Dogs of War

Chapter 19

A/N: For those reading, I am so sorry about the much slower updates this year on this story. I am pulling close to 70 hrs at work and doing a tonne of over time. I *am* still working on this just much slower and where I can between the exhaustion. Thank you for your patience ♡

"Alright, Ceri, you won't need any surgeries on your leg, or your shoulder. You're quiet lucky you managed to relocate your shoulder correctly give the pressure you were under."

I look up at Ben with an appreciative expression. "Thank God for that, eh, Doc?"

"You will however be out of action for two months."

"Excuse me, what?" I say sitting upright as I scowl at him.

"Ceri, you dislocated hip, knee and ankle, and then proceeded to run on the damn thing. Speaking of, how? How did you manage that?"

"Desperation and fear does wonders for the adrenaline to ignore injuries." 

Ben nods with a considering look on his face. "Fair enough," he concludes, stumped for any other answer. "But the point is, your leg is cooked. Two months is minimum rest. I'll put you in a leg brace. You can still function, but you're not going to be having fun."

"Damn it," I mutter, head bowed looking at the bed sheets around my waist. "Do I have to stay in the infirmary the whole time?"

"No. But the fact you asked that means you don't want Archiel cuffing you to the bed again. Should have thought of that years ago. No, once I've re-located your leg and the brace is on, you're free to leave."

"Oh, when are you going to relocate my leg?"

He steps up beside me, picking up the dislocated leg in question to inspect it. Without warning, he tugs on my leg in three different positions quicker than I could register his intent. I let out a howl of pain as the joints shift and joints pop back into place with a sickening crunch. 

"Right now." He says casually as if he didn't just cause me a significant amount of pain. 

"Make sure you apply an ice pack for fifteen minutes every hour daily for the next two to three days to help reduce swelling."

"I  know the drill," I bite out between gritted teeth, snarling at him. He raises his hands in defeat and ducks back out of the room, leaving me to come to terms with the dull throbbing pain in my leg. He comes back twenty minutes later holding a leg brace. "This isn't going to help support the hip, but the knee and ankle will be well supported. Try and stay off your legs as much as possible." He lifts my leg gently and adjusts the hinges on the brace to best adjust to the shape of my leg. When I'm all strapped up, he gets me to stand up and test it. My eyebrows lift in surprise. "This is good. Takes most of the weight." Ben nods in approval, seemingly satisfied with how it fit me. 

"These types of braces are becoming more popular because you can remove them as need be. Let's take it back off, and I'll strap you up."

"Eurgh, not strapping tape? You know it rips my fur off something awful."

Ben laughs and shakes his head. "Don't worry Ceri, Dr. Cooper's been experimenting on the front too, just sent me some sample.... uh stuff?" He says with a small frown. "I'm not entirely sure what it is, just that it's meant to simulate strapping tape, without being tape."

"Compression bandages?" I supply feeling helpful. Ben just glares at me and ducks back out again. When he comes back, he is holding what looks like a roll of tape. 

"He says it's similar to strapping tape, but it sticks to itself, not to the skin. Don't know how we're going to tape your hip up, but it'll help your knee and ankle." He lifts my leg gently placing it on a pile of pillows and begins wrapping tape up and down my leg. It feels weird, as it doesn't catch on my fur despite how firmly it's wrapped up it is. Not particularly enjoying the sensation, I shift my leg and bend feeling the familiar catch of rigid strapping tape preventing excess movement. The support the tape is giving to my leg will help when combined with the brace.