Chapter 227: Rest
There are many things Tim McGee is very good at. And he
quite enjoys a large percentage of the things he's very good at. (Cleaning.
He's very good at it, doesn't much like it, but his mom made sure he knew how
to keep a tidy house.)
And as the first weekend of pelvic rest dawned on them, he
was ready to combine the fact that he loves pampering Abby with the fact that
he's very good at it, hopefully producing something that is a lot of fun for
both of them.
They're on call, but the phone didn't buzz, so they slept
in.
Well, he slept in. She dozed and rested. She's hit the point
where she has to wake all the way up to roll over, and she's big and
uncomfortable enough she can't lie in one position for more than an hour and a
half, so, not a lot of solid, deep sleep for her.
But when he did wake up, she was sleeping, so he quietly
grabbed some clothing and crept out of the house in search of treats.
An hour later, he was back with her favorite breakfast
goodies, stuff for lunch and dinner, more snacks, flowers, and some massage oil
that smelled good.
He put breakfast on a tray with the flowers, tucked the oil
into his pocket, and headed up. He's hoping that he can keep them in bed for a
whole lot of the weekend. And he's aware of the fact that spending a weekend in
bed without having sex is going to be… difficult, but still, resting is
important, Abby's supposed to be taking it easy, so he's grabbing any and
everything he can find to make her want to stay in bed.
When he got up there, Abby looked like she was still dozing,
so the tray went on his dresser, the massage oil went on the bedside table, and
he shucked off his clothing and snuggled back into bed with her.
"Where'd you go?" she sounded sleepy.
"Out, got some goodies."
 |
| Goodies. |
She started the laborious process of rolling over to face
him, and eventually got flipped over and asked, "What sort of
goodies?"
"Food." He pointed behind him at his dresser.
"Breakfast is over there. Got you hazelnut croissants and chocolate ones
for me, some fresh berries, honeydew melon."
That got an excited look out of Abby. She levered herself up
to look and smiled. He grinned, kissed her, and rolled out of bed to get the
tray.
 |
| Cap and Natasha |
With breakfast over, he moved onto part two of the plan, movies.
Somehow they hadn't managed to see any of the Captain America movies (somehow
means Cap is fine, but not either of their favorites, so watching his movies
got booted to the bottom of the list, but Black Widow, who Tim does like and
Abby really likes, is in Winter Soldier, so, anyway, Captain America movies.)
and well, there was likely never going to be a better time to rectify that, so
he was ready to swing into action.
But he also knew that right now, hours and hours of lying in
bed really doesn't feel all that hot to Abby's back or hips.
So he had a plan, one he thought was a pretty good.
Namely, they don't have the greatest bathtub on earth, but
it's big enough for both of them to sit in, especially if she's between his
legs leaning back against his chest.
Granted he hasn't checked to see how much water displacement
both of them in there with her pregnant will produce, but he's fairly sure
they'll be able to get enough water in there to make her feel more comfortable,
and that's all that matters.
Meanwhile, his Kindle doesn't have a huge screen, but it's
really high def, and they've got a little rack that the soap and scrubby goes
on, and that rack should work just fine for movie viewing.
So, he cleaned up breakfast and asked her to run a cool bath
for them, which she did, and then surprised her with movies in the tub.
That got them to afternoon nap time. He wasn't feeling very
sleepy, and had the sinking suspicion that she wasn't either. So instead of
just snuggling up and snoozing he began gently nuzzling along the back of her
neck, placing soft, wet kisses just below her hairline.
"What are you doing?"
He kissed her one last time before saying, "Making
love." They hadn't been touching each other… Okay, that's not true,
several hours of snuggling shows they've been touching, they hadn't been touching each
other since the pelvic rest diktat. Part of that is just well, it's really
frustrating to get into it and have to stop. But, he's missing the closeness of
it. Cuddling is fine, but he'd like to take the time to make her feel good, as
good as he can, and if that's not sex, well, it's not sex, but it's still
making love.
