Doctor & Nurse

Chapter 37

The next morning, I awake with a terrible headache. Tobias's head must be killing him, if mine is hurting this bad, on cue, I hear from the living room, "Aww, my head!" Walking to the living room, my eyes land on Tobias immediately, sitting on the couch, rubbing his head with his palms, his eyes clenched shut. He looks sort of pathetic in a sad way. My heart tenses in my chest, I wish I could do something to take his pain away. I whisper, "Baby, didn't you take the Tylenol I left for you?" He groans, not answering my question. Glancing at the table, I find the glass still full of water and the two pills, untouched. I scold, "Tobias, I left you those last night! Why didn't you take them when you woke up with that massive headache?"

His head remains down, he holds his hand out to me, I place the pills into his waiting hand, and he quickly takes them with the water. I leave him on the couch, going to the kitchen to make him coffee. Heading back into the living room, Tobias is nowhere to be found, I look in his bedroom, but he isn't there. I knock on the closed bathroom door, an answering groan sounds, I ask, "Are you okay?" He moans, "I'm fine, never let me drink that much, ever again." Opening the bathroom door carefully, I find him hugging the toilet, his head on the seat, he looks pale and sweaty. Prying him off the toilet, I mutter, "Come lay down in the bed, I'll put a cold washcloth onto your head." A smile tugs at his lips, "I don't want to move, the coldness of the floor feels amazing against my skin." I giggle, attempting to heave him to his feet, but he is too heavy to lift. I groan, "Come to bed, baby, and I will lay down with you too." Slowly, Tobias moves from his spot on the floor to the sink, grabbing his toothbrush to brush his teeth, and walks slowly swaying on his feet to the bed. I quickly follow behind, preparing to catch him if he falls, once he is under the covers, I place a cold washcloth onto his forehead, snuggle under the covers with him, and we fall asleep, wrapped around each other.

I'm startled awake from Tobias, his heavy breathing. All his body movements indicate he is having a nightmare. I attempt to wake him, but he isn't waking up. I push him, trying to move him, to wake him, but he won't budge. "Tobias, wake up!" I yell. His dark eyes shoot open, scanning his surroundings, looking for danger. I have seen that set of eyes before when he once flashed back to his time in Iraq. "Tobias, you are okay, you are home, you are safe," I say gently, trying to back him off the metaphorical cliff, I'm hoping he hasn't already jumped off. Placing my arms around him, Tobias lays there completely still for a moment. Suddenly, I feel him let out a breath. He leans over, giving me a kiss on the crown of my head. "Thank you, I don't know what I would do without you sometimes," he sweetly murmurs into my ear, wrapping his arm around my waist. I smile, "Well, you are never going to have to find out what you would do without me."

Tobias eyes me for a moment, then hints, "Tris, I want to ask you about something that happened at the club last night. While I was waiting for you, I saw Eric, he informed me something is going on between the two of you. If there is, can you please be adult enough to come clean with me? I will give you all the space you need to figure out your feelings for me. If you want to be with Eric, if he makes you happy, I will step aside, as much as it would kill me to do so, your happiness means more than my own." I cock my head at Tobias and blink at him rapidly. Did he really imply Eric and I were an item? That I want to be with Eric instead of him? I feel vomit rise in my throat at the notion. I answer, "How could you even think that? You are the person whom I want to be with more than anything! Eric has been hitting on me and making me uncomfortable for months." Tobias narrows his eyes at me, asking, "Are you sure? I saw the two of you at the club, it looked like, you were happy to see him-" I interrupt, "No, if anything, I was telling him off. He was coming onto me once again. He has been coming onto me for months! I have been attempting to stop him." Tobias raises an eyebrow, asking, "What do you mean, coming onto you for months? Why haven't you told me this before now?" Shrugging my shoulders, I reply, "I don't know, I thought, I could handle it, I did handle it at the club. I think, I finally got the message through to Eric." Tobias rolls his eyes toward the sky, sarcasm heavy in his voice while he says, "Okay," his voice turns serious while he continues, "If he does anything, and I mean even speaks wrong to you, let me know. I don't want you going near him." My eyes glance at the ceiling, "Okay, I promise, I will stay away from Eric, not that I want anything to do with him."