Thank God, that’s over.
I press another alcohol swab over it, and hold it there for a bit. There’s hardly any bleeding when I wipe it off, and pull the towel back over him. “All done,” I whisper to him, leaning over and kissing his temple. “Do you need anything else?” I ask, pulling the sheet up to his waist.
“Mouthwash,” he whispers back.
I get him a cap full and an empty cup for him to spit it into, then carefully get into the bed with him so he doesn’t have to turn over. I help him drink it, wiping away what dribbles out, then hold the cup up for him. He swishes for a while, then spits. I wipe his mouth one more time then leave the cap and cup on the other nightstand behind me.
“Better?”
“Yeah, thank you. Stay with me?” he asks weakly, reaching for my hand.
“I was going to, but I need to get out of this wet suit so I don’t ruin your bed. I’ll be right back, okay? I promise,” I tell him, reaching for his hand, and kissing his fingers once they’re laced with mine.
“Hurry,” he whispers.
“I will,” I promise with another kiss to his fingers, then let him go. I hurry to my room and peel off my cold wet suit, leaving it in a pile on the floor.
Aunt Maggie would beat me raw for it if she was here.
I get some panties and my bra on then throw on a T-shirt and some soft shorts. I need to be decent for when the nurse shows up. I stop by the bathroom and run a brush through my hair real quick, shake it out, then wrap it in a towel. Maybe it won’t look too wild when she gets here, not that I care much.
I walk quietly into Nik’s room in case he’s already asleep, but he opens his eyes as soon as he hears me walk around the bed. I pull the cover back, and slide in beside him, only letting my top half get close to him. I’m keeping far away from his leg for a while.
“Is the pain any better yet?” I ask, reaching over, and running my fingers through his hair. It makes him close his eyes and sigh.
“Maybe a little.” His eyes open again, and he tries to smile but it’s pitiful. “I’m sorry I screwed up our kiss.”
“Oh, Nik. You didn’t. It was the most amazing kiss I’ve ever had,” I tell him honestly, while stroking his cheek and hair.
“It was?” he asks, surprised.
“Yeah, it was. It breaks my heart you got hurt. I should’ve made sure you were stable or sitting down before I kissed you. It’s my fault, not yours. We’ll do better next time even though you probably don’t even want there to be a next time,” I joke with him.
“Yes, I do,” he says defensively, his brow drawn heavy over his eyes. Then his expression softens. “I could kiss you like that forever if you’d let me,” he whispers, making my heart clinch, and I’m ashamed to admit another part of my anatomy, too, one further south.
I brace myself on my elbow so I can be closer to him, then lean over and kiss his lips softly. “I very well may, but only if you’re sitting or lying down from now on,” I insist, giving him a stern look.
His smile is a little less pitiful this time. “Just until my leg is healed, then all bets are off.”
“Okay,” I agree with a smile, and start running my fingers through with his hair.
“Mmmmm, I love it when you do that. Please don’t stop,” he whispers.
“I won’t. Go to sleep.” I watch as his eyes get heavier and heavier until they close and his breathing becomes slow and deep. I lay down and stare at him. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how beautiful he is, even more so when he’s sleeping peacefully.
A flood of emotion washes over me as I look at him, and if I was totally honest with myself I would admit what that emotion is, but I can’t yet. It’s there, waiting patiently for me to acknowledge it and I will.
I will.
I know I’ll have no choice. Between him and my heart, I don’t stand a chance. For now, tears seem to be all I can manage. Feeling so much after being numb or terrified for so long is overwhelming. Add our sexually charged, but disastrous morning on top of it, and I’m a mess.
“Shhhhh, Hummingbird. It’ll be okay,” he whispers sleepily.
I raise my head out of the pillow. His eyes aren’t even open, and his breathing is still deep and even, but his fingers are playing with some of my hair. I smile despite my watery eyes. Even asleep he’s breaking down my walls.
I don’t know how he’s doing it, but he’s unraveling all my knots like he said he would. I think it’s just him being Nik. He’s like my champion, always there for me no matter what, challenging me to fight for more, holding me when the fight becomes too much.
