Although it's the First Time

Chapter Twenty-four: Apology

"It's been a while, Violet," he softly said.

His voice was a lot deeper than it had been in high school. It was impeccably smooth and seductive. Although the bandages hid his beautiful face, his body was visibly toned and muscular under the hospital gown. I remained in my straight standing position— mute. I couldn't believe that we were really meeting again after so many years.

"Yeah, it really has been," I managed to mutter. "How are you?"

He chuckled and gestured his hand at his face and chest.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I meant in general! How are you in general?" I put his file down on the nightstand and awkwardly ran my through my hair.

He chuckled again, this time accompanied by Jen's own laughter.

"I'll gonna go find Derek," she giggled, taking either of the little boys' hands and leaving the room.

Gauchely, I stood in place and played with my fingers like a child. Forgetting about my job.

"Weren't you going to check my breathing?" Vincent reminded, a small smile twitching at the corner of his lips under the bandaid.

"Right!" I confirmed, tugging the stethoscope from around my neck.
He pushed the food tray away from him, making room for me to lean in close.

Placing the half sphere against his chest, I asked him to inhale and exhale then repeated the process from his back.

"You seem fine. I don't hear anything irregular, but I'll be sure to have someone take you down stairs for a more thorough check up," I paused for a second. "Drink lots of water," I recommended.

Looking through the file, I avoided his eyes and informed him of what I was going to do next.

"To check your burns, I have to remove the gauze around your head."

He nodded and sat up straighter. Hesitantly and carefully, I began to unravel the bandaid from around his head. The more I neared his face, the harder my heart beat against my rib cage.

His prominent nose peeked under the folds of the band aid, high cheek bones slowly exposing themselves and plump thin lips pouting out from under. As I let the bandage fall into his lap, his closed eyes fluttered open, revealing the same beautiful, deep set grey eyes.

Damn. He's still hot.

Awkwardly clearing my throat, I carefully tilted his head to the right and examined his injuries. Mild burns ran along the side of his hairline and jaw. Raw scratches were spread across his cheek and the side of his nose. Moving his head the left, I examined his right cheek. Small bruises and few cuts were visible, but nothing too serious.

Wincing at the injuries, I hurried to the cabinets and retrieved disinfectant, cotton balls, new bandages and cream. I knew that it was the nurse's job to change his bandaids, but I'm a doctor. I'll do a better job...

"What happened?" I dabbed the cotton ball into the disinfectant.

Vincent tilted his head to the side and allowed me access to his burns. "I'm not sure," he shrugged.

"There was a loud crashing sound and then an explosion, causing the window I stood next to, to shatter. When I fell, I probably landed next to a burning piece of debris," he winced as I cleaned his burns.

"This reminds me of high school," he offered a sad smile. "When I treated your cuts and bruises that day..."

I cleared my throat and lightly applied the cream to his injuries. "Everyone says you're a big shot baseball player. Why're you riding the subway?"