Chapter 19
It was Friday again and I was spending another day at the clinic, mostly reading and visiting with Alexis as had become our routine, when a woman brought in her husband. He had been cutting open a box when the razor knife was using had slipped and he hand run the sharp blade from wrist to elbow cutting himself deeply.
He was bleeding profusely and more than a little pale when she brought got him into the clinic. Alexis and I jumped up immediately and helped them into one of the two exam rooms. Alexis carefully held the wound shut, and she asked me to hand her a roll of gauze out of the cabinet, between the two of us we held his wound shut and bound his arm tightly to stem the flow of blood.
"The best thing that we can do is to slow the bleeding, and get him to change forms. That will heal the worst of the wound, maybe not all of it but it will go a long way," She explained to me.
"I can't shift. I can't concentrate long enough to shift." Our patient said.
"That's all right; we can deal with that, just give us a minute. You're out of danger for a minute or two." Alexis reassured him before she turned back to me "Are you ready for this? You can do it, I'm sure."
"I'm willing to try."
She turned back to our patient, and calmly explained, "Okay, this is what we're going to do. Nickie here is still learning to use her powers; she is going to try to call your wolf. Now, don't worry, because if she doesn't succeed, which feel certain she will, I'll step in and you'll change either way. Now, here's the question, do you want to try to strip or do you want us to shift you in your clothes?"
"I don't think I could undress right now and the clothes are ruined anyway, just shift me."
"Ok, Nickie, go for it. Remember, you have to feel for his wolf." She tried to talk me through it but I tuned her voice out while I focused. I reached deep inside myself for that part of me that sensed energy. I pulled that part forward and pushed it gently into the man in front of me. I felt for the man's wolf, he wasn't hard to find, he was hiding just under the surface. I tried to coax him out, but he didn't seem to want out, he shied away every time I tried to send that part of me closer to get him to come out.
I pulled back and opened my eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out, trying to calm myself before trying again. I once again called forth the part of me that senses energy and sent it into him. I could still feel the wolf he seemed unsure of me, but more curious this time. I tried to coax him again but this time when he got close I sent that energy surging forward to grab the wolf before he could jump away and I pulled him to the surface. When I opened my eyes there he was, the wolf I had sensed inside the man, laying on the exam table. The bandage we had wrapped so tightly around the man’s arm now hung loosely around the wolf's front leg. The wound still bled, but it was more of a seep instead of the steady flow it had been before.
"Very good Nickie. Now, do you think you can shift him again?" Alexis said.
"Yeah, give me just a second."
"All right, sit down on that stool over there for a moment before you try it," she said before turning to our patient's wife and said "If you'll go down the hall to our kitchen and look in the fridge you will find a some of those meal replacement shakes they give the elderly, grab a couple, and bring them back in here."
The woman turned to do what she had been asked and I heard her talking to Caden in the hallway. I’d been so focused on our patient and calling his wolf I hadn’t been aware of Caden moving to stand outside the doorway. Alexis turned and grabbed a sheet out of a cabinet and unfolded it. "Ready when you are Nickie."
I focused again, and wrapped my energy around the wolf like a bubble. I gently encouraged him to retreat back to where he had been before I called him, pushing at him with my energy. The wolf seemed content to retreat now that his job was done and I saw a blur surround the form of the wolf, before the blur was gone, Alexis covered the reclining form with the sheet so that only his shoulders and head were left exposed. I knew she did it more for my sake than anyone else's, but I appreciated it.
I looked again at the wound on his forearm and it was still open but it seemed the bleeding had stopped. We could easily get away with a few butterfly bandages and then gauze and tape to cover the wound, and in a few hours or days it would be gone, depending on how fast he healed.
I was pulling out the bandages to close the wound when his wife returned. Alexis took the cans of drink from her and quickly shook one up before popping the top open and putting it in the man's uninjured hand while I worked on re-bandaging his injury. He quickly drained the can and handed it back to Alexis, she took the empty and handed him a full can. He quickly drained that one and as he handed the empty can back to Alexis, who dropped it to the same trash can where she had put the first.
"That stuff's nasty." He said.
"It doesn't taste the greatest but it's an excellent way to replace the calories and nutrients burned by two shifts. And it's fast too, far faster than fixing you something and eating."
"This is true. I feel much better now that I've had them. Why've we never used them before?"
"Because it never occurred to anyone to use them until this one shifted and started drinking them." Alexis said, motioning to me. I was just fastening off the gauze when I noticed they were all watching me.
"What?" I asked, looking at Alexis.
"We were just wondering, what made you think to use the meal replacement drinks?"
"Oh, we used to feed them to Shiloh when she was little because she was so underweight. So when I realized that I would need more calories, especially when I shift and something I can keep in the car for emergencies, they seemed like a good option."
"You're right, they’re perfect. We've even started using them here, they last in storage and they are quick and easy to give someone when they need it."
"I think if you look into it you can buy them in bulk cheaper." I said, not sure what else to say.
"I'll have to check into that." Alexis said turning to the couple and getting them ready to go. I worked on cleaning up the mess we had made in the room while she got them out the door.
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful and I when I went home I took a shower and went to bed early. Apparently calling animal forms was exhausting.
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