Lisa wasn’t sure how he had done it, but JC had convinced her to stay the night.  It was a long while until she fell asleep.  She could feel his gaze boring into the back of her head.  It was the reason that she turned her back – so she wouldn’t have to look into those sad blue eyes.  You know the ones that you took one look at and would do anything to make them happy again. 

Lisa had to get out of the cycle of catering to JC’s every whim.  She didn’t work for him any more.  The night was very short in terms of sleeping, but very long as she counted every hour and sometimes every second.  She was dreading the talk they would have come morning. 

The last thing Lisa remembered was JC’s heavy breathing as he slept.  She envied him his ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat.  But this could probably be attributed to the medication he was on to help with the pain and coma. 

Before she knew it, the morning sun was shining in her eyes, sometime during the night she had rolled so she was facing JC.  It was surprising to see JC’s eyes open and staring straight at her.  He was never awake before her.  There was an unreadable expression in his eyes. 

“Morning,” JC said in his rough morning voice. 

Lisa stretched and yawned before responding, “Morning.  Did you sleep well?”

“Like a log, you must have had a restless night?”

“Why do you say that?”  Lisa asked.

He simply gestured to the floor around her cot.  There were a couple of pillows and the majority of her blanket on the tiles beneath her cot.  “That’s probably not the most comfortable place to sleep, is it?”  Lisa was shocked, JC was thinking of something and someone other than himself for a change.  She was afraid to be too optimistic, this was JC after all and surely just one night couldn’t undo the months of raging and whiny JC, could it?”

“Ah…it works, I’ve slept in worse places, besides I’ve been here so many nights now, it’s starting to grow on me.  I’ll be spoiled when I get back to an actual bed.”  She swung her legs over the side, but avoided putting her bare feet on the cold tile.  It was the worst part of getting up in her opinion – going from a nice warm bed to the cold shock of the morning.  She finally lost the battle and quickly jumped to her feet, running on her tiptoes into the bathroom, trying to touch as little of the floor as possible. 

She heard JC chuckle as she closed the door behind her.  She finished as quickly as possible and scurried back to the warm covers in her cot.  It was early yet, it would be a while until the doctor came in for morning rounds, maybe she could get a little more sleep.   

Just as she was pulling the blankets up her body, she looked over at JC.  “Oh, do you need help getting to the bathroom?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure I can make it by myself just yet.”

She threw the covers back off and resigned herself to the cold tile floor.  “Maybe we should call a nurse for this.”  She was doubtful, not sure she could move him by herself and unwilling to hurt him. 

“Nah, between the two of us we can get it.  How hard can it be?”

Lisa helped him swing his good leg off the edge of the bed, then his broken one.  The day after JC had woken up, the doctor had him put into a walking boot so he could start therapy as soon as possible.  JC carefully slid with Lisa’s support so that his feet were touching the bed.  Lisa was grateful that he had on his own pajamas, not sure she wanted to deal with a JC clad in a hospital gown open in the back. 

He took a moment to steady himself and get used to being in an upright position.  He clenched his jaw and placed an arm around Lisa’s shoulders.  Her arm went around his waist, trying not to grip too hard and reinjure his ribs.  He finally stood with tremendous effort on his part. 

They took shuffling steps at JC’s pace to the bathroom.  Lisa was hoping that JC would be able to manage on his own.  She flipped on the light with her free hand then placed it back on JC’s stomach for support. 

They were almost directly in front of the toilet.  “Do you think you can manage on your own?”

“I can try,” JC said unconvincingly.  Lisa tried to loosen her grip and take him at his word.  But just as she moved one hand away, she felt JC start to sway.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to call for a nurse?”

“That’ll take too long, can you please just help?  I really have to go.”

Lisa turned red, how did she get herself into these situations?  “Just don’t look,” JC suggested helpfully.

“Alright, I’ll hold you up, but the rest is all you – understood?”

“Yep.”

Lisa’s hands clutched his waist as she stepped behind him, trying to get out of view.  She gave him the support he needed as he undid the tie to his pajama pants. 

“This is not in my job description,” she mumbled with her head tucked between his shoulder blades. 

Breathless, JC replied, “You quit, remember, and there is no job description for friends.”

“Is that what we are?  Friends?”  She spoke loudly trying not to think about what was going on in front of her.

“It’s what I’d like to be again.  I’m sorry about the past six months.”  He finished doing what he needed to and retied his pants.  “Okay, I’m done.” 

Still blushing, Lisa moved back to his side, careful not to look up into his face.  “Normally, I would force you over to the sink, but since I don’t want to have to carry you back to bed, I’ll bring the sink to you when you’re settled.  Just don’t touch anything; it freaks me out when people go to the bathroom and don’t wash their hands.”

JC leaned on Lisa more and more, she feared he was at the end of his stamina.  This must be so hard for JC, he was the most active man; he always had to be moving and now to be winded and tired just walking the ten feet to the bathroom must be devastating. 

He stayed where he fell into the bed, having no more energy to move himself to a more comfortable position.  Lisa gave him a moment to catch his breath while she got a soapy washcloth from the bathroom.  One hand at a time, she gently washed and dried his hands.  Tossing the washcloth into a nearby hamper, she tenderly maneuvered his body into a more comfortable pose.  As if he were a doll, she arranged his legs, taking a moment to rub a quivering muscle. 

JC’s eyes followed her the whole time.  He had closed them immediately upon reaching the bed, but when she began to wash his hands, they flew open.  He really didn’t deserve her, he decided.  Quitting was probably the smartest move she had ever made.  If she hadn’t, JC most likely would’ve continued to treat her as badly as he had been.