Chapter 28 - Doctor's Visit

Wrapping towels around his shoulders, Jack followed after Teresa. She walked briskly towards the mansion, but turned and led the way to the garage.

"Where are we going?" Jack asked, holding a towel over his nose to catch the blood.

"To my doctor."

Jack stopped. "I can't go to a doctor. I can't explain all this to him."

"Her. And don't worry," Teresa paused and added quietly, "She isn't the type to ask questions."

Jack resumed his walking again. "What do you mean by that? She isn't unlicensed, is she?"

Teresa laughed. "No, nothing like that. She's perfectly legit. Just relax, okay? She's not the curious type."

She walked to a white Lexus and pressed some buttons that were mounted under the handle of the driver-side door. The locks clicked open and Jack opened his side.

Jack was surprised to find a huge mess in the passenger seat.

"Sorry. I work a lot." Teresa climbed in and hefted several files and papers and tossed them into the back, adding to the appearance of chaos in the whole car. The light in the ceiling of the car showed pant suits and clothes hanging from hooks above the backseat doors. "I have a blanket here somewhere." She dug around in the back and pulled out a crumpled cashmere blanket and handed it to Jack. "The drive is kind of long. Do you want to change your clothes first?"

"No. Someone might see me inside. Let's just go."

"I have some workout clothes in the back of you want to change into those."

"I'd rather not wear spandex and lycra, thanks."

"They're not my clothes. They're men's clothing. They're clean and dry."

A boyfriend's? Jack wondered. "Okay."

She popped the trunk without getting out of the seat and Jack helped himself to a pair of trackpants and a sweatshirt.

He considered asking to change privately, but he figured it didn't matter. He had already seen her naked. It didn't matter if she got a peek. Actually this was a perfect opportunity to see if she was interested in him.

Not trying to hide his nakedness, Jack easily and boldy pulled off all his clothes. He toweled his body and privates exaggeratedly and then pulled on the dry clothes, the whole time passing glances towards the rear-view and side mirrors, although he couldn't really tell if she was looking because the garage was poorly lit.

When he returned to his seat, he was disappointed to find she was reading some typed material and making notes. Maybe she did have a boyfriend.

"You can just leave those wet clothes on the ground. I'll tell Richard to get them for you."

Jack did as she suggested and dropped the clothes on the ground beside his door, and then shut his door. He had a bloody towel around his shoulders, and he used it again to press against his nose. The bleeding has slowed somewhat. He used another towel to dry his hair.

She started the car and turned the heat on, and trained the vents on Jack. "Do you feel warmer now?"

"Yeah. Thanks a lot. You know. For saving me."

She waved her hand. "You weren't actually going to drown. You were almost to the surface yourself."

"Didn't feel like it." Jack paused for a moment. "You know," Jack started, and grinned behind the towel. "This isn't the first time a beautiful woman saved me from certain death."

She smoothly ignored the flirty words and asked, "What the hell did you do to make Joe get so pissed?"

"You don't want to know."

Teresa shrugged. "You're probably right. I have enough problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"You don't want to know."

Jack shrugged and took the blanket to pull around his shoulders. Warmth was finally beginning to settle into his fingers and toes. His feet were bare, and he had left his socks and shoes behind at the garage.

"So, what kind of work do you do?"

"I'm in charge of a lot of different types of accounts. I work with lawyers and financial advisors a lot."

"Sounds fucking boring."

"Trust me, I wish it was."

"Is that why you're so stressed out all the time?"

She laughed coldly, a sound that was profoundly chilling because of her mildly husky voice. Jack sensed a darkness similar to his own within her at that moment. "I don't think you know what 'stressed out' is."

She looked put together on the surface, except for her exceedingly short temper. Jack mulled over her words and wondered what secrets she was hiding.

"Let me swing by this pharmacy and get you an ice-pack. Do you want some pain medication or anything to eat?"

Jack realized he was actually enormously hungry. "Yeah, that sounds great."

He waited in the parking lot while she left and returned in about ten minutes. Getting into the car, she dropped a two bags on his lap, one from the pharmacy with the ice-pack and water and medicine, and the other a hot Italian meatball sub. He could taste the sandwich with his open mouth. "Thanks a lot," he muttered.

"Is your nose still bleeding?"

Jack checked the towel. "A little. Not as bad as before."

Jack opened his visor and checked his face in the mirror. The areas around both his eyes were blackened and his face was encrusted with dried blood. His eyes widened in shock. "I don't even look like myself!"

"Of course not. Your nose is swollen to twice its size."

Jack felt embarrassed and ugly. He was grateful for the towel. "I hope there isn't permanent damage," he remarked dully. He didn't have any money for surgery. All he had was his looks.

"If you get to a doctor in time there won't be any damage."

"How would you know?" He asked scornfully.

She looked as though she was caught totally off-guard and she didn't reply for several seconds. Finally she seemed to mentally shake herself and said, "I know."

"How do you know?" Jack asked again, more inquisitive this time.

As she pulled out of the parking lot, she muttered, "Stop asking me questions."

************************

Her mouth was set in a firm line as she drove, and Jack decided to just drop the subject. He pulled out his sandwich and started to eat, but not without offering her some. She shook her head.

Jack was disappointed that their banter had stopped. He probably shouldn't have asked her a second time. Now she was upset.

