Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Bored. Bored. And even more bored.
JP did his PT and walked with the walker the ten minutes every four hours like he was supposed to.
The PT wasn’t bad; the walking was not fun at all.
At all. He was pretty sure he was supposed to feeling better than this now, so he was going to mention it when he saw his doctor in a couple days.
He kept walking though because they’d told him if his legs seized up he’d never get proper movement out of them again, and that would make walking difficult, let alone skating recreationally.
It was why they hadn’t casted him in the first place.
But that was about it. All he could do other than that was read to the kids, watch movies with the kids…
and he didn’t mind doing that – they were great kids.
They were his kids. But even with the cleaner and buying meals a few nights a week, he still hardly saw much of Ian.
And so he was out of sorts as well as bored.
Fuck, he’d turned into a whiner throwing himself a pity party on the regular.
“Daddy, can I kiss Dad goodnight?”
“Yes, Tori. Let him get done with his walk. I don’t want you making him fall.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“You might.”
“I’m almost back to the bed, Tori. Give me a minute.” Because he could totally see her bowling him over by accident.
“How many is a minute, Daddy?”
“A minute is sixty seconds.”
Peter gasped. “So long?”
Ian’s laughter rang out. “Let’s set a timer and see!”
“If you’re going to time me, I’d better hurry up.” He tried not to let the strain show in his voice, but it was late in the day, and he hadn’t wanted to do this last walk around the house at all.
“We’re just going to see how long a minute is.”
“Yeah. A minute to kiss Dad!” Tori’s bare feet slapped the ground.
“That makes me sound like a prize.” And he didn’t have a problem with that.
“See, guys? One minute. When it dings, it’ll be over.” Ian appeared a minute later. “Hey, do you need help?”
“No, I need to be able to get in and out of bed on my own.” He tried not to grunt, but he did, loudly. Still, he managed to get up into the bed, and get his legs up, too, ready for Tori and Peter.
The timer went off, and then Tori and Peter came running in. “It’s a minute!”
Ian was nowhere to be found.
He held his arms out and Tori climbed while Peter let him help pull him up, and they sat together with him, giving him smacking kisses and strangling hugs.
“Do you need stories or did Daddy already read to you?”
Peter handed him a book. “You.”
“Okay. What have we got today?” He took the book and read the title. “How to Catch a Unicorn. Oh, this one sounds like fun. Is it new?” He hadn’t read it to them before.
“Uh-huh. Daddy buyed it. You can tell us the story.”
“You sure Daddy didn’t want to read it to you himself?” It was always nice to get to read something new to them instead of the same book for an entire month. He had to guess that’s why Ian bought them a new one.
“No. Daddy says you can. Hims nice.” Peter smiled for him.
“Yes, he is very nice.” And adorable. Sexy. Pretty. JP wanted to do things to him that his body wouldn’t let him do yet. He cleared his throat a couple of times and opened the book, reading to his kids.
“Glitters!”
“Rainbows!”
Both kids were so excited, lit up with the story. He loved reading to them. It was probably the favorite part of his day.
By the third time through the story, Tori was asleep, and Peter was staring, petting the colorful pages.
He stopped reading and kissed the top of Peter’s head. “You ready for bed, buddy?”
“I like a u-u-corn. I like it so much.”
U-u-corn. That was the cutest thing ever. “I like it too.”
“You and me could catch one.”
“Yeah? You think so?” He would so go on a unicorn hunt with Petey.
Peter nodded. “You and me. Jus’ you and me.”
“You don’t want Tori to come unicorn hunting with us?” They usually did absolutely everything together. Everything.
Peter shook his head. “No. You and me. Jus’. You. And. Me. Togever.”
“Okay.” It would certainly beat the boredom, wouldn’t it? “We can start planning our hunt tomorrow morning. Does that sound good?”
Peter beamed at him, holding the book so hard he shook. “Uh-huh. It does.”
“Then it’s a plan.” He kissed the top of Peter’s head and sat back.
Ian came in, smiled. “Come on, son. I’ll get your sister. Go climb into your bed.”
“Okay. Me an’ Dad are gonna catch a u-u-corn tomorrow.”
“I think that sounds amazing. You will have to plan hard.”
