You're My Schennshine

I was laying in the hospital bed, watching him breathe, and the way his broad chest rose and fell with his heaven, gentle breaths. His nostrils flared in a gentle way, opening as his chest expanded, and then closing just a bit, as his chest collapsed. His lips were dry and his breath smelled stale and less than fresh. I thought about the few rough attempts that he would end up gagging, as I tried to brush his teeth. I never thought that I would take care of him as intimately as I had. He was a bit nervous about me seeing him at his worst, saying he would rather have me think of him always as my big protector. I’d told him this was just my chance to protect him for once.

Now that was all behind us…and I smiled as I gently stroked his hair. He was better and could be handled a little more roughly. When the doctors left for the night, he would have me slide into his hospital bed with him…he was so sick of me in a comfortless cot…and he was sick of sleeping alone. The tight bed ensured we touched each other, bodies lying along one another, mine slightly overlapping his.

His eyes tightened before flicking open. His jaw widened with a yawn as he squirmed with waking. I smiled and kissed his chin, sliding my fingers through his hair as he slowly woke. “Morning baby.” I whispered, nibbling his chin. He grinned, looking down at me sleepily.

“Oh…hello.” He said softly, grinning his little cheesy grin and laughing softly. “I’m not used to you being there yet.” I laughed, pressing my head into his chest and pulling back, kissing his lips.

“I can tell.” I whispered, sliding my fingers through his hair. He yawned and shook his head, licking his lips.

“God…my mouth tastes so bad…My breath must have woken you up.” He said softly, looking at me as I got up, moving to grab his chair and push it over. He sleepily propped up, pushing himself up off the edge of the bed and slipping into the chair. He had some motility over his leg. He was getting better at an amazing rate. The therapist was right…the harder they worked, the more results they’d get. He was always impatient…but he was loving the progress. I smiled as something as simple as getting into his chair used to be so hard just a few weeks ago. To get into the chair was a two person effort, with him using his arms to move himself about and holding up his lower half, while someone would help him move his legs. Just a few weeks before that…He wasn’t moving out of bed. And two months ago…he wasn’t moving at all.

Now, every day he moved a little farther between the bars. He was using less of his arms to keep himself up, but more of his legs, working on balance and strength. He was improving…he’d not yet made it to the full end of the platform, but that goal was in sight. Soon, he wouldn’t need the bars, maybe just a cane. Maybe he’d be back in time for the end of the season.

“You know.” He smiled, grabbing the rails beside the toilet and lifting himself up, guiding himself with his clumsy feet and hugely powerful arms over the bowl. I grinned, tugging down his boxers for him and he sat down to relieve himself. “If someone was leaving the toilet seat up…I’d be pissed.” He laughed. I rubbed my face, looking at him in shock.

“You think of the weirdest things.” I muttered, moving to get our toothbrushes ready. He laughed, and shook his head.

“No I’m serious.” He protested. “I mean…I guess it’s annoying for you to fall in the toilet all the time…that’s why you beat me up when I don’t put it down.” I laughed, nodding as I stuck my toothbrush in my mouth.

“Yuh…getting wet in the morning is not fun.” I teased, holding my toothbrush in my mouth as he held himself up and needed me to pull up his boxers again.

“You know…you don’t have to take care of me like this all the time…nurses are paid for it.” He said softly as I helped him back into his chair.

“I do it ‘cause I wuv you.” I worked around the toothbrush, pushing him to the sink where he could wash up.

“Not many girls would stick by me like that.” He protested, grabbing his toothbrush and starting to brush his teeth. I smiled, leaning over his shoulder to spit, rinsing out my mouth. I grinned, looking down at him then.

“Rarely it s me leaning over you.” I grinned playfully, kissing his forehead. He narrowed his eyes, growling softly. I laughed, rubbing his hair. “And you should know that I’m not like most women.” I smiled, kissing his head again. He leaned over to spit, rinsing his mouth before grabbing me, leaning me over his lap and kissing me hard.

“And that’s why I love you.” He growled softly. I smiled at him as he sat me in his lap and wheeled us out. “You need to stop babying me though.” He commented. “Because I’m gonna become needy.” I laughed again, shaking my head.

“You are so needy anyway.” I teased. He shook his head and bit his lip.

“No way.” He laughed. I bit my lip and played with his hair, getting up as he went to the suitcase that we shared, something like a dresser, but since we didn’t have a dresser…we used this and every so often I would be sent home to do some laundry and switch out the suitcase.

“You know.” I smiled, watching him pick out his clothes for the day; I did the same, tossing some jeans, a t-shirt and a light sweater. “When you got hurt…one of your silly fears…was that without your workout schedule…or being able to move…you were gonna get chunky.” I laughed. He growled softly, biting his lip.

“Don’t tease me.” He pouted.

“I was actually gonna tell you the opposite.” I smiled. “Your chest is so defined…it kinda pulls at your shirt a little bit.” I smiled, rubbing his chest. “And your arms…toned and stronger than ever.” He rolled his eyes.

“You’re saying that because you love me.” He pouted. I laughed and shook my head.

“I mean it.” I grinned, watching him pull off his sleeping shirt and pull on a blue ringer shirt with darker blue around the hems. He pulled himself up and waited for me to tug off his boxers, pulling up a new pair, followed by his jeans. He plopped back down and worked at his fly and buttons.

