Chapter 44

It was close to midnight when Jon pulled back into his driveway. He was given strict instructions to keep an eye on her and to bring her back if anything seemed strange. Melissa had fallen asleep on and off on the way home, the effects of the medication. They warned him she might be a little dopey and sleepy for a couple hours until it wore off, and she was given a prescription for more painkillers, which was filled for them before they left.

He parked the car right in front of the front door and grabbed her bag from the back before helping her out. She was a little unsteady on her feet and it took some time getting her in the house. Jon threw his keys on a nearby table and helped her take off her jacket and threw it on a coat rack.

“Come on lets get you upstairs,” Jon said leading her to the stairs.

“Ok, just up the stairs,” she said through a yawn.

“We’re almost there,” Jon said never realizing how many stairs there were. “There we go, you still doin’ ok,” he asked when they got to the landing.

“So good,” she said.

“Ok, come this way down the hall at the end,” he said leading her to his room.

“Mm-hmm,” she said staggering down the hallway with his assistance.

“Here we are,” Jon said opening the door to his room. “Just have a seat here,” Jon said walking her to the bench at the end of the bed.

She sat watching him put her bag down waiting for further instructions. “I bet you wanna get cleaned up. Get the hospital feeling off of you,” he asked.

“Jon you seem to forget that I work at a hospital,” she said giggling.

“I know, but its different when they’re running tests on you,” he said.

“Ok, I do feel kinda ick,” she said.

“That’s what I thought. Come on lets get you in the bathroom,” he said helping her up and leading her to the ensuite bathroom.

“My god, I think my apartment could fit in here,” she said looking around.

Jon smiled at her candidness and pulled out a bench from what was his ex wife’s counter. “Sit for a second.”

She sat and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was still in a ponytail, but most of it had come out looking quite disheveled, her makeup was runny and she had big black circles under her eyes from her mascara not to mention the sling on her arm, which seemed to complete the look.

“Take your shirt off and put this on,” Jon said handing her a cotton robe.

She gave him a leery look, the best she could muster, “Why?”

“I thought you said you were gonna trust me to take care of you,” he said gently.

“Oh yeah,” she said and took the robe from him.

“Do you need help,” he asked.

“I think I can undress myself,” she said.

He knew she was lying; she was too proud to admit otherwise. “I’ll be right outside, I’ll be back in a couple minutes.”

“K,” she said as he left the bathroom shutting the door behind him.

She knew she was just being stubborn, and she probably could’ve used his help. She struggled to get out of her sling and then awkwardly tried to slip off her Asbury Jukes tee shirt. She then spent a significant amount of time trying to undo her bra with one hand. She would have to make a mental note not to take it for granted when she had complete use of both of her arms again. She lazily slid her injured arm into the robe before pulling it on her good arm. She pulled it closed but couldn’t tie the belt with only one hand. As she continued to struggle with it she heard a knock at the door.

“Mel, how are you coming?’

“As good as I’m gonna get. You can come in.”

Jon opened the door and walked over to where Melissa was holding her robe shut with her good hand. “May I,” he asked.

She nodded. “You never realize how much you do that requires both arms, until you can only use one.”

Jon reached over and gently tied the belt preserving the modesty that she so diligently preserved. He smiled at her; he liked the way she looked in his clothes, in his bathroom, in his home.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

He replied with a quick kiss before asking her to sit back down and began rummaging through the sparse remains of his ex-wife’s vanity before he found what he was looking for. He turned around holding a jar of Vaseline and a couple of q-tips.

“I know its not makeup remover, but I have learned something after all these years,” he said applying a generous amount on the q-tip. “Just close your eyes,” he said and began to wipe away the smeared mascara and eyeliner as he kneeled in front of her. His touch was gentle and comforting and Melissa did all she could to not let out an exaggerated breath of relief.

When he told her to open her eyes a few minutes later she saw that she had two very glossy but very clean eyes. “You are very resourceful,” she said reaching for a nearby tissue to try to get rid of some of the shine.

“I’ll be right back,” he said and walked across the room to where he left her hairbrush that he found in her bag.

Melissa sat and waited for him to return thankful that she had finally found someone that cared enough to take care of her when she needed it. She was snapped back to the present when she felt Jon taking out what was left of her ponytail.

“Jon, what are-“ she started before he interrupted her.