“Tomorrow. Dad said we’re gonna plan tomorrow.” Petey was so excited.
Ian scooped Tori up, the little girl limp and snoring. “That’s too cool. Come on, baby boy.”
“Sleep good, Petey. Thanks, Ian.”
“Of course.” Ian offered him a nod, then he disappeared, talking softly to their son.
They were something else. All three of them. And he wanted to be a part of their lives when he was whole. When he was more than just a burden.
He could hear Ian in the kitchen, could hear the cork pop out of a wine bottle.
“Chou?” he called out. Maybe they could have that wine together. Or at least Ian could and he could have a glass of water or juice.
“Yes?” Ian peeked his head in, eyes searching his face. “Are you okay?”
“Bored. Lonely. You wanna share your wine with me?”
“Of course.”
Oh, that surprised him.
“Let me grab you a glass.”
“Better make mine water.” The wine did not go with his meds.
“Oh. Sure. Two shakes.” He heard the ice maker work, then Ian came in with two glasses of water. “Here you go.”
“What happened to your wine?”
“It’s in the kitchen. I’ll get it later.”
“You don’t have to drink water just because I am, Chou. Go get the drink you wanted.” Ian wasn’t on meds.
“I know, but I want to be kind.” Ian shrugged at him, smiled. “So you have big plans tomorrow, do you?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, we’re going to catch a unicorn.” He gave Ian a look. “How upset is he going to be when we don’t find one?”
“Are you kidding? I have an entire unicorn catching kit coming from in the morning. Rainbow ribbons, glitter paper, unicorn snacks, and three stuffed unicorns.” Ian winked at him. “You’re welcome.”
“No shit?” That was kind of amazing. Ian was kind of amazing.
“If you can’t make magic for your children, what’s the point? They deserve this. Tori and I will have a walk at Mooney’s Bay and look for treasures.”
“Well, thank you. I was surprised Petey wanted to do that with just me,” he admitted. Pleased, but surprised.
“It was his idea. He loves making things and doing things. He’s very patient.”
“I’ll have to make sure it’s a good hunt, then. You gonna set it up for us?”
“I thought you two could plan, and then we’ll see what you need from me. He believes in you.”
“K. I’m not going to be able to hide the u-u-corns or place the glitter and other clues, though. Not without him seeing.”
“I’ll help with that. You make a trap with him. Once I get a chance, you can ‘catch’ him.”
He nodded. “Yeah, that’ll work.” Then he shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m going unicorn hunting with my son tomorrow.”
“Every day is a new adventure, right?”
“Does that mean we’ll be hunting something else the day after tomorrow?”
“God, I hope not. I do have three unicorns. Hopefully they’ll work to find one for Tori next.”
“I’m surprised she wasn’t the one who came up with the unicorn catching thing. I’m pleased it was Petey, though.”
“He’s going to be an engineer or an inventor or something. I have no doubt.” Ian settled in the chair.
“He’s smart as a whip, isn’t he?”
“They both are, in very different ways. I’m so proud of them.”
“You should be.” Because he had nothing to do with how they’d been raised. That was all Ian. “You’re an amazing father.”
“Thank you. I try. I really do, you know?” Ian offered him a warm smile.
“I know. Like I said, amazing.” And all on his own at that. All JP had contributed was money. And that was the easy part. At least it had been.
“I’m just tickled he wanted to share this with you.”
That made him smile and he nodded. “Yeah. Feels pretty good that he wanted to do something with me. Just me.”
“Right? That’s exciting.”
“Yeah.” Probably more than he deserved, but he’d totally take it. “You have great babies.”
“We have great babies,” Ian corrected.
He met Ian’s gazes and nodded again. “We do.” He shifted, trying to find an easier spot for his ass. He needed to get horizontal soon, but he wasn’t ready to say goodnight to Ian.
“Are you uncomfortable? Can I help?”
“My body’s just tired of spending too much time sitting here.” He made a face. “I’m going to have to work out like a fiend when I’m finally able to.” He was turning into a lump.
“Would you like to sit in the chair here? It’s crazy comfortable.” Ian stood and stepped closer. “Or I can get you some more pillows?”
