If You Only Knew- Post 1 x 02- The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
"Who should we call to pick you up?"
"I'll call a cab." Wyatt replied to the doctor as she started to gather supplies to stitch the bullet hole in his hip.
"Okay then, let's get you stitched up and then get you home."
Wyatt laid very still on the exam table and counted the ceiling tiles as the doctor pulled a small dark thread through his skin with a needle. "I'll call a cab?" Did that sound as pathetic to the outside word as it did in his own head? Today's little altercation with Lucy around Abe Lincoln's death was yet another reminder of his loss. He refused to buy in that his beautiful wife's death was "meant to be." Placing his arm over his eyes, he silently whispered, "I miss you Jess" and closed his eyes, as the exhaustion pulled him under into a restless dream.
"Wyatt do you remember the day we danced in the rain?"
"How could I forget?" Wyatt reminisced while he ran his hands through Jess' long blond hair as she lay across his chest. "We were celebrating our first anniversary at the beautiful bed and breakfast near my hometown in Texas. I remember it rained almost every afternoon."
"Go on…" Jess snuggled in closer taking in the scent of his aftershave.
"During one of those brief summer showers, you took my hand and asked me to dance with you. You never looked more beautiful as the rain fell softly and slowly over your sundress and into your hair. It's a moment, I will never forget." Wyatt leaned in for a kiss. "I am a lucky man."
"Alright, Master Sergeant we are done here. You can sit up now."
Wyatt was trapped in his dream, subconsciously unable or unwilling to move. "Sir, can you hear me?" The doctor continued as she shook his shoulder gently. "Wyatt! wake up."
Immediately Wyatt's eyes sprang open as he tried to catch his breathe taking in the strange surroundings around him. Lifting his head awkwardly, he spoke in a raspy voice, "Ma'am?"
The doctor offered a hand out to Wyatt to help him sit up. "That must have been some dream you were having, you were out cold."
Wyatt briefly smiled as despair began to creep back in. "It was."
"Well, I hope it was a good one." The doctor replied as she snapped off her rubber gloves and threw them into the trash, following up with a drop of hand sanitizer. "You are all stitched up and ready to go. How do you feel?"
"Tired."
"I'd be concerned if you weren't. Take it easy and try to get some rest tonight. I'll be right back with antibiotics and some pain medication to help you sleep."
"Thank you," Wyatt said as the doctor exited the room, leaving the door slightly open to the hallway behind her. Gingerly, he started to ease himself off the exam table, wincing in pain at his best effort. "This sucks."
"Knock, knock, wardrobe department." Wyatt heard a soft voice say from behind him. He recognized the voice immediately as Lucy's without even turning around to look. She was standing in the doorway with a white button down shirt folded across her forearm. "I thought you might need something to wear home, it's compliments of Mason Enterprises." Lucy scrutinized the garment, before handing it to Wyatt. "It's probably expensive."
"Thanks," he said, his voice thick with fatigue and pain.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I was carved like a turkey."
"Did the doctor give you anything for the pain?"
"No, not yet, she's coming back with pain meds and antibiotics."
"Right, antibiotics are important. You don't want to die of..."
"Sepsis." They both said simultaneously, eliciting a much needed ice breaker.
"Ouch, don't make me laugh." Wyatt coughed softly as he held his side, "I don't want to bust a stitch and be stuck here any longer. I'm ready to go home."
"Sorry." Lucy said awkwardly, her cheeks slightly flushed with embarrassment. "Is there anything I can do to help?
"Can you help me with this shirt?"
"Sure." Lucy said as she moved closer towards him as he sat on the edge of the exam table. He looked wrecked, as if he hadn't slept for months. His hair was sticking out in odd places and the stubble on his face was thicker than usual. "Are you sure you are alright?"
"Yes Lucy, I'm fine." Wyatt said as stoic as ever, pressing at the large bandage covering his side as he spoke. "That's going to leave a scar." Wyatt whispered to himself, appearing more concerned with his wound than with Lucy herself.
"Well that's good then. I guess I'll see you on the next mission." Lucy said, her tone defeated, as she turned for the door. Wyatt just followed her with his eyes, as a sense of loss washed over him as the distance between them grew.
Wyatt wanted to say, 'don't go!', but somehow, he just couldn't find the words. However, the feeling was temporary as she walked back towards him. "You don't look like your in any shape to drive, can I give you a ride home?"
"That's okay, I'm going to call a cab."
Their conversation was interrupted by a soft cough in the doorway. "Sir, you should really take the ride. You will appreciate getting home more sooner than later after these." Wyatt was sure he gasped at the sight of the two very large syringes in each of the doctors hands. "Miss Preston, you may want to step out of the room for this. I hear you may faint."
Lucy nodded as she headed towards the doorway. 'I'll go get my keys." The last words she heard before the exam room door shut was, "Master Sergeant, drop your pants." Lucy just shuddered as she walked towards her locker.
To be continued...