“I thought you were trusting me,” he said smoothing her hair out with his fingers. “Just relax, babe,” he said as he began to brush out her hair in long gentle strokes until he was sure that each and every tangle was gone.

He then led her to the oversized Jacuzzi and had her sit on the ledge. He rolled up his pants to his mid calves and grabbed one of his own shampoo bottles from the shower before straddling the side and running the water. When it had reached what he considered to be an acceptable temperature, he grabbed the removable showerhead. He gave a quiet, “Lean your head back,” and she immediately complied. He, somewhat awkwardly, wet her hair before lathering it up. He started at he scalp and rubbed it until there was a thick lather before working his way to the ends of her hair and then rinsing it.

He knew this would be much easier accomplished in the shower, not to mention the other benefits of that method, but seeing as they hadn’t been there before and he had to talk her into coming home with him, he opted for the more neutral route. Little did he know that Melissa was using every ounce of her will power that the medication hadn’t affected to not drag him into the shower. Nothing appealed to her more than the fact that her temporary caretaker was Jon Bon Jovi and it was well within her power to have him wet and soapy in a shower in less than a minute, but in her head she knew better. Besides she shouldn’t be thinking of that, when she should just count her lucky stars that she was being taken care of so selflessly.

Jon shut off the water and wrung out her hair before he snapped it up in a clip. “There you go all clean,” he said kissing her cheek from behind. He climbed out of the tub and saw her sitting there looking on the verge of tears at a loss for words. “Your welcome,” he said as he again walked to the far side of the bathroom.

She watched him walk away still in disbelief of what was happening. He came back holding a terrycloth robe and smiled. “Fresh from the drier just for you,” he said. “I’ll leave it on the counter over there for you and there’s a fresh towel over there if you want it, because I’m thinking you’re probably ready for a shower.”

“Jon, how did you get all this,” she asked.

“I’m a resourceful guy, you already told me that,” he said smiling. “I’ll leave you to shower, unless you need help.”

“No, I’m fine. But thank you,” she said quietly.

“You are more than welcome. Here let me start this water for you, it’s a bit temperamental if you don’t get it just the right way,” he said stopping in front of the shower letting the glass steam up.

Melissa let out a contented sigh as she felt the steam hit her. “That’s perfect,” she said.

“Let me know if there’s anything else you need. I’m gonna go scrounging through my drawers to see if there’s something in there that will be comfy and easy for you to get on,” he said leaving her in the bathroom.

Melissa stood in the hot water for a few minutes and rinsed the evening off of her. She tried, to many difficulties, to wash her body, but there were places that she couldn’t exactly reach easily and gave up with the mentality that it was the thought that counts. She lingered a little while longer before she turned off the water and tried to put the robe on that he left for her. She held it closed still unable to tie the belt and walked to the door.

“You seem to have forgotten that I can’t tie,” she said opening the door.

“Sorry,” he said walking over to tie it for her. “Here this is the best I could scrounge up, seeing that if I gave you something with buttons you probably couldn’t do them.”

“True,” she said taking the pile of clothes from him.

“Come here, I’m not done with you yet,” he said heading back to the bathroom which was now engulfed in a thick steam. “Have a nice shower?”

“Sorry, I didn’t realize how steamy it got in here,” she said.

“Trust me, it looks worse when I take a shower if I don’t leave the door open,” he said pulling the bench over to where she was. “Sit.”

She did what he asked as he began to towel dry then brush out her wet hair before putting it in a loose braid. “Where did you learn to do that,” she asked.

“My father was a hairstylist remember? He always said it was a good skill to know to impress the women,” Jon said smiling.

“He was right,” she said giving him a kiss and lingering a minute before pulling away.

“I’ll have to tell him he was right again. I’ll leave you to change,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said as she gathered the clothes he left her.

When she walked over to the counter where he had left her things she noticed a toothbrush still in it’s wrapping that he left out for her. She happily brushed her teeth leaving them with a minty taste before she tackled the obstacle that would be getting dressed. She easily slipped the pants on but was having major problems getting her arm to cooperate with her long enough to get it into a sleeve. Each time she tried her shoulder seemed to hurt more and she knew she had to give in and ask for help. She took the towel he left her and wrapped it around herself trying to secure it between her breasts. She took a deep breath and opened the door to find Jon on the bed watching tv.

