Chapter Eight
When Tank became aware of his surroundings, he immediately realized that he was in a hospital. He could hear the unmistakable beep of the machine that kept track of a person's vital signs. The beep seemed to be keeping a steady rhythm, so he figured he was still alive and recovering well. He sighed quietly when the drugs pulled him under and he fell back asleep.
The next time he woke up, he actually managed to open his eyes. The machine was still keeping that steady pace, so now he tried to figure out how bad he was hurt. He realized his head hurt, especially the front of his face. When he tried to reach up and touch it, his hand felt like it was encased in cement and he dropped it back to the bed. Carefully, because his eyes and head hurt when he moved, he looked down and saw that most of his arms were covered in bandages and plasters.
Glancing around the room, Tank saw Niles asleep on a chair in the corner and Hunter sleeping in a chair directly in front of him, but on the other side of the room. What the hell? He must have made a noise because Hunter woke up and hurried to the door calling for a nurse.
"Hey, a nurse will be here soon. How you feeling, Tank?"
"Great,” he mumbled. His throat was dry and tacky, and he coughed, trying to loosen it up. Hunter reached over and picked up a plastic cup with a straw in it and held it for Tank.
Tank gingerly lifted his head, and ignoring the pounding through it, sipped some water. The cool liquid slipped down his throat and he sighed in relief."Thanks."
"Figured you'd need it."
"The children? Teacher?" Tank coughed again and this time his throat felt better for it.
"They're good. They were released yesterday."
Released yesterday. Just how long had he been here? "How long..."
"Two days. You were pretty out of it. The docs were worried about the knock to your head, but your tests came back clear. Sorry, Tank. They couldn't find a brain."
"Fucker," Tank mumbled with a small smile.
Hunter grinned. "Bad concussion. You did wake up a number of times but went back to sleep straight away."
Tank tried moving his leg and hissed at the pain. "My leg?"
"Your mate removed the branch, cleaned the wound, and stitched you back up. Don't think the locals are impressed with him when he came in and took over." Hunter grinned again. "I sat back and watched the explosions when he told them straight that only he would be touching you. He did let one doctor help though."
"Shit."
"No shit at all. When they realized you two were mates, they backed off, or maybe it was when Niles got that glow in his eyes. Don't want to piss a vampire off by denying him access to his mate. Especially one who knows how to use a scalpel."
"Has Niles been here the whole time?"
"He hasn't left your side, except to go to the bathroom."
"How long has he been asleep?"
"About an hour now. He's worried he missed something."
"Like what?" Tank mumbled. He could feel the drugs working and he was trying to stay awake.
"Go back to sleep. We can talk later."
"Tell him..." That was all Tank managed to say before he fell asleep.
❊❊❊
Tank slept peacefully, and Niles moved quietly around him. He didn't want to wake his mate when he was still healing. The leg wound was causing him some concern. There was still an area of red skin and it was puffy and hot to the touch. He'd missed something.
Checking his paperwork, Niles went and spoke to the doctor on duty, who agreed with his assessment. At some point they'd have to go back in and clean the wound and that would delay Tank's healing.
"The wound was a mess," Doctor MacIntyre said.
"I thought I'd got it all."
"I checked before you closed, and the wound looked clean. The infection is still there so we must have missed a small piece. Let's increase the antibiotics through his IV and reassess later."
Niles nodded in agreement. "Okay, let’s try that."
Niles left the doctor and returned to Tank's room and waited for the nurse to come in with more antibiotics. She was quick and efficient, stepping out of the room less than a minute after she'd entered.
Niles stared at his sleeping mate. His skin was still a little too pale for his liking, but the head wound was healing well so Niles wasn't too concerned over it. The concussion had gone, and Tank was waking more frequently now and was able to answer all questions asked.
His usually spiky hair lay flat on the pillow and Niles leaned forward to run his fingers over it, ignoring the greasy feeling. He was looking forward to helping Tank have a shower when he was well enough for one.
The door opened, and Ale came in, walking over to the bed and looking down at Tank. "How is he?"
"Improving, though the leg is concerning me. I've increased his antibiotics to try to flush the remaining infection out, but I think I'm going to have to go back in and check the wound again."
"Something still in there?"
"I suspect so. I should have gotten it all out the first time."
"I saw the state of his leg when he came in. Don't be too hard on yourself."
"I'm a doctor, Ale. I shouldn't have missed anything."
"Tank also had a head wound that was bleeding heavily, plus thorns embedded in his skin in numerous places. There was a lot going on. I know you're going to beat yourself up over it, so I'll give you two options." Ale pulled a chair over and sat down, sighing as he relaxed back in it. "You can get over it, or I can tell Troy and send him in to speak to you."
Niles blinked. Troy? "Why Troy?"
"He loves Dodge and because Dodge is Tank's dog he likes Tank too. He'll talk nonstop until you admit mistakes happen."
That didn't make any sense at all. Frowning, Niles said, "If Troy loves Dodge, wouldn't he want Tank to stay in hospital, so he can look after Dodge for longer?"
"You'd think so, wouldn't you? But Dodge is missing Tank, and that makes Troy sad and that makes me unhappy. You get where I'm going with this, don't you?"
"You want a happy mate."
Ale grinned. "I sure do, and he isn't happy because that damn dog isn't happy."
Niles chuckled, and Ale joined in. "The things we do for our mates."
Ale shrugged. "You've heard about how we became mated?" Niles winced, but nodded. "So, you'll understand that the last thing I want is for Troy to be hurt and that includes him being upset because of a fucking dog."
"Okay, I understand." As he finished speaking, Tank moved on the bed and he groaned as he opened his eyes.
Niles leaned forward and touched Tank's hand. "Targon."
Blinking his eyes, Tank looked around the room before seeing Niles. "Hey," he muttered.
"Hi. How are you feeling?"
Tank blinked again and rubbed his face with his hands. "Okay, I think."
Tank rolled his head over the pillow and saw Ale. Niles smiled when Tank said, "What’s up? How is the team?"
"Everyone's okay. Just concerned about you, but I hear you're getting better."
Tank grunted. "Can't wait to get out of here." He moved his leg and hissed, causing Niles to frown and glance down at it.
"Your leg hurting?" he asked. He was a doctor and his mate had been injured. He needed to know if he was hurting.
"A little. It'll pass. I think it's because I haven’t been moving. I'm not used to lying in bed for so long. How's Dodge?"
"Troy has him, so don't worry."
"He'll get fat with Troy. Did you hide all the treats?"
Ale grinned. "I'm not stupid. Of course I did, but you know Troy. All Dodge has to do is give him one of his sad looks and Troy will feed him to make him happy."
"Just great," Tank muttered, frowning.
Niles leaned forward in his chair watching the expressions on Tank's face. He could see stress lines appearing and when he reached forward and touched his forehead, there was a slight sheen of sweat. "Are you in any pain?"
He watched Tank swallow and noticed his unfocused stare. "Don't feel so good," he mumbled.
"Ale, get the doctor!" Niles said, as Tank's eyelids fluttered shut.
Feeling his head again, Niles' knew he had an infection. "Shit."
He ripped the sheet of Tank's body and immediately checked the wound on his thigh. Grabbing some gloves, he removed the bandages and sucked in a breath when he saw the wound.
The doctor came in and took one look at the wound then shouted for the nurse. "We need to open it up and clean it thoroughly. Your suspicions were correct. We missed something."
"I was certain we got all the dirt and debris out."
"We'll make sure this time and we'll increase the antibiotics. Right, Doctor Conway, let's fix our patient."