Only Yours

Thomas' body jerked a little when Julia ran the sponge down the sensitive underside, but Thomas was able to suppress the eruption that was so near. She continued down and washed his ball sack quickly. Thomas quivered when Julia ran the sponge lower cleaning the last spot.

Thomas let out his breath when Julia withdrew.

"There, all done, wasn't so bad was it?" she said, as she toweled him down, drying his body swiftly.

She placed the comforter back, so he was again covered from the waist down. The tension lifted a little as she helped him put his shirt back on.

Julia left, taking the bowl and towel with her into the bathroom.

Standing in front of the mirror she look herself in the eye, both being angry at herself and feeling sorry for herself at the same time.

She clenched her legs together and fought the urge to let her fingers reach into her wet panties. Feeling herself lose the battle she splashed some cold water in her face. When that didn't help she gave in, sat down on the lid of toilet and brought herself to an orgasm, whispering Thomas' name and seeing him in her mind.

Looking at herself in the mirror once more, she sighed and said, "You're in trouble."

Julia's panties were soaked, so she went by Thomas' room and told him she would be right back before running across the yard for a clean pair.

Four days after Thomas' return from the hospital it was time for his new physical therapist to stop by.

At the hospital he had been under the care of a young man, not much older than himself, and they had been friendly, so he was a little disappointed that he had to get a new one, but Toby, the physical therapist, had promised to keep in touch.

Both Joan and William were at work, so it was Julia who opened the door after the new physical therapist had rung the bell.

"Can I help you?" Julia asked the young woman standing at the door.

"Hello, I'm Lisa Smith, I'm looking for Thomas Greene. Do I have the correct address?" Lisa asked.

"Yes you do, are you the PT?" Julia said.

"Yes I am, I take it you are his nurse. It's nice to meet you." Lisa said, extending her hand.

Julia told her name as she shook Lisa's hand.

"Come on in and take off your coat, he's upstairs." Julia said.

Lisa thanked her and took off her coat revealing that she was not only slim, but her breasts were also on the large side, sitting high on her chest.

Julia led Lisa up the stairs and into Thomas' room where they found him watching TV.

"Hello Mr. Greene, I'm Lisa Smith, but just call me Lisa. I'm your new physical therapist. How are you feeling today?" Lisa said, smiling as she held out her hand towards Thomas.

"Okay I guess... oh, and please call me Thomas." He replied, a little stunned at who he saw, he had expected... well he didn't know what he had expected, but a young, pretty woman was not it.

"I graduated with Toby and he has told all about your injuries, but I would like to do my own little examination if that's okay?"

"Yeah sure, go ahead." Thomas replied.

Julia and Thomas were both a little stunned at how quickly Thomas' comforter was gone, exposing him to the two women.

"I'll leave you two alone." Julia said and went down stairs to make some lunch for her and Thomas.

Thomas was sad to see Julia leave, but was not able to dwell on it since Lisa had started feeling his leg and hip as well as began talking to him; "So tell me, how did this happen?"

"Well, a treehouse fell on me." Thomas said.

"A treehouse? Aren't you a little old to be playing in a treehouse?" Lisa asked, smiling at him.

"I wasn't playing in it, it fell on top of me." Thomas said defensively.

"Just kidding, Toby already told me." Lisa said "he also told me you almost died... how's the head doing?"

"Fine, though I am going a little crazy from having to stay in bed for over a month." Thomas said. He felt at ease around Lisa, she gave out a happy vibe that brought Thomas to smiling.

"That's why I'm here. How does this feel, any pain?" she said, shifting seamlessly into the professional question as she moved Thomas' knee slightly up towards him.

"Just a little aching, not what I would call pain." Thomas replied.

"Don't go all macho on me now just because I'm a woman; you have to tell me if something hurts." Lisa said giving Tom a mock serious face before going back to the small talk.

"So what do you do for a living?"

Thomas answered, keeping the banter playful, "Nothing, as you can probably guess, I don't get out much lately."

"Smart ass, I'm talking about before the accident."

"Well, I was a programmer, but I quit because Julia's dad got sick." Thomas said, getting gloomy when he mentioned Frank.

"Julia? Your nurse?" Lisa asked, surprised.

