A Crooked Mile: The Aftermath
"WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS MY FATHER?!"
Bigby's Apartment, The Woodlands, Room 204.
Inside Room 204, Doctor Swineheart was examining Bigby's wounds with a grim expression on his face, with Snow White pacing behind him. Bigby himself was slouching in his large armchair, eyelids half open, head laid back on the head of the chair. Even though he was trying not to show it, Bigby was in an enourmous amount of pain. It was no surprise really, Fable or not anyone would be from several gunshot wounds to the chest, and his right shoulder wound had been re-opened, thanks to the Tweedle brothers, not to mention his left arm had been broken viciously by Bloody Mary herself. But that wasn't the worst of the pain he felt. The right side of his body, shot with a silver bullet, again Bloody Mary's doing, was excrutiating.
"He's lucky to be alive," Doctor Swineheart said to Snow, seriously. "He won't be next time if he keeps going like this".
Snow stopped pacing and looked over to where Bigby lay. This was the worst state she had ever seen him, injury wise that is. His white shirt was almost black with his own blood, his tie now had holes and rips in it from the gunshots from the Tweedles' shotguns, his left arm, that had been reset by Snow while anxiously waiting for Doctor Swineheart, was swollen and purple, and she had no idea what the silver bullet wound looked like, but it seemed to be the most painful of all.
Snow, remembering the howl of pain he cried when Bloody Mary had shot him, and felt a surge of anger course through her like venom. It took all her patience and sanity not to grab a knife from Bigby's kitchen and scream Bloody Mary's name five times in a mirror.
Snow looked back at Bigby again. His breaths jagged, his eyes slightly glazed as he fought to stay concious and every now and then his left arm would twitch and he would flinch slightly and only briefly from the pain it caused. It was difficult, very difficult to see Bigby this way, Snow almost wanted to cry. Again Snow remembered back to the alley next to the Puddin' and Pie. Bigby lying on the dirty floor, Bloody Mary coming at him with an axe, handing over Crane to the Crooked Man... and the girls. The girls helping Snow with Bigby being half dragged, half stumbling to Crane's now abandoned car and with some help from one of the girls, managed to hotwire and drive the car to Bigby's apartment.
The most difficult part was trying to hide this incident from the public, but things had their way of getting out and no doubt Georgie (the owner of the Pudding and Pie) would tell everyone what he had saw. Not to mention the girls might too, unless Georgie made sure they did not, which Snow doubt would happen. It was inevitable and no doubt it would make Bigby and Snow's jobs a whole lot harder.
But that didn't matter now. What mattered was making sure Bigby could rest and be safe while doing it. Think about it. While Bigby was tired and helpless, anyone could take an oppertunity to try murder him or even cause problems. Okay, so maybe there are going to be problems anyway, but the least Snow could do was make sure Bigby was safe.
Doctor Swineheart said something, but Snow had not heard. Snapping out of her daydreaming state, she now looked at Swineheart.
"Sorry. I was-"
"It's fine", Swineheart interrupted her. "No doubt you've had a lot to deal with".
Snow nodded attentively.
"I will need your assistance", he began explaining. "I need to remove most of the shots from Mr. Wolf's chest and shoulder in order for it to heal. What I need you to do is hold this for me please, so I can put the shots inside".
Snow nodded and took the small plastic jar from Doctor Swineheart.
He took a pair of metal scissors from his bag and cut off Bigby's shirt and tie exposing the wounds. Snow gasped as she stared at them. They looked red and angry and some were stil bleeding slightly, but the worst of all was the silver bullet wound. Bigby's once smooth, slightly tanned skin, was now black and bloody around the shot and Snow could not stop staring at it. It was not until she heard a tiny hiss emitting from Bigby and the clink of metal hitting plastic, that she finally tore her gaze away from it and looked back at the wolf. His eyes had closed for a brief second before slowly opening again and as Snow looked into them, she saw something only she would recognize. The tiniest hint of embarassment, something that she had never seen him show before.
He had been a lone wolf for too long.
She reached for his hand, putting hers on top of his and slowly started stroking it with her thumb. Then she thought, "Should I really be doing this? He's a grown man after all, not a child. But he's been alone too long and he doesn't have to be anymore".
She continued this as Swineheart proceeded to remove as much of the shots as he could, the rest would work their way out, all the while Bigby only uttered the tiniest of hisses and flinched less often. The hardest part was yet to come.
"Bigby", it was not a question. "I'm going to remove the silver bullet now and I'm not going to lie to you. This is going to be extremely painful".
Bigby didn't move. He just took a deep breath and nodded ever so slightly at the doctor to tell him to proceed.
Bracing himself, Bigby shut his eyes to avoid Snow's worried look and Snow saw something new in his eyes before he closed them. Fear. They waited for Swineheart to remove the bullet. Doctor Swineheart looked at Snow, who nodded back as Swineheart proceeded to remove the bullet. He did it as quickly and painlessly as possible but even so, it was the worst pain Bigby had ever felt. Even worse than the shooting part itself. The pain shot through him like acid, replaced by a burning sensation around, and what felt like, inside the right hand side of his body. He clenched his jaw and groaned (almost whined) loadly and squeezed his eyes tighter shut, his hands gripping the sides of his chair, his body arching off it before relaxing once again against it with a small moan. Snow could clearly see the embarassment in his eyes now, even though his face did not show it and as he groaned she grabbed his hand properly and had to look away. Doctor Swineheart dropped the bullet inside the jar, took it from Snow and sealed it up. He now removed some splints and bandages from his bag, Bigby would not need a cast as Fables heal quickly, and set them on Bigby's broken arm. Bigby did not wince or even move, even when Swineheart gingerly picked up his arm to dress it. Surprisingly, Bigby was still awake but his eyes were still slightly glazed, his head resting against the head of his chair again.
