When we finally decided to leave the bed, Casey headed for the kitchen to make us a late breakfast while I checked in with Bobby. Since he decided that I needed to take the day off and rest my ribs, I knew better than to show my face on the control room floor.
"You better not be calling me for work reasons," he said when he answered the phone.
"Geeze…I just wanted to check in and make sure everything is okay," I replied. "So, chill the fuck out."
"You're supposed to be resting," he said.
"I am. Casey let me sleep in and now she's making us a late breakfast." I had no intention of telling him about what happened last night. The guy in him might high-five me for finally taking my relationship with Casey to the next level, but the medic in him would want to kick my ass.
"It sounds like she's taking good care of you," he said. "I'm glad we finally have someone around here who is good at following orders."
If I'd wanted to be difficult, I would have argued that we all excelled at following orders. That is, as long as they weren't medical, but I didn't think Bobby would appreciate my humor. "You know, Beautiful is good at following orders, so long as they're not directed at her," I replied.
"True." Bobby chuckled. He knew as well as I did that Steph hated to be told what to do, but she was quick to try and make others follow the doctor's orders. "Just so you know," he continued. "I'm placing you on restricted duty for the next couple of weeks."
The smile I'd been sporting disappeared and I fought back the urge to argue with him. Sometimes, it was better to accept your fate than to make a situation worse. If I tried to fight him on this, he might put me completely out on rest. With Ranger and Tank still gone, that wasn't a move we could afford. If I kept my mouth closed and rested like he wanted, I might be able to start back tomorrow working on my laptop from the couch. "I figured as much," I grumbled. "Since I'm mostly stuck in the office right now anyway, I guess it won't be much of a change."
"I suppose not. You just won't be getting any fieldwork for a few weeks," he said. "By the way, are the meds I gave you working?"
"Yeah. I did have another nightmare, but Casey helped me deal with it, so I'm good."
"You had a nightmare, and she didn't?" he asked, his voice laced with shock.
"She wasn't the one who had to see Izzy's body," I replied.
"I can't argue that point," he said. "So, I have Cal running the floor today and I'm around for any emergencies that pop up. Try and rest today and we'll regroup in the morning."
Not likely to happen, but I wasn't about to tell Bobby that. The last thing I wanted or needed was another lecture. "Now that you've made Casey aware of my injury, I doubt she'll allow me to do much."
"Having a steady woman around is good for you," Bobby said.
"It would do you a world of good too," I replied, seeing an opportunity to change the subject. "Any progress on getting Celeste to change her mind about getting married?"
"Funny you should ask," he said. "I was talking with her the other night and mentioned it again. She said she understood why I wanted to get married and would think about it."
"Better a little progress than none, I suppose," I said as I glanced over my shoulder toward the kitchen and thought back to my earlier conversation with Casey. If this situation continued to grow and solidify there was a good chance, I'd be popping the question myself. Who would have ever thought that the self-proclaimed playboy Lester Santos would voluntarily get married?
After I hung up with Bobby, Casey fed me a breakfast fit for a king. Then we lay around watching television and talking. By lunchtime, I was starting to go stir-crazy. "I'm sorry, Precious. It's just not in my nature to sit around and do nothing."
Her eyes narrowed on me. "Bobby said you needed to rest."
"I know, but I've never been one to sit still and do nothing." My mind was already turning over the pros and cons of leaving the building with her. After finding Izzy last night, my knee-jerk reaction was to keep Casey hidden away inside Rangeman, but that wouldn't be fair to her. She shouldn't have to stop living her life because of the evil someone else has decided to spread. She made it clear last night that she believed in my ability to keep her safe. I guess I needed to have more faith in myself. Still, knowing how distracting she could be for me, it would be wise to take some backup with us. That is if she even wanted to go out.
"I know I can't do anything strenuous, but at the very least, my mind needs to be occupied." Before she could reply I held up a finger. "I have an idea. I still have a bunch of Christmas shopping to do. So, let's go to the mall."
Casey was working in the kitchen on the other side of the breakfast bar when she paused to look at me. "Christmas shopping?" She half said, half asked, and then her eyes widened with excitement. "That sounds like fun. I've never been Christmas shopping before."
I'm pretty sure my eyebrows climbed into my hairline as I stared at her. "You've never been Christmas shopping?"
She shook her head. "My church didn't celebrate Christmas in the Western commercialized way with presents and all the parties and such. It was only about celebrating the birth of Jesus."
"Wait." I held up a hand. "So, you're telling me that you've never received a Christmas present either?"
