Temptation 7

 Shota wasted no time in driving her home. He barged into their tiny apartment, making so much noise that the angel spluttered and stuck his head out to see what was wrong.

"She's hurt, Zashi." He carried her in and strode immediately into the bedroom.

Hizashi burst out of the bottom of his cloud bed, wisps slipping around him to reform as he followed. "<i>What?</i> I thought you were watching her!"

"Yeah, well, that's not the most pressing issue right now. She's in pain, and unless we take her to the ER, she's not going to get anything for it tonight." Shota laid her in bed and hovered protectively near. She was quiet, her face drawn and lips thin from holding in any sound she might have made.

"Then take her!" Hizashi brushed her hair back from her pale, sweaty face, grimacing at the sticky feel of blood. She was very cold, likely in shock from the stress of the injury.

"She said she didn't have the money to go." The demon snarled. "I can't do anything she doesn't want me to do."

"Clinic later," she pleaded with them, her eyes misted over with pain. "No ER."

"Okay, okay. Don't be frightened, little one. We'll do it your way. And I can help you sleep until then."

"Can you..?"

"I can take her pain for a bit," he said grimly. "You'll have to stay with her. I'll do it, you get warm water and as many ice packs that we have. She needs to be cleaned up and get cold on those bruises."

"Right." He spun on his heel and left to gather everything.

Hizashi inhaled slowly. "Okay, Elly. I'm going to make the pain go away for awhile. Close your eyes and relax."

She squeezed her eyes shut and he sighed sadly, reaching out to stroke them with his fingertips. His body immediately spasmed all over and he let out a strangled sound.

"Hey, you all right in here?" Shota was back with the ice and warm cloth.

"Fine," he grated between clenched teeth. "Clean her up but <i>don't let her sleep</i>. Her head hurts a great deal and she might have a concussion."

"She needs a doctor," he fretted, gently wiping dust and blood from her wounds.

"Ow." Elly wasn't coherent enough to have a conversation but interjected little bits here and there. "So much crap fell on me," she moaned to no one in particular.

"Sorry, mistress."

"I know. She needs professional help, maybe some antibiotics, a few x-rays to make sure she's really okay." Hizashi agreed, sighing. "In two hours there's a clinic that opens early ten minutes from here. I'll take her there." He hissed, touching his leg and then his arm. "She's got more than a few sprains, maybe a broken ankle, too."

"Broken?!" Shota dropped the washrag he was holding. "Wait - how the fuck do you know? You're not touching her."

The angel groaned, sliding down onto the floor. "I took her pain, remember?"

"I didn't think you meant it like <i>that</i>!"

"Yeah, well it's done. Now we wait."

Time crawled very slowly for Hizashi as he suffered in her stead, yet it was more fear for her health and safety that made it seep like molasses than the hurt. He tossed and turned his head as he rested it on the edge of the bed, not leaving the floor since he collapsed there hours ago. Eventually the agony subsided, and though he might ordinarily have considered this a good thing it meant it was transferred back to the rightful owner.

"Hey. Hey, it's been almost two hours."

"Two fucking hours," Elly parroted, her tone weak and irritable. Her color still wasn't great but her thinner, shallow cuts had all been cleaned properly. He'd flushed out the larger one but kept his interaction with it to a minimum since he wasn't a doctor. It appeared that Shota had even washed her hair, since it was damp and blood-free.

Hizashi grunted, opening his eyes and yawning. "I must've slept," he mumbled. "'Kay, you have the car keys?"

"On the kitchen counter."

He stood up and stretched, running a hand through his hair. "All right. I'll take her out." He bent and wrapped her in the blanket, picking her up.

Shota ran ahead and tossed the angel the keys and her bag off the counter. "Take this, too. She might have stuff in it you'll need."

"Good idea."

The visit to the clinic went fairly smooth. There were several moments when there were misunderstandings, the largest being Hizashi labeled an abuser by the nurses in the back.

One of the nurses saw the injuries and she began asking Elly a rather pointed series of questions. She was a very austere looking, thin woman with bleached hair cut into a short bob tied back for her job with a kerchief. Perhaps it didn't help that in her tired, shocked state Elly kept asking for him and looking around.

"Zashi?"

"Is that the man that brought you in?"

