#pinkpeonyprincessblog

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

Isn't She Lovely?

"Please, please go to sleep" I whispered desperately, as I rocked back and forth in the small room. Gracie our one month old daughter was distraught, I'd tried everything feeding her burping her, changing her, laying her down, rocking her and still she was crying. I was at the end of my wit and I really didn't know what to do. To make matters worse Shawn, the love of my life and husband of six months had gone out for the day with his little sister and even though he told me before he left to call if I needed abything, I was reluctant. This was his first full day off from work as an E.R. doctor in almost a month. Normally he'd spend the day with me and Gracie and he'd tried to do the same thing today, but I was insistent when his sister contacted him that he spend the day with her. The last thing I wanted was to get in the way of that.

But I was really starting to regret it now. It felt like no matter what I did, nothing would stop the unchecked sobs that left poor Gracie's mouth, her face was red and blotchy from the tears and her skin clammy from the force she was exuding.

"Sshh, sshh," I lulled, trying to comfort her, but it was no use, my voice could barely be heard over her cries. Finally I gave up, placing her in her crib which only caused her to cry harder and went down stairs to find the formula which we kept on hand for times like this when there was no other solution. For some reason she always seemed to settle when she was fed formula. Strange, maybe, but it worked, and I wasn't about to say no to something that might calm her down. We were both exhausted.

I made the bottle quickly rushing around the kitchen, conscious of the fact that she was upstairs squawking her little head off. I was just heading back up stairs when I remembered her dummy on the counter and turned back to get it,but there must have been water on the floor from when I was rinsing the bottle that I'd somehow missed, because the last thing I was aware of was falling and not being able to catch myself, whacking my head on the counter,landing harshly on the floor and then black.

The next thing I was aware of was the vague sound of a lock being turned and then a shadow in the doorway to the kitchen which I couldn't quite make out in my hazy state before a frantic voice yelled out, way to loudly for my pounding head,

"Shawn, you need to get in here now!"

There was the sound of quick footsteps, only making my head hurt more, before Shawn was squatting down so his face was level with mine. I had never seen him look as worried in all the time I'd known him than he did right now. His brows furrowed, mouth tipped slightly downwards as he studied me.

"Baby, what happened? Why is Gracie crying? Are you okay?" he fired question after question at me, but my brain was still too frazzled to take much in.It felt like when you wake up from an extra long nap and you're all disoriented. And all I could take in was pain, both my head and side were throbbing and I couldn't help but hold my side around my ribs in a weak attempt to stop it hurting.

The look of concern only grew at my silence. Finally the gravity of the situation actually hit me and it all came flooding back, Gracie's crying,my unsuccessful attempts to pacify her, the kitchen and my fall.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I sobbed into his chest, tears now streaming down my face. "It's okay baby, tell me what happend? Aaliyah would you go and get Gracie please?" he asked, looking up at her from the floor.

She nodded, and left the room quickly,leaving us alone momentarily.

"I'm so sorry," I continued to mumble into his chest between sobs as Shawn rubbed soothing circles into my back, waiting patiently for me to calm down enough to explain what had happened. I must have looked like a complete mess.

"Baby, I'm not mad, I promise," he whispered leaning back again to look at me. "I'm just worried, you scared me so bad," he admitted, kissing the top of my head. "Now what happened?"

I just looked at him still feeling overwhelmed and guilty. How could I let this happen?

"Tell me what happend?" he whispered again, brushing the hair out of my face.

"I was coming down here to get the formula, she's been crying all day,and I'm so tired and sore Shawn!" I hiccupped.

"Why didn't you tell me, honey? You should have called or texted," he half scolded, but I could tell his heart wasn't in it.

"And I feel so stupid, I can't even get my own baby to feed properly and she's crying all the time, and my scar is excruciating," I cried. My C-section scar had been hurting for a little over a week now and when I'd looked at it, it looked red and I knew it was probably infected, but I was too scared to do anything about it, so this was the first time Shawn was hearing about it.

"Hey, the last thing you are is stupid, I don't ever want to hear you say that again," he spoke fiercely. "You are the mother of my child and the love of my life." He kissed my hair softly.

"Can I have a look?" he asked, moving to lift my top up.

I nodded, letting him know it was okay.

He lifted the fabric and there was the scar looking more red and angry than ever.

"Baby, why didn't you tell me?" he asked searching my face. The worst part wasn't the pain I was in, but the fact that he looked genuinely hurt that I hadn't asked him for help. I really couldn't tell you what had stopped me, but the way he looked at me now made me feel so guity. I let out a whimper as he gently touched the area surrounding the wound testing for I don't know what.

"Baby this is infected. You'll need antibiotics and cream for this," he explained, moving to sit on the floor in front of me, taking my hands in his.

"Promise me next time, you'll tell me okay. Even if you think it's nothing okay. You know I'm always here for you." he squeezed my hands gently as he spoke. I nodded not trusting my voice as I felt a new wave of tears coming.

"I didn't want to worry you, you were out with Liyah, and I didn't want to bother you." I paused unsure of how to go on.

Thankfully he seemed to understand and broke the silence for me.

"You've knocked your head on something honey, you've got a small cut above your left eyebrow." He reached up to the bench grabbing the kitchen towel roll and tapping at my face gently, before showing me the red paper.

"It's not as bad as it could be, but I'll still need to clean it."

"I can do it," I insisted. He frowned, clearly disapproving. He knew I didn't like it when he went all medical on me.

"Lilah, no offense baby, but you're in no state to be doing anything medically related right now. You're clearly exhausted, you've hit your head and from the way you're holding your side I'd bet you've bruised a few ribs."

"Come on, let's go into the bathroom and we'll get you cleaned up and you can have a nice long bath, with some Epsom salts and I'll see about getting you on some antibiotics and cleaning your scar okay?" he smiled encouragingly.

I went to open my mouth, but he stopped me mid-word, holding his finger to my lips with a smile. "No buts, I know you don't like it when I worry, but it's my job, both as your husband and as a doctor, please let me do it."

He led me into the bathroom, helping me to sit down on the closed lid of the toilet seat, before reaching up into the cabinet and pulling the giant first aid box down.

"You know," he spoke as he opened it up and surveyed the contents for a moment. "Asking for help doesn't make you a bad mum. If anything it'll make you an even better mum- if that's even possible," he smiled. "Because you will have the support there when you need it. Me your mum, my mum even are Aaliyah are all here for you Lilah."

I dropped my head as what he was saying sank in. I could have avoided all of this if I'd just swallowed my pride and asked for help.

"I'm sorry," I whispered again.

"Baby, you don't need to be sorry," he murmured coming over to stand in from of me holding what looked like cotton swabs. "Head up for me honey," he spoke, tapping under my chin with his pointer finger.

I lifted my head as he asked and made the mistake of looking him in the eye. That was all it took for another round of tears fuelled by exhaustion and humiliation to well up as I faught to stop them falling again.

"I'm just going to wipe the blood away so I can see the cut a little better okay?" he asked, stepping closer so his legs were on either side of mine. I nodded, trying to be brave.

Once he'd cleaned by head up and placed a plaster on it for good measure he turned his attention to my scar. "Lift your top for me again Princess?" he asked as he turned to get more cotton swabs, disinfectant and cream from the box.

"This is going to sting, I'm sorry honey," he warned as he poured the yellowish liquid onto one of the swabs and moved to pull the fabric of my shirt up further."Ready?" he asked, watching me carefully.

I nodded,clenching my fists. "Try to relax honey," he encouraged, dropping my shirt and placing a comforting hand on my thigh instead.

Sure enough as soon as the liquid came into contact with my skin I wanted to scream.

"Deep breathes Lilah," he encouraged as he wiped the area a few times. "Nearly done."

I tried my hardest to not move, but I couldn't help he whimper that slipped through my lips. Shawn frowned, his hand giving my thigh a slight squeeze.

"What do you want to have for dinner tonight bub? I could do Carbonara?" I knew he was trying to distract me from what he was doing, but I was greatful. It gave me something to do other than focus on the intense burning that was still eminating from my stomach.

"That would be nice," I smiled, I could feel my stomach rumbling at the thought.

"Okay, we'll do that and we can have a movie night how does that sound?" he asked as he finally removed the swab,and placed it in the bin.

"How you feeling Lilah?" Aaliyah asked a few minutes later, stepping into the bathroom as Shawn wiped some soothing care onto the area.

Gracie was now asleep in her arms, no hint of the earlier upset apparent on her face. She looked like a sleeping angel.

Shawn placed the cream on the counter and went over to take Gracie gently from his sister kissing her softly on the head as she fidgeted slightly getting comfortable in her daddy's arms. I could just make out him speaking softly to her, " I heard you've been giving your mommy a hard time little lady, maybe save that for when daddy's home so we can play two man defense," he whispered.

I couldn't help but laugh at the way he spoke as though she could understand everything he was saying.

"Hey, who said you could listen in, this is a private conversation between me and my girl." he hugged her closer to his chest a fake scowl on his face as she grabbed a fist full of his shirt in her sleep,

"She's half mine," I quipped back with a grin.

"Touche," he smiled, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a feather light touch watching as she scrunched it in response.

"How about you take a bath honey, I'll start getting dinner going," he suggested as he carefully passed Gracie back Aaliyah.

"But what about Gracie?" I asked.

"Her aunty has her hey baby," Aaliyah smiled down at Gracie from the doorway.

I smiled, I knew that between Aaliyah and Shawn they could handle her, so I nodded and they both left, though Shawn not before placing a soft kiss to my temple and whispering an "I love you."

...

It was several hours later and Shawn had made dinner and put Gracie down, Aaliyah having left leaving Shawn and I to cuddle on the sofa 10 things I hate about you playing softly on the T.V. though I was so tired from the day's events that I wasn't really paying attention to the movie, instead enjoying the warmth radiating from Shawn his soft breathing lulling me further into sleep.

"I'm sorry if you felt like you couldn't tell me," he murmured as he traced patterns into my thigh.

I sighed, snuggling into him more.

"It's okay, it's me, it's just all new, and I guess I wasn't expecting it to be so hard," I admitted.

"You know, I'm always here right, whenever you need me, my family comes before anything."

"I know." And I did know, Shawn was never exactly quiet about his love of protectiveness of us.

"You and Gracie are my life," he spoke.

Just as he said that a soft whine started from down the hallway signalling that she'd woken.

I sighed going to get up,"No," he spoke firmly, pushing me gently so I was forced back into my little cacoon on the sofa. "I'll go."

"Are you sure, I'm fine to get her," I started.

"Babe, you've had a tough day,let me look after my girls," he pleaded with the best puppy dog eyes I'd ever seen, even for him.

I nodded, letting him go, watching as he made his way down the hall and into our daughter's room.

A few moments later he returned, little Gracie in nothing but a nappy due to the hot summer night, her whines having turned into soft little grunts as she lay on Shawn's shoulder.

"Hi bubba," I sang as Shawn sat down again, moving her to his right shoulder so I could keep talking to her. "What are you doing up so late ha? You're gonna be so tired in the morning little lady." As if on cue she started crying again, more forcefully than before.

I sat up holding my hands out ready to take her, a reflex reaction, but Shawn shook his head "I wanna try something," he told me, shifting her slightly and unbuttoning his shirt to show his toned chest. Her placed Gracie down and as soon as her skin touched his she settled. I smiled, watching the cute scene unfold before me.

"She knows daddy's got her and it's all okay,hey baby," he cooed softly and unapologetically, rubbing firm comforting circles into her back. "I can't believe we made her," he whispered in awe minutes later when she'd fallen back to sleep, resting soundly on Shawn.

"I can, but isn't she lovely," I moved to ever so softly stroke her hair, it was like angel's hair, still perfect,she was perfect, still so innocent, oblivious to the big bad world outside our perfect little family.

"She's the most lovely girl in the world, she takes after her mommy like that," Shawn smiled, turning to peak me on the lips. And in that moment I felt that everything in the world was right. That no matter what happened I would always have my perfect little family and that was all I needed.

[pink-peony-princess]

So it appears my account disappeared because Tumblr were fixing my account for me! Omg! Yay! I'll be keeping the other account @pinkpeonyprincessblog as a back up account and will update reply etc every few days so if you find that one feel free to interact on that one too 💖 I'm so happy!

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

You're My Life Now

Dawn had always been Peter's favourite time of day, he couldn't tell why, but there was something so peaceful about it. A time when the world seemed less corrupt,a time when you could just be still, be one with nature.

Nothing about this day had particularly stood out to Peter, there was nothing to suggest as he got ready for his usual early morning perimeter run to suggest that anything out of the ordinary was about to take place.

He'd been doing this run, every morning for almost two years now and nothing had happened yet. As one of the famous Mendes Triplets and Beta alongside his brother Raul to their eldest brother Shawn (Alpha of the infamous Shadowmoon Pack) Peter took his responsibility extremely seriously. He'd always been the sensible one out of the three of them, or at least the most level-headed one.

Shawn was an amazing Alpha,Peter had always admired his ability to lead,his empathy his compassion, but he could also let his emotions rule him, which could cause problems sometimes. Especially if there was a disagreement between the three brothers. Raul on the other hand, was, well, Raul. Fiery, and passionate and a bit of a trouble maker, he liked to stir the pot whenever possible and unfortunately for Peter he always seemed to be the piece keeper,to stop arguments (usually caused by some snide comment that Raul would make in the heat of the moment which he always regretted later).

Whenever anyone spoke of Peter the first things they'd say was that he was extremely loyal,always ready to help and would protect his loved ones with his life. He'd been like this as long as he could remember.

As Peter stood up from tying his shoe laces,putting his glasses on, he noticed the sheeting rain outside his window. It was so heavy that it was actually hitting the window,leaving large water droplets on the once clear glass. He sighed, it wasn't that he minded the rain, it didn't make a difference to him as to whether he got wet or not,he never felt the cold as a wolf anyway. But it would make it harder, more tedious to complete the run, he'd have to pay extra attention to his surroundings,to the sights, smells and sounds.

"I'm headed on my run," Peter called to Shawn and Raul as he past the kitchen where the two of them were making coffee and talking about day ahead.

"Thanks Pete," came Shawn's reply."I'll be in the surgery with Connor later if ya need me," Pete nodded as he made his way out the front door and into the rain.

The first part of the run was pretty easy, flat ground,open, easy to see the fields that sprawled unchecked for miles ahead. He made it in good time, easily nativagsting the familiar territory with no issues.

He was halfway home when he saw object up ahead. At first he couldn't make it out, even with his wolf-enhanced eyesight the sheeting rain was obscuring his view.As he made his way slowly closer,mindful that it might be some sort of a trap from the rogue wolves that were constantly trying to ambush their lands,he spotted the fabric.It was slightly covered by the truck of a tree, only half visible, but Pete was sure, it was definitely fabric from a tee-shirt.

It wasn't uncommon to find old clothes in random places around the lands, wolves would hide them in convenient spots so when they phased back to their human form they were able to dress themselves without hassle. Even Peter did it. But something about the way the shirt was sitting, haphazardly, carelessly, on the ground caught and held Peter's attention. Something told him it wasn't right.

As he made his way slowly closer the wind changed and he was hit with scent, overpowering his senses,causing him to falter momentarily.

It was the sweetest most intoxicating scent he'd ever smelt, like Rosewater and Ivy perfectly blended together. He took his glasses off pocketing them in the hope that not having the rain-covered glass in front of his eyes might allow him to see better.

