Data readily agreed to go stay with Ella and once all of us ate, the two of them took off for the night. He plans to take my place helping out tomorrow so I can stay by Phoebe’s side since Thelma told her to take the next few days off. Part of the reason for that is the nerve block still has her arm mostly numb, but the other is because she needs a few days on her antibiotics before she’s around other people.
As I lead her into the bedroom, I marvel at how she seems to be taking everything in stride. Honestly, she couldn’t be more perfect for me or my daughter; she seldom gets upset, nor does she fly off the handle. “How are we going to do this?” she asks as she looks at the bed. “It’s not like I can detach this, after all.”
Right now, her wound vac is in a carrying case, and Ella lengthened the straps, so it fits on her like one of those crossbody purses. But she’s not going to be able to sleep like that, at least not comfortably.
“How do you sleep?” I ask. At her confused look, I add, “On your side? Your back? Your stomach? That’ll help us figure out the best way to get you set up.”
“Usually on my side,” she admits.
I walk toward her and gently cup her face with the palms of my hands. “Let’s get you more comfortable, sweetheart.”
She huffs out a laugh while waving her right arm. “I can’t feel my left arm from right above my elbow down to the tips of my fingers, Eli. Right now, it’s dead weight. Plus, it’s not like myshirt will easily go over this thing,” she spits out, pointing at the case holding her wound vac.”
“How fond are you of the shirt you’re wearing?” I ask.
“It’s a shirt, Eli, nothing special,” she replies. “Why?”
“Because I’m about to get it off you,” I tell her, pulling out my Swiss army knife. “Now, stay still, Phoebe, I think you’ve had enough excitement for today.”
Within seconds, I have the left side of her shirt cut so I’m able to slip it across her body. As it falls to the floor leaving her in a sports bra and scrub pants, I feel my dick waking up and mentally think,now is not the time. We have the rest of our lives to explore each other; right now, I want my woman comfortable.
“Well, that was easy,” she remarks, pulling me out of my head. “I mean, I can temporarily disconnect the wound vac, of course, but I was kind of worried about the PICC line since I didn’t think to ask for a cover.”
I look at the special IV that the hospital inserted and snap my fingers. “Hold on, I think Ella brought something to help with that.” Striding back into the living area of the RV, I find the bag marked ‘medical shit’, which makes me chuckle knowing that Ella and probably Thelma did that to make Phoebe laugh, and open it. When I find the sealed package that says ‘PICC line sleeve’, I open it and take it back into the bedroom.
“Did you see the first aid kit that Ella and Thelma put together for you?” I ask as I slide the sleeve up her arm. The downside to her having a wound vac on her left arm is that the PICC line is on the right side, which is her dominant arm. I suspect that she’s going to be curtailed from many of the things she’s been doing since both areas need their own protection.
She giggles and nods. “Yeah, I don’t think ‘medical shit’ is necessarily appropriate, but we have dark humor for a reason, you know?”
Once it’s in place, I ask, “Do you like this sports bra?”
“Eh, it was easier since I can’t exactly go braless and Ella didn’t feel like searching for one of my camisoles that has a built-in bra,” she says. “Let me guess, you’re cutting that off too.”
Laughing, I nod as I pull my knife out once again and free her from the confines of her sports bra. “Damn, Phoebe, you’re gonna make this difficult as hell, aren’t you?” I mutter when I see her breasts. They’re the perfect handful for me, and seeing the dark, rosy tipped nipples that are just begging to be sucked has me groaning out loud. I watch a pinkish flush cover her chest and cheeks, but she doesn’t cover them, she stands there while I look my fill. “Fucking beautiful, Phoebe,” I murmur as I lean in to briefly kiss her.
It’s a bit challenging to slip her nightgown on since her left arm is basically useless, but months with Cami have made me something of a professional when it comes to dressing an unwilling person. Not that Phoebe isn’t willing, she’s just not able. When I have to help take her scrub pants off, she out and out blushes.
“Um, Eli? I need to use the bathroom,” she says. I let her go and she practically runs down the hallway to the bathroom that’s surprisingly luxurious given the fact that we’re pretty much in a tiny home on wheels.
While I wait for her to do her thing, I pull the covers back on the bed then go in search of the extra pillows from the bed that’s over the driver’s cab. My plan is to build her a pillow fort of sortsto rest her arm on, then put another one under her right arm to cushion the PICC line. My poor woman is probably going to be uncomfortable while she deals with getting the IV antibiotics for the next ten days.
“Thank you, Eli,” she whispers as we lie curled up on the bed. My arm is around her waist, providing support for her right arm, with the wound vac nestled against her abdomen. The tube is draped over my arm, and I can feel the slight vibration of the machine.
If not for the circumstances, it would be soothing.
“You’re my ol’ lady, Phoebe, it’s my privilege to help take care of you,” I reply, kissing the spot on her neck below her ear. I grin when I feel her shiver, happy that she’s as affected by my nearness as I am hers.
The only reason she doesn’t feel my dick pressing against her hip is because of the pillow that’s between us. Right now, there’s also an ice compress underneath since her nerve block will likely start wearing off while we sleep.
“I miss Cami,” she says, her voice sounding drowsy.
“She misses her mama,” I tell her.
Her body tenses then she sighs. “But I’m not her mama.”
“For all intents and purposes, yes, you are. You might not have given birth to her, but in every other way, you’re her mother, Phoebe. Now, let’s get some sleep since I’m sure at some point, everything will wear off and you’ll end up in pain.”
“If it’s too early, I’ll have to walk you through how to administer the pain meds through the PICC line.”
