Thank you all so much for your patience. I know it took me a while to post a new chapter. I decided to take a little break from writing and then I got the first dose of the vaccine, dealt with the side effects along with my brother and then we all, at home, caught a cold (or something), which I'm still kind of dealing with, but we're all much better now, so that's good. Anyway, I'm sorry it took so long…
I wanted this chapter to somehow be special, since it's about the time between 3x20 and 4x01… Yeah, that important (to the fans) time frame the show decided to skip, haha! I don't blame them though… So, I wanted it to be special and really wanted to include certain things; things I had come up with way before even getting to this point… And as I was writing, I realized it got too long, so in the end, I decided to split it. But then I was debating whether I should post both parts in one day or one per week, but I figured probably a bunch of people would have been a bit disappointed with just the first part, given the content of the second one, so I decided to not keep you waiting for the second part and give you both in one day. You've waited long enough…
And just to be over with this long intro, so you can go ahead and read the actual chapter(s)… As you may know by now, I get inspired a lot by songs I listen to, so I had created a playlist with those songs, and I told you I was going to continue adding songs to it as I wrote more chapters, BUT, for this chapter(s), I got inspiration from a bunch of songs, and, since there were a bit too many, and also this chapter marks the beginning of basically a new journey for Lea and Shaun, I decided to make a second playlist.
For those interested on listening to the songs, I realized the web version of fanfiction doesn't let you copy the link or the browser says it can't load it, so, just like I did with the first playlist, I will post them on Twitter (Zos4Life) and pin the tweet to my profile. You can also search them on Spotify as In Her Eyes 1 and In Her Eyes 2
Songs 1 and 2 of the new playlist were the ones that inspired this first part.
Sorry for the long ass intro. You can go ahead and read now. I hope you like it and let me know what you think! ;)
STOLEN MOMENTS
"You should get back in bed." Shaun said after they both pulled apart from a kiss that seemed like it wasn't going to end.
Lea just looked up at him, still taken aback by the whole moment. He was there, alive, it was real, and their kisses had been very real too; her health was still not a priority to her.
"I thought you wouldn't come back… alive" She mumbled, wishing she would never feel what she felt hours ago, again.
Shaun chuckled "Why wouldn't I come back alive?"
She frowned at his amusement, thinking none of what happened had been funny at all.
"You were in there with your patient and you two didn't have much time left before drowning, and then there was a second aftershock. Excuse me for thinking I was going to lose you. I don't see why that amuses you…"
"I was not going to drown. I was able to stand up and breath, but Vera wasn't. I had to amputate her leg and pass air to her because she was completely underwater, but I wasn't. I was fine. I am fine"
Her eyes widened when he mentioned the amputation "Oh my God, is she okay?"
"Yes, she's in surgery right now, I was going to scrub in but I came to see you as soon as we arrived, instead. She is in good hands, though. I wanted to know if you were okay. Dr. Park told me about the concussion and the laceration on your hand. I also checked your record when I got here. You should rest"
"You should rest too" She said, still looking up at him. Admiring him as if he were some kind of superhero.
Everyone had gone through hell that night. Everyone needed rest, but instead of being with his patient for longer or going home to change into dry clothes and rest, he had gone to check on her, so she couldn't help to look at him like that.
"I need to take a shower and change my clothes first. You should rest while I go do that"
Sighing, Lea removed her arms from around him and nodded slightly.
"Okay…" She muttered reluctantly as part of her was afraid of letting him go, thinking maybe it would all turn out to be a dream, but then, she remembered something, and a tad of playfulness got to her "You stink…" She added with a soft smirk.
Shaun cocked his head to the side slightly as he deciphered why she was smiling, then he looked down at his damp clothes and reached to sniff his jacket.
"I do" He said. "But you stink too" He added and looked at her again. "I will be back soon" He turned on his heels and left the room, but on his way to the elevator, he remembered… He smiled and stopped half way, then turned around again and walked back to Lea's room. He held onto the door frame and peeked his head in, looking at Lea who was still standing next to her bed. "I know why you were smiling. I remember too" He grinned.
Lea chuckled in response and walked to him, took his face in her hands and pressed her lips against his in a quick smooch, then she pulled back and grinned, too.
"Get back here soon" She pretty much ordered him and he nodded with a smile before heading back to the elevator.
Still smiling, she climbed back onto her hospital bed and leaned back, finally relaxing after the long and horrible night San Jose had gone through. And then, she couldn't help thinking about how good and natural kissing and holding Shaun close to her had felt, but her insecurities were still there and who knows if they would ever leave.
She was entering a kind of unknown territory and also one that she had been avoiding for years, not only with Shaun but with other men too. This time though, things could not and would not be like before.
She always knew Shaun wasn't like other guys she's met or dated, not because of his autism but because he wasn't a guy she could just have something casual with, and although she didn't feel ready or good enough for something serious again, she really wanted to give it a try with Shaun, because she really loved him, and a love like the one she felt for him was not something she was going to let go to waste anymore.
—
The sun was barely starting to show up when Shaun walked back into the room, wearing clean and perfectly ironed and cared for clothes. A sleepy Lea looked at him and smiled.
"Hi" She said.