As he stepped closer still, the clothing moved Peter stilled,watching waiting,a few seconds later it moved again,rolling over. It was then that Peter realised with horror, that this was not just an old disguarded set of clothing,this was a person, and a hybrid wolf at that, half human, half wolf he realised when another gust of wind sent a stronger wave of scent towards him.

He rushed forward no longer fearing an attack, only concerned for the welfare of this person. As he rounded the tree he got his first proper look at the person. It was a young girl. She looked to be about Peter's age. The first thing that struck Peter was not her bedraggled appearance- the way her dirty blonde hair hung around her face, sticking to her forehead and cheeks,not the mud that was caked into almost every part of her, not even the slashed in her faded green sweater that had obviously been made by wolves claws or the blood that was seeping out from the large wound beneath it and the several other cuts and bruises that peppered her small fragile body. No. The first thing that Peter registered was the look of fear, of terror as the girl made eye contact with him.

"D-dont come near me," the girl stuttered, a mixture of cold and fear Peter was sure.

He held his hands up in surrender, "Please don't be scared," he spoke softly, voice almost drowned out by the rain as he made his way closer still, now less than a foot away from the girl- young woman really.

Up close Peter could see the way her mascara was running from her eyelashes,leaving small black smudges under her red bloodshot eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you, I only want to help,I promise. My name is Peter."

She looked at him for a moment, seeming to weigh up what he was saying. "But you're a wolf," she pointed out. She was perceptive, Peter thought.

"Yes, I am," he admitted, watching as her eyebrows knitted together with fear again.

"And the other wolves hurt me," she chocked on a sob, looking away from him.

Peter reached out, placing a finger on her jaw, gently turning her head to look at him again. As soon as he made contact his whole hand began to tingle,and he felt the butterflies that so many other wolves had spoken of so fondly."Mate," he heard his wolf Timbre purr protectively from inside his head. He felt dizzy, slightly intoxicated now and had to shake his head a few times to clear his mind, to keep himself on the task at hand. If he didn't do something soon, he would have no mate to protect.

"But these are my lands- my pack's lands,my older brother Shawn is the Alpha, when he hears about what happend he'll send out a group to go out and deal with them. I promise you you're safe with me, with us," he was almost pleading with her by the end, but he didn't know what else to do.

"Just, please let me get you some help," he added,feeling the sting of tears in his eyes as the thought of what would happen if she didn't go with him ran through his head over and over again.

"How?" she asked. Looking up at Peter with wide eyes. Her eyes were so blue,it was like getting lost in the ocean.

"My brother,Shawn, when he's not working as the Alpha, he's a doctor, he'll be able to help you. I'll take you to him.I promise you'll be safe.

She nodded, water flying off her face, still not seeming entirely convinced, but she relaxed a little, her shoulders loosening just a little,as she reached for Peter's hand, surprising him. He took it feeling the tingles again, more than happy to have any contact with her that she'd allow. He wasn't sure if she was ignoring the feeling or simply in too much pain to notice, either way she said nothing.

"What's your name?" he asked, not breaking eye contact.

"J-Josie," she answered clearly still apprehensive. She watched his every move.

"Okay, it's nice to meet you Josie. Can you show me where you're injuried? I don't want to cause you anymore pain when I lift you," he asked, "apart from the gash on your stomach?"

"My back hurts," she told him, and my head. I feel kinda dizzy," she added, almost as an after thought. Peter didn't know much about medicine, bit what he did know was that it usually wasn't good when someone said their head hurt and they were dizzy. He knew he needed to get her home,out of the rain, to Shawn. They'd only been talking 5 minutes, but already she looked more pale, and slightly drowsy. He had trouble hiding his panic as he spoke again.

"Can I see?" she nodded, so he let go of her hand reluctantly and made his way around so he was behind her, slowly peeling back the layers of fabric to reveal a large oozing gash that ran from her left shoulder to the small of her back. She let out a whimper as the air and rain but it, making Peter's heart squeeze. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt his mate, when one mate hurt the other hurt."I'm so sorry," he apologised when she sniffled.

"Alright,let's get you inside," he murmured, coming back around and squatting so he was in front of her, automatically holding his hand out for her to take again. He could see how tired and scared she was and his heart literally ached."I know you hardly know me, but I think the quickest way to do this will be if I carry you, will you allow me to do that?" he asked softly, patiently waiting for a response.

She nodded again, and he wasted no time in carefully picking her up, trying his best to avoid her injuries.

That didn't stop her from letting out a scream.

"I know, I'm so so sorry," he whispered trying to console her.

She didn't say anything, instead curling into his body further, head resting softly on his shoulder. Peter couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his lips as he thought about the fact that she was already seeming to seek his comfort, his warmth. This was what he'd dreamt of since the day he turned 18 and was old enough to have a mate.

He ran as fast as he could, trying to be careful not to move her too much, and to shelter her from the pouring rain. He knew that if he'd shifted he would have been quicker making it back to the house, but she was terrified, and clearly in no way to be holding onto his back as he ran, somewhere along the way she past out, head rolling unsupported as he ran, making Pete panic more.

After what felt like an age, the house came into site, spurring him on to run harder. He sprinted the last 20 metres,and up the front porch stairs, banging on the door to get someone, anyone's attention. Finally, Connor came to the door.

"The door was open, why didn't you just-" he stopped taking in the unconscious young woman in his arms. "Holy crap," he whistled. "Where'd you find her?" he asked as Peter pushed through the doorway forcing Connor to step sideway to avoid being hit.

"Down by the south border," he answered moving further into the house. "She needs medical attention is Shawn still in the surgery?" he asked as he went to go up the first flight of stairs.

"Here, let me take her, you can get changed and meet us up there," he offered, holding his arms out for him to hand Josie over.

Peter immediately recoiled, baring his teeth,a soft growl eminating from his throat.

Connor stepped back a look of deep shock and confusion on his face. "Peter what the?" he started before he connected the dots, a large smile wiping the look of confusion from his features."Pete, did you, is she?" he asked tripping over his words.

Peter nodded,"But she's a hybrid Con, so we need to get her upstairs," he spoke, wasting no time waiting for his reply. Connor rushed past him so he could open the door to the surgery. The familiar smell of disinfectant hit Peter's nose as they walked in.

"Shawn, we need you right now," Connor called out, as they rushed through the front area and into one of the many consultation rooms.

Peter could hear Shawn making his way through the surgery as he placed Josie down carefully on the table, immediately missing the contact.

"What have we got?" Shawn asked, walking through the door, before stopped short as Connor had minutes before. "Pete, where'd you find her?" he asked grabbing a pair of gloves from the dispenser on the wall and making his way over to the bed. "She's got some nasty injuries," Shawn muttered as he surveyed Josie's body. He went to move her shirt away from her stomach, an automatic response,to make a better judgement, but Peter felt an immense feeling of protectiveness wash over him again at another male, even his brother,who was trying to help, touching his mate.

He couldn't help the growl that slipped out as Shawn pulled back the fabric exposing her stomach and the nasty gash which Josie had shown Peter in the field.

"What's your problem Peter," Shawn laughed, turning to him, "I'm doing my job little bro,"

"You're touching her, you'll hurt her," he snarled very unlike himself. He knew logically that what he was saying wasn't true, but he couldn't help it.

"Peter, as if I'm going to hurt her, I'm literally trying to do the opposite," he stopped watching the way Peter's gaze never left Josie and something clicked. "Peter is she your mate?" he asked beaming.

"Yeah," Pete chocked on the word.

"Congratulations man," Shawn smiled again. "It's a big step finding your mate, what's her name?" he spoke knowingly. He'd found his mate Ava two years earlier,and Raul a year ago with Mia. They were both always so happy, so settled and finally Peter could have that too.

"Thanks Shawn,Josie, how, how bad is she?" he asked, almost wishing Shawn wouldn't answer.

"Well, from what I've seen so far, not great if I'm being honest, she's lost a lot of blood and the gashes on her stomach and shoulder look like they're getting infected, and if I'm being truthful I don't like the fact that she's not conscious. But I need to have a closer look. Will you trust me?" he asked.

Peter sat for a minute taking in what his brother had said," Can I hold her hand?" he asked embarrassed, cheeks heating up.

Shawn looked at him knowingly," Of course mate, here, sit on this. It'll actually be good. Having contact with you will help to keep her calm," he agreed, pushing a rolling chair with his foot for Pete to sit on."Where'd you find her, what happened?" he asked as he went to a cupboard and pulled a thick blanket out. Normally the wolves didn't need them, but they were kept on hand for the youngsters as a comfort tactic."She's freezing, borderline hyperthermic," he added as he took her temperature gently, Peter watching his every move as he then carefully lay the blanket over her.

"By the south border, I didn't realise it was her at first, I thought someone had left a pile of clothes," Peter admitted feeling guilty,"but when I got closer I saw that it was her and then her scent hit me and I knew. She was pretty reluctant to trust me at first," he added,"Shawn, she said wolves did it."

Shawn shook his head, as he went about hooking her up to different monitors,getting an I.V. with antibiotics in, listening to her chest and checking her pupils with a penlight. "We've had a problem with rogues recently, I'm so sorry Peter, I'll get a party together to deal with them," he added as Peter expected. "Connor," he called out, and it was only then that Peter realised that he'd left the room.

"Yeah?"

"Get Raul up here, I need to talk to him about the rogue problem," he was angry, Shawn was passionately against rogues and what they stood for and everyone knew it.

"I'm going to have to try and wake her up buddy, I need to know what sort of head injury we're dealing with."

Peter nodded, watching as Shawn placed a hand on her sternum and rubbed. He couldn't help the growl that once again slipped his lips. "I'm sorry mate, I wouldn't be doing it unless I had to," he looked genuinely apologetic.

A small whine left Josie's lips, and Peter was on his feet in a matter of seconds looking down at his mate anxiously.

"Josie, can you hear me, if you can hear me, give Peter's hand a squeeze."

Peter nodded, feeling his heart swell with relief as he felt her do as asked.

She opened her eyes, slowly taking everything in, before a panic set in and she tried to sit up."Hey, hey, take it easy," Pete, comforted, gently stopping her from sitting up and hurting herself further.

"You're safe here,do you remember me, I'm Peter?" he asked. She looked up at him with wide frantic eyes before recognition crossed her face and she relaxed into his grip.

"This is Shawn, my brother, he's the one I was telling you about," he added when she looked over warily at Shawn. "He's going to fix you up okay."

"It's nice to meet you Josie," Shawn smiled kindly at the young woman."How are you feeling?"

"Tired, sore,can I have some water?" she asked, voice strained.

"Of course," Shawn grabbed a disposable cup and filled it with water from the tap,holding it out to her.

Shawn went about checking her over,happily reporting that she only had a minor concussion, before numbing her up and carefully sewing her wounds closed. The whole time she clung to Peter like her life depended on it, but he didn't mind. He was happy to be able to provide the comfort.

There was a knock at the door and Raul walked in, not waiting for a response, only stopping as Shawn had at the sight of Josie.

"Who,what?" he looked between the three of them confused.

"This is Josie, she's Peter's mate," Shawn put emphasis on the word. "She was attacked by rogues and I need you to go out and find them, deal with them, do what you have to," Shawn spoke, not saying what both Peter and Raul knew he meant. End them.

Raul nodded, turning for the door, "Congrats little bro, best thing that'll ever happen to you," he smiled before leaving the room.

"Congratulations?" Josie asked looking up at him. Peter sighed, he hadn't wanted to tell her like this, he'd wanted to wait but he also didn't want to lie to her. He looked at Shawn who nodded."Josie,when we were in the field, did you feel anything when I touched your hand, a tingling?" he prompted.

Her eyebrows knit together, before she spoke,"Y-yeah?"

He took her hand again, "You're my mate Josie," he spoke carefully, waiting with baited breath for her response.

She was quiet for a moment, before a soft smile graced her features. Peter thought it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"I am?" she asked, teary,surprising both the men.

"Please don't cry," Peter spoke quicky. "I promise you, I'll look after you with my life."

She shook her head,"It's not like that,my dad was a wolf, that's how I knew you were a wolf when we met in the clearing. I'm happy," she laughed, leaning into Peter's chest a little more.

Shawn beamed as he took in the cute sight before him,"You're okay for now, I'll leave you two alone," he spoke before excusing himself.

They sat in silence for a while, just happy to be in each other's company, still getting used to the feel of one another, the smell, the presence.

"Thank you," she whispered, eyes half open as she lay abck on Peter's chest.

"For what?" Peter murmured.

"For saving me."

"No Josie, thank you, you saved me," he countered, gently running his hands through her now only damp hair, causing her to shiver. "You are my life now."

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

A Late Night Call

-Katie-

"Shawn" I called into the darkness, wanting the comfort of my boyfriend. We lived together in a house, along with his friends,Brian, Connor and Dave -who also happened to be my older brother.

When no response came, I started to get worried, I had been feeling unwell for the last several days, running fevers and feeling generally blah, but I had just woken up to bad pain in my abdomen. I had always hated being sick- not only because it obviously wasn't fun, but because I had a fear of doctors and hospitals. Something which wasn't helped by the fact my brother, my boyfriend and their friends were all doctors of some description. As a result, I had tried to avoid medical intervention as much as possible for pretty much my entire life, so twenty years, which both Dave and Shawn as Emergency physicians were not happy about.

Swallowing the lump that was now forming in my throat I called out again, "Shawn!" I tried, louder this time, hoping he had just gotten up to use the bathroom.

"Katie?" I heard a sleepy voice ask, before someone switched the lamp on beside my bed, causing me to close my eyes immediately. "Katie, what wrong honey?" I recognised the voice now as my older brother, I could hear the concern in his tone. "The heat pack didn't help?" he asked, sitting beside me and sighing.

"I hurt D," I whimpered, trying to move closer to him to gain some comfort, while not causing myself anymore pain.

"What do you mean it hurts?" he asked, switching into 'doctor mode'. I hated it when he did this, but even I knew that I needed help. Something wasn't right, and my only hope to get it fixed was letting my brother do his job. "I thought you just felt sick?" he asked, taking my hand to check my pulse.

"I did," I started, "Well, I had an achy tummy, around here," I explained, pointing to around my belly button. "But now it's REALLY hurting," I cried, just wanting him to make it stop.

"It's okay, I'm going to call Shawn okay? Bri!" he called, getting up and grabbing my cell phone of my bedside table, speed dialling Shawn's number.

"What's wrong David?" Bri grumbled, "It's two in the morning for goodness sake. I need my sleep man!" Dave just pointed, directing Brian's attention to me silently, waiting for Shawn to pick-up.

"Oh Katie, what's wrong buddy?" he asked, grabbing a tissue from the side table, before sitting down and gently wiping away the moisture that had accumulated from my face.

"Just make it stop!" I begged, trying desperately to find a more comfortable way to lie, trying to ignore the sharp pain that was now my sole focus.

A few more minutes past in which Brian tried, with almost no luck to calm me, telling me that everything would be okay. Dave took the phone away from his ear. "He must be in the middle of a consult, I kept getting the dial tone, I'll try in a few more minutes," he spoke, coming to sit by my side again.

"Care to explain what's going on?" Brian asked, reaching for more tissues, the ones he had been using, now soaked and laying dis-guarded on the mattress.

My brother looked at me sympathetically, before turning his attention to his friend. "I'm not totally sure myself. I just got up to use the toilet and heard her crying and calling out to Shawn."

