Stephanie had been laying alone in the cubicle for what felt like hour but was probably no more than half an hour but she was bored and irritated being unable to move and was contemplating just ripping off the neck brace and signing herself out.
As she lifted her hand to grab the neck brace she heard the curtain be pulled back slightly, "it's okay, we're going to take that off now."
"Thank God for that, I was beginning to think you had forgotten that I was stuck here unable to move."
Walking over to her the Doctor undid the neck brace, "sorry about that, I was just waiting for all of your x-rays to come back and for a second opinion from a colleague who has done a bit more training on facial injuries."
Rubbing her now free neck she carefully pushed herself into a sitting position as he adjusted the head of the bed so it was now raised, "can I leave now then?"
Looking at her concerned he had already explained this to her so if she couldn't remember that then it was indicative of a deeper problem, "I already told you that as you were knocked unconscious you would need to say overnight."
Frowning she didn't like that answer, "well I was hoping you would have changed your mind."
"No, that still stands as it is policy so we can keep an eye on you if anything does go wrong later. Would you like your cut stitching or a full list of your injuries first?"
Just as she was about to say 'neither' the curtain was opened slightly and the policewoman stuck her head inside, "is it okay if we come back in and have a chat?"
If it prevented her having to hear about her injuries she was all for that, "I guess."
The Doctor decided it would be best to get her stitched up first, "I'm going to go and arrange for somebody to do your stitches and then we will talk so she is all yours."
As soon as the doctor had left the Policemen made sure the curtains were closed, "do you want to talk to us now?
Carefully crossing her arms she frowned, "what is there to talk about? I fell over and hit my head."
Being used to dealing with situations like that the Policemen nodded their heads and the female took the lead, "that is fair enough. For our records could we, well I, please just photograph your injuries? I am aware you say it is just a fall but if any evidence was to come to light in the future that could lead to a criminal prosecution it would be best if we had photographs we can draw from."
Sighing softly she nodded her head slowly, "just you and I, I don't want any men in the area."
Turning to her colleague she didn't need to say anything as he was quick to nod his head, "I will be stood outside guarding the door so nobody can come inside."
As soon as they were alone Stephanie carefully sat up properly, "so do you just want me to turn my head to the side so you can get the cut?"
Shaking her head the Police woman walked around the bed, "just sit still and let me move to take the pictures because I am aware you were recently in a neck brace."
Taking a picture of the cut above her eye including the black eye that was coming, the bruising on her cheek and the cut lip she then took a step back, "the Doctor mentioned some bruising to your ribs so is it possible for me to photograph that also?"
Grumbling lowly she wanted to keep pretending that it was just a cut to her head but she knew she couldn't so she slowly nodded her head, "sure."
Standing up carefully from the bed she raised her shirt to just below her bra and stood patiently whilst the Police woman took a photo of her ribs, "so can I sit down now?"
"Just turn around please incase there are any marks on your back."
Shuffling around she couldn't pull the back of her t-shirt up any further so just closed her eyes to block out the pounding in her head waiting until she was told she could sit back down and then dropped her shirt and carefully lay back down.
Quickly looking at the photos on the camera Abbey pulled a card out of her pocket, "are you sure you don't want to talk to me about this?"
Groaning Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest, "there's nothing to talk about."
Stepping forward Abbey held out her card towards her, "just take this card if ever you do need to talk about anything okay?"
Taking the card from her Stephanie acted completely disgusted at the insinuation that she couldn't handle things on her own but as she stared down at the card it got her thinking.
Noticing that she was looking at the card she decided to take her leave, "take care and I hope you feel better soon Stephanie."
Stepping out of the cubicle Abbey passed a Nurse entering to set up for the stitches and motioned to the camera to her partner, "can you check the pictures please. I have never been responsible for pictures in this setting that will likely be our only option to get the pictures whilst the injuries are showing."
Taking the camera he winced as he looked through the pictures, "and she doesn't want to press charges?"
Abbey shook her head, "she doesn't even acknowledge that she took a beating. So are they okay?"
Nodding his head he shut the camera off, "they're great. I'll teach you how to do the report when we get back to the station."
Putting the camera back in her pocket they left the hospital to go and write up their report.
Watching as the Police left Paul knew there was no way she had spoken to them as they were so quick, "I guess she still doesn't want to get him in trouble." Able to feel the looks he was getting he rolled his eyes, "I know I know, it won't be that simple getting her to open up and tell the cops what is going on so don't give me those looks."
Rebecca was concerned about his behaviour, "Paul are you sure you should be here? I mean you're slightly irritable."
Sighing he wearily rubbed his face with his hands, "I'm not slightly irritable, I'm a lot irritable. I know I shouldn't be but I am really annoyed that she still wants to be protect him when he left her there and she could have died. I'll be fine, I will get over it and I won't have a go at her about it but right now I would really like to know what is going on and/or be able to see her."
Deciding to lighten the mood a little Shawn said, "I would tell you to be patient but we all know you have none of that because you were one of those kids who went looking for his Christmas presents before Christmas day and you're still one of those adults."
Poking his tongue out at Shawn he crossed his arms over his chest and fake sulked.
Laying there with her eyes closed she played with the card in her hands as they gave her the stitches in the cut above her eye. As soon as they were done she breathed a sigh of relief as she hated needles and that had been more than mildly unpleasant.
Looking at the card in her hands as the Doctor pulled his gloves off she scrunched it into a ball and tossed it into the waste from where they gave her the stitches.
The Doctor noticed how she threw the card in their trash and he wondered if she meant to, "did you mean to throw the card away or did she mean to put it on the top?"
"I meant to throw it away, I don't need it as there is nothing to say."
It was moments like these that the doctor found it hard to keep his feelings to himself so he just bit his tongue and quickly left the cubicle before he said something that he would regret.
