Part 12 (1/2)

”Rox!” Nikki exclaimed as she and Jerri approached Rox's bedside.

Rox's eyes darted to the left ... at least the eye she could open. Her left eye was nearly swollen shut from the impact of Chris' fist. Rox immediately teared up and reached out to Nikki with her left hand. Dr. Syverson took Jerri aside to ask her about the procedures done at the scene, giving Nikki and Rox a few moments of privacy.

Nikki reached over and touched the right side of Rox's face, cradling her bruised jaw in a tender caress. Making no attempt to hide her tears, she leaned over and kissed Rox on the unbruised side of her mouth. ”I'm sorry,” she whispered to her injured friend.

Rox's brow furrowed in a frown, not understanding why Nikki was apologizing.

”Roxanne Ward?” the x-ray technician said from the doorway.

Nikki turned to the man, wiping her tears away at the same time. ”Right here,” she said, calling the man over to Rox's stretcher.

Moments later, Rox was wheeled to x-ray, where the necessary films were taken. In no time, she was returned to the ER where she found Nikki still waiting for her.

”Where's Jer?” Rox asked as Nikki once again took her hand.

”She's gone on another call. Rox, Chris did this to you, right? Chris was waiting for you in the house ... G.o.ds, Rox, I'm so sorry,” she said, starting to cry again.

Rox squeezed Nikki's hand. ”Nik, Chris did this, not you. You have nothing to be sorry for,” she said through clenched teeth, fighting hard to ward off the pain in her side, jaw, and head.

”But I left you there, Rox,” Nikki explained tearfully.

”Nik....” Rox began before Dr. Syverson interrupted her.

”Okay, while we're waiting for those films, let's take care of this gash near your eye,” he said. Looking up at Nikki expectantly, he asked, ”Are you here to help, or hinder?”

Shocked into action, Nikki replied, ”To help, of course!”

”All right then,” he said grinning. ”We'll need to put a few sutures in this wound.”

Nikki immediately went after the supplies needed to st.i.tch the gash in Rox's face, returning moments later with suture materials and Lidocaine.

Rox took one look at the needle of Lidocaine and pa.s.sed out.

Nikki smiled at her friend. ”You big baby,” she said, under her breath as she a.s.sisted Dr. Syverson with closing the wound.

”It shouldn't scar too much,” the doctor said as he placed four tiny sutures along the length of the split. Glancing up at Nikki, he added, ”You seem to know her. Do you have any ideas about what might have happened here?”

Nikki nodded. ”She's my best friend,” she said, her voice cracking. Taking a deep breath, she continued, ”She lives with this a.s.shole that brutalizes her whenever the mood is right ... which happens to be more and more frequently these days,” she said sadly.

”Why doesn't she just leave?” the doctor asked, putting in the last st.i.tch.

”I can't tell you how many times I've asked her that very question ... it's a long story,” Nikki replied.

”Ah, excuse me, I'm looking for a Roxanne Ward,” a voice said from the doorway.

Dr. Syverson looked up at the uniformed police officer standing there. ”This is Roxanne Ward, but I'm afraid she won't be able to answer your questions right now,” he said.

”All right then, are Mike Schmidt or Jerri Lockwood around? I understand they were the EMT's who responded to the domestic violence call?” he asked politely.

Hearing Jerri's name, Nikki stepped forward. ”Jerri's my wi.... my friend, but she and Mike are on a call right now. They should be back soon if you'd like to wait in the lounge,” Nikki said nervously. d.a.m.n, I almost blew it there, she thought. Nikki hated keeping her relations.h.i.+p with Jerri a secret, except from a select few, but Jerri preferred it that way ... it made things at work less complicated.

Rox's x-rays arrived just as Nikki was finis.h.i.+ng up was.h.i.+ng the blood from the red head's split lip.