"What's up Missy?" Brian asked again, trying to get something useful out of me. When I didn't answer for fear of crying again, he sighed, and rested his hand again my forehead. It was calming, having physical contact, something to take my mind of my current state. "Dave, pass me the thermometer," he uttered. "She's got a fever, when was the last time her temperature was taken?" he asked, as he held it in my ear, waiting for it to beep.

"About- three hours ago," Daveresponded.

"Yep thirty-nine on the dot," Dave spoke moving the instrument away from me. "You have quite the fever Katie," he told me, moving to get the water bottle which Shawn had placed on the wardrobe, helping me to take small sips of the liquid.

"No wonder you're feeling so horrendous," Dave chimed as fixed my blanket up.

"Katie, where is the pain exactly?" Bri asked, sitting up, and moving the blanket aside.

"Here," I told him pointing once again to the spots I had shown D.

They shared a dark look between themselves, before Brian spoke up. "Katie, I need you to lie down again okay, I need to have a feel of your tummy." As he said this, Dave helped me to lay back, making sure that I was as comfortable as I could be, given the current situation. "Can I pull this up?" Brian asked, gesturing to my bed-shirt once I was situated the way they wanted me.

"He' will be as gentle as possible okay," Dave, tried to reassure me, taking my hand.

He felt around for a minute, before hitting the one spot on my right side. The pain was unbearable, and I nearly broke Dave's hand from holding it so tightly. "Please stop!" I begged, hot tears rolling down my face once again.

"I'm sorry Katie," Brian apologised, pulling my clothes back down.

"What's wrong with me D?" I asked, turning to my brother, who was now watching Brian very carefully.

"I can't be sure-" Brian started, "Dave, she hasn't had her appendix out has she?" he checked, watching me closely.

"No, she hasn't. Is that what you're thinking?" he asked, reaching for my phone that he had placed back only moments earlier.

"Well, I can't be sure until we run the usual tests, but when I just felt around that section of the abdomen was firm, and given the pain and fever, it wouldn't be surprising."

I couldn't work out if it made me anxious that Brian was talking like this. On the one hand, he was one of the best surgeons in the area, and the head of General Surgery at the hospital the guys worked at. On the flip side though, he was talking about my appendix, and running tests, and although I didn't understand exactly what this meant for me at that moment, I knew it probably wouldn't be good.

"I'm going to call Connor, let him know what's happening, try to get through to Luke again," he told Dave as he got up and left the room.

The room was quite for a few moments again, as Dave called Shawn again, this time though, it connected and I heard Shawn's muffled voice down the line.

"Shawn yeah it's me Dave, can you come home, it's urgent. Katie's woken in bad pain, we're thinking it could be her appendix, but she's been asking for you for the better part of twenty minutes now, and I doubt she'll let anyone else move her," he was quiet for a moment, before turning and handing the phone to me. "He wants to talk to you."

-Third Person-

"Shawn?" Katie whispered, down the line.

Hearing his love in so much pain broke the young doctor's heart. "I'm right here babe. I'm on my way," he spoke as he ran out the main doors and into the rain. Only stopping momentarily to let an emergency vehicle through.

"It hurts," Katie cried, and he could hear the desperation in her voice. She was usually strong, so for her to be in this emotional state, he knew the pain must be bad.

"Just hang tight for a few, I'll be there soon, Dave will look after you."

Dave and Brian, who had both heard the end of their conversation smiled.

The hospital was only five minutes from the house, but it took what felt like eternity for Shawn to come crashing through the door.

Katie could see from his attire that Shawn had been on-call, and immediately felt bad for pulling her boyfriend away from his responsibilities.

"Oh honey," he whispered, bending down to kneel beside the bed, kissing her forehead gently. "How long has she been like this?" he questioned, turning to his friends.

"I found her like this," Dave explained, pain clear on his face as he watched his little sister with sympathy.

"I'm sorry," Katie muttered, hiding her face in her boyfriend's shoulder, just wanting the world to melt away.

"For what?" Shawn asked, moving back to look at his girlfriend. "There is nothing more important than you," he declared, kissing her gently again.

"I think we need to get you to the hospital Katie-Kat," Dave announced, earning nods of agreement from the others.

"No please," she begged, fear consuming her, her chest tightening at the thought of being in one of the places she hated the most.

"But we'll be able to give you pain meds there, and besides we don't have the right equipment here to deal with this. If something goes wrong, it could be very dangerous babe," Shawn tried to reason, feeling horrible that they couldn't just keep her at home and sort it out there.

"Promise?" she whispered, feeling helpless as she looked between her boyfriend and brother.

"We promise," they responded immediately, before starting to gather the necessary items for the trip to the hospital.

Five minutes later, Katie was wrapped in a blanket, Dave and Shawn having worked together to shift her off the bed, without causing any more pain, something which Katie found miraculous.

"You ready Princess?" Shawn asked, bundling Katie up in his arms, and making his way down to the car. They had decided that it would be quicker to drive, than wait for an ambulance, especially given that they had direct access to the urgent care unit.

Brian had called Connor on the way there, informing him that they would be needing a bed, and possibly an O.R., which Connor had no trouble securing as not only was he Deputy Head of General Surgery at the hospital, and well- respected by his colleagues, but the patient in question was the girlfriend and sister of the two most highly qualified doctors in the area.

The ride to the hospital was not pleasant, every little bump in the road sending white-hot pain through the affected area, Katie, being completely worn out physically and emotionally, was nothing more than a weeping mess when they finally made it to the entrance. Shawn, who had been trying his hardest to keep his hysterical girlfriend calm, so as not to exacerbate her symptoms, let out an auditory sigh of relief when he spotted, his friend, waiting with a gurney, and several nurses.

"She'll be fine mate," Connor promised, just above a whisper so that only Shawn could hear. He nodded, silently thanking his friend for the words of encouragement. Normally he would have had no issue in a situation like this, in-fact, his job entailed this type of situation daily. However, what Shawn was now finding out, was that no-one had told him what it would be like to deal with a loved one in a situation such as this. And It was horrible.

His heart broke into what felt like a thousand tiny pieces, as Katie let out an agonising cry of pain, when she was placed, however gently onto the gurney, it being lead at a rate of knots down the hospital halls and into a free bay.

Stopping to re-gather himself for a moment, he saw Dave, somehow managing to hold himself together, as he held his sister's hand in a silent show of comfort. Shawn really didn't know how he was doing it, but if her own brother could do it, surely, he could too. Shaking the ever-growing dread that was forming at the pit of his stomach, he ran to start assisting in getting Katie into a semi-stable condition.

"I need a standard dosage of pain medication for an I.V." Dave called, going to stand by his sister's side. "I'm going to get some pain medicine in you okay poppet," he spoke, moving the blankets out the way, freeing Katie's hand.

She groaned, but made no effort to move, alarming the four doctors, who knew only too well, how much she would normally fight the idea of needles.

-Katie-

I was aware of everything going on around me, people rushing in an out of the crowded room, the boys ordering fellow doctors and nurses around, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't muster the strength to fight anymore.

Shawn sat by me, as Dave set me up with an I.V., administering a dose of pain medicine, which helped almost immediately.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked, resting his chin on top of my head.

"Hmm," I responded, finally feeling a little more content.

The response seemed to satisfy him, as he went quiet, allowing me to close my eyes momentarily.

I wasn't aware that I had drifted off, but I must have, because the next thing I was aware of, was someone calling my name. When I didn't' respond, they tried again.

"Katie, can you open your eyes for me honey?" This time, I did as asked, blinding light clouding my vision temporarily. "How are you feeling?" Brian asked, standing at the end of my bed, chart in hand.

The room was unfamiliar to me. He must have seen the confusion on my face as he chuckled lightly and came to stand by my side. "We just finished surgery," he spoke, making my eyes go wide.

"What happened?" I croaked, my throat feeling scratchy and dry.

"Connor performed an appendectomy," he responded, as he retrieved his stethoscope. "May I?" he asked. When I nodded, he placed the bell on my chest, listening to my heart.

"A what?" I asked, feeling no more informed. "You had your appendix out," he explained in layman's terms so that I could understand it.

"Oh," I was shocked, I knew that I was in pain, but I didn't realise it had been that bad.

"You're quite lucky actually, it ruptured, we caught it just in time, Shawn and Bri were beside themselves."

"Where?" I asked, wanting to know where they were, but not able to get anymore words out, over-whelming tiredness taking over.

"Cafeteria, they should be back in a minute," he reassured me with a smile.

Right on cue Connor, Shawn and Dave all walked through the door, food in hand. When they saw that I was awake, they all stopped running into one another like a set of dominoes.

Connor recovered the fastest, a smile lighting his face as he came over, "So the sleeping beauty has awoken I see."

Shawn looked as if he had been tasered, literally jumping back, forcing Dave to grab him to stop him hitting the ground. The shock only lasted a millisecond though, and before I could take another breath, he was wrapping me in his arms, pulling me tightly to his chest, as if his life depended on it.

"Shawn, gentle," Brian, warned, laughing at his eagerness, but making no move to stop his mate as he hopped onto the bed beside me, forcing our bodies against one another. Feeling his warmth sent a rush of security through me, and I just sat there in silence for a moment, trying to readjust.

Up close I could see the exhaustion, the toll that this had taken on him, his face looked sullen, his eyes puffy and red from crying. "I missed you so much!" he whispered, resting his head in the crook of my neck and breathing heavily. It was a few moments before I realised that he was crying.

"I'm okay," I spoke, smiling, trying my hardest to convince him.

"I thought I was going to lose you," he admitted, kissing me desperately. "We all did."

"How bad?" I asked, almost scared to know the answer. He just looked at me and shook his head. "How bad?" I asked again, this time turning to my brother.

When he saw that I was addressing him, he rushed over, taking me in his arms, and hugging me, though much more carefully then Shawn had. After a moment, he stepped back, resting his hand on my shoulder. I took hold of his hand with my free one, keeping a firm grip on Shawn

"You coded," he spoke as if the words physically pained him to say. I didn't say anything, in truth, I didn't know how to respond, what do you say when someone tells you that you almost died? Everyone was quiet for a moment, just sat taking everything in, me, tracing the tattoos on Shawn's arm absent-mindedly.

Again, Connor, was the one to break the silence. "Katie, I just need to do your vitals okay, and check your wound, and then we'll let you sleep," he bargained, when I grimaced at the idea of being poked and prodded once again. "Just follow the light," he instructed, having pulled a pen light from the pocket of his scrubs. I did as asked, and after a moment, he put it back, telling me there were no problems.

He was quick, Brian writing everything down on the chart, that he was still holding from when they came in.

"I'm just going to pull this up okay?" he checked that it was okay, before doing so. I winced slightly, earning an apologetic smile from Connor. "That's looking good," he spoke, re-dressing it, and re-situating the blankets so that I was kept warm.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Shawn whispered again, kissing my temple.

"I have to pee," I whispered against his cheek, making him laugh.

"Gee way to ruin a romantic moment," Dave snorted as he sat typing on his laptop, causing me to blush, and hide my face in Shawn's chest

"Nah, it's okay, do you want to use the bathroom?" Shawn queried, moving to get off the bed, before moving the pole which held the fluids out of the way.

"As apose to?" I questioned, feeling confused, as he helped me sit up.

"A bed pan," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I just stared at him for a moment, "Okay, so that's not going to happen, to the bathroom we go," he laughed, helping me manoeuvrer my way out of bed.

It was a slow process getting to the toilet, but he was patient, helping me to bare the weight where possible. Once I was situated, he turned, giving me privacy to do my business. Once I was done, and I had successfully been transferred back to my bed, I was able to relax a little more.

"Are you in pain?" Dave asked, watching as I shifted around, trying to find a comfortable spot on the hard bed.

I nodded,and within moments he was up and administering another dose of pain relievers in the tube sticking out of my arm.

"Thanks D," I mumbled, sleepily, bunking down, and snuggling into Shawn's side to try and stay warm.

"Here, this should help," I heard Dave say, before something extra soft and warm was placed over me. It felt like an electric blanket.

I hummed, finally content, letting myself drift off.

The next few days were okay, well, in between the hourly vitals checks done by the nurses and the daily dressing changes, and not to mention Dave and Connor forcing me to start walking around, something which I grumbled at them about for a solid half hour after the fact.

Finally, five full days after the operation Dave declared that I could go home on the condition that I promised to take it easy, and rest. After making me swear to it three times, he let Shawn remove my I.V. and help me into a wheelchair for the ride out to the car.

The drive home was quiet,Dave letting me rest my head on him as Shawn drove.

When we got home, they helped me up the stairs, all but ordering me to bed, persuading me by promising that we could eat pizza and watch crappy C grade chick-flicks all night.

As I fell asleep to the rise and fall of Shawn's chest, I found myself thinking just how lucky I really was. Lucky that I was alive, and lucky I had the guys to call family.

Reaching up, I pecked Shawn on the check, him leaning down and kissing back. "What was that for?" he asked, a soft smile gracing his face.

"Love you is all," I sighed, resting my head back on his chest, and letting the world fade out. 

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

Matters of the Heart

"Why?"  I groaned rolling over throwing a pillow across the room at my alarm clock.  It was 5:30 in the morning and I was not in the mood to get up.  Not only was it Friday,which meant it was the end of the week and I was exhausted, but I had a massive English final and to top it all off I was feeling pretty crappy. As I sat up, rubbing at my tired eyes I couldn't help but notice the aching of my limbs,my scratchy throat and my stuffed up nose.

I knew I needed to get up though,so I reluctantly left the warmth of my bed and trudged down stairs,  finding that I was the first one awake.

For a few minutes the house was silent,and I relished it,knowing that by the end of the day I was going to have a pounding headache. It was at that moment when I started mentally kicking myself for fighting with my big brother Shawn when he had suggested getting a flu shot a month earlier. He wasn't happy, and it took a fair but of convincing,but eventually he let it slide. I hated needles, and he knew that.

"You look like you're about to fall over Aimee," Shawn appeared suddenly, laughing when I jumped slightly in fright, coming over to where I was leaning against the counter.

I looked up and smiled half-heartedlly.

"I feel like it!" I groaned.

"Hug?" he asked opening his arms for me to step into. Ever since I could remember we had always shared a hug first thing in the morning.

It was a ritual,  and just because I was now seventeen and a senior in high school didn't mean that I didn't love it.

"Aimmee, you feel warm," he spoke, resting his hand on my forehead as I leant into him "Why don't you stay home today Sweet Pea?" he asked as I waited,  snuggled in his arms for my coffee to finish brewing,sniffling every so often.

"Can't," I sighed,  " I've got a massive test first period for English," I told him before swotting his hand away.

"Well at least make sure you take some Tylenol,  and have plenty of water," He told me, as I grabbed my coffee,  ready to leave the house.

"Shawn,I'm not a baby!" I huffed,rolling my eyes.  I hated it when he went all over protective on me,  especially when it came to my health.  Of course it was just my luck that he and our other three housemates and his best friends,Brian, Dave and Connor were all well respected doctors at the local hospital's Emergency Department.

He hummed in response, clearly not impressed with my answer, but didn't push it. Normally he would've put his foot down and told me point blank I wasn't going. I knew I still had a ways to go though as I still had to get past the others. 

I considered them to be brothers to me, just the same as Shawn, so I was very close with all of them. Consequently they were all extremely protective of me,  something which I hated, as I really wasn't too fond of anything medical. I'd had a couple of bad experiences when I was younger that had put me off hospitals.

