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Deep in the mines, the farmer’s sword nicked off an Armulite’s shell before it turned and spun. The creature used its tail as it whirled in a large arc; to escape the assault, Kendall launched herself backward to the closest wall. Her back contacted the cavern’s stone wall. She failed to keep her balance, her feet twisted, and she slid to the ground.
The Armulite made its way to her. Kendall wasted no time and scrambled back onto her feet. She dashed out of the way before the monster could land a blow with its tongue.
She then crouched low to the ground with her sword close by her body. Once the Armulite was close enough, she dashed forward, kicked its side to unsteady the monster, and stabbed its unsheltered belly.
A cloud of smoke replaced the Armulite’s body. With the smoke, Kendall doubled over to cough. Her hand clenched her side and felt a sudden sting of pain.
The adrenaline from the fight started to wear off, the contact to the wound brought her back to the present, and she realized she indeed was hit. Kendall removed her hand to access the damage.
Her palm was covered in red. An injury on her left side across her ribs bled out through her shirt and trickled down her soaked pants. Droplets of blood splattered on her boots as a fiery sting persisted every time Kendall dared to move.
She took a deep breath.
"Crap.”
The cold night air met the farmer when she stumbled outside the Cavern and made the long walk home. She had a spare piece of clothing she used to pack the wound to prevent bleeding out further. The wound ached and burned. Kendall replayed the fight over and over through her head as she inched closer to her and Leah’s house. It must have been when she tried to avoid the Armulite’s tail and she didn’t notice due to the serenity of the encounter.
I should’ve been more careful, Kendall thought, I need to do better.
Frustration lingered and weighed on herself. This was not supposed to happen; a simple run for gold ore should have been easy.
When Kendall made it home, she wobbled up the stairs and opened the front door. She hobbled past the living room, entered her and her wife’s bedroom, and into their bathroom. She didn’t see a trace of Leah and assumed she must be in her personal room upstairs where she can work undisturbed and a place to store her extra clothes.
At the sink, Kendall pulled out the First Aid Kit full of bandages, gauze, rubbing alcohol, and stitches. She discarded the shirt she used to stop the bleeding and analyzed the current state of her wound; the gash was deep, about five inches long, and indented across her left ribcage. The surrounding skin was red and swollen.
The farmer took a deep breath, regretted her choices and how she planned her day today, and began with the aftercare. Kendall cleaned her injury with a clean set of gloves, sterilized the area, and administrated stitches with practiced precision to close the wound. She lastly dabbed healing ointment over the rough skin. It cooled the sting by a fraction and offered temporary relief.
When Kendall was finished, clusters of bloodied gauze and used gloves were left on the sink’s counter. She took a moment to catch her breath, an attempt to steady her rapid heartbeat, and sat on one of their bathroom’s stools. However, she didn’t have to sit long before she heard a familiar voice.
"Baby?” Leah called, “Are you home?”
“Yes!” Kendall rasped, “Just don’t freak out!”
“Freak out?”
Leah popped her head into the room and gasped. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She saw everything: Kendall’s injury, the bloodied clothes, the sink’s messy counter—Leah was shocked.
“Kendall!”
In an instant, Leah was beside her farmer’s side. Her hands hovered over Kendall’s shoulders; she was afraid to touch her in case it could hurt her.
“What happened?”
“I-I went—” Kendall stumbled over her words, “I messed up. I’m s-so sorry.”
The frustration and stress finally boiled over and she began to cry.
How could I be so stupid? You’re better than this. You almost died, Kendall’s thoughts raced, her body ached, everything burned; she felt guilt, anger, and shame. She couldn’t handle the emotional weight anymore.
Over her initial shock, Leah cradled her wife’s face to her chest. One arm hooked around Kendall’s shoulders and the other caressed her face as her farmer sobbed.
Kendall was no stranger to close calls, she went home many times with injuries, but this was before she was married. Everything changed when Leah came into her life, she improved her combat skills in the mines since and now felt like she disappointed her wife.
“Now you have blood a-all over your clothes,” Kendall rasped, “I’m s-sorry.”
“Stop that. You’re more important,” Leah said before she kissed her wife’s forehead and kneeled low to look at her farmer’s face.
“I could never be upset with you. Okay?”
Afraid to speak, Kendall nodded.
Leah glanced down to view the wound. It was stitched up almost too good. A few unsettling thoughts passed through her mind, she’s seen scars on Kendall’s body before, and had questioned them in the past. The other girl always reassured her they were from accidents and didn’t elaborate further.
“You stitched them up yourself?” Leah asked.
“Yeah,” Kendall explained, “I usually do it myself.”
“Usually?”
“…Occasionally.”
Leah arched a brow. Kendall gave her a shy look in return.
“I’m going to send for a doctor to double check,” Leah announced and sharply stood, “we’ll talk more about this later.”
The mention of a doctor swept fear into Kendall’s bones. When she grew up and lived in the city, she had few bad experiences with doctors and was terrified.
“Baby,” She pleaded, “It’s late. I don’t want to disturb them.”
“You’re not disturbing them,” Leah argued, “I am.”
