When I woke up, I didn't feel much, but the inside of my head was fuzzy, like it was packed with cotton balls.
"That lips gonna hurt like a bitch." someone commented, and even without opening my eyes, I could imagine the grimace.
"She's a fucking idiot." another said, a much more gruff voice.
Something cold was on my forehead, and my head was pounding, like someone was repeatedly hitting me like a baseball bat. I cracked an eye open, the bright lights blinding me.
"I'm sure I'm still prettier than you." I mumbled, sitting up. Immediately hands were on my arms, helping me. My vision was still slightly blurred, but I could make out three figures. There was silence for a moment, as if they were waiting for me to speak again. "We've all really gotta stop meeting like this, me passing out, you all looking like worry warts."
"God, she's cracking jokes." I heard someone groan. Bradley, Bradley was to my right. "She loses consciousness for an hour, and cracks jokes about us being worried."
"You're gonna be the death of him, Lie, like give him an actual heart attack." That would've been Nat. She was perched at the end of my bed.
"I do have to stop doing this, don't I?" I asked, the question rhetorically. I swiped the towel off my forehead, chunking it onto the bedside table. "I did not miss these carrier lights."
My vision was clear again. Bradley was beside me, Seresin on the other side. Nat, of course, was at the bottom of my bed.
"You're just glued to the hospital, huh?" Seresin asked and my smile was enough to answer his question.
"She fell off her bike when she was 10, broke her wrist. The bone was sticking out of her skin and she didn't even flinch, just sat there, pouting that she couldn't ride her bike while we waited for the paramedics." Bradley told them, smoothing my hair gently. I leaned into his touch.
I attempted to move my leg, but it was numb. "How many stitches did I rip?"
"Five, and your shoulder is fucked, by the way. You need surgery when we get home." Nat informed me, reciting my chart. It was in her hands and she was flipping through all the pages. "You're a walking distaste."
"I'm a fun walking disaster though, right?"
"No," they all said in unison, giving me a look. I smiled at them again, the action painful. I touched my lip gently, at the split.
"Scaring?" I asked, my finger brushing it gently.
"Nothing a little plastic surgery can't fix," Seresin assured me. "Your pretty face won't be screwed, God knows you need it, your brain ain't going shit for you."
"Where's your friend, Jakey? In a body bag?" I taunted, only half-hearted. The pain meds were killer.
As if I'd summoned him, all of heads wiped around at the groan from down the hall. He was still lying down in bed, but touching his head softly. He was shirtless, his abdomen bandaged up.
"I did that?" I demanded, almost in disbelief. "Damn, I'm stronger than I thought."
Bradley glared. "You were a street fighter."
"Good observation, Mr. Bradshaw, would you like a gold sticker?" I asked in a high teacher's voice.
Bradley rolled his eyes, but was still watching me carefully. He wasn't going to let me out of his sights for a long time after this mission.
"I'm gonna go get a doctor," Jake said, pointing his thumb in a backwards motion. "See you at lunch?"
It took me a moment to realize the question was too Nat and not Brad and me. She didn't smile, didn't even move an inch as she nodded. Her eyes followed him as he swung himself around the corner. She cut me off before I could scream.
"It's nothing, we're friends, like you and him are friends."
"When did this happen?" I demanded, sitting up more. "When's the first date?"
Bradley seemed just as interested to know, as he sat down in a plastic chair next to my bed.
"It's nothing," Nat repeated, like she was trying to convince herself of it too. "We're all pilot's, we know the same things, do the same things, it's easy to have a lot in common with someone."
"Reu owes me five bucks." I squealed, doing a little dance in bed.
"You did not!" Nat shrieked, coming at me. Bradley let her, but his eyes never left her hands around my neck. She pretended to shake me. "Betting is a Bradley/Lilah thing!"
"We all have to earn a living," I told her with a shrug.
She rolled her eyes. "Lilah, you're a millionaire and have a better salary than all of us, shut your mouth."
"Most of the money goes to Jamie," I reminded her. "To his savings account in case something happens to me."
"Such a mom," Bradley mocked, rubbing his against my hand. The action made butterflies flutter in my stomach.
I didn't get the chance to snap something back because a nurse came into our little area. Nat quickly got up, retreating to behind Bradley. The little nurse closed the curtain and picked up my chart.
She read in silence and all three of us seemed to hold our breaths. She finally glanced up at us, her dyed-red curls bouncing.
"I'm going to do a quick examination and then you can get out of here, okay? The doctor put you on bed rest until tomorrow, when he wants you to come here before pre-checks, okay?"
I nodded and watched quietly. She carefully removed the blanket on top of me. I had on a t-shirt now and I realized it was Bradley's. I was in a pair of my more appropriate underwear.
She gently lifted my shirt, but not before she gave Bradley a scornful glance. I could feel her cold hands through the gloves as she pressed down on my stomach. I didn't dare glance down at the purple and black bruises I knew covered it.
"Does that hurt?" she asked, basically shoving her fingers into a tender spot on my side.
I held in a groan. "No," I lied.
She gave me an unsatisfied hump!, but continued on. She didn't ask anymore questions as she checked my bandages and my shoulder.
"All of your organs look good, as well as your ribs. I'm sending your," she almost scoffed, glancing at Bradley, "Friend with a thermometer and some medicine. He needs to check your temp every hour and give us the medication before dinner."