" Brian and Dave, just left, and Connor's on call," Shawn told me as I grabbed my house keys. "I'll be home tonight. Bri and D will be home by lunch, so call one of them if you need to come home early. " He kissed my head before opening the door for me,  and telling me to 'have a good day'.

Several hours later, and the day was turning out to be worse than expected. I had just come out of second period, and my head was throbbing, my throat aching as the pain killers I had taken earlier had long since left my system.To out it simply I was feeling like the walking dead.

"I love you babe,  but you really are looking a bit rough hon." My best friend Emma spoke as she came to meet me outside the classroom.

"Let's just go sit down, " I begged as the halls started to fill. We walked in silence, not saying much, but as we were making our way through the doors to the lunch room I suddenly became very light- headed.  White spots obscured my vision as I made a grab for the closest object, the side of the door.

"Are you okay Aimee?" Emma asked, coming to a stop behind me.  Do you need me to call Shawn?"  She asked as I tried to keep myself upright.

"He's at work call Brian or Dave please." I managed to get out, between sharp breaths, as she led me to a lunch table. As soon as she had me seated and stable she pulled out my phone from my bag and called. I could hear talking, but was too focused on not passing out, or throwing up to actually pay attention.

"Dave said he's on his way right now," she spoke making me sigh in relief. At least now I knew that if I fainted I would be in the presence of a doctor or doctors given that Brian was home now too.

"We may as well go up to the office, " she suggested taking my bag from me, and giving me a sympathetic smile. We trudged slowly up to the office building, and once I was there the school nurse made her leave, taking me to her office where I lay on the cot in silence, trying to will away the dizzyness that was now causing the room to spin even more. 

I felt like I was on one of those spinny rides they have at amusement parks.

I wasn't really paying attention to the time or my surroundings so it startled me slightly when I heard the nurse's voice and realised that she was no longer in the room with me.

"She's in here. She drifted off about ten minutes ago, the poor darling," she tutted as the door opened. Dave stepped into the room, dressed in scrubs, his ID badge identifying him as a doctor at the hospital still attached to his pocket. Clearly he had just come from work.

"I'm sorry I made you leave early," I apologised,  coughing.

"Aimee, don't be ridiculous, you know the guys and I would drop anything any time you need us honey." I knew it was true. They had lived together since their intern year, and when I moved in I basically gained three other family members.  It wasn't much of an adjustment though as I already saw them as older brothers, so I knew he meant what he was saying.

"So you're not feeling too good ha? " he asked, coming over to the cot, and giving me yet another sympathetic smile.

"You could say that," I laughed at the gross understatement before, letting out a few harsh coughs, making Dave's brow furrow.

He took my hand, and pulled me into a sitting position slowly.

"I feel dizzy," I mumbled, holding his hand more tightly.

" You're okay, it's probably just your Eustachian Tubes. If they get blocked, it messes with your balance, and can make you feel dizzy," he explained calmly as he waited for me to get my bearings. Once I felt normal enough to stand,Dave took my bag,  and led me out to his car, keeping a supportive hand on my lower back the entire time.

"How long have you felt sick?" he asked switching into doctor mode almost immediately as soon as we stepped out of the office. "Aimmee?" he asked again as we got strapped in.  It was only then that I realised I hadn't answered his question.

"Since last night," I admitted,  leaning my head on the window.

"You really should have gotten the flu shot," he spoke a few minutes later.

" D, don't lecture me,  you know I hate needles!" I grumbled, turning to glare at him.

"I'm just saying." He held his hands up in defense.

"Well just don't say!" I snapped back.  "Sorry, " I added when I saw the look of shock. " I get mean when I'm tired."

He smiled, nodding in response, but didn't say anything, instead turning the car on and heading for home. Something which I was greatful for as I wasn't in the mood to talk.

The next thing I was aware of was my door opening slowly and Dave rubbing my arm gently.

"Aimmee, we're home honey," he spoke as I squinted, readjusting to the light. He was patient as I got out of the car, and made my way inside, helping me into the warm house and straight upstairs to my room.

"Take this," he spoke, handing me some decongestant for my cough and some aspirin for my headache. 

I made my way slowly over to the bed once I had taken the given medication, curling up as Brian walked in with a soft smile, still dressed in his scrubs, stethoscope round his neck. "Hi sweetheart, I just want to take your temperature." he told me  coming over to the bed, with a thermometer in hand, sitting beside me.

"I'm going to turn the heating up,  and get a few more blankets," Dave told us before leaving the room.

"Sit up for my Aimee," Brian spoke, pulling the covers back.

"No," I whined, rolling over to try to avoid it.

"Come on Aimee, it'll only take a minute," he promised as Dave returned and came over, helping to roll me over. True to his word it was only a minute later that the machine beeped and I heard them both hum.

"You got yourself a substantial fever hon. I want you to get into a singlet. You can have a thin blanket if you're feeling cold, but the more we reduce the outside heat sources the better."

"You shouldn't be having to look after me," I huffed as I got out of bed in order to remove my excess clothing. "You haven't even removed your stethoscope or the gel from your hair, " I pointed to the way his hair was still spiked back with gel,  knowing that when Brian got home, removing  it was always the first thing he did, kind of like washing the day away.

"How about you let me worry about that hey?" he suggested, before laughing as I nearly fell, trying to remove my school pants, leaving me in just bike shorts and a crop top. Once I was changed he got me situated, propping up pillows to help with my cough.

"Thanks," I mumbled. "Hey where'd Dave go? " I asked noticing for the first time that he wasn't in the room anymore. 

"He had some paper work to catch up on," This wasn't unusual as Dave was the Head of the Emergency Department, with Shawn, Connor and Brian working as his deputys, helping to lead the charge as the hospital is one of the biggest in the country,getting code blacks several times a month.  

"As do I, so get some sleep. Just shout if you need anything, I'll be in the lounge drowning in paper work." He smiled as he pulled the quilt up around me and walked out the door.

I woke to whispers a while later, not knowing where I was, or what time it was for a few moments.  When I felt the gentle touch of a hand on my forehead,  and then my wrist,  I came back to reality.

"She's still too warm," someone whispered.

"Aimmee?" I recognized the voice as Brian. Slowly I managed to open my eyes, squinting, and letting out a small moan at the instant headache the newfound light was giving me.

"How you feeling hon?" he asked, sitting on the bed, and rubbing my arms gently. He had changed into sweat pants and an old teeshirt since the last time I was awake, his hair now flopping over the right side of his face.

"Cold, sore, tired...," I listed off, trying to fight the urge to cough again. I just wanted to roll over and curl back up.

"How 'bout you come down stairs and have something light to eat, get some fluids into you,  and I'll heat up a hot water bottle for you?" he suggested, standing up from the bed.

I really didn't want to, but I knew I really didn't have a choice, and that no matter what I said, he would make me.

"Fine," I sighed, slowly sitting up, and following him and Dave at a snail's pace down the stairs.

"Why'd you go to school?" he asked as I got settled on the couch.

"Had a test I couldn't miss," I answered between another set of bone rattling coughs.

"That doesn't sound good." He folded his arms and eyed me carefully.

"Yeah well, it doesn't feel too good either."

"Will you let one of us listen to your chest?" he asked, probably already knowing the answer.

I shook my head. He left it at that, and went to get some food for me, also heating up the hot water bottle as promised. When he returned he made me eat a piece of toast and have some honey lemon tea to help soothe my sore throat, before finally letting me go back to sleep. That was where I was when my brother stepped into the house, I don't know how many hours later.

"How are you feeling?" Shawn came to sit on the couch with me, still dressed in his scrubs.

"Pretty crappy." I sniffed leaning into his side, and relishing the warmth.

" Brian,when was the last time she had medicine?"  he asked, pressing his palm to my to head.

Brian poked his head into the room from the kitchen. Probably having been preparing dinner, as they all took turns usually.

"About five."

"So about an hour ago," Dave surmised, coming over to sit on the other side of me,and looking at his watch.

"You're still feeling warm Princess, I'm going to go get some wet washers. You're having the flu shot next year Princess." he called as he left the room.

"But Shawn!" I whined, he knew how much I hated needles.

No,we are not having a repeat of this. Wouldn't you rather avoid this if you can?"

"You don't even know it's what it is. How long does it last though?"

" Seven to ten days, give or take. That's if it is the flu though," he qualified from the other room.

"I am sick of feeling sick," I grumbled as I chucked yet another batch of tissues into the bin that Brian had left beside the couch for me.

"Well maybe you'll think about that next time I say it's time to get your flu shot," he sassed, coming back into the room with several cold washers. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, he always had to be right!

"I saw that!" Dave laughed, poking my side and winking.

"Saw what?" Shawn asked, looking between the two of us.

"Nothing," I answered with a smile, trying to convey my innocence. " But seriously Shawnie, I know being a doctor is practically in your DNA,  but could like not use this moment to do a 'I told you so. '," I huffed, throwing my weight to the back of the couch again.

He and Dave just laughed, before they worked together, placing the clothes around my body- under my arms, on my forehead, even my feet.

"You know if you let one of us take a look at you,  then we might actually be able to help you," Connor spoke from the door, arms crossed,  it was the first time I'd seen him all day. He looked tired, but somehow there was still a teasing glint in his eyes.

"No," I answered immediately, shivering at the thought.

He sighed coming to sit on the edge of the couch.

"We're not going to do anything to hurt you honey,  but you've been sick for over 24 hours now, and nothing is changing."

"Not all doctors are nasty, cold people like your previous one," Shawn added with a gentle smile,  reaching to take my hand in his. "Besides, I'm your brother and I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, we all took an oath not to do harm."

At least let us check your temperature again and eat something."

I looked down ringing my fingers before looking back at them all.

"Okay, but can we watch a movie after?"

...

It was now several hours later,and the movie (Monsters, INC.) had finished, and we were all in bed, but I lay awake tossing and turning, unable to find a comfortable spot. I could feel that my fever had gotten worse, I was sweating, but freezing, I had aches and pains, and my whole body felt like lead. On top of that I now had a weird stabbing pain in my chest that was getting worse, and it was freaking me out. At first I thought it was just from all the coughing, but when it wasnt getting better after a solid half an hour of trying to ignore it, I knew something was wrong.

I got up slowly, and made my way down the hall to my brother's room, opening the door, seeing him splayed out on the bed, shirtless and snoring.

"Shawn?" I whispered, hoping to wake him, but it didn't do anything.  "Shawn?" I tried again, this time shaking his arm a little bit, still nothing. Finally I was about to give up when I heard a voice from outside.

"Aimee?" Connor asked, stepping into the doorway, his face illuminated by moonlight flooding through the window.

"Con," I sighed relieved.

"What's wrong? " he asked as I came to stand next to him, him pulling me into a hug.

"My heart hurts," I hicupped into his chest.  "My heart hurts," I repeated.

"Okay,calm down," he soothed, rubbing my back, and starting to lead me back downstairs, but not before shaking Shawn awake, and telling him to wake the others, all of which came into the lounge room minutes later, rubbing tiredly at their eyes.

"Now what sort of pain is it?" Connor asked,sitting next to me, and taking my pulse, as the others watched.

"It feels like I'm being stabbed here, " I told him holding my hand over my chest. Their brows furrowed.

"Does it hurt more when you're lying down or sitting? " Dave asked, coming over to me.

"Standing and lying down," I answered.

"How long has it been hurting?" Brian asked, feeling my forehead once again for the fever. "Her fever has spiked," he muttered, "Right I need to listen to your chest for a minute Poppet," Dave spoke standing and running to his room.

We sat quietly as we waited for Dave, me trying to get a hold of my emotions, as Connor sat beside me, rubbing calming circles on my back.

"I  don't like this," I mumbled leaning into Shawn's side so that my face was in his neck, my voice muffled.

"You're doing great though Princess."

"But what if it's something bad?" I whispered, looking up at my brother.

"Aimee, I can't promise you anything right now, but I do know that you have four people here with you that are going to look after you. Right now, your only job is to let us do our jobs okay?" he smiled pulling me into him more tightly.

"You alright Princess?" Dave asked kneeling down beside the couch.

"No," I whispered the tears coming back as he went to place the stethoscope to my chest.

He sighed before dropping his arms and looking at me. "What are you scared of Sweetheart?" He didn't look angry, merely concerned so I told the truth.

"I don't like hospitals, or doctors," I admitted feeling stupid.

"Look Princess, I know you haven't had the best experiences with them in the past, but right now we really need to figure out what's going on.Try to remember that it's just me okay, just D, one of you're annoying big brothers. Don't think of it negatively, just think of it as we're trying to make you feel better," he suggested.

"Can you explain everything?" I asked, my voice breaking a bit.

"Of course,everything will be at your pace, okay?"

I nodded, showing him that I understood. " Is it okay, if I lift this up, so I can listen to your heart and lungs?" he asked tugging at my sweater lightly. I nodded again, holding Shawn's hand just a little bit more tightly.

"Just think, you're really quite lucky, it's not everyday that you get the Head of the Emergency Department doing a personal consult for you," Shawn said.

"That is true." I smiled despite everything.

"I know I'm the best," Dave laughed, as he stood up to listen to my lungs.  "Deep breath in for me." I did as asked, waiting impatiently for it all to be over.

"There's definitely some crackling, especially on the left side of the lungs, and I'd like to double check, but it sounds to me like there's some inflammation around the heart," he spoke, allowing me to lean back.

"What, what does that mean? " I asked, my heart rate spiking again.

"If I'm right it means that the virus has effected the layers of your heart. Basically the tissue has gotten inflammed and is rubbing together. That's what is causing the pain."

"Is it dangerous?" I panicked feeling the blood drop from my face.

Connor looked at me before answering carefully. "It can be, but chances are that it's viral Pericarditis,  so it should resolve within a few days with minimal intervention." he explained gently.

"Per, whaty-what?" I asked, feeling more confused than ever.

"Pericarditis,  it's the medical name, " Brian explained, all of them them laughing at my sheer confusion.

"So what now?"

"Well as Calum said we need to check- get some x- rays to confirm, and while we're there we'll investigate everything else that's going on.  It's almost certain you've got the flu, and that's what has caused it, so we   need to get that sorted for everything else to get better," Shawn explained.

I groaned, letting my head drop into his lap,  unfortunately this created the urge to cough, and with every cough that I let out, the burning,  stabbing pain only intensified.

"We really need to get you to the hospital," Shawn urged seeing my discomfort, before bending down and picking me up, cradling me in his arms.

The other dashing upstairs to get into clothes other than pyjamas, and grab their badges. None of them seemed to care that they weren't in scrubs, and when I asked Shawn if it mattered he responded with "As long as we have our badges with us,  it's okay. It's not mandatory to wear uniforms."

Once they were ready, they bundled me up in blankets, Shawn insisting that they protect me from the cold winter air, even for the short walk from the house to the car. I tried to be helpful, and support some of my weight as Shawn carried me to the vehicle, but I just didn't have any energy,  and every time I moved, it hurt. Eventually I gave up, having tried to shuffle into my seat, twisting the wrong way and sending a shot of pain straight through my chest.

"Just let us do the work," Dave stopped me as I tried again,holding my arms, and bringing me to a holt, and so from that point on I was something of a jelly fish. Except for the shaking, I could barely stay still the whole drive, my legs trembling of their own accord, no matter how hard I tried to stop them.

"You'll be alright, " Connor commented,  giving me a much needed hug as he helped me out of the car 20 minutes later.