Now more than ever I believe Scott’s description of him. He is a peaceful, refreshing, gentle rain. Being close to him calms all my fears. He’s much louder than the shadows that haunt me. Even a smile from him makes them run and hide.
I’m still sad and afraid, but being with him…I feel happiness again. I’m both sad and happy instead of always sad. That’s a huge step forward from where I’ve been the past two years. The hope he’s sowing in me grows with each minute I spend with him, too. It’s like I’m coming back from the dead.
But I got a taste of his hidden side this morning. He can be a raging fire when he wants to be. I’m not sure which side I like better, the fire or the rain. Thankfully, I don’t have to choose. I think I very easily could have let his fire consume me earlier. I’ve never felt need that strongly before. It’ll be extremely hard to control myself around him from now on. It’s not just hope and happiness he’s stirring in me anymore.
I could let him love me forever if he wanted to. If I would let myself, I could love him back.
Both terrify me, but I’m not going to run anymore. Not where he’s concerned.
My decision made, I lace my fingers with his, and drift to sleep.
~
A loud repetitive noise wakes me up, and I scramble off the bed looking for the phone, but it’s not ringing, and there isn’t a missed call. This time I recognize the noise when it starts again. Someone is knocking on the front door.
I look over at Nik, he’s still sleeping hard. I pull the towel off my head, and shake my hair out as I head to the door. I look through the glass and see Cash standing there. I open it and try to smile up at him. “Hey, Cash. Come on in,” I say before turning and padding towards the kitchen.
I need coffee.
“Hey. I brought y’all some lunch from the Mexican place. Sorry, looks like I woke you up. Rough night?” he asks, setting the bags on the table.
“Rough morning, actually,” I answer, pouring myself a mug from the coffee pot. Thank God, I left it turned on. Maybe it isn’t too scorched. I turn towards Cash, and raise my eyebrows along with my mug, silently asking him if he wants some, but he shakes his head. I sit down heavily in the closest kitchen chair. “Thanks for the food. That was sweet of you.”
He nods then gives me time to take a few sips of my coffee. “What happened, and where’s your patient?”
“He’s sleeping off some morphine after his disastrous shower earlier,” I sigh.
“Uh oh, what happened? He didn’t fall, did he?” he asks, really worried.
I shake my head. “No, not that bad. He got distracted and wound up putting all his weight on his bad leg. It was the steps all over again, puke and all,” I sigh again.
Puke I should have cleaned up already. Ugh.
“Damn. The poor guy can’t catch a break, can he? What distracted him? I would think he would be super careful in the shower.”
I try to hide my blush behind my coffee cup as I shrug.
Damnit, he’s grinning.
“He wasn’t taking a shower by himself was he, Ellie?” he asks, his grin getting bigger.
“No, he has to have help, Cash. You know that,” I answer defensively.
“Y’all weren’t, you know…?” he asks, rolling his hand at me, that shit-eatin’ grin still firmly in place.
“Cash! No, we were not, you perv! For God sake, he’s got two broken bon
es. He’s kind of out of commission right now.”
He throws his hands up defensively. “Okay, okay. Something had to distract him though, and I can guess what that was.”
“We were kissing, you nosy jerk! I had on a bathing suit, and he had a towel wrapped around him. We were decent! It was just a kiss! Happy now?” I growl at him as I fight back tears.
God, I hate that I cry when I’m angry!
“Aw, Ellie. Don’t get upset. I’m sorry, okay. Please don’t cry. Nik will kick my ass if you do, as soon as he’s able to anyway. I’m sorry.”
I wipe at my eyes, and take a few deep breaths. “It’s my fault he got hurt. I kissed him first, even though I warned him to be careful. It’s just been a long day already. I’m worried about him, and exhausted, too. I’ll be fine once the nurse gets here and tells me he didn’t do any more damage,” I sniff.
“How’d you manage to get a nurse to come out here?”
