Chapter 37
A few minutes had passed when joe returned with the doctor. Mia sat helplessly on the bed as he examined her leg.
"I need to get her on the stretcher outside and get her to hospital. It seems her leg is broken but it'll need a proper X-ray. Can you carry her out of the coach?"
Joe nodded and swiftly moved forward to lift Mia. The feeling of being held tightly to his chest was overwhelming and made Mia gasp for air. As though he sensed her dilemma joe released a sly laugh.
"You've potentially got a broken leg but you're getting turned on by me carrying you. Crazy girl!"
He shot her a sarcastic look and she couldn't help but smile. As he laid her on the stretcher, it took a few more moments to release his grip on her and secretly Mia was wishing he didn't have to. The do to wheeled her away to the ambulance they always kept waiting at the arenas as a precaution and joe climbed the steps of the coach again. Panic rose inside of Mia, she hated hospitals and to go alone terrified her. As the doors closed on the ambulance, a forceful hand stopped them, to Mia's relief it was joe. Climbing in, he took a seat beside her and they were on their way.
"I've text Jon and sent him George's number to text when their ready for pick up in case you're not sorted by then. There was no way I was going to let you go alone now was I"
He smiled at her and reached for her hand, giving it a slight squeeze in reassurance.
The hospital was crowded, it seemed as though it was national accident day with one of almost every injury in the waiting room as Mia was wheeled through. Luckily it seemed they'd been warned of Mia's arrival and they whisked her straight through to x ray. Joe waited patiently outside the X-ray room. After several minutes of X-rays, Mia was wheeled back out and into a consultation room. Joe followed and the nurse left them alone while she ventured on a search for a free doctor.
"So...any giveaways yet? Is it broken?"
Mia shrugged,the nurses had been very careful not to say much in front of her and give it away without a doctors presence. Almost on cue, the door opened and a doctor flanked by two nurses carrying supplies entered.
"We'll miss levesque, your leg is indeed broken. We'll cast it for you. It's only a slight break so if you check into your local health centre in four weeks with the letter I give you they'll X-ray and if it's all mended, remove the cast for you a good job you've got such a thoughtful boyfriend, you'll have to work for it now, helping her shower while keeping her leg out of the water"
Groaning, she rolled her eyes and made contact with joe who couldn't help but laugh at her annoyance over the whole situation.
"Oh...we aren't..erm...together...he's a friend of my partner."
The doctor nodded but didn't say any more on the the cast had set and Mia had been allocated a pair of crutches to help her walk, they slowly made their way back through the crowded hospital to the car park where George remained with the coach, quietly sat on the bottom step smoking his pipe in his own little bubble of reality. As they got closer he climbed to his feet, stepping aside to allow Mia to board the coach however wearing the cast made her unable to climb the stairs. Within minutes she was in joe's arms and being carried onto the bus as George held onto her crutches as he enjoyed the last few draws of his pipe. Resting her comfortably amongst the throw pillows on the couch, joe settled in the dining booth. As the bus' engine purred into motion, he stretched over towards her, handing her the second Xbox controller.
"How about it, let's see if your victory last night was real or if it was really a fluke."
Smiling,she accepted the challenge. The guys would no doubt want to join in once they'd collected everyone again but at least things seemed a bit more normal between the two of them. Her whole body relaxed as she assessed which character would be most useful to her, not worrying about Jon as the coach hurtled down the motorway to retrieve the remaining residence of the coach, Jon and colby being the first pick up point.