By now I was feeling straight up petrified, and the worst part about it was, all four of the guys knew it. And there was absolutely nothing I could do.

"Come on," Shawn whispered, leading me slowly towards the hospital entrance.

Inside, they led me straight past the admissions desk, briefly filling one of the nurses in as we made our way into the room, Shawn helping me gently onto the single bed.

"Not anyone I don't know," I begged, holding onto Shawn, as the others moved around the room,  collecting things and setting up equipment. I tried not to pay attention as I could already feel the anxious knots forming.

"You know we're not meant to be treating you Princess, at least not here, we're family," he responded, kissing my hand, while grabbing a gown from a draw and passing it to me, turning around so I could get changed,the others not paying attention.

"Actually Shawn," Dave spoke once I was dressed in the hideous cloth, "The pit is in overdrive, I had five new admissions just in the last half hour of my shift, and the other doctors are overloaded, I really don't think anyone will mind, and if they do they can take it up with me as the Head of the Department. She needs to be seen to, especially if our suspicions are right, " Dave interrupted, patting my arm gently.

"Aimee?" Brian called, getting my attention. "We'll take this really slowly hon, but we need to hook you up to a couple of things, okay?" I nodded, managing a smile as they went about starting to attach everything.  A blood pressure and heart rate monitor, which I knew, a mask,  which Shawn was quick to explain that I needed as I tried to remove it. "Leave it there baby, you could really do with the extra oxygen at the moment. You're heart is racing, and your blood pressure is also a little higher than it should be. Heart rate 120, BP 130/90," he called to the others as he watched the monitors that were now displaying my vitals. 

"That's a little higher than it should be Aimee, just try to relax, I know it's scary, and I know that all the lights, and the noises won't be helping,  but I promise you, you're in the best place right now, " Connor promised, coming over, and warming his stethoscope up in his hands before placing it against my chest.

The machines attached to me started beeping, as my heart rate picked up again, only making me feel more anxious and agitated.The guys seemed unfazed though, Brian quickly shutting them off with no trouble. " It's just an alert to tell us that you're vitals are higher than they should be," he explained when he noticed me watching his every move.

"Aimee?" Connor called, resting his hand under my chin, and turning my head gently so that my focus was on him again. "Ignore all that sweetheart,the guys will sort that out okay, all I need you to do is focus on Luke and I okay?" he smiled when I nodded, before helping me to sit up. "Breathe in for me Aimee, and out, and again," he spoke as I took shaky breathes, holding Shawn's hand in a death grip.

"There's definitely some wheezing there.  I'd like to get a chest x-ray, and start you on fluids," he told me as he moved the stethoscope away, and allowed me to lay back again. "I'll order the x- ray now, you should be able to have it done in the next half an hour," he added as he went to the computer in the corner of the room, and pressed a few buttons.  "Done, they'll page us when they're ready for you," he smiled.

"Right, is it okay if I have your left hand Princess?" Dave asked stepping up to the side of the bed. I only realised what he was dining when I  saw the tray that he had placed down next to my side.

"No," I cried, panicked, realising that it was a needle, and other equipment, necessary for an I.V. "Can't you just give me something to make me better?" I asked desperately wanting to avoid an needles at all costs.

He sighed, taking in my stressed appearance." Three days ago an anti- viral may have worked, but somebody decided to be a difficult patient," Shawn looked at me pointedly as we all laughed."but now," he continued "not so much. Even with the anti-viral your body would have struggled.  So now that the virus has taken hold your body really needs the extra help. Fluids included, " he explained, as Dave picked up the wipe from the metal bowl, wiping my hand down. I couldn't help the shudder that ran through my body, I had always hated the smell of hospital disinfect, and the sterilization wipes were no better.

"Sorry, he murdered as he finished, and chucked the wipe into the bin next to the bed. " Ready?" he asked, looking to me as he positioned my hand and opened the packet housing the needle.

" Do I really have to?" I asked, looking up at my brother, hoping he would help me out. Instead, he rubbed my back before agreeing with Dave.

"Sweetheart, you're in pain baby, this will help with it okay. It'll give you some relief,listen to me. Take a breath, listen to my voice.  'll sit up here and hold you. It'll be over in a second and then that's the worst over. Okay. Dave's a pro," he insisted,  gesturing for me to move over so he could hop up onto the bed. He smiled encouraging allowing me to snuggle in.

"Don't cry Princess, " Dave murmured,wiping softly at my face with a tissue to dry the tears that were now falling. "On three, " he warned, causing me to bury my head in Shawn's neck. "One, two, three," I felt the pinch, of it breaking my skin, but it was nowhere near what I had been expecting, and I found myself looking up in surprise.

"Not so bad right," Shawn laughed.

"The expectations are always worse than the reality," Dave added, as he attached the tubing,  and removed the tray from the bed. "You're all set little one, " he told me as he finished hookingme up to the fluids, and pain relief, before kissing my head.

For the next half an hour we sat in relative silence,  all exhausted given that it was still so early. Finally Connor got the call to say that they were ready for me at radiology, Dave offered to take me so the others could get food, and Shawn could sort my admission papers. At first I wasn't too happy at the idea, but when Dave promised that he wouldn't leave my side I relaxed, and let him transfer me to a wheel chair, leading me down the maze of corridors.

"D," I asked as we came to a stop outside a lift.

"Yes? " he asked, bending down so that he could hear me more easily.

"Why do Cheetahs have spots?"

He didn't answer me for a minute, but then he started laughing, "Oh my goodness, I think the pain relief is starting to take effect."

" I feel fine now." I shrugged as the doors opened and he wheeled me in, still chuckling.

"I bet you do Princess, I bet you do."

The x- rays were quick and easy, only taking about ten minutes, after which Dave took me straight back up to the room.

"Someone's pain meds have taken affect!" he announced as he stopped just inside the door, and helped me to my bed.

Brian looked up from where he was sitting on the small chair in the corner doing paperwork and smiled. " I can see that, her eyes are huge, how much did you give her?" he laughed, standing up,  and coming over to the side of the bed.

"What do you mean? " I asked as Brian pulled a light from his pocket.

"You're pupils, they're extremely dilated. "

"What are you doing?" Shawn asked as he and Connor walked in.

"She's high on pain meds," Dave explained with a chuckle. "We may as well do the exam now, while you're not in too much discomfort."

"Okay," Weirdly I didn't feel as nervous as I did before.

"Wow, those meds got you good baby, this is the most relaxed you've been in a medical setting,  ever!" Shawn laughed taking my hand as he stopped next to me. " I didn't know pain meds effected you like this."

"Alright " Dave tapped my leg bringing my attention back.  "I just want to check your heart and lungs first little lady, can you lean forward?" I nodded allowing him to do what he had to do. 

"There is some slight wheezing,  but other than that and the inflammation everything sounds perfect. " he smiled. "Your heart rate has come down too," he noted looking to the monitor.  "That's good! So what else besides your fever, and the chest pain are you feeling?"

"What?"

"What other symptoms do you have? " Connor clarified, standing next to Dave.

"Cough, runny nose, sore throat, chills, head aches, fatigue." I listed, laughing slightly when the guys mouths dropped a bit in shock.

"Why didn't you just let us help you?" Shawn asked, clearly exasperated.

I shrugged, "I don't know, I guess, I'd rather just deal with it on my own. Or that's what I did think until it started hurting," I whined,  "It feels like someone's stabbing me!"

"Let me have a look at your ears, nose and throat okay Princess," Dave spoke, ignoring the last bit of what I said. I was glad though because I just wanted to feel better. And the sooner he figured out what was wrong, the sooner he could make that happen.

"Well it's official Princess, you've got yourself a nasty case of the flu," he announced with what I thought was a rather unnecessary smile as he finished looking at my throat. "It's one of the worst ones I've seen in a while, I don't know how you're breathing through your nose, at all, or eating for that matter. Your throat is red."

"Yeah well, I'm not feeling that great right now,  trust me," I grumbled. "I just wish my chest would stop hurting.  "It stopped, and then it started again. "

"Radiology just sent through your scans, it's definitely pericarditis," Brian replied from the corner, causing me to groan.

"This sucks!" I whined, flopping back against the bed, "and it hurts."

"I know baby," Shawn spoke, clearly sympathetic.

"I'll put some more pain meds in your I.V okay,  it should help,  mbut really all we can do is relieve the pain, and keep you on bed rest until the virus runs it's course," he spoke gently as he readjusted the blankets for me, and put some more stuff in my I.V. "That should take too long to work. "

"Hop back in with me, I'm cold," I whined, pulling his arm so that he moved closer to the bed. I felt like all I was doing was whining,  but I just felt crappy.

"That'll be the fever, " Brian nodded. "You've had stuff for it though, so we just need to let it do it's thing. Provided it doesn't get too high, it actually helps your body get rid of the virus. "

"The beds barely big enough for one," Shawn laughed, still focused on me.

"I don't care," I whined continuing to pull at his arm.

"Fine,"  he sighed, hoping in next to me, and allowing me to curl up once more.

"So what have you learned from this whole thing?"  Shawn asked smirking from beside me as I struggled to keep my eyes open half an hour later.

I glared at him, causing all of them to laugh, "Go on, what have you learned?" he asked tickling my side.

" I don't know if I can say it, it hurts too much," I laughed, going along with the joke. He pouted.

"Hey no fair!" I argued, he knew that I couldn't resist it when he pouted, it had been that way since we were kids. "Fine, I should have listened to you, cause you know best," I grumbled, holding my chest as if I was wounded.

"Was that really so hard?" Connor laughed watching from where he was packing up excess wiring,  placing them back into their relevant draws.

"Yes, it was incredibly painful," I sassed back.

"Truth hurts princess!" Shawn laughed, pulling me into a hug.

"That it does," I agreed, resting my head on his shoulder again  and closing my eyes. Never again would I be so stubborn. But there was no need for them to know that, not yet anyway.

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

I'll Always Be There For You

“Rise and shine Miniture Mendes,” I heard my older brother’s voice somewhere at the end of my bed.

I didn’t answer immediately, hoping that if I ignored him, he would go away. Realistically I knew I was kidding myself, and this was confirmed moments later, when I felt him sit at the end of the bed, poking my leg until I finally let out a grunt of annoyance.

“And she lives!” he cheered, as if he was commentating a grand final sports match.

“Shawn, it is seven.In the morning. On a Saturday, you better have a good reason for being in my bedroom, annoying me this early.” I warned, pulling the pillow over my head.

“Sure do,” he chimed, fighting to pull the pillow away from me. “Get up, get dressed, you have your yearly check-up today.”

The reaction was instant, and he was quick to notice it. “Don’t start Hailey, we went through this last time you had to come in,” he cautioned, and I could see from his face, that there was going to be no changing his mind.

“Shawn!” I groaned, whacking him with the pillow I had just had over my head. As much as I loved my brother, I hated him equally at times like this. He had just qualified as an attending paediatrics doctor, and was now working at the local hospital with a bunch of his friends. “I’m 18, can’t I look after myself?” I begged.

“Nope, last time I let you do that, you nearly ended up dying on Connor's O.R. table, because you thought that appendicitis was ‘nothing’,” he reminded me, using air quotes for effect.

“Ahhh, don’t remind me. Fine,” I conceded. There was no point, I knew that. It wasn’t even that I really disliked the doctors or the hospital for that matter. I just really didn’t like having my brother in my medical care. I found it awkward, something which he would remind me constantly that wasn’t the case at all. Well even that was a lie, it did come in helpful sometimes.

“Be ready in twenty minutes,” he spoke, getting up, straightening his scrubs, and walking out.

Sighing, I sat up, grabbing my phone. Help! I wrote, sending it to Dave one of Shawn's friends, and a fellow doctor. I had known Shawn's friends, Dave, Brian and Connor since I was little, and considered them to be adoptive brothers.

There was a ping from my phone, as I was in the bathroom, cleaning myself up. He told you then. <3 Was the response. I cursed internally, if Dave knew, then it meant that Shawn was serious. After all, most of the time Dave was the one in charge of my medical care.

Dumping my phone back on the bed, I went to the wardrobe and grabbed the most comfortable pair of track pants I could find and paired these with a crop top and a parker. I spent another few minutes faffing about in my room, trying to find ways out of this, but when I heard Shawn grabbing his coat and keys from the hallway, I made my way down stairs feeling defeated.

“I hate you,” I spoke, pushing past my brother and stepping out the from the front door. Only to hit a body,hard.

“Easy there Little Lady,” Dave spoke as he caught and steadied me. “What’s up? Those were some fighting words!” he let my arm go, stepping back to look at me.

“Don’t start D, I hate you too, you knew and you didn’t tell me!” I accused, stepping around him and heading for his car, which he and Shawn usually car-pooled to work in.

“She’s been like this since I woke her, she’s tried to get out of it more than once already,” Shawn fixed me with a stern stare, silently warning me not to cause mischief.

“You make out like I’m such a bad patient, you’re such a drama queen!” I laughed as we buckled in and made our way down the street.

“Maybe you are.” Was the only reply I got. The rest of the car ride was quiet, I couldn’t help but sulk at my predicament.

When we finally got there, I trailed behind the guys, listening to them discussing their schedules for the day. Most of which consisted of making sure that their interns and residents where doing what they should be. I could help but feel a little proud of them as I thought of how far they had come.

“You ready Little Lady?” Dave's voice, pulled me from my thoughts, and it was only then that I noticed that we had made it inside to the front desk, where Amy, the receptionist, and one of my favourite people resided.

“Hi Hailey, how are you sweets?” she asked as she typed on the computer, before addressing Shawn “All good, it’s all set up for you.”

We made our way to the exam room quickly, Dave unlocking the door, and dumping his belongings on his desk and switching the computer on, no doubt so he could check my records.

“Do I have to?” I asked, eying the bed off furiously, once again frustrated at Shawn for making me do this.

“Yes, you do pretty girl, why don’t you just take a seat next to your bro for now, I’ve just got some questions for you first. Grumbling to myself, I slumped into the seat next to Shawn, resting my head on his shoulder.

“I thought you hated me?” he laughed, somewhat confused, but rubbing my scalp comfortingly anyway.

“I do,” I agreed. “But if I’m asleep, you can’t start the exam, because you must have consent to do anything,” I explained, trying to hide the smirk that was now forming at my genius conclusions.

“Touché What you failed to mention though, what you failed to mention was that you need to be seen. So I'll just wait all day if I have to. So right back at you sister,” he sassed, clearly proud of himself.

“Okay, okay, it’s too early for me to have to adjudicate a fight between you two!” Dave laughed, turning to face me. “Okay, Hailey, some of these questions may be a little embarrassing, but answer honestly okay?”

I nodded, feeling apprehensive.

“Do you smoke?” he asked, pausing to look at me. I fixed him with a glare, making him laugh. “I’ll take that a no.”

I put up with the questions, most of them not as bad as I had imagined, until he asked the dreaded one. “What about your period?”

I turned to Shawn, silently fuming at him. “I had to Hailey, you’ve been struggling for months with it.”

“No! You didn’t actually, last time I checked, I was the one bleeding,not you!” I yelled, moving to get up and walk out.

“Hailey, wait honey. I know it’s awkward, but if you can tell me what’s been going on, I’ll be able to fix it,” Dave, tried to reason, waiting for me to sit back down before continuing. "Shawn said you get bad cramps?” he prompted.

“Bad, bad doesn’t even to describe it. I can’t move without feeling like I’m going to faint or be sick,” I told him honestly.

