sleeping mask on her forehead. "Oh, by the way, the interview with the NY Times got pushed back to 4pm"

"Good, then you can get a good rest. I'll leave you alone then. I'll put the 'do not disturb' sign on. I'll put the trolley outside." I start pushing the trolley out of the room, when Claire stops me.

"Wait. Do all that. Except, except leave. Would you mind?" she's biting down on her lip and playing with the covers.

She's seeking comfort and company, and I can definitely give her both.

"Of course. Just let me put this outside" I grab the cereal box and put it on the night stand. No food shall be wasted on my watch.

I come back into the room and get inside the covers with Claire. She lowers the sleeping mask to cover her eyes and rests her head on my chest. I kiss her forehead and we both fall asleep in each other's arms.