It was six in the morning when Lia was finally able to leave the hospital. She was due back on duty by ten that morning, so she was eager to get home and get a few hours of sleep before she had to return. As she exited the hospital with Chole, who was off the following day, lucky devil, she saw Ben sitting in his car waiting for them

"What's he doing here?" Lia asked, stopping to look at him suspiciously.

"He was worried about us driving, and he had me call him when we were getting off, so he could give us a lift home," Chloe explained, opening the car door and falling into the back seat. "Home Jeeves," she joked, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the seat.

Lia climbed into the front seat, and it felt like heaven as she sunk into the plush leather.

"We would have been alright to drive," she said as she buckled her seatbelt. "You realize you're going to have to drive me back here in a few hours, right?"

"You're welcome," Ben said as he pulled away from the curb.

"I'm sorry if I sound ungrateful? I didn't mean to be. I'm glad we don't have to drive home, and Chloe is already asleep," she said as she gave Ben Chloe's address and then promptly fell asleep herself.

When Ben's gentle kiss woke her, she opened her eyes slowly. "Are we home?" she asked unbuckling her seat belt thinking that it was a nice way to be awakened from a nap.

"A shower, a sandwich, and then bed. Do you think you can make it that long?" he asked, watching her as her eyes started to drift shut once again.

"Mmmmhmmm," she said as her head fell back on the seat.

"I'll be happy to help you with your shower if you like," Ben offered softly in her ear.

Lia's eyes flew open as she looked at him. "No, I'll be fine once I'm on my feet," she assured him, making a move to get out of the car.

He was ahead of her, opening the door and leading the way into her apartment. Lia set her things down on the counter and moved on automatic pilot to her bathroom. She was too tired to worry about modesty as she stripped and got in the shower without even closing the door. She was falling asleep when she heard the shower curtain shake. "Do you need my assistance?" Ben asked.

"No," she said in a tired voice leaning forward to turn off the water. Ben was waiting with his head discreetly turned and her bathrobe wide open. She allowed him to wrap her in it and lead her to the table where a sandwich was waiting for her. She ate, thinking that it was nice to have someone to take care of her, Chance would have never helped her in such a way, he would have only grunted when she got home and fell into bed.

After she ate she felt better, and she looked at Ben with a smile. "Thank you, it feels nice to have you take care of me." She stood up and walked towards her bedroom, sitting on the bed and setting her alarm. "Ben," she called as she took off her robe and crawled under the covers, "don't let me oversleep. I have to be at the hospital at ten."

He appeared in her doorway. "That's in a few hours," he protested.

Lia nodded. "Such is the medical world." She closed her eyes and was instantly asleep.

*******

Ben watched her for a minute, wondering how she did it, two hours would never be enough. He never would have been able to get up and do it all again in a few hours. He had been worried about her driving home, but he hadn't asked her to call him because he knew she wouldn't have. Chloe had been more than willing to accept his offer of a ride though, and he was glad to have been able to do something.

He leaned against the door jamb after turning off her light. She had thanked him for taking care of her. Was that what he was doing? He hadn't thought about it, he had only done what was instinctual to him. He hadn't wanted her driving home after what was a twenty-four-hour shift

It was all more than he wanted to think about, so he moved to the living room where he had set up a desk in the corner. He would get some writing done, then he would drive her back to the hospital.

*******

When Lia's alarm went off, she pulled her pillow over her head and gave a muffled scream. It wasn't fair!

She felt the bed dip and peeked out from under the dark hole she had created for herself as the alarm stopped beeping. "You can't make me!" she insisted.

"No, and I will support you fully if you decide to stay home," Ben said. He was holding a cup of steaming coffee and Lia's nose twitched appreciatively. "You could stay here, in bed, I could join you," he offered, slowly pulling the cover down, exposing first her neck then her shoulders. "Tell me, do you always sleep in the nude?" He gave the covers another tug and she squeaked as she pulled them back up in time.

"Stop," she hissed.

