"There we go. We're almost done here, and you'll be all set," the tech said as she finished wrapped Sharon's hand. Sharon glared again at Andy, and he offered her what was meant to be a sympathetic smile. She scowled and turned back to the tech who was still wrapping her hand. "Ahh, it's such a cute little cast."
Sharon cleared her throat, almost as a nod to Andy, and he jumped to her defense, "Yeah, I'm not sure she's thinking that. For one, cute isn't exactly a word she uses, and two, I definitely can speak for her and say that there's nothing cute or great about a cast, especially one on her hand."
"Ahh, I know it's a rough break," and she smiled at Sharon and giggled. "Rough break, my play on words," she grinned, but Sharon narrowed her gaze at her, a look she'd given to many officers over the years, and the girl quickly stopped laughing and focused again on wrapping up her hand. "Sorry, let me just finish here, and I'll be out of your hair."
"This is a disaster," Sharon finally let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head at Andy. "I can't believe this."
Andy looked to the floor and nodded, "I know," he sighed. "It's been a rough few months, and this is another setback."
"Setback?" the tech asked. She couldn't help but to overhear their conversation, but Sharon raised her eyebrow at Andy for the tech taking part in it.
Andy tried to laugh it off as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Ahh, yeah, we've just spent too much time in the hospital lately. We were finally done with the bulk of doctor's appointments and all, just last week, in fact. I had a massive blood clot from a work-related injury. Things were looking up for us," he again gave Sharon a sympathetic smile. "We'll manage, but just frustrating."
"We'll manage?" Sharon used her free hand to gesture to the one being casted. "WE won't be in a cast. WE won't have to manage. Half of we will have use of his two hands. I will be the one trying to manage." She scoffed again and started to shift, but the tech pulled on her arm.
"Stay still, please. I'm almost done," she told Sharon. Sharon glared at her again, clearly not happy at being told what to do. While she had been busy glaring again at the tech, Andy had quietly moved from standing almost behind the tech to now standing by Sharon's side. The cubicle they were in was small, but he could tell Sharon needed a little more encouragement right now. He squeezed her free hand, and it was then she finally noticed he'd moved next to her.
"Okay, what color would you like for your cast?" the girl grinned and gestured to her cart where the different color options were on display. "We have a great selection. It's to make the whole experience fun! You might have a broken bone, but at least you can enjoy something about it." She smiled at Andy, and he just gave her a simple smile, but then he turned to Sharon. The tech didn't even let Sharon answer before she jumped in to make a suggestion, "Ohh, pink would be a great color on you!"
"I'm not a pink person," Sharon almost hissed, and Andy squeezed her hand again. She cleared her throat and looked to the tech and continued, "not pink."
"Okay," she nodded and bit her lip before she continued, "hmmm, maybe purple? You would be stylish at work."
"I'm a police captain, and I'm responsible for a team of mostly men. I'm not into bright colors," she said sternly now. She rolled her eyes as she looked to the ceiling and tried not to look at the tech. She knew the young woman was doing her job, but Sharon wasn't in a good mood at the moment. "Besides that," she huffed, "purple might be my favorite color, but I don't want to ruin it with a cast. I hate this thing already, and I don't want to be stuck staring at it, in my favorite color, for weeks on end, only to hate purple and anything else associated with this cast," she said that and looked at Andy. He grimaced slightly, taking in the "anything else associated with this cast" part. He knew she was upset, but it was hard to hear her use the word "hate" right now. The room was quiet after Sharon's little tantrum, and finally, he tried to break that silence.
Andy nudged her shoulder with his, "Babe, you need to pick something. You don't want it to remain white. It will look dirty if you keep it white. I know this is miserable for you, but let's pick something that will be tolerable."
"Black," she said firmly and quickly, not looking at anyone. "Just black. Nothing else. It will match my clothing, and I'm in mourning anyway. This is a disaster."
Andy eyed her and met her gaze, "Black? Are you sure you want a black cast? You know, if you want a lighter color, I'll sign it for you," he winked and tried to smile at her.
She pulled her hand away and gestured with it. "There will be no signing of my cast. I'm not five, and what, am I going to have the team sign it? I know-go home and have Rusty sign it? Black is fine," she gave a single nod to the tech who now had moved back a couple steps as she sensed the tension. Andy just nodded at Sharon, and he turned to the tech.
"The lady would like black," he said softly, trying to ease the tension in the room. The tech looked to her cart and started to work.
