by Ann Lister
Colby pressed her face into the warmth of his neck and closed her eyes, squeezing out fresh tears. “I love you so much. I don’t know what I would have done…”
“Don’t say it, Colby. I’m not going anywhere. It may take me a few weeks to get back on my feet, but I will get there and, soon enough, I’ll be chasing you around the bed again,” he started to chuckle, then grabbed at his ribs in pain.
“I don’t remember you ever having to chase me into bed,” Colby smiled.
Nick grinned and reached to stroke her cheek. “We’re going to have to change the subject before I start getting hard. I’m not thinking an erection will feel very good with a tube sticking in my dick.”
Suddenly the nurse opened the door and moved to Nick’s side.
“Perfect timing,” Nick said to Colby.
“For what?” the nurse asked, setting up her sterile equipment to remove Nick’s catheter.
“Never mind,” Nick said, watching the nurse pull on her latex gloves. “Is this going to hurt?” he asked.
The nurse smiled. “Not nearly as much as your ribs do.”
Colby released Nick’s hand and began to shift toward the door.
“Where you going?” Nick asked Colby.
“I don’t think I need to be in here for this,” Colby said.
“Colby, you don’t have to leave,” Nick said. “I really don’t mind if you stay.”
“That’s okay. I’ll give you some privacy and wait outside,” Colby said, and stepped into the hallway.
A few minutes later, the nurse poked her head outside Nick’s room looking for Colby. “He’s all set. I’m just cleaning up, but you can come back inside if you want,” the nurse suggested.
“Thank you,” Colby nodded, and followed the nurse.
Colby moved back beside Nick’s bed and took his hand again. “Did it hurt?” she whispered.
“What'd you think?” he asked. “Maybe you should kiss it and make it feel better?”
“I can’t believe you just said that,” Colby said using a hushed tone.
“Wow!” the nurse said, shaking her head in disbelief at what she had heard. “It sounds like our patient is more delusional than I thought,” she said, then faced Nick. “I wouldn’t suggest you try anything that would pull or strain your chest muscles or you’ll develop a whole new understanding for the word agony.”
“Understood,” Nick grinned. “But, you can’t blame a guy for trying.”
The nurse shook her head again and walked toward the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes with a razor and a toothbrush. See if you can keep your clothes on while I’m gone.”
“How embarrassing was that?” Colby said with a laugh.
“I'm sure she's heard a lot worse,” he said.
The nurse returned with a toothbrush and a razor and pressed the button to raise Nick’s bed into a sitting position. The higher the bed inclined, the more pain Nick felt.
“Is this really necessary?” he asked the nurse.
“Yes. The quicker we get you up and moving around, the sooner you’ll heal,” she replied, squeezing toothpaste across the brush and handing it to Nick. “I would suggest just a gentle rinse and spit. If you use too much force, it will hurt.”
Nick did as he was instructed and grimaced when it came time to spit. “Damn! I can’t believe how much this hurts.”
“You’ll adapt to it,” the nurse said, preparing to shave Nick.
“I can do that,” Colby said.
Nick glanced at Colby. “Have you ever shaved a man’s face?”
“Yes.”
“Wayne?” he asked.
Colby nodded, suddenly feeling awkward about her suggestion.
“Do you want to do it?” the nurse asked Colby.
“Yes, I would - if you don’t mind.”
“I’ll come back in a little while and we’ll get him out of bed.”
Nick’s attention turned back to Colby. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Yes and I promise not to cut you,” she said, lathering Nick’s face with the shaving cream. Colby quickly went to task, dragging the razor across Nick’s face with precision.
Nick watched her with interest. Her eyes danced with love. After every few strokes, she’d wipe the excess foam off his face then start on the next section, until she was done. In spite of his dull headache from the concussion, the pain of his broken leg and the constant throb of his ribs, he still found her closeness arousing, causing his groin to react.
“Am I hurting you?” she asked softly, the heat of his body effecting her.
“Not at all. I wasn’t aware being shaved could be so erotic. It’s no wonder Wayne let you do it.”
“Wayne was sick in bed with the flu, so I offered to shave him. He was too sick to notice it was erotic.”
“Was that the only time you shaved him?”
“No, there were a few…other times,” she said, trying to hide a growing smile.
“I’m guessing by your expression, he realized how arousing a shave could be during those other times?”
“Yes,” she said. “Does it upset you to hear that?”
“No, of course not,” Nick shrugged, although it did upset him to see the sadness in her eyes, whenever she spoke of Wayne.
“I let him shave me a few times, too,” Colby added.
“That sounds like fun,” he said. “Maybe you’ll let me give you a…shave?”
“I suppose we could do that.”
“Do I get to pick what I want to shave?” he asked quickly.
“I let Wayne shave my legs but, judging by the look on your face, I’m guessing you have another location in mind.”
Nick raised his hand off the bed and eased it between her thighs. He felt Colby flinch and loosened his grip. “I probably shouldn’t be doing anything to make you jump, while you have that razor in your hand.”
“No, that really isn’t a smart thing to do,” she said, tipping her head to him. “Although I have to say, your hand feels nice where it is.”
