I'll Check in Tomorrow if I Don't Wake Up Dead

"You unpacked for me?" Gerard who'd been observing her quietly instantly jumped on the defensive.

"Don't bitch at me about it. I was doing something nice for you. Plus I figured you'd throw a fit if your clothes got wrinkled." Perhaps the woman try to end the hostility between them that seemed to be ever-present.

"Well I wasn't going to bitch at you; so calm down." Taking a deep breath and gritting her teeth she forced out "Thank you. I appreciate it." To which Gerard stared dumbly at her.

"Ye... Of course. No problem" They stared at each other for a few moments and clearing her throat awkwardly Lily sighed and flopped down on the bed.

"You're not sleeping with me." The statement was spoken dryly and Gerard snorted.

"What makes you think that /you're/ not sleeping with /me/ I think men and women should be equals; thus you have no reason to get the bed. If anything /I/ should get the bed. I mean I am the cop who has to protect you and if I get shot because I've thrown my back out by sleeping on the floor, that would be on you." There was a pause where Lily just glared, there was no arguing with his points though looking a bit like someone had forced him to be nice Gerard amended what he previously stated. " I mean we'll at least take turns." Lily glared and rolled onto her stomach clutching a pillow.

"I'm not moving!" She retorted back childishly and Gerard growled and flopped down next to her. So much for trying no hostility.

"Well.. Neither am I so there." Lily raised her head and glared at him.

"If you snore, drool, kick or hog blankets you're booted off the bed." He looked rather offended.

"OK, so says the girl who had nightmares resulting in her screaming bloody murder. Besides /you/ thrash a lot in your sleep!" Lily glared and spat

"You were watching me sleep?" A red hue ate up his otherwise pale cheeks.

"You fell asleep in /my/ room!" Gerard defended himself quickly and Lily scoffed.

"If you stare at me when I'm sleeping you also get kicked out of the room. Go sleep with Frankie for all I care." He blushed and standing up quickly muttered

"Who the hell would willingly watch you?" Before he disappeared downstairs, slamming the door. Lily sighed rolling once again onto her back to stare at the ceiling dully. She should probably go downstairs because if she didn't her mother would most likely throw a fit, and send Stephen up here to fetch her so rubbing her eyes wearily Lily made her way down the stairs to find her mother, Gerard and Stephen chattering quite happily. Frank was lounging nearby with a book in hand and his figure slumped. Lily had a suspicion that jet lag was catching up to him. Clearing her throat softly everyone stopped and looked up at her; and Kara beamed.

"Lily, come, sit with us." Her mother sounded quite happy and didn't seem to realize there wasn't any room on the couch.

"There's no room." The woman stated in a monotone voice, and gesturing to the taken spots. Kara sighed though Stephen spoke up quickly. "I was going into town anyway. C'mon Frank." Frank's head jerked up in surprise but he nodded and stretching got to his feet.

"You want to come Kara?" The small cop asked good-naturedly and Kara nodded.

"Sure, why not." Lily's mother agreed brightly and Frank turned to Lily.

"Are you going to come?" This would be an excellent chance to catch up on the sleep she'd missed from the jet lag and politely shook her head.

"No you guys go ahead I'm just going to relax here." Kara frowned as her daughter turned down the invitation and frowned.

"Don't be so anti-social Lily." Doing her best not to roll her eyes Lily grit out

"Look, I'm really tired. This will be a nice chance for me to just relax." Gerard looked over at her and nodded.

"It's fine I'll stay with her." Gerard offered with a hint of reluctance which my mother picked up on.

"See Lily! You're making your fiancee stay with you and he wants to go out." The brunette kept her expression neutral and said with a little shrug

"There's literally nothing stopping him. You guys go ahead out to diner. I'm staying though, I can hardly keep my eyes open." Also If they left and Lily went to bed early, she'd get dibs on what side of the bed she wanted, and could take as many blankets as the woman desired. However Gerard smiled and admitted with a rather sheepish voice.

"It's alright Kara. It will be nice to get some time with Lily to be honest. And the jet lag is killing me." The mother nodded with a much more understanding voice. This left Lily to wonder when she'd taken such a liking to Gerard; then again she'd been left in a car for half the day then stomped up to her room. She was sure Gerard had charmed the lot of them while she was sleeping at some point.

"Sounds good. We'll be back later." Lily hung around downstairs while the three shuffled about, pulling their coats and shoes on with a few short goodbyes the door slammed once and all was quiet; leaving Gerard and Lily to stare at each other for a moment. Deciding she needed a glass of wine which Lily knew her mother must of hid around; the woman set off to the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinets.