"What is it?" I asked as she handed the bottle to Bradley. He tucked it into his pocket with the thermometer
"A painkiller and sedative, I'll help you sleep tonight, pain free."
I didn't dare let my face shift into anything but an understanding look. Bradley wasn't so good, his mouth turned upside down in a frown. If the nurse noticed, she didn't say anything.
"Alright, you're good to go, let me grab you a wheelchair and some pants." she said, bustling out of our makeshift room.
Bradley quickly stood up, scooping me into his arms. I slapped my hand over my mouth to hide my shriek and giggles.
"Brad, put me down!" I hissed, beating on his arm. He didn't listen, sweeping me out of the room. Nat quickly followed, glancing down the long med hall evilly to see if the coast was clear.
Once she was sure it was, she signaled for us to go, my giggles echoing through the now empty hallway we were in. Nat didn't follow and assumed she'd gone to lunch. Speaking of lunch, I was hungry. Bradley read my mind.
"Finch is bringing us food, bedside service for her highness." he said, his eyes and smile bright. There was a twinkle in them I'd never seen before.
Somehow he'd known where my room was. He used his hip to open my door, the low lights already on. We hadn't passed anyone on the way here, the whole crew at lunch with the pilot's and admiral's.
Gently, Bradley threw me onto the bed, leaning down to place a light kiss on my forehead. His bag was in the corner, which wasn't technically allowed. I had a feeling that none of his bunk mates were going to tattle, though. I watched as he riffled through it before pulling out a large sweatshirt. He chunked it at me and I took it happily.
The ship was always hot, but I had chills. Bradley examined me in mild concern from the end of my small bed. It was barely big enough for both of us, but I knew he would sleep on the hard floor before leaving me alone.
"Do you want to take a shower?"
I didn't want to, but my skin was sticky and my hair was sticking to the back of my neck, so I nodded. He nodded, too, before reaching to help me out of bed. He was careful as he swung my legs over the side, my t-shirt riding up. His eyes roamed higher, to my lacy, blue thong. I was going to kill whoever had taken off my pants.
"Can you make it there yourself?" he murmured into my skin. He'd gotten me to a standing position.
"I think so," I said, bending my bandaged leg the best I could.
I hoped one step, two steps before I felt his large hands placed on my hip bones, keeping me steady. I'd never felt more like a child.
"You really gotta stop doing stupid shit." he said as I struggled out of my sling.
We were alone in the shower room. Bradley had glared at anyone in sight before we even entered and then proceeded to bark orders at anyone who was inside the room.
He held my towel on his arm, like a waiter would a napkin at a fancy restaurant. I felt his eyes on my as I turned my back to him and slipped my underwear off. I let it drop to the floor around my ankles. I hobbled to the small, metal shower. I glanced at it, and then back at Brad.
"I can't stand for that long." I deadpanned. My voice was flat, defeated.
Bradley seemed to have already anticipated that. My eyes followed him as he took two long strides and opened the door to one of the other showers. Inside was a large, metal tub. Steam rose from the surface, fogging up the mirror.
When I gave him a bewildered glance, he shrugged. "The nurse said you'd have trouble standing today." He led me over to it. "Plus, you can't get your stitches wet."
I nodded, only half listening. The hot water was so inviting. I felt Bradley tugging gently on my t-shirt. I lifted my good arm the best I could. He pushed it through the sleeve and then gently pulled it over my shoulder and down my arm.
I took an unsteady step forward. Bradley helped me into the tub, holding my hand as he partially lifted me over the side.
I sunk into the warm watch, almost moaning as I felt my muscles relax. Bradley kept his eyes on mine as he moved my toiletries to the ledge.
"Do you want me to help you?" he asked, and there was no shame. He wasn't timid, or nervous.
I smiled a little. "Yes."
He dipped his head in response. His fingers snaked into my hair, dunking my head into the water. I closed my eyes as the water soaked into my hair. He rubbed the shampoo into my roots and put the condition exactly where it needed to be.
"You're going to be a great dad one day." I told him as he was tendering scrubbing my shoulder.
I hadn't even remembered thinking, much less saying the words until his eyes lit up. He continued to wash me, without speaking, moving farther down. Once he was done, he cupped his hand into the water, rinsing the suds from my skin.
"You're going to be a great mother, Lilah." he hummed into the skin of my back shoulder.
I almost scoffed. "Why? Because I had such a great mother figure? Brad, I had a 16 year old who'd slept with a married man. A married man who didn't want me."
"You had Sarah," he corrected, massaging my back. "And Tom."
And then that's when I realized that my mother was never my mother. She was my DNA, sure she popped me out, but my parents were my grandparents, the people who loved and cared for me. I'd been raised as their own, and I was.
"And you're a wonderful sister to Jamie," he continued on, moving his mouth to my ear. The words tickled. "And one day, when we have tiny Bradshaw's running around, he'll make a great uncle, because of you."
I smiled, leaning back onto his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, not bothering to avoid the tub water. He was already soaked.
I closed my eyes, cherishing the moment.
"Do you ever wish you could freeze a moment?"
"Yes," his reply, soft and low.
"I would never leave this if I had too."
I felt his smile on the back of my neck.
sorry it's taking longer to get chapter's out! it's probably going to be like this until the end! super sorry, school's a bitch!