Chapter 74 A Night of Care
"Mr. Gordon, please take a seat."
Noe helped Aaron into a chair, then quickly went downstairs to retrieve the wheelchair.
The effort of climbing the stairs had left Aaron's leg muscles throbbing painfully.
He massaged them with pursed lips while surveying the décor of the second floor.
The house, though old-fashioned, appeared clean and orderly, much like the first floor.
One of the room doors had cartoon stickers on it.
He guessed that room must belong to the three kids.
So, the other room would be Nora's.
"Mr. Gordon, I brought the wheelchair up," Noe announced, helping Aaron into it.
"Mr. Gordon, which room is Nora's?" Noe asked hesitantly.
"It should be this one."
Aaron maneuvered his wheelchair to one of the doors and turned the knob.
A faint fragrance filled the room, the same scent that clung to Nora.
In the center lay a large bed, where Nora rested serenely.
He was right; this was Nora's bedroom.
"Noe, don't come in," Aaron said abruptly.
This was her private space, and Noe, an outsider, shouldn't intrude.
Of course, he didn't consider himself an outsider anymore.
After Aaron entered, Noe closed the door behind him.
Moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting a gentle glow on Nora's sleeping form.
Aaron maneuvered his wheelchair to the bedside, noticing her furrowed brows and the discomfort evident on her face.
Perhaps it was the heat – two buttons on her nightgown had come undone, revealing her porcelain skin shimmering with a tempting cool luster.
Aaron forced his gaze away, reaching out to check her forehead.
As he suspected, she was running a fever.
Despite being a doctor, Nora was still a woman, not immune to weariness.
With pursed lips, Aaron quietly wheeled himself out of the room.
"Noe, she's got a fever. Get some cold water."
"Sure."
Noe responded promptly, hurrying to fetch the water. Aaron took the basin from him, gesturing for Noe to wait outside.
Returning to Nora's side, Aaron gently wrung a damp washcloth and laid it on her forehead.
The cool touch made Nora sigh contentedly.
Her eyes fluttered open in a haze, looking in Aaron's direction.
He stared back at her, caught off guard by her sudden awakening.
Just as he was about to speak, Nora blurted out, "Big Bear? Don't wander off."
Aaron fell silent.
Did he resemble a teddy bear to her?
He was speechless when he watched as Nora clutched his arm tightly.
His eyes landed on a brown teddy bear on the bed, raising an eyebrow.
No wonder she had been muttering about Big Bear – a teddy bear was in the room.
A mother is still sleeping with a stuffed animal.
Could that bear ever compare to him?
Outside, Noe had no idea how long he had been standing until he succumbed to exhaustion and dozed off on a chair.
It wasn't until Aaron came out and woke him that he realized it was already four in the morning.
"Mr. Gordon, how's Nora?"
"The fever's broken, you can go."
Aaron's face bore the signs of fatigue, and his voice was hoarse.
Noe quickly offered, "Mr. Gordon, let me carry you downstairs."
After a moment's hesitation, Aaron conceded, unable to deny the lack of strength in his legs.
The next day.
Nora awoke, instinctively reaching for Big Bear, the fuzzy texture bringing a smile to her face.
As her mind grew clearer, she blinked at the plush teddy bear beside her pillow.
She questioned if seeing Big Bear at the bed's edge the night before was just her imagination.
Shaking off the silly thought, Nora grabbed her phone from the nightstand to check the time, her expression shifting when she saw it was already past seven.
Why hadn't her alarm gone off?
She was running late – her kids would be late for school.
Nora tossed aside the covers without a second thought and bounded out of bed.
She suddenly realized her shoes weren't where she had left them.
Staring at her slippers, which were now skewed to the left, she spaced out for a moment.
On the floor were dried water stains and parallel lines resembling wheelchair tracks.
Her eyes squinted contemplatively.
Could someone have entered her room last night? Aaron maybe? But why would he come upstairs for no reason?
The pent-up energy must be driving him to act on impulse.
Nora slipped into her slippers and proceeded to the children's room.
The three kids were nowhere to be seen.
Downstairs, Samantha's chatter drew Nora's attention as she descended.
"Alex, Billy, Samantha," she called out as she descended.
The three of them had just finished breakfast. Seeing Nora, they all surrounded her.
"Mom, you're awake?"
"Mom, are you feeling better?"
"Mom, are you hungry?"
Their voices warmed her heart.
For the moment, she set aside any thoughts about Aaron and was surprised to see the leftovers on the dining table.
"Did you all wake up by yourselves? You've even had breakfast?"
She was used to waking the kids herself.
Why did they manage to get up on time today? And they'd even had breakfast!
Who prepared it? Billy?
"Mom, it was Noe who woke us up. He said you weren't feeling well and told us to let you rest," Alex explained.
"Mom, Noe made breakfast, too," Billy chimed in.
"Yeah," Samantha interjected, "Even though Noe's breakfast was a bit gross, we ate it all."
Noe had been rather proud until he heard Samantha comment about the food being gross.
Now, with dark circles under his eyes, he looked at them helplessly.
After two hours of sleep, their boss had roped him into making breakfast, which was not exactly his forte.
"Mr. Wilson, you came so early? I can't thank you enough," Nora said, expressing her gratitude to Noe.
Before Noe could explain his overnight stay, Nora questioned, "Thomas, you look terrible. Were you in my room last night?"
Aaron had scarcely slept, nursing the dull ache in his leg.
He met her gaze and admitted, "Yes."
He had confessed!
Nora was instantly annoyed. "What were you doing in my room?"
"Nora, remember when you got back yesterday? Mr. Gordon was worried you might feel unwell at night, so he asked me to stay. Past midnight, I helped him upstairs to check on you. Last night, you had a fever, and he stayed by your side until it broke. Then, he grabbed a few winks downstairs," Noe quickly came to Aaron's defense.
Nora paused, her gaze softening as she looked at Aaron.
Did he stay with her all night?
So the figure she saw last night wasn't a dream?
A swirl of tender feelings began to stir in her heart.
But then, something caught her attention.
"Mr. Wilson, did you say you helped him upstairs?"
"Yes," Noe replied truthfully.
Nora's pretty face turned stern as she faced Aaron and demanded angrily, "Who said you could go wandering about? Are you trying to make it so you can't stand up anymore?"
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