BABE
Hey! I need ur help
Hey! Whats up?
Got into an accident, low on bat
OMG! Are you ok? ?
Can you get to 43rd and 6th, now?
Chris was in the middle of breakfast when she got the text. Immediately, she left everything, took her keys and ran out the door. She had no idea what had happened but it must not be good, at all.
"Hey! You okay?"she asked observing all the broken glass and debris on the street
Jim was talking to a patrol officer, as a man was being attended to in an ambulance, just a couple of feet from the incident.
"Hey!" he greeted, sounded tired, "Yeah, I'm ok." he said
She approached him and they shared a soft kiss. When she pulled away she noticed he grimaced, but tried to hid it.
"Don't!" she said as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "Have the medic check you out, Street. Don't play tough guy now."
"I don't wanna make it even worse for the guy." he said slowly, glancing at the man in the side. "Turns out he has a family and was falling asleep on the wheel coming off his 3rd job. His insurance expired a week ago and he's been trying to pay it off on top of everything else. I feel sorry for the guy."
"Damn! Did he take you out completely or what?"
"He nicked me on the side, but I was making a turn and my back wheel gave way. I ended up sideways in the middle of the street. Good thing that my helmet took most of the impact."
"You still landed hard on that shoulder, huh?"
"Yeah...now I'm really feeling it." he said rubbing it gently and grimacing
"Let me take you to the hospital, have them take a look at it. Maybe some X Rays."
"Nah, it's probably nothing." he said waving her off
"C'mon! If not for you, then do it for me."
"Chris, you gotta let this go."
"When have I ever heard that before?" she said rolling her eyes back as he grinned. She took some steps towards her car and gestured for him to follow. "C'mon, get your ass in the car. We're checking that shoulder."
"Fine, but if they give me an ointment or something, you're rubbing it in."
"You got a deal!" she said as both smiled.
She called in a friend of hers to pick up the bike as she headed to the nearby hospital with the patient. Meanwhile Jim called Hicks and told him what happened. He asked to come in late but Hicks told him to take the whole day to rest.
"Officer James Street?" called a old man wearing a doctor's robe with the tag DOCTOR HEYWARD
"Yes, doc" Jim responded siting up in the hospital gurney in the small office
They had been waiting for over 25 minutes to be called due to the long list of patients in line. Vitals seem normal, but now the shoulder pain had intensified.
"I have here you were in a car accident riding a motorcycle and you're bothered by shoulder pain. Is that right?"
"Yeah." he grimaced when trying to move his shoulder, which by now was swollen and felt 10 times heavier.
"Alright, let's take a look." said the doctor as he placed the clipboard on the side table and approached him.
"Ahhhh. Now it really hurts." he said as he tried to remove his shirt , "Chris?"
She moved next to him and helped him move his arm out of the jacket and lift up his shirt.
"OOOhhh, that looks compromised." said the doctor as even Chris cringed when she saw the multi colored pattern in his shoulder. It was clearly swollen and deformed.
"That bad?" Street asked
"Let me see." the doctor approach and placed a gentle finger where the end of the clavicle should be.
"Owww! That hurts" he complained almost immediately
"Ok, how bout this?" he closed his index and thumb fingers together on his shoulder, from the back to the front of the shoulder.
"Ahhhhh...Doc! Stop!" Street pleaded grimacing loudly this time
"Alright. I'm gonna have the nurse take you down to radiology for X Rays and a scan, but I'll give you a heads up, that looks like a deep bruising of the tissue and muscle. That could push you back several days. We'll know for sure after the tests."
"Damn!" Street said frustrated
"...and you said to go on like nothing happened! Great idea, Jim!" Chris said shaking her head slowly, helping him get dressed
After 5 minutes, a male nurse came in to take Street to get the tests done. Meanwhile, Chris decided to get him some coffee and something easy to eat, since his original plan was to eat something at HQ before shift.
The tests were completed, but when Street returned to the stall in the ER room, he was complaining loudly about the pain in his shoulder. The doctor came by to check on him and requested some IVs to keep him hydrate and anti inflammatory with pain medication.