"I can do black," she said. The room was silent the next several minutes as the tech finished Sharon's cast. It was going to be an annoying several weeks. She'd broken her hand, in what she was already calling a hairline fracture, even though there were two small breaks in her hand, and the doctor hadn't called either one a hairline fracture. One was on her thumb, and one was near the palm of her hand. The story of the break, well, Sharon was so disgusted right now, she hadn't told the tech, not all of it, only that she'd fallen the night before. Hoping it wasn't broken, she'd gone to bed, only to wake up on and off all night in pain, and finally in the morning, it had been Andy, after seeing it, who had convinced her to go to the ER. He'd brought her here, and now, a couple hours later, she was finally almost done, black cast and all. She'd already been told she would have to wear it six weeks, and even then, she'd need occupational therapy for several weeks to hopefully get her hand back to normal. The situation was irritating, beyond irritating, and part of her problem, aside from the now black cast in her line of sight, was the man next to her. The two had been through so much over the past few months, so much, and finally, things were just now getting back to normal, or at least they had been. They were getting back to normal and moving on together, and now, this had happened. She knew he was trying to help, but she also couldn't help but be totally irritated with him and his part in the whole mess.
"Now, you are all set," Sharon snapped her head back to reality and saw Andy sitting next to her now. She'd not even noticed he'd sat down, but he had her free hand in his again. She looked to the tech who was still speaking and realized she needed to focus on what was being said. "I'm going to give you this sheet of instructions. You'll need to follow the rules. The big rule is to not get the cast wet. This is still an old-school cast, so don't get it wet. It will itch; I won't lie, but try to not put anything down your hand to scratch at it. While you might try to do things with the fingers that are free of the cast, don't because it could cause issues with them. Take some basic pain medicine for pain over the next couple days. The rest is really on the sheet. Any questions?"
"I guess you won't be swimming laps," Andy said almost under his breath, and Sharon quickly twisted her head toward him, which was then followed by another glare at him. He raised his free hand in defense. "I know, I know." He reached for the paper the tech still had in her hand and nodded, "Thanks. She'll be as good as new when this comes off, and the doc said what, several weeks?"
The tech nodded and glanced to the paperwork she had, "Yes, the note here says six weeks. I know it's not ideal, but it is what is best for your hand."
"Ideal?" Sharon questioned as she raised her eyebrow. Andy squeezed her hand, and that seemed to calm her slightly before she went off on the tech for another comment. "No swimming, no use of my hand, which will affect almost every single thing I do. Anything else? What can I do?"
The tech shrugged, "Ask for help. You'll need it. Again, I'm sorry. Do you have any other questions?"
Andy glanced at Sharon, and she shook her head slightly. He looked to the tech, who had been on the receiving end of most of Sharon's frustrations. Even the doctor who had told her it was broken had not spent much time with her. The doctor had provided facts and facts only, leaving her cubicle with a less than stellar bedside manner. Andy jumped in to help the situation, "No, no other questions. Thank you for your time and help."
"You're welcome," she nodded and looked to Sharon. "I wish you a speedy recovery and let your husband take over at home," she grinned at Sharon.
"Oh, he's not my husband," Sharon said quickly.
Andy nodded, "I'm the boyfriend, but you can rest assured I'll take care of her."
"I'm sorry," the tech said, raising her hand to her heart. "I just assumed you were married and had taken your rings off for me to cast your left hand," she told Sharon. "For what it's worth, you two seem like a married couple," she grinned.
Andy shook his head and chuckled. He looked away from Sharon, but he could feel her hand tense in his. He felt her trying to yank it away from him, but he squeezed it again. He nodded to the tech, "Like I said earlier, we've been through a lot. We've also known each other for years, decades even, so yeah, I can see why you'd think that."
"Well, good luck to you both," she nodded as she put away her things. She started to push her cart toward the door. "I'll let the nurse know you are set to go. I think there might be a discharge form for you to sign, and then you can be on your way."
"Thank you," Sharon found her voice and said that quietly as the tech left the room. She sighed and looked at her now casted hand. Andy nudged her shoulder with his, and she glanced to him. She barely caught sight of him before she started to cry. He twisted to pull her in for a hug.
"Sharon, I'm so, so sorry about this," he sighed as he ran his hand over her back. They were sitting close to each other, but there was room between them where she now held her broken hand in her other. Andy rubbed her back and kissed the side of her head. "I know," he sighed. "This isn't going to be easy. I know." Sharon just nodded, and the two sat there together like that for what felt like a few moments, but what was really several minutes. The curtain opened, and the nurse stepped in the room.
"I hear we are all set in here," she looked to Sharon who pulled back from Andy. Sharon just hummed and looked to her hand. "You chose black, interesting," she nodded.
