by Kaye, Laura
She turned off the bathroom light so opening the door wouldn’t shine light over the basement, and then tiptoed out into the hallway. Her bag should be right over—
“You okay, D?” Sean’s voice was a low rumble in the dark.
“Yeah. Shit, I’m sorry. I was trying not to wake you up.”
“You didn’t. A hazard of sleeping a lot of nights at the firehouse is always having one ear tuned to what’s happening around you whether you’re asleep or not.”
“You need anything?” she asked, finding her bag where she’d left it next to one of the chairs.
He didn’t respond long enough that she thought he hadn’t heard her, but then he finally murmured, “No. I’m good.”
Something in his tone didn’t sound good. “Sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t I get you some meds? It’s been at least six hours.”
“Nah, it’s bearable.”
She moved closer, as if proximity would make deciphering him easier. “You don’t need to tough this out, especially not so soon. If you’re feeling pain, you should take the meds. The more you can stay ahead of the pain the better it’ll be.”
“Watch your eyes.” It was the only warning he gave before he turned on the lamp beside him.
Dani blinked against the brightness, but her eyes adjusted quickly after being in the bathroom. “Hey,” she said.
“Hey.” He peered up at her with an expression that was way…softer or more open, maybe, than anything she’d ever seen him wear before.
And she didn’t know how to read it.
“Will you help me get this off?” he tugged at the rectangular pad Velcroed around his chest through which the ice water flowed.
“Yeah. Did it help?” she asked as she began removing the straps that held the plastic pad in place.
He turned a little so she could better reach his back. “I think it did. But I guess I’ll take some more meds, too. Don’t really like needing them.”
“I get it. But it’s only been two days. Use the ice machine as much as you want though, just don’t try to carry it yourself. I’ve got a whole line-up of help coming this week, starting with Billy sometime this morning. There.” She moved the pad, straps, and cooler unit aside.
“Thanks for doing all this, D.”
“You’re welcome.”
How unusual was it for the two of them to have an exchange marked by sincerity instead of sarcasm? It was…weird. Very adult of them, but weird.
“I’ll get your meds and then I’m going to hop in the shower if that’s okay. I have to be at the hospital by seven, so I’m just going to head in early.”
“My shower is your shower.”
She smiled, remembering him saying the same thing about ‘Deadpool’ last night. “Thanks. I’ll check in with you to see how you’re doing, okay? My next day off is Thursday, so I’ll be back then.”
Sean peered up at her and shook his head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“What, are you kidding? I know I don’t have to, but you promised me an education and I want more Marvel.” She wasn’t just saying that either. The idea of coming back…surprisingly wasn’t something she felt obligated to do. In fact, she hadn’t felt obligated to do any of this. Really, it’d never been a question to her. She’d just done it—the ambulance, the night at the hospital, spending yesterday with him.
His grin was immediate. “Yeah? All right then. It’s a plan.”
An hour later, Dani was on her way to University Hospital, a long shift in front of her. But something about her conversation with Sean had chased all those messy middle-of-the-night emotions far, far away, leaving her simply feeling ready to tackle her day.
* * *
The knock at the back door came a little before eleven.
Sean turned off the TV from the whole lotta nothing he’d been watching, heaved his ass off the couch, and found Billy waiting, plastic container in hand.
“There’s the man,” Billy said. “How the hell are ya?”
“Hey, B. Come on in.”
The button-down shirt tucked into a pair of black dress pants clearly meant Billy had taken time out of his workday to stop by. The guy held out the container. “From Shayna, who’s upset she couldn’t get away from work today. She promises to come see you soon. And she made you these.”
“Shit, she didn’t have to do anything,” Sean said, even more touched after he removed the lid to find homemade Snickerdoodles, his favorite cookie. “But I’m fucking glad she did. Breakfast!” He took a bite of one and soft, chewy, cinnamony goodness exploded on his tongue.
“Right? That’s what I said when she questioned the three I ate this morning.”