"Eh, well she is a nurse, but she and I grew up together. Her family lives next door" he pointed to the window behind him "and our fathers have been friends forever and our mothers are best friends... kinda like a second family really.

"Frank was like an extra father to me, so when he got sick, I couldn't keep living five hundred miles away."

Lisa was touched at how caring this Thomas guy seemed to be, "aw, so how is he doing?"

Thomas' voice was shaky when he answered, "He died... my accident was actually the day of the funeral."

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Lisa apologized.

At that moment Julia came into the room talking as she rounded the corner, "I forgot to ask you, Lisa, are you staying for lunch?" but when she saw the tear running down Tom's face she rushed to his side.

"Tom, are you okay? Is it hurting? Do you need a pill?" Julia asked, and caught herself giving a blaming look to Lisa.

"No, we were talking and when she asked about Frank I couldn't help thinking of how much I miss him."

Julia forgot about Lisa completely, leaned in to hug Thomas before she began crying as well, "I miss him too."

Lisa felt a little awkward and asked "Should we take a break?"

Thomas cleared his throat and pulled himself together, "It's fine, but let's talk about something else."

"Sure, and I won't be able to stay for lunch, maybe next time." Lisa said.

Julia went back downstairs to the kitchen and went back to preparing lunch.

Lisa immediately went back to small talk, keeping clear of Franks death, "Well, why don't you tell me about some of you hobbies?"

"Hobbies? You mean besides lying in bed with a broken hip?" Thomas said, trying to get back to the friendly banter.

"Again, I was talking about before." Lisa answered as she walked to the other side of the bed and began examining his other leg.

"Well, I like hiking and I used to play racquet ball... I guess I'm gonna need some new hobbies." Thomas ended the sentence with a sigh.

Lisa was used to dealing with injured athletes, both professionals and amateurs, so she recognized the look of hopelessness that appeared on Thomas' face.

"Hey, don't give up on those things before you know for sure you can't do them. It will take some time, but if your recovery goes well, you will still be able to go hiking. It might just take a little longer than you're used to."

Lisa didn't want to mention the racquet ball since she knew that the chances of him getting well enough for such a stressing sport was slim.

Thomas caught her omission, "So no racquet ball then, huh?"

"Well, it is very hard on the body, so be careful getting your hopes up, besides, there is a long way to go yet before you should even think about such things. Let's just get you to walking first, shall we.

"Firstly, I guess from the way you covering your privates that you wouldn't mind getting some shorts on. You look well enough for that, but you have to promise me you won't try to take them on or off yourself until I tell you it's okay, okay?"

"Yes, thank you. I won't, I promise." He said happily.

"I'm gonna get Julia to help me, that way she will be able to do it herself." Lisa said and went to get Julia.

Julia found a pair of boxer briefs in a drawer and paid close attention to Lisa as she explained what to be careful about when putting on or taking off his underwear.

Even though he felt some discomfort when the underwear was getting on, Thomas was very happy being back in a pair of underpants.

"Are you ready for some real training now?" Lisa asked, before she lifted one of Thomas' legs from the bed.

Julia said she had to finish lunch and left Thomas and Lisa alone again.

Thomas was exhausted when Lisa left. He ate lunch with Julia and afterwards he dosed off, enjoying the ache of a body well used.

Lisa came by twice a week and quickly came to like Thomas. On her third visit she sat and talked to Julia over a cup of coffee after she had finished with Tom.

"I shouldn't be asking this, but is Thomas single?" Lisa asked, a little embarrassed at her lack of professionalism.

Julia was stunned, Lisa was a nice, friendly person and Julia had been beginning to like her, but when she asked that way, she was becoming competition. Still, Julia didn't like to lie, so she told the truth.

"Eh, yes, he is. Why do you ask?"

"He seems like a great guy... he's sweet and funny... cute too" Lisa said, thinking she needed to explain her attraction.

"I guess, but isn't it a little inappropriate to think that about a patient?" Julia asked, the hypocrisy making her look down at the table as she spoke.

"I guess, hard not to though." Lisa said.

Julia caught herself about to say "tell me about it".

That afternoon Julia desperately needed some advice, so she called Sophia and they went for a walk to talk.

