AN: If I can come up with this story sober, I should never be allowed to drink and write.
"We said we'd never come back," Henry mumbled.
"That was before your ability to bear children might be at stake. I don't think we can ignore this." She glanced down at his pants, the crotch of his sweatpants stretched tight. "It's been three years. The chances of seeing anyone we saw then are slim," she said, squeezing his hand. "Other than the obvious problem, do you feel okay?"
"Yeah, there for a while I was having trouble breathing, but I think it was a combination of panic and pain. It still hurts, but I'm not as over the top as I was." Henry slipped his hand into hers. "This has to be the craziest thing they've ever seen."
"Well, since the last time we were here," Elizabeth giggled. Henry playfully pushed into her arm, then grimaced.
"Henry McCord," called the attendant from the doorway. Elizabeth helped Henry to his feet and he shuffled carefully to the back, where they were directed to a room. "A nurse will be with you shortly." The woman disappeared and Henry groaned as he shifted back to sit on the exam table.
A nurse appeared at the door within seconds. "Hello. I'm Sandy. I'll be doing triage today, what seems to be the problem?"
"I got stung several times." Henry's eyes dropped to his lap, focusing on his stretched pants.
"Ow," she said, inadvertently.
"Yeah," Henry muttered, wincing from the pain just a small amount of movement caused.
She pointed to the table. "Lay back and I'll examine you."
"I don't think I can lay down," he said.
"Hmm, let's go ahead and have the doctor see you and maybe I can get some pain meds into you. Just a moment." She disappeared out of the room.
Elizabeth slipped her hand into his. "I'm really sorry."
"Don't be. It was awesome. Well, until it wasn't." He smirked at her.
The door swung open and in walked a familiar face. He had his head down looking at the chart. "Mr. McCord, I'm Dr. Donelson." He lifted his head as he extended his hand. Seeing the couple, a wide smile covered his face, causing them both to turn beet red. "I'm not much for remembering names, but I never forget a face." He grinned. "It's been a while."
"Yes, it has," Elizabeth sighed, their previous encounter still fresh enough to remember the embarrassment. He surveyed Elizabeth and noted the three large welts, by her eye, on her cheek and by the corner of her mouth. He nodded and turned his attention to Henry.
"So Mary said you were stung? Do you know what stung you?"
"Bees," Henry responded. Dr. Donelson looked at him curiously, his eyes wandering from Henry to Elizabeth. Both looked terribly embarrassed.
"Alright," he said. It was evident he was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Reaching around, he pulled the bed to a slight recline. "Think you can manage this?" he asked. Henry nodded. "You change into a gown and undress at least from the waist down and I'll be back in a minute." He left the room.
"Twenty bucks says he's in a room cackling about us." Henry said, as he gingerly maneuvered his sweats down his legs. Elizabeth helped him tie the gown and sit down on the bed before she removed his shoes and pulled his pants the rest of the way off.
"I think you're being generous. I think we're the talk of the entire ER department. Who would've thought?" She shook her head. "Can I help you?" Henry waved her off. It was just a couple more minutes before Dr Donelson reappeared. He took a blanket from the closet and covered Henry.
Henry laughed hoarsely. "I think the modesty ship has sailed." That caused the doctor to chuckle.
"At any rate, let's see what we have here," he said, pulling the gown back. Hmm, looks like four stings and stingers still in 2."
"We couldn't get the stingers out fast enough before the swelling made it impossible," Elizabeth said. The doctor nodded and gave Elizabeth the side eye.
"And what's the sticky stuff?" he asked.
Henry looked at Elizabeth. "Honey," he said, a tinge of guilt his voice
The doctor visibly shook his head, causing Henry and Elizabeth both to cringe. "Okay, you two, usually I try to dance around this kind of thing to try and limit embarrassment, but I'm just not in the mood to try and piece together what happened. Just tell me what you were doing so I can figure out what I need to do."
Elizabeth exhaled a shaky breath, but Henry jumped in before she could start speaking. "We were having a picnic under the tree behind the horse barn. I fixed peanut butter sandwiches."
"And I brought the jars of jelly and honey because I didn't know which Henry would want. And there was wine, lots of fine wine," Elizabeth added.
Henry nodded and then continued. "So after we ate, we were talking and that progressed to kissing and then-"
"I swiped the remnants off the plates and, uh," Elizabeth paused looking for the right word. "Slathered him in honey and jelly." She shrugged. "Then suddenly there were bees everywhere. There weren't many options for getting it off quickly, so I, uh, took one for the team."
"Oh? Is that what we're calling it now?" Dr. Donelson asked, his amusement evident. She shrugged. "But honey, outside, under a tree? Not the best choice."
"Actually bees aren't attracted to honey. They are attracted to flower nectar and they produce honey, which they make and save to eat only in case of emergencies. The jelly was the problem. It's sugar based." The doctor gave her a hard look over the top of his glasses. "But, yeah, I get what you're saying." She gave him a small smile.
He shook his head and grinned before reaching over and pulled a tray of instruments from a drawer. He removed the two remaining stingers and ordered a shot of Benadryl. "Take a shower when you get home and get cleaned up. Then rest and maybe apply a cold compress if you want. Frozen peas work great." Henry nodded.
Dr. Donelson looked at Elizabeth. "Are you okay? Are those three the only stings you have?" She nodded.
"I took some Benadryl before we left home. I'm fine."
"Perfect! I'll have Mary get the paperwork together and you might want to hold off on any 'team activities' until the swelling goes down." Henry gave him a thumbs up and Dr. Donelson rose to leave. "Oh, one more thing. I'm retiring in a couple years. If you are going to engage in any more of these sexcapades, do it before I leave. They make for the best stories. How's that bathmat working for you by the way?"
"You haven't seen us lately, so I'd say it's working just fine," Henry mumbled. The doctor nodded.
"Have a good day, McCords." He exited and almost immediately the nurse returned with the shot for Henry and the discharge papers and they were soon making their way to the car.
Henry leaned in a whispered. "Think we have one more sexcapade in us?"
She smirked, "We're going to have to get really wild. But, at least we have a couple years to try."