When Jack polished off the last pieces of the sandwich, he washed down a couple of Tylenols with the water. The pain was dull and started to set in. His head pounded from where Joe had kicked it. That part of his head had bled minimally and stopped long ago.

Then he pulled out the icepack, which had condensed a little, and wrapped it in one of the towels that lay around and pressed it to his nose. He winced at the cold when it seeped through. He started to lay the pack back down, but she said, "Keep it on there. It will help with the swelling."

He obediently tilted the seat back a little and pressed the icepack back to his nose.

After about twenty minutes, they finally reached the doctor she was talking about. It was a small clinic tucked in a Hispanic neighborhood. There were a lot of people. Jack felt like he had gone south instead of north, skipped the border and crossed over into Mexico. "Are we still in Gotham City?"

"I told you to stop asking me questions," she snapped.

"Oh yeah."

She parked the car on some dead grass and led the way to the entrance. There were several women inside, and only a couple of men. They were all Hispanic. She told Jack to sit down and he attracted some curious stares, and some downright hostile ones, too. Kids were the most curious, since he had a bloodsoaked towel to his face.

"Hola, Mami! Como estas?" The lady at the desk greeted Teresa warmly and Teresa talked back to her in Spanish and gestured once at Jack. The lady took a quick look and shook her head. Teresa signed a clipboard and took a seat beside Jack. "Now we wait."

"For how long?"

She just ignored him.

"Oh yeah," Jack replied foolishly.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. Teresa's connections allowed them to skip the line and head straight in after a couple of patients.

The hallway to the examination room was very cramped with boxes of patient files and lab tests. But the room itself was tidy.

"Hello, Teresa," the woman said pleasantly. She had a slight Spanish accent, and wore a doctor's coat. Her hair was short and dyed red, and her eyes were bluish-green. "You must be Jack."

Jack nodded. He understood now, why this woman didn't ask questions. She didn't need to ask any. She had one of the most penetrating gazes he had ever seen. She seemed to draw out his deepest thoughts to the surface. She patted the padded metal table. "Have a seat."

Jack turned away from the table and hopping back onto it.

"Have you ever had a nasal injury before?" She asked, studying his eyes, looking for lies.

"No."

"How did you get this?" She had a slight scolding tone in her voice, the type of tone she would take not with her own child, but perhaps a niece or nephew that misbehaved.

Jack was quiet and continued to stare at her with his own chilling gaze.

Unabashed, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, never mind." She eased the towel and melted icepack away and took a look. "Did you bleed more than this?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have trouble breathing?"

Jack took a small breath, and then when there was only a little pain, he took a deeper one. "Not really."

She studied his face a little bit more, turning it side to side once. Then she tilted his head back and used an instrument to look inside his nostrils. "I'm checking for septal hematomas. Blood clots. Don't worry, there aren't any."

Jack nodded as she put the instrument away.

"I'm just going to treat you for bleeding now. In a few days I want you to come back so we can take a look at the bones. But I honestly think that the most that may be wrong is displaced cartilage."

She pulled on some gloves and got to work. First she cleaned the area around his nose with alcohol. Then she placed rolled up pieces of gauze after moistening in a liquid into his nose and placed a splint across the bridge of his nose. "Don't touch this. That gauze is soaked in an antibiotic. Come back in about four or five days. My receptionist will schedule the follow up."

Jack nodded and hopped off the table to leave, but Teresa remained there, rooted to the spot. She was somewhere else, staring out of the window at a playground where kids were screaming and laughing.

The doctor cleared her throat and suggested that Jack wait outside. He passed a look at Teresa and went outside, closing the door behind himself.

He walked a few steps down the hallway to avoid hearing anything private. He did feel inclined to eavesdrop - he couldn't lie to himself - but he knew it was probably wrong. Teresa obviously didn't want to share much with him. The thought depressed him a little, because he loved being around her. She was opinionated and thought he was funny when his comments were borderline offensive. Hell, they were offensive.

As he waited, the doctor and Teresa walked out together and the doctor was holding Teresa's hands. In Spanish, she said something kindly. Her penetrating gaze was gone and she looked like some of Teresa's anxiety had rubbed off on her.

Teresa nodded. Her back was turned to Jack, and if he wasn't mistaken she was wiping away a tear or two. He cursed himself now for not listening in on their conversation. He knew he should have, and now, he'd probably never know what was wrong. What could cause a person like Teresa to cry? She acted like a bitch most of the time and was obviously proud of it. He would not have expected such abrasive behavior to be so fragile.

Teresa mumbled thanks and gave the doctor a hug.

Teresa wiped her face again and sniffed, then turned and walked towards Jack without so much as a glance at him.

Jack looked at the doctor and waved goodbye, and followed after Teresa.

She told Jack to wait there as she went outside to get her purse, then pulled out a credit card to pay for Jack's medical bill.

When the receptionist handed Teresa the receipt she said to Jack, with a heavy Hispanic accent, "Keep an eye on her, okay? She's a good lady."

Jack frowned a little and nodded. Teresa waved an unenthusiastic and distracted goodbye to the receptionist and tugged Jack's shoulder. "Let's go," she muttered.

When they were settled in the car, and ready to pull out onto the road, Jack asked, "What's wrong?"

Without missing a beat she replied flatly, "I told you to stop asking me questions."