“Oh, it might be nice to sit somewhere different.” And that chair did look comfortable. “Where are you going to sit, though?” Because he wanted Ian’s company more than he wanted a different place to sit.
“I’ll sit on the end of the bed. Hell, I can sit on the floor.” Ian chuckled and shook his head, the lean cheeks pinking.
“If I sat on the floor, I don’t think I’d ever get up again,” he noted. It seemed really, really far down.
“I spend a lot of time of the floor with kids, but I’m not healing.” Ian helped him stand and pivot into the chair, easing him down carefully.
Fuck, his cock perked up at that. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched him other than medical personnel and Mike, who was a nurse, so same thing.
And it had been over three years since he and Ian had been this close. He blinked up at Ian and said, “Thanks,” his voice husky.
“Of course, anytime.” Ian cupped his jaw, just so quickly. “Is that better?”
“Yeah, actually, much. Thanks.” Except he wanted more of those touches, that warm hand against his cheek.
“Good.” Ian settled on the edge of his bed, offering him a smile that felt so warm, almost loving.
“So what do you usually do after the kids are in bed?” It certainly wasn’t spend the evening with him. Maybe he could convince Ian to watch a movie or two with him.
“Sometimes I take a long bath, sometimes I watch a movie or catch up on TV.” Ian shrugged, cheeks going pink. “Sometimes I just sit in the backyard, have a glass of wine, and play on my phone.”
So it sounded like Ian needed company too. “You wanna watch a movie with me tonight?”
“Really?” Why did Ian look so surprised?
“Sure. Why not? You could use my bed as a chair or drag another one in here.” And they could have like a date, maybe. Kinda sort of.
“I’ll sit here, of course. What are you interested in?”
“I’m pretty easy as long as it’s at least PG 13.” He didn’t mind watching the kids’s movies with them, but he didn’t want to do it when he didn’t have to.
“No cartoons?” Ian went wide-eyed, fluttering his lashes.
He chuckled. “If I had something to chuck at you, I would. No, no cartoons, butthead.”
“Hrm…musical? Explosions? Porn? Period drama?”
“Period drama?” He snorted. “Please, just no. Explosions work. Superheroes. Action. Something fun.”
“Cool. Let’s see what we can find. I haven’t watched a movie with you in years.”
“I know. I’ve missed watching with you.” He’d spent most evenings he wasn’t playing watching movies. He hadn’t been interested in going out and partying or drinking. He’d been focused on the game.
Ian blinked at him. “Really? You had tons of better options.”
He frowned. “I had what?”
“Better options — all the things in Florida? Great places to see movies. No boring husbands with babies. Friends?” Ian shrugged a little.”
He shrugged. “I focused on playing. You know skill drills, working out, getting enough sleep. I wasn’t part of the party crowd.” And it had paid off. He’d been at the top of his fucking game when he’d been injured.
“I know. I’m so sorry. I hate this for you.”
“Yeah. It sucks. I was on my way to being up there with Howe, Lafleur and Ovechkin.” He bit back a long sigh.
Ian nodded, eyes on the mattress before him.
“Come on. Let’s find a movie.” This was supposed to be something different and fun, so he didn’t sit here and throw himself yet another pity party.
“Sure.” Ian flipped through the streaming channels. “I promise to do everything I can to help you get back to the ice.”
He snorted. “Have you seen my leg, Chou? Doc says it’ll never happen. I want to prove him wrong, but…” He shrugged. On his good days he figured it was possible, that he could make it happen through sheer will. Other days… well, they were different.
“Well, if that’s what you need, then that’s what we’ll manage.” Ian offered him a quiet smile, then turned back to the television. “How about this one? It has that guy from Reacher. He’s not bad.”
“Sure. He’s a stud. A much better Reacher than Tom Cruise’s version.”
“Yeah.” Ian put the movie on and dimmed the lights before settling on the end of the bed. “Holler if you need me to pause it.”
He countered that with, “Poke me if I start snoring.”
“Fair enough.”
He didn’t make it through the movie, but when he woke up for a second in the middle of the night, he was well-padded, covered up, with his pills where he could reach them.
It felt good, knowing that Ian cared for him.
It felt like being home.