"She's like into him, and he's supposed to be her patient." Julia told her cousin.

"You do hear the irony, right?" Sophia asked.

"It's different." Julia stated.

Sophia was not one to blindly hate another person just because Julia did, so she asked, "How is it different, Sweetie? Because you liked him first?"

"I don't know, it's just different... I mean, I love him, she's doesn't even know him."

"So you think he's yours and that's why she should back off... but she doesn't know that, so it's not really her fault, is it? Besides, how could she ever compete with you?" Sophia asked.

"You haven't seen her, she's gorgeous."

Sophia answered, "You're gorgeous."

"She's so thin." Julia continued.

"So are you."

"She's got big breasts." Julia said, knowing Sophia couldn't counter that, "much bigger than mine."

"Honey, a lot of guys don't care about that, your breasts are very nice... also, Tom is not that superficial, he cares about what's inside." Sophia said, trying to change the focus away from looks, knowing she could not get Julia to admit that she was beautiful.

"Don't get me started. She's funny and kind and smart... she's perfect... how can I compete with that?" Julia rambled, pleading the last question in hopes of a magic answer that would fix everything.

"Julia, you are kind and smart and funny. You're at least as perfect as she is, I'm sure of it." Sophia answered, not having the magic words Julia had hoped for. She continued, "What about Tom, does he even like her?"

"Of course he does. They are always talking and laughing... rubbing their bodies together while working out." Julia was losing hope, "Maybe I should just give up... he deserves to be happy... but I love him so much it hurts."

Sophia thought for a while before talking, "Maybe you should consider telling Tom how you feel... that way at least you would know."

Julia groaned loudly, "Argh, I don't know, it could ruin everything."

Sophia gave her last thoughts as they rounded the last corner before being back home, "I know it's not easy and I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but if you need to talk more, you know who to go to."

Julia decided she had to come clean, all she needed was the courage to actually do it. She came close several times in the first few weeks.

When Lisa was working with Thomas, rubbing her chest on his leg to apply pressure, smiling at him, laughing at his jokes, Julia wanted to burst in and push Lisa away to claim Thomas for herself.

During Thomas' sponge baths, Julia wanted so badly to throw away that sponge, climb into the bed and make out with him, rubbing his body all over.

Joan and Elizabeth both noticed that Julia was behaving differently than usual and tried talking to her, but Julia blew them off feigning ignorance.

Julia's courage took a hit when she asked Thomas what he thought about Lisa.

"She's great, it's a wonder she can make me laugh with all the pain she's putting me through, but I like her." He had said, smiling.

Julia felt a surge of hurt in her stomach when he spoke.

Thomas liked Lisa, much like he liked his old physical therapist, Toby, they were friends. He didn't know that Lisa was interested in more and, while he did think she was pretty, to him there were no one more beautiful than Julia.

Once when they were watching a romantic movie, A Walk to Remember again, Julia almost reached out her hand for his, but she withdrew just before intertwining her fingers in his. Instead she just snuggled closer to him, enjoying the embrace of her best friend. Thomas had had the same idea, but he was likewise scared of what could go wrong.

"You are getting much stronger, Thomas. Won't be long now before we'll try to get you on your feet." Lisa said after she had finished that day's program.

"Really?" he asked, ecstatic to hear of the progress.

"Yep, we'll have you walking in no time; it'll be awhile before running though." She answered.

Thomas thought of the night before, when he had watched the movie with Julia, and remembered the dancing they had done after the first time they had watched it.

Lisa thought Thomas was hinting at her when he asked, "What about dancing?"

She smiled as she answered, "It would have to be a slow dance then."

"When?" Thomas asked, hope evident in his eyes.

"If you keep up with the exercises, maybe already in two week, but be careful about getting your hopes up, it might take longer." Lisa said, "Well, I better get going, see you next week, handsome."

For the next two weeks Thomas exhausted himself with exercises. He was determined to get better, he wanted to dance with Julia again and it was her birthday the following week.

Julia was devastated when Thomas asked her to leave him and Lisa alone the times she came by those weeks.

It was Saturday, most of Julia's birthday had been spent in Thomas' room so everybody could be included.

