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“I like her plan better too, doc. I think you should go with her plan,” Adrik said seriously. Just for emphasis, every one of the guys stood up, arms crossed across their chests. They didn’t say a word, but it was enough to make Dr. Williams understand.
“It’s a good plan. We’ll go with your plan. I’ll have the nurse come get you right away,” he said, leaving the room quickly.
Once the door closed behind him, I said. “I can’t tell you how much I love you all right in this very moment.”
“You’ll heal faster at home, princess. I know you’re making the best of it, but you’re not happy here. That’s going to delay you getting better,” Ivan said.
“And you clearly need some real food to make you less cranky,” Andrei said, grinning at me.
“I do. That’s a real thing. I know you guys would like to go home as well. There’s no reason you all should suffer just because I’m suffering,” I said.
“Seph, we’re not going anywhere without you. You know that. This was probably the best hospital stay we’ve ever had, if I’m being honest. You make everything better,” Stephen said, his sweet smile stretched across his face.
The nurse came in to fetch me for the x-rays. Andrei and Misha got up to help me out of bed, which surprised the nurse. “Oh, that’s handy,” she said.
“Perks of being a princess,” I said. They all laughed, but she couldn’t tell that I wasn’t serious. I didn’t bother to elaborate either. I really am cranky.
Adrik stayed beside me, offering his arm for me to lean on as we walked slowly to the elevator. The guys insisted on coming with us as well, but stayed outside the x-ray room. Dr. Williams was there to take the x-rays of my lung to make sure there was no extra fluid after removing the chest tube. “Okay, so this is going to be uncomfortable because I have to move your arm, but I’ll be as quick as possible. I need you to lay on the table. It’ll give more support for your shoulder once I take it out of the sling,” he said. Adrik picked me up without a word and gently set me on the table. He helped me lay down slowly before moving out of the way, so Dr. Williams could put me in the correct position for the x-ray.
When he released my arm from the sling and moved it away from my body, I had shooting pains in my shoulder, down to my hip. I wanted to scream, but I wanted to go home more, so I somehow managed to hold it in. When Dr. Williams walked away, there were tears streaming down my face. I held still while he took the x-rays. Adrik walked to the table after Dr. Williams was done, before he walked back out and wiped the tears from my face gently. He looked pained. He said, in Russian, “I felt that too. I know how much pain you’re in.” Dr. Williams came back to strap my arm in the sling once again. As soon as he moved it again, more shooting pain in my shoulder. This time, I heard Adrik inhale sharply. I was expecting it this time, so I was more prepared, but it didn’t hurt any less. Once Dr. Williams was done, Adrik picked me up, the pained look still on his face. “I’m sorry,” I said quietly in Russian. “I didn’t mean to share that with you.”
“What did I tell you about apologizing to me?” he said, carrying me out of the room. “I love you. All of you. All the time.”
“I’ll have the x-rays in a few minutes,” Dr. Williams called after us. The guys looked worried when Adrik carried me out.
“What happened?” Ivan asked, clearly bristled.
“He had to move her arm. She’s in severe pain. I don’t know how she’s been handling it. It would’ve crippled me,” Adrik said, still in Russian.
“You can feel her pain now too?” Stephen asked.
“This was the first time,” Adrik said as we got on the elevator to go back to my hospital room. “When he moved her arm, it was a severe shooting pain in my shoulder down to my hip.”
“That’s exactly what I felt,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip. I hadn’t been able to feel Adrik as strongly since I’d been in pain. It was like the pain was overtaking everything. When I was still paralyzed from whatever sedation they’d given me, I couldn’t feel as much pain, so I could feel him more strongly. Ivan too. I just couldn’t do anything about it because I couldn’t move my own body.
“What’s your pain level now, princess?” Ivan asked.
“She’s definitely at a thirteen. Don’t let her lie to you,” Adrik said. “She can take her next dose of superprofen soon, but not soon enough.” He looked down at me. “Are you sure you don’t want to try something stronger now that you’re going home?”
“I can manage. Ivan was right. It’ll be better once I get home and can sleep for more than two hours at a time,” I said.
“I can have the acupuncturist come to the penthouse today. It’ll help with pain. At least that’s what they tell me,” Ivan said, winking at me. I smiled back at him, nodding my head.
“Do it. I want to get her home as soon as possible,” Adrik said.
Dr. Williams came to the hospital room shortly after we returned. “Your lung looks good. The blood that was there was completely drained with your chest tube, so you don’t need to worry about blood clots. Your ribs have stayed in place as well. It actually helps that your arm is secured to your waist. It provides a layer of protection and stability for your ribs right now. I see no reason to keep you here any longer,” he said. Like you had a choice, Doc.
I tried to smile as sweetly as possible at him, but I was still in pain. “Thanks, Doc,” I said.
“I’ll have a nurse bring a chair, so you can leave,” he said.
“Save her the trip. I don’t need it,” I said. He started to argue with me, but I just looked at him, then looked at all the guys standing around me. “You really think they’d let me leave here in a wheelchair? They’d be more likely to fight over who gets to carry me out of here. Let’s not be dumb, Doc.”
His expression was one of amusement and embarrassment. “Right. Come back in two weeks, so I can check the progress of your shoulder and arm. I’ll have the nurse bring you a sleeve for your cast, so you can shower. Keep the sling on as much as possible. Only out of it for a shower and that’s it. Your shoulder was completely out of the socket. You need to keep it immobile for a few weeks to let the soft tissue heal,” he said, leaving the room.
Viktor and Stephen went to pull the vehicles around, so we could leave. I had to admit that even though I was still in pain, I was suddenly very happy to be leaving.
“It’s too early for Vinny’s, but there will be a real breakfast for us soon after we get home,” Viktor said as Adrik helped me into the backseat.
