Taking Denny home, his house looked completely different than what it did when I left it early this morning. "The guys I work with must have mowed the grass for me," he whispered softly as we pulled into the driveway. I shut off the car and turned to face him. "Well that was nice of them," I said as I got out of the car.

I grabbed his bag full of dirty clothes from the back seat and walked around to the passenger side. Denny had already opened the door and was trying to get out, but he was struggling. "Let me help," I said offering him my arm. I grasped it gently and pulled himself out of my car. I already knew I needed to get a bigger vehicle for his tall self.

We walked slowly up the steps and I grabbed the keys out of his bag to unlock the door. As soon as we walked in I dropped his bag and helped him to the couch. "It looks like my house has been cleaned," he said as he plopped down on the couch and looked up at me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It wasn't me. Maybe Mrs. Collins? Since the hospital gave her house keys to get you some clothes," I said. He sat back and got comfortable. "Maybe," he said. "I'm gonna get you some water," I said walking into the kitchen. I was greeted by a vase of flowers, a couple of balloons, and a card.

I instantly recognized Mrs. Collins shaky handwriting and smiled. I opened the card to see she said she hoped that Denny got better soon and that she left some meals in the fridge for him just to heat up in the oven or microwave. I laid the card on the counter and opened the fridge to grab Denny some water.

She wasn't kidding. She stocked Denny's fridge full of casseroles. I chuckled as I shut the door and walked back to the living room. His eyes were closed and he was leaning his head against the back of the couch.  "Here, D, we need to keep you hydrated," I said as I twisted the cap off the bottle.

Denny opened his eyes and sat up. He grabbed the bottle and took a giant drink before sitting it on the end table. "Do you need anything else?" I asked him and he shook his head. "Alright, I'm gonna head over to my house real quick and put away my groceries that I dropped in a hurry when I heard about you," I said.

Denny smiled lazily but nodded. "I'll be right here when you get back," he said. I smiled. "Okay, I'll make it quick and then I'll heat up one of the casseroles that Mrs. Collins left here for you for dinner," I said. Denny chuckled. "She's a nice older woman," he said. I nodded. "We all like her," I said while bending down to kiss his cheek.

"Okay, I'll be back," I said as I made my way out the door. I walked the short distance across the street to my home and opened the door. I was instantly greeted with a soured smell. I knew my cold groceries would have to be tossed. I made quick of the job while holding my breath to get everything cleaned up.

After putting away which groceries I could save, I took the rest to the trash can and threw them out before spraying some air freshner in my house and taking the trash to the curb for the garbage company to pick it up. I walked back inside and grabbed a backpack from the closet and headed upstairs to my bedroom.

I didn't want Denny staying by himself, but I figured he would want to stay in his own bed seeing as he had been sleeping in a hospital for the past two weeks. I grabbed a pair of pajamas, clothes for tomorrow, and some personal hygiend products before zipping up my backpack, putting it on, and walking down the stairs.

I locked the door behind me and walked down the porch steps before heading across the street to Denny's house. I didn't bother knocking I just walked right in. Denny wasn't in the living room where I had left him. I dropped my bag on the floor and walked in the kitchen. I preheated the oven and popped one of the casseroles in that Mrs. Collins had left.

Just as I put the casserole in the oven I heard a splash of water. Confused, I walked through the house to the bathroom. The door was closed slightly and I knocked on it. "Denny?" I called out not knowing what was going on. "You can come in," he said softly. I pushed open the door and was instantly greeted by a pile of clothing.

My face became hot as I looked over to the bathtub. Denny was in the tub with bubbles up to his chest. "Denny Duquette, what on earth are you doing?" I asked him. He smiled at me. "I smelled like hospital," he said. I laughed and sat down on the edge of the tub. "Plus, I needed to get all the glue off of me from IVs and wires," he said.

I grabbed the washcloth on the side of the tub and dipped it in the water. "You're supposed to be resting," I said. Denny gave me his signature smile. "I don't think a bubble bath is going to kill me," he said. I felt myself frowning slightly. "You never know,"  I said as I wiped his chest trying to get some of the glue off of it.

"Okay, I'm going to check on the casserole in the oven. You get cleaned up, but don't get out of this tub by yourself, Mister," I said while putting the washcloth back on the side of the tub and standing up. "Hey," Denny said as I reached the doorway. I turned and leaned against the door frame.

"Yeah?" I asked him. He smiled. "You're the best, you know that?" he asked rhetorically. I chuckled and walked away shaking my head as I heard Denny continuing his bath. I checked on the casserole in the oven and pulled it out seeing it was bubbling. I grabbed a couple of plates and dished out some of the food.