"You told me to wake you up, my mother used to wake me up by pulling the covers off of me every morning, is that not how it's done?" He gave another tug, and Lia sat up with a grumble, tucking them around her tightly and reaching for the mug of coffee.

"Fine, I'm up!" she insisted.

"You have half an hour until we have to be out the door," he said before leaving her.

Her heart was pounding at his attempt to uncover her, and Lia was fully awake now because of his teasing

She took a minute, savoring the coffee before jumping out of bed and dressing. The good thing about scrubs was that one didn't need to think about what they were going to wear.

********

Ben was dishing up the omelet when her phone rang. She had left it by the back door and he reached for it automatically thinking it might be the hospital.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Hello, I'm sorry, I'm trying to call Lia, I must have the wrong number," a male voice said from the other end.

"You have the right number, she's getting ready for work, can I take a message?" Ben asked, wondering who he was talking to.

"Who is this?" the voice asked.

"This is her fiance, who is this?" Ben asked, doing his best to keep a friendly tone. He had no right to be jealous, but he couldn't help but think that he was.

"This is her brother." The voice was not interested in being friendly and there was a tense silence.  "I didn't know she had a fiance, again," the voice drawled.

"I didn't know she had a brother," Ben returned with amusement, starting to see the funny side of the situation, although he didn't think the 'again' part of the statement was necessary.

"Liam," he said.

"Ben," Ben returned. There was more silence. "She's running late, I tell her you called, and she can call back when she gets the chance," he suggested.

"I would appreciate that," Liam said before ending the call.

Ben set the phone down and shook his head. He probably shouldn't have answered that. It was apparent that Lia hadn't felt the need to tell her family about their engagement, and he had a feeling he had landed her in it.

*******

When she entered the kitchen he had made her a to-go thermos and a there was an omelet on the table.

"You didn't have to do all of this," she said as she fell to the omelet, scarfing it down.

"But aren't you glad that I did," he smiled.

Lia looked at him with a nod, realizing that he looked as tired as she felt. "You didn't go to bed last night, did you?" she asked.

"I have all day to sleep, and trust me, I will." He laughed when she stuck her tongue out at him.

Lia finished eating in silence and then nodded when Ben told her they had to leave, or she would be late.

The ride to the hospital was a short one and Lia couldn't help but think that she could get used to being spoiled like Ben had spoiled her. Her question was why he had done it, so she asked it.

"I wanted to help," he said lamely, which was no real answer at all.

When he pulled up to the curb outside the hospital it was at the change of shift, so there were a lot of people coming and going, one of which was Chance. Ben got out of the car and walked around to her side opening it for her.

She climbed out and as she did Ben caught her and pulled her close. "Have a good day darling," he said before capturing her lips with his.

Lia placed her hand tentatively on his chest and when he pulled away, she was a bit dazed. Why would he do such a thing when he had said no to a physical relationship. When she looked over his shoulder, she saw Chance watching them with an evil glint.

Lia couldn't help but be a little hurt, perhaps if she hadn't been so tired it wouldn't have caught her off guard, and she would have been able to play along. Her disappointment must have shown because when he looked down at her he frowned.

"Lia-"

"It's fine Ben, I'm still tired and you caught me off guard, that's all," she smiled.

He nodded, turning to walk around the car. "Oh, before I forget, your brother called this morning, he asks that you call him back." he threw at her as his parting shot.

Lia's mouth opened and closed like a fish. "You answered my phone," she hissed walked towards the car, staring him down over the top of it.

"I thought it might be the hospital." He shrugged. "Liam sounded surprised that you were engaged, but otherwise he sounded nice."

Lia opened and closed her mouth a few times before letting loose with an oath and turning to walk into the hospital without looking back.

******

Ben sighed as he watched her go, hoping he hadn't caused trouble between her and her family, they had never really discussed her family or her relationship with them. It was another one of her mysteries.  Then he thought of the kiss they had just exchanged and the desire he had seen clearly reflected in her eyes. He couldn't help but wonder what other secrets and emotions she was hiding behind her walls. What would he discover if he kept catching her off guard, and did he really want to know?