missthis_ass | [hospital

It's been a few days and Chloe still feels like shit.

She'd needed a transfusion, she's been treated for smoke inhalation, she's been stitched and patched and her left ankle is elevated to help treat the sprain. The scrape along her left thigh has been covered and she feels like a rag doll, bits and pieces of other things sewn together to make one whole being. Besides that, she's restless and bored, itching to get out of this hospital bed and, if nothing else, at least recuperate in her own home surrounded by her own things. She's not used to having to rely on others for help. It's not a feeling she enjoys.

Yesterday hadn't been so bad, she'd been able to avoid having to see anyone under the doctor's orders, but she's stabilized now and she's free to have visitors, which isn't something Chloe wants and something she's sure she's not going to be able to avoid.

Nate will be here, she knows that for certain, especially given everything she'd said to him on the cusp of unconsciousness. Now, lying in this hospital bed, she isn't sure whether or not she regrets it, but she also doesn't have any idea what's going to happen from here on. Nate might not even say anything, but she knows if he gives her a hard time about it, she's going to wait until she's feeling better and then she's going to kick his ass.

Coop will be here, too, without a doubt. Knowing he'd gotten out without injury had come as a great relief, but given the state of her, she has a feeling he's going to find some way to be a pain in her ass. A part of her is almost looking forward to that, though, if only because it means he's alive and well and she didn't screw up by getting him seriously injured.

She has no idea who else knows. No idea who else Nate might have told. She hopes, probably pointlessly, that he hasn't told anyone, that she might get a few days of rest before she has to head back out and deal with this failure.

As soon as she closes her eyes and lays her head on the pillow, her door opens, and she sighs softly. Apparently a bit of rest is just not in the cards.

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"I like to think it was amicable," Chloe answers and se knows they're teasing, but there's a bit of a sting in it all, too. While she feels like neither of them are the sort to get in so deep that something like this will truly hurt them for long, she can't pretend as if Coop means nothing to her. Or she can, at least outwardly, but they both know that isn't really how she feels in this situation. And she knows it's not how he feels either.

"I'm not sure anything I give you could compare to this," she admits, picking up the compass again. "Except for the third of the payout that I give to you, of course, that might help even the scales a little."

Her gaze flicks up again and she arches an eyebrow, watching Coop reach into his bag. "What sort of reading material? And is it for you or for me?"

"Yeah, but you started it," Coop told her with a snicker. He didn't want to dwell on the whole thing too long because he really was fine for the most part. Sure, there was a little bit of sadness and a little bit of hurt but he'd get over it. He wasn't going to go flouncing off and pout because one part of their relationship had to end. He valued the friendship too much for that.

His snicker turned into a wide, shit eating grin when he pulled out several copies of Playboy magazine. He gave his eyebrows a waggle and then opened the first one, flipping past pictures until he found what he was looking for.

"I'm going to read you the articles in these magazines. They are valuable sources of information and I think you'll enjoy what they have to say."

"Are you honestly not even going to let me look at the pictures?" she asks, tipping her head against the hospital pillow, the compass a comfortable weight in the palm of her hand. It's an odd thing she's feeling now, relief and pleasure both at having the compass, and a strange ache in her chest at the knowledge of how things will have to change from here on.

"Although it depends on the issue," she decides, trying to get a good look at the front cover. "I don't want to see the pictures of they're the gross ones."

If he's gotten older issues, though, when the posing was still relatively classy, then Chloe wants a look along with the articles.

"No, this is not picture time, this is story time," Coop said, turning away so she wouldn't be able to see any pictures. He was going to make doubly sure that she couldn't see since he now knew that's what she wanted to look at.

"Instead, we're going to read this lovely article on the hidden erogenous zones on a man's body." Coop stopped and frowned at the article. Perhaps that wasn't the best thing to read right now, not after their previous conversation.

"No, this one's better," he said without explaining why he was switching articles. "We're going to read an article on the best work at home jobs in Florida."

"Probably for the best we skip that one," she agrees. "Or I might feel the urge to get up and punch you for suggesting I need sex tips."

The next article title makes her groan and roll her eyes and she sinks into her pillow and holds the compass as if the damn thing was a lifeline. He's doing this on purpose, some sort of punishment for having gotten herself hurt, and she supposes she might deserve it, but if she falls asleep, he better not wake her.

"You're a menace," she mutters, her eyes still closed. "Do I look like the sort to settle in Florida?"

"There's always room for improvement," he chirped but didn't press the issue either. Just merely moved on and tried not to think about her and sex. It was easier because she was all banged up but still. He'd be thinking about it for awhile since it wasn't going to happen anymore.

He started reading a few things, highlighting a job that required stuffing envelopes and cold calling people to sell them homemade socks. It was riveting stuff.

"You don't look like the type to settle at all but there's no harm in being thorough," Coop said, smiling. "So, shut up and listen. I'm instilling valuable information to you."

"You're a terrible friend," she answer. Her words are more fond than anything, however, even if she would deny it. He'd found the compass, after all, he'd given her an easy companionship she's sure is going to continue even if they're no longer able to sleep together. In all her life, Chloe has had very few people she would ever consider a real friend, a very short list of those she'd be willing to really trust, and Coop had found himself on it in a relatively short length of time.

He's been the furthest thing from a terrible friend.

"But I'm also a very bad friend and I make no promises that I won't fall asleep while you read," she adds. "You've a very soothing voice and I'm on all kinds of lovely painkillers."

"Go to sleep," Coop told her gently, pausing in his reading to let her know that that was fine. It was probably the best thing for her and her healing. He figured he'd read till she fell asleep and then figure out if he wanted to stick around or not.

"Thanks for the compliment on my voice," he told her, smirking. "But, go to sleep. It'll do better for that hole in your frigging body. Sweet dreams."

With that said, he fell back into the reading of this absolutely, terribly boring article. Hopefully he wouldn't fall asleep too.

[hospital - march 26]

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