“Too bad you’re not wearing a skirt,” he teased.
Colby’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re positively wicked! As banged up as you are, and your thoughts are still drifting toward sex.”
“Always.”
Colby shook her head and grinned, finishing the last few strokes on his face with the razor. “There, I’m done and I didn’t make you bleed,” Colby said with pride, drying his neck off with the towel.
“Come here,” he said, pulling her down to him. He covered her mouth with his and kissed her fully. It was the first real kiss he had given to her since the accident and, as he felt Colby respond, he did, too, tenting the sheet covering his groin. “I love you,” he whispered, then teased her tongue with his, before covering her mouth again.
“Jesus! I didn’t need to see that,” a familiar voice cursed.
Colby pulled away from Nick and looked toward the door. Glen had stepped inside and was now covering his eyes. Her gaze shot back to Nick and noticed his erection was clearly visible beneath the sheet. Colby reached for another blanket and draped it over Nick’s waist.
“I guess it’s safe to say, you’re feeling better,” Glen joked.
“The parts that weren’t damaged in the accident are still working fine. Thank you for asking,” Nick smiled.
“I guess that’s a good thing,” Glen said, approaching the bed. “Rescue was slow this morning, so I thought I’d come by on my lunch break and see how you’re doing.”
“Colby’s taking very good care of me,” Nick said.
“I can see that,” Glen replied. “Listen, I called your parents and told them about your accident. They should arrive sometime this afternoon.”
“I imagine my mother was hysterical,” Nick commented.
“Yes, and at the time I spoke with her, we weren’t even sure of the extent of your injuries, so her worry was justified. However, had she been the one that walked into your room and witnessed what I
just saw, she’d know you’re going to be okay.”
Glen visited until a lunch tray arrived for Nick, then said good-bye with a promise to return later. Colby helped Nick sip his chicken broth and fed him a bowl of strawberry jell-o cubes, taking intermittent breaks to nibble at the turkey sandwich the kitchen had delivered for her.
“I wonder when they’ll start giving me solids,” Nick said, eying the sandwich in Colby’s hand.
“Probably tomorrow,” Colby said, noticing the day nurse stepping into the room.
“Good, I see you’ve had lunch,” the nurse said, stepping toward Nick’s bed.
“If you call what I just ate lunch,” Nick scoffed.
“They’ll bring you something better to eat tomorrow. In the mean time, we’re going to get you out of bed.”
“That sounds painful,” Nick said.
“Yes, it will be, but you need to learn how to do it, especially since you no longer have a catheter.”
“Wonderful,” he mumbled.
“I’m going to pull these pajama pants onto you first before we get you on your feet. Okay?”
“Fine. Let’s do it,” he said, tossing the sheet off his legs with his uninjured foot.
It took several minutes of agony to get Nick into a sitting position on the edge of the bed with his feet dangling. Then the nurse stepped in front of Nick’s knees and began easing the cotton pants onto his feet, pulling them up as far as his thighs, while Colby helped to hold him steady.
“I’m going to have him stand and lean against me, while you secure the pants around his waist. Okay?” the nurse asked Colby.
Colby nodded. “Yes. I’m ready.”
“I want you to grab him by the arm and slowly help lift him,” she instructed. “On the count of three. Nice and easy. One…two…three.”
Nick groaned loudly in pain, falling against the nurse’s chest. Colby quickly tied a bow in the laces at Nick’s waist and stood up to ease one of Nick’s arms around her shoulder.
“Mother fuc…” Nick screamed.
“Nick! Take shallow breaths for me,” the nurse instructed.
“Damn it! This hurts.”
“Where’s the pain? Is it mainly in your ribs or is your leg hurting, too?”
“My ribs,” he said, straining to breathe.
“Do you want to try and sit in a chair?” the nurse asked.
“Give me a minute,” he said, desperately trying to get control over the pain. “Shit! Let me sit back on the bed.”
The nurse and Colby carefully set Nick down onto the mattress. Seeing the agony on Nick’s face made Colby begin to cry. He lifted his head and saw her emotion and tried to smile.
“Baby, why are you crying? I’m the one that should be crying,” he said, reaching for her hand to hold.
“It’s difficult for me to watch you struggle like this,” Colby said, wiping at her cheeks. “I wish there was more I could do,” Colby said..
Nick’s eyes switched to the nurse. “I hate to say this, but I need to use the bathroom.”
“That’s good to hear,” the nurse said. “Let’s get you standing again and give this another try.”
It took a long time for them to shuffle Nick toward the bathroom. Once inside the small tiled room, Colby left them to wait outside the door, giving Nick privacy, then stood by his side to help him move back to bed.
“Do you think you could sit in a chair for a while?” the nurse asked Nick.
“No. I feel nauseous. I think I need to lay down.”
“Okay, that’s fine,” the nurse said, gently setting him down onto the bed. “Colby, hold him in place for me. I’m going to go get him something to help with the queasiness.”
Colby stepped in front of Nick and leaned him against her chest. Her hands gently circled him, cradling him to her, as she kissed the top of his head. “I hate seeing you like this,” she whispered.
