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As gently as I could, I peeled back J'avet's bandage. It was covered in dried blood, and didn't smell too clean.
He twitched as I worked the last corner loose.
"Sorry," I said, even if he couldn't hear me.
I threw the bandage in the bin, then washed my hands before I started to wipe away the blood caked around the wound.
"Ouch, that looks painful," I said. It didn't look life-threatening to me, thankfully.
"Indeed." Barek finished with the IV and two different needles, then moved to where he could see better. "We'll glue him back together."
Not actually glue, he secured a tube from a shelf and an applicator and started to apply a clear substance to J'avet's head. It would form a kind of shell that would allow the skin underneath to heal quicker.
The shell would give him an even harder head than usual. At least on that part. His head would match his pubic plate. That idea almost made me laugh and I had to bite it back.
"Get some scissors," the doctor said. "Remove his clothing." He nodded to another nurse to help.
Okay, I won't lie. More than once I imagined taking off J'avet's clothes, but not with scissors. Usually it involved fingers and maybe teeth. What? My imagination is creative, okay?
I started at the hem of his pants, while the other nurse cut into one of his sleeves.
His legs seemed more or less intact, the short red fur lay undamaged but needing a good, long soak in a nice, hot bath.
My knuckle brushed past the front of his thigh and I marvelled at how soft he felt. I could have patted him for ages, except for the whole thing about him loathing my guts. I was big on consent.
I tugged at the fabric and it tore all the way up to his waistband. Everyone should rip fabric once in a while, it's therapeutic.
I cut his waistband and his pants fell away, revealing tight, white underwear. Big surprise, right? I mean, I wasn't expecting Transformers or Spider-man, or anything like that. A thong, maybe? Naw, he had a stick up his ass, not a piece of fabric.
Recognising this as an entirely inappropriate line of thought towards a patient, I shoved the musings away and went to get a basin of clean water. While he was mostly naked, I would sponge J'avet off. He'd likely prefer to wake up clean. I know I would. Dirty on the inside, clean on the outside. Unless you're talking about covering someone with chocolate. That was a different story.
Yeah, I hadn't gotten laid in a month and it showed. The guys had spoiled me before that, in the best possible way. Now my body ached to be touched, filled, wet.
"Oops." I slopped a little bit too much water on J'avet's leg. I cleaned it up while the doctor glanced at me. He'd finished with the glueing and was now clicking his tongue at the scorch marks on J'avet's chest.
"Singed the hair," Barek said. "And the skin. He was incredibly lucky. He should go and bet on the durva races."
I smiled.
I knew from Slek and Danec that durva birds had big teeth and loved to stop mid-race to bite each other, then bury their way into the ground and disappear. The chances of betting on one who actually finished, much less won, was incredibly difficult. So of course, it was one of the more popular pastimes on Frey-T.
"All in all, he's in reasonable shape, for someone who took a beating," the doctor concluded. "We will need to wait for him to wake up before we can determine if any lasting damage was done to his brain. Someone must be on watch at all times."
I nodded. "I'm not busy. I'll stay with him." It wasn't because I cared about him at all. No way. I just…happened to be unoccupied. Nothing more.
"Good." Barek moved toward a data station and slipped in behind the chair. No doubt to enter J'avet's details into the database.
I cleaned up around J'avet's bed and washed my hands.
Only as I turned off the water, I remembered the chip he handed me before he'd collapsed.
