Starring:
Summary:
Cass returns home from the hospital. Lachlan has ants in his pants. Frustration's fun!
Date It Happened: June 17th, 2007
Sexytiems Denied
Lachlan's Apartment, Brooklyn
It's coming on evening and after being assured that she would be kept up to date on Mrs. Jones, Cass asks Ramon to drop her off at Lachlan's apartment. Since she doesn't want him to stop by some time later and find her not there. Not only would that blow her cover pretty badly, but it would probably send him on a rampage. So, still dressed in Ramon's too-big for her shirt and a pair of hospital stretchy pants, she slowly makes her way to the door and raps on the door. She doesn't have her keys on her.
With the last of the Guinness and a pile of dead-to-the-world puppies draped over him, Lachlan isn't very inclined to leave the comfort of his couch. He's got the remote and is flipping between a movie and the evening news, trying to keep his own eyelids from drooping. Puppies have a way of spreading their tired. Thus it takes some time for the Scotsman to get onto his feet, but he has the decency to call out, "Comin'." He manages to get away from the puppies without waking them up, too, but then they've hit the 'nuclear war cannot wake us' stage of sleep. Upon opening the door, he stares blearily at Cass — then shocked when he sees who it is. "Cassie? Wha'— ?" He glances up and down the hall, expecting some sort of hospital posse to come barreling in demanding their AWOL patient.
"Hey. Glad you're home." Cass doesn't wait and steps inside, reaching forward to wrap Lachlan in a hug. There's no hospital staff coming to take her away, in fact there's no one else in the hallway. "I didn't want to go back to my place looking like this." She sighs. "It's good to be out of there. I had Ramon help break me out."
Now Lachlan is conflicted. Cass is here! Cass is walking and is moving around and is not holed up in the hospital! But at the same time, she's not at the hospital and she wasn't released in the traditional way, which means she should probably not be out. But then, who cares? Cass is here! So it's only a few moments of hesitation as he gets his thoughts and reactions in order before he's returning the embrace and closing the door again. "Jesus, baby, yer no' s'posed ta be walkin' 'round like this," he sighs, though he doesn't sound at all upset. He attempts to guide her to the already crowded couch. Amidst the puppies is Bonnie, who is a little bit less of a puppy now that she's bordering on the year-old, but she's there and she gives a big wag of her tail when she spots who it is, beating the German shepherd puppy in the face without realizing it.
Supposed to is relative. Allowing herself to be guided to the couch, Cass blinks at the added puppy factor. "Did…did you get a litter of puppies?" It's not that they're not adorable, it's that they're a surprise. "Oh, I'm fine. I'm fine. I think Peter helped me a bit more when he stopped by. I just…I can't be there any more. There's things that need to be done and I can't do them from a hospital bed." Gratefully, she sinks to the couch amidst puppies and Bonnie. "Hi there Bonnie." She pets her dog fondly.
Once Cass is seated, Lachlan begins clearing things away — things like a shirt and some boxers draped over the back and arm, a pizza box on the floor, and yes, even the puppies that are taking up half the loveseat. They stretch and squirm when they're lifted, but with a little telepathic nudge, they remain dead to the world after they've been laid on the floor. "Nah, s' … cop came by askin' me ta help train 'em." Much as he loves them, even Lachlan isn't silly enough to keep four big-breed dogs in one apartment. Bonnie doesn't move until after Lachlan has seated himself next to Cass, and then she only scoots a little to make room. "So wha're ye gonna do when they find yer no' there t'morrow?"
Though she's been lying down for much of the past couple weeks, Cass doesn't mind sitting down again. In fact, she kind of likes it. The running and the worry over Mrs. Jones has exhausted her for now. "Good to hear you're business is going well," she smiles. And then she shrugs. "I dunno. I haven't thought that far ahead. Ramon told me about Mrs. Jones - that's Nima's mom - was found and that she in another room and in trouble. So, I just decided to check myself out. And then we found out she was taken from the hospital, so we need to find out where she went. I couldn't just go back. I need to be doing stuff."
He's no medical expert, but Lachlan is sure that running around 'doing stuff' isn't exactly conducive to healing after being shot and flatlining on the operating table more than once. He frowns some, watching Cass with a rather conflicted expression — because he really /is/ glad she's out of the hospital. It's much better to have her here than in there. "Ye need ta be restin' an' healin' up," he states firmly. "Tha's wha' ye need ta be doin'."
Maybe it's not conducive to healing up, but Cass is antsy and unable to stay in bed while her friends may need help. With a sudden shift in weight, she starts to lean against Lachlan and tosses and arm around him so that she can scritch Bonnie as she does so. "I'll do my best. We're not going out to investigate the place till Sunday morning." She knows his conflicted and frowning expression and she matches it with a smile and tracing his jawline with her finger. "I'll be okay. I'm not going to be doing anything strenuous. Just…watching."
Baffbaffbaffbaff goes Bonnie's tail on the sofa, no longer beating the face of the German shepherd pup.
