Best Friend

Sleep Talking

"I can't find the balloon dog..."

Camila's eyes blinked open, already giggling at her fiancé's nonsensical sleep talking. She loved when he'd do this — it always made her laugh. Even since long before they had been together romantically she had known of his sleep talking habits. Her favorite thing to do in situations like these had always been to try and hold a conversation with him. It was like a little inside joke that only she was aware of.

"When was the last time you saw your balloon dog?"

"The dentist," he mumbled. "The dentist is the balloon man."

"Well maybe you should go back to the dentist and see if he has your balloon dog."

Shawn sighed in his sleep, pulling Camila's body closer to his and holding onto her tightly. "I need to ask my wife."

"Your wife?" Camila questioned, smiling widely at his use of the word — even if he wasn't conscious when he said it. Shawn just grumbled and stirred again. Camila decided to try pushing again. "Tell me about your wife."

"Mm..." he hummed. "Good butt." Camila couldn't help it — she burst into laughter. She felt Shawn shift behind her, sitting up slightly on the bed. "Why are you laughing?"

She could tell he was actually awake now, and clearly confused at why she was laughing in the middle of the night. Camila turned onto her side to face him. "You were sleep talking again."

"Oh," he chuckled, sleepy and a bit embarrassed. "I didn't say anything too weird, did I?"

"You said your wife has a good butt."

Now Shawn was laughing too, rubbing his hand back and forth over his fiancées back. "Okay...so it sounds like sleep Shawn was just being honest..."

"You also said that you lost your balloon dog and that you think it's at the dentist because your dentist is the balloon man."

"Oh. Well I don't know about that part."

They both laughed, snuggling closer up together. He kissed her forehead, right between her eyes.

"Another one please," she quietly requested. He smiled and happily obliged, kissing the tip of her nose this time. "A little lower..." she squeaked. Finally, he softly kissed her lips. Minutes later, they had both fallen asleep again.

When they woke up a few hours later, it was just past 8 o'clock in the morning. It was their third day in Colorado and hopefully the day that Manny would get to come home from the hospital. It was also their last full day there, with their flight back to New York leaving early the next morning. They took a quick shower and got ready to head to the hospital. Karen had opted to stay the night there with him, despite Manny insisting that it wasn't necessary. Shawn and Camila grabbed breakfast and coffee on their way to see them.

"Good morning," Camila sung as she stepped into Manny's hospital room. He was awake and sitting up in his bed. Karen was in the chair at his bedside, eating a breakfast she had gotten herself from the cafeteria.

"Good morning cutie pies! How did you sleep?"

"We slept just fine, but what about you guys?" Shawn asked.

"Your dad seemed to sleep just fine...though I'm not sure I can say the same."

"I tried telling you that you can go home to sleep! You don't need to give up a good night's sleep for me."

"I know, but I just don't feel right leaving you here alone," Karen admitted, reaching over and grabbing his hand. Shawn's mom was a strong woman but he could tell that Manny's heart attack rattled her, as to be expected.