advantage

"I didn't know he was helping you on a case!"

Nancy managed to keep her composure somehow until she ended the call with Ned's mother. Then she covered her face with her palms.

"Fuck," she muttered, closing her eyes.

Ned was star quarterback of Emerson's football team. He'd had a game tonight.

And yet, when Nancy called Ned's mother to tell her about his injury, Edith hadn't immediately thought it was due to his participation in a relatively risky team sport, one widely associated with concussions and tackling. The more likely scenario had involved Nancy.

"Mmm." Nancy brought her head back up and uncovered her face, blinking rapidly just in case. The tears had just pricked at her eyes a little. She probably wasn't visibly upset. Probably.

Still.

The lingering guilt and turmoil meant that once they were back at the Omega house, Nancy volunteered to be the one who stayed with Ned until he passed out. That job was apparently going to be very important, judging by the way she found him when his last teammate left after passing along "get-better-soon" and "you'll be back on the field in no time" well-wishes.

Ned was standing at his closet door, bare-chested. He was unsteady, and an intoxicated grin was on his face. His eyes were a little glassy.

"Hey, baby!"

"Ned, honey, you need to sit down." Nancy crossed the room quickly, casting a glance back at his closed, but unlocked, bedroom door. For all she knew, they would be interrupted several more times tonight. She'd have to put a note on the door once he was passed out, to keep people from waking him.

"Have to get ready!"

"For what?"

"The party!" He ducked in and emerged with a charcoal button-down. The shirt swung a little from his wavering grip on the hanger.

Nancy paused. There is no party? Hmm. She wasn't sure she could convince him of that lie, or dissuade him that way.

"We can, but I think you're tired. Want to sit down for a minute?"

"You're going to the party too?" His smile broadened to a grin again. "Great, baby!"

Nancy grinned and nodded. "Yes. I'd love to go with you. But we can't go yet. Can we just sit and talk for a minute?"

It took a moment, but his grin faded. "Talk? About us?"

God, it really was like he was drunk. He had zero poker face. Everything he was feeling was right there in his expression. "Not like that," she replied. "I thought we could make fall break plans."

The clouds lifted. "Okay," he agreed. He made an attempt to hang the shirt back in his closet and failed, and his mingled bewilderment and frustration made Nancy stifle a laugh as she picked it up and returned it.

"Here," she said, offering her arm, and Ned leaned on it a little as he half-walked, half-hopped over to his bed. At least he wasn't putting pressure on that leg, but even through the medication, he was probably aware of how much it hurt. She'd felt that before—like a metallic, icy zing straight from the nerve to the brain.

"Have I been pre-gaming?"

It took her a few seconds to realize what he meant, and she snickered to herself. She was pretty sure the effects of his pain medication weren't catching, and she would need to stay sharp to keep him safe. "I don't think so," she decided on as a comfortable answer. "What's wrong?"

He gave his head a little shake, then almost lost his balance and spread his palm on the comforter to help him stabilize. "Just a little..." He started to laugh. "Whooo!"

She grinned. "I know what you mean."

His gaze caught hers, and from the intensity in his expression, she was glad he wouldn't be able to maintain it for long. Being alone with him in his room was already bad enough. He was intoxicated, even if he wasn't drunk on alcohol, and while his body might be willing, Nancy's conscience was very against taking advantage of him.

Though when her gaze drifted down to his still-bare chest, it took her a few seconds to quite remember why.

He gasped as his train of thought jumped tracks, his expression turning to innocent wonder. "Did we win?"

"Yeah, baby." She patted his hand. The team had rallied after he had been carried off the field, and though their opponents had shaved down the lead Ned's touchdowns had given Emerson, the Wildcats were still victorious.

"Then we should go!" He sprang up again.

Nancy sighed silently. "You hurt your leg, remember? We need to stay here so you can heal up."

Ned shrugged, extending his arm in an expansive gesture that tipped him enough off-balance to leave him grasping his footboard. "I feel fine," he slurred, then laughed. "I feel great! We won!"

She nodded, then rose and grasped his arms, gently tugging to maneuver him back onto the bed. "You did," she agreed. "We were going to talk about fall break?"

"We can talk after!" As soon as she had him sitting down, he sprang up again, his expression gleeful, mischievous. "Maybe."

Nancy shook her head. "You can't drink with the medication you're on."

"Who said an'thin' 'bout drinkin'?"

She just blinked at him. "You're so out of it that you're lapsing into Southern."

Ned collapsed onto the bed in a fit of laughter, though when he twisted and moved his injured leg, she heard the interruption, the hiss of sharply-inhaled breath. "Don' be a drag."