"Hello" He replied and her smile grew bigger as he moved to sit on the chair next to Lea's bed, but she realized something, he looked thoughtful, so she stopped smiling and became worried.
"Shaun… is there something wrong?" She asked while he fiddled with his thumbs.
"Dr. Melendez is going to die and there is nothing we can do. It's too late" He replied after a minute, with the same expression he once had, back when he was going over his dad's medical record and then concluded that his diagnosis was correct and there was no hope.
"W-what?" She asked in total disbelief.
"Get out of there!" Replayed in her mind. Those were the last words she heard from the attending before everything went dark.
"Shaun, this is… How? I mean, I think I saw him getting out of the brewery with Claire and their patient. He looked fine, h-how did this happen?… God" She aded and sighed, wondering what had happened to the Dr. Melendez for him to be in such condition.
The young doctor just remained sitting on the chair next to her bed, glancing around, and that's when Lea realized she barely knew Dr. Melendez, and what was happening to him was horrible, but Shaun knew him better, he had been one of his mentors for the past 3 years…
"Are you okay?" She asked looking at him, concerned about how such news could affect him.
"He is a very good surgeon. I think I will miss him… I will miss working with him"
She swallowed with sadness and held her hand out, reaching for his. He looked at her hand for a second then untwined his fingers and gently held her hand.
"I - I really don't want you to go, but…" She said after a minute. "…you should go home and rest" She told him while stroking the back of his hand with her thumb.
"I will stay here. I already asked an orderly to bring in a guest bed. I also have tomorrow off"
"Shaun, those beds are really uncomfortable to sleep in. You need to get some good sleep… I'll be fine"
"I wan to stay here" He stressed stubbornly with a small nod and Lea sighed, giving up, and thinking that maybe just like her, he didn't want to be alone that night, morning, or whatever.
Silence invaded the room as both thought about all the events of the previous night and they kept holding hands until the orderly walked in with the guest bed which Shaun thanked him for, and once it was all set up next to Lea's bed, he closed the blinds and tuned off the lights to make the room as dark as possible, then he quietly laid down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.
On her own bed, Lea got comfortable and turned on her side. "Would you… hold my hand again?"
"Of course" He simply replied, rolled over to lay on his side too, and reached out for her hand.
And just like that, even with all the events of the previous night still haunting her mind, Shaun's presence and the fact that he was fine, was soothing, so she fell asleep in no time, but it took a bit longer for Shaun, because there were things that were said between him and his patient, at the brewery, that were conflicting with what had happened between him and Lea just a couple hours ago, and it was somewhat confusing to him, but there would be time to figure it out later, so he closed his eyes and fell asleep too.
Later that day, Shaun woke up before Lea. He gently let go of her hand and quietly climbed off the guest bed, went into the bathroom first, then minutes later, he was out of the room and asked an orderly to take away the bed he used.
Eventually Lea woke up, too. The blinds and lights were still off and there was a throbbing and tingling sensation on her wounded hand, but she notice something else, Shaun was gone. Her heart immediately skipped a beat and she quickly sat up, but her head wasn't happy about such move, it felt like her brain was pounding. She closed her eyes and moaned in pain, slowly leaning back to lay down again, but still wondering where Shaun was. Reached out to grab her phone from the bedside table and tried to turn it on, but the battery was dead.
"Dammit" She muttered to herself, then, as if she had invoked Shaun, he walked back into the room with a paper bag, a fabric one, and a cup holder with two drinks.
"I brought food" He simply announced with a soft smile on his face.
"Good morn - afternoon to you too" She smiled at him, then, with a pout, she showed him her phone. "My phone died…"
He placed the food on the overbed table and the fabric bag by her feet, on the bed.
"I brought you some clothes, too. Yours were too dirty and torn, so I went to the gift shop and got you a few things. I also got you a waterproof hand cover so you can shower, and some other things, but I didn't bring a charger. You could use mine, but I have to go back to my locker and bring it. How are you feeling?" He added as she watched him, then he moved to the window to open the blinds, but as soon as the bright natural light from outside got into the room, she immediately squinted her eyes and covered her face with the blanket, like a vampire hiding from the sun.
"Mmh, no…" She muttered.
"Oh, light bothers you…" He closed the blinds again. "I should get you some sunglasses for when you're out there. I'll go back to the gift shop to get them and on my way back I'll get my charger. It won't take long"
"No, Shaun…" She sat up again and reached to grab his hand before he could leave. "I'm fine. I only feel like my brain is throbbing inside my skull if I move too quickly and my hand is tingling, but I'm okay. We can be here with the blinds closed and the lights dimmed, plus, I probably still have to stay here for a few more hours, and by the time I get to go home, it will be dark outside. I have sunglasses at home, so I can wear those if I have to go out tomorrow during the day or something…" She nodded a little, looking up at him. "Thank you for all this. You really think about everything"
Shaun smiled again and nodded too.
"Okay" He said letting go of her hand and moved to turn on the lights in a dimmed setting like she suggested, then she scoot over on her bed and patted the space next to her so he would sit there.
He sat next to her, facing her and she sighed happily, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
"Are we boyfriend and girlfriend now?" Out of the blue, he asked.
"Y-yeah, I suppose… I mean, if you still want…" She looked at him wondering if he was having second thoughts. "May I know why you're asking?"
