“No.” Dar muffled a laugh.
“Guess I’ll have to just make the best of it.” Kerry leaned over and bit her on the toe.
“Ooh.” Dar jumped, allowing herself to be absorbed into the play and forgetting for the time being where she was, and how she felt.
Which is exactly what Kerry intended.
THEY HEARD THE rumble of the dining cart long before it screeched to a halt somewhere near their door. Kerry glanced up from her laptop—which was open on, of all places, her lap—then set the machine aside and got up from the low couch.
After she’d changed into pajamas, Dar had dozed off, finally succumbing to the events of the day, leaving Kerry to work on sorting and organizing the data from the base. She was glad her lover had gotten some rest; the dark circles apparent under her very blue eyes had started to be worrisome, and she debated waking Dar up for the dinner she knew was on the way.
Dar forestalled her decision by stirring, and Kerry quickly crossed over to put a hand on her arm as her eyes blinked open and she looked around disorientedly. “Hey, it’s okay,” Kerry reassured her. “You just
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took a nap.”
“Ah.” Recognition flooded Dar’s face, and she flexed her hands.
“Yeah, guess I did. What time is it?”
“About six,” Kerry told her, looking up as an older woman dressed in Pepto-Bismol pink entered. “Dinnertime.”
“Hello.” The woman smiled at Dar. “Ready to eat?” She slid a tray onto the rolling bedside table and maneuvered it in front of her noncommittal patient. “Your doctor ordered you a regular diet, so we brought you something pretty standard. Tomorrow you’ll get a card, so you can order what you want, okay?” She had a kindly face and beautifully arranged silver gray hair.
“Anything?” Dar drawled, still half-asleep.
“Well,” the woman laughed, “anything on the card. My name’s Pam, and I’m here at nights. Give me a call if there’s anything you need while I’m up here. No guarantees, but I’ll see what I can do.” She waved at them, then left the room.
“Mm.” Kerry leaned on the railing. “What a nice lady.”
Dar fingered her silverware and studied the plastic tray and its contents with wary suspicion. “The guy who brought me up here was nice, too. Did you arrange for that, while you were at it?” She smiled at Kerry.
Kerry chuckled, but shook her head. “No.” She lifted the cover off the tray and allowed steam to escape. “Ah. Chicken.”
“Yes, chicken,” Dar agreed, examining it. “But on the bright side, those are sort of mashed potatoes, aren’t they?” She poked at them.
“So they are,” Kerry said. “They even brought peas, your one concession to vegetables,” she noticed. “And Jell-O.”
“I like Jell-O,” Dar allowed. “You think it’s strawberry?”
Kerry selected a jiggling cube and put it into her mouth experimentally. “Yeth.”
“Eh.” Dar stabbed the half-chicken with her fork. “Considering the last thing I had to eat in a hospital, this isn’t too bad.” She managed to rake a bit of the white meat off and tasted it. It was fairly bland, but not as dry as she’d expected, and she found it tolerably edible. “Mm.”
“Here.” Kerry held her hand out. “Let me borrow your fork and knife, and I’ll cut that up for you. Must be a pain trying to do it one-handed.”
Dar hesitated, then handed the implements over. “Yeah.” She busied herself with the cup while Kerry leaned over and sawed industriously at her main course. “On the other hand...” Dar found a very tasty-looking bare shoulder very near by. She licked it.
“Yipe!” Kerry jumped. “Oh...Jesus, Dar. I had no idea what that was.”
Dar nibbled the soft skin, breathing in the warm, clean scent of her lover with a sense of quiet pleasure. “Mm. Much better than chicken.”
Kerry put the knife and fork down and responded, sliding a hand up to rest against Dar’s cheek as she found the exploring lips, tasting a 268
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hint of the chicken on them, and the sweet tang of the apple juice Dar had taken a sip of.
Boy, that felt good.
Kerry lost herself in the moment, tuning out everything to concentrate on how smooth Dar’s skin was, and just how wonderful it was to kiss her. After a moment they parted and gazed into each other’s eyes. Kerry was very conscious of how unsteady her breathing was. “Mm.”
Dar’s eyes reflected a quiet passion of her own. “To hell with dinner,” she murmured softly, running her fingers down Kerry’s shirt and finding a gap in the buttons.
“Um.” Kerry glanced up. “We’re in a hospital, honey.”
“So?” Dar defeated the button and smiled as she felt Kerry respond to her touch, pressing her body forward against her exploring fingers.
