Chapter 38
Lucky was awakened by a soft whimpering, and for a moment, was too disoriented to remember where he was. He started to roll over, to face the strange sound, but was dangerously close to the edge of the bed, and ended up falling off onto the floor.
The loud clattering of him scrambling to stop his fall woke Liz, who had rolled onto her back in her sleep, thus pushing Lucky over to the edge of the bed. She rubbed her eyes, trying to get her bearings, then looked over to see Lucky peering at her from the floor. Unable to control herself, she burst out laughing.
Lucky rolled his eyes and picked himself off the floor, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Sure, go ahead, laugh. It’s your fault that happened, you know!”
“How is it my fault you fell out of bed?” she asked in between giggles.
“Gee, I don’t know, maybe it’s because you were hogging the damn thing!” he said angrily. “And besides, if it wasn’t for your whimpering, I would still be asleep.”
“What whimpering?” she asked, a vague recollection of a dream floating through her head.
“I don’t know, you were just making these little whimpering noises. I’m a light sleeper, so it woke me up. Were you having a bad dream or something?”
She rolled onto her side and moved back so he could lay down again. “Probably. Ever since the shooting, I sometimes have nightmares about it. Being in this nasty, cold jail cell probably doesn’t help.”
Lucky laid down on his side, facing her. “Are they bad? The nightmares, I mean.”
“I don’t know. I can never really remember them. It’s probably better that way. The real thing was scary enough, I’d hate to know what my subconscious is doing with it!”
“Good point.” He sighed and rolled onto his right side, turning his back to her once again and pulling the blanket over him. “Sorry to wake you, the next time you push me off the bed, I’ll try to fall more quietly.”
Liz frowned at his back. “I’m sorry, I can’t help what I do in my sleep. Look, if you’re going to complain, then we might as well switch places. This wall as freezing, anyway.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, turning around. She nodded. “Okay, then, move over.” They awkwardly traded places, Lucky laying against the wall on his back, and Liz on her side, facing away from him.
“I swear, if you knock me off, I’ll kill you,” she muttered, closing her eyes.
“Don’t worry, unlike you, I know how to stay on my side of the bed.” He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would come quickly.
~*~
A few hours later, Liz woke up when her injured shoulder started to itch. She tried to roll onto her back so she could scratch it, but found that she couldn’t move. Confused and disoriented, she opened her eyes, expecting to see the familiar surroundings of her bedroom. When she saw the cold gray of the walls, she remembered where she was, and that she wasn’t there alone.
Lucky had rolled onto his side in the middle of the night, and had wound up with his arm draped across her waist, his body nearly pressed against her back. She couldn’t help smiling at how comfortable she was, all things considered. She closed her eyes again to go back to sleep, when her shoulder flared up again, reminding her why she was awake in the first place.
“Damn,” she swore under her breath, trying to figure out how she was going to scratch it without waking up Lucky, and without causing herself any pain. She shifted her weight enough to free her right arm from underneath her, and lightly rubbed the bandaged area, wincing at the pain it caused.
Lucky stirred at the sudden movement, letting out a soft, contented murmur. She froze, waiting to see if he would roll over or something, but instead, he tightened his grip around her waist, pulling her against him. She was amazed at how perfectly their bodies seemed to fit together, then quickly pushed the thought out of her mind and concentrated on falling asleep again.
~*~
“Aww, look at that,” Taggert whispered, stopping at their cell on his morning rounds. “They’re spooning.”
Mac chuckled to himself, shaking his head. “You gotta hand it to Luke, he may do things the crazy way, but they sure do work. Come on, let’s get out of here before they wake up. I feel like I’m in a zoo, cooing over the cute little animals.” The two men continued on their way down the hall, just as Lucky started to wake up.
“Mmmm,” he groaned, opening his eyes to the harsh sunlight that was streaming through the barred windows. He frowned, the previous night’s events all coming back in a rush, then looked down in surprise to see how he was laying. He started to lift his arm, not wanting Liz to wake up and find him holding her like that, but at the movement, she stirred and grabbed his wrist with her right hand, holding it in place as she shifted in her sleep.
