Page 61 of Choosing Jenny
His jaw clenched, and worry flashed in his eyes. “I’m landing the ship—”
“You can’t!” I said, my voice rising in panic. “We have to go help them!”
“With that injury you could lose the arm!”
“Fuck my fucking arm, Jac!”
But he steered the ship toward an open area, arguing with me. “Deacon has everyone else on board his ship. They’ll get everyone out. Besides, if they’re stuck in a cave, what are you going to do with one arm to help them?”
“Work double time with my right arm,” I said petulantly. But I knew he was right. I was in too much agony to be any use to anyone.
Once we landed, Jac dragged Sam up off the floor and bound her to the co-pilot chair. She didn’t even try to fight him off. She just stared blankly ahead, whispering her regrets over and over again.
Then Jac took me to the infirmary to treat my shoulder and the open wound from the shot. I tried to take my shirt off and couldn’t.
“Lay on your stomach on the exam table,” he ordered me. “I’ll cut the shirt off of you.”
I did as he said, resting my head to the side as Jac sheared my shirt in two. He pushed the fabric aside to check the injury.
I tried to joke, “A guy usually has to buy me drinks first to get me in this position.”
He politely chuckled. “Nice to know Sam didn’t shoot your sense of humor. Hold still. This is gonna suck.”
He prodded the injured area, and my shoulder blade went from a searing numbness to a breath-stealing, stabbing pain. I gripped the padded infirmary table to stop from adding my own vomit to the floor. “Fuuuck!”
“I’d give you an analgesic for what I’m about to do, but Ladrian analgesics tend to knock humans out, and I don’t think you’d want that—”
“You’re right, I don’t,” I gritted out. “Just do whatever you have to.”
He pressed something to the open wound. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but the extreme force of it made me groan like a dying animal. But then the pain lessened significantly.
“Any better?” he asked.
I realized I could move my fingers on that hand again. “Yeah.”
“You’re responding well.” He moved behind me, rummaging through the infirmary’s storage drawers. “I think you’ll keep the arm.”
I appreciated his attempt at levity. “Didn’t know you’re a doctor.”
“I’m not,” he said, his fingers gently prodding the area again. “But I have had to repair a lot of wounds. Hold still. And exhale hard.”
I obeyed his order, before something smacked me there. I tried to scream, but I had no breath to do it, so it came out more like a choked snarl. When I could breathe again, the grueling pain had faded. “Fuck!”
“Sorry,” he said, sounding genuinely contrite.
“No, it’s getting better,” I told him. “Thank you.”
He finished patching me up. “That’s all I know to do, but it should let you keep the arm until Ode or Wave can have a look at you.”
I sighed, then grunted. “We should check on Sam.”
“I found some shirts in the drawers back here,” Jac said from behind me. “Cheesecakeis well-stocked, but she’s well-stocked for Ladrians, not humans. There aren’t any shirts small enough for you on board, but I’m leaving you one of ours on the counter back here to change into,” he said, then helped me back to a sitting position. “I’ll meet you in the cockpit.”
I gave him a tremulous smile and made a mental note to put some of my own clothes in the captain’s quarters for future use. “Thanks again, Jac.”
He smiled at me. “You got it.”
He left me in the infirmary, and I slowly and gingerly put the shirt on, then joined him and Sam in the cockpit.