She shook her head again. "Some of the more modern Mennonite churches began celebrating the Western version of the commercialized holiday the day after. However, my Church is part of the old-world order. They didn't believe in it."
Her admission only served to solidify my decision. Careful of my ribs, I started to push up from the couch. "All the more reason for us to go shopping. I'll teach you the fine art of purchasing the perfect gift."
She shot me a questioning look that kept me seated. "I thought men were horrible gift-givers."
Ouch! I put my hands over my heart and threw my head back in dramatic fashion. "Oh, Precious, that hurts. How could you stereotype me like that?"
My over-the-top reaction pulled a big smile from her. "I'm sorry. Just from talking to Maddie and Izzy and then some of the women at the rehab center, I got the impression that men weren't very good at giving gifts."
"I'd venture to bet those women never had a Cuban boyfriend."
Her grin remained in place as both her brows lifted in question. "You told me you were only half Cuban."
"True, but my mama taught me well." It took a moment for me to get to my feet. That fact caused me to reconsider the ramifications of taking her out in public with a potential threat hanging over her head and me not being in top form. We would need backup. "How about I call Zero and see if he's available to go with us?"
Her smile faded just a little. "I thought it would be just the two of us." Damn it, I wish it could be, but her safety came first.
"If I was one hundred percent healthy and there wasn't a potential threat on you, I would turn this into a date. But that's not the case and your safety comes first. So, I'd feel better if we took Zero with us to help protect you."
"Why Zachary?" she asked. "I mean, I like him well enough and he's a nice guy, but why him?"
"First, because you're comfortable with him. Second, with Ranger and Tank still gone and me being injured, pulling somebody who is on duty would leave us more shorthanded than we already are. Since Zero is still on limited duty because of his previous knee injury, it makes the most sense to take him."
"I suppose you're right," she replied. "Since we're going out, I guess I need to change into something nicer."
"Me too," I motioned to my still half-dressed state, which pulled another smile from her.
"For the record," she said. "I like you walking around the apartment without a shirt on."
Even from across the room, I could see her cheeks pink up. I love it when she gets all shy and embarrassed. In just a few efficient strides, I was in the kitchen standing in front of her. Then I lifted a hand to trace a finger along her jaw. "It's cute to see you get all embarrassed after what we shared earlier." I leaned in to brush a soft kiss over her lips.
"Call it a leftover from my upbringing," she replied even as she ran her hands down the front of my chest. I noticed that when she reached my damaged ribs her touch lightened even more. Damn, if she kept this up, I'd be dragging her sexy ass back to bed. Then Bobby would be pissed because this time I wouldn't let her do all the work.
"Well." I cleared my throat. "Despite how much I enjoy seeing those sexy legs of yours, I think we both need to get dressed."
Fifteen minutes later, Casey stepped out of her bedroom, and I froze in shock. My woman was wearing what appeared to be a white tank top, with a cute multi-colored pastel cardigan over it and a pair of dark denim jeans with her sneakers. To this point, I'd only ever seen her in dresses during the day and knee-length or longer nightgowns. "Well?" She held out her arms and did a full circle for me. "What do you think?"
Combined with her more modern haircut she looked like a little fashionista. "You're gorgeous."
Her eyes lit with my compliment and some of the trepidation disappeared from her face. "Really?"
Her consistent need to question the compliments she received seriously pissed me off. What kind of men had she suffered with in her life that caused her to be so self-conscious and insecure? I crossed to her and took her hands in mine. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that you're beautiful?"
She shrugged. "I'm just not used to getting compliments and I'm really not used to clothing that so… form-fitting."
"Then, are you going to be comfortable going out like that?"
She gave a slight shake of her head. "Probably not, but I want to try. Stephanie and Kristina always look so pretty and put together. I feel a bit homely and dull around them."
Her thinking of herself in such a fashion wouldn't do at all. "Hey." I let go of one of her hands and curled a knuckle under her chin, so she'd look at me. "You're neither homely nor dull."
A smirk took over her face. "If you tell me that you think my long dresses are sexy, I'm going to call you a liar." There was that fiery stubborn personality that I was coming to love so much.
"Okay, so the clothing might not be sexy, but you're comfortable in them, which gives you confidence. Confidence is sexy and no matter what you wear you're beautiful."
That wry grin of hers made a full-on appearance as she held my gaze. "You're so full of crap but thank you. I appreciate the compliment."
Her reply pulled a laugh from me as I shifted to wrap an arm around her. "Come on, Precious. Let's go meet Zero and head for the mall."