A/N* So I went on vacation last week. Which is why there wasn't update :) Sorry I didn't let you know before I left. But, I have like the worst memory ever! Once again many thanks to my Beta, A Cullen Wannabe! She rocks my world. This is the chapter that my fan character makes their apperence :) Let's have a big welcome for Siofra!
Chapter 14: Hurt
Vince made Clara follow him home after he found her at the park.
"As much as I love seeing YOU get under Dom's skin, he will let you live. I, on the other hand, don't feel like dying today." Vince grumbled.
Clara pulled to the curb, noticing that both houses were empty. 'That's odd, Dom usually closes the shops early on race day,' Clara thought. She shrugged it off and went to get the hidden spare key. The house was oddly silent as she climbed the stairs to the spare bedroom. Clara's mind was so preoccupied that when she walked into her bedroom, she didn't realize that there was someone sitting in her bed.
"This is how people get robbed you know," The voice said from her bed.
Clara jerked so hard she fell into the dresser, cracking her head on the edge. Annoying bells rang in her head as she tried to focus her eyes. A sticky substance ran down her face and down her neck. Hands came down and brushed against her head. Clara weakly lifted her hands up to bat the offending hands away when they came in contact with the stinging spot on her face. When the same hands tried to lift her off the floor, Clara began to fling her limbs out.
"Clara! Clara, stop! It's Brian. Cla- UGH!" Clara's arm smashed Brian in the face. Brian's head snapped back from the force of it. "Clara, STOP," Brian yelled.
Brain's voice finally made it through Clara's buzzing head. She stopped fighting against him and went limp. She tried to focus on him, but all she see was a red blur.
Brian lifted Clara up, sitting her gently on the bed. "You cut your head pretty good, Clar. I gotta see how bad it is." Brian pushed her hair back, making Clara wince as many of the strands were stuck in the cut.
Brian sucked in his breath when he got a good look at the gash. It was at least an inch long at the base of her hair line. Blood covered half of Clara's face and had soaked the top of her shirt.
"You need to go to the ER, Clar; you need stitches." Brian's hands were shaking as he picked Clara up bridal style and raced out to her car.
Clara moaned at the motion, her head felt like it was going to spilt open. Brian's voice sounded like it was coming from the end of a tunnel. Clara struggled to remain conscious, but it was a hard battle. When she could focus her eyes, there would be two of Brian driving or he would be blurry.
Brian shook all the way to the ER. All of his police training could have never prepped him for this. Clara was lying in the passenger seat with her eyes closed. He shot out questions to keep Clara awake, but the closer they got to the ER, the harder it was to get a response out of her.
Brian swung the car into the parking lot, jumping out. His hands were so sweaty that he couldn't get a grip on the door handle to get Clara out. Finally, he wrapped a shirt around his hand and yanked the door open.
Clara lay deathly still in the passenger seat. Brian gently picked her up as he tried to keep her head from falling back. His phone once again buzzed in his jean pocket, it had been going off since he had scared the shit out of Clara. Ignoring his vibrating pants, which was kinda hard to do since it was close to a certain body part, Brian ran as fast as he could into the ER.
The red headed nurse at the desk took one look at the blood covered duo and almost leapt over the counter.
"What happened?" the tiny nurse asked, the lilt in her voice pronounced as she ushered Brian into an exam room.
Brian laid Clara on the hospital bed, trying to unglue his tongue from the roof of his mouth. "She uh. She, um, hit her head on her, uh, dresser."
The nurse pressed the call button on the wall, pulling gloves on as she started to check Clara's stats.
"How long ago?" she shot out, moving around the small exam room like a small fairy.
Brian couldn't take his eyes off of Clara's still form. "Uh, about fifteen minutes ago. I got her in the car as soon as it happened."
A doctor blew into the room, pushing Brian aside to get to Clara.
"What do we have?" he asked moving to Clara's side.
"Young adult female, wound to the head. BP 90 over 70. Pulse is 50." the young nurse called out as she cleaned the wound on Clara's head.
The doctor checked Clara's eyes and tried to get a response out of her. "Get her on oxygen, now! What's her name?" The doctor asked the silent Brian.
"Uh, Clara. Her name is Clara." Brian felt his phone go off again making him jump.
The doctor turned back to Clara. "Clara can you hear me? My name is Dr. Bentley. You are at County Hospital. If you can hear me, I need you to squeeze my hand."
