“Good morning sunshine!” I woke up to Mom leaning over me and kissing me on the forehead. I looked around for Sasha but she was nowhere to be seen. I smiled up at Mom, especially after noticing she was carrying a bag from the donut shop I’d told her I liked near campus. She put the donuts on my tray table and pulled it over my bed so I could reach it. That’s when I saw the note Sasha had left me. I asked Mom if she could get me a cup of hot chocolate from the vending machine down the hall but it was really just an excuse to get her out of the room.
“Thanks for a great night, we should do it again sometime." She drew a heart, and signed it "Sasha"
A simple note, but I couldn’t help but smile and couldn’t agree more.
Mom came back with my hot chocolate and we had a little breakfast together while watching some morning talk show that Mom liked. She told me Bethany had dropped her off this morning and then continued on home for the start of her spring semester tomorrow. Without a car, Mom planned on using Uber or cabs to get around as long as she needed to stay with me. I knew Mom had enough to scrape by, but I still couldn’t help but feel guilty that she was spending all this extra money because of me. Worse yet, she told me she had a couple photography jobs lined up for next week that she needed to cancel if I wasn’t going to be released from the hospital before then.
“What about all the hospital bills?” I asked, “how are we going to afford all this if you can’t work?”
Mom put her hand on my head and mussed up my hair like she used to do when I was little. “You’re really a sweet kid, you know. Don’t you worry about it. We’ll be fine, we’ve been through worse before and we made it through. I have friends in the photography business I can always offload my jobs to, and they do the same for me when they overbook, so it’ll all even out. Besides, I’ve been in contact with a lawyer and according to him, you should be well taken care of for all this. The guy who hit you wasn’t only wealthy, but insured up the wazoo.”
“Wazoo, huh? Is that a legal term? I just want to know in case I decide to start studying for the LSATs”.
“It’s absolutely a legal term - as in the punishment for being a smartass is getting a big smack on your wazoo as soon as you’re feeling better.” She rolled up Sasha’s note without looking at it and smacked me on the head. “Stay put, I’m going to go find Dr. Stevens and see when we can expect your results from yesterday.”
“Staying right here”. As if I had somewhere to go. I was feeling better though. My breathing was just about back to normal, and I was getting in and out of bed ok, handling the bathroom all by myself and now my appetite had returned as I noticed I had eaten 3 donuts already and was picking up my fourth.
Being a swimmer, I always had a big appetite. It wasn’t unusual for me to spend a couple hours a day in the pool, and swimming burns a ton of calories. I’d usually eat a huge breakfast of eggs or pancakes and then a snack of some donuts or muffins before lunch. Lunch was usually a couple of sandwiches, some fruit and some type of dessert, either pudding or cookies. Before practice I’d carb-load with pasta, followed by a full dinner which I usually followed with some late night snacking. So all in all, getting my appetite back was a good sign for me.
I never thought about insurance picking up all my hospital bills, but now that I did, it made sense that I shouldn’t be out any money that goes towards my recovery. I started thinking about all those daytime TV commercials with skeevy lawyers offering to get you money for some injury or illness. Most of the time I don’t even pay attention to them but I figured in my case it was different. I wouldn't be making some hypothetical claim that I got sick from breathing contaminated air or drinking tainted water - I had a legitimate claim against a drunk driver, one who fled the scene of the accident no less. I started to think about what kind of settlement I would get. I’d watched enough courtroom dramas to know that besides hospital bills I was probably entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, plus maybe even punitive damages - I’d also read enough John Grisham novels to fill a bookshelf.
While I was daydreaming about my possible cash windfall, I had the “I have a structured settlement but I need cash now” jingle playing in my head. I almost didn’t even notice Mom back in my room. She had been all smiles when she left me, but the concerned look of worry on her face now made my heart sink.
“What is it?”
“Dr. Stevens will be in to explain it in a minute. He says your arm is fine and the cast can come off, you’ll need to keep it in a sling for a while but there’s bad news. He said you’re going to need surgery on your pelvis. He started talking about different kinds of fractures. I’ll let him explain when he comes in. Oh honey, I’m so sorry, I know you were hoping to...” Mom caught herself before she started crying, but just barely. I’m not ashamed to admit that my eyes did more than just tear up a little.
I had been telling myself that I knew I’d get through this whole thing, I knew I’d be ok as long as I avoided surgery. The whole idea of being knocked out, not knowing what would happen, honestly freaked me the fuck out. We’d all been through enough hospitals and surgeries with Dad to know that not all medical procedures worked out according to plan.
Mom kept on talking about something, but at that point, even though I could see her lips moving, all I heard was a high pitched noise that was almost deafening. I was in shock. I thought I’d be getting out in a matter of days and now this. Mom had a hold of my hand and it wasn’t until she kept calling my name “Danny, Danny!” that I realized she was squeezing it so tight I couldn’t feel my fingertips.
