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“I get it. But it’s only been two days. Use the ice machine as much as you want though, just don’t try to carry it yourself. I’ve got a whole line-up of help coming this week, starting with Billy sometime this morning. There.” She moved the pad, straps, and cooler unit aside.
“Thanks for doing all this, D.”
“You’re welcome.”
How unusual was it for the two of them to have an exchange marked by sincerity instead of sarcasm? It was…weird. Very adult of them, but weird.
“I’ll get your meds and then I’m going to hop in the shower if that’s okay. I have to be at the hospital by seven, so I’m just going to head in early.”
“My shower is your shower.”
She smiled, remembering him saying the same thing about ‘Deadpool’ last night. “Thanks. I’ll check in with you to see how you’re doing, okay? My next day off is Thursday, so I’ll be back then.”
Sean peered up at her and shook his head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“What, are you kidding? I know I don’t have to, but you promised me an education and I want more Marvel.” She wasn’t just saying that either. The idea of coming back…surprisingly wasn’t something she felt obligated to do. In fact, she hadn’t felt obligated to do any of this. Really, it’d never been a question to her. She’d just done it—the ambulance, the night at the hospital, spending yesterday with him.
His grin was immediate. “Yeah? All right then. It’s a plan.”
An hour later, Dani was on her way to University Hospital, a long shift in front of her. But something about her conversation with Sean had chased all those messy middle-of-the-night emotions far, far away, leaving her simply feeling ready to tackle her day.
* * *
The knock at the back door came a little before eleven.
Sean turned off the TV from the whole lotta nothing he’d been watching, heaved his ass off the couch, and found Billy waiting, plastic container in hand.
“There’s the man,” Billy said. “How the hell are ya?”
“Hey, B. Come on in.”
The button-down shirt tucked into a pair of black dress pants clearly meant Billy had taken time out of his workday to stop by. The guy held out the container. “From Shayna, who’s upset she couldn’t get away from work today. She promises to come see you soon. And she made you these.”
“Shit, she didn’t have to do anything,” Sean said, even more touched after he removed the lid to find homemade Snickerdoodles, his favorite cookie. “But I’m fucking glad she did. Breakfast!” He took a bite of one and soft, chewy, cinnamony goodness exploded on his tongue.
“Right? That’s what I said when she questioned the three I ate this morning.”
Sean gestured to the couch. “Never question Snickerdoodles. That’s all I’m saying.” As they sat, he tried like hell to keep from showing that the shoulda-been-nothing movement took effort. Anything that used his abs or pecs was a no-go.
“How are you feeling, seriously?” Billy asked, snagging a cookie for himself.
Sean pushed the bowl in between them, apparently having failed at acting like everything was normal if Billy’s question was any guide. “I’m fuckin’ fine. Shitty, but fine.”
Billy nodded. “As someone who’s dealt with pain, I’m telling you that you just need to give in to healing. You can’t will it away. You can’t ignore it away. And doing things you shouldn’t do will just make it hurt longer.”
Sean glanced at the mottled skin just barely visible on the side of Billy’s neck—burns scars from an ambush on his Army Ranger unit that had led to B’s medical discharge and months of recovery. If anybody had the creds to give that advice, it was Billy Parrish. “I hear ya. Problem is I’m gonna go stir crazy.”
“I get it,” Billy said. “Pretend you’re on vacation and watch some movies or binge some Netflix.”
“I haven’t taken a single vacation since the navy,” Sean said, even as the mention of movies made his thoughts stray to Dani. Or, more particularly, to the fact that Sean’s brain had unhelpfully conjured up an image of Dani naked in the very same shower he’d been using. He’d gotten so hard he’d given in to jacking himself. Because he was apparently a horny bastard even while in pain. But at least that part of him still worked.
“Then you’re overdue.” Billy grabbed two more cookies. “Or maybe get a hobby.”
Sean arched a brow at the suggestion and the cookies. “How many of these do you have at your own house, asshole?”
Smirking, Billy shrugged. “A lot. Chocolate chip, too. Shayna’s awesome like that.”
“That’s a fact. So fucking pace yourself on my stash.” Sean took another and just barely resisted hugging the bowl to his chest and calling it his precious. (Yeah, he was a ‘Lord of the Rings’ fan too. Fuckin’ sue him.)