Clara could hear everyone, but every time she tried to open her eyes, she couldn't. When she felt someone put their hand in hers, asking her to squeeze it, she wrapped her fingers around it.
The doctor nodded and kept up the one sided conversation. "Clara, you sliced your head open. We are going to have to stitch it up. Siofra is going to numb you up and prep you for the stitches."
The doctor looked back up at the nurse. "Keep her on oxygen until her heart rate goes back up. I want her started on fluids and on a monitor. Call in an order for an emergency CAT scan. I want her in immediately after we get her stitches in."
The doctor took one last look at Clara and walked out the door.
Brian walked back up to Clara, taking her small hand in his. The nurse smiled at him as she gently prepped Clara's wound.
"She is going to be ok. She just took a hard knock to the head. We will get her stitched up and some fluids on her and she will be as good as new. Well, except for the hell of a headache she is going to have."
Siofra's voice calmed Brian down. He had heard of people having a musical voice, but he had never heard one in person before. The strong lilt in her voice was like drowning in a hot bath. Brian's phone went off again, making him dig into his pocket to get the offending thing away from his privates.
Siofra took a moment to check Clara's vitals again before she started the set up for the IV drip. "You going to answer that, or am I going to have to turn it off for you?" Siofra lifted an eyebrow up as she looked Brian in the eyes. "It has only gone off fifty times since you have been in here."
Brian sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew he had to answer it at some point, but he didn't feel like dealing with that drama that would be on the other line. Brian didn't have a choice, when his phone went off again, Siofra side stepped over and jacked the phone out of his hand.
"Siofra here, how may I help you?" she asked, laugher dancing in her eyes.
"Uh, yaa, ok. Is Brian there?" the voice asked back.
Siofra went to give the phone to Brian, but he shook his head no. "I guess that depends on who is calling."
"Tell em' it's Jesse."
Siofra put her hand over the speaker. "I am to tell you that it's Jesse. Who sounds major cute by the way."
Brian held his hand out for the phone; Jesse he could handle. "Now is not a good time, Jess."
"When is it ever? Dom is about to blow a gasket. You need to get your shit over here ASAP."
Brian could hear music in the background.
"I can't. I had to take Clara to the ER." Brian watched Siofra start the IV in Clara's hand.
"You had to what?" Jesse yelled on the other end. "Why is Clara in the ER?"
Before Brian could reply he heard shuffling on the other end.
"She better be okay, Brian, and that's all I have to say." Dom's said in a tense voice and hung up the phone.
Brian turned his phone off and snapped it shit.
Siofra bent down to whisper to Clara as she began to numb her forehead. When she was done, she threw the syringe in the needle box and tore her gloves off.
"That bad, huh?"
Brian rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."
"I have to go page Dr. Bentley, and let him know that she is ready." Siofra went to go leave when Brian caught her scrub top.
"I thought nurses did the stitching?" He asked her confused.
Siofra giggled at the look on his face. "They usually do, but Dr. Bentley is one of those people that feel like no one can do a better job, so he prefers to do it himself. Plus, he has the best hands on the floor. She will barely have a scar."
Siofra untangled Brian's fingers from her top and slipped out the door.
Brian started at Clara as he tried to get his thoughts back in rational matter. His hands cupped her right one as he began to pray.
It didn't take the Doctor long to stitch Clara back up, but once Brian got banished to the waiting room while they took Clara up to get a CAT scan, time dragged on. A loud crash brought Brian out of his thoughts. A wince followed when he recognized Dom's deep tenor.
Siofra danced around the corner and stood in front of Brian. "I think your friends are here to see you."
When Brian lifted his head up, he was greeted with the sight of Dom, Vince, Jesse, Letty, Roman, and Mia.
"Yeah, you could say that," Brian said dryly.
"Hey, you're the girl I talked to over the phone," Jesse said excitedly.
Siofra smiled. The cute body matched the cute voice. "That I am. I take it you want to know how Clara is."
Dom stopped the starting match he was having with Brian and nodded at the small nurse.
"Well, she had a bad fall and cut her head pretty good. She had to have 10 stitches and they are getting a CAT scan of her right now to make sure there is no internal damage. She was very disoriented when he brought her in."
Siofra bounced her eyes from face to face. The biggest man had a dark look on his face as he listened intensely. Siofra knew he was one man she didn't want to meet on a dark night.
