Hospital Beds

I walked own the street and pushed my hair out of my face. I was tired. I worked this morning and it had been a particularly busy day. There wasn't anytime for me to chat with Cara and Maggie which was how we always judged how busy our days were when the three of us worked together.

Nothing sounded better than getting to my apartment and laying on my couch. Or bed. Maybe I'll just go straight to sleep. I pulled my phone from my pocket and opened Norman's text. It's been a week since we've seen each other but we had been texting at least once a day.

'How is your day going?'

'It's finally slowing down. I'm tired.'

We had quickly become friends. He was down to earth and hilarious. We found that we had similar taste in music and movies. He's a cat person while I prefer dogs. We have the same birthday.

'I'm sorry to hear that. When is your next day off?'

"Sorry! I'm so sorry, I wasn't-"

"JC?"

I looked at the person I ran into and smiled. "Hi Reedus."

"It's nice to run into you. You look exhausted." Norman pulled me against his chest and wrapped his arms around me. We stepped to the side of the sidewalk so we were out of everyone's way.

"I am," I mumbled against his chest. My head rested against his chest and I felt like I could go to sleep standing right there.

"Why don't you come back to my place and we can have dinner?"

I shrugged, pulling away so I could look up at him. "I'm really tired Norman. I honestly don't have it in me to go get my car and get to your place for dinner to drive back home. I'm sure that sounds ridiculous, but I'm honestly that tired."

"Why don't you come to my place for dinner and you can just stay the night. There's a spare bedroom in the apartment I'm in. If you decide you want to go home I'll drive you. I'll drive you before work in the morning so you can change."

I thought about it for a few seconds. I don't actually have anything to do tomorrow... I weighed my options slightly, looking around us. People were staring and it was kind of creeping me out. If nothing else, it will just be nice to not be a side show for some reason. "I'm off tomorrow actually."

"Even more of a reason for you to say yes. What better way to spend your day off than with me?"

I bit my lip and was about to answer when someone came up to us. Normal suddenly looked anxious as he looked at me. I guess he was as confused as I was about why we were attracting so much attention. A few people were even taking photos.

"Are you-"

"No," he laughed loudly. "Uh, I get that a lot though."

"Oh, sorry about that." The girl walked away and Norma looked at me. He shrugged simply. "I guess I look like some actor."

"I guess we can do dinner at your place. But only if we can have a banana split for dessert."

"Oh that won't be a problem at all." Norman gently put his hand on my lower back as we moved through the busy streets. We made idle chat and I tried to ignore the weird looks we got. I was pretty happy when we arrived at the parking garage.

We walked back to Norman's car. He opened the passenger door and closed it once I was in, climbing into the driver's seat. We pulled out of the parking garage, Norman groaned. Photographer flashes went off outside of the parking garage.

"This is really bizarre. Did you see the people looking at us on the street? I swear I saw some people taking pictures. You really must look like someone, huh?"

"Well now is good as time any." Norman groaned and ran his hands over his face. "I didn't really want to tell you this so soon. I am actually an actor."

"Thanks for telling me now."

"Come on, JC. Don't tell me this is going to be a problem."

I laughed. "No. It isn't. I don't give a shit about your job, honestly. My own job is more than enough for me to keep up with. I can't worry about any other jobs as well."

Norman laughed, slowly making his way into the street. "Well I'm glad to hear it. It's a relief that you know honestly. I was kind of surprised you didn't recognize me or any of my cast mates at the club that night."

"What show?"

"The Walking Dead."

"Oh I've heard of that. I'm not much for television really. I like old shows, but usually if I'm not at work I'm working on my art."

"You're an artist?"

"Yes. It's sort of taking over my life."

"Painting?"

"Mostly... I like clay and sculpting also."

"I'd like to see your work sometime." Norman glanced over and smiled at me.

"Maybe." This earned me a laugh. We were pretty quiet the rest of the ride, which wasn't long. I followed Norman up to his apartment. He unlocked it and we walked into a very modern apartment. It was an open floor plan and had an amazing view of Atlanta's skyline. The walls were a dark gray, the furniture a dark brown.

"Nice, right? The first season it wasn't this nice. I guess since we've proved we'll be sticking around for awhile the budget for this kind of thing got a little looser."

"So what's for dinner?"

"What do you like?"

"There isn't really much I don't like."

"Don't give me that bullshit girl answer, come on June."

Norman laughed when I wrinkled my nose at him. "Pizza?"

"You have some unhealthy habits for a Nurse, girl. What do you like on your pizza?" Norman pulled out his iPad and pulled up a local pizza shop, placing a delivery order online. Once that was finished Norman grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed one to me.

"So what's it like being an actor?"

"Pretty great. I like telling stories. I like the fan that come up to me and tell them I've made some sort of a difference in their lives. It's gratifying." I got lost in the way Norman's facial expressions changed as he spoke about his job. His eyes were light and alive. He obviously loved what he did and that made me really happy.

"Does it suck being away from home for so long?"

He nodded. "Yeah. But I get home pretty frequently. My uh, my son come here to visit, so it all works out."

Norman looked around nervously. It took me a minute, but I coughed as I choked on my beer a little. Son. A son. Norman has a kid.

"How old?"

"Eight."

I nodded. "Well I'm sure he thinks it's pretty cool."

