“If you get uncomfortable with her actions or with me holding your hand, you tell me.” His voice was warm but firm. “We can pause, re-evaluate, or stop and try a different day.”
The nurse’s voice had warmed a little and was now tinged with laughter. “You’re getting a little ahead of yourself. She’ll need to at least remove her clothing, and we need to take her to a room with a bed. I can do several things, but a fully clothed, standing ultrasound isn’t one.” I chuckled despite myself. Obviously, Hiro was as nervous as I was to have missed that. She waved a hand, indicating for us to follow her from triage and down the hallway into a warm room with a small examining table. “It’s your call how much you want to remove for this part. I’m going to need you completely undressed for the CAT, so you will need a robe at some point. However, if you feel more comfortable just removing your bottoms for this test and using a sheet, that’s fine too.”
“Let’s just get this over with.” I sighed, shaking my head. Rebecca pulled a robe from a cabinet, bringing it over for me. I was surprised—though at this point I probably shouldn’t have been—at the quality of the fabric. No thin cotton or scratchy paper for shifters here. The gown was soft and warm. As Rebecca turned her back to prep the equipment, I twirled my finger at Hiro. “Now you can turn your back.” The grin he shot me was wicked and, with his quick glance at Becca’s back, I could tell he wanted to tease me but was watching himself due to the listening ears. He turned his back so that I could change quickly, shielding myself with my clothing and the gown in the process. My skin prickled and my Phoenix was on edge—I felt like we were being monitored and I didn’t like it at all.
“Ready?” Rebecca called. I murmured my affirmation, and she turned, indicating for me to sit on the table. “Alright, Hiro, if you want to take her hand now, we can get started. Nix, I’ll have you scoot to the very end of the table. If you extend your arms over your head, Hiro can maintain a good grip on your hand and easily face the other direction.” I shivered, biting my lip hard. It was helpful, in a way, to have my Phoenix to focus on controlling. I couldn’t give as much of my mind over to what was happening as I had to hold tightly to my control of her. She didn’t like this room, the examination, or my nurse. She felt threatened and on edge—as did I. “Okay, you’ll feel a little pressure.” I hissed as the cool gel made contact with my skin and the ultrasound began. I’d had one once before, so I wasn’t unfamiliar with the process or the discomfort involved. Hiro stroked my fingers, and I kept my eyes glued to his back, tracing the way his shirt fit across his shoulders. I hissed as she pressed on a tender spot and Hiro’s grip tightened on me. I was surprised that I was doing as well as I was. Although edgy, nervous, and wanting the whole process over I had been worried about flashbacks or extreme panic. Between Hiro and my Phoenix, I was able to hold at least partially steady.
I sighed in relief as she removed the probe, wincing a little as I moved my legs. “Good girl.” Hiro murmured, low enough I’m assuming only I heard him. “One more test and you’re done.” These words were brighter, for anyone listening I assumed.
“You said the next is the CAT?” I used the towels she tossed me to clean up as she put away the equipment, knowing Hiro was giving me my privacy.
“Yes, that’s the last one on the list today. I’ll draw blood from you first, and then we’ll do the CAT scan. It shouldn’t take too long. Hiro, I’m going to draw a fair amount of blood from her. She may be dizzy or feel slightly unwell. Her system will rebuild in a day or two, but make sure she takes it easy.” My Phoenix squawked at the woman. I was an adult and could take care of myself, thank you.
“I’ll make a note of that.” My tone was dry, betraying my indignation.
“If you’ll just follow me, the CAT scan is down the hall. Have you been given a contrast dye before?” The quickly thrown factual question gave me pause. This girl went hot and cold faster than I could follow.
“Yeah, I have.” I followed her a few doors down, careful to keep a tight grip on the gown. While it was more comfortable than other ones I’d been in, the damn thing still kept falling off. Hiro’s chuckle behind me said he had noticed my predicament.
“Good, no allergy then?”
“No, I don’t think I had an issue.”
“Alright.” She waved her hand to indicate the bed attached to the CAT machine. “No metal on you, correct?” At the shake of my head, she checked my IV site. “Your IV looks good. I’m going to hook the saline up to help make sure it’s flushed out. Then, I’ll add the contrast. I’m going to do a blood draw from your other arm, first, though.”
Frickin’ hospitals and their stupid needles. Hiro snorted. Whoops, hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Rebecca ignored me, whether because she hadn’t heard me or from professionalism, I wasn’t sure. Hiro gripped my hand, tracing patterns on it to distract me as the needle slid in. She hadn’t been kidding about the quantity of blood she would take. I was slightly dizzy by the time she was done, and Hiro helped me to lay back on the bed for the CAT scan.
“I’m going to start injecting the contrast. It’s going to make you feel really warm, even like you have to pee. The feeling will pass. It will also probably leave a strong metallic taste in your mouth.” I felt it rush through me and fought against the sensation. It was extremely uncomfortable. My Phoenix hissed, hating it as much as I did. I felt her press against my skin, wanting to try and fight the medication as it filled our body.
“Good girl.” Hiro murmured. “I’m going to step behind the radiation window. It’ll only be a few more minutes. Then you can sleep on the boat and in the car.”
I murmured my assent, heavy with exhaustion. Today had just been too stressful—physically and emotionally—and my body had had enough. The scan was over quickly, despite the clunking of the magnets startling me with every pass. I had begun to doze off by the time the scan was complete. Hiro’s fingers tangled gently in my hair as he helped me up. “Almost done.” His words were a whisper, almost sounding as though he spoke down a tunnel. I murmured my assent, trying to get up on legs that wouldn’t hold me. My Phoenix was as numb as I was, curled deep inside of me.
“Rebecca, I know she undressed, but do you have a blanket we can wrap around her? I realize the robe has a tie, but I’m not sure she’d be comfortable with either me or you dressing her. I can have Rini meet us back at our house to help her out.” I wish I could have smiled at my sweet Hiro, but my face didn’t seem to want to work. A quick shock of pain—the removal of the IV—had me jolting and my Phoenix squawking her outrage. Hiro’s murmurs in my ear soothed me, though, and I let myself slide back into the fog that was wrapping around me. I felt myself sway as he lifted me and gave up entirely, leaning my head onto his collarbone and letting myself float away.
Twenty-Two
Nix
Damien carried me through the doorway and into the house as I tried to wake myself up. I was groggy and wanted to slip back into sleep, but the shock of cold air that had hit my bare legs when they opened the car door had roused me enough that I was aware we were home. Home. It felt good to think of it as such.