Chapter 26

The next morning, he had to bring clothes to the hospital. Scratching the back of his head, looking in her part of the wardrobe, he thought to himself how difficult it could be! Definitely not something with sleeves! The plaster casted arm would not pass. He didn't even know how big the plaster cast would be. Finally he tossed on the bed a tank top, a skirt and a blouse that she could drape over her shoulders. He put the clothes, underwear and toiletries in a bag. It reminded him of the time when he had to collect things in her apartment and he had stuck a lot of Post-It notes there.

On his way out, he grabbed her loafers from the entrance hall. he dropped Duncan off at school and rushed to the hospital.

When he entered her room, he saw that she was irritated as she was trying to butter a piece of toast with her left hand.

"Hey sweetie", he greeted her.

The piece of toast was forgotten, and she smiled broadly when she saw him, "Hey darling! I was waiting for you".

He kissed her and sat down in the club chair next to her bed. "How are you feeling?", he asked looking at the plaster cast on her right arm. Her whole hand was in a plaster cast as well as a part of her forearm.

She rolled her eyes, "Clumsy! It's time like this that you realise how much you need your right hand".

"I saw it", and they both looked at the poor result of her way to butter a piece of toast.

"That's one of the things", she said deadpan.

"Does it hurt?"

"No. They fixed my hand and it's now immobilised. One of the small bones in the hand was broken. It'll take about six weeks for the bone to set then I can start doing something again. The doctor said playing the piano was ruled out for the time being. Luckily I can't play the piano", Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"Darling, thank you for stepping in. You were ahead. What happened? We didn't get any message from the ship", she asked, frowning.

"We were caught in a thunderstorm, nothing extreme, but a flash of lightning hit one of the antennas and damaged everything. No electricity so no lights, no radar or radio. Only the engine kept on working. Our chief engineer and the ET managed to get some light again, but the radar and the radio were definitely dead. So, the patrol was over and I decided to return. It wasn't that bad because for one day, give or take, we had to come back. Anyway, I'm happy the lightning struck us given what I witnessed in your office. What did that jerk want with you?"

"We had an inspection team from Sydney but it turned out the senior officer was sick and they had Mike replaced him. Of course, he chose my base to start with. I tried to avoid being alone with him and he kept on trying to have a talk with me. He turned the base upside down and when I finally thought I got rid of him, he suddenly stood in my office. He wanted to make it up with me and tried to seduce me, but I ducked under his arm. He grabbed my arm but my moving away and his firm stance caused the buttons were torn from my shirt. And the rest, you know", she said.

"Bastard!"

"I was fed up. It was already a lousy day. I overslept, I ruined my trousers and Duncan screwed up my last pair of trousers by spilling his glass of orange juice. And then his accusations. Do you know this is the third time that he's making a fool of me? No, I don't regret having let off steam on his jaw", she said, quite irritated.

"Well, that was obvious. You floored a tall, strong man. Congratulations, Iron Lady", he said patting her thigh.

"Don't laugh. You see what I got out of it", she said, raising her plaster cast.

"Can you go home today?", he asked.

"I hope so. The doctor will be coming to see me soon, but I guess I can go. I really hope so because tomorrow is promotion day. Promotions, rotations, new crews. I have to be there", Kate said.

"Well, I though ahead and brought some clothes for you", he said showing her the bag.

"Great! I just hope you didn't bring anything with sleeves, because it's not going to work for a while", she said.

"I thought about it. I brought a tank top".

"Perfect. How was Duncan?"

"Oh, he reacted in a mature way. Do not panic. Of course, he questioned me a lot. This morning he left for school in a good mood".

"Good", she said and looked at her breakfast again. She took a small foil tin of jam and wanted to pull on the locking tab with her right hand. She realised that was impossible. "Damn! Can't they give something else to a patient who only has one good hand? ", she ranted.

Dylan took the foil tin, pulled on the locking tab and spread the jam on the piece of toast.

"It's going to be very pleasant. How am I going to tie the laces of my shoes?", she asked, annoyed.

"You're not wearing lace-ups, so".

"And my running shoes?"

"Honey, you're not going to run with a broken hand".

"My white navy shoes", she said with a smug smirk.

"It doesn't make sense, you always wear heels, so".

"Hmm, And, Mister know-it-all, how am I going to fasten my bra, huh?"

"Go braless. I'm not going to complain", he replied with a grin.

"Come on you!", she said and hit him playfully with her right arm, forgetting about the plaster cast.

"Ow! It's hard", he mumbled, rubbing his arm.

"Aargh, shit, it hurts!", she grumbled, holding her hand.

He poured her a cup of tea, "English breakfast, it can't be bad", he said.

Kate raised an eyebrow, "Don't imagine that's true. A hospital can make an English breakfast tea taste like shit", she said and sipped her cup of tea.

"And?"

"Shut up", she grumbled, finding out that the tea was good and taking a bite from the piece of toast.

When she had finished her breakfast, the doctor entered.

"Ah, Miss McGregor, how was your night?", he asked.

"Quite well".

"Do you feel any pain? A warm feeling in your arm?", he asked, looking at the chart that listed her temperature.

"No, I can't move much huh?"