Sean gestured to the couch. “Never question Snickerdoodles. That’s all I’m saying.” As they sat, he tried like hell to keep from showing that the shoulda-been-nothing movement took effort. Anything that used his abs or pecs was a no-go.
“How are you feeling, seriously?” Billy asked, snagging a cookie for himself.
Sean pushed the bowl in between them, apparently having failed at acting like everything was normal if Billy’s question was any guide. “I’m fuckin’ fine. Shitty, but fine.”
Billy nodded. “As someone who’s dealt with pain, I’m telling you that you just need to give in to healing. You can’t will it away. You can’t ignore it away. And doing things you shouldn’t do will just make it hurt longer.”
Sean glanced at the mottled skin just barely visible on the side of Billy’s neck—burns scars from an ambush on his Army Ranger unit that had led to B’s medical discharge and months of recovery. If anybody had the creds to give that advice, it was Billy Parrish. “I hear ya. Problem is I’m gonna go stir crazy.”
“I get it,” Billy said. “Pretend you’re on vacation and watch some movies or binge some Netflix.”
“I haven’t taken a single vacation since the navy,” Sean said, even as the mention of movies made his thoughts stray to Dani. Or, more particularly, to the fact that Sean’s brain had unhelpfully conjured up an image of Dani naked in the very same shower he’d been using. He’d gotten so hard he’d given in to jacking himself. Because he was apparently a horny bastard even while in pain. But at least that part of him still worked.
“Then you’re overdue.” Billy grabbed two more cookies. “Or maybe get a hobby.”
Sean arched a brow at the suggestion and the cookies. “How many of these do you have at your own house, asshole?”
Smirking, Billy shrugged. “A lot. Chocolate chip, too. Shayna’s awesome like that.”
“That’s a fact. So fucking pace yourself on my stash.” Sean took another and just barely resisted hugging the bowl to his chest and calling it his precious. (Yeah, he was a ‘Lord of the Rings’ fan too. Fuckin’ sue him.)
Chuckling, Billy asked, “So, since you’re still alive, I take it you and Dani didn’t kill each other?”
“No, man, it was cool,” Sean said nonchalantly.
His friend’s brows lifted. “Really? I mean, that’s great. Just, you know, two days ago you were yelling at each other at WFC.”
“We didn’t yell,” he said, feeling inexplicably defensive. Of what’d happened that day, which he still felt bad about. And of Dani.
“Okay, you were talking vigorously.”
Sean shrugged, then grimaced as pain followed the gesture. “Whatever. It was good. She was a huge help and we watched ‘Deadpool’. And speaking of help, she brought me this ice therapy machine. Would you mind filling it with fresh ice and water? I’d rather use the ice than keep taking the pain pills.” He asked because he needed help with that. But he’d also asked to change the subject from Dani. He felt oddly private about the unusually easy-going time he and D had spent together and didn’t really want to share it or have people speculating about it.
“Yeah, of course.”
They made their way up to the kitchen, Billy a lot faster than Sean. “You have time for some lunch?” Sean asked when
he’d finally lumbered to the top of the steps.
“Yeah, I’m free until about twelve thirty. Then I have a few security clearance interviews to do.” As a private investigator, Billy’s cases ranged from clearance to fraud to infidelity investigations. He’d even handled a few missing persons cases.
“I can order a pizza from the place down the street or I got cold cuts.”
Billy emptied the lukewarm water from the cooler unit into the sink. “Don’t go to any trouble. Sandwiches are great. In fact, maybe I should make them?”
“Nah, man, sandwiches I can handle.” At least he hoped he could. Though, he’d thought he could handle a soup can, too. The memory had him grudgingly smiling to himself. He managed to assemble everything he needed, including the last of the hoagie rolls he’d bought, and then he opened one of the cabinets and reached up for some plates. A ripping sensation stole his breath.
