It was becoming an every day occurrence for Rachel to wake with a throbbing pain in her shoulder. She was nestled underneath a pile of sheets and blankets which was certainly different from the hospital bed she had occupied the past week. She felt so comfortable and really didn't feel like moving no matter how her shoulder protested. She rested for another 10 minutes until the pain yearned for relief. Her bandages would need to be changed today, she could probably manage herself but she knew that Tom would want to help. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and made her way towards the door. The apartment was very modern and very spacious, she guessed this was the presidents way of thanking Tom for the work he had done and was still to do. She walked down a long hall towards where she thought the kitchen may be. She came out to a living space and saw that Tom had indeed been busy. There were eggs, bacon, muffins, fruits and fresh juice layed out on the table, the incredible smell assaulted her senses and her mouth automatically began to water. Tom was busy at the oven and hadn't heard her enter. She moved towards the table and pulled out a chair to sit, he glanced over at her and offered her a warm smile.
"Mornin! I hope you're hungry, I got a little carried away but I haven't been able to cook like this for ages." Rachel laughed at his excitement.
"I never pegged you for a cook." She examined the food in front of her and was impressed with his skill. She always seemed to make such a mess in the kitchen and things usually turned out burned or just wrong. Tom on the other hand looked like he knew exactly what he was doing.
"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet." Tom walked over and slid some fried tomatoes onto the platter of breakfast food. She didn't realize how hungry she was until it was all displayed in front of her, she couldn't wait to dig in. He came to sit opposite her and motioned for her to get started.
"Thank you for doing this by the way."
"I'm happy to do it, I assumed you would be pretty hungry when you woke up, you slept for almost a day." Rachel didn't realize it was that long but it made sense since they were eating breakfast. She knew that sleep was her body's way of healing and she obviously needed it.
She took a little bit of everything and began digging in to the food. damm he really was a good cook, I mean she had nothing against bacons food on the Nathan James but this was absolute heaven. Rachel savored every bite as if she would never be eating again, she wondered if he made good pancakes? maybe she could request that for next time. As Rachel finished her plate she was completely stuffed. She leaned back in the chair and put her hands over her stomach, completely content with her appetite. They hadn't been talking during the meal, just eating in a comfortable silence, both enjoying each others presence. He finished and went to grab her dishes to do the washing up.
"Thank you, Tom, that was great."
"My mum always used to say that there is no better way to start the day than by eating a big breakfast, and by the look on your face I think she was right." Rachel smiled and wondered if they would ever share more about each others lives and there families, it would be nice to know how he grew up, what little Tom Chandler was like. Rachel guessed she could always ask his dad when he arrived with the kids in a few weeks. While lost in thought Rachel's shoulder brought her back to reality, it twinged in pain and she guessed she was due for some medication. She was about to ask Tom where it was when he carried a medicine cup full of pills and a glass of water over to her.
"Oh, thank you, its like you read my mind."
"You missed a couple of tablets while you were asleep so I bet you're really feeling it right now."
She took 1 pill at a time until the cup was empty and closed her eyes for a minute until she felt her body slowly absorb the pain relief. She walked to the kitchen counter and watched him place dishes in the dishwasher and wipe down the counters, it was so strange seeing him so comfortable and domesticated, he was a completely different man from when he was on the ship. She had seen him around his kids but only briefly, he really was an amazing father and she knew that Sam and Ashley would be ok. She knew what it was like to loose a parent, she lost her mother at a very young age too.
The circumstances in which her mother passed always brought back bad memories for her. She didn't need to die, she could have been saved and Rachel would have had a mom to grow up with. She didn't hate her father for his decision but it has always put a cloud over there relationship, she knew she could never truly forgive him. Now she didn't even know If he was alive at all. Tom brought her out of her thoughts when he gently touched her elbow.
"Hey, are you ok, would you like to sit down?" Tom looked concerned but Rachel guaranteed that she was ok. She took a deep breath and rid herself from the heavy thoughts.
"The nurses told me I should change your bandages. I can always call someone to do it for you if you don't want me to do it, I would understand." Rachel shook her head. "No its fine, I trust you." He nodded and gently squeezed her elbow.
Tom grabbed the bag of supplies from the counter and led her back to the bedroom, she sat on the edge of the bed and waited while he sorted through the bag.
"Ok, since you're the doctor you probably know much more about this stuff than I do, I got the bandages but the nurse told me I would need to apply this antiseptic gel to your wound before I reapply the bandage." Rachel noticed that Tom seemed to be a little nervous about the whole situation, he waved the packet of bandages around while reading the label of instructions on the box, almost like he was afraid to mess it up.
"That is right, Just remove the old bandage, dab the wound with the gel and then re apply a clean bandage. You really cant mess it up so calm down." Tom looked at Rachel and smiled, he stopped fumbling with the packet and placed them down on the bed beside her.