A pause.
“Now sit tight,” Leah added, “I won’t be long.”
Leah left Kendall with a quick peck of the lips before she turned and exited the bathroom. She left the house soon after and Kendall ran her hands through her hair in anticipation. She tried not to overthink the situation before her wife came back.
“The stitch work looks great,” Dr. Charles commented, “I’m glad Leah notified me. We’ll schedule you for a tetanus shot.”
On the edge of their bed, Kendall and Leah sat side by side while Dr. Charles continued to read through the farmer’s chart. Kendall looked anywhere other than the doctor, her knee quietly bounced, and her whole body was tensed. Adding to her stress, her shirt was off and did not help with her nerves.
“A tetanus shot?” Leah acquired.
“Yes. You should technically get one every ten years, but this is perfect timing too,” Dr. Charles responded, “And Mrs. Kendall—you’re behind on multiple vaccines as well. We’ll schedule you for an appointment at the clinic tomorrow and talk then on getting you up to date for the rest.”
Leah looked at her wife. Kendall did not meet her eyes.
Dr. Charles stood to leave. Surely, he sensed the tension and did not want to overstay his welcome.
“There’s nothing to be scared of,” He tried to reassure her, “we want the best for your health.”
Leah saw the doctor out and thanked him for his time. When she returned to their bedroom, Leah made a beeline to her wife’s dresser. She searched and pulled out a clean set of clothes before she tossed them beside her wife on the bed. Leah pointed out the blood on her own clothes.
“We’ll talk after I shower,” Leah instructed, “definitely change.”
With that, she shut the bathroom door behind her. The sound of running water soon followed from the closed door and Kendall was left alone.
By the time Leah completed her shower, Kendall had the bed put together. The pillows were propped up, the blankets smoothed down, and dressed in clean clothes herself, Kendall laid back on her side of the bed. Color returned to her face; the painkillers dulled the ache as she waited for her wife.
Leah emerged from the bathroom in clean pajamas and climbed into their bed. She curled up against Kendall’s uninjured side and rested her chin near her temple. Leah draped a lazy hand on her farmer’s arm as she nestled closer.
"How are you feeling?”
“A little sore but better,” Kendall answered.
“Good,” Leah sighed, “Next time you go to the mines we’ll prepare properly in case of anything. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Leah pressed a kiss to Kendall’s cheek then to her jaw. She trailed another spree of kisses to her nose then back up to her forehead. Kendall’s face blushed at the attention. Her ears ran red and hot; after about two years together, she still wasn’t used to being pampered.
“You know I can never be upset with you. You did give me quite a scare,” Leah admitted, “I’m concerned about your health, darling.”
Kendall stayed silent before she rose to press an apologetic peck to Leah’s lips.
“I’m sorry…”
Leah squeezed her hand.
“I didn’t know you’re afraid of doctors either.”
“I’ve had a few horror stories back in the city,” Kendall confessed, “I hope Charles knows it’s not personal.”
"Of course not,” Leah reassured her, “He’s a professional whose been practicing for years. I’m sure he’s used to it.”
The farmer shifted amongst the bed and turned onto her side so she could fully look at Leah. One of her hands moved to rest on her wife’s waist as Kendall scooted closer. She finally was able to look Leah in the eyes.
“Will you go with me tomorrow?” Kendall asked shyly, “I don’t want to be alone.”
“Yes,” Leah replied without missing a beat, “Without question.”
The bed dipped and creaked as they both began to sleep for the night. Leah pulled the blankets around them, Kendall carefully reached over to turn their bedside lamp off, and the two bundled up together surrounded in warmth. The farmer found her head rested on Leah’s chest once more, yet her arms were tucked in to engulf the taller woman. Leah had her own arms wrapped around the farmer’s body and gently rubbed her back in small soothing circles.
Deep in the darkness and the stress of the day would be soon behind them, Kendall’s eyelids began to drip, and sleep overtook them both for the day ahead tomorrow.
Bonus
…But before sleep could fully take her, she was brought back into the present.
“You do know I would’ve showed up tomorrow whether you asked me to or not, right?” Leah asked, “you’re stuck with me.”
Kendall smiled, “Of course.”
Leah huffed.
“…I’ll hold your hand.”
“You don’t have to?” Kendall opened an eye and glanced up at her, “Oh don’t tell me your scared?”
“No one likes needles,” Leah defended herself.
“You’re not the one getting it,” Kendall pouted, “Just... look away when they stick me.”
At stick me, Leah shivered and held onto her farmer tighter. Her whole body tensed and Kendall felt it. To comfort her, Kendall leaned upwards and tried to press a kiss on her wife’s lips in the darkness. Instead, she found her chin first and then mapped up to her lips. She grabbed onto the back of Leah’s pajama shirt and nuzzled her cheek.
“We should really sleep,” Kendall said.
“Hmm, how about one more?”
“One more? —”
Kendall was interrupted as Leah smothered her into a deep kiss. Hands landed in hair, legs tangled against each other’s, and sweet kisses continued to be exchanged well into the night until the need for sleep won out.