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With Octavia’s arm round her waist, and Anya walking ahead of them, the three of them piled into the reception of Accident and Emergency. Lexa was trying not to show how much pain she was in, holding a rag to her head to stop the bleeding, but that was failing miserably if the taste on her lips was anything to go by. Octavia decided that the best place for Lexa was on her ass, so planted her in a seat, before joining Anya at the front desk to get Lexa admitted. The two of them accepted the paperwork, and provided Lexa’s details, before returning to her side.
“We need to fill this out, and they’ll get to you shortly,” Anya murmured, coming back over, clipboard in hand.
“Hand it over,” Lexa said, reaching out for it, but Octavia was quick to swat her hand away.
“No way, you’ll drip blood all over it. Just sit there and keep applying pressure. We’ve got this.” Rather than argue, Lexa leant back in the chair, and shut her eyes, listening to the two of them go through the form. Occasionally she would murmur out an answer, but Anya knew pretty much everything required.
The moment of reprieve allowed Lexa the chance to focus on her injuries, and fuck, her face was radiating. She knew it was bad the second she tripped, because there was nowhere to go but down, and of course she was going to land on something hard. For her face to take the brunt of the impact was just unfair, and god, when was she going to stop bleeding? It was still seeping down her face, down her neck, and onto her shirt, which was most definitely ruined. And okay, priorities Lexa, but she loved that damn shirt. It was her rehearsal shirt, and now it was covered in blood.
“Lexa Woods?” a voice called, and the three of them turned. She was finally up.
“You need help?” Anya asked, but Lexa shook her head as she got up and walked towards the guy in scrubs waiting for her.
“Right this way, and we’ll get a doc to have a look at you. I’m Monty, I’ll start things off, before passing you over to-“ he glanced over his shoulder at the board to confirm the doctor assigned to the bay and then spun back, “Doctor Griffin. She’ll be with you shortly, but let’s get things going.”
Once inside the cubicle, Monty pointed to the seat next to the computer, and he sat down on the stool. Lexa settled in the chair, still holding the cloth to her head, and waited patiently, closing her eyes again. It didn’t seem to hurt as much with her eyes closed, but maybe that was because today had been long and this was the last thing she’d needed. Listening to Monty tap on the keyboard for a few moments, he finally stopped and spun in the stool.
“Alright, Lexa, I’m going to take a quick history to speed things up for Doctor Griffin, and run through a few checks to find out if you need to get an x-ray. Doctor Griffin might order one anyway, but we’ll do this just in case.” Nodding, Lexa sat through Monty’s questions, explaining that she fell, explaining where it was sore, and then following his orders to bite together, to show him her teeth, checking her eyes and pupils, asking her to breathe through her nose, etc. etc. It was all very thorough, and great, they were being sure she hadn’t broken anything, but could they just stop the bleeding?
“Now, that cut, do you mind?” Monty moved forward, and accepted the cloth from Lexa, before removing pressure to have a good look at it. “Right, we’ll this will need stitches. Doctor Griffin will do that for you. She’s an artist when it comes to stitches, whereas I’d leave you looking like Frankenstein’s monster. So, you stay here, keep applying pressure, and I’ll go find her. Alright?” He gave her a smile, and Lexa nodded, moving to apply pressure again.
“Yeah, thanks.” Monty grinned and headed out the cubicle, pulling the curtain shut behind him.
Lexa was glad for the peace, dropping her head back with a groan, and started counting the moments until this fiasco could be over.
Her peace did not last for long, as the curtain was being pulled open again, and okay, that was quick. They must have been having a quiet night.
“How you feeling now?” Octavia asked, coming into the cubicle, and okay, that wasn’t Doctor Griffin. Great.
“I’m fine,” Lexa replied, wondering where Anya was.
“You smashed your face-“ Octavia continued, like Lexa hadn’t been there.
“I know,” Lexa grounded out, gritting her teeth as she spoke. She didn’t have to wait long to find Anya, as she moved into the cubicle after Octavia.
“What did the doctor say? Have they seen you yet?” Anya asked, pulling the curtain shut again, and taking a look at her. Given the cloth was still on the cut, and there was blood still dripping down Lexa’s face, no, she hadn’t been seen to.
“Anya,” Lexa muttered, slowly losing patience as her face radiated pain outwards. This night couldn’t get worse.
“Indra is on her way,” Octavia added, and yep, that would make it worse.
“Great.”
“She’s going to lose her shit if you still look like this when she gets here. Where’s the doctor?” Anya wondered, because none of them wanted to deal with Indra right about now.
“Right here,” came another voice, the curtain now moving behind them once more, and Lexa knew that this was not Monty returning. “Okay, if you two could just take a step back-“ A blonde in light blue scrubs stepped into view, chart in hand, stethoscope around her neck, and a surprisingly upbeat look to her face.