It looked like some sort of chicken stuff. I grabbed a couple of forks and bottles of water before taking it to the table. I turned off the oven and walked back towards the bathroom. "Hey, handsome, ready to get out?" I asked. He nodded. "Can you grab me some clothes from my room first?" he asked.

I nodded and walked on door down to his room. I grabbed some sweatpants and a clean shirt before heading back to the bathroom. "Alright, mister, let's get you out of here and in some clean, dry clothes," I said. I offered Denny my hand and helped him out of the bath slowly. I kept my eyes trained on his and didn't let them roam anywhere else.

I grabbed the towel quickly and he wrapped it around him covering everything important. "Think you can handle getting dressed by yourself?" I asked and he nodded. "Okay, dinner is ready. I'll be out at the kitchen table when you're ready," I said and he nodded again before I walked out of the bathroom.

I went to the kitchen and sat at the table waiting on Denny. I heard his feet slowly make their down the hallway. Denny appeared in the doorway rubbing his wet hair with a towel. He smiled tiredly as he made his way to his seat and sat down throwing the towel in the chair beside him. He grabbed his fork and poked at his food.

"Your bath wore you out, didn't it?" I said and he nodded while placing a forkful of food in his mouth. He sat back in his chair and sighed. Denny was quiet as he ate his dinner. "After dinner I want you to go relax on the couch or in bed while I clean everything up. Then maybe we can watch a movie or something," I said.

He nodded as he continued to eat. I finished my plate and took it to the sink. I wrapped the rest of the casserole up and put it back in the fridge for later. I went back to the table to find that Denny had pushed his plate away with half of the food still on it. I sighed, but didn't say a word as I grabbed the plate.

I scraped the food in the trash and put the plate in the sink. I looked up at the clock to see it was a little past seven in the evening. I walked back to the table and squeezed Denny's shoulders. "Why don't you go pick out a movie and get comfortable. I'm gonna clean the kitchen and if you don't mind take a shower and then I'll join you," I said.

He nodded not saying a word and got out of his chair. He walked out of the dining room towards the living room as I headed back to the kitchen to start on the small load of dishes. It didn't take long for me to finish them. I grabbed my backpack and headed towards the bathroom to take a shower.

After a quick shower I got dressed in my comfortable clothes and grabbed mine and Denny's dirty clothes. I walked out of the bathroom and grabbed the duffle bag full of Denny's clothes by the front door. I walked to the back of the house and dumped all of the dirty clothes in the washer and started it.

I pulled my hair up into a wet bun not caring what I looked like at this point. Denny and I would spend the night in with no company. I walked into the living room to see that Denny wasn't in there. I placed my hands on my hips and sighed. He must have went to the bedroom to get more comfortable.

I made sure the house was locked up before walking down the hallway to the bedroom. There I found Denny laying under the covers without a shirt on. There was a movie title flashing across the screen, but I wasn't paying attention to it. "Hey you," I said as I leaned against the doorway with my arms across my chest.

He smiled and threw the covers back on the side of the bed he wasn't laying on. He patted the spot beside him. He didn't speak, but at least he looked happier than earlier. Maybe he was just tired and worn out from being in the hospital and doing all of this simple activity today. Trying to do something after being bed ridden for two weeks is difficult.

I slowly made my way towards him not really sure what to think of this. Denny and I still barely knew each other. Sure I had laid with him in the hospital bed, but this was different. This was in the comfort of his own home, in our pajamas. I sat on the bed and brought my legs up on the bed.

Denny threw the blankets back over me and I fluffed my pillow so I could sit up in the bed as Denny laid down and got comfortable. He hit play on the movie and I looked down at him with a smile. I ran my hand through his hair and he closed his eyes and let out a soft groan as he scooted closer to me.

He laid his head in my lap as I continued to play with his hair. I turned my eyes to the T.V. screen but I wasn't paying attention to what movie was playing. I continued to stroke Denny's hair as he wrapped his arms around my waist. The side of my shirt was raised slightly and Denny's hand rested on my exposed skin gently.

His hand was cold. Now that I knew his heart was bad, it made me realize that's why his hands were so cold all the time. It was poor circulation. Denny's thumb rubbed slow soothing circles on my skin. I relaxed back into the pllow actually enjoying the silence between us as the T.V. played quietly in the background.

Denny turned slightly and looked up at me. "Will you stay with me tonight?" Denny asked me softly. I smiled down at him and kissed his forehead. "Truthfully, I didn't plan on leaving you here by yourself, but it feels good to hear you saying you want me here," I said. Denny smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he said.

He got comfortable again, turned his attention back to the T.V., and resumed drawing small circles on my exposed skin. I continued running my fingers through his hair hoping to relax him. Maybe he would get some real sleep in a comfortable bed without being attached to all of the wires and tubes. I knew one thing. I wasn't going anywhere as long as he would have me.

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