"Dino, mate? You around?" Terry inquired as he walked into the flat that he and the redhead shared.
"Don't," Dino requested with a slur in his speech.
"What?" Terry let his hand rest over the light switch not liking the sound of his partner's voice.
"Please don't turn on the light, Ter."
"Why?" Concern flared in him.
"Because I'm not a pretty sight."
"That's a normal state of affairs, mate," Terry teased. He made his way into the room by memory.
Dino snickered and then groaned. "Don't make me laugh, asshole. It hurts too much."
Terry sat on the arm of the couch and turned on the lamp next to it. He grimaced when he got a good look at Dino. The redhead had a split lip and the beginnings of a black eye. "Who the hell did you tangle with and do they look worse than you do?"
"I doubt it. The fuckers jumped me from behind."
"Hmmm…" Terry murmured as he moved from the couch arm to the coffee table. He reached up and turned Dino's head to inspect the damage ignoring the hiss of pain and spat of swear words disparaging his ancestry. "Why do I have a feeling that there is more to this drama than what I can actually see?"
"Ouch, damnit!" Dino snarled. He jerked his head out of Terry's grasp causing pain to shoot through his skull.
"Dino?"
"What?"
"Were you hustling a game of billiards again?"
"No," the redhead hedged. "I was out taking a walk, minding my own business and I got jumped."
"I don't believe you."
"Believe what you want," Dino groused. He wasn't in the mood to argue. His head felt like it would split in two at any moment and sleep was nibbling at the edge of his consciousness.
"Do I have to take you to hospital or can fix you myself?"
"Which would hurt less?"
"Me."
"Then do it and let me sleep. I'll fill you in on the details later."
"I can't let you sleep, mate. You might have a concussion," Terry explained.
"That explains the headache," Dino muttered as he watched Terry make his way to the bathroom and return with the first aid kit.
Terry held up two fingers and asked, "How many fingers do you see?"
"Up yours, too, Thorne."
"At least, you haven't lost your sense humor."
"Your voice is making my head hurt worse," Dino groaned. He tried to stay still but twitched whenever Terry touched him. He closed his tired eyes so he wouldn't see and twitch thus making the pain flare through his bruised and battered frame.
"Stay with me, Dino," Terry urged when he saw the redhead's eyelids drift shut.
Dino forced his eyes open not bothering to hide the tears that ran freely down his face. He hadn't hurt this bad since his first day of SEAL training. "Just make the pain go away, Ter," he whispered.
"I'm trying, mate. I'm trying."
Terry finished tending to Dino's injuries in silence. Every so often he would stop and gently shake his friend to keep him from going to sleep. He promised himself that he would call a doctor friend of theirs and have him do a once over to make certain Dino didn't have a concussion or any other undiscovered injuries.
He helped the redhead into his bedroom and stayed up with him for the rest of the night playing cards.
"You are enjoying this too much, pal," Dino groused at one point. He eyed his dwindling pile of matchsticks.
Terry shrugged. "It's not often I can beat you at cards, so I am taking advantage of the situation."
"Bastard."
Terry chuckled and Dino just glared at him. "If you want, I can call Ben and have him come by."
"If it will end this hellish night, then by all means do so," Dino snapped.
Terry refrained from smiling. If Dino was sniping at him, he knew the redhead was on the mend. He called Ben and the man said he would be over after he finished his rounds.
The Aussie went back to tormenting his friend, but with a silent vow that he would get to the full story out of Dino before he went looking for revenge.