"She's not much into flashy for that," Andy quickly added before the nurse got a comment from Sharon.
"Okay, well, I just need this form signed. The doctor said you technically could go to work, but she advised it might be a good idea to go home and just rest that hand. Up to you," she said as she passed the paperwork to Sharon.
"I'll take her home for today," Andy replied, and Sharon looked to him with a glare. He shrugged at her, "What? You didn't sleep well. It's now lunchtime, and after we get some food, I'm going to take you home. Nothing is going on at work. Provenza said he'd text me if anything came up today. No text, at least nothing about work issues," he held up his phone and waved it in the air. Sharon just shook her head, dismissing the topic for the moment.
"Where do I sign?" Sharon asked, and the nurse pointed at two spots. Sharon signed her name, and she looked at the nurse. "May I leave now?"
"Of course," she nodded. "We'll finish up your paperwork and file with your insurance. Good luck with that," she nodded to Sharon's broken hand. Andy stood and held his hand out for Sharon to help her off the side of the exam table. He grabbed her purse and put her paperwork in it. Andy took one last look around the room and seeing that they had everything, he threw her purse over his shoulder and took her hand in his again. He gestured to the door, and the two walked hand in hand into the hallway and down the hall. They were quiet as they walked outside to the parking lot.
"I'll go get the car for you," he said softly and glanced at her.
"Andy! I'm fine. I am not an invalid. I can walk to the car," she scoffed and almost stomped her foot. He just nodded.
"I'm just trying to help. I feel terrible about all this," he told her. "I know you're going to need some help."
"Maybe, but walking to the car isn't it," Sharon snapped again. "I'm sorry," she said a moment later when she realized she was again irritated at the situation and not necessarily the person. "Can we just walk to the car?"
"Sure," he said and held out his hand to offer it to her. She took it, and the two walked side by side as Andy started to update her on things. "Provenza said work is quiet, so we can either get some lunch out to go home and eat. There's that leftover chicken from last night you and Rusty ate, and I know there's still bean salad."
"We need to get to work," she told him, "so, let's just stop for a quick bite."
"Sharon, you heard them," he nodded back to the hospital. "They said to go home and rest your hand. I know, and you know that you barely slept last night. The office is quiet. No murder right now. Besides that, it's going to be awkward with your hand, trying to type at your computer. Why don't we go back to the condo, and you can even figure that out on your computer at home, how you'll be able to use your computer and type with your hand, mainly your thumb in that cast."
They had reached Andy's car, and he opened the passenger door for Sharon. She took a moment to get situated, and then he offered Sharon her purse. She took it, and then, she answered him. "Fine," she said in a very dry tone. "You can just drop me off at the front entrance and go to work. I'll be fine."
Andy gestured as he answered, irritated, but trying to be understanding, "I'm not going to drop you off and go to work! You broke your hand! I get it that you are independent, but for at least this afternoon, let me help you. It's going to be weeks before you are back up to functioning on a normal basis, so please, let me help. I feel terrible about all this. I believe it wasn't' too long ago that a certain person I know was almost falling over me to help and make sure I was okay and well taken care of when I was sick. Now, it's my turn. We may not be married or anything, like the girl in there thought, but I'm not dropping you off at the front door and hightailing it out of there to go to work. In sickness and in health, my dear, and right now, you would be the one in the sickness category seeing as you were just discharged from the hospital."
Sharon sighed loudly and looked away. She turned her head forward in the car, well aware Andy was staring at her. She started to cross her arms, but then she got annoyed with herself, that she couldn't cross her arms in her normal fashion. She let out an exasperated groan, and finally she just shook her head. "Can we just go? Chicken at home is fine. I don't want to be seen in public with this ridiculous cast."
"Not a problem," Andy nodded and closed her door. He took his time walking around to the driver side, and as he did, he took a deep breath. He would do anything for Sharon, anything. He needed to do anything for her. It was no secret he had been on the receiving end of care not too long ago, and he was more than happy to take care of her now. He hated the situation, that she was hurt, and that he'd played a part in the mess. It was going to be a long six weeks. He knew his girlfriend. She was stubborn, and she wasn't going to let a cast slow her down, even when that is what she needed to do. Aside from all that, he was terrified this might break them. The blood clot hadn't, but man, it had tried his patience, and on several occasions, he'd blown up at Sharon. She'd handled it well, but he wasn't so sure this time. He was part of the problem, and he wasn't sure Sharon would accept him as part of the solution. Yes, it was going to be a very long six weeks, and he just hoped that in the end, Sharon's hand and their relationship emerged intact.