Bedside Manners (Closed with ComicallyMacabre)

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Super Duper Angst Meme (Injury Edition)

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10. "Don't--You'll only hurt yourself more."

The good doctor wiped his brow with the back of his hand, felt the coolness of his sweat collect there. The night had been a long one, but as the dark ended with the coming dawn, so did his work. He glanced down at the woman lying upon the bed, his eyes tracing the severe lines that marred her face, then to the bandages that he'd carefully wrapped around her torso a few hours prior. She'd have a few more scars to add to her collection, it would seem. 

As the soft morning light reached out with gentle fingers to touch the slumbering figure, she had begun to stir. He watched her open her eyes and look around, like most previously unconscious patients had done in the past, and when she began to sit up, he reached out to stop her. His touch was gentle, but firm. "Don't--You'll only hurt yourself more."

The Nightingale directed a small, reassuring smile toward the amber-eyed man as he awoke and turned to look at her. "I, er, asked them to put me in a room with you," she said softly, her smile quickly turning sheepish, fingers fussing with the sleeves of her hospital gown. "I hope that's alright?" Her voice was returning to her, and it was easier to breathe now after Doctor Whittaker had seen to her injuries once more.

And given her a healthy dose of pain killers.

Her gaze settled on the leather straps keeping her companion bed-ridden with no small measure of concern evident in her expression. She'd been alarmed when the subject of keeping him tied down had first come up, finding the idea rather unnecessary. But it wasn't as if either of them were in a place to argue after what they'd done.

"I thought you might like a little company."

He returned the smile. Having her there helped to calm him quite a bit. He could breathe easier, could think straighter. The fear was a little less. "Yes, I... I'm glad you did. How are you feeling? You look a good deal better." How long had he been unconscious? A few hours? A day?

Tom had set about checking bandages, quiet as a mouse. When Miss Brighton had requested that she be moved into the same room as the man that had stolen her from her bed in the middle of the night, his first response had been the negative. But it was nice to see that his decision to relent had done them both some good. At least now he wouldn't have to deal with any resistance from Xiro.

"Much better, thankfully," Lyra replied, sitting up slightly in her bed, a small mountain of pillows propped behind her.

It was amazing what a day of rest, some food, and a washing of the face could do, and that was without counting the hard work the doctor had put into treating the both of them. "But it'll still be a good long while before I'll be set to leave. We really did a number on ourselves, it would seem." She shot another guilty look at the man busying himself with examining her companion and rubbed her neck, an action that she found much easier with the tangles once again brushed out of her hair.

"What about you? That doesn't look terribly comfortable."

He tried to adjust his position a little, but the restraints didn't allow for much movement. He gave Tom a pointed look, which the doctor returned ten fold.

"...I'll live."

"Yes you will," Tom replied matter-of-factly. 

While Xiro was not one to be cowed, he knew better than to argue with the doctor. At least, for now. He'd protest his bonds later, when Dr. Whittaker was in a less vengeful, more pliable mood.

"How long was I out?"

"A full day," the doctor responded. "You managed to undo a great deal of my work with your prancing about."

"I'd hardly call it prancing... I don't 'prance'."

"To be quite honest, sir, I don't really care."

"Right..."

"My point is, you came back in worse shape than you originally arrived in. I'm surprised you didn't sleep for longer. It's unfortunate that you didn't; your being awake makes my job that much harder."

Xiro scowled. "Rude."

"So is running off with another one of my patients in urgent care."

Xiro opened his mouth to respond, then shut it promptly.

"That's what I thought."

Lyra tried to hold back the smile that tugged at her lips to little avail as she watched the two men fuss back and forth. It was a relief to be back in relative safety, to see her companion so rested despite the straps currently keeping him tied down.

"Come now, gentlemen, do try to get along, won't you? We're going to be seeing an awful lot of each other for the next while."

"It'd be a lot easier if I wasn't being held prisoner," Xiro growled, ignoring how his voice shook on the word 'prisoner'. "Again."

That seemed to give Tom pause, and he loosened the restraints. "If you're an ass and try to leave again, they're going right back on and staying there until you're well."

The teacher rubbed his now freed wrists. "...Thanks."

"Don't make me regret it." The words were stern and carried quite a lot of venom, causing Xiro to nod sharply for fear of their poison.

With a sigh, Tom ran a hand through his graying hair. "I'll be back in a few hours to check up on you again. You'd better be here when I get back, or so help me--"

"We're not going anywhere, man! Avo's tits..."

"Wish I could believe that... And wasn't Avo a man...?"

Xiro shrugged.

Lyra simply shook her head at the men, smile quickly spreading across her face, glad to see Thomas giving Xiro at least a little bit of a break. She hadn't been keen on the idea of someone she was quickly starting to consider a friend being strapped down to his bed like a mental patient.

"Well, if we're arguing semantics, it's neither," she interjected. "I mean, the existence of Avo was proven to be a merchant's swindle, after all."

"True enough," Tom admitted, shedding some of his previous bitterness to crack a small smile. "I'll be back in a few hours. Stay put." And with that, he was gone, presumably to see to other duties, or to go have a well-deserved drink or two.

"Finally," Xiro sighed. "I thought he'd never leave!" He sat up, adjusting himself so that he was comfortable. "I don't know if it was obvious, but I really dislike that man...."

"Really?" Lyra tutted softly, an expression of feigned disappointment gracing her bruised face. "Oh dear, and here I thought the two of you were becoming best friends."

The woman chuckled and sunk back into the comfort of her bed, grinning over at the golden-eyed teacher. "Well, here we are, back where we started," she sighed. "And I think we'll both be here quite a while, at that. . But at least our little adventure was a success." The scholar nodded toward the ivory pendant around Xiro's neck. She was glad to see that it seemed to be doing everything he'd hoped it would; they'd certainly gone through enough for it.

Xiro smirked at that, his fingers finding the little instrument. "Aye. It sure as hell better have been; we certainly went through enough to get it. I don't think I'll be going anywhere for a while, if it's all the same to you." His eyes traveled to the door the doctor quit the room. "I'm sure the good doctor will appreciate it, at least." 

His body appreciated the rest, too. His wounds were less bothersome, though only just so, and he didn't plan on going on hairbrained expeditions any time soon; he wasn't that much of a fool.

"Oh, it is all the same to me," the librarian chuckled, gesturing to her many bandaged injuries. "Er. . More literally than I care to admit, really." She let out a long wheeze of a sigh, her gaze shifting to look out the window as her head rested upon one of the many pillows cushioning her aching body. It was still gloomy and overcast outside, but at least the storms had calmed. The woman was silent many moments before speaking up again.

"So. . Where do we go from here? Are you. . ?" Lyra bit her lip, struggling to voice the thoughts that had been running through her mind since their time in the grove. She cleared her throat. "That is to say, do you still plan to leave after all this? The Strangers have invited me to join them when I'm feeling well again." Her honey-brown eye turned back toward the injured man in the bed beside hers. "I'm sure you'd be just as welcome here, should you change your mind."