"Vera thinks I should move on. She thinks I can do better than you and that my goal is love, not you… I promised her I would move on if she didn't make it, but she didn't die, so the promise doesn't count, right?" He said, almost sounding excited and relieved about the fact that he didn't have to keep the promise he made to his patient.
"I… I heard some of that… Didn't make it to the part where you actually promised her that, though…" She admitted and sighed.
"It was before I had to amputate her leg. She said she would consent to the procedure under one condition, she wanted me to promise her that I would move on if she didn't make it out of there alive, so I did"
"I get it…" She nodded and paused for a moment, thinking about the things she managed to hear them say the night before.
"When she said you can do better than me, I believed her…" Lea added. "Because I think the same, as hard as it is for me to admit it. I think there's better people than me out there, ones who would probably get you a lot better than me and give you exactly what you need and deserve all the time… And then you told her you didn't want to move on because you didn't want to stop being the person you are with me, because I make you more" Shaun nodded with a soft smile, remembering that part.
"But, I don't want you to feel forced to be with me in order to continue being that person" She continued."Because you don't have to" She shook her head slightly "You can still be that person whether you're with someone else or single… it's not like all the things we've learned together will go away just because we're with someone else or not" She added and studied his face waiting for some sort of reaction.
"Hmm" He let out as he thought about things for a moment… "Maybe I could do better than you, and maybe I can be the same person with someone else, but I don't want anyone else. I want you, Lea…" He paused and looked at her. "I like who I am in your eyes, and I think the things we've learned together are much better with each other than with anyone else" Lea got emotional and her eyes got teary as he continued "You are one of the best persons I know. I don't know why you always think so little of yourself…"
Before he could say anything else, Lea took his face in her hands and leaned to kiss him. He returned the kiss but had to lean back not long after it started, and like always, he had to be honest.
"You need to brush your teeth… and shower"
Lea couldn't help to laugh some and blush, leaning her head back a little
"I know, I'm sorry!" She said. Then, getting back to the sweet and kinda serious mood they were in, she looked into his eyes and kept her hands on his cheeks, adding "But before I go do that… I have to tell you that I love how you see me, too… And to answer your question" She moved her hands down to rest them on top of his in a gentle touch. "If you really want this and you're willing to get into it with a very open mind and heart, despite what could go wrong, then I'm in too… but I want to do things right this time, so I need you to know that I want to take things slow… because we're both, in our own ways, fragile, and we have a bunch of stuff to figure out together, and like I said before, I'm - it scares the shit out of me, but I'm in, a hundred percent" She took a confident breath and nodded. "Are you?"
Looking into her hazel eyes, he nodded too and replied with a simple but hopeful and quiet excited "Yes"
She smiled and sighed in contentment, then added "That's it then, mister. You and I, as of today, are off the market, and we are officially boyfriend and girlfriend"
"Ooh" He let out smiling and his body began to shake slightly from the excitement those words brought to him.
Her eyes basically disappeared from how big she was smiling, too and he moved his hands so they were on top of hers, giving them a light squeeze, and she giggled.
"I would jump around with you right now, but you know, my head. I think I would faint or something" She chuckled.
"Yes" He nodded, agreeing, understanding and still smiling.
Giggling again, Lea quickly leaned in to peck his lips, then climbed off the bed carefully; grabbed the bag he had left on it and walked into the bathroom with a big smile, then closed the door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror and, though she was still dirty, tired, sore and with messy hair, nothing could erase the smile on her face in that moment. She was happy. Happier than she had been in years, and although nervous about the uncertainty of what the future could bring, she was also truly excited.
Meanwhile, Shaun in the room, got up from the bed and stimmed on his own for a bit before heading out to go get his charger, smiling at everyone he saw on his way to the locker room, and by the time Lea got out of the bathroom, he was back in there, sitting on the chair next to her bed, and her phone was charging on the bedside table.
"Thank you for the charger" Lea said, sitting on the bed and taking her phone while Shaun got up and started unpacking the food.
"No prob" He replied and she smiled, but said smile quickly went away.
"Oh dear…" She muttered while looking at her phone.
There were several messages and missing calls from Sarah, as we all as from her parents. She dialed Sarah and Shaun handed her two small boxes, one with a sandwich and another with fruit.
"Thank you" She smiled at him and placed the boxes next to her on the bed while waiting for her friend to pick up.
"My God, Lea, I've been trying to reach you all day! I saw the news. Are you okay? And don't lie to me…"
"I'm sorry, my phone died and I just got it charging. I'm - I'm fine. I mean, there are people way worse than me" Lea said watching Shaun as he sat on the chair next to her bed again.
"So you're not okay. Lea, stop diminishing whatever is wrong with you just to make me feel better because I swear I'm going to book the first flight available and go to San Jose to make sure you're fine myself."
Lea couldn't help to chuckle as she fed herself a piece of fruit. "No need for that, I got a… wait…" She looked back at Shaun "What's the thing on my head called?"
"An occipital linear skull fracture" He replied.
"What?!" Said Sarah on the other side of the line, worrying even more about her best friend.
"No, the other thing…" Lea told Shaun, ignoring her friend for a minute.
"Oh, you mean a concussion?"