"Well, time will heal your hand. In six weeks we'll take the plaster cast off and take an X-ray. That means you can leave the hospital. But your arm must rest in a sling", he said.

"A sling?", Kate asked surprised.

"Yes, a sling, definitely. Otherwise, your fracture won't heal well", he said.

Kate rolled her eyes and looked at Dylan who gave her a don't-you-dare stern look.

She sighed and shrugged.

The doctor wrote something on his clipboard and looked at Kate, "Okay, I'll prepare the papers and you can pick them up at the desk. I'll see you again for an X-ray in two weeks to see how it's progressing", he said.

"Thanks doc", she said and waited for the man to leave the room. She looked at Dylan and said with a broad smile, "Green light! I can escape! What have you got for me?", she asked motioning with her head to the bag.

"Ah, That", he said, laying the tank top, shirt, skirt and toilet bag on the bed and the shoes on the ground.

"Perfect! Thank you", she said, swinging her legs out of the bed.

She took her underwear and toilet bag and went to the bathroom.

A minute later, "Darling? Can you help me? It's so hard to get pants on with one hand, not to mention the bra. I feel so useless!", she muttered annoyed from the bathroom.

"I'm coming", he said, standing up.

"But, don't laugh uh? I haven't been higher than my thighs", she mumbled embarrassed.

In the bathroom, he helped her get dressed.

"I'm going to have to practice a lot", she said with a sigh as he closed the clasp of her bra.

They left the hospital and went home. Once home she was immediately confronted with the disability of her right hand, especially in the kitchen.

"Shiiiiit! I can't even peel an apple, not to mention cook", she grumbled annoyed, putting down the apple and the knife.

He wrapped her shoulders with his arm, "Hey, I can do that. No worries. Let me spoil you and I'll prepare your apple", he said.

She nodded, "Thank you. I go to the bedroom to put the blouse away", she said.

The next moment she was back, clutching her unstitched hem trousers, "That's going to be postponed too", she said with a frown.

"It's the opportunity to wear your uniform skirt. You're gorgeous in it", he said.

Kate rolled her eyes, "Yeah, pretty sexy with that", she said, pointing to the plaster cast.

"I don't know how Mike does it, but every time he got me", she said sombrely.

"But you also gave him a nice memory", Dylan replied grinning as he set a plate with a sliced apple in front of her.

"Thank you. It's strange, I feel very tired", she said while eating.

"It's normal. Your body is busy with the healing process and it takes energy. Have a nap and you'll feel better", he said.

Kate slept most of the afternoon and when Duncan came home from school by bus, he immediately went to see her. She woke up bombarded with his questions and yawned.

"Mum? What happened? Do you have pain?"

"Dear, I just hit something stupid and broke my hand and it doesn't hurt anymore", she said to him.

"Can you go to work?"

"I can, but someone else will have to write it all down for me", she said with a chuckle.

"So you can't cook?"

"Nope, I can't even peel an apple. Dad will cook for us", she said.

"Pizza and Macca's?", Duncan asked, smiling.

Kate chuckled and shook her head, "In your dreams, dear. We'll continue to eat healthy. Nice try by the way", she said ruffling his hair with her good hand.

"Darling, what's that bag for?", she asked, seeing Dylan busy with a plastic bag.

"It's to cover your arm when you have a shower. The plaster cast shouldn't get wet. Unless you don't wash anymore while the plaster cast is in place", he said deadpan.

"Should I hit you again?", she asked, raising her plaster cast, which earned her a grin.

"No, it's not necessary. By the way, I'll also prepare ravioli tonight. It's something you can eat with one hand", he said.

She smiled back at him, "Yeah, that would be nice. I think I'm going to test your plastic bag. I haven't had a shower since yesterday morning".

"That's a good idea. Food will be ready when you're back and there will be plenty of parmesan cheese", he said, waving a packet.

"You're too good!"

She left the shower cubicle, put on her bathrobe and headed for the bedroom. She tried to pull her pants on with one hand, but the little thing refused to slide on her barely dry skin. Annoyed, she tossed it into the drawer and put a spaghetti-strapped sun dress on her naked body.

She returned to the kitchen and sniffed, "Hmm, it smells good in here".

"Yeah, Madam, take a seat", he said, presenting her the chair and serving her a plate of ravioli.

During dinner, he noticed her frowning and he knew she was worried about something, but he didn't say anything.

After he washed the dishes (Kate was pacing, realising she couldn't help him), they went to the living room and Duncan went to bed.

She sighed, "I need a drink", and she walked over to the liquor cabinet. She poured herself some Whisky.

"Wow, the heavy stuff. What's bothering you?", he asked.

Kate shrugged, "Yesterday's incident. I crossed the red line, I think", she said, taking a sip.

He approached her and caressed her back to her buttocks. "It's going to be fine. You'll see. But, what's that? No pants?", he noticed, the hands stopping on her buttocks.

"My undies wouldn't cooperate, so I simply left them in the drawer", she said.

His hands stroked her body to her breasts, "So, I know a very good therapy".

"Oh yes? With that?", she said, raising her plaster casted arm.

"You don't need it".

"So just let things happen? Sounds a bit kinky, doesn't it?", she asked with a smile.

"Why not? It could be interesting", he grinned and he picked her up in his arms and carried her to their bedroom.

To be continued