For Fiona

18. Good Night Kisses

Being discharged from the hospital felt miraculous to Tim; he could not wait to resume his normal life and be home with his family on a big bed instead of crammed into a much smaller one. He even let Lucy drive them to their house, since she asked to; all of her worrying was rather sweet even if it was unnecessary.

Lucy walked with him through the front door and did not hear the sounds of their daughter. Her pulse skyrocketed for a moment before Nell appeared.

"Hey, Tim, how are you feeling?" Nell asked.

"A lot better," he answered.

"But he's still not at one hundred percent. He needs to rest at home for three more days, and then he can try lifting heavy objects," Lucy recited the discharge instructions.

"That's great," Nell said then sneezed.

"Are you alright?" Lucy wondered.

"I don't know. I started feeling congested about an hour ago. I finally got Fiona down for a nap, and I was going to make myself some tea to see if that would help." She sniffled.

"Nell, if you're feeling sick, you should go home and rest. We'll be home for the day. We can be with Fi."

"Are you sure?" Her question was cut off by a sneeze.

"Very sure. Go home." Lucy watched Nell pack her things then exit the house all while sneezing the entire time, then she looked up at Tim and suggested, "You should take a nap, too."

"I'm not tired."

"You need to be resting."

He went into the living room and lowered himself onto the couch to show he was listening. "Okay, I'm resting now."

"Good. Can I rest with you?" He nodded in reply, so she sat down on the same cushion and curved into his side in a way that had become second nature due to all of the long days cuddled up on the hospital bed. She had to drop her head back to meet his eyes. "We can try sleeping in bed if you want."

"I don't need to sleep. I've been laid up all week."

"This is all part of your recovery."

He gingerly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear then traced it until he curled the end of the soft, chestnut piece of hair around his index finger. "My recovery probably would've sucked if you weren't there everyday, so thank you."

She smiled instantly. "I'm glad I could be there for you."

"You didn't have to take the week off of work, though."

"Grey said he understood and told me I could take off as much time as I needed to until you were ready to come back to work, too." She ran a hand down his chest soothingly. "The station isn't the same without seeing you, anyways."

"It's still weird that we don't ride together. At least having lunch together feels like old times."

"Not exactly like old times," she countered considering how tactile their lunches had become. "Even better."

He grinned at her. It was so easy to be captivated by her warmth and beauty that he almost forgot about everything else...almost. Truthfully, Tim struggled to effectively define their relationship- every fiber of his being wanted her endlessly, but the voice of doubt in his head held him back. His sister helped them to identify that while Lucy was fully invested, he was not prepared to do the same. At least she was patient with him. So patient. She did not bring up the topic once for the rest of his hospital stay, since she could so clearly tell his inner turmoil had not settled enough for that discussion. She offered him constant quiet affection without drawing attention to it like dramatically asking their daughter if a "prince kiss" would be a good idea. "I really don't deserve you," he muttered.