“Sorry, Mom, it’s just a lot to process.”
Mom passed me some tissues so I could clean my face and dry my eyes while she did the same. After a few minutes I took stock of my feelings, I was glad she’d told me instead of Dr. Stevens breaking the news, I didn’t want to break down in front of him - I was the Champ after all.
When Dr. Stevens showed up, he was holding one of those anatomical models of what looked like a pelvis so I knew I was in for a medical lesson.
“Let’s start with the good news. Head is fine. Check. Lungs, your breathing, both fine. Check check. Your clavicle is healing nicely, we’ll take that cast off your arm today but you’ll need to be in a sling for a few weeks and keep it rested as much as possible. Check.” I was always comforted with the way Dr. Stevens matter-of-factly spoke, like nothing was out of the ordinary, nothing he hadn’t seen before. He was filling me with confidence and putting my mind at ease and for that I was extremely grateful.
“Now for the bad news Champ.” And with that, on top of feeling calm I feel special, the guy’s like a magician. “Your pelvis. Based on your original x-rays we thought you had a clean fracture, what we call a stable pelvic fracture.” He held up the model pelvis and showed me where I had the break in mine. “But, the CT yesterday showed it’s a little more complicated than we originally saw. See with a stable fracture, the bone heals by itself, just like your arm would if we put you in a cast. But with an unstable fracture, which your CT shows you have,” showing me again with the model, “the broken parts of the bones are displaced, meaning without surgery the bone will heal misaligned and that’ll cause you loads of problems in the future, chronic pain, impaired mobility and so on. Any questions?”
So far he was making a good argument. I couldn’t walk around the rest of my life with a misaligned pelvis so surgery looked like the only option. “What does the surgery entail?”
Dr. Stevens flashed his old man smile, continuing, “I was just about to get to that. What we’ll do is open you up, get in there and reposition the bones back into place and put some pins and screws in there to keep everything where it’s supposed to be. It’s a pretty simple surgery - almost miraculously you have no other internal injuries we need to worry about, just skeletal so you can still be out of here in a few days post-op. No other real change for you, still need about 8-10 weeks or rest, using a walker or cane to keep you from falling and putting too much pressure on the rest of your body. Now, any more questions?”
Dr. Stevens looked at me, then looked at Mom, Mom looked at me and I looked at her, we both looked at Dr. Stevens and we both just shook our heads, if surgery was necessary, I’d have to get it done. Dr. Stevens told us he’d be calling for a surgery consultation as soon as possible, and hopefully I’d go under the knife within a day or two.
As soon as Dr. Stevens left the room, Mom started crying again, but this time I think I was too stunned to cry. He had put me so at ease about the surgery that wasn’t even at the top of my list anymore. All I could think about was swimming and getting back into the pool. I’d be on the shelf for months now. No idea how I’d come back, how I would race? Can you even swim when you’re being held together by a medical hardware store? The shock of needing surgery had worn off but the depression of missing my passion was starting to set in. While before I thought I could see a light at the end of the tunnel in my mind’s eye it was now like those cartoons where the coyote nails shut the other side so nothing can get through.
Still, with Mom bawling over on her chair I knew I needed to be the strong one here. I gave her my best brave face, looked her in the eye and told her I’d be fine. I even promised it. She was back to holding my hand so tight my knuckles were turning white. But I squeezed her tight right back. I knew she needed this more than I did. I would survive this. Mom had been my rock for so long it was time for me to pay her back.
“Think of the bright side Mom” I gave her a smile, “if I want to go into law enforcement, I’m getting a head start at turning into RoboCop.”
“Great! Thanks, that’s exactly what every protective mother wants to hear, their kid wants to stand in the line of fire. Oh, I'm sorry honey. It’s just hard knowing that your baby is suffering.”
“I’m not. I won’t suffer. I promise. I won’t let you or anyone feel sorry for me either. Mom, I’m an athlete, I’m going to be fine. I’m young, and I’m tough as shit” sarcasm was still a good way to deal with trauma. “And in a few months this will all be just a blip on the timeline of our lives. We both know we’ve been through worse”.
I knew I was lying to her right then, but something inside me started to believe my lies. Maybe it was the power of positive thinking or maybe I’d been just too wrapped up in feeling sorry for myself but I needed to keep telling myself this wasn’t the end of the world.
Within the hour, the surgical consult came and after a quick examination, he gave me a few instructions for tonight, basically no eating after 10:00 P.M. as my surgery was scheduled for 10:00 tomorrow morning. That left plenty of time for my guilt-ridden mom to feed me throughout the day. Pizza for lunch and burgers and fries for dinner with hospital ice cream for dessert mixed in with more than a few trips to the vending machines for snacks throughout the day. Laughter may be the best medicine but Big Macs and Snickers aren’t bad either.
