"I'm sorry Nora, I don't know why I said that. I don't want you to feel..."
"Bo, its fine. Really, it's no big deal."
"I just, you know, wanted you to know that I'll always be there for you and Matt. I'm not running away anymore."
"Its okay, Bo. Honestly."
"Okay. Well I'll see you in the morning, Nora."
"Night, Bo."
"Night."
He walked out into the hallway, but lingered just outside the closed door for a few minutes. He looked between her closed door and Matthew's room and sighed.
"I love you, Red", he whispered before heading into Matthew's room.
He walked over to the side of Matthew's bed and watched the slow rise and fall of his chest as he peacefully slept. He thought about how much happiness this little boy had brought into his life. He reached down and covered him back up. He quickly kissed his forehead and walked out into the living room. He laid down on the couch and closed his eyes. He fell asleep that night, dreaming of what could be.
She stared at the ceiling, the moonlight coming in through the window casting shadows across the walls. She saw the light in the living room go out under the door, and she knew he was lying out there on "the" couch. She wondered if he was having as hard a time falling asleep as she was. She reached over and picked up the pillow from the right side of the bed, his side, and hugged it tight against her chest. She closed her eyes as she inhaled his familiar scent.
"I love you, Bo Buchanan," she whispered in the darkness, as a single tear fell down her cheek.
A month has now passed. Bo has been working from home, mostly via conference calls or video conferencing. Nick Manzo's shooting had been ruled justifiable, Jessica had finally come forward and confessed to her involvement in Mitch's death, which Antonio was later able to prove as self defense. So all in all things were quiet in Llanview and Antonio had been covering the day to day business down at the station. Bo's main objective was taking care of Matthew and Nora.
Two weeks before Halloween...
They had given MaryAnn a couple of months off to spend with her daughter and new grandchild, which was leaving the role of chauffeur to Bo, not that he minded. He loved all the time off he had to just be Dad. He loved dropping him off at school in the morning and picking him up in the afternoon. He loved the drive home, as Matthew would tell him all about his day, what new things he had learned, who was mad at who, all the things he had missed out on with Drew, but had a second chance to experience with Matthew. Bo couldn't be happier, most of the time...
Nora on the other hand was getting more and more frustrated with her situation. She would let him do certain things for her, carry her to where she needed until she's able to start using the cane in a few weeks, but when it came to helping her with her daily routine she wouldn't let him, not that she's let the plethora of private nurses he's hired in the past month help her. So far she's fired every nurse he's hired after their first day, a few of them actually quit, but for the most part she's fired them. He was on the phone again this morning with the last agency in the area...
"What do you mean there's no one available," he said obviously frustrated "God, why does she have to be so pig headed?", he thought to himself.
"We're sorry, Mr. Buchanan, but our nurse's refuse to take any more assignments caring for your wife. I can't afford for any more of my staff to up and quit."
"Well actually she's not...oh nevermind. Thanks anyway. I'll just have to find another alternative."
He hung up the phone and sighed. He walked into his room and sat down on the bed. The movement of the bed caused her to wake up.
"Hey, sleepyhead."
"What time is it?"
"Around eight."
"Why did you let me sleep so late?"
"I figured you needed the rest. You had another dream last night, don't you remember?"
"No, I guess not. I'm sorry if my dream woke you up. I wasn't muttering "have a nice day" (sorry Trace had to do it
)
or anything like that, was I?", she asked trying to lighten the mood."No, you don't really say much. I can just hear you mumbling and when I check on you you're obviously dreaming that's all."
"Oh, well again I'm sorry if I woke you up."
"Don't apologize okay? So are you hungry?"
"I'm starving."
"Okay, I ordered breakfast in from the diner this morning; it should be here in about a half hour. So how about we get ready."
"When's the new nurse getting her, I certainly hope she's better than the rest."
"Sorry Red, you're stuck with me from now on. You've successfully alienated every private nurse and agency in the tri-state area. No one wants to work for us."
She points her finger as though this is all his fault. "There is no way in hell you're going to be the one to do this. Call those agencies back and tell them if they don't send someone over here right away...."
Placing his hand over her mouth, "Like I said before, you're stuck with me, so just suck it up."
Bo stood up and walked into the bathroom, ignoring her protests. He picked up the basin and turned on the water watching it fill up with hot water. His mind wandered for a moment to all the times in the past when it would've come naturally for them to share a shower or a bath.
He walked back into the bedroom carrying the basin, a towel draped over his shoulder. He set the basin down beside her on the bed and sat down, careful not to spill it. He paused for a moment as though asking for permission to continue. She gave him a small smile and he took that as her permission to continue. He reached over and the moment his fingers touched her skin her heart felt like it stopped. He slowly helped her remove her shirt. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at her for the first time in so long. She looked as beautiful that morning as she did the first time he had had the privilege of making love to her. His mind was reeling and his heart was racing and he'd barely touched her.
She looked into his eyes and tried to steady her racing heart. "Get a grip, Nora. He's barely touched you and you're already gone."
She could feel her desire for him building up in her like an out of control fire. She laid her head back against the headboard; her emotions and senses were all over the place.
He took her hand in his and slowly began to wash her arm, starting at her wrist and making his way up to her shoulder. She kept her eyes closed imagining his lips following each swipe of the washcloth. He began washing her neck, softly massaging it as he ran the washcloth along places he longed to kiss again. He ran the washcloth along her legs careful not to cause her any pain. He took her left foot in his hand and massaged it, just as he had done so many times before. He gave her right foot equal attention. He began washing her stomach, his thumb lightly brushing her skin, as he reached across to dip the washcloth back into the basin. She opened her eyes and looked at him, their eyes locking. She wanted to look away but they were lost in each other's eyes. For the first time in so long she saw raw passion. She had tried to find that look in other lovers but could never find it. No one has ever looked at her like Bo looked at her. He placed the cloth back in the basin and slowly reached out and wiped a tear that had slowly fallen down her cheek.
"God, you're so beautiful."
"Bo..."
To Be Continued