“Aren’t you worried about being towed?” Brendan asked as they walked to the entrance.
Trevor shrugged. “If the plates are run, they’ll find an exception to ticketing and towing.”
Brendan looked vaguely jealous at that statement, but mostly exhausted. Trevor reached out without thinking and pressed his hand to the center of Brendan’s back, guiding him forward, as he would with anyone on his team. If he let his hand linger a little longer, well, no one was there to call him on it.
Brendan’s bioware hadn’t been damaged during the attack, and he got them inside and up to his apartment on the twelfth floor relatively quickly. To Trevor’s keen eyes, Brendan was tiring, the adrenaline having long since worn off. As soon as they were inside the tiny, one-bedroom apartment, Trevor took charge.
A quick glance around gave him the general layout of the place. It wasn’t anywhere close to the size of the penthouse apartment Jamie had bought Trevor at the beginning of summer before he started medical school, but it felt lived-in in a good way.
“Why don’t you shower? Get out of your uniform?” Trevor said. “I’ll keep watch.”
Under any other circumstances, when taking a cute guy home, Trevor would offer to help Brendan get out of his clothes and see where time together in the shower led them. Right now, Trevor was focused on making sure Brendan felt comfortable and safe.
Brendan’s shoulders slumped, and he waved vaguely in the direction of the tiny kitchen. “Yeah, sounds good. Help yourself to anything.”
Brendan stumbled toward the bathroom and Trevor had to stop himself from following after the other man to make sure he didn’t trip and crack his head open on the tile. The bathroom door slid shut and Trevor tucked his hands into his pockets as he called Jamie.
“Are you home?” was the first thing out of Jamie’s mouth.
“Not yet. I’m at my patient’s apartment. I’m going to stay with him until his family arrives,” Trevor replied. “Are you back at headquarters?”
“Yes. We’ll be a couple more hours.”
“Need me there?”
“The director would appreciate a report tomorrow if you can take time away from class.”
MDF Director Amir Nazari had been their commanding officer for years. They all might not be active duty anymore, but if the director needed them, they did their best to comply around the civilian lives they were starting to build.
“I can be there tonight. I need to send a message to a classmate to reschedule a study session and let my professors know I won’t be in tomorrow.”
“If they have any issues with your attendance, tell me and I’ll speak with them.”
Trevor laughed. “It won’t come to that, but thanks. See you soon.”
He cut the call and proceeded to respond to Anika’s messages asking if he was okay. Her reply to his message came almost immediately, promising a rescheduled study date and that their professors already knew about his actions. That didn’t stop Trevor from emailing those in charge of his classes tomorrow about needing to take a day off and laying the groundwork for more days off in the future if need be. Catching up on coursework was going to be a pain, but he knew he could do it.
Brendan came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, dressed in clean sleeping pants and a well-worn T-shirt. By then, Trevor had done a security check and had a plate of toast and a mug of hot herbal tea ready to wash it down.
“Come eat,” Trevor told him, pointing at the plate sitting on the counter. “The painkillers you took earlier shouldn’t have been taken on an empty stomach, but it couldn’t be helped.”
“I’m not really hungry.”
Trevor knew how the body worked in stressful situations better than most. He had a feeling Brendan did as well, what with the job he held, but nearly dying always short-circuited people’s brains.
“Eat,” he said gently.
Brendan ate, leaning tiredly against the kitchen counter and chewing his way through the two slices of toast under Trevor’s watchful eye. They ended up standing close to each other because the tiny galley kitchen really wasn’t big enough for two people.
“My brother Colton is on his way over. You don’t have to stay if you have somewhere else to be.”
Trevor shook his head. “I don’t leave my post. I said I would stay until your brother arrives, and that’s what I’m doing. Why don’t you get some rest?”
Trevor could see that the lure of sleep was too strong for Brendan to ignore for much longer. Brendan hesitated only a moment before giving in and heading for the bedroom. He paused in the doorway, throwing Trevor a grateful look over his shoulder.
“Thank you,” he said in a tired, husky voice that Trevor wouldn’t mind hearing under better circumstances if the situation were different.
He cleared his throat. “Not a problem. Sleep well.”
