The Phantom Wolf

Chapter 43 (An Embarrassing Situation)

*3rd Person POV*

Throughout the day, Esme, Rosalie and Bree pampered the injured hybrid. Bree needing to spend as much time with her injured mate as possible, and Esme and Rosalie enjoying the feeling of having someone around that they could take care of. Pearl shied away from all of the attention at first and tried to insist about doing things by herself, despite her injuries. But was forced to get used to the attention from the girls because of their own stubbornness and persistence.

When Carlisle checked on Pearl's stitches later in the evening, he noted that her leg sutures were red and looked slightly enflamed.

"Is you leg hurting right now?" He calmly questioned the girl.

"It's sore." Pearl admitted, then quickly added. "But it's nothing I can't handle."

Carlisle narrowed his eyes at the hybrid, causing Pearl to look away and avoid eye contact. "Your injury may be infected. We did clean it out as best as we could before we stitched it up, but, it's possible that we may have missed something." He said, whilst examining the area further.

"So... what do we do?" Pearl hesitantly asked.

"If the stitching is aggravating the wound and trapping dirt and germs inside, then I need to remove them and have the gash thoroughly cleaned." Carlisle replied.

"... Does that involve... stitching it up again?" The hybrid quietly asked, dreading the answer.

"Possibly. We may be able to leave it open and just bandage it up, depending on how much your body has healed it already. But, re-applying the stitches is certainly a possibility." Carlisle answered honestly, not wanting to hide the fact that it may happen, from her.

Pearl nodded her head warily, and muttered an "okay".

"First, let's remove them and see what we're dealing with." Said Carlisle, carefully removing the stitches on her right leg to investigate the inflammation in the wound.

Opening it up, Carlisle could see that the infection was only mild, and that he had caught it early. Cleaning it up and applying some medication to it would sort it out no problem. But there was something else he needed to consider, and when he realised that it had to happen, he knew that it would be an issue for the hybrid.

Hesitantly he told Pearl what had to be done, "Okay, it should be fine if we clean it up and apply some medication."

Pearl nodded and furrowed her eyebrows. "Why do you sound uneasy?" She asked, picking up on his hesitancy.

"With the way your leg is, and taking into account your other injuries. It would certainly be best if your leg isn't the only thing that gets thoroughly cleaned out. You've not exactly had... a proper bath or a shower since the fight. Right now, anything could be inside your injuries, and it's only your leg that is showing signs of infection, at this point in time. But, the longer we leave it, the more likely that your other injuries will become infected as well." Carlisle explains cautiously.

"So... I need a bath then?" Pearl asks to clarify, not seeing the issue.

Taking a breath, Carlisle continues, "A bath that you'll no doubt need assistance for."

Pearl paled and began shaking her head rapidly in protest. "I... I can do it myself!" She quickly responds, stuttering slightly.