"Your leg," she replied dryly, "is the literal drag here, Nickerson. Look, just give up. We'll find a way to have fun here together."

Ned wiggled his eyebrows, which was enough to send him off-balance again. If she were to bet anyone, she'd say he'd be out in under ten minutes, now. "Stri-poker."

Her mouth dropped open for a second or two, once she parsed the slurred word. "We're not going downstairs..."

He shook his head, though he seemed to immediately regret it; his entire body swayed in sympathy. "Jus' you an' me. Yeah?"

Nancy looked down at her outfit. Thanks to the still-warm weather, she wasn't wearing much; losing three hands would likely mean indecent exposure, if he didn't let her count each individual piece of jewelry, or her shoes, separately. "Give me a minute to raid your closet?"

Ned groaned, flopping backward. She could see perspiration on his brow, and fought her urge to stroke his skin, caress his cheek, check for a fever. Maybe she would, but she was a little afraid of where that would go.

"You chicken, Drew? Can't do it?"

"I can do it," she retorted immediately. Then she grimaced as he smirked. "You just don't have much to put in the pot."

"'s like that, huh."

"It's like that," she agreed. "Got some cards in here? Chips?"

For a long moment he didn't reply, and she wondered if he had practically just dropped off mid-sentence. Then he roused, shifting his weight to one side and laboriously pushing himself up to sitting again. "Wha's wild, babe?"

"Besides you?" she chuckled.

Eventually Ned agreed that Nancy could have five chips for free, as long as he could have five as well; he was still shirtless, and she let him have his discarded shirt to start. They decided on a style, and Nancy kept watching him closely when he was looking away. Sometimes he closed his eyes for a long moment, and she waited for him to just topple over, but he lasted through three hands without passing out. They idly discussed possible fall break plans, but he wasn't able to stay focused on much of anything for very long, but at least that kept him from thinking about the party he was missing. She was pretty sure that later he wasn't going to insist she honor her promise to rent an entire cruise ship for "the biggest effin' bash ever."

And at least he was sitting on his bed, and she wouldn't have to maneuver him that much to get him comfortable.

"Raise." Ned reached for his fly.

Nancy startled. "You've got..." She gestured helplessly at his two remaining chips.

"And?" He wriggled, fell over, started laughing. "Help?"

With some sincere misgivings, she helped him wriggle out of his shorts, maneuvering the material over the wrap keeping pressure on his leg. He smelled very masculine, but he'd been on the field and hadn't exactly been in any position to shower since then. She stood, and Ned's fingertips drifted over her arm.

Gooseflesh prickled, standing the hairs there straight up, and the crackle between them when their gazes met again was electric.

Nancy cleared her throat quietly. "Let me—figure out what my answer is."

A killer grin lit up his handsome face. "I know what mine is," he murmured, and he sounded a lot more sober for a second.

During the next hand, Nancy looked at her dwindling options and sighed. "Fold."

Ned groaned. "C'mon, babe. You can do it!"

She raised one eyebrow. "Take my shirt off, you mean?"

He nodded eagerly, sending himself into a laughing fit, and Nancy couldn't help joining in.

They were fairly evenly matched, and it really wasn't fair for her to be so incredibly sober. Finally Ned managed to take a massive pot, and he crowed with pride as he raked it all toward him. Nancy glanced down at her shirt and jeans. Those, and the little she wore beneath them, were all she had left.

Ned yawned hugely, and Nancy brought her gaze up, feeling both disappointed and relieved. "Want to call it a night?"

"Not on your—" He yawned again. "Life!" he finished, with another grin. "Just gettin' warmed up!"

Nancy smiled and shook her head. "Sure you are, big fella. Sure you are. Can I get you some more water?"

"Sure." He yawned again.

She slipped into her sandals and gave him another glance before heading downstairs. The house was mostly deserted, and Nancy was momentarily glad no one had joked about taking him to the victory celebration. He would have jumped on that offer.

Before she opened the door of his bedroom again, she glanced down at her outfit and smirked slightly. He was almost certainly asleep. She wouldn't need to worry about what she was or wasn't wearing. She could wait for his next dose of medication, then head back to the Theta house and come over first thing in the morning.

Nancy winced when the door creaked slightly, but Ned didn't flinch. He was on the bed still, sprawled out on his back, snoring quietly.

Nancy smiled and moved smoothly, very gently closing the door and tiptoeing across to his desk. She gingerly lowered herself into his desk chair. When she shifted her weight, the chair creaked slightly and she winced again, but Ned didn't stir.

