Moving Mountains (Patrick Kane)

Head Case .52

Valerie

I am no stranger to the hospital. Believe it or not but putting yourself in situations where you help someone but you get hurt in return isn't good for your health. Like now when a kid at the day care I work at jumped off a structure on the playground and elbowed me in the head causing it to bust open and now I have a huge gash on my face. The kid is as fit as a fiddle whereas I have a nasty concussion and quite the paint job on my forehead.

"Am I still pretty" I ask Patrick as he softly takes the ice pack off my head. I lay on his couch trying to stop the world from spinning.

"You're still beautiful. Just wish you would be more careful" he sighs.

"I didn't think she would take me out like that" I defend.

"You don't ever think about those kinds of things. It's a miracle you haven't gotten yourself killed yet" he claims.

"I'm careful" I scoff.

"Since when" he asks.

"I take measures to make sure I'll be okay" I try.

"Knowing that I would drop anything to come take care of you is not a preventative measure" he accuses.

"Says who" I say making him smile.

"I love that you know I will protect you with all my might. But it is still no excuse to put yourself in these kinds of situations. This is not going to get better anytime soon" he assures me.

"Well that's not good" I say.

"Nope, it's not. Keep this ice on your head and stay as still as possible. I'll get your drink" he says.

He goes to get up but I grab his wrist making him stop. The thought of him not being by my side was enough to make me want to cry. He turns back to me as I just stare at him. "Please... don't leave me" I whisper.

"I'm just getting you a drink" he reminds me.

"Just stay... a few more minutes" I insist.

Without a word her turns around and sits back down. His hand cups my chin as he just stares into my eyes.

"What's wrong? I've never heard you ask for me like that before. I like it" he smirks.

My face catches in fire so I cover it with the blanket I was under. "Seriously" I ask making him laugh.

"Yeah! You never ask for anything, so the fact that you demanded I be here makes me happy" he confesses.

"I just... I like the way you look at me" I admit.

"How do I look at you" he wonders.

"Like you're happy that I'm in your life. Like there's no place in this world you would rather rest your eyes. Not many people look at me but you were always different, you saw me and it was such a weird concept for me. I was so used to people looking past me that I didn't know what to do with you. But it made me happy, to be seen by you. Now to be loved by you" I say.

He leans over and pressed his lips to mine. It made my head hurt but I wasn't going to stop him. As we break apart he smiles real nice and big.

"I'm gonna love you forever" he whispers sending chills down my spine.

"Forever" I promise.

Finally I let him go and he fixed us some food while he's up. I take the ice pack off my head to let my wound breathe. My brain was practically pounding against my skull. At least when he was around it took my mind off of it. Now all I can think about is how I got my shit rocked by a 5 year old. Her elbows could be weapons, I swear it.

Eventually he returns to me with a drink and some snacks. He sits on the floor next to me as he just stares.

"What would it take for you to take better care of yourself" he questions.

"A miracle" I tease as he rolls his eyes.

"I'm serious Val. I don't want to sit here worried about you all damn time. There's a difference between taking care of someone and flat out disregarding your safety. If I spend all my time worried about you it will take up space in my heart for love" he explains.

"That's gonna be hard because I never had a real reason to think about my own safety before now. What happened to me... it never mattered. I never had to think about it. So it might take me some time. And I'll try, for you, but this is almost three decades of trauma you're trying to change here" I warn.

"You trying is enough" he assures me.

It starts to get late and I was tired. I was to be looked after with the concussion I had so staying with Patrick made the most sense.

"Up we go" Patrick says as he picks me up bridal style. I wanted to open my eyes to look up at him but my eyelids were so tired. So I trust in his love for me and his strength not to drop me. My tired head rests on his chest as I listen to his heart beat.

Much too soon we make it to his room. He sets me down softly and I feel my body go heavy. There was a set of lips on my forehead making my heart skip a beat. I don't know if he's taken care of people like this before but he's quite good at it.

"Can you open your eyes for me" he whispers.

Slowly I open my eyes to see him right in front of my face. He had a smile on his face nice and big. "Thats my girl. I'm gonna look at your pupils now. Keep looking at me" he says.

It felt like I was in heaven until a bright light gets into my eyes. "What was that for" I whine.

"I need to see what your pupils look like. Luckily for you I have been around concussions all my life so I know what to look for. With some concussions one or both of your pupils will dilate. Your right eye looks a little dilated which makes since since that's where your brain hit" he says.

"But I got hit on my left side" I recall.

"Yeah but the force pushed your brain to the right, therefore that's where the swelling in the brain will be" he explains.

"Ohhh" I gasp. I never would have guessed he knew so much.

"But it isn't bad. I'll check again in a few hours" he says as he crawls into bed with me.

"A few hours" I whine.

"I'm not the one who got herself hurt" he reminds me.

"Why does it matter if I have a super handsome boyfriend to take care of me" I smirk.

"You got me there" he laughs.