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Post by Riley Neves on Jul 20, 2009 2:00:05 GMT -5
When Riley woke up the next morning, she woke up to Roland's arms around her. She vaguely remembered having a nightmare, but she never remembered waking up or ever seeing Roland in the room. That must have meant, even with the nightmare, she had a solid night's sleep. That made her feel better, anyway.
Without moving, because she didn't want to disturb Roland, who could have probably used the sleep more than her, she glanced around, making sure she hadn't dreamt the night before.
No, they were both definitely in the hospital, which meant Roland was back, and she didn't have to pull off the charade anymore. That realization alone almost brough tears of relief to her eyes. It was all over.
She took a deep breath and shifted to get more comfortable. And then, she couldn't help it. "Roland?" she ran her fingers through his hair, trying to gently wake him up.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 20, 2009 9:00:52 GMT -5
Being the light sleeper that he was, Roland was already starting to stir. When Riley woke up, it was as if he somehow sensed the change. So when Riley ran her hand through his hair, he responded by letting out a low murmur and moving his head to be closer to her hand.
His eyes fluttered open, and he smiled softly at her. "Good morning," he said. "Did you sleep well?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Jul 20, 2009 9:08:49 GMT -5
She returned Roland's smile and nodded. Amazingly enough, she had slept well... better than usual, even at home. "You?" she asked.
She settled onto her back, her head resting on his shoulder. "I never saw you come in last night," she said, yawning though she was no longer tired, and she reached for his hand, threading their fingers together.
"How did it go with your parents?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 20, 2009 9:23:31 GMT -5
"You were out by the time I got back," he said. "It didn't take me long to fall asleep, either. We had a long day yesterday."
True to his word, he had started out trying to obey Dr. Kelly's "rules." He'd stayed in his own bed and drifted off to sleep. But the first sound of a nightmare from Riley woke him up, and he went over to her bed to hold her as she slept. Almost immediately, she had quieted, and they both slept peacefully. And he refused to feel guilty about that.
"It went pretty well, I think. My mum is mad, but she's relieved to have me back. My dad... well, he seemed happy I was back, but I'm still a little worried about him, honestly. He and Mum were barely speaking to each other."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jul 20, 2009 9:28:49 GMT -5
"I think I may have tried to wait up for you. I can't remember. I was just so tired," Riley said. He would understand. He already admitted they have a long day the day before. Not that today was going to be any shorter. "I think today is when we have to start dealing with all of the consequences," she mused. The reporters, Angelique if she came back, the rest of his family. "But that also means that you really are back. It feels great."
She knew the rift between Cara and Mathieu, and she was hoping that Roland's return would help them. And maybe it would... they just needed time. "Yeah, well, they were upset about losing you. They'll get better with each other."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 20, 2009 16:24:17 GMT -5
Roland leaned in and kissed her lightly. "It's OK. I was glad that you didn't. It took a little while to talk to my parents. As you might expect, my mum had a lot to say."
He propped himself up on his good elbow and looked at her for a moment, taking in the color of her skin and the sparkle in her eyes. She really looked much better than she had in quite a while, and it took his breath away.
"You look beautiful this morning," he said. "Did the doctor ever come back in to check on the baby? How did it go? I wished I could have been here for that."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jul 20, 2009 18:06:28 GMT -5
"I bet she did," Riley said, and her eyes lowered as she thought about Mathieu. "And I bet your dad didn't have much to say at all. Your parents have a complimentary dynamic."
And then he was telling her she looked beautiful, and she blushed. She was laying in a hospital bed and probably didn't look well at all. There was nothing beautiful about that at all, but if he thought so, she wouldn't argue.
"Oh, yes. Dr. Kenyon came back and said that everything looked fine, and that the baby has a healthy, strong heartbeat. I got to hear it again... and she said she'd do it for you, too. But she wants me to stay a day or two, just in case. I'm becoming a regular here."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 20, 2009 21:19:56 GMT -5
"He said a little bit," Roland said. "He said enough."
He suppressed a sigh. Actually, his father had not said quite enough to his mother and that was what troubled him. Roland didn't need his father to tell him that he loved him. He knew that already. But it seemed that the person who really needed to hear it was his mother.
He pulled his mind from these thoughts temporarily as Riley told him about the baby. He was glad to hear everything was OK, but he wasn't surprised. He assumed that if things were not OK he would have heard about it sooner.
"That's great," he said with a smile. "I knew our baby would be fine. Like I said, any kid of ours would have to be a fighter. I'm sure Dr. Kelly isn't going to be thrilled, because even after I'm released, I'm planning to spend most of my time here, until you're released."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jul 20, 2009 21:38:18 GMT -5
Riley studied his face while he spoke. Something was troubling him, and she wanted so badly to fix it all of a sudden.
She shifted and turned so that she was on her side, her head against his chest, but she wouldn't ask about it. She knew well enough to know that he would tell her if he wanted her to know. She just hoped his parents hadn't been too angry with him.
She smiled when the topic changed to the baby. "It just means we've got one strong willed, stubborn kid on our hands. They'll give us a run for our money. You don't have to stay. I'll be fine, and someone needs to get Phoenix... speaking of strong willed."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 20, 2009 22:05:43 GMT -5
Roland shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not going to leave you here all alone. I promise I won't stay all day, and I'll go get Phoenix as soon as I'm released. But there's nowhere I'd rather spend my day than here with you. I think you know that."