“I know, baby,” he said, his arms sliding around her waist. “It'll get easier. This has to be the worst of it, right?” he asked, rubbing his cheek against her breasts.
Colby’s eyes dropped to him and smiled, as she watched his movements. “Is that making you feel better?” she said.
“Absolutely,” he said with a chuckle, then groaned from the pain.
Colby heard the door to Nick’s room open. She assumed it was the nurse returning with the medication and kept her face resting against Nick’s head. As soon as Colby heard the icy tone in the woman’s voice, she froze.
“Who the hell are you and what do you think you’re doing to my son?”
“Mom?” Nick asked, unable to turn to see for himself.
“Yes, Nick. It’s mom and dad,” she said, quickly moving in front of Nick and nudging Colby out of the way in the process. “We took the first flight we could get this morning.”
“Mom. Dad. This is Colby Hansen,” Nick said, allowing his mother to ease him against the pillows. “She’s my girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend? You’ve never mentioned a girlfriend, Nick,” his mother protested, covering her son’s legs with the bed blanket.
“Colby, this is Ruth and Phillip,” Nick said, grimacing from the pain, as he tried to make himself more comfortable in the bed.
Colby held out her hand for Ruth to shake, but was met with a cold, angry stare.
“What kind of a name is Colby?” Ruth asked, ignoring Colby’s outstretched hand.
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask my mother,” Colby said, stunned by Ruth’s behavior.
“Hi, Colby. I’m Nick’s dad, Phil,” he said, and happily shook Colby’s hand. “Don’t pay attention to my wife. She gets like this whenever she's anxious.”
Colby tried to force a smile and watched as Ruth continued to fuss with her son in the bed. A few minutes later the nurse returned to the room, along with Nick’s doctor.
After another round of introductions, Nick’s mother began badgering the doctor about her son’s condition.
“How soon can he be released from the hospital?” Ruth asked the doctor.
“Well, that depends on your son, but I’m guessing he’ll be here at least another week.”
“What happens after his discharge? Can we take him back to Connecticut with us?” Ruth asked.
“Mom! There is no way in hell I’m going back to Connecticut,” Nick said.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Gaffney, but Nick will be in no condition to travel any distance for quite some time. He’ll need help to do just about everything for several weeks.”
“I have a house, Mom,” Nick said. “I can stay there.”
“Your house in on the side of a mountain, several minutes from the nearest medical facility,” Ruth countered. “How would that be safe?”
“I can take care of him at my place,” Colby quietly interjected and the room fell silent. “I’m only a short distance from the medical facility.”
“I don’t think that'll be necessary,” Ruth snipped.
The doctor smiled at Nick. “We'll have time to sort out the arrangements for your after-discharge care, Nick. In the meantime, I’ll let you visit with your parents,” the doctor said, moving toward the door.
Colby began to follow the doctor.
“Colby, where’re you going?” Nick asked.
“I thought I’d give you some time alone with your parents,” she said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
As soon as the door closed, Nick’s gaze turned toward his mother. “Did you have to be so rude to Colby?” he asked his mother.
“Rude?” she asked. “You could have mentioned you had a girlfriend, Nick! It’s difficult enough to see you banged up like this and then you spring a girlfriend on us? How’d you expect us to react?”
“With happiness, Mom,” he replied. “I expected you to be happy for me.”
“I am, but my focus is on you right now - not her.”
“She’s lovely, Nick,” Phil said to his son.
“Yes, she is, and I love her very much,” Nick said softly.
“You’re in love with her?” his mother asked. “This is the first we’ve heard of her existence and you say you’re in love with her? How long have you been dating?”
“It’s complicated,” Nick replied, not wishing to discuss the subject further.
“Complicated like Sarah?”
“No! Colby is nothing like Sarah! Colby is the real deal, Mom, the whole package. She’s not going anywhere,” he said, rubbing at his head. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
A few minutes later, Colby returned to Nick’s room. When Nick saw her approaching the bed and held his hand out to her and smiled. “Dad, would you mind taking Mom for some coffee? I want to talk to Colby alone for a minute.”
“Sure, son.”
“Nick…” Ruth started to say.
“Ruth. We’ll get a cup of coffee and come back. Let him have a minute with her,” Phil scolded his wife.
Ruth breezed past Colby and stepped into the hall.
“Nick, you didn’t have to ask them to leave,” Colby said, as tears began to spill down her cheeks. “Now I feel worse than I did before.”
Nick took her hand and squeezed it. “Look at me,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about my parents right now. I want to discuss your offer to take care of me in your room.”
“What about it?” Colby asked.
Nick shook his head. “I don’t want to burden you any more than I already have. I’m certain I can stay in the triage building. They have a skeleton crew on duty at night for emergency’s and a full staff around during the day. I’ll be well taken care of there.”
“Don’t you want me to take care of you?” Colby asked with sadness.
“I appreciate your offer, but you have your own obligations - like work.”
“Nick, I need to do this,” she whispered, trying to maintain control of her emotions before her tears turned into a sob. “After Wayne’s accident, I didn’t get the opportunity to make him better, but I have the chance to do it with you. I want to help you through this,” she said, her eyes rising to meet his. “Can you understand that?”