Sleep claimed Chloe within minutes. After all of the trauma her body had endured that day, she crashed hard into a heavy sleep that was vital to her recovery. She barely even stirred throughout the night, both exhaustion and the warmth of Beca's body at her side keeping her still and content even in her sleep. It was hours later in the early hours of the morning that she finally shifted and offered a sleepy, incoherent mumble as she haltingly slipped back into wakefulness. It was probably some combination of the sunlight that was slowly starting to filter through a small gap in the curtains and the deep ache of soreness that had settled into her bandaged side that finally roused her. It was to be expected, but that didn't make it any more pleasant as her sleep-bleary features twisted into a displeased grimace as she tried to shift slightly beneath the blankets and her side ached in protest. There was nothing that could really be done for it, since she would just have to give it time and care while she was on the mend.
She wasn't sure that she would immediately be able to doze off again, and the sudden grumble of her stomach reminded her of exactly how long it had been since she'd eaten. Carefully pushing herself a little higher on her pillows so she could prop up a little more, she reached for the water and apple that had been left on the bedside table the night before. The apple was set in her lap as she twisted the lid off of the water, grateful for the water that soothed her dry throat as she took several slow, careful sips. It was frustrating already to have to be so ginger about even simple tasks, but it wouldn't benefit any of them to let it put her in a foul mood. No, she was grateful that she was even still here to grumble about her wound--she would take that inconvenience over the alternative any day. She didn't want to disturb Beca, since she needed rest after yesterday too, and she didn't hear sounds of movement from the living room, so she could only hope that the twins were still sleeping peacefully as well. So for the time being, she contented herself with setting her water aside so she could take a bite of the apple, the fruit a welcome refreshment after quite a while without any sustenance.
*
Beca woke twice during the night, slowly and carefully slipping out of bed each time after checking to make sure Chloe’s chest rose and fell in a peaceful rhythm. The early winter chill enveloped the bedroom and shocked her into grumpy wakefulness both times, but she tiptoed into the living room and reignited the fire for the kids, whose blankets were thankfully warm enough to keep them insulated with their own body heat. The second time, Nellie kicked off one of her blankets and whimpered and writhed on her couch in the midst of a nightmare. Beca’s heart broke for her and Beca lowered herself to sit at Nellie’s side, whispering calm words and rubbing soothing circles on her back until she settled.
When she woke the third time to check on Chloe, the muted sunbeams of dawn filtered through the curtains and Beca rubbed the sleep from her eyes to find Chloe already sitting up and starting on breakfast. The sight poured relief into her veins and she grinned as she cautiously pushed herself to sit up beside her, mindful to not jostle the mattress. “Hey. Sleep okay?” Beca hoped the fact that Chloe didn’t seem to wake during her two trips to check on the kids meant that she had, but she had to ask anyway. “How bad’s the pain? Anything we can do for it?”
*
Chloe worked her way through part of the apple and a little more of her water when Beca finally stirred beside her. Feeling the same familiar glow of warmth that had occupied her mind as she'd drifted off the night before, she watched with a growing smile as Beca rubbed at her eyes and slowly roused into wakefulness. It didn't matter that she'd woken to that sight plenty of times before, it still affected her every time she had a chance to observe Beca in the soft, indistinct light of early morning. "Yeah, I slept like a rock. I don't think anything could've woken me up after I crashed." Her expression twitched with the minute remnants of a grimace that she wasn't entirely able to suppress when Beca immediately questioned her about the pain. She shouldn't be surprised, Beca had dealt with a similar gunshot wound and knew firsthand how it felt. "It's manageable," she insisted, because they didn't need another concern to add to their growing list. "There's not really much we can do with the supplies we have. I'll just have to take it easy and be careful."
YOU ARE READING
In My Blood (Completed)
Fanfiction*ALL CREDIT BELONGS TO THIS AWESOME WRITER CARMA19* I read this story here in wattpad long ago and felt sad because the book was incomplete, until recently, I found this author carma19 at archiveofourown.org (AO3) who owned this book and I felt like...
