Brian's POV
I've been in a lot of pain the past couple of days. After all the tests were done, the final results were that I broke two ribs, pulled muscles in my neck, and damaged the nerves on my hip. It's possible that I could have permanent nerve damage. But as long as I had Jess by my side, I knew that I could get through anything.
I was disappointed in not being able to compete in the obstacle course. I wanted to earn that $100,000 for my charity. But I also wanted to make Jess proud. She had done so much for me, especially in the past few weeks. She was there for me after I had to retire, and when I had a little bit of a breakdown after the tarantula punishment. I just wanted to show her that I could still accomplish something, that I could still be a man. But Jess never made me feel like I wasn't a man. It was just my own insecurities that were weighing heavily on me.
When Jess first saw me in the hospital, she as very upset. She may have been a little aggressive, especially calling my mother. But I knew that she wasn't trying to be demanding, or tell me what to do. She was only saying all those things because she loved me, and didn't want to see me get hurt. Around this time, Jess started to become very emotional, which I attributed to her constantly worrying about me.
Jess was an angel during this time. She took days off work, and basically dropped everything to take care of me while I was injured. We joked that she was like my nurse. Even though I was in a lot of pain, I really enjoyed the time that Jess and I were able to spend together. It was the most time we had spent together since we started dating. Jess and I were often forced to be apart due to my hectic touring schedule. But during this time Jess would spend days at my house, only leaving if she needed to get groceries, or pick something up from her place. We would watch movies, play video games, and just hang out together all day. I never wanted her to leave. The thing I loved most about our relationship was that we were still best friends. I never got tired of being around her.
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Since Halloween was only a few days away, I wanted to watch some classic horror movies. It was my favorite movie genre, but I knew Jess despised them. But she agreed to watch them for me, her favorite patient. We were both sitting on the couch, watching the movie, but there was some space in between us. She was clutching tightly to a pillow and burying her face into it during the especially gruesome scenes. I found it adorable that she was scared, but she was way too far away for my liking.
"What are you doing all the way over there? Come here. I'll protect you," I told her. I opened my arms wide, inviting her to cuddle with me.
"Brian, you just broke your ribs..." Jess said. She didn't want to cuddle with me, because she was worried about hurting me.
"It's okay, baby. I'll be fine. I just want to be closer to you," I told her.
I kept my arms wide open for her. She laid right in my arms and rested her head on my chest. Having Jess snuggled in my arms was the best feeling in the world. It could cure any pain I was in. Each time she would get scared, she would bury her head into my chest, shielding her eyes from the terror on the screen. I instinctually wince in pain, since my ribs were still sensitive.
"Brian, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," she said as she got up, looking horrified.
"It's okay, Jess. You're worth the pain," I told her.
"Are you sure?" she asked, hesitantly.
"I probably deserve the pain anyway, right? I was stupid enough to try this obstacle course," I joked, but Jess didn't find it funny. I thought her concern for me was excessive until her fears about Nitro Circus turned into reality. Part of me expected her to say 'I told you so' when I got injured.
"Brian, you do NOT deserve to be in pain. Maybe I overreacted. I'm sorry if I've been so paranoid lately, but it's only because I don't want you to get hurt. Whether that's in the fire department, or doing this obstacle course," she told me.
"That's okay, Jess. I know you're only doing it because you care about me," I said.
"It's just... When I was younger, my dad was everything to me, especially after my mom died. But every time he left for work, I would be terrified that something would happen to him. But now, you're my everything, and I don't want to see anything happen to you," she explained to me.
I didn't consider how hard it would be for her to see me in pain, or to imagine me going out into the field as a fireman. I didn't want her to be so worried about me all the time. I didn't want to be the cause of all her stress. I put my arms around her, bringing her close to me again, and assured her that everything would be okay.
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One night, Jess came back saying that she had something special to show me. She hoped that it would cheer me up, since I had been just laying around the house for the past few days. But I was feeling a lot better.
"I hope you don't think it's lame," she told me.
Jess pulled out these two walkie-talkies, and I excitedly grabbed one from her hands. I was probably acting like a child, who had just gotten a new toy to play with. But what better person to play with than my best friend?
