"She'll be back in the morning, Scooper," Brian promised, pulling his son into his lap. Smoothing his curls from his face, he leaned close, pressing soft kisses over Baylee's forehead, his heart wrenching when the boy began to shiver. Vowing to speak to someone in administration about the lack of care for his son, he held the small body close, reaching to pull a blanket off to bed. "When you wake up in the morning, your 'Lana will be here, I promise."
"Her yell at that nasty nurse?" Baylee inquired further as he snuggled close to his father's chest for protection. "Beat'er up? In green Jell-O like Nicky wants?"
"Yes, she'll… Green Jell-O?" Brian repeated in horror. Shaking his head, he wrapped the blanket around Baylee, making sure to let George peek out the top. "I don't think Alana would want to fight in Jell-O, Scooper. It'll make an awful mess… But I'll make sure she lights a fire under the nasty nurse's butt, okay?"
"She'd the only nice nurse here'd. That 'Eather keeps looking at your and Nicky's underwear stuffs," Baylee huffed, though Brian feared that was because he needed to catch a breath of air.
"I'll be sure and leave some nasty ones out for her to look at," Brian murmured, gently rubbing Baylee's back. "How about you, me and George take a little nap? Then maybe later we can watch--"
"Brian?"
"Daddy! That's my Knot!" Baylee suddenly squealed, though it came out raspy with the amount of fluid building in his lungs. Though, he didn't seem to care about his sickness as he squirmed to get to the floor and greet their visitor.
"There's my little Bay-Bee!" Natalie cooed, dropping the items she carried to the floor so she could scoop Baylee into her arms. Holding him close, she squeezed him gently, smacking several kisses on his cheek as he hugged her tightly. Releasing a tight sigh at the redness of his face, the way his small body trembled with each breath, she blinked back tears, cooing softly as he rested his head on her chest. "How's my favorite little man tonight?" she questioned softly, glancing up to see Brian rising.
"Mad!" Baylee explained, scowling darkly as he rested a hand over her heart, listening to the correct beat that a heart was supposed to move with. "Nurses mean and my 'Lana ain't here'd. You stayin' Knot? Meet my 'Lana? Be her best friend? Nicky be her boyfriend! After me!"
"I'm staying," Natalie promised, rubbing his back gently. Not knowing who this 'Lana was, she looked at Brian with confusion. "Been here just a few days and already got yourself a girlfriend?"
"No, Scooper did," Brian chuckled, reaching to embrace his friend as well as his son. He couldn't even begin to explain how happy he was to see Natalie in the room. Nick had gone to his house for the night, exhausted. So, Brian was alone again. But with Natalie around, he suddenly felt a little better. He hadn't seen her for months. "You know if I ever broke it off with Leigh that I'd be coming after you…"
Natalie's cheeks flushed slightly at his words, not daring to hope there was seriousness behind his teasing tone. Brian was completely off limits to her. Forever… Sliding her arm around his waist, she let her head rest on his chest for a moment, breathing in his familiar scent as he squeezed her to him. "Right…"
"I missed you so much," Brian confessed softly as Baylee squirmed to the floor, allowing the adults to hug one another as he climbed back into his bed. He didn't seem to realize, though he brought Natalie closer than ever. Inhaling the soft scent of her shampoo, he actually shuddered with honest relief. She had left without a word, saying something about a vacation. But that had been the most of it. Then she got busy in work once again. It just didn't seem fair that his very best woman friend had skipped off. "Why'd you disappear from me so long?"
"I'm sorry," Natalie apologized, tucking her face against his chest, hoping he wouldn't see her tears. She had hated leaving him, hated it more than anything in the world. But she'd had no choice, not with Leighanne breathing down her neck about needing to have Brian to herself. For whatever reason, Natalie had turned from the person she was closest to than anybody, and had regretted it every day. Not wanting to tell him the truth, she snuggled closer to him, leaning up to lightly kiss his cheek. "Things just got crazy…"
"You don't have to tell me twice," Brian sighed heavily, squeezing her. "Don't leave me again, alright? Scooper and I need you with Leigh gone…"
"I'll stay as long as you need me," Natalie promised, glancing over to see Baylee had drifted to sleep, George curled tightly in his arm. "And I'm sorry about Leigh… I came as soon as I got your message--"
"Thank you," Brian interrupted gently. "And it's okay about Leigh… I knew she was going… Sooner or later…"
"Do you need me to do anything for you?" Natalie inquired, though she longed to stay in his arms. "If you want to go home for a little while, I can sit with Bay--"
"I'd rather stay here with you and Baylee. We can share that hospital bed. Lord knows we've slept in smaller, right?"