"You're right, sorry. I don't usually do this kind of stuff, I just don't want to hurt you." Rachel found it endearing that this strong and stoic man was getting anxious over something like this, she guessed it was another sign that he really did care. Tom moved to stand closer to her and shifted her loose t-shirt off her shoulder to gain better access. He started peeling off the bandage making sure not to rip it off to quickly and cause her pain, she hadn't seen the wound in a couple of days so she wasn't sure what it would look like now, there was most likely to be more bruising. She would also have a lovely scar when it was fully healed. Doc Rios was the one to stich up the wound and he couldn't have done a better job, no matter how clean and perfect the sutures were, there would always be that reminder on her right shoulder. Tom removed the remainder of the bandage and went to grab the gel antiseptic.
"How is it feeling, can you move the joint at all? Rachel tried rolling her shoulder but a sharp pain stopped her movement, she flinched and felt sick to the stomach, almost as if the pain had awakened all of her nerves at one time. She would be commencing physical therapy in a few weeks to build up the strength she had lost. She just hoped she would be able to achieve full mobility without pain. She couldn't think of anything worse then a pain that never goes away, almost as if its a constant reminder of being shot. Tom put on some rubber gloves and applied the gel to his fingers, he hesitated for a moment before leaning in and gently rubbing it over the wound to make sure no infection arises. The gel felt cool and soothing to her skin and gave her instant relief from the lingering pain. Usually shoulder wounds weren't that bad but because the bullet hit some bone it was obvious that healing would take longer. Rachel had never been a very patient person so this was going to be a real test for her. Tom had finished applying the heavenly gel to the front and back wounds so he got out clean bandages and began applying them. He really was doing a great job, his hands were huge and strong but gentle at the same time. He used the lightest touch almost as if she were the most valuable thing in the world, like he was afraid she would break. He finished taping the bandage to her skin and placed her t shirt back on her shoulder.
"Now I need to look at your side and apply this cream stuff, the nurse told me it would keep the bruising and inflammation down." Tom was reading the box, deep in thought, probably making sure he would be using it correctly, she removed her t-shirt to make it easier for him. She didn't mind sitting in just a bra in front of him, he made her feel safe and when he glanced up from reading instructions It didn't seem to faze him. He took hold of the cliiping holding the bandages together around her ribcage and started unravelling them slowly. She felt the compression and support leaving her ribs and when the bandages were completely removed she took a deep breath, which actually turned out to be quite painful. Rachel grimaced and looked down at her right side, she was shocked to see just how much the bruising had progressed, her whole right side was practically black and blue with tinges of green and yellow. She didn't dare keep staring because it only upset her. Tom must be thinking how horrible she looked, it really wasn't the most attractive thing to stare at. He applied the cream to the area that had the deepest bruising and Rachel hissed when his hand rubbed over a sensitive spot. He withdrew his hand, "Oh, Im sorry, did I press to hard?"
Rachel nodded and closed her eyes trying to block out her feelings of self pity. Tom resumed his task but this time with a much lighter touch, Rachel enjoyed the feeling of his fingers slowly gliding over her ribs as he distributed the cream evenly. He made sure to cover the whole area before he picked up the roll of bandage to re-wrap her ribs. He leaned in closely as he reached around her to begin the process. It felt like such an intimate act, she couldn't help but notice how close his face was to hers and how gentle yet powerful his arms felt wrapping around her body, repeating the motion as the bandage was secured. He clipped it in place so it wouldn't budge and grabbed her t-shirt from beside her. He took her good arm and slipped it through the arm hole and repeated the motion carefully making sure not to hurt the other arm. The t-shirt then slipped over her head and covered her body.
"Thank you for doing all of this. Hopefully Ill be able to help out a little more soon."
"No problem, If I remember clearly you patched me up on a few occasions. I'm just returning the favor." he smiled at her while packing the medication and bandages away. "Now, I cant make you stay in this bed but the doc thinks its best for you to take it easy for another week."
Rachel sighed and was about to object when she realized that she should probably take the doctors advice. "I think I`ll stay here and rest up. probably for the best."
Tom was surprised by her answer, obviously expecting her to make an objection to resting.
"Good! By the way they delivered the rest of your things yesterday so ill bring them in here for you. There's also a TV in here and I'm pretty sure there are some movies in the lounge, Ill get them for you." Tom rushed out of the room before she could say thank you, he was being so thoughtful and caring. He reminded her of how her mother would be when she was sick as a young girl. She always got so worried and would make her special homemade chicken soup, without fail it always made her feel better. She could hear tom bustling around down the hall until he came back with her bags over his shoulder and a stack of dvds in his hands.
"Here we are", he placed the bags down by the bedside table and put the dvds at the foot of her bed, "You have quite a wide selection here, I would personally go for The Notebook but whatever you want to watch is good." Rachel couldn't help but giggle at his remark. Just picturing him curled up in a ball, crying and watching that movie would be quite a sight to see.
"As tempting as that sounds I think ill just stick to whatever's on TV."
"As you wish." Tom handed Rachel the remote so she could navigate through the channels. There may not even be anything on TV...She forgot that most stations were probably wiped out and had no one to run them. She switched on the TV and to her surprise found a marathon of The Goldyn Girls on a local St Louis channel.
"I'm gonna get you some water and ill get you something for lunch in a little bit. I have to make a couple of business calls but just yell if you need anything."
"Thank you, Tom." Rachel smiled gratefully at him as he left to go do some work. She settled into the bed, nestling into the plush pillows behind her. She was at ease not only physically but mentally, all thanks to Tom.