“You did ask for a private room.” She leaned forward a little and kissed her lover again.
“You’re hurt.” Kerry’s breath whispered against Dar’s lips.
“This makes me feel much, much better,” the ready argument came back at her.
“The door’s open,” Kerry feebly parried.
“We’re not in the cardiac care unit.”
Kerry found herself walking a fine line, her body’s overwhelming craving warring with her conscience and the knowledge that a legion of censorious nurses could walk in at any moment.
Well, a few more seconds
of this can’t hurt.
And it didn’t. She ended up half sitting on the bed, both arms around Dar’s neck and Dar’s arm around her waist.
Then a loud crash occurred outside, and they stopped, separating a little and looking at each other. “Did we cause that?” Kerry asked nervously.
“Why don’t you look?” Dar answered.
Look?
Kerry imagined turning her head to see a doorful of people staring back. “Nuh-uh. You look.”
“Me?” Dar remained where she was, looking intently into Kerry’s eyes. “You sure?”
She was getting lost again, this time in those rich blue pupils, wanting nothing more than to lean forward and take up right where she’d left off. Her body was craving it now, Dar’s hand moving slowly, teasingly across the fabric of her jeans, pausing to pluck lightly at the seams.
Footsteps clacked nearby, though. Kerry swallowed and got her breathing under control, then released one arm so that she was merely perched on the bed. Dar’s hand captured hers and they twined fingers, letting out twin sighs as the footsteps hurried past, and she caught a glimpse of a white-and-blue uniform go by.
“That was fun.” A tiny, mischievous glint danced in Dar’s eyes.
“Bet it’s quieter here later on.”
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Kerry’s nostrils flared. “Oh.” She let out a faint laugh. “I hope so.”
They both looked at the tray. “Chicken, huh?” Kerry picked up the fork and stabbed a piece, then offered it to Dar. “If you share, I’ll go get a pizza later.”
Dar munched contentedly. “Deal,” she agreed.
“HOW’S IT GOING?” Ceci’s voice crackled softly over the phone at Kerry’s ear. “Andy’s been pacing for hours, so I hope Dar’s gotten more rest than he has.”
“I think she’s okay,” Kerry murmured, casting an eye over her sleeping partner. Dar had half curled onto her side and was resting comfortably, the blankets tucked up around her shoulders as the soft night-light threw shadows over her strong, planed features. “She’s been sleeping for a little while.”
“That’s a first,” Ceci chuckled. “I’d have thought she’d be climbing the walls by now.”
“No.” Kerry stretched and leaned back. “We had dinner, then we, ah, talked for a while. The nurses came in and took readings and stuff; then I got her to lay down. She’s been fine.” The medical attention hadn’t gotten Dar too upset, really. Her blood pressure had been low, she’d had no temperature—she’d even smiled at the nurse.
Of course, Kerry had felt pretty relaxed by then, too. A smirk appeared on her face.
“No signs of anything with the concussion?” Ceci asked. “She’s alert, and all that?”
The smirk widened. “Oh yeah. She’s um...very aware.”
“Good.” Dar’s mother sighed. “Last time she had a concussion, she was in a fog for two whole days, and she scared the—” Ceci abruptly fell silent. “Listen to me. You’d think I was—”
“Her mother or something?” Kerry finished warmly.
Ceci sighed. “I’m glad you’re there for her, Kerry.”
“Me, too,” came the soft reply. “I’m not sure which one of us is benefiting more, though. I know I’d be really unhappy if I wasn’t camping out with her.” Kerry checked her watch. Eleven-thirty. She wondered if she could get comfortable on the little couch, wishing she’d brought something useful like a sleeping bag to make the furniture more bearable. “How’s Chino?”
“Bouncing,” Ceci replied. “But now that we know Dar’s all right, maybe she’ll settle down if Andy does.” A low rumble moved closer.
“Honey, she’s fine. Kerry said she’s asleep, and there’s no problem.” A rustle.
“Kumquat?”
Kerry grinned. “Yes, Dad?”
“Dardar’s not giving you any fuss?”
“Nope,” Kerry assured him. “She’s been a model patient.”
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“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Better bring her ice cream tomorrow as a reward, don’t you think?” Kerry teased. “She’s being such a good girl.”
Andrew chuckled. “Glad to hear that, Kerry. We’ll be there, don’t you worry. I got something I need to take care of early, then we’ll be down.”
Kerry’s ears pricked up, but she hesitated, not wanting to ask questions over the hospital’s phone lines. Time enough tomorrow to ask him, when they were face to face. “Okay. See you then.”
