Going Home

The next morning my dad took us to the rehab facility to see Lynn briefly before our flight.  She didn't know we were coming back, and was excited to see us.  Brody popped in with me to say hi, then excused himself to wait in the waiting room with my dad so that Lynn and I could have some time together.  We were only able to stay for about 20 minutes, but it was a good visit.

When we got to the airport, we got through security quickly and sat at the gate for about 15 minutes before finding out our flight was delayed.  I was already sad about leaving and knowing that I wouldn't be able to see Lynn for awhile, because she certainly wouldn't be coming out to Colorado anytime soon.  The news about the flight made me positively stony.  Then, while we were sitting there, Brody got a work call.  He was on the phone for over a half hour, then looked irritated when he came back.

"What's up?" I asked him curiously.

"Gotta go back to Dallas again," he said, the frustration in his voice evident.

"Your person in Dallas is quite the troublemaker," I replied, rolling my eyes.  "Are you just going to see if you can change your ticket and fly from here?"

"I hadn't even considered that," he said, thinking about it for a second.  "But no, I don't think so.  I'll fly back with you and go out tomorrow.  That way I can take Pete with me."  I nodded.  Knowing there was an end in sight definitely helped my feelings about the last minute trips, and Brody had only taken a couple short phone calls while we were here.  He had turned his phone off completely on Christmas day, and I knew it was for my benefit.  I appreciated it so much, and made sure to tell him so.  I wanted him to know that I noticed the changes he was making and appreciated them.

I got up to walk around the terminal for a little while to fend off my threatening restlessness.  When I came back and sat down, Brody said, "You know, any time you want to go home, I can take care of it."

"Thank you," I said shortly.  I appreciated his offer, but I'd be lying if I said that part of me didn't resent that Brody had had to pay for our tickets so I could go home for Christmas.

"I mean it," he said firmly.  "Stop being so stubborn about it.  I appreciate your desire to be independent, but I don't ever want you to feel like you can't go home when you want to.  Especially with everything that's happened with Lynn."  

My cheeks colored.  "I know, thank you," I said contritely, immediately feeling guilty for my resentment.  "I really do appreciate it."

"I know you do," he said gently.  "I wasn't trying to suggest otherwise."

We finally got on our plane an hour later.  The flight was awful, with a ton of turbulence and screaming children.  I had never been so happy to see the inside of an airport when we finally got off the plane at DIA.

"I need to go home to get stuff for Dallas," Brody said as we walked to his car.  "Do you want me to drop you off at home, or do you want to come spend the night at my place?"  As he asked, his hand, which had been resting on my lower back, slid a little lower, reminding me that we had spent the last three nights together without having sex.  (He might have been gung-ho about having sex at his mom's house, but it was not happening at my parents' house!)

"If you're up for company, I'd definitely like to spend the night," I replied.

He grinned.  "I was hoping you'd say that."

We were barely in the door when he pushed my suitcase to the side and slid his hands around my waist.  "Whoa, I really need a shower first," I said.  "Traveling makes me feel so gross."

He groaned, then he smirked.  "Well then, do you want some help?" 

"That sounds....helpful!" I replied with a laugh.

"So, that's a yes, right?" he asked hopefully.  I just grinned and walked in the direction of his bathroom, losing clothes along the way.

Much to Brody's disappointment, I did insist on actually getting clean in the shower.  He did his best to distract me from my mission, and he almost prevented me from completing it.  He barely even gave me time to dry off after before he picked me up and carried me into the bedroom.  He set me down carefully on the bed and kissed my neck.  "Now, if it's alright with you, I'd like to be done waiting," he said in my ear, his voice low and husky.

I wrapped my legs around his back and pulled him close to me.  "I think I'm okay with that."  He thrust into me in one hard stroke, and then pinned my arms against the bed.  Maybe I should keep him waiting more often.  That thought, along with the rest of them, quickly left my head as we had some of the best sex we'd ever had.  Definitely need to keep him waiting more often.

Afterwards, I shivered a little as I curled up next to him.  "What happened to the blankets?" I asked sleepily.

"Cold, after that?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I've been freezing pretty much all day, I have no idea what my problem is.  And now I'm sweaty and cold.  So much for that shower."  He sat up and found a blanket and pulled it up over us.

I laid there, trying to ignore the headache that was building at my temples.  When I couldn't anymore, I sighed and wiggled out of Brody's grasp.  "Hey, do you have any Tylenol or something?  I have a headache."