I figured with all the food Mom supplied me with today I should probably bump up the doctor's orders and stop eating well before the 10:00 deadline. It was about 8:00 when I finished the last spoonful of my ice cream. I looked over at Mom sitting on her chair with her laptop, trying to get some work done.
“Why don’t you go back to the hotel, they have to have a more comfortable work area than that awful chair?”
“I’m not leaving my baby the night before your surgery, what kind of mother would I be?”
“A normal one” My snarkiness had fully returned with my full belly. “What are you going to do here overnight? Besides, that chair looks like it’ll murder your back if you try to sleep on it. Just come back first thing in the morning. I’ll be fine.”
“I just worry about you. Who’s going to look after you if I’m not around?”
“I’ll look after the kid” Sasha poked her head into my room. “He’s one of the tougher patients I have Mrs. Williamson, but I think I’m up for the job.” She clasped her fingers together in front of her chest and flexed her muscles like a bodybuilder causing Mom to laugh and me to just smile, my heart full, happy that she was finally here.
Mom excused herself to the bathroom to freshen up and Sasha sat by my bed while I caught her up on today’s events. I had already given a recap to Bethany over the phone earlier and had to catch myself a few times so as to not break down in tears but talking to Sasha was different. Something about her confidence and warmth while I spoke made everything seem light and breezy, just a normal procedure that’ll make sure I get back to 100% as soon as possible. Sasha held my hand as we talked, lifting it to her lips when I finished to kiss it and tell me not to worry.
“Can you be in there for the surgery?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t sounding too needy.
“What’s it worth to you?”
“Well..”
“Kidding! I’ll be there if you want. I’m not an OR nurse and I’m not scheduled to work tomorrow but I’m sure I can sneak in the back. But you’ll have to be nice to me tomorrow night, I’ll be tired and cranky from sleeping in the on-call room.”
I loved flirting with Sasha. It was so easy and we were so in sync with each other, getting each other’s sarcasm and dumb jokes.
When we heard the bathroom door handle jiggle open Sasha immediately released my hand and we each peeled away from each other like we were two teenagers caught necking on the couch when one of our parents came home early. Mom gave us a curious look and then what I took as an understanding smile.
“Don’t worry Mrs. Williamson, Danny’s in good hands with me…, err.., I mean tomorrow with Dr. Jorgenson, he’s a great surgeon and he’s done these surgeries like a thousand times.”
Up until now I’d only seen the smooth, confident, beautiful, professional Nurse Sasha, not this new nervous, stumbling side of her. And I thought she was adorable.
Mom got her coat on, thanked Sasha for letting her know I was in “good hands” and leaned over to kiss my forehead goodnight. “See you in the morning. And behave yourself” she winked and was out the door.
“Uhh, err, ahh…” I said, with a smile. “Do you like my impression of you?”
“Oh, you’re real funny mister. And smart too. Making fun of the one person here who’s keeping you alive!”
“In that case, I better make sure my affairs are in order.”
We laughed together as Sasha squeezed her way into my bed and rested her head on next to mine.
“You know, you’re pretty cute when you’re stuttering and stammering.”
“You’re pretty cute when you’re laid up in the hospital awaiting pelvic surgery.”
We leaned towards each other as our lips met. “I missed you today,” I finally got out when we broke for air. “I was pretty down after I found out I needed surgery.”
“Trust me, it’s really a simple surgery, nothing to worry about.”
“I know. And I do. Trust you, I mean.” Sasha leaned in and gave me another kiss. “Don’t you have other patients to see?”
“What? Trying to get rid of me already?”
“NO! I just don’t want you getting in trouble.”
“Relax fella, I’m only teasing. My shift doesn’t start until 10:00. I’m all yours until then.”
“So you came early tonight just to…” Before I could finish the question her lips were on mine and we continued our make out session.
“Better to come early than not at all, I always say,” Sasha finally got out in between kisses with her wide shit-eating grin spreading across her face.
I wanted to tickle her so badly but I was afraid she’d return the favor and in my state I didn’t think I could handle it. It’d have to wait for another time.
We decided to watch TV until Sasha’s shift started, laying in bed, snuggling and hoping no one in any official hospital capacity came in and found us in bed together.
When 10:00 finally rolled around Sasha gave me one last deep kiss and told me she’d “check” on me as soon as she could.
“Can’t wait” I replied, happily accepting another kiss on my forehead. I could get used to being taken care of like this.
Thanks to Sasha’s magic, I fell asleep with my impending surgery not even popping into my head.
I woke up at some point in the middle of the night, in the dark and alone. Panic started to set in. I was having surgery today. I was going to be cut open, rods and screws and pins inserted into my body. I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead and back of my neck. Breathing heavily, it felt like the walls were closing in on me. And in that instant, my door cracked open. A beam of hallway light infiltrated my room. And with the glow of an angel, in stepped Sasha, here to save me again. Trying to regain my composure, I returned her smile and a wave of calmness washed over me.