It hit her again, in a sickening wave. All the times Ned had been hurt on cases, especially after he'd been hit by a car and landed in the hospital. How perverse, to be thankful that this injury hadn't been her fault, in any way. They still didn't know how many games he would need to sit out; maybe just one. She hoped only one.

Her own injuries, she was able to dismiss. Seeing the people she loved hurt was never easy.

She gathered up the cards and chips, the discarded clothes; she turned on the lamp beside his bed, pressing her lips together at the muted but still too loud thunk-thunk of the mechanism, and turned off the overhead lights. At least Ned wasn't wearing much, so she wouldn't have to very carefully take his shoes or pants off.

Holding her breath, she leaned over him. That perspiration she had seen on his brow had evaporated. Her gaze flicked down to his closed eyes, and she very carefully rested the back of her hand against his forehead to see if he felt warm.

A hand closed around her wrist. She sucked in a breath so sharp it was almost a squeak.

"Mmm," Ned murmured. His dark eyes were open.

And, damn it, she was still responding to him in a completely inappropriate way. Yes, they were in his bedroom, alone, with most of the lights off. Yes, he was mostly undressed. Yes, he was an incredibly sexy guy.

She let out her breath in a sigh and smiled tentatively at him. Maybe he was just... not quite awake.

"Where-y go?"

Nancy blinked. "To get you some water."

Ned gestured with an altogether too wide sweep of his arm, and she glanced over. "Oh. I forgot," she apologized. She had remembered he had a mini-fridge, but she hadn't bothered checking it; leaving the room, giving him a chance to fall asleep, had seemed more important.

"Mmm." Ned yawned.

"Do you..."

He started to push himself up, and Nancy picked up the bottle of water she had snagged from the kitchen fridge. Ned downed half of it in long pulls, reminding her of breaks during intense football games, and when he surfaced he looked marginally more awake.

Nancy checked her watch. "Medicine again in half an hour," she said.

Ned smiled and offered her the bottle. "Good thing you're here to make sure I take it," she translated his slurred statement. She accepted the bottle with a small indulgent smile.

Ned yawned again and dry-washed his face with his palms. "You seem sad," he commented, and his voice sounded close to normal, almost. Just very tired. "And horny."

Nancy let out a burst of startled laughter. "Really?"

He nodded slowly. "Been around a lot of... horny girls... past couple o' years."

"Well, I can't say I'm surprised. You're hot. But you know that."

Ned grinned. "Yeah," he drawled. "I've been told."

"I just... strip poker? Like you didn't know."

"If you were... a good player. Wouldn't have mattered." His eyes were twinkling. "Why sad?"

Nancy rubbed one of her temples. "I hate seeing you hurt."

"I feel great."

She patted his hand. "I know, honey. It might hit tomorrow morning. Or whenever your pain pills run out."

"And... that's all."

"That isn't enough?"

He yawned again. "No," he sighed out.

Nancy glanced down. "When I called your mom to tell her what happened... her first thought was that you'd been helping me on a case when you were hurt."

"Mmm." He blinked slowly. "Wasn't, was I?"

She smiled, though her eyes were pricking with tears. "No, baby."

He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "C'mere," he murmured.

Before, it had been impossible to ignore how incredibly hot he was; when he laid down with her, stroking her hair in a slightly clumsy but completely adorable perpetual motion, she closed her eyes. She wasn't thinking about trying to take things further. She just wanted the comfort of his arms.

"I'm fine," he murmured. "'S okay, babe."

"I know."

His thumb brushed her jaw. "I want... you too."

She chuckled, feeling a tear slide down her cheek to land on the sheet beneath them. "I don't take advantage of guys who are unable to consent," she murmured.

"How's it... taking advan— when I... want it sober," he finally managed to say.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But it is. Shhhh, honey. Medicine soon, then sleep."

"Yeah," he murmured, on the edge of a yawn. "Stay here?"

Her heart gave one hard beat before she replied. "To sleep?"

"Mmm. Like this."

"Well. If you insist."

"I do." Ned's voice was becoming softer, slower. "ll tackle ya if ya try t'leave."

At that, Nancy dissolved into giggles. "Sure you will, babe."

"You w'dn't... make me... hurt m'self like 'at."

"No. I wouldn't." She moved and cupped his cheek, looking at his nearly-closed eyes. He looked so tired. "Oh, Ned," she whispered.

His lips twitched upward. "Love... you," he breathed, his lashes fluttering slightly, but he couldn't quite bring himself to open his eyes.

She smiled and brushed a very soft kiss against his lips. "Love you too."