He reached around with his other arm, which was only a little bit sore now, and brushed his hand against her cheek. Besides, seeing my family is one thing, but going out in public and trying to explain what happened to other people is another. I'd rather hide from that reality a little longer."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jul 21, 2009 2:12:48 GMT -5
Riley smiled. "We've been putting off reality for two months now," she reminded him. She agreed though... returning to normal was going to be a little difficult and she didn't know that she wanted to do it.
"I guess we don't get that day alone at the safe house like we wanted," she added, remembering that they planned on just hiding away without all the stress and the cares in the world. She took his hand. "I love you. We'll make it through this as well."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 21, 2009 11:40:10 GMT -5
Roland sighed, but he was still smiling. "No, I guess not," he said. "It's OK, though. At least we get to be together now, and we don't have to worry about anyone coming after us. It's over, and we can just get back to normal."
Of course, "normal" was a relative term. Before Roland's "death," he and Riley had not been a couple. Now they were, and they would have to get used to the idea that there would be other people around. He wondered what it would be like when he and Riley returned to work, and they had to be careful to keep their hands off of each other all day.
That is, if they still had jobs...
"Maybe we can take a weekend sometime soon and just shut ourselves off from the world. It won't be quite the same, but it's something."
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Post by Riley Neves on Jul 21, 2009 12:32:21 GMT -5
Riley gave a little half hearted shrug. "I have a feeling Angelique is going to make sure that we both have plenty of time off in the next couple of weeks, if we don't lose our jobs entirely."
She wouldn't know what to do if they were fired, but it was something else they could deal with when the time came. "You know, when we started this whole thing, I kept thinking that I would die if it caused me to lose my job. And now, I mean, I want to keep my job. But if we lost them, I think I'd be okay. You've changed my priorities."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 21, 2009 14:25:11 GMT -5
Roland groaned. "Yeah, I think you might be right. I'm pretty sure we're going to be suspended, for a little while, at least. It's OK... we deserve it. As long as we're suspended together, it won't be so bad. I'm sure we can think of ways to occupy our time..." He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.
He couldn't help but feel a little shiver when she told him that he had changed her priorities. She had done the same thing for him, and she knew it. He was the guy who had treated sex like a casual pasttime and avoided relationships like the plague, who swore he didn't want to get married or have children. And now, he was going to be a father and had proposed to her twice.
"You've changed my priorities, too," he said softly, in case she had any doubt. He leaned in and kissed her tenderly.
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Post by Chase Kelly on Jul 21, 2009 15:45:34 GMT -5
The door opened in the middle of their kiss, which seemed to be becoming a habit for them. Chase was not surprised to find them in this position, but he crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes as he cleared his throat.
"I should have guessed I'd find you like this this morning," he said, coming further into the room. He gave Roland a look, but then asked, "How are you both feeling today?"
Lydia would be in later to check on Riley, but he figured he would ask anyway. "I notice that neither of you ate."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 21, 2009 15:59:33 GMT -5
Roland pulled back at the sound of Chase's voice, smiling unapologetically at him. "Sorry, doc. Never been much for rules," he replied. "Anyway, I didn't wake her up."
He sat up slowly, running a hand through his hair. "I'm feeling fine. Just a little stiffness in the elbow, but that's pretty normal, right? Do I get to be released today?"
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Post by Chase Kelly on Jul 21, 2009 16:27:25 GMT -5
"Your arm could be falling off, and you would tell me that it feels fine," Chase said, smiling a little. He was already looking Roland over, and he looked fine. Basically, he just wanted to make sure the blood replenishing potion helped his patient, and he could see that it really did.
"Yes," He said after a moment, as if considering making him stay. "But later. I need to talk to your boss first. I imagine there are things that need to be discussed before you're let loose on the public. But there's no medical reason for you to stay."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 21, 2009 16:53:51 GMT -5
Roland grinned. "That's probably true," he replied. He knew he had a tendency to downplay such things, but he really was fine. Better than fine. He was home, he was with Riley, and the threat had passed. How could he feel anything but great?
He nodded at what Chase said. Yes, there were still some loose ends to tie up, and they would have to wait to hear from Angelique before he could just go back to his life the way it had been. His death had received too much coverage, and he couldn't exactly walk around unnoticed.
"Fair enough," he said. "When do visiting hours start?"
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Post by Chase Kelly on Jul 21, 2009 17:03:48 GMT -5
Chase looked at his watch. It was magical, or course, and modified to remind him which patients to check on and when. In fact, it kept his schedule pretty well for him, automatically shifting patients around if an emergency happened.
"In about ten minutes, but you already have someone here to see you. They look about your age, and they have a baby with them." He didn't know if Roland would want to go back to his own room or not, so he didn't say anything. He'd let his patient decide.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Jul 21, 2009 19:20:05 GMT -5
Roland broke into a smile. "Cyrus," he said. He gave Riley's hand a squeeze and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I'm going to go over to my own bed, but I want to stay in here with you."
He made his way over to the other bed, which he really didn't need to be in at all, and got himself settled into a sitting position. "You can send him in whenever. I might even actually eat this time, if you insist on sending in more food...""I might even actually eat this time, if you insist on sending in more food..."
He let out a laugh, realizing how that sounded. He could be arrogant, but he didn't want to sound like he was treating Chase like a servant. Really, he owed him a lot. "But seriously.... thanks for everything. I do appreciate it."
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