"That one… you heard that? I have a concussion and cut on my hand, but that's it. I already got stitches on my hand, a bunch of tests, and my brain is fine…"
"Not fully, yet" Shaun interrupted her lifting his pointing finger to emphasize and Lea rolled her eyes.
"For God's sake, Lea - wait, is that Shaun?" Sarah asked as she recognized the voice of the young doctor through the phone.
"Uhm… yeah…" Lea replied, blushing.
"Oh my… Okay, a lot happened since the last time we talked and you're going to have to tell me all about it later…"
"Indeed"
"Pass him the phone, I wanna talk to him" Sarah demanded.
"What? No, what do you want to talk to him about?" Lea frowned, worried about what Sarah could possibly tell Shaun though the phone.
"About your well being, now, pass him the phone!"
Lea hoofed at her friend's tone but knew that if her well being was what Sarah wanted to talk about, her and her brand new boyfriend would definitely understand each other, because both were good with medical terminology, so she just sighed and handed her phone to Shaun.
"She wants to talk to you…" She said shrugging a shoulder.
The young doctor took the phone, and just as expected, him and Sarah began to talk about Lea's health with a bunch of medical terms she didn't know the meaning of, until eventually, Shaun gave her back her phone and her and Sarah had to say goodbye because her nurse friend had to get back to work, but at least she was calmer, knowing that Lea was fine and in good hands. Then, as soon as she hung up, her phone began ringing. It was her mom.
She sighed and let her phone on her lap as it kept ringing, then she drank some juice.
"You're not going to answer?" Shaun asked leaning over a little to see who was calling her. "It's your mom, she must be worried about you, too"
"I know, I just… I can't talk to her right now. Our conversations always end up in a weird place and I can't deal with that right now" She shook her head slightly, then she sighed. "But… if I don't answer now, she's going to keep calling… ugh" She groaned then took a deep breath and picked her phone again, answering the call.
"Hey mom…"
"Lea! Jesus Christ, your dad and I saw the news, are you okay? Where are you? I told you, you shouldn't have moved to California"
Rolling her eyes, Lea tried to keep her cool. "I'm fine, mom, I'm at the hospital under observation but I'll go back to my apartment later, you and dad have nothing to worry about"
"What? Oh my God… She's in the hospital… No, Mike, not for work, she's there as a patient" Lea's mom told her dad.
"Ask her to give you the address of the hospital and her apartment, we'll book the first flight to San Jose"
Lea's eyes widened when she heard such thing "Mom, dad? No, I don't need you here, I'm totally fine. There's no need for you guys to come over. I'm not a child anymore…"
Pam, her mom, interrupted her "Nonsense, text me the addresses and we'll be there later"
"No, mom, YOU are the ones speaking nonsense, it's like a 12 hour trip, you can't just do that!" She moved the phone away from her ear and put the call on speaker so Shaun could hear, then she looked at him and mouthed "They're crazy, listen to them…" Shaun stared at her phone, listening to the conversation.
"Lea, if you're at the hospital, it means you're not well, and you're never honest with us about that kind of stuff. If you're unwell you're going to need help. Someone to take care of you, and that's what parents do, so end of the discussion"
Lea rolled her eyes again and looked at her phone "Mom, I'm not lying to you, I'm fine, and again, I'm not a child anymore, I can take care of myself. And I'm not all alone here, I'm with my…" She hesitated for a second before finishing the sentence "With my boyfriend…"
"That boy your grandma told us about? What is he going to do? I bet he's barely a cook…"
Lea's mouth dropped open at her mom's words then she closed her eyes and massaged the bridge of her nose with her fingers.
"Lea, you need someone who knows what they're doing, and whom better than your parents?"
"I'm not…" Lea sighed. "I'm not with him anymore, mom, I'm talking about someone else…"
"Of course she has a new boyfriend already…" Pam muttered to her husband, but Lea still heard.
"Okay, enough. I don't need nor want you help, mom, so stay in Hershey. Bye"
Exasperated, Lea hung up and sighed again, resting her phone back on the bedside table, then angrily poke a piece of fruit with the plastic fork she was holding.
"That's exactly why I didn't want to talk to them, specially to her. Now I have a headache" She added. "And concussion or not, that's literally how my conversations with them always go. They're headache givers" She told Shaun as he watched her while eating his sandwich.
"She sounds like she is very annoying" Shaun let out with total honesty.
"Exactly… My dad's cooler, except when my mom gets in his head and he takes her side, then he becomes blind, deaf and just as annoying…"
They continued eating and chatting in her room, for the rest of the afternoon, until the hospital's president himself, Dr. Glassman, went to examine her one last time before deciding she was well enough to be discharged.
Once the paperwork was signed, she pushed her phone into the pocket of the hoodie with the name of the hospital that Shaun got for her, and picked the bag with her torn and dirty clothes from the night before, throwing in there a couple bottles with mild painkillers and a few other things for her hand and head, too, then her and Shaun headed out of the hospital to an Uber that was waiting for them, which took them to Lea's apartment.
"You wanna come in? I think I've got some apples" Lea joked and grinned as she opened the door to her apartment.
"Okay" Said shaun with a small nod, then both walked into the apartment.
