Page 17 of Desire

“Don’t you think that’s going a bit overboard?” I inquire.

“What if you’re in an accident and unconscious?” he fires back. “And you’re not wearing your necklace? You’re taken to a hospital that you’ve never been to before and I’m not with you? I refuse to lose you to something that we can prevent.”

Well, alrighty then. To appease him, I say, “If it’s that important to you, I’ll get one done.” He sighs deeply as if relieved and leans down to kiss me.

“It is that important, Jussie. How are you feeling right now?”

“Numb. I can’t feel anything from my elbows down on each arm which is very surreal. Not only that but my nose itches and my hair has fallen down.” He carefully scratches my nose then smoothes my hair back, tucking the stray strands behind my ears. “Thank you. Are you ready for weeks of this?”

He laughs. “I think you’ll only have the heavy-duty wrapping until they take the stitches out in a week or so. After that, it’ll be easier.” I roll my eyes at him; not sure how it’s going to be easy, but he did promise he’d help me, so I’ll give him that thought. At least for right now.

“Dr. Albritton says they’re going to keep me for a few days. That wasn’t in the plans, Sebastian.”

“I think they want to make sure that there are no after-effects from the allergic reaction. Just a precaution and not only that, but they’ll be able to make sure any pain you feel is well-controlled,” he states.

I’m about to reply when an orderly comes in and says, “We’ve got your room ready, Miss Wilde. So, keep your arms and legs inside the moving vehicle and we’ll get you settled in no time.”

Sebastian follows behind as the orderly expertly navigates the halls until he comes to a private room. A few minutes later and I’m ensconced in my bed. I watch as Sebastian plays with the buttons until I’m comfortable. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, sweetheart.” He pulls the chair closer to the bed and reaches out so he’s stroking my shoulder since he can’t exactly hold my hand.

“How are the boys?” I ask, worried about Fred and Barney.

“Sibley is staying at the house with them so they’re not alone,” he replies. “Because I’m not leaving until you do.”

“Sebastian, that’s not necessary,” I whisper, my heart overflowing at his words.

“It is to me,” he states. “I’ve got my stuff down in the truck and will go down and grab it shortly. I want to find out if you’ve got any food restrictions because I know hospital food won’t cut it, so I’ll run out long enough to grab you something to eat.”

“Hopefully I won’t have any,” I reply, my mouth already watering at the thought of the food he’s going to bring me.

“You want Mexican, don’t you?” he teases.

“Not sure they’ll allow the margaritas but hell yes. You know the way to a woman’s heart,” I reply. When I reach out to touch him and see the Ace bandage it reminds me that for a few weeks, I can’t. I feel tears well up and run down my face because one of my favorite things to do is touch him.

He wipes the tears away and pulls me into his arms, being careful of my IV. “It’s okay, Jussie, I’ve got you,” he murmurs as I continue to weep. I’m pretty sure all the drugs they gave me are behind my emotional outburst because I’m typically not a crier.

“I just realized I can’t really touch you,” I reply, snuggling as close as possible so I can breathe him in. There’s something so uniquely him that calms me.

“No, but I can definitely touch you,” he teases, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I giggle at the thought of me pretty much being immobile while he does everything.

“I’m looking forward to it,” I say.

A nurse comes bustling in and says, “I’m Joya, your nurse until the evening shift. Let me get your vitals and then I’ll answer any questions you might have.” Sebastian moves to give her room to work and we both watch as she checks the machine the IV is attached to, then takes my blood pressure and temperature. “Since you can’t press the button to administer your pain meds yet, we’ll be coming in and putting it directly into the IV,” she states. “Do you have any questions for me?”

“What are my food restrictions?” I immediately ask, since for the moment, I’m pain-free.

She starts laughing and says, “None. I suspect your fellow here plans to stay.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replies.

“Then let me get that chair swapped out for a recliner which will be more comfortable. As far as food goes, you may want to go light for a day or so while the anesthesia works its way out of your system, but other than that, you can eat whatever you usually do. You can use her bathroom since I presume you’re a couple, just know that for the next twenty-four hours, we have to measure her urine output since she had so many medications pushed during her allergic reaction. You can mark the output on the chart that’s on the door and dump it into the toilet if you need to use it yourself.” By the time she’s done, I’m beet red and Sebastian is chuckling.

“Sweetheart, I told you, this wasn’t going to bother me,” he states when I won’t look either of them in the eye.

“I wish more men had that mentality,” Joya responds. “Yes, it’s my job to take care of the patients but when someone’s husband is here and we still have to come in and assist with the basics, it gets frustrating. I don’t understand that thought process because how much more intimate can a couple get than when they have sex? Yet these bozos balk at helping their women in the shower or on and off the damn commode!”

She’s so fervent in her comments that I can’t help but laugh. “He’s a good man,” I tell her, patting his arm with my mummy hand. “I’m still unsure about it all because we’re kind of new, but he said he would be here and I’m going to take him at his word.” This could, of course, be the drugs talking, because I am usually a very private person. I suspect that Sebastian is going to make that a thing of the past, however.

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