Natalie nodded, a soft giggle escaping her as she remembered the times she had been crammed into a bunk on a full bus with Brian. Squeezing him tightly, she allowed herself to gently kiss his cheek again, her lips lingering over his skin for a moment. "Just promise not to kick me out this time?"
"You're the one that started tickling me like crazy," Brian teased, his hands sneaking to her sides for a gentle tickle. At her soft squeal that mixed into a giggle, he had to lift her up for a tighter hug. When he finally relinquished his hold, he held her out at arms length to admire her. She still looked the same. Light caramel eyes that deepened around the pupil with amber. Her light brown wavy locks twisted into a high black clip. Her thin, petite form dressed in a smart white button up shirt and khaki Bermuda shorts. "I think you've gotten prettier."
"You've just gotten blinder, old man," she teased, reaching to trace the smile lines at the corner of his sky blue eyes. His strawberry blonde hair fell in a mess over his forehead, and she impulsively smoothed it back, shivering slightly as she raked her fingers through his hair. "And still don't know how to use a comb…"
"I've just been waiting for you to come back and brush it."
"I will if you brush mine," she offered with a smile, gasping when he pulled her into another hug. "God, I've missed you…"
"I'm so damn glad to have my best friend back," Brian explained, burying his face against the side of her face.
Natalie nodded, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, unsure if she could trust herself to speak as tears once again began to fall. Wishing she could be so much more to him, she gently kissed his neck, starting to pull away when she felt his flinch.
"Your lips tickle," he laughed sheepishly, his cheeks turning a dark crimson. Deciding to let her go finally, he reached to flip the photo album shut, not wanting her to know who he had been looking at. After the thrill that just raced through his body at the feeling of her lips, he decided it was for the best.
"You are so adorably cute when you blush, Bumpkin," Natalie teased softly, turning to retrieve the bag she'd thrown down earlier. Digging inside, she pulled out her boxer pajama set. If she was going to sleep with the man, she would be comfortable. Grabbing her toothbrush, she stuck it into her mouth, tossing her pajamas over one shoulder as she unconsciously began unbuttoning her blouse. "Is there any toothpaste in the bathroom, or do I need to get mine?" she questioned, wriggling out of her shirt to stuff it into her bag.
"There's some in there," Brian promised, immediately turning around to give her privacy, his cheeks now flaming.
"You've seen me in less, Bumpkin," Natalie reminded him, biting back a smile at his embarrassment. Stuffing her shorts into the bag with her shirt, she quickly removed her bra, draping it over the chair arm momentarily as she hurriedly pulled on her pajamas, deciding it best not to notice Brian's surreptitious glances over his shoulder. Kicking off her sandals, she padded across to the bathroom. "I'll just be a minute…" she trailed, pulling the door shut behind her.
"Boy am I in trouble," Brian muttered, collapsing into a chair to compose himself, knowing that was a feat above impossible.
Looking at the clock for possibly the hundredth time since getting out of the shower, Nick heaved a sigh, his fingers pressing the memorized digits before he could think of a reason not to. Groaning when he heard the ringing on the other end, he wondered if Dr. Big Shot was with her. If they had met up later for… Pushing those thoughts aside, he stepped out on Brian's back deck for a cigarette. He had actually quit before the start of filming the reality show, but… After months of living in a house with his siblings, he had been grateful for the stress-relieving nicotine. Glaring at Brian's cordless when it continued to ring, he envisioned all sorts of things Alana could be doing to keep her from answering the phone.
Before he could threaten to throw the phone out into the middle of the deep in ground pool, there was a shuffle of various pitched crackles. Briefly, in the background, Nick could have sworn that he heard Paradise by the Dashboard Lights by Meat Loaf playing. But his thoughts shifted to the breathless, breezy voice. "Hello?"
"A-Alana?" Nick blurted, wincing at the hopeful squeak that came from his lips. Clearing his throat, he paused, taking a deep drag of his cigarette before speaking again. "Alana… It's Nick… Carter… From earlier. I'm Bay's--"
"Nicky…" she cooed appropriately. "Still angling to take me for a ride?"
"Oh man," he breathed, a tingle starting at the tip of his head and spreading lower. Flicking his tongue over his lips, he tossed his cigarette into the grass, suddenly not desiring it anymore. "You want me to?"
She offered a throaty laugh that turned to a soft purr. "Do you honestly think you could handle me?"
Smirking, Nick turned to go back inside, banging his knee on the edge of the doorframe. "Ah, fuck… I've got restraints…"
"Restraints?" Alana questioned in a slight air of confusion at the initial statement of pain. "As in weight restrictions? Things you can't do?"
"No, no!" Nick quickly answered as he kicked the door shut, pausing to rub his aching knee before moving into his room. "Things to tie you down with--"
"What makes you think I don't have the same for you?"
