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“Be thankful you’ve got a hard head or you’d probably cracked your skull,” Nathan commented while watching over the doctor’s shoulder as he sutured the wound closed.
A flinch from his patient caused the doctor to pause. “Sorry. Let me give you some more lidocaine and we’ll start back up in a moment.”
Near the foot of the bed the curtains parted and Vin Tanner stuck his head in. “How’s it coming?”
“Not nearly fast enough,” Chris groused from where he lay, fists twisting in the sheet beneath him. “How many stitches are we looking at here?”
Vin moved a little further into the room and whistled in amazement. “Wow, Cowboy! I’d say he darn near has you looking like one of Miss Nettie’s quilts.”
Flipping Vin the middle finger, Chris tried to stay relaxed as the doctor resumed his work. Chris’s head was throbbing in time with his heart and his stomach was performing its own acrobatic stunts, threatening to bring his breakfast up with it.
Nathan, the ever watchful, grabbed the plastic basin from beside the sink and asked, “You gonna be sick?” At Chris’s slight head shake Nathan set the basin on the side of the bed, keeping it within easy reach in case Chris changed his mind.
“Ok. We’re done,” the doctor informed Chris as he pulled his gloves off and moved the tray away. Raising the head of the bed slightly the doctor glanced down at Chris. “Stay here and don’t move. I want you to lay back and relax until I get your discharge instructions together.”
Once he was sure the doctor was out of ear shot Chris sighed and pried his eyes open, grimacing against the bright lights which sent daggers of pain into his brain. Pushing himself up Chris growled, “Grab my coat Vin and let’s get the hell outta here.”
Nathan pushed Chris back onto the bed. “Not following directions is what earned you this little excursion to the ER.”
Chris pushed Nathan’s hands away and sank back onto the bed wishing the simple act of throwing his foot on the floor would stop the room from spinning.
“Hey, this has been the highlight of our morning,” Vin snickered as he sat on the side of the bed and patted Chris’s knee.
“I’m glad I could provide you with your morning’s entertainment,” Chris sighed and gingerly touched the bandage. “How many stitches?”
Nathan was about to answer but Vin stopped him. “I think I stopped counting at twenty.”
Chris felt like he’d swallowed a rock. Twenty? That was going to leave a big scar. “Shit,” Chris gasped, “Son-of-a-bitch. Get me a mirror Nathan.”
Nathan frowned at Vin before turned back to Chris. “It wasn’t twenty stitches. Vin’s pulling your leg. The doctor only put in six.” Chris was fingering the bandage again. Nathan batted his hand away. “Leave it alone.”
“Get me a mirror.”
“It’s not that bad. Everything is going to look worse right now anyway. You really cracked your face on that table at the church.” At Chris’s glare Nathan gave up and closed his mouth. No one could reason with Chris once he got an idea in his head. “Fine. I’ll find you a mirror.”
“You can’t take a joke can you?”
“No,” Chris spat and pushed Vin off the edge of the bed with his foot. “And you can’t sit on my bed either.”
“Fine.” Digging in his coat Vin pulled out a sticker and held it up for Chris. “You want proof you gave blood?”
Chris gave Vin a dark look.