Recovery Period

Chapter 20

All too soon, Raina's legs began to go numb in their cross-legged position. She winced at the tingling sensation, but hesitated to rearrange and risk waking Nico. This was so endearing.

The pins and needles eventually became too much and she lifted Nico slightly to uncross her legs. Nico grumbled in response and turned further into Raina's chest, sighing contentedly.

Raina wriggled her toes and ankles, relishing the return of blood to her lower extremeties. Even this position, though, wasn't sustainable. She looked down at Nico and debated what to do next. Tuck her in? Take her to the couch? Make a bed on the floor in here in case she woke up?

In the end, she decided to attempt to get Nico into the bed. That's ultimately where she'd sleep the best since there would be little sound reaching this back room.

Raina eyed the bed a few feet away and lifted Nico a bit, giving her space to get on her knees. Nico squirmed in her sleep, rotating her body around to koala against Raina's chest.

As carefully as she could, Raina peeled Nico away as she stood up, using the bed to take the bulk of Nico's dead weight.

The cold bed finally registered with Nico and she grumbled, sitting up and away from the outerspace bedspread she had yet to notice. Nico whined and rubbed at her eyes while Raina quickly opened the closet behind her and snagged a fuzzy blanket, wrappimg Nico in it before her eyes even fully opened.

"It's time for bed, Nico. We can play more tomorrow, I promise," Raina said quietly, using her hands to gently guide Nico into a laying position on top of the made bed.

Nico mumbled something about not being tired and Raina smiled and nodded, "I know, I know. Just take a little rest for me." She got no argument once she had Nico nicely tucked into the gray faux fur.

Raina sat back on the floor and waited a few moments to make sure Nico stayed asleep, then quietly got to her feet. She took a brief moment to look at Nico's bandaged foot, which had a thin line of red right over the stitches.

"Going to have to check that out tomorrow," she muttered to herself, pulling the blanket down over Nico's feet.

As she approached the door, she hesitated. Should she leave the door open or close it? She didn't want Nico to feel trapped but she also didn't want her to feel watched.

In the end, she left the door slightly ajar and headed into the living room to watch TV before going to bed herself.

Per usual, she never made it to bed. Instead, she fell asleep watching a true crime show with a monotone narrator.

Several hours passed before Nico woke up with the earnest need to pee. She sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed in a hurry, swooning a little at the weird feeling in her bandaged foot.

She carefully stood up and limped through the darkness toward the lefthand door, opening it as quietly as she could. Once it was open enough, she squeezed into the hallway and glanced around.

By some miracle, she spotted a bathroom directly across the hall, standing wide open. She hopped over on one foot, flicked on the light and locked the door behind her, narrowly making it to the toilet in time.

Once she was finished, she hopped back to the door, turned off the light, and edged back into the hall. It was only now that she noticed a blue glow coming from down the hall, accompanied by a low, consistent hum of sound.

Oh, TV, Nico realized, instinctively moving back towards the room she'd come out of. Just inside the doorway though, she froze. Should she really go to sleep in a stranger's house, injured, without her phone nearby? Probably not.

She sighed and put a hand against the wall, limping her way down the hallway towards the kitchen and living room. Where was it last? Did m...she take it? she thought, wincing at the misstep. Raina. Her name is Raina.

She glanced around the spotless kitchen, seeing nothing like a phone laying out on any surface. She then hobbled into the living room and spotted it laying on the ottoman a few feet from a fully passed out Raina.

She didn't even change out of her scrubs, Nico noticed, carefully shuffling towards the plush surface. Thankfully she was able to snag it without waking Raina and she turned to go back down the hall when something caught her eye.

It was Mol, peeking out from behind the plush throw pillow Raina was asleep on. Nico was frozen, unsure of what to do. She hadn't needed Mol...but she suddenly wanted him badly.

She weighed her options and decided he was worth the risk. Or maybe she knew she would never go back to sleep without him and being awake, alone was scary.

Nico tiptoed around the ottoman and crouched down by Raina's head, chewing anxiously on her lip as she reached for Mol's exposed ear. She pulled gently, but not gently enough.

Raina's eyes popped open and Nico jumped, falling backwards onto her butt and narrowly missing the hard-sided ottoman right behind her.

"What the Hell?!" Raina panted, sitting up onto her elbow.

Nico's tongue glued itself to the roof of her mouth, leaving her mute. She tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat, but was ultimately unsuccessful.

"Nico, what are you doing?" Raina asked, calmly kicking off her blanket as she sat upright on the couch.

Nico just stared.

"Wh- " Raina began, stopped by a soft thud to her left. She looked down and saw a dark pile on the floor. As she reached toward the floor, she noticed Nico's eyes following her hand. She suddenly felt fur and had total clarity.

"Nico, were you missing your friend?" Raina asked, lifting Mol up to be within Nico's reach. Nico squirmed on the floor, pulling her bottom lip in.

"You don't have to answer, honey. Here you go."

Raina leaned toward Nico and placed the bunny in her lap, pecking the top of Nico's head with a quick kiss.

Nico looked down and folded Mol into her arms, hugging him tightly to her chest. After a few moments, she managed a muffled "thanks" into Mol's fur.

"Sure thing. Now it's time to go back to sleep. Can I tuck you in again?" Raina said casually as she stood up. Nico's face was suddenly warm and she lowered Mol away from her mouth.

"What do you mean 'again'?" Nico demanded, defensive at the implication.

Raina raised an eyebrow and fought back a smirk. "Well first you fell asleep in my lap after you got a full tummy," Raina teased.

Nico's face flared. "I...I di-did not!"

"How do you remember it, exactly?" Raina asked, leaning down to put her face close to Nico's.

"I...we ate pizza and then we..." Nico murmured, suddenly hyperaware that the events prior to her waking up hadn't fully registered.

Raina smiled as Nico trailed off, "You snuggled in my lap, fell asleep, and then I tucked you in."

Nico glared at Raina, who was enjoying Nico's discomfort a little too much.