Chapter 15: Getting Intimate

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The doctor wanted to keep both Leo and Mouse until the sixth for observation, but Mouse managed to convince them to release her on the fifth. And when Dr. Bayer came to give the okay around noon, he took another look at Leo, and said that, as long as his breathing continued to look good, he might even let Leo go home that night.

Next, Mouse had to battle with Henry, first to keep him from calling her family in Virginia, then to keep from accompanying her home. Most of the conversation happened in fierce whispers, while Leo slept in the next bed.

"Henry, please," she begged. "I'm fine. If you call, Carol and Mike will insist on taking the train up here, and Carol will be all hysterical and running around, saying that her baby is dying--"

"Are you parents names really Carol and Mike?" Henry asked with a laugh. "As in The Brady Bunch?"

"Oh my god, yes, and if you make any jokes, I will punch you in the face, so help me," Mouse responded from the bed. "Believe me, I've heard them all.

"Anyway, I'm fine, except for this sore throat, there's no need to tell them anything," she insisted.

"And your sprained wrist and ankle, and the bonk on your head," Henry continued, looking at her.

Mouse waved his words away. "I feel good, really, they don't need to know. Please?"

Henry sighed. "Okay, but only because you saved my baby's life, and were so cool when I basically accused you of negligence," he said.

He looked contrite, and took a deep breath, but Mouse cut him off.

"No, that's okay too," she said, nodding for emphasis. "You were out of your mind with worry, why wouldn't you believe that Leo was with me? He was supposed to be. I never should've agreed to leave him with her, never."

"I like to think I would've realized the truth as soon as I had a chance to think about it," Henry agreed. "I could never, under normal circumstances, believe you'd let harm come to Leo, you know?" Henry leaned over and grasped her hand, blue eyes regretful.

"Exactly," Mouse replied. "So don't beat yourself up about it."

But Henry continued to shake his head. "When I saw you two from inside the lounge, and you just vaulted over the railing and into the water, and she just--stood there--"

"I'm actually surprised you didn't jump in, too," Mouse said with a small smile.

"Oh, I tried," Henry said, rubbing Mouse's knuckles, which were scraped. "A couple of people had to hold me back. It was obvious by then that you were going to reach him first, and that you knew what you were doing, that I'd be no help in the water, you know?" He smiled ruefully. "I think I punched one of the men who was restraining me.

"God, what a mess," he murmured, and Mouse could hear how his voice thickened as tears threatened. "I'm so, so thankful you were there, Mouse, you don't know--" and he broke off, wiping his eyes. Then he picked up her hand and kissed the damaged knuckles. "Thank you for saving my son," he said simply.

"I love him," Mouse said, looking out the window. "I couldn't have done anything else."

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, until a volunteer came with discharge papers for her to sign.

"Great," Henry said, smiling at the woman. "Let's get you home, okay?" he said to Mouse.

"I can get home on my own," Mouse said firmly. "You need to stay here with your son."

"What?" Henry was horrified. "Do you think I'm just going to load you into a cab and send you home alone?" He waved toward Leo's bed. "They gave him something so he could sleep, he won't even know I'm gone. I'll get you home and settled, then I'll come back and pick him up. It's settled," he finished firmly.

"You sure are bossy," Mouse grumbled cheerfully from her bed.

"Yes, I am, and I'm your boss, so just do as you're told, for once," he scolded.

Checking out took no time, as Mouse had been admitted via the Emergency Room and had brought nothing with her. Half an hour later she and Henry were settled into a waiting car for the half hour drive home.

"You hired a car?" Mouse was incredulous. "Why? I'm fine. I would've been fine in a cab--"

"Oh my god you're loud," Henry said, turning to her. "I hired the car for Leo, okay? But I have it for the day, so I figured, 'why not?' Is that all right with you?"

Though she was suspicious that livery services didn't work that way, Mouse held her tongue and enjoyed the comfortable ride home. Bobby the doorman made a nice fuss over her, as well, opening the door and practically lifting her out, exclaiming over how light she was, and over her injuries.

Then, while she was standing in the lobby, Henry had picked her up, surprising the hell out of her, making her let out a little squeak as her feet left the floor. "Henry! I can walk! The doctor said so! My ankle is barely sprained!"

"Shut up," he told her amiably, bending a little to press the button at the elevator. He grinned at her, his face closer than she was used to.

So she'd looped her arms around his neck and let him carry her, hoping her cheeks weren't too blotchy and red. She knew she wasn't an attractive blusher.

"Okay, so let's just get you comfortable," Henry said, easing Mouse onto the couch. "You're not sleepy, are you?" he asked. "Because I know Leo's going to want to spend time with you when he gets home. I mean, you might be more comfortable in your bed, but do you mind staying out here for a while?"

Mouse shook her head. "I don't mind," she replied.

"Good. Now," he said, looking around. "What do you need? Snacks? Something to drink? Let's get it all in reaching distance before I have to leave, okay?"