"Think that's a good plan?" Because she knows how
frustrating this might be, too.
"Yeah. Wanna make you feel good. Doesn't have to be
sex. We can still kiss and pet and cuddle. Got some new massage oil, though I'd
rub you all over, ease the sore bits. It's every woman's fantasy, right? Hours
and hours of cuddling. No sex, no having to have sex, just lots of cozy
adoration."
She laughed and tugged on him enough to get across the idea
that she wants to be facing him, and these days it's just easier for him to
scoot to the other side of her than it is for her to roll over. So he did, and
she smiled, saying, "Baby, you're good at sex. That's the fantasy of women
who hooked-up with men who are bad in bed."
He laughed at that. "We'll get through."
"We'll? I didn't notice Dr. Draz saying you couldn't
get off."
"She didn't say I needed to cut caffeine out of my
diet, either. I did that. I'm doing this, too. You don't get to get off, I
don't, either."
"You're going to give up sex? For twelve days?"
Abby looked stupefied by that.
He grins his sexy grin at her. "Unless you want me to
give you a show, yeah, I am."
She closes her eyes and seems to be thinking about that,
then sighs, and says, "No. Too much temptation, too frustrating."
She's quiet for a minute. "Why?"
"Why?" He's not getting why this isn't
self-evident.
"Yeah. Why? Last I checked you really, really like sex,
and you don't have to do this."
He strokes his palm across her cheek, tangling his fingers
in her hair, then trailing his fingers down her throat to her shoulder.
"Last I checked, you don't like it any less than I do, and you're right, I
love sex! But if you don't get to have it because it's necessary to keep our
baby safe, then I don't either."
She smiles at him, sweet and warm, and then kisses him,
gently. "You think you can go twelve days?"
"Fourteen really, and two down, twelve to go, and we'll
find out. I mean, just because I haven't since… God… 1989 doesn't mean I can't.
You think you can make it?"
"I have to. And I have done this before, that one
Lent."
"Let me guess, that was a really good Easter for
you."
She smiles. "I remember enjoying it."
He laughs at that. "Look, I know exactly what I'm doing
that first shower after Kelly's on the outside, but… You're already going
through a whole hell of a lot more on this make-babies thing than I am, so, well,
I can do this."
She kisses the tip of his nose and then grinned. "Eight
days."
"What?"
"That's how long I think you're gonna last."
"I'm not going to cheat!" He looks mocked
appalled. He knows that mostly they're kidding around. Though he is going to do
this, because he can, and because it matters, and just, well, it's really not
fair and it really sucks that she has to do this, so she shouldn't have to do
it alone.
"Sure. You're going to sleep naked, cuddled up against
me every night, and not jerk off when you're alone."
"That's the plan."
"Uh huh." She's not buying it.
"Your faith in me is overwhelming," he says dryly.
"Hey, you're the one telling me you haven't gone more
than a week since you were eleven."
"Well, okay, yeah. But I haven't had any reason to not
go more than a week. I've got a reason now."
"Okay."
"So, massage, kissing, petting?"
"Definitely massage. Play kissing and petting by
ear?"
"Fine by me."
He hasn't really made out, just messing around, no
expectation that sex would result since… high school. And he's never been a
jerk about it, basically his set of rules for sex go something like this: she
sets the boundaries, I follow them, and if she set the line at no sex, then he
took what she was willing to give and didn't push.
But since high school, he's pretty much dated girls who
followed the
first-two-dates-expect-kissing-and-if-things-are-going-well-sex-on-the-third
rule, and just making out wasn't really part of the experience.
Pretty much, if he got to second base, he was going to slide
into home, too.
And for the most part that made him awfully happy.
So, this is different.
And it's not like he and Abby aren't affectionate in non-sex
ways. Not like there isn't plenty of kissing and cuddling and petting and it
doesn't result in sex.
Or maybe it's like all of it results in sex. Like for them
sex is just an ongoing constant with highs and lulls, but all of it is sex.