Julia had just left Thomas' room when he said he wanted to take a nap instead of their usual evening movie. She picked her phone from her pocket and called Sophia. Sophia and Ben had been over for her birthday, but left half an hour earlier.

"Hey Soph, I'm gonna tell him, I can't wait any longer, if you have any last minute advice, this is the time." She said into the phone, speaking very rapidly.

"Julia, hi, slow down a little, you mean 'tell him' tell him?"

"Yeah, it's time... don't you think?"

"If you want me to talk you out of it, then you know everything already, just be sure, okay? Though perhaps you should calm down a little first or he'll not understand a word you're saying. Deep breaths."

"I'm sure... I can't stand it any longer." Julia said after a few deep breaths, "When he wakes up from his nap I'll tell him."

"Well good luck... and call me afterwards. I'll come right over with ice-cream if it doesn't go well."

"Bye, talk later." Julia said before hanging up. She was shaking as she made her way to the bathroom to throw some cold water in her face.

She looked in the mirror, starring at her reflection. "This is it, don't chicken out this time."

She considered going next door to change her clothes and reapply her make-up. She wondered if she should put her hair up or if it was better as it was, hanging freely.

The decision was made for her when Thomas called her name from his room. She took another glance in the mirror, giving herself a firm look and a reaffirming nod, before making her way to his room.

The door handle started turning and Thomas pressed play on his computer. Julia heard the piano as she opened the door, the tones sounding familiar to her, but she had yet to place them.

There's a song that's inside of my soul

When Mandy Moore's voice started, she recognized the song immediately.

It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again

She looked into the room, the main light was off as she had left it, but the lamp besides Thomas' bed gave out a soft glow.

I'm awake in the infinite cold

Julia noticed that Thomas' bed was empty. She saw him standing by his dresser when she opened the door fully.

But you sing to me over and over again

"Care to dance?" Thomas said as Julia's eyes became watery.

The chorus started as Thomas started walking slowly and carefully towards Julia.

Julia recovered from the shock and walked to him, meeting him in the middle of the room. She held out her arms for him to lean on.

"You're walking." Julia said, stating the obvious.

Thomas had a little pride in his voice when he spoke, "You bet... I've worked hard for this. I didn't get a dance on my birthday, but you should get one on yours... So will you dance with me?"

Julia couldn't find any words, so as the second verse started she moved in, embracing Thomas.

They started swaying to the music.

Julia buried her face in Thomas' chest, crying from joy. Thomas could smell her scent coming from her hair and enjoyed every nuance. He enjoyed the feel of her body against his as they danced and all the struggle he had been through to get ready was fading from his memory.

This time Julia didn't sing while they danced, the lump in her throat prevented her from uttering a single word.

Julia felt more happiness than she thought possible. She hadn't realized how much she had missed dancing with Thomas until he held her in his arms and they moved to the music. Thomas knew already how much he had missed it, but was still overwhelmed by how good it felt to dance with her again.

For a few minutes they moved slowly, never separating an inch. Neither Thomas nor Julia had any desire to ever let go.

When the song ended they stood, holding each other in silence for an additional minute.

Finally separating, if only a little, Julia looked up at Thomas' loving eyes. She wanted to speak, to confess her love for him, but the lump in her throat would not let her.

Her courage was finally strong enough, so since she was unable to speak, she decided to show Thomas how she felt instead.

She relinquished her hold on his hips and brought her arms up. Her hands grasped the back of his neck.

For both Julia and Thomas, time seemed to move slower. Julia pulled Thomas' head down while lifting hers.

She hesitated for a fraction of a second when their lips where but an inch apart. Thomas was done hesitating. He closed the distance between them and their lips made contact.

Tingles surged through them as each felt the others softness. Julia moaned when Thomas' taste pierced her lips.

Thomas brought his hands around Julia's back and pulled her body close once more. Never had anything tasted so sweet to Thomas; only their kiss under the mistletoe came even close.

Julia was unable to think of anything except the kiss and how Thomas felt. Thomas was equally focused only on her.

When they finally separated, both were out of breath. Thomas stumbled backwards, grabbing hold of his bed to stay up. Julia's knees were so weak she expected to fall if she tried moving her feet.