Jamie and Lauren walked side by side to his car in absolute silence. Lauren had driven herself to the hospital for her shift but both she and Jamie knew that she was in no condition to drive home. Just as they got to the car, Jamie realized he hadn’t given her the flowers.
“Um these were for you. I forgot that I was holding on to them.”
Lauren took them silently and barely managed to pull up a small smile.
Climbing into the car, Jamie headed off for the Ruff Residence. At least he knew his way there so he didn’t have to ask for directions. He looked over at Lauren. She was in her own world, just staring out the window watching the scenery.

By the time they pulled up to the Ruff Residence, Lauren had fallen asleep. Jamie turned off the car and quietly grabbed Lauren’s things. He found her keys in her duffle bag and let himself into the downstairs apartment to drop off her things. Once that was done, he went back out to the car to get Lauren. Slowly opening the passenger door, Jamie put his hand on Lauren’s leg and gently nudged her awake.
“Lo? Wake up...we’re home.”
Lauren blinked a few times and then accepted Jamie’s help out of the car. He followed her into the apartment to make sure that she was okay. Sensing that Lauren was fading fast, Jamie decided to take control of the situation. Jamie knew that Lauren just needed someone to take care of her instead of having to take care of them.
“Um. Why don’t you go take a shower and I’ll fix you something to eat. Okay?”
Lauren just nodded and headed into her room.

Jamie waited until he heard the shower turn on and then headed back to the kitchen. He was no Iron Chef by any means but he knew some basic recipes. Jamie looked through her cabinets and realized that Lauren didn’t have much. “She must have not gone grocery shopping because she was working and eating at the hospital,” Jamie thought. Deciding on pasta with sauce, Jamie set the water to boil. He heard the shower turn off and could hear Lauren moving around in her room. Jamie could hear her turn on the sink in her bathroom. “Maybe she’s brushing her teeth,” he thought while he strained the noodles. Grabbing the sauce and mixing everything together, Jamie noticed that it sounded like the sink was still on. Putting down the pan, Jamie walked to the bedroom. The door to her room was open but the bathroom door was shut. Walking over to the bathroom door, Jamie stopped short. He could hear her crying. And not quietly either. She was sobbing.
Knocking quietly on the door he asked, “Lo? Can I come in?”
After receiving no answer, Jamie decided to go in anyway. The worst that could happen was that she would yell at him to get out if she wasn’t decent. Opening the door, the sight before him broke his heart. Lauren was sitting with her back against the wall, head in her hands, sobbing. Her whole body was shaking with emotion. Jamie turned off the sink and got down on the floor next to Lauren. Opening his arms and legs, he hoisted her into his lap. He curled his arms around her and just held her as she cried.
“Shhhhh. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Pasta all but forgotten, Jamie knew that he wasn’t leaving anytime soon. Although he wanted to tell her how much she meant to him, he knew that just holding her would have to be enough. She needed to be taken care of and that was exactly what he planned to do.
As her sobs subsided, Jamie picked Lauren up and headed to the bed. Laying her down, he crawled into bed behind her. Immediately she backed herself against him so that he was the big spoon. Jamie wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her tight. He wanted to make sure that she felt safe and secure. They laid there like that for who knows how long. It was starting to look like dusk outside when Lauren finally spoke. Her voice was no louder than a whisper.
“Jame?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
With that, Lauren felt her eyes grow heavy and she could no longer fight off sleep. So she fell asleep in her bed, wrapped up in her Jamie’s arms.

Notes

Two chapters in two days?! After an 8 month absence?! And this story is now up to 100 followers?!
Holy Smokes Batman!

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Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more romance and drama. I swear that the confession of feelings is coming up soon. Also, I'm thinking of ending this around 15 chapters...thoughts and opinions on that decision are welcome!