And perhaps this is a redefining of sex. Abby moaning
breathily while he rubs her calves, taking the time to really get into those
sore muscles and work on helping the swelling go down certainly feels good to
him. And it's not the same sort of good as hearing her moan like that when he
slips into her, but... it's not precisely different, either.
It's all pleasure and love and the bond holding them to each
other no matter what might come.
He smiles up at her, looking away from her leg, and asks,
"When you were in school did they have those lists of like 100 ways to
show love that aren't sex?"
She gives him a very perplexed look. "You know,
California and Louisiana really aren't the same place at all."
"I'll take that as a no."
"Why would you need something like that? When I was in
school they didn't think we needed help to figure out how to express affection
without sex."
"Supposedly to help cut down on teen pregnancy and
combat STDs or something."
"Did it work?"
"I remember us mocking it viciously, and those of us
who could more or less running out to get laid as quickly as possible out of
spite."
That gets a laugh out of Abby. "And the next two weeks
has you thinking about that?"
"Yeah."
"Any good suggestions on the list?"
"I remember making cookies together and buying diamonds
was on the list."
"I'm in favor of cookies. And really, buying diamonds?
Because sixteen-year-olds always have that kind of cash laying around."
"I'm not sixteen anymore, got some cash now." He
smiled at her on that, and then added, "And yeah, mocked it
viciously! It did appear to have been written by people who had never had
sex or had never been teenagers, let alone teen males, but, the main idea, that
sex wasn't the end all and be all of love, I was thinking about that."
She nods. "And…"
"And maybe there's not really a line. Maybe that's what
they got wrong, and why that list felt so stupid. Maybe it's all sex, or all
love, or… I don't know." He's having a hard time coming up with words for
the nebulous concept bouncing around in his head. "I know this is going to
be frustrating, but pulling completely away, not touching at all, not making
love, it'd be so lonely." He ran his hand up her leg, rippling his
knuckles along the belly of her calf, coaxing another happy moan out of her.
"That's so good. And okay, it's not the same good, but it is the same
good, right?"
"Different branches of the same tree."
He smiles, liking that idea. "Yeah." She'd been
sitting, back against their headboard, and he'd been sitting cross-legged at
her feet, one foot in his lap, the other leg bent at the knee as he worked on
it. He gently took her foot out of his lap, and scooted around so he could sit
next to her, right arm and leg behind her, cuddling her close, left hand on her
face, left leg stretched along hers.
"My body craves yours." He stroked his hand along
her shoulder and arm. "But it's not just that, not just this," and
the way he's touching her leg gets across the idea that "this" means
her body, "I wouldn't crave it, wouldn't need it, if you weren't in it.
But since you are, I do, all the time."
She traced her fingers over his face, feather light touches
across his cheek and jaw, thumb trailing over his lip. He's not a lot taller
than she is, but most of the difference is in torso length, so her face is a
good two inches below his, but light pressure on the back of his head got
across the idea that she wanted to kiss him, so he lowered his face to hers,
and she did kiss him, soft and slow and thorough.
And like anytime they really touch he feels it, the
gathering of pleasure, the desire for more, the electric joy of her skin on
his, the comfort of another heart that cherishes his, all of it is there.
And it is frustrating, because limits are frustrating. But
the sweetness of making love to each other is worth the frustration.
 |
| Foot! |
"You're staring." Abby says, not opening her eyes.
It's hours later, post dinner, post cookies (and yeah, it wasn't sex, but it
was fun and awfully tasty), they're lying in bed (again). She's trying to
sleep, but the small squirming person inside her is making that difficult, and
the feel of Tim's eyes glued to her stomach (he had been writing) isn't
helping.
"She's moving."
"I know, I can feel it."
"Yeah, but I can see it, and that's new." His hand
lands on her stomach, resting gently. Then his finger traced down the outside
of her stomach as Kelly kicked or stretched or whatever at the same time from
the inside. "She's really in there."
Abby smiles a little, filing this under things guys don't
really get because it doesn't happen to them, and says, "Yeah, she
is."
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