“All right,” Andrew said. “Tell Dardar...” He hesitated.
“Tell her you love her? Sure.” That was an easy one. Kerry said goodbye and put the phone back in its cradle, then she got up and reviewed her little couch. It wasn’t like she was a giant or anything, either, Kerry reasoned. At all of five foot six, surely she had to fall into the wide part of the bell curve.
Yet the padded couch seemed barely large enough to lie down on, much less to accommodate her admittedly restless mode of sleeping.
“I’m going to end up on the floor,” she murmured. “I just know it.” But it was all she had to work with, unless she wanted to cut to the chase and take up residence on the chilly tile. She cast a glance over her shoulder. Or crawl into bed with Dar, and give the nurses a real shocker in the morning.
Mm.
Her body liked that idea. Kerry rubbed her temples and firmly turned her thoughts elsewhere. But in a moment, she found herself standing at Dar’s bedside, her hands resting lightly on the railing that fenced her partner in. She reached over and gently moved a lock of disheveled black hair, stroking its silky smooth texture and letting it tangle around her fingers.
She felt more peaceful, Kerry realized, just being close to Dar, and she spent a few minutes idly wondering why. Was it just because Dar’s sleeping expression was so relaxed? There were none of the usual tensions that characterized her expression—the slight narrowing of her eyes and bunching of her jaw muscles that made Dar appear restlessly alert all the time.
Not now. Kerry could see only the faintest motion of her eyes under their lids and wondered what her lover was dreaming of. She gazed down for another moment, then she walked over to the heavy visitor’s chair and picked it up, putting it down right next to the bed.
Okay.
She lowered the guard rails, then sat down and rested her arm on the bed, putting her chin down on it and reaching up to circle Dar’s slack fingers with her own.
They were clasped instinctively, a welcome warmth that made her smile. She decided to just rest here a minute, then get up and try to get comfortable on her torture couch. Kerry closed her eyes, smiling a little when she felt Dar’s breath warming the skin on her forearm.
Mm.
That
felt nice
.
Yeah.
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DAR WAS CHIEFLY aware of a lot of things aching as she hauled herself out of a deep sleep and responded to her body’s nagging crankiness.
Ow.
She had a headache that would have felled a bison in its tracks, and her arm and shoulder felt like they’d been forced into a bad position for several days. Grumpily, she opened one eye, blinking as the fuzzy surroundings very slowly came into focus.
Ah.
Dar had to smile despite the discomfort. Kerry was slumped against the bed, holding her hand, fast asleep. In the room, the first pale light of dawn was starting to show through the windows, but otherwise it was dark, save for the dim night-light above them.
But there was enough light for Dar to distinguish the curve of Kerry’s cheek, covered in fine, soft down. Light enough for her to see the delicate gold eyelashes. Light enough to catch the faintest hint of a smile tugging at one corner of her mouth.
What an amazing thing love was, Dar thought. It even drove you to do really dumb things like sleep leaning against a set of metal railings.
Oh, she’s gonna regret this when she wakes up.
“Ker?” Dar squeezed the fingers clasped in her own. “Hey, chipmunk.”
“Uh?” Kerry murmured. “Dar?” She stirred, then shifted. “Ow.”
Her eyes opened in surprised displeasure. “What in...augh. I can’t believe I did that,” she hissed. “Jesus!”
“Easy, sweetie,” Dar laughed softly. “Stand up slowly.” She released Kerry’s hand and eased over onto her back, grabbing hold of her lover’s shoulder as she tried to straighten up. “Easy.”
“Son of a...” Kerry managed to get upright, her legs and back cramping like all get-out. “Oh my God, how stupid was that.” She leaned on the bed and groaned. “And wouldn’t the nurses have just loved walking in here.”
Dar ruffled her hair, then rubbed the parts of her within reach. “Ah, they’d live,” she disagreed. “Now, if they found you in bed with me...”
She grinned.
Kerry looked up, grinning back rakishly from between very disordered bangs. “Oh, I was tempted,” she admitted. “That’s how I ended up over here. I just came over to, um...” She met Dar’s eyes and felt suddenly shy. “Anyway, I sat down for a minute, and whammo.”
She fell silent, and her gaze dropped to the mussed sheets.
Dar watched her. “Ker?”
“Mm?”
“Thanks for staying,” Dar said. “It would have been such a nightmare for me if you hadn’t.” She waited for Kerry to look up.