Lea kicked off her shoes by the door after she closed it, then she walked to her kitchen area, leaving the bag with her dirty clothes on the island, and while she took a bottle of water out of the fridge, Shaun looked around the apartment, still standing by the door, remembering the first time she invited him into her old apartment, telling him she had apples, and then the first and only time he had been in her new apartment, back when he helped her move out of the one they shared… Compared to her old apartment, the one was smaller, similar to the audio one where Shaun used to live.
"Make yourself at home" Lea said before drinking some water.
"I was flirting with you that night…" He randomly mentioned as he sat on her bed, because due to the small apace, there was no sofa.
She chuckled, almost spitting out some water, as soon as she figured what he was talking about.
"I thought you were, but I wasn't sure. I am" She giggled and he nodded.
"I was kidding about the apples tonight, though… not about having them, but I used them as an excuse to invite you in… just like that night… and now I feel dumb, for some reason… I don't know why I did that… because now I don't need an excuse to invite you into my apartment, right? Anyway, do you really want an apple?"
"No, thank you…" He replied and she nodded once, muttering "okay" to herself as she walked to her bed and sat next to him.
"Are we going to have sex?" He added, taking her off guard.
Her eyes widened slightly and she opened her mouth to say something but her mind went completely blank for a moment, then her mouth formed a small O and she exhaled and blinked a couple times.
—Asking the tough questions already— She joked in her mind as began to work again.
"A - At some point, I guess…" She replied nervously. "Not right now, though… Remember I told you I want to take things slow? …But we've touched first base, so that's something" She hoped her answer wouldn't bother him.
—Does he want to have sex already?— She thought.
"Okay good" He nodded "Because I don't think it would be good for your head if we did it right now. We should wait until you don't have symptoms anymore"
—Ooh, that's why he asked…—
"Right" She said and nodded too, smiling softly, but part of her couldn't help to drift apart and wonder what their first time would be like.
Shaun nodded his head again and got up from the bed, walking to the kitchen. He took out the bottles of pills from inside the bag Lea had left there and explained to her what they were, how many to take, when and under what circumstances, but Lea wasn't paying attention, at least not to what he was saying. She was watching him and could see his mouth moving as he spoke, but her mind had gone a bit too far with the wondering.
Would their first time happen there, in her apartment? On the bed? The kitchen counter? The floor? All of those places? Or maybe at his place… on all of those places, too and maybe more… Would it be good? Why would it be bad?
—What are you doing?— She asked herself in her mind.
"Lea?" Shaun asked when he realized she had zoned out, so he moved closer to her again.
She got out of her trance and realized she had been biting her lower lip, so she stopped doing it.
"Sorry…" She replied, unable to keep her cheeks from blushing.
"You didn't hear any of what I said about the pills, did you?"
She blushed some more "I spaced out, I'm sorry…"
"It's okay, zoning out can be a sign of fatigue, and you haven't slept well, which is why you should rest and follow Glassman's orders. Also, the indications I was telling you about are on the bottles' labels so you'll be okay. Though, I could stay to keep an eye on you."
"No, Shaun…" She frowned and shook her head slightly. "You need to rest too. I told you earlier, and yet, you woke up I don't know how many hours before me. You've barely slept and you have to work tomorrow, which is unbelievable, by the way. I can't believe they only gave you one day off after what you went through"
"That's residency, and I'm used to the lack of sleep" He simply said.
"I know, it's sucks. I don't know how you do it… which reminds me. You're gonna have to start sending me your schedule again, so I know when we can do things, even if the schedule isn't always very reliable… At least we now work at the same place"
"Yes" He said with a small nod and a soft smile, pulling his phone out of his pocket to do as she said, then added. "Things as in going on a date?" He looked at her and she couldn't help to smile and nod in response, which made his eyes sparkle and his smile grew in excitement "Oh, okay… That would be our first date. It needs to be perfect" He nodded again.
"I know" She said grinning "I doesn't need to be perfect, though. It doesn't need to be at some fancy restaurant or anything, just as long as we spend time together… We'll figure it out" He nodded his head and she added "Now, I'm don't mean to kick you out, but you should go home and get some good sleep so you're fresh as a lettuce tomorrow"
"I like Romaine and Green Leaf"
She snorted with a chuckled and got up from the bed to stand in front of him. "You can be any lettuce you want, but, only after you get a good night's sleep"
"Okay" He smiled, then turned around and walked to the door, but she raised a brow watching him.
"Shaun...?" She said, stopping him right before he opened the door, and he looked at her. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Shaun glanced around confused then checked all his pockets, making a mental checklist of all his things to be sure he wasn't forgetting anything. Lea chuckled softly and walked to him, stood in from to him, then gently placed her hands on his cheeks and got up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
"Oh…" He managed to let out right before her lips were against his.
His arms fell loosely to his sides relaxing completely for a moment as Lea's lips moved softly against his, then his hands moved to her hips and his lips began to dance along with Lea's, which made her smile some as her hands slid from his cheeks to the back of his head and neck, then, a minute or two later, Lea separated from him and smiled again.
"New rule for this relationship…" She mumbled, looking into his eyes. "If we're in the same room… no walking out on the other without saying 'Goodbye' or 'See you later' or something, and a kiss, even if it's quick"
He smiled softly, also looking into her eyes "I like that rule… Are we making a list of rules for our relationship?"
