To Love a Stray

Chapter 9

My body protests as I sit up. My shoulder is sore this morning but it is my hip that is the worst. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and carefully ease my weight onto my feet as I stand up. I take several limping steps along the edge of the bed before I am sure that I can walk out to the lounge room without falling flat on my face. I head out towards the main areas of the building and can’t help noticing that the toms have gone quiet at the sounds of my progress.

"Look, its hoppity," Steven says as I reach the lounge room doorway. I grimace at him but make no retort as I pause in the doorway. I eye the empty lounge several moments before starting the marathon to get to where I can sit down.

"Shouldn’t you have that arm in a sling?" Micah challenges.

"Probably but I am not going all the way back to the bedroom to find one," I say between gritted teeth as I manoeuvre around the end of the lounge until I am in front of it.

"Timny, go get that sling you had when you broke your collarbone," Micah orders. I notice both Timny and Justin leave the room and I turn to ease myself onto the lounge carefully. It is when I am sitting down that I realise I should have sat in the middle of the lounge so I could stretch out in comfort.

"Doc has been here nearly an hour. Once he’s checked your stitches and shoulder he’ll probably clear you to change so you had better have a feed," Micah tells me firmly.

"Okay," I say without argument although I had warned him the night before that one side effect I suffered from the painkiller was a loss of appetite for nearly twenty-four hours.

Timny returns with the sling and hands it to Micah and I glance at Timny before resting my head back on the lounge. Malcolm passes me a plate of sandwiches and I sit the plate on my lap before picking one up and taking a bite. I allow Micah to put the sling on for me while I eat. I am still eating when Doc comes in and I eye him distrustfully while I finish my food.

"Are you going to let me look at your injuries or are we going to do this the hard way? I’m sure some of the guys here will sit on you if need be," Doc warns me.

"She’ll be fine Doc. Rosy and I have an understanding," Micah tells him with a firm look my way.

I hesitate a moment before giving a brief nod and handing Malcolm my empty plate. I hold still as Doc pokes and probes my shoulder bringing several gasps from me before he is satisfied there was no damage to the joint. I pull the edge of my shorts up to expose all of my stitches and I jump with a hiss when Doc goes to touch the upper most end of the wound. Micah catches his hand stopping him.

"Doc, look at exactly where the end of that gash is. Look up an inch higher and remember what she’s been through," Micah advises.

Doc suddenly looks up at my face and gives a slight nod. "Rosy, I need to check for signs of infection and one is heat around the wound." His touch is light and brief as he can make it but I can’t prevent myself hissing and jerking when he touches me.

"Two full changes and those stitches can come out, but no strenuous exercise until the fourth or fifth change. That means no running. Trotting is okay, no leaping or pouncing either," Doc pronounces.

"No climbing trees, fences or anything either," Micah orders.

"Out of curiosity, am I allowed to twitch my tail or breathe," I ask seriously. "Because those are about the only things that haven’t been banned."

"Doc do you know what this is and how it works," Sam asks and I look to see him holding the tool he took from the room the previous night. I grimace and long to hide my head but I know it is no option. Doc takes the tool and studies it carefully before looking at Sam startled.