“I called Dr. T. to let him know what happened, and to see if I could give Nik the morphine he sent with us. He’s sending one with a portable x-ray machine. Hopefully we won’t have to go back to the hospital.”
“Well, sounds like my idea is gonna come in handy then. Bringing a big machine up those stairs would be a bitch. I brought a couple of ramps from some old box trucks we have so Nik won’t have to deal with anymore stairs,” he says.
“Really? That’s awesome. Thank you. Now I won’t have to call you every time I need to take him somewhere,” I say with a smile.
“Yeah, but that’s not why I did it. I couldn’t stand thinking about making him go up and down those stairs again. It was awful seeing him in so much pain,” he sighs looking down at the table.
I reach out and pat his hand. “You’re a good friend, Cash.” My phone rings making me jump, but I quickly recover. It’s the nurse needing the address to put into her GPS. “She should be here in about twenty minutes. I’m gonna go check on him, then start cleaning the bathroom,” I tell him, getting up from the table.
“All right, I’ll get those ramps unloaded. Mind if I stick around to see what she says?”
“Of course not. You’re welcome anytime.” I pat his shoulder before turning towards the hall. “You know where to find us when you’re done.”
He waves then heads outside.
Nik’s still sleeping peacefully when I check on him. I lean over and kiss his cheek, and it makes him stir.
“Ellie,” he mumbles.
“Shhh, go back to sleep,” I whisper, stroking his hair. I stay with him a minute or two until I’m sure he’s going to stay asleep, then head to the bathroom to clean it up. I find a few old threadbare towels under the sink, and use them to clean up the shower floor where he threw up. Then throw them in a trash bag and tie it off tightly. Cleaning up puke two days in a row, while not my favorite activity, isn’t too horrible.
Thank goodness, I don’t have much of a gag reflex.
I turn the shower all the way on hot, and leave it running for a while to wash anything I missed down the drain. I’ll disinfect it later. I gather up all the wet towels we used, and our dirty clothes to start a load of laundry. I got a new washer dryer set for here while I was doing the kitchen and bath. I’m glad I did, because I think I may be doing quite a bit of laundry over the next few months.
I go back and peek at Nik, I can see him breathing peacefully. I decide to sit in the living room until the nurse shows. I stretch out, and lay my head back with my eyes closed trying to catch whatever rest I can. A few minutes later I hear Cash come in and sit down on the other sofa, I wave at him in acknowledgment. He huffs out a laugh in response, but stays quiet after that.
I don’t get much rest though, because there’s another knock at the front door a few minutes later. Cash offers to get it, but I wave him off and go answer it.
It’s the nurse as I expected. What I didn’t expect was how very short and old she would be. Her voice should have given her age away on the phone, but I guess I was too out of it to notice. Her tiny stature is another thing altogether. She looks like an extra from Lord of the Rings. Add pointy ears and big hairy feet, and she could live in the Shire.
“Helga Schultz. Is this the Jensen residence?” she asks, abruptly.
“Umm yes, sort of. Nik is here. I’m Ellie, please come in,” I invite her.
She walks a few steps then stops to stare up at Cash. “Well, you can’t be him since you’re upright. Where’s my patient?”
I grin over her head at Cash as I shut the front door. “This is Nik’s friend, Cash Griffin. Cash, this is Miss Schultz.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Cash greets her.
She huffs at him. “You look like a lumberjack.”
I have to stifle a giggle as Cash smiles down at her. “Yes ma’am, I get that a lot. Do you need any help with the x-ray machine?” he asks.
“Nope, got it right here,” she says lifting up her big bag.
Cash and I look at her with surprise, but I quickly move on to her patient. “Nik’s this way, Miss Schultz,” I tell her as I point towards the hall.
“Dr. Schultz,” she says gruffly.
“Oh, excuse me, I’m so sorry. Dr. T. told me he was sending a nurse,” I apologize.
“You two were raised right. So many manners,” she says, nodding at each of us in turn, then looks up at me. “Lead the way, blondie.”
Oh boy, she is a hoot!
