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Rob pulled to a stop on the main road, just short of the emergency entrance driveway of Sunrise Hospital.
“Here we are,” he said and put the vehicle in neutral.
“Thank you for your help,” Austin said and offered his right hand to the driver. After a quick handshake, he turned to the door and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the drop from the door to the ground.
He pushed the door open and clamped his teeth together. The drop took a mere second, but the impact that ran through his arm and the agony that flared almost dropped him to his knees. Paige landed next to him and then reached in the truck for her purse and his coat.
“Thank you.” She closed the door and turned to Austin. “Think you can make it?”
“I can make it,” he assured her, but even he wasn’t convinced. Each step made his entire form throb. The only thing that sidetracked his mind from the pain was the growling of his stomach. Paige’s was equally obnoxious, and he gave her a sideways look.
“You still have those protein bars?”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure you should be eating right now,” she said.
His stomach said otherwise, and chose that moment to make it known, but he saw her point. His arm would require surgery and he wished like hell that Valerie Ryan was in the vicinity. With one magical kiss, she could heal his arm in minutes, not months.
Instead of commenting, he glanced at her still swollen hand. “You should get that checked while we’re here, too.”
“You need the medical attention first,” she insisted as they stepped inside to emergency room chaos. “Besides, I’m not leaving your side.”
Her gaze haunted him and he nodded. Neither of them wanted a repeat of New York, especially since this time there was no savior to step in and clean up their mess. He took a seat at the check-in desk, and closed his eyes, breathing a few deep breaths before he opened his eyes and focused on the registration clerk. She was still typing away and hadn’t looked up at them yet.
Austin cleared his throat, and without missing a keystroke, the clerk said, “I’ll be right with you, sir.”
“My husband’s arm is broken,” Paige said.
Austin sent a glare over his shoulder at her. “My wife was stung by a scorpion.”
The registration clerk turned to the printer, pulled the latest printout, and put it in a folder and into a rack before she turned towards Austin and Paige. She scanned their soiled wedding clothes and blinked.
“Not exactly the wedding night either of us imagined,” Austin said.
The clerk raised an eyebrow. “Name and insurance card?”
“Austin Shelton and my wife, Paige,” he said waving towards her. He dug his wallet out and flipped it open. He pulled out a couple cards stuck in the holders, laid them on the desk, and shuffled through them until he found his insurance card. He handed it to the clerk and glanced at Paige. “Do you mind putting those back?”
She reached over his shoulder and picked up the cards, but not before the clerk saw her red and swollen hand. She had more dexterity than he did and slid the cards back into the wallet.
Austin smiled at her and then returned his attention to the clerk. “We want to be treated together if possible. We’ve had a hell of a night, and in light of what happened, we both would rather not be separated.”
“Can you tell me what the issue is?”
“Compound fracture of my left arm. I’m pretty sure my medial is shattered, and I think my ulna is the one that punctured my skin.” He gave her an awkward shrug.
“When did this happen?”
Austin glanced at Paige. “Probably around eight or nine last night?”
Paige nodded.
The clerk glared at them. “And you waited this long to come to the emergency room?”
“We were stuck in the desert with a broken cell phone, so yeah. This was the fastest we could get here,” Paige snapped back.
The wheeze in her breath made him take a closer look at her. “I think my wife is having a reaction.” He stood and put his good fingers to her throat. The rapid pulse and labored breathing set his panic button on high. “She got stung by a scorpion about an hour ago.” He turned to the clerk. “She needs an antivenin.”
The clerk looked up. “Sir, we need to finish checking you in.”
“I just graduated from medical school, so I’m not just your average Joe off the street,” he said. “I am sure we can finish registering while she gets looked at.” Irritation flushed his skin, and he had to take a breath to calm himself. It wasn’t this woman’s fault. She was just following a script, but with how fast Paige’s heart was racing, she was at risk for going into cardiac arrest.
“Sir...”
“Neither of us have had anything to eat since before our flight out here yesterday, and we’ve had about twenty ounces of liquid in the same timeframe. As if that isn’t enough, add walking all night through the desert, and that just adds to the risk. She hasn’t had enough food or water to counteract the scorpion venom. So, get off your ass and get a nurse over here before my wife has a heart attack.” His voice echoed over the din, turning heads in their direction.