So he got her everything he thought she might need, from tissues to water, making several trips.

"Henry?" Mouse put a hand on him, pulling him to sit next to her.

He sat, looking at her inquiringly.

"I'm really sorry about Madeleine," she said.

"It's not your fault," he replied.

"No, I know, I'm not saying it was, but you guys were a couple for over a year, and now, for whatever reason, however it came about, you're not anymore, and that must feel bad, so I'm sorry about that," Mouse insisted.

"Things haven't been good between us for a while now," Henry said in a quiet voice. "What happened yesterday wasn't really what finished it."

"No?" Mouse was curious.

Henry shook his head. "Last week, she came to my office and saw--something, and she knew then that my feelings had changed," Henry admitted. "We didn't really discuss it, but I'm pretty sure things were already over at that point. It just took a few days for us to both realize it, I suppose."

He looked at Mouse, blue eyes somber. "She was very smart, and easy to talk to about my work and everything, but Leo's such a huge part of my life, and it just became more and more obvious that the two of them were never going to mesh, you know? And the older he gets, the more of a complete person he becomes, the more he's going to spill over into the relationships I have with other people, I think. So it's better this way."

Mouse nodded. She wondered what had happened at the office, but Henry obviously didn't want to discuss it, so she didn't pry. He brought her a blanket before returning to the hospital, and sat, a hand on either side of her.

"Now, is there anything else you need?" he asked.

"No, I think I'm pretty well covered," Mouse answered, looking around. "You've brought me everything I could ever need or want, not only for the next couple hours, but for the next few months, probably."

"Good," Henry answered, ignoring the teasing. "I'll see you later, then." And he leaned in, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead, before rising.

Mouse took a nice nap in the sunny family room as she waited for Henry and Leo to come back, enjoying the novelty of being alone in the apartment. And when she woke up and they still weren't back, she decided to take a shower. She could tell she still had brackish water dried in her hair. She also wanted to get it done while no one was around, so Henry wouldn't want to help her, which she felt would only be awkward.

She limped to her bathroom and undressed, unwrapping her bandages. She got her first good look at herself since the day before, too. She did not look good. She had numerous scrapes and bruises covering her body, probably from when she was pulled into the lifeboat, then when she was hauled up onto the yacht. There was a huge purple bruise on her shoulder, and of course her ankle and wrist were red and swollen.

She sat on the edge of the tub and lifted her legs over so she could stand inside and shower. It felt good to finally get clean, to wash away the events of the previous day. She scrubbed her hair and body and got out, feeling refreshed.

She put on clean clothes, rewrapped her ankle and wrist, and went back to the sofa. A few minutes later Henry and Leo came home, with Leo in Henry's arms, the way Mouse had been a few hours before.

"Mouse, we rode in private car, a big black one," Leo announced. His father set him down, and he immediately ran to where she lay on the couch. "Daddy said you did, too. Did you like it?"

Mouse nodded.

Leo climbed up to sit next to her, and leaned in to sniff appreciatively. "Mmm, you smell nice," he declared, lifting his leg so he could straddle her. He then fell forward, so he was lying on top of her. "I missed you today," he announced.

"Leo, get off her, she's hurt," Henry scolded when he saw what his son was doing. "She's sore all over from jumping into the harbor to rescue you, you can't just treat her like a beanbag chair!"

Leo quickly sat up, chastened. "I'm sorry," he said. "Mouse, I'm sorry you got hurted rescuing me." He patted her tummy. "Did I hurt you more just now?"

"No," Mouse declared, putting her good arm around him and pulling him back to where he was before. "I missed you, too, and I like when you treat me like a beanbag chair, okay?"

"Okay," he answered, putting his arms on either side of her. "I promise I won't jump on you."

Henry shook his head, looking at the two of them. "You spoil him, you do," he said to Mouse.

"So?" she answered with a grin. "We almost died yesterday, cut us some slack, okay?"

"Yeah, daddy, cut us some slack," Leo echoed from his place on Mouse's chest.

"You're so soft and squishy here," he said, patting her. "I love this front part of you," he declared.

"Leo!" Henry gasped, unable to stifle his laughter. "Oh my god."

"What?" Leo turned his head to look over at his father. "Mouse knows, she said it's okay, that it's not bad. Right?" He looked at Mouse, who had also begun to laugh. She just nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Leo just looked smugly up at his father, snuggling into Mouse's body as she cuddled him. Henry realized as he watched, that, even with all the effort in the world, this kind of snuggling, this mama bear warmth, of soft breasts and nice smells, was something he just couldn't provide. Leo, for all his perspicaciousness, was for all intents and purposes a baby still, in so many ways. He wanted a mother, he needed a mother, a provider of gentle hugs and dulcet tones, of velvety touches and sweet kisses.

Mouse saw Henry turn away abruptly, and wondered what was wrong. He turned back moments later, sniffing, eyes suspiciously moist. Leo continued to lie on Mouse, small hands playing with her shower damp hair.

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