The whole thing still doesn't sit right with Lachlan, but it's nearly a week away, and there's plenty of time to argue about it later. He's too tired to put up much of a fight right now, and besides, Cass is home and the last thing he wants to do is have a huge argument with her. So he merely sighs and puts an arm around her shoulders when she leans against him. He dips his head to give her a small kiss, then rests his forehead against hers. "'Ve missed ye," he utters simply.
Poor Bonnie. Cass stops petting her so that she can wrap both her hands around him. It's good to just be not lying in a hospital bed and able to just lie on Lachlan without worrying about a doctor walking in. "I missed you, too." And while she doesn't want to have an argument, either, she's not about to back down. He should know how stubborn she can be. "C'mere." She tugs a bit at his shirt and pulls him closer.
Well. He can't argue with that. Grinning, Lachlan does 'c'mere', getting himself tugged right into another kiss. This one's longer and more involved, and Bonnie vacates her spot on the couch after picking up the hint that This Is One Of Those Times She Shouldn't Be On The Bed(couch). Of course Lachlan missed Cass. Guess what else he missed?
Smiling, Cass pulls Lachlan closer and happily enjoys the more involved nature of the kissing. She even shifts a bit so that the two can kiss comfortably without leaning and twisting too much on the couch.
This is sufficient for a little while, but there's an even better and more comfortable solution: lying down! Which is precisely what Lachlan attempts to coach Cass to do by pulling his knee beneath himself pushing himself upward with it, using one of his arms on her back to support her. Oh yes. He definitely missed this. Stupid mugger.
Cass has missed it, too. But when she's pulled and pushed, the store owner pulls back with a hiss of pain. Taking an arm from around him, she wraps it around her chest. "Oh, ow." Wincing, she sits upright again, trying to keep herself from pressing too hard against the places where she was operated on. "Sorry."
As soon as it's apparent that Something Hurts, Lachlan stops, flinching as well. He doesn't go too far, though, accommodating Cass' sitting up without complaint and keeping one arm around her shoulders — tentative as it may be. "Jesus. 'M sorry." Cass is out of the hospital, but that doesn't mean she's not still hurt. "'Re ye a'righ'?"
"No no." Cass shakes a head, absently rubbing at her ribcage. "I'm fine. I'll be fine. Sorry. It just was a momentary pain. It's gone now." Sighing, she gingerly settles back down onto Lachlan. "It wasn't your fault." She's careful to make sure that she's turned a bit so that she's not resting heavily on any part that may hurt her (or him).
And likewise, Lachlan is careful as to where he puts his arms and hands when he wraps them back around Cass. He sighs, resting his head atop hers and closing his eyes a moment. It was just a momentary pain, sure. It's gone now. After some seconds pass, he slides his head down again to kiss her cheek … then further down to her jaw … then her neck. It was just a momentary pain! Maybe if they're careful … ?
During that momentary lapse, Cass has closed her eyes, too. She sighs and smiles when he kisses her cheek. But, then he kisses her jaw and her neck and…well, she knows where this is going. "Lach…" her tone isn't exactly reproachful. Mostly cautious. But, she doesn't dissuade him. It's been awhile for her, too, and she wraps her arms around him, kissing his forehead, then the tip of his nose.
The utterance causes Lachlan to slow down even further from an already easy speed, and he hesitates — but Cass doesn't exactly push him away. Quite the contrary, actually. So it's not a 'no', and that's really all the answer he needs. He tilts his head up to meet those lips with his own and continues to hold the kiss a moment before once again attempting to ease Cass back. This time he tries to be much gentler and move slower, using both arms to offer support.
Words versus actions. It's a tough call. The being eased backwards doesn't illicit the same cry of pain as before. In fact, Cass smiles a bit into the kisses and pulls him with her - trying to be mindful of her injuries. The last thing she wants is to end up back in the hospital due to sex related activities. That would be embarrassing.
Success! Houston, we have laying down! And with it, Lachlan's painstaking attentiveness starts to wane. After all, if Cass is lying down, it'll be harder to hurt her, right? He too smiles into the kiss, then breaks it and once again drops his face down to her neck. The next order of business, of course, is clothing, and so supporting himself with one arm on the back of the sofa, he starts to tug up the hem of Ca— or, well, Ramon's shirt. Laying down totally doesn't pin shirts between backs and couches, right?
Wrong! Cass starts to help Lachlan with the undressing, tugging at /his/ shirt, too. But, when she tries to tilt herself upward so that the fabric doesn't bunch up on the couch an drag her with it too, she moves in such a way that it hurts her again. And, once more she winces and abruptly pulls back. There's on outward cry of pain or the like, but, there's no more returning to the kissing. "I'm sorry, Lach. I just…can't."
The second onset of pain completely does it for Lachlan, and he ceases immediately with a quiet curse. It would be a gigantic, continental lie to say he's not frustrated, but it's not her fault, and he knows that. He purses his lips and exhales sharply through his nostrils, willing himself to calm down. "S'a'righ'," he states finally, resigned. He kisses her cheek again, but there's no attempt to continue things. Instead, he moves over to rest on his side, squishing himself between Cass and the back of the couch, and doing his level best not to cause her any more pain. "C'mere." He drapes an arm over her — avoiding the injured spots — and nuzzles against her cheek. Sure, he's missed other stuff, but he's missed cuddling too.