“Shit, dude,” Billy said, catching the plates before Sean dropped them. “I think stretching and handling any sort of weight overhead are off limits for a few more days.”
Sean bit back a complaint, because the man standing next to him had survived way worse. “Yeah.” He half-gasped out the word, unhappily admitting that the doc had been right to say Sean needed to take medical leave from work. Hand clutching where pain still seized his chest, he imagined trying to stretch the line or swing an ax. And…nope. Right now, he’d be a liability to his brothers in his company. Which fuckin’ sucked. When he could, he sighed. “For a split second I forget I shouldn’t do something until I do it.”
“Happens to me all the time. Damn burn scars are inelastic as hell.”
Sean gave him a long glance, because he’d never heard him talk about his injuries so casually. Or really, like, at all. Probably Shayna’s influence, if Sean had to guess. Because Billy had been a changed man since he and Shayna had gotten together the night of the apartment explosion that Sean and Shay had worked together, him fighting the fire, her photographing it. Billy was lighter somehow. Laughed more freely. Rarely appeared like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. All of which made Sean like and respect Shayna more than he already did. She was good people—the best.
“I’ll fill this with fresh ice after we eat,” Billy said, setting the machine aside.
Nodding, Sean picked up the plates laden with overstuffed sandwiches and barbecue chips. “This way.”
Billy swiped them out of his hands. “Dude. No carrying for you.”
“They’re plates.”
“Plates that just kicked your ass two minutes ago.”
“I don’t like you,” Sean groused.
Billy grinned. “Right back atcha.”
They settled around the dining room table Sean rarely used in part because he so infrequently had people at the house. No particular reason, except that, with all the overtime shifts he pulled, he didn’t really spend that much non-sleeping time here himself.
Over ham and cheese sandwiches, they talked about Billy’s cases, Sean’s call with the station chief that morning to figure out what he needed to do to take leave, and how the chief was sorry for what’d happened but thought Sean deserved the time off after the hours he always put in. Finally, they landed on Warrior Fight Club.
One more thing Sean was already regretting missing. WFC was part of what kept him level and helped him blow off steam. No work and no fight club? That was going to be a killer combination that left him with too much free time—and free head space—on his hands. “It’s gonna suck missing it,” Sean said. “But I guess this is one more way I’m benched for a few weeks.”
“I can’t go to WFC this week either. Hoping to make dinner, though,” Billy said around a bite of chips.
“Working?”
“Actually, no. I’m going to a Nat’s game with my Little.” When Sean frowned, Billy continued. “You know, Big Brothers/Big Sisters. I signed up to be a Big and got matched about a month ago. My Little’s name is Dante. He’s twelve.”
“That’s…pretty damn cool. Is this because of those features Shayna worked on?” She and another reporter had published a fantastic series of stories on different aspects of the program last fall and winter.
“Yeah,” Billy said. “She learned that Big Brothers are in especially high demand. They’re always looking for men to be mentors, and there’s always a waitlist of boys waiting to be matched.” He looked down and shrugged. “I guess I was wanting to be a part of something, I don’t know, bigger than just my job.”
The sentiment hit Sean in his already-hurting chest. He got that feeling even though he didn’t know what to do with it. “Wow. So what do you and Dante do together?” Sean asked.
“We mostly just hang out. The baseball game is a special sponsored event for Bigs and Littles. Usually, we play games at my house or take my neighbor’s dog for a walk or go have a meal. I try to take my cues from him, you know?”
“That’s really awesome of you, B.”
He shrugged. “Honestly, I dig spending time with him, so it’s not just for him.” Billy eyeballed Sean for a long minute. “You know, you should check it out. You could take your Little to meet the guys at the firehouse and show him the ropes there. Man, kids would dig that.”
They often had school groups visit the firehouse during the day, so Sean knew firsthand how much kids enjoyed seeing the trucks and hearing the sirens and call tones. Not to mention visiting the station cat, Winston, who’d just sort of arrived one day and stayed, like he’d adopted them instead of the other way around.