"Uh huh."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

She looked baffled for a moment before realizing "<i>He's my guardian angel</i>" would not be taken in a good light here. She nodded instead.

"Does he live with you?" A nod. "How are things going at home?"

"Fine... why are you asking? I got hurt at work."

The nurse put her tablet aside. "It's early morning. Where do you work?"

"Overnights at the Savemart." She continued to look confused. "A couple of pallets fell."

The woman didn't look convinced, but she nodded and moved aside as the doctor was observing the large gash in her side. When he found a large chunk of wood and removed it, Elly passed out again. She had been given some local anesthetic but the idea that a foreign object had been sliding around in her cut did her in.

"Feels like she's telling the truth, you know," the other woman remarked as she began to nearly stitch her up. "Besides, have you seen the guy? No? Go out and tell him what we're doing for her. It'll do you both good."

Hizashi was waiting anxiously outside in the waiting room watching the door she'd been taken into. The nurse looked out the window.

"Hizashi? You brought Ms. Sketchit in..?"

He leaped to his feet, almost falling in a comical attempt to reach her as fast as he could. "Yes?" He asked breathlessly. "Is she okay? Please tell me she's okay."

His accuser felt her anger melt away in the presence of an angel. He was genuinely concerned, tears budding in the corners of his eyes as his voice shook. She smiled reassuringly at him. "She gave verbal and written consent for you, so I can tell you exactly what's happening." She glanced down at her tablet, swiping a few times. "Her ankle is fractured, so she's getting a cast. There were multiple bruises, cuts and abrasions but nothing as serious as the one that punctured her left side -"

Hizashi let out a little whine at the word <i>punctured</i>, and the nurse smiled at him again. "She's going to be fine. That one - and the minor concussion she received from the blunt force to her skull -- are what we're most concerned about. Will you be caring for her while she heals?"

He nodded. "Me and a, uh, friend."

"I've got some literature for you. It's very important that she rest for several days to recover from the trauma. She'll have headaches, and may have other symptoms as well. Everything is in here, as well as how often to change the dressing on her bandage. We'll need to see her in four weeks to check and see how her ankle is doing, too."

"Can we schedule that now?"

"Uh huh."

They set that up while Elly was finishing up in the back. They gave her the the prescriptions and wheeled her out, apologizing that they didn't have crutches for sale. They were informed the local pharmacy should, however, and with that they sent them on their way. Hizashi carried her out once more, this time under the eyes of all the staff.

Elly had gotten stitches for her side, some medical glue on a few other cuts. Besides the obvious cast, she had terrible bruising on her forehead and arms that weren't hidden by the t-shirt she was wearing. The nurses had applied a thick dressing to the wound in her side to protect the stitches for now, and it was bulky underneath. To casual passerby she probably looked like she'd been mauled by a large animal.

"Whoa," he hummed to himself as he glanced at the stack of scripts in his hand. "Where d'ya get your pills filled, Elly? Where you work?"

"Nghhh. Yeah," she replied grudgingly. "Don't wanna go there, but..."

"It's fine," he smiled at her as he set her in the passenger seat. "I'm here, right?"

The ladies at the pharmacy had been told about the other night and they eyed her as she limped over with the tall, blond man helping her walk. They appraised her condition and ogled Hizashi while she gave them the prescription.

"It'll be like maybe five minutes," the technician told her.

"Thanks."

"You wanna sit, babe?" Hizashi picked her up despite her protests. "No, uh uh, you're not walking anymore unless you get crutches. I don't like how you were hobbling around."

The women raised their eyebrows at each other.

"Didn't Karen say her boyfriend last night had <i>dark</i> hair?"

"Chris did. He let him in."

They blinked owlishly at Hizashi, at his glowing golden hair and bright gold-green eyes.

"Maybe this one's a relative?"

"Get real. They look nothing alike. Plus, uh... oh. Oh, my."

Hizashi noticed she was fidgeting, adjusting her position in his lap and frowning. "Is it hurting bad again?" She nodded, too tired to protest. He gently nuzzled into her hair, taking some of her pain through the contact. "That should last until we get those pills and some food in you."

Back at the pharmacy window, the first technician pursed her lips. "Yeah, I'm gonna go with <i>not</i> a family member."