"Uhm… not really, just this one… but if we need more, we'll come up with them as we go" She rested her hands on his shoulders.
"I like that too" He acknowledged and removed his hands from her hips, then she moved her arms down and he added "I should go sleep so I can be a Romaine tomorrow" She let out a giggle and he leaned in to peck her lips quickly, then turned around and opened the door "I'll see you tomorrow"
"See ya… Text me when you get home!" She shouted at him as he walked away to make it to the bus stop.
Lea closed her door once Shaun was out of sight and smiled to herself, then she moved back to her bed and called her best friend from Hershey to tell her about all the things that had happened in the past two days.
Dating a doctor in their residency years, or to be more clear, dating a doctor who's in the middle of his surgery residency, isn't like dating any other guy with a 9 to 5 job out there. Lea was already aware of how busy Shaun's life was; she learnt about it in their time as friends and roommates, but being his friend and meeting for lunch every now and then, or, since she started working at the hospital and while he was dating Carly; randomly finding him alone at the cafeteria during her lunch time, was one thing. But things had changed, at least a bit; they were more than friends and, while they weren't able to spent a whole lot of time together, they had to find a way to at least spend quality time together.
In their first week as officially boyfriend and girlfriend, not a lot happened. A funeral is not the first kind of event or place you want to go to with your significant other, but they went to Dr. Melendez's funeral, then spent the rest of that day together in her apartment, just watching movies and eating, until he went back to his place, but they didn't want to call that day a date, because it wasn't, for obvious reasons.
She was still getting headaches and some dizziness would get her from time to time, but her symptoms were slowly going away. Had a week off work and, although Glassman said she wasn't allowed to drive on her own only the first two days after the concussion, she decided not to drive at all during that whole week, because she wasn't willing to risk getting dizzy or something while driving and damage her beloved Stripped Tomato or herself again, so she would only walk out to the store and back to her place, cook something and ask Shaun, via text, if he was available for lunch, then, if he was, she would take the bus to the hospital, have lunch with him and talk, as much as they could, about each other's day, because sometimes he would get paged or someone from his team would come get him and he had to go back to his patients, which sometimes frustrated Lea, but she understood. She had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't that Shaun didn't want to be with her, he was just busy saving or trying to save someone's life.
Shaun made it a habit of stopping by her place every night (when he wasn't on-call), to check on her or have dinner together, and by the end of the week, he made sure she didn't miss her appointment at the hospital to get her hand sutures removed and a follow-up with Dr. Glassman.
Basically, nothing had changed between them; from when they were just friends to that moment, everything was the same, except for the fact that now there were kisses on the lips and hand holding involved. Although they already knew each other quiet well after being friends for a few years, there were still a few things they had to explore and learn about each other; a matter of "Things we didn't used to do because we were just friends, but now we can because we're a couple", like a proper date…
So, as the second week in the relationship arrived, Lea was to get back to work, but she had something in mind for that week; an official date night with him. She needed to get a few things first, though. In the meantime, she checked Shaun's schedule for the week and texted him…
"Movie night and sleepover at my place on Thursday?"
"I would like that very much" He replied.
"Good! Oh and, you don't have to do anything, just bring your cute self to my apartment that evening"
"Okay"
…She grinned to herself and began to make a list of the things she was going to need.
Thursday arrived. Lea and Shaun had not seen each other all day because he had been in the OR and then they were both busy, but her plan for a date night with him that day, was still on, and there were only a couple more things pending. So, having left work a bit earlier than usual that day, she ran to the nearest store to get what she needed, then headed back to her apartment and got everything ready.
—
Small LED candles and warm fairy lights lit up the apartment.
On the floor, between the space where her bed was and the kitchen, a light but comfy Japanese futon with blankets and cushions, surrounded by more fake candles.
With two glasses, two plates, two napkins and a couple more candles resting on a wooden tray placed in the middle of the futon, a bottle of wine waiting in the fridge and a couple pizzas on the way, all she had to do was to wait for Shaun.
"I'm on my way" He texted her as he was leaving the hospital and about to board the bus.
"Perfect" She replied smiling as she looked at her phone.
She checked the status of the pizza order she had placed, then pushed her phone into her pocket and glanced around at the cozy and romantic scene she had created in her apartment. She smiled some more and sighed in contentment.
"Perfect indeed" She muttered to herself.
Eventually, Shaun arrived and knocked on her door, which she opened, only a bit, enough to peek her head out.
"Hey" She smiled at him and noticed the small pot with a plant he was holding in his hands, but decided not to ask about it, yet.
"Hello" He said and cocked his head curiously, trying to see inside, then Lea opened the door some more and grinned.
"Come in!" She moved aside and he stepped in, glancing around.
"What the…?" He muttered as she closed the door behind him.
"I uhm… I owed you a dinner… you know, the one I ruined with my shenanigans when you told me you loved me for the fist time…" She explained while studying his expression.
"Oh" He simply let out.
"So… this would be like our first proper date…" She kept looking at him, then sighed. "You don't like it, do you? I shouldn't have surprised you like this. I knew I should have told you before. God, I'm such an id…"
"I love it, Lea" He interrupted her and looked at her.
"You do?" She looked into his eyes.
