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She was going through one of the hardest situations in her short life without him, and he hated it.
When the nurse taking his vitals strolled out of Jasper's room, Liam looked up from his phone and glanced around. There was something on the boy's mind. When he rose and shut the door, Jasper understood it had to do with the incident. "Connie just messaged me. They're bringing Anarchy in now. She's okay," he added hurriedly when Jasper's heart monitor picked up speed. "Chomping at the bit to see you, but Connie says she's holding up well."
"That won't last. One look at him and she's going to be a wreck." Loki rubbed his chin. "How the hell do we act around her now? Do we treat her like a victim? Or just pretend nothing monumental happened last night?"
"Just act normal," Jasper snapped, grunting as he tried to push himself up. He hadn't yet found the perfect position to set his reclining bed. "She's still the same Anarchy, she's just evolved a little. I know normal is a difficult concept for you to grasp, Loki, but I'd appreciate it if you'd try."
The boy grinned wickedly. "Ah, you mean be flirtatious and my usual debonair self? I can do that."
Shaking his head, Jasper reached out with a hand that felt slightly detached from his arm, and fumbled for the call button. He could feel the warm plastic in his palm, the raised bump that signaled the nurses. But he was stiff enough it took him three times before his thumb bent and pressed it. "No, I mean behave and don't be a dick."
"Oh. That. Yeah, I guess I can sit here and be normal."
The door swung open to reveal the woman Jasper was quickly beginning to dislike. One of the older nurses, maybe riding the line between early retirement, stepped into the room and gave Loki and Liam an almost disdainful glance. She was a hardass, Jasper thought, and he could respect that. "Mr. Fairfax, you rang. Again."
"I did. I need to speak to Doctor..." Shit, what was his doctor called? "Doctor Eldon. I need my discharge papers."
Liam protested as the nurse regarded Jasper as though he was an idiot. Amber eyes looked him up, down, then stayed steady on his. "I'm afraid the doctor is unavailable for the moment. He's in surgery and not expected to be finished until later this evening. We have explicit instructions on how to manage your care, Mr. Fairfax."
"Yeah, you're doing a fantastic job. I appreciate it, but you see, I have a su—somewhat traumatized girlfriend on her way, and she needs me to not look as though I'm gonna die here. I can rest at home, and I will," he promised, adding an experimental Dominant edge to his tone. "I need to go home today."
The amber glare didn't falter in the slightest, and Nurse Knickers In A Knot—okay, that wasn't really her name, her name was Janice, but the nickname did suit her—slowly crossed her arms over her ample chest in a way that reminded him of Connie in full Domme mode. "Should I list your injuries, Mr. Fairfax? You can discharge yourself from here at any time, you are not a prisoner, by any means. But should something happen, the hospital will not be held liable for your poor choices."
"I think Braun needs to sign her up for the club," Loki muttered to Liam, grinning broadly.
Jasper jerked his chin for his friend to shut up, and his brain protested the sudden movement by pounding irate fists against the tender insides of his bruised skull. He squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing hard as a wave of nausea overwhelmed him, then battled it back. "Obviously, I'm not intending to run a freaking marathon the moment I step out of the door. I'd just like to go home, lower myself very carefully into my recliner, and stay there for a few days."
"That is your prerogative," Janice answered smartly, pushing her shoulders back and standing just an inch taller. "But I can tell you now that there isn't a doctor in this hospital who will discharge you today—including Doctor Eldon."
He squeezed the bridge of his nose as tightly as he could with his wooden fingers and tried to think. Having Anarchy in the hospital wasn't an option, but he knew his girl and if he was in here, she'd find a way to become part of the room's furniture. Forcing her to leave after every visitation would turn into a fight, one he'd have to hand over to Atticus to deal with.
"J?" Liam's voice broke into his thoughts.
"Hmm. Yeah, what?"
"You feeling okay?"
He dropped his hand into his lap. As he tried to shift his weight into a more comfortable position, he felt his face twist into a grimace of discomfort, muscles berating him from every angle. There'd been times in his childhood when pain had been his best friend, he reminded himself. His constant fucking companion. This should be child's play to endure in comparison. "Meds are wearing off a bit. I just need to adjust."
Janice tsked sharply and bulled forward, reaching into her breast pocket to pull out her glasses. One hand snagged his chart from the foot of the bed as she passed, and the other pressed against his shoulder a moment later, pushing him back against the pillows. "This is not the time to adjust, Mr. Fairfax. This is the time to listen to your body when it tells you something is wrong, and let the experts in the room do their job. Not you," she snapped at Loki, levelling him with a narrowed stare as his mouth opened with an undoubtedly smart-ass retort.
"Yes, ma'am," he murmured respectfully, his eyes glinting with unoppressed glee.
She flicked through Jasper's chart quickly and efficiently, then stopped on one page in particular. Jasper watched her eyes zigzag down the paper, impressed by her reading speed. When that amber gaze scanned the bed and her eyebrows bowed into a scowl, he had to kick himself in the ass and remember he was a Dominant. "You were assigned a self-regulatory system for your pain, Mr. Fairfax. Where's the control?"
Acting innocent, he lifted a shaky hand. "Self-regulatory system?"
Her scowl darkened. "A small control box attached to your IV. When the button turns green, you press it," she said slowly, as though speaking to a child. "Then you get an automatic hit of morphine. It means you're in control of your pain without fear of an accidental overdose."
"Oh, that." He gave her his best winsome smile, then worried it looked more like a drunken grimace. The pain levels were inching higher, threatening to crack his head in two. "Haven't seen that in a while."
The chart slapped down on the covers. "Men. Why is it men who are always so stubborn about getting the help they need? I don't have any of these fun and games with my female patients." Like a drill sergeant searching a recruit's bunk, Janice checked the floor and the covers for movement as she tugged on the morphine line attached to Jasper's IV. "Pain is not a laughing matter and it is not to be taken lightly."
Amen, sister,Jasper thought. Regretting hiding the damn thing, he eased himself deeper into the pillows and wished the stiff cotton were cool enough to wick away the heat starting to pump off him. "Oh, believe me, I know the value of pain." It just so happened that what was going on in his body was a hell of a lot more intrinsic than anything Dominic had subjected him to.
"Then you should not be an idiot and hide your pain relief, should you?" Janice scolded, making a triumphant little a-hanoise in her throat as she found what she was looking for. "This should be within reach at all times, Mr. Fairfax, not wedged down the head of your bed. It's going to do you no good at all there, is it?"
"Don't press that—" Jasper blurted, but it was too late. The nurse's thumb jammed down on the glowing green button with gusto. "—button."