“Austin, I’m okay,” Paige said, but her breathing and unhealthy pallor said otherwise.
A nurse stepped to the counter. “Can I help you?”
“My wife is having a reaction from a scorpion bite,” Austin said.
“I’m not the one with a compound fracture,” Paige said, sending a glare in his direction.
The nurse glanced between Paige and Austin before her gaze dropped to his arm. That seemed to clinch it. She nodded, waved us around the counter to an exam room, and turned to Austin.
“Her first, please,” he said, nodding towards Paige. “My arm isn’t going anywhere, but her heart is racing and her breathing isn’t right.”
The nurse paused and then rerouted to where Paige sat to take her pulse. After a moment, a crease appeared between her eyes and she took Paige’s temperature. She stepped out for a moment and returned with a doctor.
“She was stung by a scorpion,” Austin said before the nurse could. His anxiety over Paige’s deteriorating condition made his chest pound.
“I’m Dr. Sanchez,” the doctor said to Paige as he inspected the wound on Paige’s hand. “We are going to give you a shot to help counteract the venom in your system, okay?”
“That probably would be a good idea,” Paige answered, her breath more labored like it had been in the desert right after the sting.
The nurse produced a syringe and administered a shot to Paige’s upper arm of the stung hand.
“That should start to loosen your chest in a few minutes.” The doctor turned from Paige towards Austin. “I normally don’t appreciate a patient making a scene in my ER, but in this case, I’ll give you a pass. We’ll monitor her for the next few hours, but barring any unforeseen complications, I believe she’ll be fine.” He crossed the short distance to stand in front of Austin. “Now, let’s take a look at that arm.”
Austin, with help from the nurse, attempted to strip the makeshift sling. Paige stepped next to him to help peel his shirt off, revealing the true extent of his compound fracture. The movement, along with the sudden lack of support, made the room tilt. Austin took a deep breath and blinked the spin away just in time to see Paige sway. The color of her face slapped his focus into sharp clarity, and he reached out with his good arm to steady her before she face-planted in a dead faint.
His touch yanked her gaze away from his arm, and when her eyes met his, he said, “Why don’t you sit this one out.”
“That’s not such a bad idea,” Paige said, and the nurse helped her to the chair.
Each slow movement of his arm threatened to pull him back into that sickening spin that made his stomach roll. Somehow, he found the strength to keep control and not succumb to the pain or the perpetual souring of his stomach.
“Let’s get you down to x-ray to see exactly what we are working with,” the doctor said.
Austin gave a nod, although he wasn’t sure if the acid in his belly would remain on lockdown for any prolonged movement without a sling.
“Nadia, can you please get Mr. Shelton a wheelchair for the trip down to the x-ray department?” Dr. Sanchez said to the nurse, and she gave a nod, disappearing into the hall.
Paige stood when the nurse returned with a chair.
“The doctor wants you to rest,” the nurse said.
“I’d like her with me,” Austin said, trading a glance with his wife. Despite the knowledge that Paige should be resting, he didn’t want her out of his sight, especially with Hunter on the loose along with something much worse. Any separation, no matter how minute, made them vulnerable.
The x-ray technician took Austin into the room and slid a film onto the table before waving at the chair.
Austin sat, glanced at Paige, and offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile before the technician moved his arm into place under the x-ray machine. His teeth involuntarily clenched at the movement, and he closed his eyes, willing himself to deal with it.
“I know it’s tough, but you just have to hold it there for a minute,” he said, and stepped away.
Austin forced a slow breath as the machine whirred. The light switched off, and the technician returned, bringing the wheelchair in with him.
“You’re good to head back to the exam room, and the doctor will be right with you.”
Austin pulled his arm against his body and shifted into the wheelchair. Without prompting, Paige stepped behind him.
“I got you, honey,” she said, and while her voice lacked strength, it was no longer labored.
Austin just nodded without looking up at her. The pain became an animal in its own league, and he had to concentrate on breathing to keep it from overwhelming him. Even his vision had tunneled.
“You okay?” Paige whispered in his ear.
Breathe, his mind commanded. He obeyed, ignoring her question until she parked him in the exam room next to the empty chair. When she stepped in front of him and crouched down, he met her gaze.
“Austin?”
“I’m okay. Just trying not to throw up.”
She rubbed his leg and nodded, taking the seat next to him.