Some things will never change, she thought before speaking. “Jon, could you gimme a hand?”

“Interesting choice of words,” he said smiling. “What do you need?”

“I can’t get the damn thing on,” she said holding the shirt.

“C’mere,” he said turning off the tv.

“First I think I’m gonna lose this,” she said holding the towel.

Jon pulled the towel a little tighter and resecured it, conscious of where his hands were. “Now let’s see what we can do with that shirt,” he said taking it from her. “How do you wanna do this, start with that arm?”

“I think that may be easiest,” she said. If ever there was a time to trust him, this is it, she thought as he stepped closer to her.

He maneuvered her injured arm into the shirt and then eased it over her head causing minimal pain for which she was grateful. He then helped her get her other arm in before he pulled it down. Once the shirt was on Melissa undid the towel and slid it out from underneath the shirt.

“Now I think you’re ready for bed,” Jon said.

“I think so,” Melissa said with a perfectly timed yawn. “Where am I sleeping?”

“Right here,” he answered gesturing to his bed.

“I couldn’t,” she started.

“What happened to trusting me, hmm? None of the other guest rooms are made up, and this way I can keep an eye on you,” Jon said.

“You’re sure,” she asked.

“Positive. Now get in bed make yourself comfy I’ll be right back,” Jon said taking a pile of clothes into the bathroom.

Melissa climbed into the king bed and laid back against the pile of pillows that he left for her. Once she settled in, Melissa couldn’t believe how comfortable the bed was and how soft the sheets were. There are some perks to being worth millions, she thought as Jon emerged from the bathroom in what she assumed were his pajamas, a pair of black bottoms and a stone pony tee shirt.

“Anything else I can get you? I have your medication but you can’t take that for another couple of hours,” Jon said sitting on the edge of the bed next to her.

“I don’t think so,” she said feeling the sleepiness creep up on her.

“Ok, then I’ll let you get some sleep. I wont be too far if you wake up and I’m not here. The remote’s on the table and I’ll leave the light in the bathroom on for you,” he said giving her a kiss goodnight. “I see you saw the toothbrush that I left for you,” he said with a grin.

“I did, thank you.”

“Good night,” he said smiling as he headed for the door.

“Jon, wait,” she said.

“Yeah?”

“Will you sit with me for a little while,” she asked.

“Of course,” he said walking over to the bed and getting on it next to her.

“Thank you for everything you did tonight, I can’t even begin to tell you what it means to me,” she said.

“You’ve thanked me more than enough, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he said looking into her eyes that expressed more gratitude that her words could say. He took out some of the pillows from behind her head to make her more comfortable and she was lying almost completely flat. “How’s that?”

“Perfect,” she said reaching up to touch his face. She felt the beginning of scruff forming and looked deep into his eyes pulling his head down towards her own pulling him in for a kiss.

He kissed her softly, and was surprised to feel her tongue at his lips wanting to enter. He let hers enter and let his tongue do the same to hers. Feeling a rush of passion he leaned over her bracing himself on the mattress. She dug her fingers into his hair as he lowered himself closer to her. He deepened the kiss as her hands wondered from his hair down his back. He felt himself responding to her touch and he knew if he didn’t stop now it would be harder for him to do so later. This isn’t how you want to do this, not the first time, he told himself and knowing he was right he pulled away leaving his body inches from hers.

She opened her eyes to see him nearly on top of her and her eyes grew wide. How the hell did this happen? What am I doing? She saw the look in his eyes fueled with lust, the bright blue replaced by a deep sapphire, his pupils larger than usual. Did I do that to him? How the hell am I gonna get myself outta this one? She felt her breath uneven, and waited for him to say something.

Jon took a second to steady his own breath before he spoke. “I’m sorry, that’s probably the last thing you needed. You need some sleep, good night,” he said softly giving her a quick kiss before moving off of her. He left his side of the bed and opted for a chair on the other side of the room where he could watch her.

Melissa’s head started to spin with what-ifs and self-scolding before she finally gave in to sleep. Jon sat and watched her from across the room thinking of what almost happened. When her breathing became steady he got up to check if she was asleep. He looked down in the bed and saw her peacefully resting. “Good night, Mel,” he said giving her a kiss on the forehead. “I love you.”