"I would never lie to you… This is…" He paused and looked around again, then added "Perfect…" She smiled, relaxing again and kept looking at him, then he added "You said our first date didn't have to be perfect, but I think it is" He nodded with a subtle smile.
"Yeah well, sometimes I say dumb stuff…"
He nodded again "Sometimes, yes"
She gasped amusedly at his honesty then laughed softly and he smiled some more.
"And who is this?" She looked down at the plant he was holding.
"Oh…" he looked down at it too. "It can't be a who, it's a plant… I got it this morning, I was going to bring you flowers, but I don't know if you like flowers, because I've never asked you, and they would eventually wither and end up in the trash. The lady at the shop said a plant would fix that, so I got you one. It needs little care" He handed the pot to Lea and she happily took it.
"Aw, thank you…" She said grinning and leaned up to kiss his cheek, then moved to place the plant on the kitchen counter while he took off his backpack and jacket.
"It looks like a Billy. Its name will be Billy" She grinned and nodded to herself. Shaun frowned slightly in confusion as he hung his jacket, but decided not to say anything.
"There is wine in the fridge and I ordered pizza, they should be here any minute now" Said Lea, turning back to face him.
"I will open the wine" He walked to the fridge and she checked the status of her order on her phone, then the pizza arrived and they sat down on the futon, among the cushions, to eat, drink and chat.
—
"You didn't know I was planning a date night like this, so why did you want to bring me flowers?" She eventually asked as they ate.
"Because it's our first sleepover since we started dating and I wanted to do something nice. Although, Dr. Park said you don't need a special reason or occasion to give your significant other flowers"
She nodded and smiled "That's sweet, and he's right. But, since you mentioned how you didn't know if I like flowers… I do like them, but you're also right, they wither, so plants are a better idea, unless you want to somehow gift someone a floral garden" She joked and giggled, then leaned back on the cushions. "Ugh… I ate a bit too much pizza, but that dessert slash s'mores pizza one was, oof, really good. Did you like it?" She turned her head to look at him.
He smiled and nodded while chewing on his last piece. Lea grinned watching him, then leaned back up and reached out to him with her hand.
"You've got some…" Mumbling, she wiped some chocolate off the corner of his lip with her thumb. "There you go…" She then sucked the chocolate off her finger.
"Thanks" Said Shaun, taking a napkin to wipe his mouth with it.
"I used to have to hold myself back from doing that…" Lea mentioned after a minute.
"Why?"
"Sarah said it could be confusing for you"
"How?"
"It was a conversation I had with her, back when we moved in together and she visited, remember?" He nodded "I told her that we were just friends, that I didn't want us to be more and that I had made it clear to you, but she said my body language could suggest otherwise, so, in order to not give you, like, mixed signals or something, I had to stop touching you like that and stuff…"
"Oh…" He thought about it for a second. "Like what Morgan said about you eating off my plate?"
"Ugh" She rolled her eyes "Yes… to be honest, I don't think I was doing what she said I was doing, I mean, not with such intention… but then I don't know, maybe I was?" She shrugged one of her shoulders and sighed.
"But now you can do it again" He said and she chuckled softly with a nod. "And we can kiss" He added.
"You're so right!" Grinning, she leaned over, looked at his lips briefly, then kissed him.
A kiss meant to be loving and innocent then turned into something a bit more serious. A couple minutes went by and Shaun's hands were no longer on his sides, but on Lea's hips. Their breaths became heavier and their hearts sped up a bit as both were clearly getting carried away in the moment. Absentmindedly, Shaun slowly leaned back, pulling Lea with him, and one of his hands slipped down from her hip to her butt for first time ever… but she wasn't ready for that kind of stuff.
—
It had been 2 weeks since they started dating and, sure, she used to have sex with other guys on the first week, heck, she'd even do it on the first and only date, but Shaun wasn't like the other guys, and her relationship with him wasn't like other relationships she's had; she didn't want it to be.
However, she couldn't help to feel awkward about this new line between her and Shaun. They had crossed the one between love and friendship but now it was like there was one between first base and all the other bases.
Just like he didn't know if she liked flowers because it had never occurred to him to get her flowers before, because they used to be just friends; there were other things that not all friends talk about, like sex.
Shaun had always been a very open and honest person, and she knew he would talk about anything; he literally would come home and unexpectedly talk to her about his love and sex life with Carly and even ask for advice, which she always found awkward to give, but she wanted him to be happy and have a good sex life, because everyone deserves that.
She had dreamt of him and herself having sex a couple times before, and even pictured him while making out with her now ex, Jake.
There for sure was sexual tension between her and Shaun since they started dating, and probably since before, but she used to hide it well: she had to.
Since they started dating and before he dated Carly, when they were just friends and roomies; she would sometimes catch him looking at her butt when, for some reason, she had to bend to grab something. Or he would look at her boobs when she was wearing one of her tank tops or a partially unbuttoned shirt. Lea, of course did her own amount of staring at him at times, too.
They would randomly find themselves resting their hands on each other's thighs and slightly stroking it while watching a movie. They still dreamt of being with each other in bed, and then there was the way she would sometimes look at his lips before kissing him, or the way he would sometimes look into her eyes; there was something else there, more than loving looks.