“Yeah? Huh. I never thought of something like that,” Sean said, wondering if he’d be any good at it. What did he know about spending time with kids?
“I hadn’t either,” Billy said, wiping his mouth and checking the time on his phone. “Shit, I gotta go in about fifteen.”
Feeling a little more fortified by the food, Sean dropped his napkin on his plate. “Thanks for coming by. Really.”
“You know my schedule has some flexibility, so if you need me, hit me up.” Billy carried their dishes to the sink and insisted on loading them into the dishwasher and wiping down the counter despite Sean’s assurances that he could take care of it later. Then the guy filled the ice unit and asked, “Now, how do you use this thing?”
A few minutes later, Sean was sitting on the couch downstairs and strapped back into the machine, courtesy of Billy and a whole lot of trying not to laugh as he struggled with the stickiness of the Velcro straps. They said their good-byes and B saw his way out, and then Sean was back to flipping channels on the idiot box.
Not that anything held his interest, so for a while he shot off messages to the guys at the station who’d texted or left voicemails. He hated the reason for all the attention, but he couldn’t deny that it felt good to be thought of by so many people. The firehouse and his friends at WFC were like family, especially since he had none of his own—or at least none who cared.
When he’d sent the last of his replies, he stared at the old movie that he hadn’t really been watching. His attention strayed…to the wall-mounted art deco lights of Captain America and Thor that hung on either side of the television. Sean’s gaze tracked next to his comic book collection. And the collectible figures arrayed on a shelf.
A kid would like this place.
Man, if he’d had a friend with a set-up like this when he’d been twelve, he would’ve offered to sell body parts to move in forever and never have to go home again.
Huh.
On a grimace, he reached for his laptop on the coffee table. Booted it up. Opened a search window.
Just out of curiosity, he typed in, what does it take to become a big brother
Even though, as a workaholic in a high-risk job who carried some serious baggage he mostly tried to ignore, he was pretty sure he didn’t qualify to be anybody’s role model.
Still, he started reading. What else did he have to do?
Chapter Seven
It was entirely possible that Sean was putti
ng too much time and attention into preparing for Dani’s Avengers education. He placed an online grocery order to restock his pantry. Rush-ordered his favorite caramel and cheese popcorns. And, in between a steady stream of get-well and funny-meme texts from the guys at the station and his friends at WFC, Sean had begun strategizing over the best viewing order.
There were multiple ways to approach this. In order of movie release was the most obvious, of course, which put ‘Ironman’ first. But that movie actually came chronologically later in the universe, which argued for ‘Captain America’—which largely took place in the 1940s—and a newer movie, ‘Captain Marvel’—which mostly occurred in the 1990s, to be one and two. Then ‘Ironman’ would fit in after that.
Sean nodded to himself as he plugged this information into a spreadsheet until, finally, he’d determined the perfect thematic viewing order for all twenty-plus existing movies in the universe.
Not that they were watching them all on Thursday, of course, but maybe they’d get through the first couple, anyway.
Which had Sean picking up his cell and firing off a text Dani’s way. What time are you coming tomorrow—
He deleted that and started again. You still coming by tomorrow? Better. He didn’t want to assume. He hit Send.
An hour was a long-ass time when you weren’t otherwise occupied, and that was how long it took for Dani to reply: Was planning on it. That still okay?
He grinned at his phone. Hell yes. Just wondered what time and how long you were thinking of staying so I can make a plan.
We need a plan?
What the shit? Of course we need a plan. I made a spreadsheet. He frowned. Maybe he should’ve kept the spreadsheet to himself. Because Dani likely had no idea there were so many movies to watch, and he couldn’t imagine her being game for his level of fanaticism.
…
Those three dots were her only reply. Sean chuckled as his thumbs flew. Just trust me.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
That had him laughing out loud, which had him grasping his chest. Leave it to Daniela England to bust his balls via text. His cell dinged another incoming message.