Joel is fairly certain he'd be happy never moving from this place. Even if it meant staying in the hospital, having this moment with Spencer, having him so close, it feels so nice and Joel smiles, his eyes closed, his forehead resting against Spencer's and he thinks again that he would be happy to stay right here for the rest of his life. Of course, ten minutes from now, he knows he'll want nothing more than to go home, nothing more than to sleep in his own bed with Spencer's arms around him, but since he also knows such a thing isn't possible, he'll take this. He'll take any moment with Spencer that he's given because he knows how close they came today to not having any moments at all. He knows how bad things got and although there are parts of the day he can't remember, he doesn't know if it's by choice because things had been so terrible or because the demon had pushed him down far enough that he really hadn't been there at all. But he doesn't need to remember all the details to know it was awful. He doesn't need to remember every last moment to know how close they came to really losing everything.
"You two are impossible."
Joel starts at the sound of Nora's voice from the doorway and he thinks he should have heard her coming, noticed the squeak of her shoes on the floor in the hall or heard the dragging of the cot against the floor. She has it leaned against the doorframe now and Joel's eyes fly open and he looks at her, trying not to feel guilty. He's still lying straight, after all, he'd just been leaned over a little to be able to press his forehead against Spencer's.
"I'm still lying straight," he points out, but the exasperated look Nora gives him is enough to shut Joel up. He looks to Spencer for support, but he's not sure she's going to be much happier if he starts trying to defend what they've been doing, so Joel glances at him, then shakes his head, even though he's trying not to smile.
"Here," she says, beginning to unfold the cot and Joel's first instinct is to get up to help her, even though he knows that's absurd. He sits up in the bed anyway, then winces and relaxes back against his pillow as Nora gives him a sharp look and sets the cot aside to come check on him.
"I'm fine," he insists, trying to wave her away with his good hand. "I wanted to help you with the cot."
"Good god," she says, rolling her eyes even as she checks Joel's positioning and opens the hospital gown to check on his ribs. It's the first time he's seen the bruising and his eyes widen a little, taking in the deep purple bruise that's spread down one side of his body. He doesn't want Spencer to see it because he doesn't want him to worry, but he supposes it's too late as Nora checks him over and he glances at his husband, looking for his reaction.
"It looks worse than it is," Nora announces, covering Joel again. "I can tell you two are going to spend all your time worrying about each other, but it really does look worse than it is. The bruising will take a long time to fade and you probably won't be entirely pain free for close to a month, but it's not as bad as it looks."
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"You two are impossible."
Joel starts at the sound of Nora's voice from the doorway and he thinks he should have heard her coming, noticed the squeak of her shoes on the floor in the hall or heard the dragging of the cot against the floor. She has it leaned against the doorframe now and Joel's eyes fly open and he looks at her, trying not to feel guilty. He's still lying straight, after all, he'd just been leaned over a little to be able to press his forehead against Spencer's.
"I'm still lying straight," he points out, but the exasperated look Nora gives him is enough to shut Joel up. He looks to Spencer for support, but he's not sure she's going to be much happier if he starts trying to defend what they've been doing, so Joel glances at him, then shakes his head, even though he's trying not to smile.
"Here," she says, beginning to unfold the cot and Joel's first instinct is to get up to help her, even though he knows that's absurd. He sits up in the bed anyway, then winces and relaxes back against his pillow as Nora gives him a sharp look and sets the cot aside to come check on him.
"I'm fine," he insists, trying to wave her away with his good hand. "I wanted to help you with the cot."
"Good god," she says, rolling her eyes even as she checks Joel's positioning and opens the hospital gown to check on his ribs. It's the first time he's seen the bruising and his eyes widen a little, taking in the deep purple bruise that's spread down one side of his body. He doesn't want Spencer to see it because he doesn't want him to worry, but he supposes it's too late as Nora checks him over and he glances at his husband, looking for his reaction.
"It looks worse than it is," Nora announces, covering Joel again. "I can tell you two are going to spend all your time worrying about each other, but it really does look worse than it is. The bruising will take a long time to fade and you probably won't be entirely pain free for close to a month, but it's not as bad as it looks."