“Hey there sleepy head,” she whispered. “Bad dream?”
“Just freaking out a little about the surgery. How’d you know I was up?”
“I’ve been checking on you like every five minutes, just in case you woke up. Quiet night on the floor tonight.”
I grabbed her hand and she kissed my forehead and put her other hand on my chest, feeling my heart racing.
“I think I can calm you down a little” she said as she lifted up her pink scrubs top and placed my hand on her bra-covered left tit. I immediately started massaging her, feeling her nipple harden under the soft material. Unlike the times I stole my peeks down her shirts, tonight she was wearing what looked like a cross between a sports bra and a tank top. “I came prepared tonight, easier to lift out of the way,”
She lifted what I later learned was called a bralette up, exposing her perfect, perky tits giving me free rein to cup, knead, and squeeze. She leaned closer over my bed, her soft body inches from my face and I couldn’t help but to take one of her sexy erect nipples in my mouth. A moan escaped her lips while she removed my hand from her tit and lifted it to her lips, taking my middle and ring finger into her hot, wet mouth, coating them with her saliva. She looked at me with lust in her eyes, telling me with her mind what she wanted me to do.
I reached down between her legs, easily sliding under her scrubs and inside her panties, to find her pussy already soaking wet for me. Rubbing my two fingers along her pussy, pressing just a little inside, feeling her velvety, swollen lips. She stood up, sadly, removing her nipple from my mouth. I could feel her hard clit pressing into my palm as my two fingers entered her pussy. Eyes closed, biting her bottom lip she started grinding on my hand. God she was beautiful. Pumping my fingers in and out, I could feel her thighs tighten around my hand. Rocking her hips back and forth, she gripped the side of my bed with one hand and covered her mouth with the other to muffle the whimpering noises she was making.
“Oooh fuck, make me cum Danny,” she mumbled in between her near silent moans. I took her challenge seriously and extended my fingers as far as I could, pressing my palm harder against her crotch, practically trying to lift her off her feet. I could feel her body tighten as she stopped grinding - and stopped breathing - and watched her body shudder and tremble as she climaxed.
“Mmmm…that was perfect,” she said, her thighs still squeezing my hand, not letting me move. My hand, which was soaked in her juices, still pressed against her pussy while she came down from her orgasm as a wide smile of satisfaction formed on her lips.
“You’re perfect.” Maybe lame, but it was all I could think of saying at the time.
She slowly released her grip on my hand and proceeded to make a show of taking each of my wet fingers back in her mouth, tasting herself as she cleaned my hand.
Sasha covered herself back up and asked, “did it work?”
“Did what work?”
“Are you less nervous now? I said I could calm you down.”
“Are you kidding? My heart is racing faster now than before!”
“Oops,” she said with a half innocent, half devilish smile. “I only know one more trick to relax you.”
Sasha lowered my sheets and grabbed my already achingly, hard cock. Eagerly attacking it with her mouth, her hot tongue licking up and down, running her lips over every inch of the shaft. Popping it in her mouth, knowing how hard her little show had made me and seeing that I was already close. She lowered her mouth on me, letting my cock fill her mouth and the tip of my cock hit the back of her throat. My hand on the back of her head, guiding her down as far as she could take me. It didn’t take long before I was on the verge of cumming myself, and she knew it as she wrapped her lips tight around the base of my cock, flattened her tongue along the shaft and looked up at me with her big, beautiful, brown eyes, giving my balls a gentle rub with her free hand as I erupted inside her mouth. Spurt after spurt of my hot cum shooting straight down her throat. She kept me in her mouth, gently sucking until she was sure she’d gotten every bit of my cum.
Finally releasing me, her face still at crotch level she couldn’t have been any sexier. “Mmmm…good til the last drop. You better be careful or I’m gonna get addicted to your cum.”
“You might already be. And I’m pretty sure there’s only one cure” I said with a smirk.
Sasha took a swig of water from my side table and gave me a long, deep kiss.
“I’ve gotta get back before they send out an APB on me. You gonna be alright?”
“Thanks to you, I’m perfect.”
We kissed again before Sasha pulled herself away, told me to have sweet dreams and kissed my forehead goodnight and started for the door.
She had completely exhausted me. And put me completely at ease. I was half asleep before she even left the room.
“Sasha,” I mumbled before she could leave me.
“Yeah, Danny?”
“You should get some new pants. Those scrubs are soaked,” I boasted, my eyes already closed.
Surprised, Sasha looked down and responded “so they are. Goodnight stud. I’ll see you in the morning,” and blew me a kiss.
No dreams that night. I was already living in one.