"You think I can't handle you?"
"You had to get a little boy to handle your moves for you," Alana reminded, laughing with hearty amusement. "I honestly can't believe you called me."
"I can't believe he went blabbing what I told Brian… Why wouldn't I call you? You're a beautiful woman who didn't make me feel like a complete idiot."
"Then I couldn't have possibly been doing my job right…"
Dropping onto his bed, Nick pushed his bags to the floor with a grunt before leaning back against the pillows. "…What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing…" Alana trailed, though the ending of the word drawled with a southern accent as she seemed to sober slightly. "What can I do you for?"
"Take me for a long ride in your jeep?"
"After you told Brian you were going to stalk me and when we're hardly on a first name basis?"
"I told Baylee that and that was so I wouldn't lose your number," Nick explained softly, poking at the remote with his toe to mute the TV.
"Is that supposed to settle my fears?"
"You're afraid of me?" Nick questioned incredulously, choking back a laugh. "Babe, I'm harmless!"
"Any man is hardly harmless," she assured him. "Would you consider a background check, criminal record check, blood test, mouth swab, and semen sample--"
"Jesus Christ, all that? …Will you be collecting the semen sample yourself?" Nick inquired with a grin, wishing immediately that the thought hadn't risen in his mind.
"If you'd like me to stimulate your prostate from behind to cause an ejaculation at the hospital, sure," she answered, her voice laced with bemusement.
"No damn way… That's exit only back there," Nick growled. "I was thinking along the lines of you stimulating something else entirely…"
"Don't you have tons of women in that expensive Blackberry of yours to handle that? Or do you make it a point to call strangers and ask them for sexual favors?"
"I didn't call for sexual favors, you're the one who wanted something that I can only get from doing something sexual--"
"Then what did you call for, Mr. Carter?" Alana implored. "Because I do have to be up at quarter before five just to get to work at seven for Baylee."
"I…" Nick trailed, furrowing his brow as he desperately tried to remember his original reason for calling. Taking a deep breath, he shrugged, though she couldn't see it. "I just wanted to see if maybe you'd be interested in going out with me while I'm in town. Nothing major, just dinner or dancing or… Whatever people do around here for fun--"
"Well at least you didn't invite me to go cow tipping…" Alana mused with an adorable giggle.
Nick grinned, relaxing slightly. "Knowing my luck, the cow would fall on me…"
"Right into a fresh patty, I figure," she drawled.
"And if that happened, there'd be no way of talking you into a good night kiss, so… Dinner?"
"I'm pretty busy after work every day…" she hesitated.
"Lunch?" Nick questioned, wanting to kick himself for being so overeager. "Maybe we could have lunch at the McDonald's in the hospital sometime? …If you can't, I'll understand--"
"McDonalds tends to get a bit boring after Baylee orders it all the time for you. So there's no way for you to weasel out of his room during lunch. So… How about I order pizza? Or do you have some crazy famous fetish about not eating pizza because of religious orientation or--"
"As long as it's got tons of cheese, that's perfect," Nick interrupted.
"Nothing like making a new friend over extra cheesy pizza."
"Exactly… Tomorrow, then? My treat."
"I think I can handle buying a pizza."
"Promise to keep those weirdo nurses from attacking me?" Nick requested, sitting up to peel off his t-shirt. The phone caught in the armhole, causing him to spend several moments flailing and cursing under his breath. Finally wrenching the t-shirt away, he tossed it to the floor, pressing the phone to his ear. "Sorry," he apologized breathlessly. "I was--"
"Think you can handle not jerking off on our first phone call?" she teased.
"I was planning on doing that after our call was through--"
"No need to delve into your personal life," Alana interjected, her voice sounded as if her entire body had shuddered at the mere image. "What you do on your off time…With those creative hands…Is your business…"
"Creative hands?" Nick repeated, mind filled with the memory of her swift moving fingers. Biting back a moan when the thought aroused him, he hastily got to his feet, heading for the bathroom. "I'll bet your hands are more creative, Alana…"
"Why's that?"
"'Cause you save lives every day," Nick answered honestly, pausing to glance down at his own hands. "I mean, mine just play a guitar now and then and sometimes the drum, but yours… You take blood and give shots and hold hands when the kids are scared and… You do something meaningful."
Alana was silent for the longest moment. So extremely quiet that Nick thought she might have disconnected the call. Then he heard the softest of sniffles. So soft that he was convinced it might have just been a sneeze or sigh. "What you do is important, too. And, I can prove it."
"I don't do anything important," Nick disagreed. Forgetting his reason for getting up, he turned to flop back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I just sing and dance and get into fights with my family--"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"I'll prove it tomorrow."