We all head to Nik’s room, but I stop at the door and wave her in before I follow. Cash brings up the rear, leaning against the door frame to stay out of the way. Nik’s sound asleep still, you can easily hear his heavy breathing. She sets her bag on the floor and pulls out what looks like a kid’s game. I’m assuming it’s the x-ray machine. It’s a big screen with two handles, one on each side. She holds it by one hand, and reaches for Nik’s covers with the other.
“He’s naked!” I squeak, a bit too late.
She grabbed the sheet and towel both and flung them off the bed, leaving us with a very eye-opening view.
“I’ve seen thousands of them, nothing new to me,” she grumbles.
I’m completely ashamed of myself, but I stand frozen in place not able to do anything but stare at Nik’s naked body. At least he’s turned away and I can’t see his not so little friend. But his ass is hard to miss. It may be my new favorite part of him. It’s that perfect. Award winning even.
“I can’t wait to tell him about this when he wakes up,” Cash whispers in my ear, making me jump.
I don’t need to see him to know that shit-eatin’ grin is on his face again. I can hear it in his voice. I turn around and scowl at him while jabbing my elbow into his stomach. He just laughs quietly.
Dickhead.
I go over and pull the towel out of the sheet she threw on the floor then cover Nik back up with it, saving his dignity and mine, too.
“Worried I’m gonna steal your man, blondie?” Dr. Schultz asks in a whisper as she holds the screen over Nik’s leg. “He’s even prettier than the lumberjack over there. You’re a lucky girl,” she smirks at me making her eyebrows jump.
From the sneak peek I got when I put the towel over him, I can’t help but agree with her. I don’t say it out loud though. I’m trying to pretend I’m not blushing.
“How does it look?” I ask. “Please tell me there’s no more damage. He’ll be so upset if he has to go back to the hospital.”
She ignores me, moving to look at Nik’s shoulder, lightly pressing on it, and then viewing it through the machine for a few minutes. When I look at the screen I can easily see the fractures in his shoulder blade, but they look better than the first x-rays I saw of it at the hospital.
She looks up at me. “Wake him up for me, girlie. He won’t startle if you do it. He needs to turn over, too. I can’t reach him like that,” she says then backs up.
I hate to wake him up, but it’s for the best. I lean over close to his ear and brush his hair. “Nik. You need to wake up, sweetie.”
�
�Mmmmm.”
“Wake up for a few minutes, okay? The doctor needs to talk to you,” I encourage him gently, rubbing his back.
“Who needs to talk to me?” he almost whines.
“Dr. Schultz. Dr. T. sent her out here to check on your leg. She needs you to wake up and turn over for her,” I explain.
He peels his eyes open, and looks over his shoulder at me. “Help me turn over?” he asks groggily. I make sure the towel is going to keep him covered, then help him move his good leg over the bad one. Cash jumps in to help him with his upper body. He doesn’t groan as much as he did before the morphine, so at least I know he’s in less pain.
Schultz shoos Cash and I away so she can stand next to Nik. To say he’s confused would be an understatement, bless his heart. His face is priceless when he sees her. With the morphine still in his system he must think he’s in some crazy dream. I have to turn away so I can hide my smile.
“All right, relax. I’m only checking your heart rate and breathing,” she says in a much nicer tone than she’s used with me and Cash. She must be satisfied with what she hears because she puts her stethoscope up then looks back at Nik. “You awake enough to pay attention, pretty boy?” she asks him. Poor Nik nods his head at her. “What about you, blondie. You listening?” she asks, looking over at me.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“All right, here’s what you’re gonna do.” She looks back at Nik. “No more walking around for the next three days. You either stay in this bed, in the wheelchair, or on the sofa. The only time you need to be upright is when you’re moving from one to the other.
“I don’t see any significant new damage in the leg or your shoulder. There is a good amount of inflammation though. The leg needs to be elevated ninety percent of the time, and I want this sling off your shoulder. The strap’s putting too much pressure on it. I have some wrap out in my car we can use to strap your upper arm to your chest.
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