Tegan Chronicles Sanctuary Style 3:
Nubbin Juice 3
Hidden Wounds
Helen had watched Tegan enter her office with only seconds to spare before starting the staff meeting. She was wearing leather flipflops, jeans, and a white oxford button down. She looked tired and Helen wondered if she'd slept at all over the weekend. Unfortunately, Helen had been so busy that she hadn't seen her since Friday night. She hadn't even had time to check in on her via the security cameras.
The meeting had only been in progress for ten minutes when she found herself looking at her again. Not just looking, but studying her. Will was talking about wanting to go to some psychology seminar in DC that he thought would help him be better able to help some of the abnormals they encountered. She interrupted him, "Everything alright? You look flushed."
Will noticed she was staring intently at Tegan. He glanced over and didn't see anything wrong. She was sitting on the couch beside Henry and had her trusty notebook in her lap. "Are you even listening to me?"
"My answer is still no, Will. I can't spare you for a whole week. I'm sorry." She didn't appreciate him continuing to bring the subject up when she had already given him her answer. It continued to anger her even more that he was bringing in up again in the middle of a staff meeting. Normally the staff meetings ran thirty minutes minimum but today she was concerned about Tegan, and there were no other pressing issues to be tended to. "Unless anyone has any questions I think we're done here."
"Nope." Henry looked around the group and stood up as both Tegan and Helen rose.
"I need you to stay for a minute or two." Helen directed the comment at Tegan who looked at Henry.
Henry shook his head and ducked it slightly when he realized Helen had witnessed the silent interaction. He flashed Tegan a sympathetic smile and swiftly moved out the door. Biggie and Kate weren't far behind.
Will hung back looking back and forth between the two women.
"Give us a moment Will." Helen raised her eyebrows at him. Honestly, some days she didn't know if he was that dense or that curious.
"Of course, I've got work to do." He pointed and walked out of the office closing the door as he went.
Helen waited until she heard the heavy door click shut. "Everything alright?"
"Fine." Tegan nodded.
"Really?" She raised a doubtful brow, "You look flushed."
She'd heard her the first time but she had hoped Will had saved her from responding. She dodged Helen's hand as she stepped forward to touch her forehead. "I'm fine."
Helen looked at her curiously. She knew the dance, and she wasn't about to let Tegan waltz around the subject at hand. "We're short a pack of ten-o silk, did you use it?"
"I did." She wished it would be a good enough answer.
"That's odd; I didn't see anything in your charting about needing to suture anyone up." Helen waited for her to explain and when she didn't, she reached up again. "Hold still."
Helen's hand was cool as she first touched her cheek with the back of her fingers and then placed the back of her hand to her forehead.
"You've got a fever."
Tegan shrugged, "It's warm in here."
"Show me." Helen lifted her brow and used the voice she had once reserved for talking to Ashley when she wasn't particularly pleased with her.
Tegan lifted her pant leg to show Helen the dressing she had put over the laceration.
"Sit." Helen pointed to the couch and then to the coffee table in front of it. "Leg up."
Tegan let out a huff of air as she did as she was told. It wasn't like she had a choice.
Helen sat on the edge of the couch beside Tegan and pulled the tape and gauze off. "It's infected."
Tegan looked at the red and slightly puffy laceration. "I haven't gotten around to changing the dressing this morning."
"Two grams of Rocephin IM, and I want to check your white blood count." Helen stood up. "I shouldn't have to give this lecture, not to you. You're a bloody medical doctor."
"And I can take care of myself." Tegan carefully pulled the denim back over the wound and put her foot on the floor.
"By getting gangrene?"
"You're exaggerating."
"Am I?" Helen knew she was, but she was trying to make a point. "You're probably septic and heaven knows what got in that wound."
"I did clean it, you know."
"No, I wouldn't know, since I'm just now finding out about it. When and how did it happen?"
"You know that mission Henry and I went on Friday morning?"
Helen nodded.
"Scooter," that's what Henry had named the purple rubbery guy with yellow feathers on his head. "He threw a crate at me from behind. I think there was a piece of jagged metal sticking out of it. Ruined my favorite pair of jeans."
Helen knew the pair she was referring to, they hugged her curves just right. She shook the smile from her lips and gave her a stern look. "You should have told me. You didn't even put it in your report."
"It was just a scratch."
"Anything that you have to suture closed is not a scratch." She pointed to the leg in question. "That is not a scratch. When was your last tetanus shot?"
"Two years; give or take a couple weeks."
"I want to know anytime you are injured."
Tegan stood up without commenting.
"Infirmary now."
Before drawing her blood Helen put a thermometer under Tegan's tongue, when she pulled it out she frowned. "102.2"
Tegan shrugged. "I honestly don't feel that hot."
"Well you're getting a dose of Tylenol to go with your Rocephin, just as soon as I check your blood count."
Tegan grumbled incoherently under her breath as Helen headed to the lab.
When Helen returned she shook her head. "Your white count is normal. High side of normal, but normal."
"I told you it wasn't gangrene." Tegan tried not to smirk.
"I could have sworn you were at least heading for sepsis." Helen looked back at Tegan's chart. She had run the blood through the Coulter counter and then double-checked the count herself. She still didn't fully trust modern machines to do such delicate work properly. Nikola always picked on her for her medieval medical equipment. She assured him it wasn't that old, and while she still had her very first microscope she also had the best electron microscope money could buy.
"It's not that bad." Tegan looked at her leg, which she had put up on the exam table and pulled her jeans' leg up revealing the laceration. "There's no streaking."
Helen looked over her leg again.
"Looks like you jumped the gun." This time Tegan smiled smugly.
Helen ignored her cocky expression; she wasn't going to admit she was wrong. "You still should have informed me and let me do the suturing."
Tegan knew Helen wanted her to at least pretend to be contrite over not coming to her in the first place. "So, no Rocephin?"
"No – Tylenol, topical antibiotic ointment and the day off. I want to change the dressing in the morning and we'll go from there."
"I can change…"
Helen cut her off with a stare.
"Fine, but I don't see any need to take the day off."
"You've got a fever. Your body is obviously fighting something. I'm not going to have to lock you out of the labs am I?"
"No," Tegan sighed. She would let her have this battle. "I've got some reading I can do."
"Rest." Helen suggested firmly.
"That is resting."