“Last night, I found her curled up in tears because of the pain, I had to get her some fairly strong stuff,” Shawn added, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze.

I shuddered thinking back to the previous night.

... Shawn had come home late, and came in to check on me like he always did, but instead of finishing me in bed reading like normal,I was curled in a ball in my bed practically rocking as I tried to get the pain under control.

"Again?" he'd asked looking at me with pity.

I nodded, "It's so bad Shawnie," I hiccupped,tears flowing unchecked down my checks and landing in small pools on my bed.

"I'm going to get you some pain relief okay," he'd spoken, moving to brush some of the hair out if my face."I know it hurts, but try not to get too worked up, the more upset you get, the more pain you'll be in," he explained gently, getting up and going to my bathroom. I could hear him searching through my cabinet before he ssked,"What have you taken today Poppet?"

"Just Tylenol," I groaned out as another wave of pain hit me.

"Here take this." he held a blue packet out for me to take.

"What is it?" I asked, not recognising the packaging.

"It's called Napropgesic, it'll help with the pain. It'll help to block the release of some of the hormones that are making you feel so sick and sore," he explained, grabbing the water glass from beside my bed and handing it to me. "Take two," he added.

"Will you stay with me?" I asked, catching his hand as he went to leave the room.

"Of course, honey," he'd said, coming to lay next to me on the bed, allowing me to cuddle into his chest.

"Get some rest," he murmurned, kissing the top of my head.

...

“Okay, so you have it now. Is it like that every time?” Dave asked seriously bringing me back to the present,typing as he spoke.

I nodded, feeling the tears welling up, I was so over having to deal with it, I didn’t even care anymore if I had to tell them embarrassing stuff. “It’s okay Little Lady, we’ll get it sorted, how about we get the rest of the exam done, and then we can get this sorted for you okay?” Dave came to give me a quick hug.

“Hope up on the bed, yeah.” I did so, sitting waiting for him to tell me what to do.

“Right, I’m just going to listen to your heart and lungs,” he told me, after washing his hands. “Just lift your shirt a little,” he told me as he rubbed the bell of the stethoscope to warm it up. “Deep breathes,” he instructed, listening.

Turning my head, I saw Shawn watching intently, sending me a ‘thumbs up’ when he saw me looking at him. “Nothing out of the ordinary there, that’s always good,” Dave spoke, moving to take my pulse.

He was quiet again for a minute, watching the clock. “Hmm,” he finished,"Shawn come here for a second.”

Getting up, my brother made his way over, taking my pulse as Dave had only moments before. I let out a whine at the fact that I was being fussed over, causing Dave to take my hand.

"Your pulse is fast," Shawn spoke, stepping back to look at me.

"And?" I asked, looking between the two doctors.

"Well, it could be a couple of things," Dave started, going to get supplies from a cupboard above his desk. "It could indicate Anemia, which would help to explain some of the period issues, but it could be something like an infection too. And that my dear is something we don't want, especially with you having had your appendix out only a week and a half ago. Just lay back for us," he instructed.

Shawn helped me lay down, before pulling my clothing away from where my scar was on my stomach.

"Ow!" I whimpered as Dave removed the dressing, exposing a red, and somewhat oozy looking cut.

"Sorry Hailey, normally this wouldn't hurt so much, but this is infected."

"Look at that," Shawn pointed out, having gone to get gloves on himself. "That looks like she's had a reaction to the sutures."

" I'll get Connor in here after to assess it, he may want to try leaving in open for a little."

"Open?" I squeaked, shooting up from the bed.

"Hailey!" Shawn grumbled, " What have I told you? Slow movements!" He looked somewhat grumpy, but I didn't blame him. He had already had to repair the stitches once for me.

After explaining the fact that open only meant that they would pack it with medicated gauze, Dave left the room, stating he had to, "Get some supplies."

When he came back I let out a loud groan, in his hand, he was holding supplies for a blood draw. "Come on Hailey, you'll be fine," he encouraged, prepping me for it. " I'm going to let Shawn do it as he's a pro," he told me, moving to sit beside me on the bed.

"Don't look Hailey. Sharp scratch," he warned as Shawn inserted the needle. I couldn't help myself though, and found myself watching the red liquid being drawn from my arm. I could feel myself getting faint at the sight, and before I knew it, darkness hard over come me.

I woke to a light tapping sensation on my face, and someone's fingers pressed to the inside of my wrist. "Welcome back," Shawn spoke, somewhat sarcastically. "I thought we told you not to look."

"I couldn't help myself." I pouted, excepting Dave's help in sitting up.

"Just sit for a second, we don't want you fainting again," he laughed, before walking around his desk and picking up the phone.

Minutes later, the door opened and Shawn and Dave's friends and colleagues Brian and Connor came into the room.

"How's out favourite patient?" Brian asked coming over to hug me.

"You look pale," Connor noted, standing beside Shawn at the bed with a frown.

"She just fainted at the blood draw," Shawn explained, rolling his eyes playfully.

Neither one of them responded, instead sending me sympathetic smiles.

"So, Dave said you've been having sereve cramps with your period?" Brian asked, without a fuss.

I stayed silent for a second, before sighing, and nodding. I loved the guys like I loved my own brother, but there were some things I just wanted to keep private. Especially as Brian was an obgyn. " Where is the pain mostly?" He asked coming over to rest his hand on my lower back. I nodded again, causing him to press with only slight pressure. This slight pressure though, sent pain radiating throughout my whole abdominal area, and into my back, nausea hitting me like a ton of bricks.

"I'm gonna be sick!" I gasped, leaning over the pan that Shawn had rushed to grab off the shelf.

"I'm sorry Sweet Pea," Brian apologised, rubbing my back. "Well I can tell you now, that it's referred pain that's causing you all the problems. Basically, all the ligaments are attached, and as the uterus contracts, you get pain in other places. Some girls get it worse than other's though."

"And the vomiting?" I asked once I had recovered a little.

"That will be the hormones, it's not dissimilar to a pregnant woman and morning sickness," he explained. "Lots of rest,fluids, heating pads, pain killers and some ice cream should do the trick," he winked.

"And iron tablets," Dave added, coming back from the desk where he had remained since the phone call. "Your iron levels are dismal Little Lady, it's no wonder you're having such a bad time of it!"

Lastly it was Connor's turn to check on me. "Just lie down for me again darling," he spoke, getting a set of gloves on. He only had to look at the incision for about thirty seconds, before nodding. "That's infected alright. I'm actually surprised you're not getting other symptoms. When did you first notice it?" He asked as he replaced his gloves, and went to get antibacterial solution and more gauze.

"I hadn't until Dave took the dressing off,but it's really hurting now."

"We'll get it sorted for you, and get you some pain killers and antibiotics just to ward off further trouble. This is going to sting a bit honey," he warned as he dabbed the liquid onto the wound.

"Ah," I hissed, reaching for my brother's hand.

"Nearly done sis," Shawn encouraged, stroking my hair.

When Connor was done, he gave me a shot of fairly strong antibiotics and pain killers, telling Shawn to take me home and watch me closely for any signs of fever, which of course, he knew. I did try to tell them I was fine, but they shut me down before I even got a chance to finish the sentence.

" Hailey, your stitches are infected, meaning that your immune system is compromised, you're clearly in pain, let your brother do his job, and take you home," Dave interrupted seriously. I felt guilty after that, and so didn't complain when Shawn put his arm around me as we made our way back out of the hospital to get a cab home.

When we got there, he set me up on the sofa, with blankets and pain meds, telling me to give him a yell if I needed anything.

"Shawn?" I called, as he made his,way upstairs to the office. "Thank you,and I'm sorry I'm a difficult patient," I told him sincerely.

"Don't mention it. I'll always be there for you, " he replied, coming back down the stairs and shifting me onto his lap. That was how I spent the remainder of the day, cuddled up to my brother, knowing that if I needed anything he would do it without question. "

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

Thank you for Loving Me

"Baby, time to get up hon, you've got work in an hour", Shawn whispered in my ear, peppering kisses from my brow down to my chin. His calloused fingers- from his favourite hobby- the guitar- running up and down my arms.

"Mmm, morning," I smiled leaning up to meet his soft kiss.

"Is that coffee I smell?"I asked, sitting up slowly, pulling my (Shawn's) favourite over-sized sweater off the arm chair at the side of the bed and standing up only to be pulled into my favourite spot in the world, Shawn's warm embrace.

"Do you really think I'd be so silly as to wake you without the coffee pot at the ready?" he laughed, kissing my temple again, before taking my hand and leading me down the hallway and into the kitchen.

Both Shawn and I worked for the City of Toronto Fire Department, me as a recently qualified paramedic, and Shawn as a firefighter and paramedic. It had been a tough few months for me, the job was demanding and taxing, but I loved it, and I had Shawn and all my work mates to help guide me.

"Sit," he pointed to the barstool where a cup of coffee in my favourite mug and omelette was waiting.

"Ahhh I love you!" I groaned, flopping down in the chair, shovelling a piece of the fragrant food into my mouth.

"I take it it meets your expectations," he laughed, coming to sit next to me.

"Exceeds!" I mumbled around the next mouthful.

Am hour later and Shawn had dropped me at my station, before headed off across town again to his station.

As I made my way into the station the familiar sounds of saws, engines and various other equipment- once so threatening now seemed to welcome me home.

"Hey El.", my work partner and paramedic in charge Jo called, coming to meet me at the locker room door.

"Morning, how are Eli and Felix today?" I asked referring to her two little boys.

"They're okay. Eli had a meltdown before school this morning at having to get out of bed, but once I reminded him that Mummy can't go to work and save people if he doesn't get up and go to school all was well. I swear if the kid doesn't become a firefighter or a paramedic himself one day I'll walk to the moon!" she laughed.

"Aw, he's so sweet, it's so cute how you're his idol, speaking of don't we have that school group coming today?"

"We were supposed to, but due to budget cuts'" she rolled her eyes "the department is no longer able to fund it, apparently it's too expensive and labour intensive to have people out of action."

I sighed, "How are we supposed to encourage the next generation of they can't see it for themselves. I mean I became a paramedic because my school had a field trip to a firehouse."

"You're preaching to the choir here girl, you're preaching to the choir." she laughed, turning and walking out. I went about putting my stuff away before heading to the kitchen/common room where we all spent our time inbetween calls.

The day turned out to be a slow one and by eleven o'clock I was doing laundry- (only having been called out once) when Mo one of the longest serving fire fighters and overall cool dude appeared by the door.

"You've got a visitor El l, there's someone waiting for you it on the apparatus floor."

"Thanks Mo, " I smiled, putting the clothes I had been folding down and heading out the door.

When I got to the apparatus floor, I was slightly shocked. There was Shawn, leaning casually against a Pilar waiting for me a brown bag in one hand- a bunch of sunflowers (my favourite) in the other.

"Shawn... What are you doing here?"I asked, still stunned.

He beamed running and picking me up.

"I had to come speak to chief Hachette about an arson case so I thought I'd surprise my girl.Do you have time for lunch?" he asked just as Jo walked out, stopping in her tracks. She looked so surprised I thought she was going to faint for a minute.

"And who's this?" she asked with a smile, coming over to stand in front of us where Shawn was still holding me.

"Jo meet Shawn." As soon as I said it I knew it was a mistake. A mischievous grin came over her face and I suddenly felt sick at all the intimate details I'd shared with her about our relationship on long nightshifts-mostly under duress, but still.

"Right so we're going to have lunch before we get another call," I spoke quickly, tugging at Shawn's arm to get him to walk before Jo had an opportunity to embarrass me.

"She seems nice," Shawn commented as we found a quiet spot to sit in the grass behind the firehouse.

"She is." I agreed as he handed me a turkey and Brie sandwich from my favourite deli downtown.

Half an hour later and lunch was done all too soon, duty unfortunately calling for Shawn leaving me alone to face the scrutiny of Jo.

"Girrlll, OMG, he's fiinnnee El. I hope youve locked him down cause I want me some of that." she spoke a million miles a minute running to catch up with me a la I made my way back into the common room and through to the laundry to finish folding the clothes from earlier.

"Well, speaking of... " I dug around in my breast pocket, pulling out the engagement ring Shawn had proposed with over the weekend on a mini getaway to the Hamptons.

The scream that left Jo's mouth was louder than expected and sent the whole house into a frenzy. Mo and several of the other firefighters including Tiny and Bug to come running.

When they realised there was no actual issue they turned around grumbling about how we'd pulled then away from the basketball game theyd been placing bets on.

"So when, how, where all the details," she demanded grabbing my arm and jumping up and down. Just the thought of the romantic evening Shawn and I had spent made me giddy again.

However before I got a chance to response the bell went off overhead signalling an incoming call

"Main to 41... Possible GSW, 56th and Main."

I sighed.

It was probably some gang related drug issue again.there were plenty of lovely people , but that side of town had a reputation.

"41 responding," I spoke into the radio, before flicking the switch to the lights and sirens.

When we got to the scene all was well at first, the cops were already there assuring us it was safe to enter, however just as we were about to leave having treated a minor self inflicted wound a man brandishing a gun leapt from a concealed closet.

"Give me all the drugs you have b*TCH." He yelled before either Jo or I could take in what was happening.

"You know we can't do that sir," Jo spoke calmly. Moving to try to assess the man, who's head was bleeding heavily.

"I said give me the f*cking drugs b*TCH ."

He yelled again, storming towards me. The next few seconds were a blur, I heard a shots, there was immense pain in my abdomen and leg and then I crumpled to the floor, whacking my head in the process.

"El, El. Omg, stay with me." Jo panicked.

"41 to main we have an officer down, urgent assistance required for a GSW, EMS required now!" she shouted down her radio.

"Hurts," I gasped as the initial shock wore off and the pain hit, everything seemed to ache, my leg, my ribs, my head. The room was spinning and I was having trouble breathing no longer able to keep track of the flurry of activity.

Somewhere in the chaos,I'm not sure how long after the incident I heard his voice, Shawn's voice and at first I thought I was dreaming, but I managed to open my eyes and there he was, looking down at with with so much fear.

"It's alright baby, I'm here now, we're going to fix it up, you'll be just fine. Can you tell me where it hurts?" he asked.

I went to move, instinctively seeking his comfort, but he stopped me, and I instantly wanted to cry, more than I already was.

"You have to stay still Princess."

I let out a loud groan as he placed an oxygen mask over my face.

"El? Can you hear me?" I grunted, the effort of actually forming words seeming too hard right then. I could feel hands all over me, and as much as I just wanted to be left alone, I also knew , they were trying to help me.

"It hurts," I cried again.

"I know it does honey, but you're going to be okay. I'm here, and so is Connor and Jo, and we'll look after you, and then when we've got you all comfy we'll take you to get all fixed up, how does that sound?"

"Okay, lets get her onto the bed, and then we can assess her from there," Connor suggested, appearing by my side, with a back board and neck collar that Jo had brought over.

"Okay, we're going to roll you onto the board El just let us do all the work okay?" Shawn said.

I let out a serious of screams as they rolled me, gripping Shawn's gloved hand like my life depended on it.

"We'll get you sorted yeah?" Shawn tried to reassure me as they strapped me onto the bed so I was safe, and then starting to push the gurney out the door and towards the entrance of the ambulance which was no more than ten metres away.

"Shawn ," I whispered, tears falling down my face, mixing with the blood which I could feel was congelling on my face.

When we were in the ambulance Shawn and Jo attached me to the hundreds of leads which I was so used to attaching to others while I lay there helplessly.