"Alright, let's get you started, young man!" said the older nurse rolling in a cart with a tray carrying several packages and materials.
"Damn! I hate this part." he said extending his left arm, while turning his head to the right and closing his eyes
Chris showed a frown of surprise. "Why?" she said grinning
"Coz I hate getting pinched." he complained, with his head still to the side, eyes closed shut
"Oh, boy!" said the nurse, "Did the doc tell you he ordered an anti inflammatory, sugar?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"And you're afraid of needles?" Chris asked teasingly
"I'm not afraid, I just...don't like getting pinched. That's all." he said as the nurse introduced the needle and wiggled it until satisfied with the result. Street took a deep breath, clinched his jaw, then released the air in the most dramatic fashion Chris has ever scene!
"Oh dear" the nurse lamented loudly as she finishing setting his arm up and organizing the tray. She made sure to place the garbage in a nearby bin.
"Why do you keep saying that?" Street asked trying to recover. The nurse moved towards the materials bunched up in the back of the try.
She turned to Chris, "May I ask if she is your...well, now, how do you young people call it nowadays...let me see...girl? companion? Boo, is it?" the old lady asked
Chris smirked and nodded her head.
"And he loves you?" the nurse asked her directly
Both officers frowned at the nurse, as now even Street turned towards her puzzled.
"Yeah" he answered, both still completely lost
"Then, you might want to hug him tight and not let go." the nurse said staring at Chris
The older lady turned and took out a some gauges, packets and a plastic package with a 1.5 inch syringe top.
"Oh my God!" he said as he stood up in the bed. Chris pinched her lips, trying to hold back her laughter. Street immediately noticed it and started complaining. "I can't believe you're laughing at this, Chris!"
"I didn't do anything." she snapped
"You're suppose to be supportive, Chris!" he complained loudly
"I am...just relax!" she said still holding back laughter
"How exactly do I do that, Chris? Did you see the size of that thing? That's gonna knock my arm out, you know?"
"Uh, officer?" interrupted the nurse
"Yes?" he said returning his gaze at her
"The medication is injected in the buttocks."
Chris let out a loud giggle as Street frown angrily at her.
"That's funny? Really, Chris? She's gonna stick that in my butt!" Street complained loudly, gesturing to his back side.
Now Chris couldn't hold it any longer, as she began laughing out loud.
"I can't believe you!" he said disappointing
"Could you not freak out so I don't feel like laughing? Street, relax." she said between giggles
While all of this was happening, the nurse was organizing, setting up and throwing away. By the time, Chris apologized, she turned to the patient.
"Woah!" Street said jolting backwards at the size of the needle
"Alright, officer. Pull your pants down... and lay or stand, your choice."
Chris bowed her head as she just couldn't hide it. Her giggles were so contagious that even the nurse had to smile.
"Chris!" Jim complained "You're unbelievable!"
Chris just giggled and shrugged.
"Is there a problem here?" said the doctor coming in through the closed curtains of the stall.
"Doc, can that be in the arm? or the neck or something? Does it have to be that long?" he complained desperately
"Sir, officer, I would answer those questions but seeing that you're not a pediatric patient, I find it unnecessary to clarify that the fastest relief for muscle pain is by injecting inflammatory medication directly in the bloodstream through an intramuscular syringe." the doctor said annoyed
"I'm sorry, doctor...I was just asking if there's any other way." he said as Chris grabbed her forehead, embarrassed to have admitted her relationship with this big baby!
"If your concern is a fear of needles, the medication could be through the IV you already have but it will take twice the amount of time... and by then the pain in your shoulder will be unbearable. Your choice officer."
"Lay down and get the shot, cry baby!" Chris said sternly, clearly annoyed
"Hey!" Street snapped back
"Nurse?" called the doctor as he turned and exited
Street got into the bed, laid down face down and pulled his pants down slightly.
"Ok, take a deep breath." instructed the nurse
"It's cold!... Dammit!" Street complained. "Chris, get your hand off my ass!"
"I'm not even close to you!" Chris snapped annoyed
GASP
"What? Wait! Wait!"