"But, she looks like she is going to be fine. Her BP was low and so was her pulse, but that is to be expected for head trauma. She is going to have to take it easy the next few days, which I am sure she won't have a problem doing because of how her head will feel."
Siofra cocked her head to the side when she heard her name being paged over the intercom. "Well, that's me. I will come and check on you guys as soon as I can."
With that she bounced out of the waiting room.
Jesse's eyes followed her every step.
"I like her," he announced unashamed.
Letty rolled her eyes. "You like everyone."
"Ah, you know I love you the best." Jesse wrapped his arm around Letty, giving her puppy dog eyes.
Letty and the rest of the group laughed. They all took seats around Brian, effectively taking up the whole waiting room to wait out the time.
Dom took the chair next to Brian, sprawling out. He clasped his hand across his hard stomach, crossing his feet.
"Care to explain how you ended up with a black eye and Clara in the ER?"
Brian reached up and touched his face. He had totally forgotten about Clara nailing him in the nose when he went to pick her up. "Well, you know how jumpy she is."
Dom nodded, a feather could make that girl jump out of her pants.
"I, um, kinda decided to wait for her to come back to Letty's and talk to her there."
Dom hummed an okay as he waited for Brian to continue.
Brian sighed; Dom wasn't going to give up until he heard the whole story. "I waited for her in her room. When she came home, she walked right by me to go to her closet. I mean really, how do you walk passed someone in your own bedroom and not notice it?" Brian shook his head. His new sister was becoming well known for being oblivious.
"I, uh, when I spoke up, she jumped and crashed into the dresser. She cut her head pretty bad and here we are. Waiting."
Dom growled. Leave it to the idiot to bash his sister's head open without touching her. Before Dom could speak up, Mia walked over and sat in Brian's lap, taking his head into her hands.
"Don't you have phone calls to make, big brother?" Mia asked, shooting Dom a 'go away' look.
Dom grumbled to himself as he walked off to make the calls to Hector and Edwin, letting them know that the DT crew would not be at the races tonight. Another hour drug on before the fairy-like nurse made her way back to them.
Siofra stood in front of the small crowd and smiled. "Clara is fine. She has a slight concession, but she is ready to go home. I just need whoever is going to drive her home to sign a few papers."
Dom stood up, beating Brian to the punch. "I'm driving her home. What do I need to sign?"
Brian narrowed his eyes. Every time the two of them were left alone, someone was bound to walk away pissed.
Mia caught Brian's stare at her brother and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Let him, baby. He feels really bad about what happened. The two of them need to work things out anyway."
Brian relaxed and nodded.
Siofra had gotten Dom's signature on what she needed and had led him back to Clara's room. Once he walked in, Siofra winked at Clara. "I'm going to go tell everyone to head home. Be careful going home Clara, the next time I see you, I don't want it to be in my ER." Siofra waved and skipped out of the room.
Dom shook his head at the hyper fairy. "She has entirely way too much energy."
Dom walked up to Clara's side, taking in her appearance. A huge bruise covered almost the entire left part of her forehead, and a white bandage was tapped near her hairline. Her face was pale, making the blue of her bruise stand out even more. A Band-Aid covered her right hand where the IV had been. The ball of fear that had been in his stomach since he overheard Jesse on the phone with Brian went straight to his throat. Dom struggled to swallow.
"You know, there are easier ways to get out of going to the races."
Clara, who had been surprised to see Dom walk into her room, smiled slightly. "Yeah, well, I wanted to cover all my bases. This way I don't have to go to work either."
And just like that, things were okay between the two of them again. While their tempers got the best of them from time to time, once they both cooled off, it was like it had never happened.
The ride home was, as always, a silent one. Dom was lost in his own thoughts and Clara was doped up on pain meds.
Getting Clara into the house was the hardest and funniest thing Dom had ever done.
It started simply enough. Dom watched Clara spend five minutes trying to open her door. When he had enough of waiting, he opened it for her.
Clara spilled out of the car, Dom catching her seconds before she hit the ground. Clara glared at the car door and stuck out her tongue. "See if I ever help you out again!"
Dom choked back a laugh as he lifted Clara up to a standing position, trying to lead her to the front door. Clara had other plans.
"Clara! Damnit Clara, get back here!" Clara had taken off, sprinting to the backyard. 'For someone so little, she sure as hell is fast,' Dom thought as he took off after her. He found her lying in the grass in the backyard.