With Bigby's arm now patched up, Doctor Swineheart needed to dress his other wounds. He turned to Snow White. "Could you?"
Knowing what Swineheart meant she went to help him sit Bigby up a little of the back of his chair when- "Snow..." muttered Bigby. "I can do this myself you know".
Snow looked at him and gave him a small smile. "I know. But I think it's best if you don't move. At least for now".
Bigby, too tired to argue, let Snow and Swineheart sit him forward gently, his head coming forward slightly, but not lolling and after throwing Bigby's ruined clothes aside, Swineheart began dressing the other wounds now. While the doctor was doing this, Snow kept Bigby up, careful not to touch his chest or wounded shoulder, Bigby whispered quietly enough so only Snow could hear: "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine", Snow whispered back. Bigby lifted his head slightly and gave her his famous raised eyebrows. "Well. As fine as I can be" she added.
"That's what I thought". Bigby smiled faintly before letting his head drop forward again.
Now finished, Doctor Swineheart and Snow put Bigby gently back to the way he was and Swineheart began to clean up. However, there was still one more thing to do.
"Miss Snow. I am going to give Bigby a dose of Barmecidal Ambrosia for the pain and I'll need you to stay with him to make sure he rests properly".
"How do you think he will take to heal, Doctor?" Snow asked, bringing her hands together.
"Well, knowing Mr Wolf he'll want to be back on the case right away, but he'll need to give himself at least a whole twenty four hours to make sure the wounds won't open back up".
"You can count on me Doctor".
"But first, I think it would be best if we moved him to a more comfortable place. His bedroom for example".
"Yes, of course", Snow said, with a single nod.
They walked back over to where Bigby was lying and leaned him forward once again and, taking an arm each, lifted him onto his feet. As they did this, Bigby groaned as his feet began to move. In quick succession, they had managed to get Bigby to his bedroom and lay him down on his double bed on top of the covers, as it was warm enough for him to sleep without them. Bigby sighed with relief and finally closed his eyes but not willing to sleep just yet, his breathing less jagged now.
As Doctor Swineheart exited the room to fetch the needle, Snow looked around Bigby's tiny room. There was not much room except for the bed and a set of chester draws, which were most likely not very full. There was no pictures or decor of any kind, not even a mirror and there wasnt even a bedside table, but as the room was dimly lit by the bright city lights outside the window, there was no need for a bedside table, which usually contained a lamp Snow thought. It was just a plain room for sleeping and it occured to Snow, Bigby probably did not use this room very often anyway. He prefered his chair.
Doctor Swineheart came back shortly with the dose of Barmecidal Ambrosia appropriate for Bigby's condition and before he could administer it Bigby spoke.
"What's that?" he said, gruffly.
"Barmecidal Ambrosia. It will help with the pain and help you to sleep easier", stated Swineheart.
"Fine", Bigby sighed.
Doctor Swineheart leant over Bigby and injected the liquid into Bigby's arm and Snow noticed, he did not flich or even move during this process. "I guess needles don't bother him", she thought.
Swineheart turned to Snow. "That will be all Miss White. I will be taking the shots with me for tests and I will get back to you soon. If you need me you know where I am and do tell Mr Wolf to be more careful".
"Yes Doctor".
"Goodnight to you Miss Snow. I'll see myself out".
And with that, Snow heard the doctor, pick up his stuff and leave the apartment.
Snow gazed over at Bigby, who was now sound asleep. She looked across his face and noticed how peaceful he looked. She smiled slightly, but it did not last long as she recalled the events in the last twenty four hours. Bigby had been shot twice, both times by one of the Tweedles and both times Snow had witnessed it and not only that, innocent Fables where harmed too. Gren, Holly... Snow vowed she would do more to help Fables in difficult positions and she would no longer be a mere errand girl for Crane.
Crane.
Even though she hated that low-life, piece of filth, she was still worried what might be happening to him and hoped he would be okay...
She looked back across to Bigby now. For now she would have to keep him safe. She walked swiftly, but quietly, out of Bigby's bedroom, made sure all the windows and the door was locked and most importantly, made sure any mirrors where either covered up or turned around. Finally, she grabbed a dining room chair and setting it right next to Bigby's bed, on the side he was sleeping and sat in it. She decided to try and stay awake all night incase Bigby woke, then she could be there right away if he needed something.
After a while, she started to stroke Bigby's hair. She noticed that even though all that had happened, it still felt soft in between her fingers. She continued this for what felt like... hours... until...
Snow was jolted awake. There was a loud banging at Bigby's door. She must have dozed off, her hand still intwined in Bigby's hair. She removed it, stood up, stretched and went towards the banging sound. She could hear a voice now.
"I know someone's in there! Let me in!"
Puzzled, Snow looked out of the round peephole in the apartment door and saw-
"Bigby?!"
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