“It’s kinda funny how you get that close to my cock and you don’t really get all riled up.” He laughed. “You used to see it and get all hot and bothered.” He said playfully, grabbing a bundle of socks. I didn’t hesitate to give him a hard jab to the shoulder, which made him jump and grab his arm. “Ow! I feel that now!” HE complained.

“Exactly!” I growled. “You have such a fresh mouth!” I yelped. He laughed, as he rubbed his arm and leaned over to put on his socks on.

“I’m serious!” He whined. “You really did use to…maybe you’ve seen too much of me and you don’t find me sexy or anything.” He said softly. I growled, leaning down and grabbing his cheek, kissing him hard and deeply, wiggling my tongue into his mouth and kissing him good and proper. He wiggled a little bit, before settling down. I loved to surprise him like this…sometimes he would wiggle because I’d caught him off guard. He had a weird thing about him wanting to know what was happening…and if I caught him offgard, it was like his mind needed to take a moment to come to terms with what I was doing before he was able to kiss me back properly. And when he did…he got into it, his hand moving to my cheek, grabbing me and kissing me deeply, holding me tightly. I smiled and kissed him hard, right back, fighting against his playful tongue for dominance. I nipped his plump lower lip as he pulled away, grinning at him.

“Ok…maybe you do still find me sexy.” He whispered breathlessly, shaking his head. “Wooo.” He laughed. “I need a shower.” He mumbled, sliding his fingers through his hair, looking at me as I finished getting dressed. “You’re a demon.” He accused. I laughed out loud, kneeling to grab his shoes and put them on his feet for him. He needed help with his shoes because they were a little less giving than fabrics. I tied his laces and patted his knee, getting my own done.

“We’re not gonna shower.” I grinned. “I’m taking you down to breakfast, then we’re going for a walk along the shore” I smiled, kissing him and standing up. I grabbed the key to our room (now that we were more independent, the doctors would let us lock up the room as we left so our belongings weren’t stolen and then pawned off. He rolled out of the room, watching me grab my purse and shut the door behind us.

We ate breakfast in the cafeteria, the doctors sometimes stopping by and asking how he was doing. But for the most part, we were stopped far less than you would think, being in a public place with a hockey player. Then we were off for our afternoon out.

The hospital was right on the lake, with streets nearby that were right on the waterfront. He pushed himself until he grew content to just let me push him. We talked, and I would lean over the back of the chair, burying my nose in his hair and kissing his head. We’d laugh and joke, marvel at the water, how crisp and nice it looked. It was beautiful for the time of year…how warm it was.

We stopped at a little grassy spot right by the edge of the lake. I sat beside him, holding his hand as we looked out at the water. After a few moments, he looked at me.

“You wanna try walking with me?” He asked softly. I looked up at him, smiling softly.

“You wanna walk some?” He nodded, biting his lip and grabbing the armrests of his chair.

“Yeah…I wanna show you.” He laughed. I smiled at him standing up and grabbing his wrists. He bit his lip, shoving off the chair and wobbly getting to his feet. He swayed a little bit, but turned his wrists, leaning on me as he stabilized himself. I bit my lip, feeling him put some weight on me as he twisted his feet into place. “You tell me if I overwhelm you ok?” He laughed softly. I grinned and nodded, locking my fingers with his. “I shouldn’t. I’m so much stronger now.” He assured me, taking a step forward. He wasn’t scooting his feet, he was lifting them up and planting them, like you’d regularly walk. I just watched his feet, slowly taking a step back as he stepped forward.

“Oh god Luke.” I grinned, looking up at him. He was beaming as he slowly took his steps with me. “You’re so amazing.” I whispered. He laughed softly.

“I’m just walking.” He said bashfully. “Not too special.”

“Liar.” I grinned, squeezing his hands. I took a step back without checking myself then. The level ground where we’d been walking suddenly turned steep. I lost my footing then, and stumbled. I screamed then, toppling over. Luke crashed down with me, toppling right off the bank of the lake and into the water.

Thank god it wasn’t deep, only about a foot or two deep. It took me a moment to get my senses, before I looked around, gasping as I saw Luke on his ass next to me. “Oh my god, are you ok? Oh shit babe I’m sorry.” I whimpered, moving to check on him. He blinked, looking at me and splashed me then.

“You little klutz!” He laughed. “You’re so clumsy!” He said playfully, splashing me. I was in shock for a moment, before I splashed him back.

“You’re not hurt?!”

“No! I’m wet!” He laughed. Thank god it was a sandy floor of the lake, and not rocky like it was in some places. I splashed him back, whimpering. I’d been scared as I fell back, scared not only for myself, but for him. There was a rush of activity as a few people came running to check on us. That was the kind of help you got when people saw someone they idolize, who still couldn’t fend totally for himself. Someone had grabbed the chair and helped the two of us out of the water…more than a few people needing to help Luke into his chair. We were still laughing a little bit, but it was less than warm, as it was still the early Toronto spring. And someone called a taxi for us to get back to the hotel.

“What happened to you two?” One of the nurses asked on our doused appearance.

“She shoved me into the lake.” He said calmly. I hit him in the arm.

“We fell in.” I growled. She just laughed, seeing that neither of us were hurt…and in good spirits. I pushed our squeaking, dripping mass into our room and right to our shower.

“I got my shower.” He grinned playfully, watching me pull out of my wet clothes. I stared at him in disbelief, watching him smugly pull out of his shirt.

“You’re such a brat.”