Page 109 of Her Marine
Before heading to his condo, he stopped at the grocery store and picked up a couple of things he needed and snacks that he knew Journee preferred so they wouldn’t have to do it when she arrived, and he could spend time with her doing something else.
Now, he just needed his appointment tomorrow to go well. He needed his doctor to release him so that he could get on with his life.
Killian searched his living room for his keys but couldn’t find them anywhere. He was a creature of habit; whenever he came in, he always placed them by the door. That was where he’d expected them to be when preparing to leave. They weren’t, and now he’d searched every inch of the living room looking for them. He needed to go in the next few minutes to make it to his appointment on time.
He went into his bedroom, thinking maybe he’d taken them in there, not realizing it when he returned from his meeting with Fields yesterday morning. That thought brought him up short, and he knew where his keys probably were. Ziggy had stopped by yesterday afternoon to get her spare key because the battery in her fob was dead, and it would be a couple of days before the replacement battery came in.
His little sister was not known for putting things back where she got them, but he knew she’d been in his kitchen for the majority of the time she’d been there and went to check. After looking for a moment, he found them on the countertop by his blender. He left out of the kitchen and went to his front door, he picked up his wallet and put it in his back pocket. Killian double-checked that he had his phone before exiting the condo.
Once in his car, he made the twenty-minute drive to the hospital. His follow-up appointment would consist of some x-rays, a few tests, and a mild physical to see where he was in the healing stage. He felt fine and hadn’t thought he needed the wrist splint after the first few days at home. However, he’d continued to wear it because he’d told Journee he would. Though, he did take it off when he showered.
Killian walked in and waited behind the woman currently being checked in. As he did, he pulled his phone out, sending a reminder text of the time Journee’s flight landed to Ziggy. He was sure she hadn’t forgotten and probably was already on her way, but better safe than sorry.
He stepped up when it was his turn, giving his name to the man behind the desk and checking in before taking a seat in the corner away from everyone else. His phone vibrated, alerting him to a text. He’d expected it to be from his little sister, but it was his mother telling him she expected him to call her with the results as soon as he left.
Killian refrained from rolling his eyes at the message. He couldn’t fault her for being worried, but he’d already told her he would call her when he left. It seemed she was doing the same thing to him that he’d just done to Ziggy.
As he waited, Killian read a few articles in the magazines. They weren’t too interesting, but he was attempting to kill time.
When his name was finally called, he followed the smiling nurse to the back. She got his weight and took his blood pressure and temperature before leading him into a room. She asked him a series of questions, inputting his answers as they went.
There was a short wait after she left before someone came to take him to have his scans done, then he went through his physical before being led back to the same room. He checked the time and found he’d been there for over two hours. He wasn’t surprised, knowing that it would take some time to run all the tests they wanted to.
Killian had only been waiting ten minutes when his doctor walked in.
“Mr. Stoll, how are you?”
“I’m good. How are you?”
“I can’t complain.” She placed the tablet she was holding on the counter. “I looked at your test results, and everything looks good. I was worried about your wrist since we didn’t cast it, but it seems it’s healed faster than expected.”
“So, I don’t need to wear the splint anymore?”
“I’m going to allow you to take it off, but under orders to be careful. Move it around, use it as you normally would, but don’t stress it. I want you to wait the full twelve weeks before you do that.”
Killian nodded. He could do that as long as he didn’t have to wear the splint anymore. It was annoying at times, to say the least.
“I want to go over a few more things with you and figure out the best way to incorporate some modifications into the plan we already set out for you since we’re still going to take it easy on the wrist.”
Again, Killian nodded as they began to go over the medications they’d prescribed him when he got out of the hospital. He was ready for them to get to modifications because he had a burning question and needed the answer to it before he left.
«-•-•-•-•-•-•-»
Journee sat in her seat, actively ignoring the woman who was seated beside her. She was mere seconds away from reaching out and touching her, and not in a good way. She’d acted like a toddler the entire plane ride, all because she hadn’t gotten her way.
She’d been sitting in Journee’s seat when she boarded the plane, and when the woman was informed of such, she stated that they were switching. Journee was unsure which part of miss ma’am told her that would work in her favor, especially with her dictating what would happen and not asking like a normal human being. She’d caught the right one on the right day, and the other woman had not appreciated being told they were not switching and to get out of her seat. Since then, she’d acted like a petulant child the entire ride. Judging by the gray hair in her head and the fact that she’d told Journee that elders were meant to be respected when she moved, she was too old to behave how she was.
As soon as they’d gotten into the air, she’d put her earbuds in and began listening to an audiobook as she colored on her tablet. She did her best to ignore the woman, but it was made difficult due to her actions. Journee was sure the person in the window seat was also fed up with it because, at one point, he’d asked the lady what her problem was and threatened to call a flight attendant to see if she could be moved.
When the plane landed, the other woman quickly jumped to her feet, but Journee took her time, packing her tablet and earbuds into her personal bag. She let several people around them get up and pass before she stood, blocking the exit of their row and getting her carry-on suitcase from the overhead compartment. She felt a bit bad for making the man sitting by the window wait, but he seemed amused at the woman’s growing frustration with Journee’s slow speed.
Once they disembarked the plane and were going down the ramp into the airport, the woman sped past her, almost losing her footing, and it was karma playing out at its finest. The man who’d been sitting with them laughed, giving her a thumbs up as he passed.
Journee pulled her suitcase behind her to the exit. She spotted Ziggy pretty quickly and couldn’t help but laugh at the sign the other woman was holding that readJournee, Tamer of Brothers, first of her name.She walked over, and the two hugged before Journee took a closer look at the sign. Ziggy had gone all out and decorated it. There was even a drawing of a woman on the back of a winged animal.
“That’s you and Killian,” Ziggy informed her with a smirk.
“You had some time on your hands, I see.”
