I refuse to be embarrassed. Hulk and I have been through a lot, and I care about him in a weird way. Perhaps a near-death experience does that to you.
“I also gave him some pain meds. Morphine, to be specific.”
When we finally finish, Medic snaps off his gloves and warns, “The next few days are going to be the toughest. I’m probably going to keep him sedated as much as I can.”
“He didn’t want me to give him too much whenever I was there,” I remark, looking down at Hulk’s slack face. I can’t resist reaching out to gently brush away some of the hair that’s fallen over his forehead, brushing against one of the cuts that still needs to be cleaned and possibly stitched. “I just had the feeling that he didn’t want me to put him out so much that he said or couldn’t defend himself or something.” I don’t even look at Medic as I turn to grab a stool and roll it forward so I can get to work on cleaning up his face.
I wonder what it looks like when it’s not beaten and bruised. Still, even like this he’s very good-looking. If this were a different circumstance, I’d give him a couple second looks.
“That sounds like Hulk,” Medic agrees, reaching to grab a pair of scissors. “I’m going to cut off his pants as much as I can to make sure that he’s not injured anywhere here as well.”
“I gave him a couple of shots in the ass, but I didn’t check,” I say absently, focused intently on my task and not causing Hulkanymore pain. “His ribs are bruised or possibly cracked, though. They had some brass knuckles that they were using, and his entire side is black and blue.” When I look over at Medic, his eyes are blazing with anger over his mask, but he nods. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be abrupt about this stuff,” I say carefully, watching him. “I just…”
I don’t want to come across as too blunt, but I have to explain. That’s who I am. This a medical room and I have to stay in control. I refuse to break down now.
“No, no, I’m sorry,” Medic returns, and some of the anger eases from his eyes as he looks at me. “All of us are grateful to you, Avery, for everything you’ve done to get him here. We’re pissed that he was there in the first place, but now he’s back and we’ll get him through this. I also need to know everything, or I can’t treat him effectively. So tell me everything you remember and saw. Then we’ll make a course of treatment. The hardest part is his ribs because right now he’s on his stomach, and we’re going to have to turn him over, but we need to get these marks to close and heal as much as we can too.” He starts cutting through Hulk’s pants once he gets his boots and socks off. “And we’ll have to bathe him.” I’m used to all kinds of smells, but who knows what’s hiding under all the blood and cuts.
Medic nods. “Will you be alright to bathe him when we get this finished? I need to get this room adjusted to house him and the other guy.”
I nod. “He’s going to need a couple of stitches on his face.”
“You have experience with that?”
“I’ve learned, but normally the doctors like to do them.”
“If you’re okay to do them, you go ahead. You seem more than capable.” I can see the lift of his cheeks from behind his mask to know he’s smiling at me. “And if you give him a scar, we’ll just remind him that it makes him look rugged instead of so much like a pretty boy.”
I chuckle. “I’m pretty good at them. I had an older doctor spend time teaching me and showing me tricks to keep it from scarring too badly. Just have to hope I remember them.” He directs me to where to get the stitches and then we both get back to work in silence.
The routine of it helps steady me, and I find myself paying extra care to doing this. I feel in control again. I won’t break down.
When I finish, I ease back and assess my work. Clean, tight, and exactly as the doctor taught me. Looks like I haven’t lost my touch. I reach out and gently brush away some of the crusty blood around one of the stitched wounds. Yeah, he’ll be back to charming the ladies in no time.
Medic moves to stand next to me and says, “You did a great job, Avery. Thank you. Without your help, this would have taken far longer, and I’d have been snapping at people to help me and probably doing more damage than good.”
I pull my mask off and toss out my gloves. “I’m just glad he’s alive. I…I did think a couple of times that I saw him, he would be dead. When I walked in and didn’t see him straight away, I thought I was too late.” I give him a wry smile. “Instead, he was walking around with that chair chained to him and trying to grab something he could use to try and pick the lock while hurting himself in the process. Is he always that stubborn?”
Medic chuckles. “Hulk is a big ole teddy bear, but when he sets his mind to something, there is no stopping him. So yeah, that sounds about right.”
“Aaaaannnngellll,” Hulk suddenly slurs, making us both stop and look over at him in surprise.
I glance at Medic, who rolls his eyes. “Trust the stubborn bastard to fight the sedative.”
“Annnngelll,” Hulk says again, this time a bit more insistent, and I instantly move forward.
“Shhhh,” I soothe, putting my hand gently on his shoulder. “You’re alright, take it easy, big guy.”
His eyes shoot open, bleary, glazed, but he turns his head to look up at me, a frantic look on his face. “Angellll,” he breathes out, his eyes holding mine. “You ’kay?”
“I’m fine,” I assure him softly. I stiffen but force myself to relax when he reaches up a hand to take mine and bring it to the side of his face. I manage to spread my fingers, so I don’t press on any of the newly stitched cuts. “You’re safe now. And you’re back with your club. Medic is going to take really good care of you.”
“Stay,” he whispers, watching me. “Please. Need my angel.” Then his eyes close, and he’s out again, his hand never releasing mine.
I’ve heard a lot of pained babblings and pleas from patients before, but this is the first time one has actually made me soften and want to comfort him. I have a hard rule: don’t get attached. Still, I want to comfort him. Even if it’s just for a few minutes. He’s been through so much. The practical side of me, though, has me gently stroking his cheek and forcing myself to pull away. I’m not cold, but I learned a long time ago that I can’t get attached to every patient or I’ll be a mess if things take a terrible turn. Hulk isn’t out of the woods yet, and if he dies, it will hit me far harder than anything else.
“I’m going to give him another sedative,” Medic tells me quietly. “Rest is the best thing for him right now.”
I realize the room is a mess. “I’ll start cleaning up, and then I need to go and see my brother and sister if you don’t mind.”