"I think you're supposed to complain about the headache before we have sex.  That's what I hear women do, anyways," he said with a laugh.  He stood.  "I think I have some downstairs, I'll go grab you some."

He returned a few minutes later with a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water.  I swallowed the aspirin and laid back down, and I was out within a few minutes.

Brody's phone rang loudly early the next morning.  I rolled over to look at the time, and was surprised to see it was just a few minutes before we needed to get up so he could drop me off and make it to the airport.  He grabbed it and walked out into the hall, answering on the way.  While he was talking, I worked on getting out of bed.  My head was still pounding, and by the time I worked my way up into a seated position, I was a little dizzy too.

I was still sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to get it together, when Brody came back in.  "Good news," he said, smiling.  "I don't have to go to Dallas.  I don't even have to go into the office.  If you want to go back to sleep, I'm going to go do a little work downstairs for a couple hours.  We can grab brunch later if you want."  I nodded and climbed back under the blankets.  I grabbed the aspirin bottle and swallowed two more before pulling the blankets back over me and going back to sleep.

I was woken up a few hours later by Brody climbing back into bed.  He slid up against my back and wrapped an arm around me.  I groaned and rolled onto my stomach when he kissed the back of my neck.  I felt awful.  He laid his hand against the back of my damp neck.  "You okay?" he asked.   I shook my head, and immediately regretted it.  He gently rolled me over and I shut my eyes against the daylight.  "Liv, you look awful," he said, gently loosening the strands of hair that were stuck to my forehead and smoothing them back.

"I feel awful," I confirmed.

"Go back to sleep," he said.  "I can take you home in the morning before I go to work."

"I don't want you to get sick," I protested weakly.  The thought of getting myself out of this bed and sitting in the car for 20 minutes was far from appealing, and Brody's bed was really, amazingly comfortable.

He shook his head.  "Don't be ridiculous, you're not going anywhere, unless you think you'll be more comfortable at home."

"Not really."

"Then you'll stay.  Do you need anything?"  I shook my head.  "Well, I'll bring you up a bottle of water.  I'll be downstairs in my office getting some work done.  I have my phone, you can call if you need something."

"Mine's in my purse, I think," I mumbled.  I heard him rustling around and then he set my phone down on the nightstand next to me.

"Sleep," he said, kissing me on the forehead.  No problem, I was asleep again before he even got back up with the promised bottle of water.

When I woke again, Brody was sitting on the bed next to me.  "What time is it?" I croaked.

"After 2 pm," he replied.  "Are you hungry?"  I shook my head.  "You should eat something.  Soup?  Cereal?  Grilled cheese?"  Always a sucker for grilled cheese, I told him that maybe I could manage to eat one. 

He disappeared downstairs, and returned about 15 minutes later with one perfect grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup.  "It's my mom's homemade tomato basil, it's amazing."  I tried a spoonful and quickly agreed.

"That is really good," I said, eating another spoonful.

"I have a ton in the freezer, so just let me know if you want some more," he said.  He sat with me while I ate, and when I finished, he asked if I felt like coming downstairs for awhile.  I declined.  Eating had worn me out and I was getting dizzy again just sitting up.

"Thank you," I said, as he gathered my dishes.  "I'm going to feel awful if you get sick too."

"Don't worry about me," he dismissed my concern.

I slept off and on for the rest of the day.  Brody slept in his guest room since I had no desire to be touched and he was incapable of sleeping with me without touching me.  He woke me up in the morning and asked if I wanted to go home or stay.  I decided to go home, since I had probably shared enough of my germs with him already.  I hauled myself out of bed and made it down to Brody's car, where I slept pretty much the entire drive to my house.  Brody hauled all my stuff in and after judging the contents of my fridge, informed me he'd bring me lunch.  And dinner.  I protested but he wasn't hearing it.

He dropped off lunch around noon, and arrived after work with groceries.  "You look a little better," he commented, as he made  me some dinner.  I was upright on the couch, at least, which I supposed was an improvement.  

"Thanks," I said when he handed me a plate of food.  I managed to eat about half of it.

"If there was any doubt about you being sick, it's been confirmed," he said, laughing.  "Too sick to eat."  He put the plate in the fridge and washed the dishes.  "You'll be okay if I head home?" he asked.

"Brody, I have the flu or something, I'm not dying.  Thank you for the groceries and dinner."  He kissed me on the forehead and left, and I hauled myself up to bed.