"I've started some morphine," Jo patted my arm gently as Shawn pulled a blanket over my body as I drifted off into fairy land.

Ten minutes later and we were pulling into the emergency bay.

The automatic doors opened, where we were met with a hoard of staff, ready to assist, the first person being Brian, Shawn and my mutual friend and colleague.

The look of horror on his face when he saw that it was me on the gurney was unsettling.

"She's a priority one, bed four, resus," he directed Shawn, following behind. " What do we know?" He asked, starting to attach monitors and leads to me all over again.

"GSW on scene, while responding to an incident on the other side of town. Wound to leg and abdo, possible broken ribs and concussion." Shawn reeled off.

I wasn't aware that they'd even assessed me, clearly I'd lost consciousness at some point and I wasn't even aware of it.

I lay there mulling over this lapse in memory, letting the chaos wash over me like a wave.

The last thing I was aware of was Brian shouting orders at the floods of nurses, and Shawn standing helplessly in the corner, red-faced from crying, before everything went black.

"Ah, can you turn the lights off!" I groaned as I came to again, reaching to rip off whatever annoying piece of wiring was sitting over my face "My head hurts," I added as a dull.ache consumed my thoughts as Shawn's worried face came into view, his frame helping to block out the blinding light as he bent over the bed.

"Oh thank God I was so worried," he cried kissing me with so much force I forgot to breathe, making the monitor go crazy for a second. "How are you feeling he asked, stopping me from pulling at the thing on my face which turned out to be oxygen tubing

"What happened?" I asked,. I remembered the main.events but the rest was fuzzy, whether from my injuries or from the drugs I had no doubt been plied with I wasn't sure

"You were shot while on-call, drug exchange gone bad, you scared me so bad baby," he whispered, brushing hair out if my face as Brian made his way into the room clearing his throat to announce himself.

"Hi El, it's good to see you awake, how are you feeling?" He asked coming to check a few things on the monitors before flipping my chart that sat at the end of the bed open.

"So as you know you had two gun shot wounds, one to your left let and one to the abdomen, luckily for you they were both clean shots and we didn't need to do anything other than clean and irrigate the areas and stitch you up. You did however manage to fracture three ribs when you fell as well as sustaining a sizable concussion.

"So what does that mean work wise?" I asked. Shawn must have sensed my nerves, because he was sure to keep a hand intertwined with my, the other tracing soft patterns up and down my arm.

"We'll unfortunately, during the fall you fractured your tibia, which has left you in a cast, and pretty well imibilised, I'm sorry to say you'll be relying on this big guy-" he slapped Shawn in the back, "for the next week at least while everything settles.

You'll be in a cast for at least six weeks and off work from a minimum of two weeks with rehab worked in. Rest up El, give me a yell if ya need anything," he spoke to Shawn as he left the room.

"I'll lose my job," I cried, the thought of not being able to do what I loved terrified me.

"No you won't Brian said you'll be sore for a bit and need to rest, not that you'd lose your job, besides now you'll have a real reason to boss me around, I'll be your slave". He laughed covering .me with a blanket and lifting my bung leg to rest it in a pillow.

Besides when you're well enough there are some people who'd like to see you.

"Get some rest and we'll work it all out when you wake up.

True to his word, he helped me with everything, toileting, showering (which proved to be a challenge with the cast), dressing, getting up and down stairs, making breakfast, lunch and dinner, and forcing me to take pain medication when I was too stubborn to admit I needed it.

By the end of the first week though, I was miseeable,.not used to doing nothing but sitting in my behind.

"You my dear, need to get a coat on we're going out!" he announced, coming over with said coat and helping me to stuff my arms in.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"SSH, it's a secret," he grinned, before carrying me to the car and making sure I was all buckled up.

Half an hour later and we were pulling up to the firehouse, where a few of the guys were sat outside playing cards as we made our way (me hobbling haphazardly on crutches) into the firehouse

"Hero in the house!" Mo called out and they all came running.

"I'm so glad you're okay. You scared me girl." Jo sniffled coming to hug me.

"Ouch still a little sore." I laughed leaning into Shawn for support as she blubbered all over me.

"Well sore is better than the alternative.

If it weren't for this one," she pointed to Shawn "you'd be dead."

"You've got yourself a keeper,"Mo added with a smile.

"Well if Mo approves it must be true." I agreed. "I think I'll keep you." I added, causing everyone to laugh.

"Thank you," I whispered to Shawn when the others were out of ear shot.

"For what?" he asked.

"Just for being you and for loving me," I shrugged, snuggling futher into his embrace, feeling greatful just to be alive, let alone call this wonderful human mine.

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

I'll Always Protect the People I Love

I really couldn't tell you how it happened, one minute I was hanging up washing on the line and the next I was on the ground in a load of pain. It had been one of those days, you know the ones where everything goes wrong? First I woke up late and missed an important virtual meeting,then I somehow managed to knock over a massive glass of water,the contents going absolutely everywhere. All over my bedside table, my phone (luckily it was waterproof) and several important pieces of paper which I'd been reading for the very meeting I had missed.

Maybe this was the universe's way of telling me I shouldn't have even bothered with today? Maybe I'd have been better if I had stayed in bed. One thing was for sure, I'd be in less pain right now.The only good thing was that my husband who usually worked as a doctor in the local hospital's E.D had taken an annual leave day to get the filing done which he'd gotten behind on.

"Crap," I hissed as I lifted my arm to inspect the massive scrape that had resulted from the fall.

Everything hurt, my arm, my legs which I could see from the droplets of blood falling onto the concrete had also copped a nasty whack, even my side hurt. I could feel myself getting nauseous at the sight of the blood, I'd never been any good at anything to do with medical stuff, it just made me want to vomit. What Shawn got from it, I wasn't sure, but he was passinate about medicine and was always so good. Not only at solving the actual issue at hand, but at making connections with his patients,at gaining their trust.

I tried to stay calm, to take a few deep breaths, but I could feel my composure crumbling as all the day's events caught up to me.

"Shawn!" I called out,voice shaking with the effort of trying to hold back tears. "Shawn," I shouted a little louder when there was no response. Finally I was met with the sound of his footsteps on the stairs.

"April, what's the matter, I was in the middle of a -" he stopped dead in the middle of the yard when he saw me.

"What happened?" he asked, recovering his composure quickly and rushing over to me.

" I tripped," I sniffled, as he bent down,noticing the blood on my hands and knees, and the way I was holding my aching side.

"I can see that baby," he spoke softly, lifting the hem of my dress up just enough to see how far up the wound was.

"This looks nasty and sore," he commented, pouting,causing me to whimper. That was the last thing I wanted to hear, especially from him,someone who spent his days seeing gross wounds and abbrassions.

"It hurts," I cried reaching for him out of habit,only to have my hands sting in protest. I couldn't help the tears that came steadily now, rolling down my face and clouding my vision.

"Oh, honey, please don't cry," he shushed me, reaching up to wipe them away. "It's okay, I'll fix you up, I promise,"

"I'm sorry for being a cry-baby," I muttered scrubbing at my tears with the back of my hand.

"You're not a cry-baby Honey,you've just had a tough day is all," he replied,pressing a kiss to my forehead. I sat there for a minute forgetting the pain,just resting my head against his chest, letting him hold me. He was the one person in the world, who could always make things better.

"Alright Princess, do you think you can stand up?" he asked,taking hold of my upper arms, supporting most of my weight. I stood slowly,my entire body felt as if it was simultaneously being set on fire and hit by a truck.

We made our way inside. Slowly. Incredibly slowly, but Shawn was patient as I hobbled along beside him.

"Here, sit down here," he told me, helping me onto one of the dining room chairs.

"But what about the blood?" I pointed to the blood which was still flowing slowly from several of the wounds.

"It's okay, the chairs can be cleaned," he replied clearly unphased."I'm going to get the first aid kit, stay there," he told me.

"Not like I can go anywhere," I retorted making him laughed as he ran off in the direction of the bathroom.

He came running back less than a minute later, "I'm okay Shawn," I laughed,going to lean back in the chair, but the contact caused the grazes on my back to sting furiously. "Ah," I hissed, leaning forward again.

"Yeah, you look fine," Shawn sassed back, placing the large box of medical supplies on the ground and opening it. It was overwhelming just looking at all the different things. I had no idea how Shawn knew what he was doing, but he obviously did, because he pulled about 5 different things out, before looking up at me.

"Alright sweets,I'm going to wipe off your hands and knees first,it might sting a bit, just tell me if it gets too much and I'll stop okay?" he told, looking up at me as he pulled the wrapper off an antiseptic wipe and gently wiped it across my left knee.

"Ahh," I hissed, fresh tears coming to my eyes,my hand flying to his, stopping him from what he was doing.

"I know it hurts baby," he moved his other hand up to rest on my thigh comfortingly. "But if we don't get this all cleaned up then you risk getting an infection,who knows what sort of stuff has been on that ground, especially with Tarzan out there now,"

At the sound of his name Tarzan came running, tentatively putting one paw up on my lap.

"Aw, Tarzan,good boy, you come to look after Mummy hey, you know she's sad," he cooed,wiping my knee again. It hurt as much as the last time, but I tried to stay still and let Shawn do what he needed to.

"And I'm done," Shawn smiled five minutes later, stepping back from your hands as he gave them one last wipe.

I sighed, feeling relieved, but then I remembered he still had to deal with my side and back, and I knew that would be worse that both my hands and my knees. I'd really done a number on myself there,having landed with most of my weight in that one area.

"I think we're probably better off going to the bathroom for your side, from what I saw outside I'll need to give it a proper rinse out before I do anything with it," he spoke,causing me to groan.

"I know honey, but I promise once I've dealt with it you're all done then how about we have snuggles on the couch and other a take out?" We didn't often get to spend a truly lazy night together with both of our jobs being as crazy as they were.

Really?" I asked, smiling properly for the first time all day.

"Really," he smiled back "Work can wait till tomorrow, my poor invalid baby is more important," he pouted, causing me to laugh, as he helped me to the bathroom.

"That's my favourite sound you know," he told me as he helped me undress and get situated in the tub so he could use the detachable head to wash out the wound.

I smiled, feeling suddenly shy, even after being married for a year, and together for 4 he still had that effect on me.

He spent a few more minutes getting everything set up, towels,bandages, antiseptic wash, tweezers, before he finally turned the water on low, being careful not to get any water on the wounds he'd just dressed.

"Can you turn around for me April?" he asked, helping me to maneuver my body the way he needed it."I'm going to start washing it out now baby, there's a fair bit of dirt and crap caked in there so I'll need to give it a good rinse out. Do you wanna hold my hand?" he offered, extending the hand he wasn't using which I took immediately. "Ready?" he asked. I nodded squeezing my eyes shut in anticipation.

As soon as the water hit it, my whole side felt like it was on fire, the tears that I had managed to hold at bay until now, flowing freely. "I know Princess," he soothed, "One more minute okay," I nodded, opening my eyes, watching as he skillfully flushed the wound. "Can you arch your back for me a bit?" he asked stopping the water momentarily. I did what he asked, leaning over, seeing for the first time just how much blood was coming from me. The bathtub had streams of red water that just seemed to keep coming.

"Shawn," I squeeked, the blood.

"It's okay, Honey,I promise you it looks way worse than it actually is," he tried to console me continuing to work on my wound. I sat there, like I had outside trying not to focus on it, but I could feel the familiar twist of my stomach as he nausea set in,waves of dizziness washing over me like the water.

"Shawn, I-Im going to be sick," I gasped, holding my bandaged hand over my mouth. He was quick to act, switching off the water immediately, and reaching for the trash can that sat next to the toilet, holding it under my chin.

"Deep breaths, April," he spoke softly,pushing some of the hair that had fallen into my eyes out the way.

"You must think I'm such a whimp," I groaned, head still over the bin as I tried and failed to take steady breaths.

"Not at all," he promised, "You're just not good with blood, lots of people are like that, hey, at least you haven't fainted," he laughed trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"I feel like I'm going to," I whispered.

"It's okay, just breathe, that's it, nice long breathes," he coached still holding the bin patiently.

Finally after five minutes of sitting like that, the feeling started to lessen and I was able to sit up again. I must have looked like a complete mess, because the look of pity on Shawn's face was ridiculous.

"Feeling better?" he asked as he placed the bin down beside him and took my hand.

I nodded still not entirely trusting myself.

"Ready to get out and I'll fix the rest up out on the couch?" he asked offering me his hand again.

I nodded again,allowing him help me out of the bath and wrap a towel around my body.

We made our way back to the loving room slowly where he deposited me onto the couch, before running back to get the things he needed from the bathroom.

"How bad is it?" I asked, as he sat down beside me.

"I've seen better I've seen worse, it's not as bad as it probably feels though," he added in sympathy.

"What do you need to do?" I asked, turning to look at him. He frowned, obviously weighing up whether to tell me or of it was better to keep me in the dark.

"I need to get this gravel outta the wound before I dress it," he answered carefully. "Why don't you turn the T.V. on while I work?" he suggested quickly when he saw my face fall. He grabbed the remote off the table and handed it to me.

"What do you want to watch?" I asked when the screen came on.

"Whatever you wanna watch babe, I'll be focussed on this."

I nodded,turning on Once Upon A Time, immediately being pulled into the fantasy. The story helping to distract me. He kept a hand on my good shoulder the whole time he worked, occasionally squeezing it when I let out a whimper at a particularly sore spot.

"All done," he announced as he stuck the adhesive strip down half an hour later.

"Really?" I asked, turning to see he was indeed done, already in the process of picking up all the trash, going to dispose of it safely in the bin.

When he came back he had a glass of water, a bottle of Tylenol and an ice-pack in his hands.

"Here babe, take these,it should help with some of the pain," he spoke, coming around the couch to hand them to me, before sitting down next to me.

"What's the ice-pack for?"

"For your back, it'll help to stop the bruising," he lifted me onto his lap confusing me slightly.

"Won't you be cold?" I questioned as he placed the ice-pack between my back and his chest, pulling me back

"I could never be cold with you around baby," he murmured kissing my head, leaning back into the sofa.

"Thank you for looking after me," I spoke after a few minutes of comfortable quiet in which we were both focussed on the television.

"Of course baby," he replied, running a hand gently through my scalp. "I'll always protect the people I love."

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

Deliverance| A Werewolf Shawn AU

Part Two

In my dream I was running, running as fast as I could and yet the wolves that were chasing me were only gaining on me.

I knew that I only had a matter of seconds before it was all over, before I was dead and so I welcomed the wolf as he lunged forward to kill me.

...

I woke with a start, breathing heavily as I looked around realising that I was safe, I wasi n Shawn's room still, but it was light out now, morning light reflecting like diamonds off the lake in the distance.

There was a soft knock at the door, causing me to jump before Shawn appeared dressed in a t-shirt,and track pants, his feet bare.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized, coming to sit at the end of he bed. "Are you okay?I heard you whimpering in your sleep,"

I nodded, still half asleep. "I'm good, bad dream I guess," I shrugged, not wanting to go into it anymore.

"You can go back to sleep for a while, it's still early and I have a few things I need to do with the pack before the day starts," Shawn offered with a soft smile. I turned looking at the cosy hole of pillows and blankets I'd left.

"Thank you, I murmured, stiffling a yawn.

