The Garden of Heathen

Water Works

Aussie felt exhausted as she glared at the beaming little girl, happily stirring her pot of soup as Aussie slumped on the counter with the tube of ointment.

"How are you doing?" Aussie asked after a few minutes, her serious question throwing off the playful vibes.

"Me? I'm fine," Gertie brushed her off.

Aussie worried about her, naturally. She'd been in the room when Hedy killed Lanie after Gertie did her best to patch up her double leg amputation. That could mess up even a nutcase like Gertie, but pressing her about it wouldn't do any good though. They were both saved in a way by Gally calling for Aussie again.

"That was fast," Aussie mumbled as she hopped off the counter.

"No hair," Gertie pointed out.

"Ah yeah, that would do it."

Aussie walked to the bathroom.

"How'd the sling do? Did it give you ample support?" Aussie started to ask with a wry smile, giggling at her own joke as she walked down the hall toward the bathroom.

She came into the door way to see Gally glaring down at her. She would have laughed at his reaction if she weren't distracted by the little beads of water on his bafflingly flawless skin.

"Too soon?" She asked earning a small smile and head shake from him before he turned to take a seat again.

"Um, Gertie gave me some medicine to put on your shoulder, do you mind?" She asked him. "Promise I'll be gentle."

"Alright," he gave a half shrug with his good shoulder.

Aussie grabbed his towel and sat on the tub edge again, patting his shoulder dry before putting the medication on. She applied it as delicately as possible which meant it was kind of slow going. She had to distract herself from the cute freckles and shoulder muscles somehow.

"H-how're you feeling? Is it really sore?" She asked him, hoping talking would make this less awkward.

"Gertie keeps me drugged so it's not too bad. I'm still mostly ahead of the pain I guess," he said.

"I hope they send more before we run out then. Where is the soreness at? So I don't miss any spots," she asked him.

He gave her a bashful sideways glance, the medication she'd applied so far warming his skin and the underlying muscles already. He told the truth, though, and let her put it everywhere that hurt, his neck, around his shoulder blade, part of his chest, and down his arm, her little fingers went there without complaint. He almost felt guilty, as if he were taking advantage of her kindness just to feel her touch, but also embarrassed since he had two soggy bras strangling him at the moment. He looked over at her to try and gauge how she was feeling about it all.

"One day you're gonna bite that lip off," he said when he noticed her sucking up her bottom lip, gently tapping her chin.

She gave a nervous laugh as she released the reddened, swollen lip, teeth marks and all, and he wondered what made her bite it. Was it nervousness?

"Relax," he told her, his voice and his gaze were soft. "You're not hurting me, I promise."

Aussie felt very warm, all those weird feelings came flooding back and she was afraid she'd get so self conscious it would make her clumsy.

"Good, good," she muttered as her cheeks turned more pink from the way he looked at her.

"Soup's ready!" Gertie yelled, making Aussie jump slightly.

"Ok, how's that feel? Did I cover it all?" She asked after clearing her throat.

He just nodded.