It was a long night in the emergency room. Penny sat on Jacob's lap, eventually falling asleep as we waited for a doctor to stitch up my arm. Jacob was so sweet and kind to me that I kind of figured he was trying to make amends for our argument.
"So stupid." I muttered to myself, still holding the dish-towel to my arm.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Con. It was an accident. You were angry."
"Connor Bixenman?" We looked up at my name and saw a doctor holding a clipboard.
"That's me." I stood up and followed him to a curtained off area where I sat on a bed while Jacob sat on a plastic chair nearby.
"So, what have we got here?" The doctor asked and I sheepishly pulled the dish-towel away to show him the cut. "Oh, that's a nasty one. What happened?"
"Uh, I smashed a plate and I guess part of it got me." As I spoke, the doctor got out the things he needed, setting them out on a tray.
"Well, it's a pretty easy fix. You should be out of here in an hour or so." I nodded.
"Will I be okay to work tomorrow?"
"What do you do?"
"I teach."
"Oh, then you'll be fine. You might be a little tired because of the medication I'm about to give you but other than that, you'll be fine."
"Thank god." I mumbled and Jacob reached over to hold my un-injured hand.
"Alright, I'm just going to numb the area. After that, you won't feel much." I nodded and closed my eyes. I'd never liked needles. Jacob seemed to understand and gave my hand a squeeze. In his arms, Penny whimpered and I opened my eyes to look over at her as she woke up.
"Papa?"
"Shh, sweetie. The doctor is making papa's arm feel better." Jacob whispered to her and she looked over at me just as the doctor put the needle into my arm. She let out a gasp.
"Papa, he's hurting you!"
"No. He's not." I got out through clenched teeth. The doctor hadn't exactly been gentle with the needle but moments later, the whole arm was numb.
"But..."
"Sweetheart, papa and I need you to be quiet, okay?" Jacob pressed and she nodded, leaning into him. She was pretty tired and I figured it wouldn't be long before she fell asleep again.
"Okay. Can you feel this?" The doctor pressed his fingers against my arm and, although I knew I should feel it, I couldn't. I shook my head. "Good. We'll get started. You'll only need five stitches so the healing time shouldn't be too long."
I looked away while he stitched up my arm and despite the numbness, I could still feel him tugging at the thread sometimes. Jacob kept a hold of my hand, sending me comforting smiles every now and then.
Finally it was all done and the doctor wrapped my arm in a tight bandage, handing me a sling. I slipped my arm in, feeling the pain alleviate a little at the lack weight-bearing.
"Okay, you'll need to wear the sling for the next three days, just to allow it to start healing. After that, just the dressing will be okay. I want you to come back to see me in two weeks to check the stitches."
"Thank you, doctor." I mumbled, already standing up.
"Sleeping may be a little difficult for you as well. I'd suggest either sleeping on your un-injured side or on you back with your arm propped up on a pillow. Other than that, I'll prescribe you some pain medications to take home."
"Thanks." Jacob stood up too, using one hand to guide me to the door and the other hand keeping a tight hold on Penny. "We'll go and get them now. Come on, baby. Let's get you home and in bed."
"Love you, Jay." I told him, leaning into him a little. The doctor led us to a desk where he filled out a prescription and sent it to the hospital pharmacy.
"You can pick it up on your way out. Remember to come in and see me in two weeks." I was almost falling asleep by then, the events of the day finally catching up to me. So, Jacob signed the last forms that we were given and picked up the pain medication for me as we left.
Back at home, Jacob told me to wait in our room and he went to put Penny to bed. While I waited, I sat on the edge of our bed, looking around the room. It was mostly plain, the walls a cream colour and the curtains a dark blue, but there were was a large framed photo that had been taken at our wedding. It was probably my favourite from that day, a candid shot of the two of us when we'd snuck off to the side for a few moments. In it, Jacob had his arms wrapped tightly around me, looking down into my eyes as I stared adoringly up at him. Around us, the light was slowly fading and other people were laughing and dancing together.
"What're you looking at?" Jacob's voice brought me out of my memories and I looked over at him, a soppy smile coming onto my face.
"Love you, Jay." He smirked and came over to me.
"I know. You told me before." He kissed me once before helping me to my feet. "Let's get you into bed. You've gone loopy from the pain meds."
"No..." I protested. I felt fine but when I almost fell over after he tried to pull my shirt over my head, I decided to let him help me and in moments I was laying on my back on the bed.
"Do you want to sleep on your side?" I considered for a moment but shook my head. I was comfortable like this. "Okay. The doctor said to rest your arm on a pillow, so, here." He gently lifted my injured arm and tucked a pillow underneath.
"You take good care of me." I whispered and he smiled at me, pulling up the blankets.
"Only 'cause I love you, baby." He leaned over to kiss me, one hand gently caressing the side of my face.
"You coming to bed too?"
"In a minute. I'm going to clean up the mess in the dining room and kitchen so Penny doesn't get hurt in the morning, okay?"
"'Kay." I let my eyes flutter closed as he left the room and I listened to him moving around the house as I drifted off to sleep. I was barely awake when he finally slid into bed beside me, curling into my side and pressing his lips to my neck gently.
"Sweet dreams, Connor. I hope you feel better tomorrow." He murmured quietly and it was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep, happy to be cradled in his arms.
A/N: So, I don't know much about the medical side of this chapter and how much would actually happen...but oh well. Hope you guys enjoyed it :)
