Nick watched her as if she was some kind of combatant sent to torture him as she bent over, eased the needle beneath his skin. He hissed out another breath. “How can something so cold feel so hot?”
She shrugged. “I think they do it on purpose. So you think twice before doing something stupid, next time.”
“Does it work?”
“Rarely.” She eased back. “I’ll let that numb everything for a few minutes. Then, we’ll clean this up, so hang tight.”
Nick frowned. “You could have just slapped on some tape or glue.”
“Judging on the bruising and the remaining stitches, it’s only been a few days. If the stitches didn’t hold with you breaking ranks to get here, no way some tape or glue is gonna hold when you start kicking asses, which we both know you’ll be doing.”
Nick stared at her, glanced at Bodie, then back. “I like her.”
Rowan readied the suture needle. “Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll piss you off again soon.” She glanced over her shoulder when the door opened and Chase walked in, medic bag in hand.
He stopped next to her. “Why am I not surprised you tore out your stitches, Nick?”
Nick relaxed against the chair. “Great to see you too, Remington.”
Chase glanced at Rowan. “Looks like you’ve got this under control.”
She offered him the needle. “He was being an ass, but you’re free to take over?—”
“No need. I’d love to see you work.”
She eyed him, then leaned in, testing out Nick’s reaction before starting the first suture. She worked methodically, tying off each one, snipping it, then starting the next.
Chase whistled beside her as he rummaged through her bag. “This isn’t a typical paramedic bag. Hell, even I don’t have the meds you do.”
She kept working, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. “It’s not.” She swallowed. “It’s my dad’s. He took it everywhere. Carried enough supplies he could do open-heart surgery on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere if he needed to. A by-product of his Ranger days. He always used to say that he’d had too many patients go sideways because he just didn’t have enough supplies.” She sighed. “Guess he erred in the other direction. Ironically, it was still in his Jeep the day he went missing. I’ve had it ever since. Kept it in my apartment as a reminder, but after that situation with Wade…”
Chase nodded along. “Did he teach you how to suture?”
“I dare say he was disappointed I didn’t go to med school. I tried to make it up to him by having him show me everything he could.” She paused. “A hundred years wouldn’t have been enough time to soak it all up.”
She placed a couple more sutures before cutting the last one. “That looks better, though, it’s not going to hold if you keep making questionable decisions.”
Nick shifted on the seat. “All my decisions are calculated.”
“Then, reconsider your math in the future.”
She layered a bandage overtop, then drew another syringe full of meds.
Nick arched a brow. “What’s that?”
“Antibiotics. Unless I was wrong about you not taking them?” She rubbed an alcohol wipe across his arm. “Thought so.”
Nick eyed her as she slipped the needle beneath his skin, removed it a moment later. “I didn’t even feel that.”
“Then, I did it right.” She packed up her bag. “I’ll be checking that wound regularly, changing the bandage, pushing some pain meds. And I’ll reassess if you need another shot in a couple days, so, make peace with all of that now.”
“You always like this?”
“Not at all.” She smiled sweetly at him. “Sometimes, I’m bossy.”
“I’ll remember that.” He leaned forward, cursed. “Can we discuss your clusterfuck of a mission, now, or do we have to hold hands or something?”
“I’d like to know that as well because…” The woman in the doorway paused, looked them all in the eyes. “It sounds like this assignment just got real.”
