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“Well, I got called in to work this morning, so I was hoping you’d be awake. I wanted to check on you.”
She felt her cheeks burning as he approached her, studying her legs and her foot with a distinct frown. “I’m just fine.” She tucked her legs underneath her on the couch.
“Can I check your ankle?”
“Check it? Why? I mean, it’s sprained I guess. But I’m sure it will get better.”
“I want to make sure we don’t need to get it x-rayed.”
“Well, if it doesn’t get better, I’ll go see a doctor.”
Anne laughed, “Emily, you don’t know? Josh is a doctor. And so is Brad.”
“What?” Her face grew even hotter.
“Yes, I forgot you didn’t know. We talked about it last night, but you were sleeping.” Suddenly a look of consternation passed across his face. “By the way, what were you doing accepting a pill from me yesterday when you didn’t know I was a doctor? That was really dangerous. I could have given you something unsafe.” His voice was slightly scolding.
Emily bristled at his admonishing tone. “I usually have pretty good judgment about people. I’d been forced to trust you all day, so I saw no reason not to trust you at the end of the day. However, now I’m having second thoughts. You’re not my father—”
“Ouch!” Josh held up his hands in mock distress. “Mrs. Gherring, I see what you mean about no one telling her what to do.”
The Gherrings smiled at his discomfort. Anne said, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I’m sorry, Emily. I only meant to express concern for your well-being. I would never presume to order you around. And I certainly don’t aspire to be your father or anything of the sort.”
“Okay. Apology accepted. As long as we understand each other.”
“I’d like to reach the point where I really understand you, but I think I’m going to need more time. So, seriously... I really do want to check your ankle.”
Reluctantly, she unfolded her legs and stuck her right foot out. He pressed around the swollen area experimentally and then moved her foot around to flex the ankle, watching her reaction. She winced, but refused to make a sound at the pain.
“I’m sorry—I know that hurts. I still don’t think anything is broken. But it is a serious sprain.” He began to inspect the cuts on her legs, which she’d left mostly unbandaged, not having anything large enough to cover them. “Nothing looks too deep. Can I see your arms?”
Sighing, she stuck her arms out at him and he looked until he seemed satisfied. “Don’t you have a gash on your back?”
“Yes, but you can’t see that one.”
He rolled his eyes. “Brad and I cleaned that one off with water yesterday and put gauze on it. Why can’t I see it today? It’s not in a private place.”
“I don’t know, but you can’t see it.” She pressed her lips together in a tight line.
He grinned at her. “Okay. You’re the boss. I think you need to be taking anti-inflammatories for your sprained ankle. O.T.C. NSAID’s ought to be fine. That’s ibuprofen, aspirin, or naproxen sodium. Unless it’s hurting badly enough you need more hydrocodone?”
“No, thank you. I’d rather hurt a little than get knocked out again. I’ve been unconscious a bit too much lately.”
“I agree,” said Steven. “Let’s keep you off the heavy stuff.”
Josh frowned at Anne. “Are you all right, Mrs. Gherring? You seem like you’re about to pass out.”
“Oh, I’m okay. Just a little queasy.”
“Actually, you could really help us out. Anne needs a new IV port,” said Steven.
“What?” asked Josh, reaching to examine the proffered arm. “Oh, I see. Yes, this area’s really inflamed. So you removed an IV port from this spot?”
“Yes, this morning. It was really hurting,” Anne explained.
“And why do you need an IV?”