He laughed. It was genuine and emptied the nervous thoughts from his head. "He brings me down to earth so much! He doesn't care at all, it's pretty great honestly. Mingus is a great kid. I'm lucky."

"So where is his Mom?"

"We aren't together. We have a pretty good relationship despite us being separated. We just agreed to put our son first. That's where our interest is."

"I'm finding out a lot of things about you today, Reedus. Any other surprises coming out tonight?"

He laughed. "Nah."

"Sure? You don't have any bodies in the bedroom? Are you going to break out some cocaine and do a line on the counter?"

Norman laughed out loud this time. I couldn't help but do the same. I also wanted to make sure he knew I was kidding.

"No, that's it as far as the big stuff goes. I'm an actor and I have a son. I just wanted those two things to be clear from the start."

"Why?"

"Because if you hang out with me you're probably going to end up as a romance rumor at some point. You're also probably going to meet Mingus at some point. Full disclosure," he shrugged.

"Will I actually end up on some magazine?"

"Probably just the internet. It's a popular show and I have an awesome fan base, but I'm no Channing Tatum or Ryan Gosling."

It wasn't long before the doorbell rang. Norman paid for our food and we ate in front of the television watching a random movie. When we were finished I curled up on the couch. I was nursing my third beer and growing sleepier by the second.

"Do you want to go to bed?"

"No I'm watching this."

Norman laughed. "Alright. C'mere." He pulled me against his chest and we got comfortable. He draped a blanket over us and I found that I was incredibly comfortable. My eyes were heavy and I fought to keep them open. When they finally closed though, I made no effort to fight sleep.

***

'Dinner?'

'I'm pulling an extra shift for Mags.'

I put my phone up and drank my second cup of coffee. Maggi became violently ill during her shift. I was worried about her. Since Cara was off today anyway she picked Maggie up and brought her home. She would keep an eye on her while I volunteered to pick up her shift. Maggie had done it for me countless times anyway.

"You're looking good little lady!"

"I'm feeling a lot better. Can I have more ice cream?"

"Hmmm didn't you have your appendix out? I thought those tonsils were still there!"

Lily laughed and smiled at me. "I like ice cream though!"

"I'll make sure some is sent to your room."

"You're my favorite Nurse. Don't tell the rest of them though. Will you braid my hair before you go Miss June?"

"Of course." I sat on the bed and braided Lily's hair. She was seven and had been incredibly brave despite her obvious nervousness.

"When do I get to go home?"

"We'll probably let you go home tomorrow unless anything comes up, Lily."

"I'm excited. I want to play with my do and my Mommy and Daddy just had another baby."

"Boy or girl?"

"Girl. Her name is Rose. She cries a lot."

"That's about all babies are good for." We both laughed and when I finished with her hair I promised to visit before she was let out. I continued making my rounds. The patients that I had seen for a few days I got to know better. Anytime the hospital was slow I spent my time really getting to know the patients. I think the socialization benefited all of us.

I was paged to the front desk and walked down the halls. I was tired and still had two hours before I got off at midnight. "Norman? What are you doing here?"

He smiled and held up a plastic bag. "You were too tired for a banana split the other night so I got some for us to have now. I called to find out when your break was." It had been a week since I'd slept at his place. My busy schedule prevented us from seeing each other sooner, but it wasn't for lack of trying. We always kept in contact though. Norman was become someone that I considered to be as good of a friend as I did Cara and Maggi.

I hugged Norman. We walked outside and sat down. He pulled our ice cream out of the bag. He drizzled chocolate sauce on my ice cream and then we dug in. "This is really nice of you."

"You deserve it. I'm worried you're going to collapse. This way I at least know sugar is coursing through your veins to keep you awake."

"How was filming today?"

"Good. It was an early day but we got a lot done. It's amazing how much time it takes though, we aren't anywhere near being finished with the season."

"Well I am happy to hear that. I've gotten used to you hanging around Reedus."

"So Mingus is coming in town Tuesday..."

"And?" Obviously Norman was wanting to say more.

"And so do you want to meet him?"

Suddenly I was nervous. The idea of meeting his son was scary. "Do you want me to?"

"He knows all my other friends."

"Oh... Alright. Sure."

"You don't have to, JC."

"I'm just..." I laughed. "I don't know, that's really scary actually. What if he doesn't like me?"

Norman smiled and squeezed my knee. "He'll like you Clinton." Norman had started calling me by my middle name when he was being really serious. Usually when he was telling me to slow down or that I needed to take better care of myself.

"I'm so scared. God, I'm scared of a kid. Jesus. We aren't even dating and I'm freaking out about this."

"We don't have to-"

"No, Norm. You're becoming a big part of my life and I value your friendship. Your son is a huge part of your life and I should meet him."

"It isn't anything to be nervous about. I was thinking we could have dinner Tuesday night."

"Are you sure? Wouldn't you rather have some time with him alone?"

"That's a good point. So, when are you free next week?"

"Saturday night."

"Then Saturday it is." My pager went off before we could talk any further. I scooped the last bite of ice cream into my mouth.

"Sorry, I have to get back to work."

Norman pulled me into a hug. "Alright. Try and go to sleep when you get home Clint, got it?"

"Yes sir," I playfully rolled my eyes.