Though there was nothing to hide or feel awkward about now, she couldn't help to feel that way.
She didn't know how or where to start. What was okay for him or if she had to maybe guide him. Would he feel offended if she did?
One time he mentioned to her that he had some sort of issue with Carly touching him in other places while they kissed, because she obviously wanted more, but, things weren't as obvious to him back then? And now, did he still have a problem with touching more than one thing at a time? She usually touches his face or the back of his neck when they kiss and he seems to have no problem with that, but, what about during sex? That was the kind of thing that was in the back of her mind every time an innocent kiss with him turned into a deeper one, apart from the fact that she didn't want to rush things. She just wasn't ready to cross that line yet. The question was, when was she going to be ready then?
—
Lea couldn't help to smirk slightly against his lips as soon as she became aware of where his hand was, then, before he could lean back even more, she pulled back, a little out of breath, and he moved to sit back up, pressing his lips together.
"So…" She cleared her throat and changed the topic. "Do you want to watch a movie? I got something…" She looked around then pulled out a mini projector from under one of the cushions, smiled and showed it to him. "So we can lay here and project the movie on the ceiling"
"Ooh, okay" He smiled, too.
"Okay" She grinned and got up so they could get ready to watch the movie.
They picked the plates, pizza boxes, glasses and everything else, chose a movie, then changed into their night clothes; and just like that, minutes later, they were laying side by side on the floor as the movie began, but Lea was wondering something.
"Shaun?"
"Mmh?" He turned his head to look at her.
"Do you…" She hesitated for a moment and looked at him, too, then added "Do you like cuddling?… in bed"
He looked back up and thought about it for a minute, then looked back at her. "I don't know. Like that night in Wyoming?"
"Well… that night you were in a bad place, but yeah, something like that… cuddling is not only for when you're in a bad place, though"
"Hmm… I've never done it when I'm not in a bad place" He shrugged a shoulder and looked back up at the ceiling.
—What?— She thought and raised a brow, still looking at him.
"You and Carly…?"
"I never felt completely comfortable laying down with her… It felt different with you… I can't explain it"
"B - But, you and her had sex… you didn't, like, hold each other afterwards or something?" She blushed slightly, feeling awkward for asking such thing, but she was curious.
"Not really, each of us would just move to lay on either side of the bed, and then we would fall asleep, or go back to work"
Both her eyebrows went up a little and thought —Okay…— Then she turned her head to look back up at the ceiling.
The thing was, Lea had always been a quiet cuddly person, and usually, when she described herself as needy, cuddling was very included.
She was usually a hands on person, but with Shaun, given what he used to tell her during his time with his ex, and now that she was in a romantic relationship with him, she didn't know what to do. She didn't want to push him into doing something that would make him uncomfortable, but "It felt different with you", what was that supposed to mean?
—Just ask him…— She thought, then, after a minute, she grabbed some courage and asked him.
"Would you like to try?" She turned his head to look at him again.
He thought about it, then looked at her, too. "Okay"
"Yeah?" She eyebrow went up, just wanting him to be sure of his decision.
"Yes" He nodded.
"All right…" She smiled softly and moved a bit lower, then closer to him. Turned on her side as he lifted his arm, then she snuggled right by his side, resting her head between his shoulder and chest; wrapped her arm around his torso, then hooked one of her legs over one of his, and turned her head a bit to be able to watch the movie, as he wrapped his arm around her back, and they stayed like that for a few minutes, until he spoke.
"And you do this whenever you're in bed?"
"Well… yeah… or on the sofa, etcetera… like in the movies"
"Mmh… Good… It's nice" He said with a slight nod and a happy sigh, wrapping his other arm around her, too.
"It is" She smiled at his gesture and was glad he was enjoying it.
The peaceful feeling she was getting in that moment, or any time she was with him, was unavoidable; not that she wanted to avoid it, but it was always there, and she loved it.
What she had told him the previous week, about liking how he saw her, was true. She loved who she was in his eyes, the feeling of being able to be herself around him, and that safety and true love she felt with him.
She had thought that letting her walls down again was going to be hard, but he was making it nice and easy for her to feel safe about falling in love again.
Subtly, she looked at him with loving eyes and smiled softly to herself while he stared up at the ceiling, watching the movie, then she got comfortable in his embrace again, and, minutes later, as the movie went on, Shaun realized Lea's breathing had become slower and a little heavier, while her body felt a little heavier and looser on him… She had fallen asleep… And basically, just like any loving pet or child parent, he was afraid to wake her up so he just laid there, very still, as he continued watching the movie.
"…I don't know. You meet thousands of people, and none of them really touch you. And then you meet one person, and your life is changed, forever." Said Jamie, a character from the movie they were watching, before the movie's credits started rolling.
Shaun looked down and stared at Lea for a moment, as she basically slept on him while he held her… To him, she was that person. The one who came into his life and changed pretty much everything… He used to say he didn't want love, and then he fell for Lea… She used to say she didn't want a serious relationship and was afraid of falling in love again, but then she met Shaun… he made her believe in good and true love again.
Shaun sighed softly and happily, then looked back at the ceiling as the credits were rolling, and eventually he fell asleep, too.
·
PART TWO IS IN THE NEXT "CHAPTER"…