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She reached forward, helping Rick sit Simon up on the couch. It occurred to Rick that if he were ever in Simon’s position, the one thing he’d need were Fleur’s gentle hands and smiles to help him along. She was venturing back into her own experience of being hurt to make Simon feel safe and cared for.
He flashed her a smile, hoping that it gave some hint of how well she was doing. How much he appreciated her being there. Simon slumped against her, his eyes closed, as he pulled the lad’s sweater and T-shirt over his head, and he heard Fleur catch her breath.
“Whatever’s that?” Her eyes were wide with horror, and she mouthed the words so that Simon wouldn’t hear.
“It’s okay. It’s what I was looking for, or something like it. It’s called arborescent erythema, and it’s the result of high voltage rupturing the skin capillaries. It’s not a significant injury, and it’ll usually disappear within a couple of days. It confirms what I’d suspected. Simon’s been struck by lightning.”
The red, tree-like tracery across Simon’s back looked as if it had been put there by design, and it was almost impossible to believe that something that intricate could have occurred naturally. It was almost beautiful.
“Is this normal?”
“Red marks on the skin are very common with lightning strikes, but something as large and extensive as this is pretty rare. I’ve read about it but I haven’t seen it before. Hold him steady a moment. I want to get a photograph of it so we can see later whether it spreads or changes.” Rick let go of Simon, and Fleur supported him for a few moments while Rick reached for his phone, taking photographs of the pattern before laying Simon back down.
“What’s happening?” Simon suddenly seemed to jolt back to his senses, catching Fleur’s arm.
“You’ve got some marks on your back and ankle. Dr. Fleming says that they’re because you’ve been hit by lightning.”
“Uh... I’ve been pretty stupid, haven’t I?” Simon grimaced apologetically.
“Well, you might like to think about climbing a tree in a storm next time.” Fleur’s smile seemed to take the bite out of her words. “But don’t worry about that now. Dr. Fleming’s going to take good care of you.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
IT HAD TAKEN an hour of calm, concentrated work, but Simon was resting now. Rick had checked Simon’s ears for any damage to the membranes and performed an ECG. Then he’d taken X-rays, joking that, however hard he tried, he couldn’t find anything wrong with him, apart from a hairline fracture of the small scaphoid bone at the base of his wrist.
He’d applied an antiseptic to the red marks on Simon’s leg and the burn on the bottom of his foot, and covered them with light dressings. The strange pattern on his back had also been cleaned and covered. The quiet assurance with which he’d worked had calmed Fleur as well as Simon, who was gradually becoming more alert.
“I feel as if I’ve just run a marathon.”
Rick shot him a smile. “I’m not surprised. You were struck by lightning and fell out of a tree. You were lucky that the snow broke your fall.”
“Yeah. I think I remember falling. When I close my eyes...”
“I’m sure Fleur empathizes with that.”
Rick saw it all. He’d been meticulous and thorough in his examination, and he hadn’t missed this either. Simon’s fear and her own. And he saw too how much she wanted to help.
“Y-you just need to b-breathe through it. It’ll get better, I promise you.” She stammered out the words and Rick nodded.
“Okay?” His mouthed word and the warmth in his face pulled her back out of the dark place where falling was the only reality. She nodded, flashing him a smile.
“My back itches...” Simon moved fitfully on the couch.
“You have a mark there, where the lightning hit you. Rick’s dressed it and it’ll be okay.”
“A burn?”
“No, it’s called...” Fleur couldn’t remember. She glanced at Rick.
“It’s called arborescent erythema. Have you heard of Lichtenberg figures?” Rick responded.
“Yeah, when an electrical current passes through something it produces fractal patterns. I’ve got one of those on my back? That’s so cool...”
“Yeah. I’m afraid it’s going to heal, though. It’ll probably be gone in a few weeks’ time at most. You want to see it?”
Simon nodded, and Rick passed his phone over to Fleur. She found the pictures, leaning over Simon to show him.
“Awesome. I love fractals, they’re like... Nature and Math... Infinite patterns...” Simon was struggling to find the right definition. “Perhaps I should have it tattooed to make it permanent.”
