His Needs

Chapter 1-2

Angela was gone when the nurse’s prodding woke me again. He was adorable and that, combined with the drugs, made me not even mind that his ministrations had pulled me from sleep. I lay there while he took my vitals, and then thanked him when he was done. I was also pretty sure I told him he was cute, because he laughed softly and showed me the ring on his finger.

“My wife thinks so, too.”

I groaned playfully. “All the good ones are straight.”

He had a great laugh and it chased me into sleep.

After several more interruptions in the night, I finally woke for good around seven when the shift changed and new staff came on duty. I was in the observation area of the emergency department and there was less hustle and bustle back there. But I could definitely feel the place coming alive with more activity as the day began.

The doctor made her rounds at almost eight and declared me good to go. I’d been there for fifteen hours. I was more than ready to leave. While the paperwork was being processed, I called Joe to come get me. He arrived with comfortable sweats just as the nurse was removing the IV. I had a packet of instructions for care, as well as several prescriptions that needed filling for pain meds and antibiotics. I figured I’d convince Joe to take care of that once he dropped me at my apartment.

“You need help getting dressed, hon?” the nurse asked as she taped down the gauze on the back of my hand where the needle had left a hole.

I did, because it hurt to move. My skin felt like one giant bruise, and every muscle ached. The two bandaged spots—one on the back of my left shoulder, the other across the top of my left hip—chafed and burned. And that was with a good dose of Vicodin in my blood. They’d tapered off the morphine in the night, but this morning they’d given me the pill.

“I can manage,” I said anyway, because I didn’t want any help. It was stupid of me, I knew, but I didn’t want to deal with this woman helping me put on clothes.

“I’ll help him if he needs it,” Joe said gently. He stepped toward the foot of the bed so he’d be within touching distance, and I shot him a baleful glare. That wasn’t really any better in my estimation, but Joe was the closest thing I had to a brother and that somehow made it a little more bearable. Help from Joe was a given, always. It was harder to accept it from strangers.

The nurse glanced between us for several seconds before she gave a single nod. “Okay. I’ll go get your personal effects, then. Your captain took possession of your gun last night, but everything else was locked up.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

The moment she scurried away, I turned a glare on Joe. “You told your mother?”

Joe held his hands up. “She knew before I did. Your captain didn’t call me until after he got here.”

I frowned, moving carefully to pull off the ridiculous hospital gown I’d been wearing. If I went very slowly, nothing protested too much. I hissed out a breath as the gown caught on my bandages, and Joe stepped around me to help. I didn’t protest.

“How is that possible?” I asked as he pulled the zip-up hoodie over my arms. He left it open over my bare chest, and then grabbed the big sweatpants I liked best for lounging. He bent to tug them over my feet and up to my thighs, but he didn’t try for farther than that. He turned sideways to avert his gaze, and I gently eased into a standing position, then steadied myself on his shoulder while I used my bad arm to tug the waistband over my hips. I was sweaty and shaky by the time I finished, and Joe immediately helped me to sit on the edge of the bed. He grabbed the socks and sneakers, and squatted down to dress my feet. I was in too much pain to care.

“Dude, you were brought in through the ER.” Joe loosened the laces on my sneakers so he wouldn’t have trouble slipping them onto my feet.

It took me a moment to realize what he was implying, but as soon as I did, I growled. “That little narc!”

Joe chuckled and stood. “You can’t blame my little brother, Travis. Noah was protecting his own ass. If Mom found out he knew you’d been brought in and he didn’t tell her?” Joe whistled and shook his head. “He’d be fucked.”

I knew that, but I still scowled. “That’s got to be a violation of HIPAA or some shit.”

“Probably,” Joe agreed with his trademark good humor. He lifted a hand to clap me on the shoulder, but checked himself at the last second. The habit was ingrained, something we both did without thought, but I was glad he recognized it in time to stop. Instead he ruffled my hair. I held in the wince and didn’t bother to tell him even that was uncomfortable. I wanted the connection more than I feared the pain.

Christ, painkillers turned me into a sap.

“You going to report him?” An edge of worry crept into his voice.

I rolled my eyes and then fumbled with the zipper until I could get it closed. “No. But I’m going to beat his ass for making Angela worry.” I stood, wobbled, caught myself, and almost whimpered at the line of fire that ripped through my body. “As soon as I’m able,” I amended.

Joe laughed, and the nurse entered the room, pushing a wheelchair. It didn’t take more than a glance for me to recognize my own wallet in the plastic bag on the seat.

“You going to give me s**t about the chair?” she asked, point-blank, with a raised eyebrow.

I laughed, and then coughed when my breath caught, but I waved them both back and shook my head. “No, ma’am.”

“Good,” she said, and picked up the bag so I could sit.

“I’ll go get the car and meet you out front.” Joe touched my head again before he left the room.

It only took a few minutes to get to the front door. The nurse parked me right inside where it was still warm as we waited, but it wasn’t more than another five minutes before Joe’s sleek sedan pulled up in front of the doors.

It was a process to get me into the front seat. I’d forgotten how many places on my body could hurt. The nurse made sure I had my scripts, instructions, and bag of personal things before she left. Joe took the prescriptions from me without a word, tucking them into the pocket of his fleece jacket.

He turned the key, but then he sat there with both hands gripping the wheel. I rolled my head to look at him, and he offered me a sheepish sort of smile.

“You know she gave me explicit instructions to bring you to her house.”

I snorted out a laugh. I loved that woman, and she was spectacular at mothering anyone who needed it. Especially me. Even when I didn’t need it. But there was no way in hell I was going to her house and let her smother me to death while I recovered. I hurt, yes, but I could move and do things for myself. As long as I didn’t move too quickly, that is. And the thing about bruises was they got more painful over the first few days, but then things started to feel better. And the more you used your muscles, as long as you didn’t overdo, the better things got. I was very adept at dealing with deep, painful bruises. An expert, even.

“Not happening,” I said as firmly as I could manage. “Take me to my place, Joe.”

“I told her you’d say that,” he grumbled, but he put the car in gear and pointed it north. I breathed out a sigh of relief knowing he was taking me to my apartment. “I’ll do my best to run interference. I can probably get her to steer clear if you promise to answer when she calls, and let someone else check up on you from time to time.”

“Fine.” I pulled the seat belt away from my chest a little, holding it in my hand so it would stop putting pressure on me. Even that much was uncomfortable. I was glad the ride home would be quick. I wanted to take more painkillers and sleep in solitude. I was counting on my best friend to make that happen for me. If anyone could, it would be Joe. He was magic like that.