Her eyes did fly open at his response, and this time she didn’t miss the smile flashing across his face. Her knees felt weak, and it had nothing to do with pain. If she thought he was gorgeous with a frown, he was breathtaking with a smile. He moved her arm just slightly bringing her out of her dazed state. Grabbing his hand with her good one, she stopped him. “Ouch!”
“We really need to get your shirt off.” Slade frowned. “I need to see your shoulder. Do you have anything on under your hoodie?”
Jill glanced at Duncan, who leaned silently against some lockers. “I have a tank top, but I don’t think I can get it off.”
“Let’s start with your good arm sleeve.” He helped her get her arm out, but when he started with the side of her injury she couldn’t take it. “I’m going to have to cut it off.”
Frowning, Jill nodded. “Jeff owes me a new hoodie,” she mumbled, watching the Warrior doctor get a pair of scissors from his bag.
“Jeff did this?” Duncan growled.
“Well, not really. I mean he did, but we were playing football,” Jill replied, not wanting to get anyone in trouble by telling.
“Tag football.” Slade stopped cutting her shirt to frown at Duncan. “Someone needs to teach the little badass the difference. It looks to me like he was purposely out to hurt her.”
Duncan grunted, making it a point to find out what the hell was going on with Jeff. He had let a lot of things slide while Pam had been missing. He needed to step it up. Whether he liked it or not, these half-breeds were his responsibility.
Free from her hoodie, Slade looked, poked and prodded at Jill’s shoulder, a large frown reaching his eyes the whole time. “I’m going to have to set this.”
“Is it going to hurt?” Jill’s voice sounded shaky and weak.
“Yes.”
“You could have lied and given me some hope,” Jill groaned. “What happened with probably?”
Slade laughed. “Sorry, but I never lie to patients. It’s bad bedside manners.”
“For future reference…lie to me.” Jill bit her lower lip. “Because now I don’t think I can let you do it. I seriously don’t like pain.”
“Noted.” Slade nodded down at her, but the smile and teasing was wiped off his face. He was totally professional. He reached for her elbow, but she backed up.
“No, I seriously don’t think I can stand here and let you do this, knowing it’s going to hurt.” Jill shook her head. “I think I’ll be okay. Just give it a day or two and I’ll be good as new. It’s actually feeling much better.”
“No, it won’t, and no, it isn’t.” Slade called her out on her lie. He glanced to Duncan. “I’m going to need your help.”
“Why?” Jill was really getting nervous, her breathing coming in short gasps. “What is he going to do?”
“Jill.” Slade tried to calm her down. He leaned down into her line of vision cutting off Duncan walking toward them. “Jill!”
“What?” she whispered.
“It will only take a second,” Slade assured her.
“A second of pain is a second too long.” She hated acting like a *, but when it came to pain, she wasn’t acting…she was a *.
Slade nodded to Duncan who had stepped behind Jill. Slade placed Duncan’s hands where he wanted them. “Just hold her still. Don’t move.” He didn’t continue until Duncan nodded his understanding.
Jill started to shake. “Can’t you knock me out or something for this?”
“No.” Slade put his hands on her shoulder and arm. “Okay, on the count of three….”
“Wait!” Jill’s eyes bugged out. “I have to throw my gum away. I might choke on it.”
Slade sighed holding his hand out. Jill leaned her head over spitting her gum into his hand. “Thanks.” She watched him toss it into the garbage can across the room. “Nice shot.”
“Okay, on the count of three I am going to set your shoulder back in place,” Slade told her, then looked at Duncan. “Hold her tight.”
Jill brought her head up nodding. She couldn’t think of anything else to get her out of this so she might as well take it.
“One…”
Squeezing her eyes tight, she waited for three, but three never came.
“Two…” Slade’s hands tightened as he jerked her shoulder back into its socket.
“Son. Of. A. Bitch!” Jill screamed then kicked him hard. “What the hell happened to three?”
Duncan and Slade held her still. Slade ignored the pain in his shin and her cursing as he looked over his handiwork. The shoulder seemed in place. “Move your arm.” He demanded.
Slowly, Jill brought her arm up and down, rolling her shoulder.
“How does it feel?” He and Duncan let her go.
“Sore and stiff, but better.” Jill frowned. “Seriously, what happened to three?”
“I couldn’t have you stiffening up, and I knew once you heard three, you would,” Slade explained with a grin.
“Well, that was a mean trick.” She wrinkled her nose at him.
“But it works every time.” Slade put his scissors back in his bag. “Take it easy for a day or two, then slowly get back to your normal activities. You’re healing time will be a lot faster, and you should be good as new in a few days.”
“When can she start training again?” Duncan asked.
“That depends, training for what?” Slade picked up his bag slinging it over his shoulder.