Clara beamed up at him. "This is the softest blanket I have ever felt! Dom, you have to try this! I mean, like wow. Did you know blankets came in this color? It looks just like grass!" Clara was stroking the grass like it was a kitten.
Dom couldn't hold it in and his laughter boomed out. He held his hand out to her to help her up. Clara grabbed a hold of it and yanked him down. Dom fell on his ass next to her in the grass, unprepared for the sudden yank.
"Lay down! You have got to see the new color Letty painted her ceiling," Clara said, tugging on Dom's hand to get him to lie down next to her. Clara's innocent smile lit up her whole face and Dom gave in; lying down next to her in the grass.
Clara rolled her head over to Dom and winked. "You're really hot!"
Dom choked on his laughter again. Clara whipped up and leaned over Dom.
"Are you okay? You're not going to die are you?" Clara asked, concern written all over her face. Her hair falling down to shade their faces from the world.
Dom's throat closed up as he looked up into Clara's face. Tears were gathering in her eyes and her lip trembled. Words wouldn't come out. Dom was forced to shake his head no.
Fat tears started to roll down Clara's face, falling onto Dom's chest. He reached his hand up, brushing the tears off her face.
"Please don't cry, Clara. I am ok," Dom whispered, lowering Clara's face to his. Their lips meet as Dom placed a soft kiss on Clara's lips.
A sigh escaped Clara's lips as the sweet kiss ended. Clara met Dom's eyes. "I'm scared, D. I have these feelings for you and I don't want them. I don't want to fall in love again. It hurts too much, D. Can you make the hurt go away? I don't want to hurt anymore, Dom." Clara collapsed onto Dom's chest in tears.
Dom cradled Clara against his chest as he fought for his breath. This was the most Clara had opened to him. They had been playing merry-go-round since the day at the beach. If one showed up, the other left. It made Dom upset that Clara had to be doped up to open up to him. When Clara's slow breathing assured Dom that she was asleep, he picked her up to carry her into the house.
Clara's pounding head had her opening her eyes as the sun climbed through the window. Her mouth felt like someone had shoved a gym sock in it and her body ached all over. 'What the hell happened? Did I get drunk last night?' Clara struggled to get her thoughts in order as she tried to push herself out of bed.
She stumbled into the bathroom and almost fell over when she saw herself in the mirror. Memories of the day before flooded her mind. 'I am going to KILL Brian.' Clara thought. A huge blue-green bruise covered almost all of her forehead. Her skin was ashy and a small bruise was on her hand where her IV was. Clara struggled to keep in what little food she had in her stomach when she peeled off the white bandage. The tape pulled at her sore skin and strands of her hair were stuck to it. The stiff black stitches stood out against the bruise.
It took Clara twice as long to take a bath and get dressed. She didn't know much about stitches, but she didn't think you were supposed to get them wet. The pounding in her head made her movements slow and clumsy. It took her three tries to get her pants on and she had to sit on her bed to get her shirt on. It was still very early when Clara made her way downstairs. The house was deathly quiet, so when she stepped on a squeaky step, it sounded like it rang through the whole house. It also rang through her already pounding head. Clara sat down on the stairs as she fought to force back the ringing in her head.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when a warm arm wrapped around her.
"Shh. It's ok. It's just Brian," Brian crooned to Clara to calm her down. "Here take these." Brian shoved a white pill into her hand along with a glass of juice.
Clara didn't have to be told twice, downing the pill. After a few minutes, her head started to clear and the pounding behind her eyes dulled to a soft thud.
"Thank you. I might not kill you after all."
Brian looked slightly horrified. "Yeah, about that, I really am sorry, Clar. I never meant for you to fall and bust your head open."
Clara wanted to laugh at the look of genuine horror on Brian's face. She wrapped her arms around him. "I think I might be able to forgive you if you fix me breakfast."
By the time everyone drifted over to Letty's house, Clara was in a slight haze from the pain pills and was sprawled out on the couch watching TV.
Mia sat down next to her head and let her fingers shift through Clara's silky hair. "How you feeling, girl?"
Clara grunted and Mia laughed.
"That good, huh. You think you are still going to be up for looking at houses tomorrow?"
Clara licked her lips and tried to talk, but her tongue seemed stuck to her teeth. When she tried to move her head it wouldn't listen to her and nod. Finally Clara gave a thumbs up. Clara drifted in and out the rest of the day. Never noticing that Dom stopped by to check on her every hour.