my hand like he said he would. Double damn it. An hour later, I was cut open, and the local had worked for that. It wasn't pleasant, and the shots were a bitch, and I really hated feeling my skin part under the scalpel, but it was nothing to feeling my skin being tugged into place with a needle and stitches. That was always a creepy feeling even if it didn't exactly hurt. Matt, the EMT, had forgone sleep to watch, and so had a lot of other doctors and interns. No one had seen the practical application of the theory and they wanted to, though everyone was in face shields and full gear just in case blood spread. It was technically contagious, though my variety seemed not to be up to this point. I was medical miracle enough to excite the med students all to hell.
Fields and I had already discussed that it needed to be the kind of stitches that dissolved, just in case my body tried to grow over the stitches. "You heal that well?" he'd asked.
"I've seen other people with lycanthropy do it. I'd rather not risk your having to operate on me to remove stitches below my skin."
He'd just agreed.
We were about halfway through the stitches when the local began to wear off. "Painkiller is wearing off," I said.
"We'd have to wait for the shots to take effect again, and you're healing, Ms. Blake. I might have to cut more of the wound again and start over, or I can stitch ahead of the healing."
Edward said, "Anita, look at me."
I turned and he was on the side opposite the doctor. He gave me calm eyes and I nodded. "Do it," I said.
I held on to Edward's hand, gave him some of the best eye contact I'd given anyone in a while, and Dr. Fields tried to stitch me up ahead of my body's healing. Even with the ardeur days from being fed I was healing too fast for normal medical help. Fuck.
Edward talked low to me. He whispered about the case, tried to get me to think about work. It worked for a while, and then the painkiller was all gone and I was still being stitched up. I couldn't think about work. He talked about his family, about what Donna was doing with her metaphysical shop, about Peter in school and in martial arts. He was working on his second black belt. Becca and her musical theater, and the fact that he was still taking her to dance class twice a week, that amused me enough for me to say, "I want to see you sitting with all the suburban moms in the waiting area."
He'd smiled Ted's smile for me. "Come visit us and you can help me pick Becca up from class."
"Deal," I said, and then I just concentrated on not screaming.
"It's okay to yell," Dr. Fields said.
I shook my head.
Edward answered for me. "If she screams once, she'll keep screaming; best not to start."
Fields looked at Edward for a blink or two, and then went back to racing my skin up the cut. He had to tell me that he was finished. My arm was one mass of pain. It was on fire, or . . . I had no words for it. It fucking hurt from the start of the wound to the bottom, and past to my fingertips. I was nauseated with it all. I had only two goals: not to scream, and not to throw up.
Fields gave us some pills. "This should put her out for a little bit, let her body catch up with the damage."
"How long?" Edward asked.
"An hour - two, if we're lucky."
"Thanks, doc," he said. He took the pills, but I didn't see what he did with them. The world had narrowed down to the piece of floor I was staring at. I was concentrating on my breathing, on just being and trying to ride the pain, or at least endure it.
"We'll get a chair to take her to the door," someone said.
I didn't say I didn't need one; I was afraid if I opened my mouth I'd lose the food I hadn't eaten today. When I didn't argue, neither did Edward. So I left the hospital in a wheelchair, pushed by one of the many medical personnel who had watched my treatment. It turned out to be a male nurse who tried to be chatty, and turned out to have all sorts of questions