Let Me Take Care Of You

Summary: Tree still suffers pain from some of her injuries
Warning(s): Spoilers for the entire first movie; some naked ‘petting’; references to canon violence
Pairing: Carter/Tree

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It still hurt.

Tree opened her eyes and grit her teeth as she rolled into Carter’s embrace, letting out sharp gasp. She closed her eyes again and leaned into her boyfriend.

“Are you okay?” Carter whispered the words into her hair and then kissed it, stroking his hand down her back. “Every time you wake up, you gasp. Or wince. Are you still reliving the day?”

“No. Time’s still going forward like it should be.” She let her head rest on his shoulder, snuggling in close to him and arching her back so that he’d rub his hand over it the way she liked. “I told you that I was growing weaker, didn’t I?” She frowned, as she thought back over each day and how they’d all ended. She’d told Carter everything at various points. But she couldn’t remember every detail she’d told him in the final day.

“You didn’t tell me outright, unless you did on one of the other days. But I saw how much pain you were in.” His eyes narrowed in concern as he stroked his hand over her stomach; lightly rubbed her waist. “They haven’t healed? I didn’t notice any obvious injuries or scarring while we’ve been together, but I suppose I might not if they’ve all been internal. I think maybe I should take you to the hospital and they can scan you. And they’ll be able to treat your injuries.”

“I don’t need to go to the hospital,” she protested. “I know it’s been hurting, but it’s been getting better. Really.” She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his; took his hand and squeezed it. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“You can’t tell me not to worry about you.” He drew her in for a deeper kiss, sliding his arm around her waist and drawing her in tight against his chest. “I love you, Tree. Even if it did take us a while to get to this point.”

“I don’t want to go to the hospital.” She hid her face against his shoulder, not wanting to admit the truth. Not wanting to tell him exactly why she didn’t want to go to the hospital. She hadn’t told him exactly what had gone on between her and Gregory. Even if he knew about it…she’d never wanted to confirm his suspicions. Being forced to relive her birthday over and over, being killed over and over again, had forced her to take a long look at what she’d become. And she was ashamed of her own actions.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes, studying her face. “All right.” He spoke finally, in a reluctant voice, and then added, “But if you’re not healing, then I’m going to insist you go to the hospital. Even if I have to take you there myself.”

“Oh, you’re going to insist, are you?” Tree smiled and then pushed him down onto the bed, straddling him. She leaned down and she kissed him…then winced as her stomach pulled and she carefully rolled off him.

“It hurts?” He sat up and placed a hand on her stomach, gently rubbing it, as he looked into her eyes. “I think we’ve got some time before Ryan comes barging in. Take off your clothes. I want to make sure there are no obvious injuries.”

“You just told me that you haven’t noticed anything.”

“Yes, because I wasn’t really looking. And now I am.” Carter carefully got off the bed. “I’ve seen you naked before. Come on.”

“You’re not a doctor.” But Tree pulled off her shirt and her shorts. She lounged back on the bed and crossed one leg over the other, letting her head fall back. “Go ahead. If you want to play doctor.”

“You really have no modesty.” He sat on the edge of the bed and blew on his hands, rubbing them together, then began to slowly caress them over her body. He was thorough and careful with his examination, looking over every inch that he followed with his hands.

“You didn’t see me walk outside with no clothes on.” She smiled, her body warming pleasantly at his touch. “By that point, I had literally no modesty left.” She paused. “Of course, I’m not saying that I’d do that now. But I’m not going to quibble about letting my boyfriend examine me.”

“Does this hurt when I press like this?” He pushed lightly on a spot between her stomach and chest.

She drew in her breath in a sharp gasp before nodding. “Just a bit.”

“Any other tender spots?” He continued to run his hands over her body, glancing at her face every so often.

“It’s not that bad. Honest.” She smiled at him. “And you touching me feels really good. Even if it’s a bit tender, I can handle it. And it really isn’t as bad as it was the first time. Besides, how would I even explain the internal injuries without any external ones to show for it?”

“I just want you to be safe.” He grasped her shoulders and drew her in for a deep kiss.

“I am safe.” She whispered the words against his lips. “I don’t have a psycho roommate trying to kill me anymore. She’s dead. So is the escaped serial killer. There’s nothing to worry about now.” She ran her hands down his chest and tugged playfully at his shirt. “You’re wearing a few too many clothes right now.”

“Maybe we should go to your dorm room,” Carter suggested. “I’ve kicked Ryan out far too many times. I feel sort of bad for him now.”

She laughed and kissed him, then grabbed her shirt and shorts and pulled them into place before leaning in and giving him another kiss. “You have no idea how happy I am to get out of the same clothes I kept waking up in.”

He grinned and kissed her deeply in return. Then, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close against his side. “I think we should get some breakfast first. I’ll feed you. And then we can worry about how the rest of the day is going to go.”

“Breakfast sounds good,” Tree agreed. She leaned into his arm and kissed his cheek and the two of them walked out of the dorm room.

The End