I rush into the small hospital room. "Chris? Are you ok?"

Jericho looks up while holding a bloody cloth to his mouth. "I guess so….you’re just in time to see me get stitched up."

As if on cue the doctor walks in. "Oh, Mr. Jericho, I see you found a friend." He sets down the tray with a suture needle, thread, and….

"You’re gonna stick that into me?" Chris half-squeaks, his eyes getting very wide.

"It’s to numb the area so we can sew it up. Trust me, it’ll hurt a lot less than how you got that cut."

I wince at the reminder of how I hurt Jericho with the ambush by DX and the sledgehammer blow. "Relax Chris, it’ll only hurt for a second…."

"Easy for you to say." Chris mutters. "You’re not the one with blood pouring out of your mouth."

I sigh. He really does have every right to be pissy with me. "That’s why I came here. Chris…I didn’t mean for it to go that far…I never wanted to hurt you…"

Chris cuts me off. "Yeah, yeah, I know…my own fault for pissing you off with my little Steph thing."

I smile, glad he’s not overly angry. "Nah, that was funny…you had your eyes crossed the whole time…it was actually kinda cute."

The doctor looks at us, then shakes his head. He looks like he just plain doesn’t want to know. "Mr. Jericho, if you’re ready I can get that fixed up for you…"

Chris takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Just gimme a second…."

I crouch next to the chair Chris is sitting in and take his hand, interlacing our fingers. "Just stay calm, it’ll be ok." I say quietly.

Chris nods, shutting his eyes as the doctor injects the area. He involuntarily squeezes my hand. The doctor then begins to sew up the wound as Chris continues to nearly crush my poor hand.

Finally, the doctor was finished. "You can open your eyes now," he says, almost laughing.

"You’re done?" Chris says…or tries to. His speech was garbled by the swelling of his lip from the anesthetic.

I can’t keep back a chuckle. "Can I take him home now?" I ask the doctor.

"Sure….here’s some instructions for cleaning the stitches, and he should see a doctor in about two weeks to have them removed…"

"You can talk to me, you know." Chris mumbles, leaning against me. He’s barely awake but refuses to admit it.

"Ignore him." I say. "He thinks he’s alert." I help Chris to sign himself out of the hospital, then drive him back to the hotel.

Chris promptly flops down on the bed. I sit next to him and started to unlace his ring boots. Once I had finished that task, I helped Chris slip off his bloody t-shirt. Chris makes a small noise of contentment. "I could get used to this, you taking care of me."

I smile. "Well don’t. This is a one-shot deal cuz I feel guilty." I run his fingers through Jericho’s hair. It’s soft and shiny and I twirl it around my fingers. "It should be fun after ‘Fully Loaded’ when we’ve both kicked each other’s asses."

Chris moves over so his head rests against my thigh. "Well, when I win, I’ll be sure to take good care of you, ok?"

"Except you’re not gonna win." I respond. "Actually, I was meaning to ask you…did Steph tell you how that match is gonna end?"

"Mm-hmm." Chris says, smirking.

"Feel like telling me? She refuses to speak to me."

"Uh-uh. I was sworn to secrecy."

I mock-pout. "C’mon! I wanna know what happens with me and my ‘wife.’ Is she finally gonna leave me?"

"Can’t tell ya." Chris yawns, rubbing his cheek against my leg in a cat-like fashion. I respond by lying down next to Chris and pulling him into my arms. "You should get some rest."

"I know, but we barely got any time together today….I wanted us to do something after the show, but nooooooo, DX and their sledgehammer of doom had to come after me."

I laugh. "I said I was sorry."

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Chris shifts against me. "Thanks for…for stopping by the hospital. I’m kinda scared of needles…"

"I couldn’t tell." I remark dryly. Chris doesn’t usually admit to fear, so I’m savoring the moment of adorable vulnerability.

Chris sticks his tongue out at me, then continues. "Anyways, I woulda really panicked if you hadn’t of been there. So thanks."

I blush slightly, a rare occurrence for me. "It was the least I could do…it was my fault you were hurt in the first place…."
 

Chris shushes me, placing a finger over my lips. I quiet, and he resumes his position. Soon, I can tell he’s drifting closer and closer to sleep. "I love you." He mumbles.

No matter how many times I heard those words, they still captured the same thrill and surprise as the first time Chris said them. "I love you too. Go to sleep."

"M’kay." It’s unusual for Chris to agree without an argument, he must be really tired. He quickly falls asleep, leaving me wondering if one of us could hurt the other at Smackdown so we could do this whole comforting thing all over again.