Take the Shot

One

   As Jo slowly regained consciousness, she shifted slightly in bed: her left shoulder screaming. She winced, and tightly squeezed the large, warm hand that held hers. Henry straightened up, and scooted his chair closer; gently massaging the back of her hand with his thumb. "I know, I know, it's okay. The doctor should be coming by with your painkillers soon," he soothed. He adjusted his scarf, and bent over his groggy friend to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Henry??" She cracked. "In the flesh and blood," he replied. "What happened?" She asked. "Well, in short, you got shot.. Two times-in the shoulder and breast," he explained; her eyes growing wide. "What about the perp?" She inquired. "Detective Hanson put a bullet through his heart," he answered. "How is he doing?" She wondered. "He is still in the process of grieving.. it's only been three days.. But I'm sure he'll be in to talk to you later," he sighed. "I've been out three days??" She babbled. "Yes, though I'd say that's a fair amount of time for someone whose been shot two times. Just try and relax," he said.
She nodded her head slightly, and focused in on dark bags around his eyes. -It's almost as if he hadn't slept at all in her absence.
He offered her a gentle smile-a relieved one-and thoughtfully stroked her cheek. In that moment, he didn't care about the action or its implications.. he only cared that she was okay. She pursed her lips, and met his gaze rather briefly; her cheeks flushing.
"Look who's awake! Got some pills for you to take, Ms. Martinez," The doctor chimed. Their eyes darted towards him, and Henry backed quickly away from her bed; her heart sighing as he let go of her hand.
He took to a seat beside the room's window as Doctor Weinberg engaged in a routine checkup, and coaxed Jo into taking her pills (she'd learned last time she got shot just how addictive they are, and was hesitant to take them again.)
As the pills began to kick in, and Jo began to grow groggy once more, Weinberg took his leave, and Henry returned to her side. She tried to sit up, but he urged her to lay back down. "Perhaps I should get going.. You need to get some rest," he softly said. "No. Stay. Please," she murmured: her eyes pleading.
Cringing slightly; she scooted over, and made room for him to lay down.
-He couldn't possibly say no to those eyes-
"Alright," he submitted. Cautiously, he climbed into bed beside her; ducking under her IV drip, and settling in. She rested her head on his chest, and listened quietly to the dull thud of his heart; Henry fiddling mindlessly with her wavy brunette locks. He threw his coat over her, and she gently nuzzled the space between his pectorals with her nose; peering affectionately up at him as her eyelids began to droop with sleep.
-He chuckled softly as she tried to fight it, much like a stubborn child around nap time.
He planted a chaste kiss on her forehead, and they both drifted off to sleep with a smile on their face.
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Jo woke in the early evening. The local news was spatting out old stories on the small television set adjacent to the bed, and Henry was sleeping soundly beside her. She bared a small grin and ran her fingers soothingly through his curls. -She'd always wanted to feel them. She rolled onto her right side-hoping it wouldn't be too bad, being as her left shoulder was the one that got hit-and was pleasantly surprised that she was merely uncomfortable.
"that's a start," she thought; her heart skipping a beat. He wrapped an arm around her middle, and tugged her closer as his dream progressed-causing her only a limited amount of pain. She couldn't help but giggle as he mumbled softly, (mostly)incoherently in his sleep.
"Jo" was all she could understand.
-And the name was quite often on his lips-
She couldn't help but wonder what he was dreaming about. It looked like a good dream to her.
She cupped his cheek, and pursed her lips to suppress a girlish grin: reflecting briefly on that small, sweet kiss he'd planted on her forehead earlier as she'd began to drift off. She was certain her mind hadn't made it up.
"It was chaste. But it didn't feel so platonic," she thought.
-Maybe her mind had made this part up.. it had to have-
Her pulse began to quicken. He reached up and grasped the hand that cupped his cheek; opening his eyes. She watched them dart back and forth between her eyes and lips.
"You were pretending," she whispered.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he murmured.
"How long have you been up?" She chuckled. "Long enough to watch you sleep. You make a lot of noises," he grinned; raising her hand to his lips, and planting a soft kiss on the back of it. "Oh, so you were mocking me earlier with all those little sleep noises?" she replied. "Teasing, more like it," he said. "Why?? I think I've been through enough in the past few days, don't you?" she asked. "My apologies-Boys tend to tease the girls they like," he smirked. Her cheeks reddened as he got to his feet. "No, wait.." she babbled; propping herself up, and 'feeling the burn.' "I'll be right back, I'm just going to tell the doctor you're up. It's been quite a few hours since you've had your medication," he explained. He gripped the door handle-already halfway out the door-and she had no choice but to nod her head and lay back.