“Go wait for Indra,” Lexa said, nodding her head at Anya and Octavia. They didn’t need to be around for this; and they thought so, too, as they didn’t hang around, getting out the doctor’s way.
With them gone, and the curtain pulled back over, the doc took a seat on the stool Monty previously was using, and wheeled herself closer to Lexa.
“I’m doctor Griffin, and you’re Lexa, is that right? Can I call you Lexa?”
“Yeah, Lexa’s fine.”
“Great. Now let’s see what we have here.” She flipped open the chart, and then moved to take a look at the computer screen where Lexa’s details sat from Monty’s visit. “It says you had a fall, and hit something when you fell. Can you tell me more about what happened?”
“I hit my face,” was Lexa’s brief reply, as she tried to grit down the pain.
“I can see that.” Clarke smiled, nodding. “What did you hit it on?” There was a hesitation on Lexa’s part, so Clarke wheeled her stool away to grab the suture kit. “Alright, you don’t have to tell me. It doesn’t matter. Now, that cut above your eyebrow will need stitches, and I need to physically exam you. May I?”
Clarke’s hands were raised, waiting for Lexa’s approval before she gently began examining her cheekbones. Lexa had to remove her hand off the cut she had been applying pressure to, and she could feel a small bit of blood now running down her face.
“Tell me if any of this hurts,” Clarke said, watching her carefully.
“It’s fine.” From the occasional grind of Lexa’s teeth, Clarke wasn’t convinced but she didn’t say as much.
“On a scale of one to ten, one being no pain at all and ten being the most excruciating pain you’ve experienced, what are you feeling right about now?”
“I’m fine,” Lexa repeated.
“That’s not on the scale,” she replied, laughing.
Lexa rolled her eyes and then swallowed the lump in her throat. “Four.”
“A four?” There was so much doubt in Clarke’s voice, as well as a smile, and Lexa gritted her teeth harder as she accepted that she didn’t have to hide her own pain from her doctor.
“Plus three,” she muttered, beneath her breath.
Clarke smiled, hiding it as she dropped her head and moved backwards. “Okay, Lexa, I’m satisfied with Monty’s assessment that you haven’t broken anything. Your cheekbones, your nose, your jaw, it’s all fine. I am a little concerned about that cut, as it is rather deep, but I’ll clean it up, and we’ll take it from there. If it’s all fine, I’ll stitch it right up. You are going to have some horrendous bruising, I’m afraid. I can also give you something for pain management. You, of course, can use over the counter pain medication, but I am happy to give you something a little stronger for aftercare as it’s going to hurt for quite a few days.”
“I don’t need it, but thanks.” Clarke eyed her patient for a moment before cocking her head to the side.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, no pain meds.” Lexa shook her head, breathing through her nose as she did, and trying hard to block out the pain.
“I am going to have to give you one to work on that cut. Do you suffer from any form of addiction I need to be aware of?” Doctor Griffin asked, picking up the chart again and scribbling down notes.
“No, not at all. I just, I need to be at my best, and pain meds make me hazy.” The last thing Lexa wanted was to wander through the next few days in a daze.
“Okay. Well, if you change your mind, feel free to say and I’ll write up a prescription for something a little stronger.”
“Thanks.” Lexa had no intention of doing so, however.
Doctor Griffin began preparing her kit to clean Lexa’s wound, and then disposed of the cloth she had been using to apply pressure. With that sorted, Clarke prepared an injection of local anaesthetic.
“This is going to sting, but it’ll make the stitches easier. The last thing I want is you flinching in pain and throwing my stitch off.” Lexa sat and watched, nodding when Clarke looked at her to check she was on board with everything. “Okay, you’ll feel a sharp pinch-“ Lexa had been preparing for it, but alright, that was a little more painful than she imagined, and she couldn’t help but let out a little groan. “There we go, all done. Done,” Clarke said brightly, rubbing the skin gently with a wipe to clear the blood away.
With the skin numbed, Lexa kept her eyes on her lap as Clarke worked. The silence only lasted a few seconds before Clarke interrupted it, not wanting Lexa to focus on what she was up to, but something else.
“So, you’re really not going to tell me what happened? You don’t want to enlighten me as to what you struck when you fell? Because there is no way this was just you hitting the ground.”
“Afraid not,” Lexa replied, trying not to look at Clarke who was so close. Upon her response, Clarke let out a little sigh, a smile still on her lips as she did so.
“Shame. See that chocolate bar sitting at the nurses’ station? That’s the stakes for tonight, and I really thought you had a good enough story to help me win that.” Lexa looked passed Clarke to see the chocolate bar mentioned, and fought a smile.
“You wager on your patients?” her voice was teasing, but curious.
“No,” Clarke replied, looking at Lexa aghast, which earned her a smile. “It keeps things lively, and it saves me a walk to my locker to get money for a chocolate bar myself, if I was to win. So Lexa, you going to help me win?”