"Do you want a glass of wine?" Lily shouted, only to find the broody cop standing behind her.

"No." The words were spoken sharply and he backed away subtly.

"It's not poison." The woman scoffed finding the bottle and pulling it out poured it into a mug, unconventional but who cared as long it held the liquid? Usually Lily would swig it out of the bottle but Kara would likely have a minor conniption if she found out her daughter had been drinking straight from the bottle.

"It is to me." The raven haired man argued, his hazel eyes flashing for a moment. His body language was tense and stiff so Lily didn't press him further, just quietly put away the bottle and turned her attention to her cup. The moments dragged out uncomfortably as it was clear neither knew what to say to the other. Lily finding the tension in the air to be suffocating brushed past Gerard to the couch that Kara, Stephen, and Gerard had been residing previously to stretch out. However she didn't turn the TV just relaxed as she heard Gerard shuffle about in the kitchen. Finally the silence got to the woman and standing up she poked her head into the kitchen where Gerard seemed to be cooking something. It actually smelled pretty good and while Lily would never admit that; her stomach was quite willing to as it rumbled loudly; Gerard didn't seem to notice and Lily didn't call attention to it.

"I'm going to shower just in case you need to know where I am warden." The woman grumbled with a dull, humorless tone.

"Fine." Lily was about to turn when she heard his voice once more "Hey, wait." Making her best poker face the woman turned around and raised an eyebrow; silently encouraging him to go on. "I'm making food, nothing special. Just chicken alfredo." His normally broody face when he wasn't around her family had changed into a more sincere one; it was as if he were trying to be nice. Lily decided she may as well try to be nice while he was.

"Yeah, thanks that sounds really good." Pausing the woman added with a slightly begrudging way "If you want I'll sleep on the floor tonight. And you can tomorrow?" The cop shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"If you want. I mean, the beds big enough for both of us and I'm worried about your mom coming in and finding you asleep on the floor and me sprawled in the bed; or vice versa." He had a good point; that might raise a few flaws in their facade, and her mother would jump all over them.

"I... I guess you have a point." She admitted with reluctance and quickly pointed a finger at him. "I mean it though! If you drool or kick me; you're out!" He smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"Of course." Giving him a suspicious look Lily nodded once more before turning around and leaving the kitchen. Walking to the strangely placed staircase Lily walked through the strangely quiet hallways to her and Gerard's room, and throwing the bed a weary look went to the wardrobe and picked out a few pajamas. Now Lily normally slept in a tank top and her underwear but that wasn't going to when she was sharing a bed with a near stranger. This whole situation felt like something out of the dramas that Lily guiltily indulged in, and shaking her head the woman made her way to the shower. The small cramped bathroom already had towels laid out and shampoo and conditioner. Amused the woman picked up the shampoo and examined it, finding the scent to be what would be considered a female's shampoo. It appeared he'd been thinking of everything as she gazed around the freshly stocked bathroom.

Maybe Gerard wasn't as bad as the woman had originally thought; in fact in such extreme circumstances he actually seemed like a decent guy. Maybe a decent guy who'd lost a bit too much to crime; that would harden anyone. Intrigued by her new perspective of the cop Lily stripped of her clothes tossing them into a messy heap on the floor and turned the shower on, waiting for the water to heat up with a pale hand stretched under the steady stream. Once it was to her liking Lily stepped in letting the hot water run over her scrawny body; which was rather soothing. It was as if all the stress from the flight and the lie were momentarily ebbing out of her bones leaving her in better mood than when she stepped in. Once the last of the conditioner had been washed from her thick mousy brown hair Lily lingered under the water for a few moments before turning it off and wrapping her body in the fluffy towel drying off in a slow, languid manner. When she was done with that she slipped into her pajamas, a tank-top and a pair of grey sweatpants that came down to her mid-calf. It would be suitable for sleeping in while she and the cop shared a bed.

To her surprise Lily found that Gerard was lounging on the bed, and she thanked her stars that she'd decided to get dressed inside the bathroom. However what surprised her the most was the tray of food on the bed, along with a small glass of wine. Raising an eyebrow Lily pointed at it and asked in a somewhat mollified tone "Gerard, what the hell is that?" He glanced up and didn't seem very surprised to see her.

