“I still need to examine you to see how bad the infection is. Then we can come up with a treatment plan.”
I swallow the rising panic. Louise’s hand curls around mine. “Breathe,” she instructs. “Take your time—there’s no rush.” She’s wrong. I need to get better and leave. There’s every need to rush. “I’ll grab a couple of towels,” she says, sliding off the bed. She returns with two big fluffy gray towels.
“I’ll step out. Everything on your bottom half needs to come off,” Derek instructs before going into the living room. Louise helps me out of my boots and then I slide my jeans and panties off before laying back on the bed. She places one of the big towels over my stomach and thighs.
“Ready?” she checks. I nod as she sits next to my head and clasps my hand in hers. “I’ll be here the entire time.”
Derek reappears in the room and moves to the opposite side of my head with a white plastic tray, which he lowers to show me. His hands are gloved up. “Antibiotic ointment, anti-inflammatory treatment, numbing gel, a swab in case I need to send something to the lab. Nothing sharp. I’m going to examine you. Nothing is going inside, okay?”
“Okay.” Louise yelps as I squeeze her hand tighter. “Sorry.”
How is this my life? I’m in a strange bedroom with unknown people. My vagina is on show and I’m holding the hand of a strange woman. The panic swells again.
“Can you open for me, Joanna?” Derek asks. I widen my legs.
Louise taps my forehead. “Talk to me.”
I blink. “About what?”
“Tell me something interesting about yourself.”
“I’m not interesting,” I mutter.
“I will be the judge of that. What was your favorite subject at school? I bet you were an artist.”
My lips twitch. “I can’t draw a stick person. Math was my favorite.”
She quirks a brow. “Why?”
“It’s definite. There’s beauty in its rules while we develop things every day to bend those laws, testing the boundaries of the universe. People find it miraculous to stare at the stars in the sky on a clear night. I find it astounding that we have used math to not only reach those stars, but to travel beyond them.”
“You’re a trekky, aren’t you?”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
“Which captain? Rate them in order.”
“Jean-Luc, obviously, then Janeway, followed by Kirk.”
“Favorite supporting character?”
“A tie between Riker and Seven of Nine.”
Louise huffs. “What about Data?”
“And the doctor,” Derek adds. “They’d all be goners without him.”
How did I find myself surrounded by people who enjoy Star Trek? That’s got to be a statistical miracle.
Derek gently applies pressure to my opening. I cry out and arch my back. He retreats immediately. He puts his hands on my knees and urges them closed before ensuring I’m covered with the towel.
He snaps his gloves off and places them on the tray. “Let’s get you dressed, and then we can discuss your treatment. Don’tworry, Joanna, it’s manageable. You’ll be in less pain within twenty-four hours, okay?” He glances at Louise. “She needs a set of clean underwear and soft clothing. Sweats, ideally.”
“I have those,” she declares, moving to a dresser and pulling out a sealed bag of clothing. Derek leaves the room and she helps me to change. I already feel better; the surface pain has receded a little.
We spill out into the living area and take a seat on the sofa. Derek points at the coffee table in the middle of us. “I’ve provided a two-week course of pain meds. They’re non-addictive, anti-inflammatory, and non-drowsy. Next to those, you’ll find a one-week course of antibiotics. Take those four times a day with food. The red tube is an antibiotic cream to complement the tablets. Apply it externally three times a day. It also contains an anesthetic, which will help relieve the pain. Make sure you put it on before sleep so the pain doesn’t keep you awake.”
I’m speechless. I had worked myself up with the thought I would have to go to the pharmacy, which would put my name in the system.