“Not tonight.” As much as Lexa wanted to, she knew Indra would be annoyed if she did, especially if the details got out.
Allowing Clarke to finish treating her, Lexa sat and waited. It didn’t take long before she was done, and then putting the waste in the allocated bins.
“Right, that is you all done. The stitches are absorbable, so they won’t need to be taken out, they’ll disappear as you heal. I will say, you may end up being left with a scar. As hard as I have tried, where the cut is, how deep it is, there might be a little scar. But, aside from that, you are free to go. As I mentioned, you will have significant bruising, but I suspect you’ll heal up in no time at all.” Lexa nodded her thanks, and Clarke smiled. “I’ll go get your paperwork sorted.”
With that, Doctor Griffin left the cubicle, pulling aside the curtain, and disappeared from sight. Lexa sat, awaiting her return, eager to get out of there.
“You done?” Anya asked, coming back to see her.
“Yeah, just waiting on paperwork.” Relieved to hear that, Anya gave Lexa a smile.
“Good. We’ll meet Indra outside, and she’ll get everything sorted.” Everything sorted was bound to be a lawsuit.
“Can you do me a favour?” Anya looked pleased to be of service, but that was before she heard what Lexa wanted. It didn’t take her long, and then she was back, handing Lexa what she wanted, before making her leave, saying she’d see her at the front door.
Dr. Griffin came round some moments later, paperwork in hand, and a smile on her lips.
“Okay, here we go. Take this to the front desk, they’ll get you to sign it, and then you are free to go. But, like I said earlier, if you want anything for the pain, please come back and we can sort you out.” She smiled as she handed over the paperwork, and Lexa accepted it with a nod.
“Thanks, Dr. Griffin, for all your help.” Another smile was exchanged, and Clarke cocked her eyebrow at the hesitation. “This is for you,” Lexa said, quickly, holding out a candy bar she’d sent Anya to get.
“What’s this?” Clarke asked, frowning, although there was a hint of a smile.
“Save you a walk to the machine, and…you know…Thanks.” Plus, Lexa’s story of how she hit her face definitely would have won Clarke that candy bar. So it was only fair.
“I was just doing my job, but hey, I’ll happily accept this,” Clarke laughed, twirling the bar in her hand. It was a sweet gesture. “Thank you, Lexa.”
Lexa lifted her head slightly higher, swallowing the nerves away, and nodded.
“Take care,” she said, softly, moving towards the end of the cubicle, to make her leave.
“You too; try not to fall on your face anymore. I don’t want to see you back in here.”
“Noted, I’ll try not to.” She definitely will try not to, because this whole thing was mortifying.
Lexa gave Clarke a parting smile, and then headed to the front desk. It only took her a moment to sign the paperwork, and then she went to the door. Octavia and Anya were waiting, looking pleased that Lexa could walk herself out, unlike when she wandered in. Indra’s car pulled up, and the three of them quickly got in, and were whisked away.
*0*0*
Four days later, Clarke wandered into the Emergency Department to start her shift. She’d already been to her locker and changed, and was now ready to check in on the patients already in the beds. Before she had a chance, though, Monty waved her over.
“This came for you,” he grinned, holding out a brown manila envelope. Frowning, Clarke accepted it and made quick work of opening it.
Inside was a magazine, folded open to a specific page. It was a gossip magazine, with photos of celebrities plastered all over the page. Before looking further, Clarke read the yellow post-it note stuck to the top.
Dr. Griffin – As a thank you, and an explanation. – Lexa
Frowning further, Clarke looked at the magazine again, and saw two tickets stuck behind the post-it note for a concert. The concert was one of the most sought after events in the city, and Clarke had tried to get tickets, but failed miserably. What was happening?
Clarke’s eyes falling across the paper, she spotted a familiar bruised face, and read the caption.
“The Grounder’s bassist, Lexa Woods, shows off impressive bruising across her face. Rumours are circulating of a bar fight having taken place, but papers obtained by this magazine show that Miss Woods sustained the injuries during stage rehearsal. A lawsuit has been filed for not properly securing the stage, causing Miss Woods to fall onto an amp…”
The rest of the caption rattled on about the upcoming tour and concert The Grounders had scheduled, and Clarke looked back at the tickets attached. They were brilliant seats, and Clarke knew her roommate, Raven, was going to lose her mind.
“So, what did you get?” Monty asked, looking on curiously.
“Free concert tickets,” Clarke grinned, holding them in hand. “Best patient ever.”
Also, best story ever; Clarke was going to milk that as much as possible next time the late night shifts required a wager on who had treated the best known patient. There’s no way she could lose.
Looking back down at the tickets and backstage passes, Clarke eyed the date. Even if she had to do nightshift for the next month, she would, as long as that meant she had that night off. And backstage passes…that meant she’d meet Lexa again. That thought brought a smile to her face, and wow, okay.
Yeah, Lexa might just have been the best patient ever.
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