”Okay, let's see here,” Dr. Syverson said as he examined the films carefully. ”Lungs look all right, however two of the ribs are fractured. No fluid buildup in the abdomen. No obvious fractures in the vertebrae. Good. Looks like she was lucky this time,” he said, taking the films off the light board. ”We will have to set and cast that wrist, though,” he added, ”... after the CAT scan.”

Nikki cringed at the doctor's choice of words, 'she was lucky this time.' He's right, Rox. One of these times that maniac is going to kill you, she thought.

About an hour later, the CAT scan was done, and Rox was once again, returned to the ER until the final diagnosis was made. This time, Jerri was there waiting for her while Nikki returned to work. She had returned about a half hour earlier and met with the police officer waiting in the lounge to provide details of what they found at the scene. Jerri suggested that he return later to interview Rox.

Rox had finally regained consciousness after fainting at the sight of the Lidocaine needle, and smiled at her friend as they once again parked her in one of the examination rooms to wait. She felt miserable. Never before had her entire body hurt so much, not even after the whipping she had received earlier in the week. She was glad Jerri was with her. She hated hospitals. It reminded her that it wouldn't be long before her father would live out his final days here ... take his final breaths. Tears formed in her eyes at the prospect.

”Hey, I can ask for some painkillers for you if you'd like,” Jerri said, leaning in close to her friend.

”Drugs? Drugs are good!” Rox replied fighting tears. She didn't know what it was about her tall friend, but when Nikki was around, all she wanted to do was cry and be held, but when Jerri was with her, she had this driving need to put on a brave front.

Jerri bent over her friend again and whispered in her ear, ”You know, Rox, you can cry in front of me ... I won't tell, okay?” she said, grinning and winking conspiratorially at her friend.

Rox chuckled, grabbing her ribs in the process. ”Oh G.o.ds, don't make me laugh,” she said. After a moment, she caught her breath and looked up into the concerned face of her friend who was sitting in a chair to her left, resting her elbows on the edge of the gurney while she leaned forward.

Reaching up with her good hand, she touched the side of Jerri's face and said, ”I'm sorry Jer. It's just that I'm so used to being the caretaker, its tough to be the one who needs taking care of. It feels so weak to cry,” she tried to explain.

”I know. Nikki is such a girl when it comes to crying. Me on the other hand ... well, I avoid it when I can, but sometimes its necessary ... like now.” she said softly, reaching across Rox's body to brush the bangs away from her friend's eyes, which were now closed.

Jerri watched Rox's face and played with her hair affectionately as she cried, tears escaping her closed lids and running down the sides of her face to spill over onto the bed.

”That's it, love, let it out, ” Jerry cooed softly as she continued to run her fingers through Rox's hair. Rox grasped Jerri's other hand and squeezed it tightly as she cried.

Soon, the crying subsided as Rox took a semi-deep breath, gasping at the pain in her side.

”Feel better?” Jerri asked.

Rox nodded.

”Good,” came the reply as they were interrupted by the orthopedic surgeon.

”Okay, I understand we have a wrist to set,” he said, looking at the patient lying on the gurney.

Jerri followed them into the cast room and held Rox tightly as they first numbed and then set the wrist. Rox came right off the gurney as the pushed and prodded the bones back into place, screaming out in pain during the procedure. Finally, the fibergla.s.s cast was applied, with Rox insistence that all of her fingers and her thumb remain as free moving as possible. After all, she still had a book to write, and a dead line that wouldn't wait the six weeks she would have to wear the cast.

Finally, they returned to the ER where Dr. Syverson was waiting for them with the results of the CAT scan.

”Okay, you have a small subdural hematoma beneath the skull, near the point of impact. It's minor, but the risk remains for a cerebral hemorrhage or embolism. Several days of complete bed rest should take care of it ... most of which can be done at home ...,” he said, seeing the panicked look on Rox's face at the mention of several days in bed, ”... as long as you have help,” he added.

”She has help,” Jerri said immediately, drawing a teary smile from her friend.

”Good. I would like to keep you overnight for observation. If things look good in the morning, we'll release you and send you home. Okay?” he said.