Senseless

Heart

Tommy-

It was hard to keep his mind on healing. After more than a full week in bed, per doctor's orders, Tommy was about ready to go crazy. He'd done every single thing Chris had asked of him and yet the guy still wouldn't let him start using his wheelchair again. He knew that it took a while to recover, but all of his vitals were great and he barely ever felt pain in his chest like he had before. 

I feel much better than I did the first time I was recovering. 

Granted, he'd been in a coma for a while, which had probably helped, but things just felt different this time. Like he truly was healing better. 

It's probably because I don't have an infection this time. The idea hit him like a smack in the face. That had to be it. I didn't know that it wasn't supposed to be so painful so I tried to hide the worst of it. 

He wouldn't dare tell Christopher his theory, though. The man had already beaten himself down daily for not catching the infection early on. If he didn't pass out from exhaustion every time he slid into bed beside him, Tommy knew that he wouldn't sleep because of the stress. 

Hearing the front door open and Skipper's quiet greeting bark drew Tommy's attention to the bedroom door. His heart monitor sped up, broadcasting his excitement, but Tommy was so used to the machines that he didn't pay it any mind. His eyes were glued to the door, as if he were Skipper, waiting for his master to come home and simply acknowledge his presence. 

When the bedroom door finally opened after Chris took the dog out, Tommy couldn't keep the eager smile from his face. He knew he looked as bad as he had the past few weeks, as he wasn't allowed out of bed and looked like he hadn't bathed in the same amount of time, which would have been true if Christopher hadn't gotten bath wipes. He was desperate to take a simple shower, but he knew that he had to keep being patient. First, he had to get Christopher to just allow him to get out of his bed. 

Just like he did every time he got home, Christopher went right to the machines and read each of the charts from the time he'd left to check for any problems. When his tired eyes closed for a moment and the wrinkles in his forehead vanished, Tommy knew that he was doing well. 

Christopher opened his eyes a moment later and, after setting his bag down beside the bed, climbed right into Tommy's waiting arms. It was part of the ritual they'd developed since he'd returned from the hospital. At first, Tommy had to remain lying down, but as he got stronger, he started sitting up as soon as Christopher got home each day. He knew that it worried the man to do it while he was gone in case he strained himself too much, too early, so they came to an agreement that he could do it as long as Christopher was home to watch over him. 

The man was careful as he settled into Tommy's arms. At first, he'd been frustrated by his incessant gentleness, as if he would break on the outside because of his internal injury, but after a while Tommy grew to accept that the man was just being extremely careful because he honestly cared that much. 

Sliding his arms around Christopher, Tommy released a relaxing breath as his tense muscles unwound. He hated staying put and it stressed him out to not move for so long, but just having Chris come home each night and allow him to hold him, even for a short time, made it all worth it. 

After several perfect minutes of only the monitoring machines humming in the background, Tommy nuzzled the man's hair and whispered by his ear. "How was work, love?" His hands moved slowly as he spoke, feeling Christopher's ribs through his worn doctor's coat. He would make sure that Chris ate a good bit for dinner tonight, he was getting too skinny.

"I missed you." Christopher replied as he settled his head beneath Tommy's chin and sighed. Tommy knew that the man had his eyes closed and was using their short time together before he had to make dinner to unwind and destress from his day.