Blair leaned into the spray as the water caressed his face. Liquid burned across closed lids, massaging tired eyes. He let the water work its magic for several pleasurable moments before finally letting his head drop down so his shoulders and neck had full access to the pulsing water. Blair slowly rolled his head back and forth, helping the water work the worst kinks out of his neck. Opening his eyes, Blair watched as water streamed down his hair to gather at the tips and drip quickly down the drain.
Blair had decided that finally ending his long day and coming home had been the very definition of bliss. But this shower threatened to make him rethink that assessment. Soon the worst knots had been worked out and Blair quickly finished his shower, longing for his bed and a long night's sleep for once. Maybe my bed is the definition of bliss.
Leaving the definition of bliss to a time when he was more coherent, Blair turned the faucet off and squeezed the water out of his hair before reaching for his towel and wrapping it around himself. He stepped one leg out of the tub and had shifted his weight forward to step out when he felt his foot slip. Before he could even think about regaining his balance, his leg completely slipped out from under him and he fell back into the bathtub. The last sound he heard before he lost consciousness was the thunk of his head hitting the tiled wall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The first sound Blair heard as he came to was a soft voice urging someone to open his eyes. After several seconds it dawned on Blair that not only was the voice speaking to him, but it was pretty insistent. Almost as soon as his eyes opened he slammed them shut again. This is SO not the definition of bliss.
"Blair? Come on, buddy, open your eyes."
"No."
"I turned the lights off, Chief."
Jim watched as Blair's entire face struggled to open his eyes. His eyebrows raised up, his mouth lowered, and his eyelashes fluttered briefly before his eyes finally opened.
"Okay? Not too bright for you?"
"Ungh... hospital again?"
"I'm afraid so, Chief. How do you feel?"
"Like my brain is trying to beat my skull up and my skull is winning."
Jim grimaced. "Look at the bright side, you still have your sense of humor."
Blair glared at Jim. "Ha ha, laugh it up. I'll remember to joke around with you the next time you slam your head into something unyielding."
"Okay, so maybe you don't have your sense of humor. But you will. You have a mild concussion. You just have to rest and you'll be as good as new."
"I gathered that. I knew I was going to be fine as soon as I realized you weren't in 'Blessed Protector Mode.' When can I go home?"
"Tomorrow morning."
"No. Come on, Jim. You just said yourself I'm gonna be fine. Talk to the doctor. All I've wanted to do since I got home was to go to sleep."
"So sleep."
"In my own bed, Jim."
"No can do, Chief. You need someone to check on you through the night and I have something I need to do."
"What?"
"Come on, Blair. You know usually it would be fine. I don't mind taking care of you when you're hurt. But there's something I have to take care of tonight and I can't do it if I'm looking after you."
"Fine."
"I'll be by first thing in the morning to bring you home."
"Fine. I'm just gonna get some sleep." Blair rolled over and tried to pull the covers up to his shoulders, his back to Jim.
Jim released the blanket where it was snagged and arranged it over Blair. "First thing in the morning, Chief."
"Whatever." Jim sighed and after one last pat to the blanket covered shoulder left the room.
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Blair grimaced a little as the elevator stopped. He slid a glance over at Jim, but he was already stepping out of the elevator and moving to the door. "Blair, you okay? Do you need some help?"
Blair almost snorted, but he contained it and shuffled into the loft. No, he didn't need any help now. He'd had about all the help he could stand at the hospital. At least when Jim woke him every hour he was nice about it. The nurses at the hospital were all business. Wakey-wakey, vitals check, yadda yadda and out the door. Not even a good night wish or a pat on the back for his troubles.
When he thought about it rationally, he knew he wasn't really being fair. It wasn't Jim's responsibility to play nursemaid to him because he'd been clumsy enough to fall in the shower. In fact, after all the times Jim had taken care of him, maybe he deserved to have a break from it. But Blair wasn't up to feeling rational. Damn it! You're supposed to be my Blessed Protector! Start protecting or something!
Blair sighed, disgusted with himself. Sleep, you just need some good sleep time. With another glance at Jim, Blair trudged into the bathroom for a pit stop before he went bed. It wasn't until he was washing his hands that he noticed the changes. Under his feet was a brand new slip proof rug. There was another by the tub, as well as handles like those used in handicapped accessible bathrooms. Blair flung back the shower curtain and stared. The bottom of the tub was covered with plastic dolphins, ducks, stars and flowers.
"It's so you don't slip again. They help you keep your footing in the tub."
Blair turned around, noticing that Jim had come into the bathroom. "I know what they are, Jim. Don't you think this is a little over board?"
"They were out of the plain ones, so I had to get the designer ones."
"Couldn't you at least stick to one kind?"
"They didn't have enough of one kind."
"Just how many packages did you use? I can't even see the bottom of the tub for all the plastic do-hickeys. You only need on package, Jim."
"I don't want to take any chances, Chief. The bathroom is one of the most dangerous places in a home."
"And the handicap rail?"
"You hold on to it so you don't slip."
"I'm aware of what it's for. I just don't see why either of us needs it."
"I'm just playing it safe."
"You did this all last night?"
"Yeah, I didn't want to leave it to chance. I didn't know when I'd have the time to do it after you got home and it couldn't wait." Jim put his arm around Blair's shoulders and started steering him out of the bathroom. "Come on, let's get you to bed. I'm sorry you had to stay in the hospital, but it had to be done, and I couldn't do both."
Blair smiled. "It's okay, Jim. I understand. A Blessed Protector's got to do what a Blessed Protector's got to do."
End