"Diner. Like I promised." The woman felt strangely... touched that he'd put thought into it. She'd assumed he'd leave it in the pot downstairs or something and the wine was nice. From his reaction earlier the brunette would of thought Gerard wouldn't touch wine, much less pour a glass. Though, Lily didn't want to ruin a nice gesture and sat down picking up the fork and after a moment's pause speared a bit of the alfredo. Lifting it to her lips and quickly taking a bite in case it wasn't as good as it smelled; the food was a pleasant shock and Lily made a small noise in the back of her throat.

"Gerard, this is fucking delicious." She gushed as soon as the food had gone down her throat. He looked a bit sheepish and shrugged.

"When I was growing up my parents worked a lot and I wanted to help them. So I fed them and my kid brother. Plus I used to cook for Karen all the time especially when she had a long day at work." His eyes had grown a bit distant at the thought of the dead fiancee and Lily nodded her understanding.

"Well, you can cook whenever you feel like it. I feel kind of bad actually." The raven haired man raised an eyebrow curiously waiting for Lily to explain. "Well, I mean you went shopping, even if you did leave me in the car, stocked the bathroom, entertained my mom, stayed back with me even though I haven't been all that kind, and cooked me dinner." Embarrassment flooded her as Lily admitted this to which Gerard chuckled.

"All part of the fiancee facade. Plus I understand how difficult this must be for you; fuck it's hard for me. I mean I also wasn't the most polite when we met so... Should we start over?" With a small teasing grin Lily tilted her head to the side while taking another bite and appearing to mull it over. Swallowing she took a sip of wine to delay more time.

"I suppose we could." She dragged out the word suppose with a small mocking grin; and Gerard offered her a tentative smile.

"Good that's... That's good. Well I'm going to shower. Eat up."

With that he grabbed a bundle of clothing that Lily hadn't noticed before and sauntered off towards the shower. Turning her attention back to the food laid before her the brunette decided that since no one was watching there was no need for her to eat so civilly. As the shower ran and steam curled out in wispy tendrils from underneath the door the woman all but shoved the food down her throat, inhaling it. Lily supposed she hadn't been truly aware of just how hungry she was until she tucked into Gerard's diner. Once she finished the food Lily glanced down at her watch and frowned, Frank and her family had been out for nearly an hour now and she wondered what they were doing or when they'd be back. She didn't have her cellphone and the brunette had a sinking feeling that they either had no cellphones or they didn't work abroad. Picking up the empty tray the woman decided that since Gerard cooked, she may as well clean up. Carefully bringing the breakable plate down the stairs to the small kitchen Lily found that he had already done them and with a semi-relieved sigh she washed the tray and plate before drying and putting them away. With that done she peered out the window into the darkness that had long since fallen over Ireland and decided that she may as well go to sleep.

Turning away from the window Lily quietly began to make her way through the house shutting off the lights save for one in the kitchen for when the wayward group came home. As soon as she made her way up the stairs Lily paused, taking a deep breath taking a moment to calm down about sharing a bed with someone; this was going to be an awkward "vacation" and Lily wasn't sure how well she'd be sleeping this undetermined amount of time. Well it was undetermined to her, Lily was sure Gerard and or Frankie knew when they were going back and were maybe withholding that information. In her musing the woman now found herself in front of their door, and could hear Gerard shuffling about. Not wanting to walk in on him naked Lily knocked hesitantly and called out "Can I come in?" There was a pause where she could not hear anything then a quick "Sure."

She opened the door and found the raven haired cop in a pair of pajama pants with transformers all over them; and his shirt next to him while he dried his hair. Not wanting to seem prude Lily didn't say anything just closed the door and leaned against it waiting for him to put the shirt on. Subtly she glanced at his exposed torso and found it to be muscular, but not overly so with a few scars visible from her vantage point dotting it. The most obvious scar was in the center of his chest where the skin was pinkish and raised. It looked like a bullet wound which piqued her curiosity but to ask would be to admit she was looking him over. Glancing up at his face a rush of heat flooded Lily's cheeks when she realized he'd been watching her the whole time she'd been studying him. Gerard's normal smug air was gone replaced with something a bit more timid as he turned away from her and quickly pulled his shirt over his head.

Mortification hit Lily as she edged towards the bed and picked out the closest side, and flopping down got under the covers. Gerard's weight then soon caused the bed to sink down on his side as well. Turning her head Lily observed the man turning so his back faced her and deciding to do the same Lily turned so she was staring at the wall instead of him.

"Are you going to sleep?" His voice startled the woman and nodding she answered him tiredly.