Lucky smiled and shook his head. He had to admit, she looked cute when she was sleeping, and as much as he wished against it, she really did feel good in his arms. As he was about to try to pull his arm away, she shifted in her sleep, rolling slightly onto her back, or at least trying to. Since Lucky was in the way, she pretty much just ended up pressed against him. He had the feeling she was about to wake up, so he shut his eyes, pretending he was still asleep. He didn’t want her to know he had woken up first, and he was kind of curious what her reaction would be to the way they were laying.
Liz groaned slightly as she woke up, never a morning person. As her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, she smiled at how comfortable she was, thinking that she didn’t want to get up yet. That was before she remembered where she was. She looked down quickly and saw Lucky’s arm was still around her, but this time, she was holding onto it for some reason. She let go, afraid he would wake up any minute, then smiled to herself, wondering how he would react if he woke up and saw how he had been sleeping. She turned her head to look at him, smiling at how peaceful he looked.
Figuring he should be waking up, Lucky opened his eyes and found that Liz was looking at him. “Morning,” he said, too lost in her brown eyes to remember that his arm was still around her.
She chuckled. “I notice you left off the ‘good’. Was that intentional?”
Lucky smiled and slowly removed his arm from around her, stretching. “Well, in case you haven’t looked around lately, it seems kind of fitting. Shouldn’t we be making bail right about now?” He figured the easiest way to avoid talking about their sleeping position would be to change the subject before they even started.
Liz shivered as he rolled away from her, suddenly feeling the cool air of the room.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing her shudder.
She shook her head. “Nothing, I just got cold all of a sudden.”
“Why all of a sudden? I think it’s warmer in here now than it was last night.”
“I know, but..nevemind, it’s silly.” she rolled onto her side and pulled the blanket around her so she wouldn’t have to look at him, feeling stupid for bringing it up.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, propping himself up so he could look over her shoulder. “What’s silly?”
She sighed and rolled onto her back, looking up at him. “You’re warm, okay? When you moved over, you took away my heat source.” She shivered again, pulling the blanket up to her chin. “Why is it so cold in here, anyway? It’s not cold outside!”
Lucky shrugged. “Probably all the concrete, who knows?” He paused and looked at her, all bundled up and trembling. “Look, if you’re so cold, I can come back over there. I mean, if you want.”
Liz looked at him in shock. “Um, yeah, I guess so.”
“Okay, um, you should probably lay on your side so I don’t bump your shoulder,” he said softly, wondering what he had just gotten himself into. Liz moved over, and he scooted up to her, laying behind her much like he was when he woke up. “Better?”
“Mm-hm, thanks,” she mumbled, already feeling warmer. She shifted her weight so her arm wouldn’t fall asleep.
“Hey!” he shouted, moving back. “Watch it with the feet! My god, you’re like an ice cube!”
She giggled. “Sorry, didn’t mean to do that. I promise, I’ll keep my feet to myself if you come back. I’m cold again.”
“Are you sure you’re not an amphibian or something?” he asked, cautiously moving closer to her again. “I don’t even think a dead body is that cold!”
“Ew, nice visual there,” she groaned, unconsciously snuggling up against him to warm up. “Like you said before, shouldn’t we be getting bailed out right about now?”
He glanced at his watch and frowned. “Yeah, we should. I wonder where Nikolas is?”
“If Carly forgot, I’ll kill her,” Liz mumbled. “So, what are we supposed to do until they get here?”
Lucky sighed. “I don’t know, but if they don’t get here soon, we’re in trouble.”
“Why?” Liz asked, turning her head to look at him.
He smiled shyly. “Let’s just say nature’s calling.”
Liz frowned and looked over at the toilet in the corner of the cell, then back at Lucky. “Oh no you don’t! You’re just going to have to hold it, mister!”
“Okay, but when I have kidney failure later in life, I’m sending the dialysis bill to you!”