"These are so cool, Jess. They use them on set all the time but I never get use them, let alone take it home," I told her.
"I'm glad you liked them. I figured we could still communicate while I'm kitchen making us dinner, and you're on the couch," she told me.
"Jess, you know I can still walk, right? I'm not a vegetable," I teased her.
Although Jess was incredibly sweet taking care of me, sometimes she could go a bit overboard. She didn't want me to lift a finger, fearing that I would hurt myself even more. Despite my injuries, I had been feeling a lot better the past few days. And having Jess there with me always made things better.
"Ok, fine. But you take one, and I'll be in the other room," she told me.
"But just remember, you have to say over after everything or else it doesn't count," I told her.
"Sure, babe. Whatever you say," she said. I watched her walk away, going towards my bedroom.
"Testing, testing. Do these work? Over," I asked, through the walkie-talkie.
"Yes, Brian. I can hear you. Over."
"Jess, I appreciate you taking care of me. But I can still walk. Over."
"I just don't want you to overexert yourself... Over."
"But I feel a lot better. And you know, I can still do other things too... Over."
"Oh, really? Like what? Can you come show me? Over."
"Don't worry, I will. Bend over."
"Bend, what? Over."
Jess pretended to be confused, but she knew exactly what I meant. We hadn't been intimate since I got injured, with her barely wanting to touch me. Even though I was hurt, I still had those urges, especially being around Jess all day. No matter what she did, Jess was always so sexy to me.
"You're such a tease," I told her in person, finally getting up and walking into the bedroom. She was sitting on my bed, with her legs crossed, this deviously sexy look in her eyes. She knew exactly what she was doing.
"You're the one who insisted we had to say over after everything," she reminded me.
"Does this mean you're not going to bend over?" I said, disappointed.
"Why don't you just come here, baby? Show me how much better you're feeling," She told me, as she opened her legs wide open, inviting me towards her. And I couldn't resist. It seemed like the both of us missed each other in that way, and we desperately wanted that intimacy again. But we went nice and slow, just to make sure I didn't hurt myself.
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After we had finished, we laid there face to face, our legs intertwined. I just stared at her, as I often do, admiring her beauty.
"You're so perfect," I whispered in her ear. I always gave Jess complements, but there was something about the word 'perfect' that always made her cringe.
"Please don't say that," she told me.
"Why do you hate when I say that?" I asked her. I had always just brushed it off, but this time I decided to ask her why she felt so strongly about that word.
"Because I'm not perfect. And I don't want you to think that I am, and be completely disappointed when I do something wrong," she explained.
"Okay, fine. Maybe you're not perfect. But I think you're perfect for me. Is that better?" I asked her, and she smiled.
"I don't mind that. And I think we're made for each other," she agreed.
"Speaking of being made for each other, all that talk about our couple's costumes, and we never even got to wear them," I reminded her.
"That's okay. There's always next year for you to dress me however you want," she assured me, even though I was still slightly disappointed.
Prior to my injury, we had planned on going to a few parties, wearing our couple's costumes. We had finally settled on my suggestion of going as Harley Quinn and the Joker. Before we were even together, I had fantasies about Jess dressed up as some of my favorite comic book characters. Telling Jess that she'd be a Quinn one day really sold it to her. But it was something I actually believed.
It had been almost a month since Jess and I had our discussion about marriage, and my feelings for her have only gotten stronger since then. When my engagement was broken the first time, I swore to myself that I would never want to get married. But everything changed when I met Jess. And when we started dating, I quickly realized that I would eventually want to make her my wife. Especially after she was so loving and patient while taking care of me, I knew that she would make the perfect wife. Since Jess and I have been together, I've realized that she's the only woman I ever want to be with, for the rest of my life. I couldn't live without her.
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my friend Madi, @hashtaggfy on Tumblr. She requested that I put a certain scene in my story a while ago, and I've finally added it to this chapter. Also, sorry for the slight delay with this chapter. I know it might throw some people off that I posted five chapters in a row, and then went about a week without posting. Sometimes I have spurts of creative energy, but this week I wasn't feeling great, and was kind of exhausted. I hope you guys can understand. But let me know what you think of this chapter!