"Yes, if you aren't you can leave the lights on I don't care."

"I'm going to bed too- no point of staying up. I'm sure we've got stuff to do tomorrow." This was news to Lily and sitting up she turned to face him.

"What do you mean?" Lily's voice had morphed into one of suspicion.

"Well, OK so the deal is the local police department is going to be around to help us out. Keep an eye on us if you will; and I thought that instead of having random cops come over everyday to make sure we're alive and stuff it might be easier if it was just Leigh. Under the guise that she's helping me with my comics of course." Gerard's explanation was rushed with a plea for Lily to understand.

"Leigh?! Really?" There was nothing covering the fact that Lily did not like this woman and Gerard winced.

"What was I supposed to do then Lily?" He sounded bitter and just, tired. Now the women felt bad once more, he was trying and she wasn't helping.

"No, you're right. Just she's not... exactly very warm and fuzzy is she?" He looked like he was biting back a snort of amusement.

"Just another reason I thought you'd two get along- ow!" He cried, and tried to move away from the leg that had kicked him beneath the sheets.

"Hah, hah ha." Lily responded dryly though the tiniest hint of a smile took residence on her face. Gerard who'd turned back to her looked rather somber now.

"Seriously though, she'll be professional. Don't worry too much." Nodding Lily covered her mouth and yawned loudly.

"Yeah well I'm gonna need my beauty sleep to deal with her, so goodnight Gerard." While Lily's voice wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy, it wasn't as cold and hostile as it normally was.

"G'night Sugar." The words were spoken carelessly and Lily could feel him tense up next to him, as if he feared her retribution for calling her Sugar. Lily saw no point though; he'd been nice enough and he deserved a bit of slack. She could deal with his obnoxiously stupid nickname. Turning over so her back faced the cop the petite brunette found this a bit less awkward then facing each other and sleeping. Sleep though, still did not come to her. A sense of restlessness filled her, overpowering the demand for sleep her brain was crying for. She tried to shift her position several times during the night, to find no avail. Just as she was about to fall asleep Kara must of thought it to be a good idea to check on them because the door creaked open and Lily squeezed her eyes shut instinctively. If Kara found her daughter up she'd want to talk and sit together, nothing Lily was in the mood for. After her mother left Lily flipped onto her back biting back a groan of annoyance.

Gerard had, had no problems falling asleep and even now with his thick raven hair splayed across his pale forehead was snoring lightly. A draft blew through the room and Lily shivered under the covers, the woman was used to having much more than two comforters to sleep with, and she didn't even have to share them. "Gerard." She whispered poking his sides intent on asking for more blankets, got a mumbled and a groan in his sleep though no other response to indicate he was waking up. "Gerard!" She tried again a bit more urgently; and even then he didn't wake. Instead as she was about to turn her back to him once more, his arms shifted in his sleep holding Lily against his chest. Lily growled and tried to squirm away though this got a response out of Gerard.

"Stop squirming and go to sleep Lily." Heat fired up her cheeks and she squirmed again.

"Oi! Let me go!" Her voice was hissed through the dark and he shook his head.

"No, you're so cold, and I'm much too hot. Must be from hogging all the blankets." He cracked open one sleep blurred eye with a lazy, almost cat-like grin. Lily tried to muster the kind of look she'd have if someone ran over her dog and glared back, not completely comfortable with the cop's arms wrapped about her. She didn't think it worked though as her eyes wouldn't narrow and remained wide with shock, while her pastel pink lips were shaped in a small O with shock. Quickly clearing her throat and trying regaining her sarcastic streak Lily answered back with a voice that didn't quite sound like she'd thought it would.

"That look doesn't work with me." She tried to mutter, though her voice got caught in her throat. She hadn't been this close to a man in a long, long time. It really was starting to affect her head because the woman fell still and Gerard just smiled.

"I know. But I'm really warm, and you're kind of shivering." His arms loosened as if to say "Go ahead, move if you want." Though the phrase wasn't verbally spoken.

"I... Fine. I don't care." She whispered, grateful this darkness cloaked them so he couldn't see the fire blooming on her cheeks.

"Good, now go to bed. What happened to you need that beautyrest to deal with Leigh?" The women didn't grace the man with a response and just closed her eyes, and as if to mock her found herself unable to open them. It felt as if her limbs were made of lead and it was true; Gerard felt as if he were burning up. It couldn't of been twenty minutes before Lily was sound asleep curled up with Gerard's arms holding her bringing a sense of safety and security to her pleasant dreams.