Dr. Sanchez stepped into the room after a long couple of minutes, and Austin raised his gaze to the light screen where the doctor clipped the x-ray. The film showed him just how extreme the break was, and Austin closed his eyes. He knew what came next, and there was no way he was going to allow the hospital to put him under.
“I’m going to have to take you to surgery to set your arm,” the doctor said as he looked at the x-rays.
“No.”
The doctor turned towards him. “This is a complicated break.”
Austin stared him down. “Just give me a local and set it here.” Austin said through clenched teeth. “Or a regional if you have to. I do not want to be put under.”
“You don’t seem to understand. This isn’t something that can be done with a little twist of your arm and a splint. This is going to require at least half a dozen pins...”
Austin held up his good hand, stopping the doctor from any further explanation. “I can see what is needed, but I would prefer to have my doctor back home do the surgery. No offense.” Surgery meant being separated from Paige, and he had no intention of letting that happen.
“Sir, I strongly suggest you let us fix this for you now. Any further delay could lead to permanent loss of dexterity and increase the possibility of infection.”
“I respectfully decline surgery, but thank you for your concern. Now, can we get this bone back into my skin, patch the cut, and put me into something I can travel with?” His voice sounded so much stronger than he felt.
Dr. Sanchez’s eyebrows rose, and he pursed his lips for a moment, irritation clearly displayed in the creases of his forehead, but he finally nodded. “Fine,” he said and stepped out of the room.
“Are you sure?” Paige whispered.
He turned to her. “Do you really want to be separated right now?” The question popped out, framed in sarcasm, and she shook her head. “Neither do I. We can take a detour when we land.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yeah,” he said and ran his good hand through his hair. “I’m no longer sure we are safe anywhere,” he added, meeting her beautiful blue eyes. “And I’d rather be near the big guns, if you know what I mean.”
Before she could answer, the doctor stepped back into the room with a nurse and an orderly.
Dread wrapped around Austin’s midsection. Knowing what was coming didn’t help him at all, and even though the nurse produced three syringes, the knot still bloomed in his chest.
It’ll only take a few minutes at most, so suck it up. He admonished the shake that started in his good hand and the fear that nearly closed his throat. He clamped down on the armrest of the chair, forcing a brave face.
The nurse moved the chair into the center of the room next to the exam table and set the brakes.
“Are you sure I can’t convince you to let us fix your arm with a surgical procedure?” the doctor asked.
Austin moved to the exam table at the prompting of the nurse. “Yes. Positive. If you want me to sign a form, I will.” He leaned into the inclined back of the table.
“As soon as we set the arm and clean out the wound, I will have you sign a refusal of further care form.” Dr. Sanchez nodded to the nurse.
She stepped forward and administered the shots in his arm above and below the wound.
It didn’t take long for the tingling sensation to take hold and the pain to dull to a soft throb. The relief from the agony left him feeling like all his bones had turned to jelly. It wasn’t until the orderly stabilized his upper arm and the doctor stepped into position that he tensed.
He locked gazes with Paige. “You probably don’t want to watch this.”
“I’ll be fine. Do you want me to hold your good hand?”
Austin shook his head. If he held her hand, he would probably break it. “I’m fine,” he lied and punctuated it with a reassuring smile.
Saline dripped from his arm as the doctor cleaned the surface. When he set the saline-soaked gauze onto the tray the nurse held, Austin looked away. The orderly’s grip on Austin’s upper arm tightened. Pressure gave way to a jolt that nearly ripped a yelp from his mouth, but he clamped down, refusing to give in to the sudden and blinding pain.
He forced breaths through his nose, and the shifting and grinding of his bones came close to catapulting the contents of his stomach onto the floor, but he held on with grim determination. Hot liquid drizzled on his semi-numb skin, pulling his gaze back to the procedure. Blood flowed from the open wound, but it wasn’t flowing at the rate a severed artery would. Austin breathed a sigh of relief as the doctor’s grip loosened.
Dr. Sanchez slipped a splint on Austin’s forearm, stabilizing it before he tended to Austin’s open wound.
Relief flooded Austin, and he took long slow breaths. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the pillow; the crinkle of the sterile pillowcase filling his ears. The doctor packed his wound with antibiotic beads and covered it with surgical tape before positioning his arm for a more secure brace.