"Sleep well Pup," he spoke getting up and leaving the room, closing the door softly behind him.i Kay there from a while, just watching the world out the window, just this simple act felt so luxurious, the mountains, everything was so pretty, so green, so vibrant compared to my old life.

How different my life was now I thought as I shut my eyes and drifted off again.

When I woke again, I could tell several hours had past from the angle of the sun, and the fact that I was no longer fighting the urge to sleep.I sat up and stretched,before getting up and heading to the door. I had no idea where I was going, but I was hungry and I had this weird yearning to be near Shawn. It made me uneasy after everything that had happened to me that I needed someone, especially a male so much, but I couldn't deny the feeling I was having, maybe it was something to do with this mate connection that Shawn had been taking about?

I made my way through the house, heading down corridor after corridor,down several staircases and into finally into a massive living room with several oversized couches and a fire place.

"Lucy?" I turned at the sound of the familiar female voice. Karla, was standing at the other side of the room watching me inquisitively."Are you okay?"she asked, making her way towards me.

"You know my name?" I asked surprised.

"Shawn told us," she smiled registering the confusion which I felt. "What are you doing up?"

"I woke up and Shawn wasn't in his room, I came to find him," I explained, still somewhat distracted by the sheer size and grnadure of the room.

"He's in the kitchen making you breakfast, he loves to cook. I'll show you the way if you want," she offered.

I nodded and she took my hand without hesitation, leading me through an archway which opened out into the kitchen. Like the living room before, he kitchen too was huge, a massive marble island taking up the centre part of the space,several stoves and counters, Karla smiled and left.

"Morning Pup, sleep well? Shawn asked when he spotted me standing there, coming over and laying a ghost kiss on my temple." Sorry I shouldn't have done that," he frowned.

"It's okay. It feels nice," I smiled, he beamed back. "It'll just take some time for me to get used to everyday things again." I was saying it more to my self than him. But he answered.

"We've got nothing but time, however to fill that time how about we eat, you need nutrients Pup. What do you like to eat?"

It was a simple enough question, but it had been so long since I had been asked it, that I didn't know how to respond.

"How about pancakes and fruit?" he asked, helping me out.

I nodded, thankful I didn't have to make a decision for myself.

"Want to watch?" he asked.

"Yes please."

He nodded "Since your so short, how about you sit on the bench?" he suggested.

"How am I meant to get up there?" I asked eying the jump, there was no way in hell that I'd be able to make it on my own.

"Can I help you?" he asked coming to stand in front of me. I nodded, still a little unsure. "I'm going to lift you okay?" he checked.

I nodded again and he placed his hands on my waist and lifted me with ease onto the bench.

"Ever made pancakes before?" he asked reaching above him to the hooks which held a bunch for saucepans, grabbing one down.

"Yes, but not in a long time, not since-" I stopped shuddering as memories flooded back.

"Do you want to stir the batter?" he asked, breaking me free of the silent torture.

We went about the process quietly, I was greatful for that, because I still wasn't feeling particularly verbose. Not used to being allowed to talk, let alone anyone actually being interested in heat u had to say.

When the food was ready he helped me down off the bench and led me back the way I'd come and out onto a secluded balcony overlooking the sound. It was stunning the morning sun reflecting like one big dimond off the water, the sound of birds and the breese filling the air.

"How come we haven't seen any of the pack, except for Karla?" I asked as I sat down.

" Because this part of the house is only for the Alpha and his immediate superiors," he answered, taking a bite of his food."Plus, I asked them to keep their distance, I figured you'd need some time to adjust."

"But Karla?", I stopped confused.

"Is my Beta Connor's mate," he explained.

"Oh,"

We lapsed back into a comfortable silence. giving me a chance to take a bite of my own food. It was hands down the most delicious thing I'd ever eaten, and I was overcome by a hunger I didn't know I had in me, finishing my plate miles ahead of Shawn.

"You still hungry Pup?" he asked looking over at my now empty plate with a smile.

I shook my head no, smiling back at him, I was fuller than I could ever remember.

I sat watching the sound for a while as Shawn finished his pancakes, but my peace was suddenly interrupted by an odd and unnerving sensation in my stomach, almost like nervous butterflies, but way more intense.

"Shawn," I panicked.

"What's wrong,?" he demanded, standing up and coming to squat in front of me, searching every inch of my face.

"The feeling?" I asked, desperately hoping he'd understand. "Like butterflies," I gasped as they ramped up when I grabbed his hand squeezing it as hard as I could. "What is it Shawn?" I asked again as I took in hus huge grin.

"It's your wolf Lucy." he let out a breath." I was so worried she was repressed for too long, but she's alive," he chocked on his words.

"Is that good?" I asked confused, still squeezing his hand.

"That's great, it means you'll be able to live like the rest of us, to change,to mate." I blushed at the last part.

"But why this feeling?"

"She's restless," he explained. "She knows she's in the presence of her mate, my wolf and she wants out. When youre well enough I'll teach you how to let her free," he added.

"Will it hurt?" I asked suddenly worried.

"It might be a bit uncomfortable the first time she takes over, it's kind of like having to share your head, your thoughts and feelings with someone else, but trust me, there's no better feeling than running free in the woods, your wolf able to do as they please without restriction.

I nodded, still not entirely sure, but I trusted him.

We sat just watching the water for a while, not needing to talk. It was strange to me, being able to just sit, not having rules to follow, people coming to use me for their own personal gain, not feeling pain. But it was also welcome.

"Are you ready to start the day?" Shawn asked, as he stood half an hour later, grabbing our plates off the table with one hand and holding his other out for me to take.

I nodded, standing up slowly,taking his hand, and following him inside.

"What are we doing today?" I asked as he dumped the plates in the sink bad led the way back to his room.

"What would you like to do today?" he asked as we stepped into his now familiar room once again.

I stood there,thinking. Again not used to having the freedom to make choices for myself.

"A few of the girls like to paint," he suggested as he rummaged around in his cupboard, pulling a pair of trainers out and sitting on the end of the bed to put them on. "I could get you some paints or different art supplies if you like, or you could read, we could even go for a shirt walk around the grounds of you're feeling up to it later," he added with a smile coming over to stand in front of me.

"I'd like to paint?" It came out as more of a question, but he nodded.

"I'll get you the stuff you need," he murmured, placing another soft kiss against my forehead,causing me to all but melt into him. I couldn't get over the way he made me feel. It was like everything in my head told me to keep my distance, to stay clear, to protect myself. But my body and heart were saying the opposite- wanting nothing more than to be as close as possible to this man, it was almost as if my body needed the physical contact with Shawn to function now. It wasn't that that was a bad thing, it was just such a change from two days earlier when I would have done everything in my power to stay clear of any and all males.

"How about you have a shower, get ready for the day, I'll go and do what I need to do- check in on the younger ones, do a perimeter run and then we can go to the pack meeting together?" he suggested, moving around me to pull a towel and a new oversized hoodie off his dresser which I hadn't even realised was there.

The first 10 minutes of the shower were heavenly,the hot water helping to unknot my still aching muscles,the steam clearing my senses, but as I relaxed into it, listening to the sound of the water beating down on the tiled floor my mind started to wonder, and soon I was feeling anything but comfort.

I could feel the familiar rush of adrenaline,the way my hands and feet went slightly numb and shaky, my chest heaving as I gasped for air, collapsing in a heap in the corner of the shower, head against the damp wall as image after image of my old life haunted me.

I sat there for what felt like forever, the water drowning out my pathetic attempts to choke back the sobs that were now wracking my tired body.

"Lucy, are you okay in there?" an alarmed voice spoke, slightly muffled by the door.

"Help, please, help me," I whispered,hoping that whoever it was would hear me.

"I'm coming in," the person spoke and a moment later the door to the shower was ripped open revealing Karla, a look of deep worry on her face.

"Lucy, what's the matter?"she asked, reaching in to turn the water off.

"Ca-can't breathe," I stuttered, holding my hand over my chest.

"Oh, God, here, I'm going to help you get out," she rushed out of the room, coming back moments later with another large towel."Can you stand up?"she asked watching me uncertainly.

"Think so," I nodded. She stepped into the shower wrapping the towel around me, before helping me carefully to my feet.I didn't even care at this point that she'd seen me without anything on, I was just desperate for this feeling to stop.

"Just take slow deep breaths," she encouraged with a soft smile as I made my way slowly to the bed. "Have you had panic attacks before she asked?" Sitting on the bed beside me,grabbing the sweater that Shawn had set aside for me and helping me to pull it over my head, instantly engolfing me with the warmth and scent of Shawn.

I nodded, still feeling extremely shaky.

"Do you think you'll be alright if I go and get Shawn?" she asked. "I promise it'll take me 2 seconds.I just think Shawn will be able to help you more than I can," she told me.

I nodded.I didn't want to be left alone, but I wanted Shawn more.

She left in a hurry, looking over her shoulder at me with pity.

As I sat and waited, I tried to stay calm, but my the time the door opened again, I was once again struggling to breathe, my chest heaving.

"Oh, Pup, what's the matter?" Shawn asked coming to sit next to me as Karla had, before laying a very gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Don't know, just feel scared," I shrugged, not looking up at him. I hated the idea that he was seeing me so vulnerable.

"Lucy, honey, can you look at me," his voice was barely a whisper.

I looked up reluctantly, knowing that he'd be able to see the tears, not yet dried in my cheeks, the puffy redness under my eyes nodoubt making me look like a chipmunk.

"We're going to do some grounding excercises okay," he smiled softly. "Take a big breath in, and I want you to hold it until I count to 10."

I did as he,said, feeling my lungs expand with the air they so desperately needed.

"Good," he praised, and slowly breathe out through your mouth," he instructed."I'm going to lift you up okay?" he asked. I nodded, letting him know I was okay with it.

He lifted me quickly and easily, sitting me in his lap, not seeking to care about the fact that I still had dripping hair.i curled into him instinctively, as I hiccupped, my tears slowly slightly now, my chest just a little less tight.

"You're okay Lucy, I'm here, I've got you," he murmured, resting his chin on the top of my head.

"I'm sorry,"I croaked out, when after a few minutes neither of us had spoken.

"For what?" he asked, looking at me with confusion in his eyes.

"For me" I said, as if it should be obvious.

"Lucy, please don't apologise, none of this is your fault," he responded, rubbing soothing circles up and down my arms.

"I just feel useless sometimes," I admitted, more to myself than to him.

"You are anything but useless," he replied, "and to prove it," he added,"I'm going to take you to meet the pack,if you're up to it," he smiled. "They're all so excited to meet you, and we have a pack meeting dinner thing tonight so I thought it might be nice if you joined."

"Why if they don't like me?"I worried, ringing my hands nervously.

"They will trust me," he smiled again,shifting me off of his lap before standing up and holding his hand out for me to take, which I did gladly.

There were already several people waiting in the living room when we made it downstairs and I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated at the thought of all these new people.

Shawn squeezed my hand reassuringly as he lead me to a large armchair where he sat, before pulling me down to sit on his lap without seemingly a second thought.

"Everyone," this is Lucy," Shawn introduced. "This is Dave, Brian, Connor, you know Karla," she shot me a warm smile "Beth and Angie," Shawn pointed them out one by one. They all smiled warmly, waving at me.

"So what's on the agenda for tonight?" Connor, I assumed from the way Karla was snuggled into his side much like I was with Shawn, asked.

"We need to be putting protective measures into place, since Lucy's been here other packs are getting restless, and given the circumstances, I don't want to take any risks."

The others nodded in silent agreement before Shawn went on.

"When I found Lucy-" he paused to look at me, shaking his head, " she was mere moments from having her life cut short, it was just lucky, I happened to be doing a run of the grounds, it who knows what would have happened," he trailed off. I felt myself shudder and Shawn's arms tighten around me ever so slightly as we simultaneously re- lived those horrific few seconds.

"You know we're all behind you man," someone else spoke up, causing everyone to nod.

"Thank you," Shawn replied sincerely, "At this stage there have only been a two attempts at breaches, don't seem bold enough to actually enter our lands, but they're hanging around the fringe,getting more game everyday," he frowned as he spoke.

At this point I chose to time out the conversation, sometimes ignorance was bliss and I already had enough on my mind without fretting about what was going on around me too much.

As wesat on the sofa hours later, cuddled up as the television played re-runs of friends couldn't help but voice my fears.

"Am,am I safe?" I asked nervously,looking up at Shawn who was half dozing, arms wrapped lazily around me.

He sat up slightly, stretching before resting his hands on either side if my face affectionately,

"We're doing everything we can to protect you," he spoke fiercly, reaching for my hand and squeezing gently."You are my life now," he added,pulling me protectively into his embrace again. For the first time in a long time,the sense of fear that was ever-present disappated somewhat, and I felt safe knowing that regardless of what happened I had Shawn,I had a home and I had a family.

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

Deliverance| A Werewolf Shawn AU

Part One

The woods had always been a place of comfort for me... A place to escape the madness of my life of serenity. of course I'd heard the stories of vicious wolves who roamed the darkness waiting to prey on the innocent,but I always put it down to stories, gossip, folklore designed to stop kids from venturing too far. That was until the day I was taken.

A rogue pack had taken me as their personal toy, all the anger and frustration they felt was taken out on me. It was a good day if I got a bit of stale bread, and only one beating. On bad days there would be no food and constant, torturous abuse.

I had endured it for 13 year, my small body the reflection of years of malnutrition and hurt,.but I'd finally escaped.

I had bid my time, waiting till they made an inevitable error, and it had finally happend. One of the younger wolves had forgotten to check the padlock when they'd had their fun with me and I'd seized the opportunity and run as fast as I could. but I wasn't fast enough. The alarm had been sounded and there were now several wolves hot on my heels and I could run no further I had to accept my fate. He was less than a metre away from me when our of nowhere another wolf - russet in colour intercepted him in mid air, knocking him over with the force of an elephant. I could hear the snarling and snapping of jaws as I finally collapsed and

surrendered, the last thing I remember was a tall young man walking towards me .

When I woke it was to a mass of activity.

I drifted in and out of sleep, hearing people talking.feeling hands on me, there was even something about the alpha wanting to see 'her', and a.'mate' and something else about ' killing the pack that did this'.. What that meant I couldn't know in my delirium.

When I managed to finally open my eyes and get past the blindly bright light above me, I was met with the image of a man-pacing back land forth, muttering to himself. And the more immediate threat of someone fiddling with the sheet that lay over me.

Surely with a man this good looking, this close to me it had to be a dream, I tried to convince .myself, but someone shattered the dream almost as soon as is materialised.

"Well hello sweetheart, I'm glad to see you're finally awake," the voice came from that of and older woman with long greying hair braided out of her face "My name's Judy, I'm your nurse," she smiled down at me. "Are you in any pain?" She asked.

I took a moment to take everything in, but I was still unable to make sense of it all.

"Where am I?" I asked, trying to sit up, but everything protested as soon as I moved, even muscles I didn't know I had.

"Just stay still for now dear, you don't want to hurt yourself further," the nurse-Judy spoke kindly, helping me to resettle myself.

Something, maybe me speaking seemed to wake the man from his trance like state and he turned to meet my confused gaze.

He was tall, he had to be at least 6 foot, with sliflghtly tanned skin, the most rich brown eyes I'd ever seen, and hair that was neatly cut, except for a few unruly curls at the front of his head which didn't want to co-operate with the hair gel he'd obviously used to style it.

"Oh,oh thank God." the man rushed over to the side of the bed stopping mere inches from my face.

I could feel my heart rate picking up as panic set in, not used to people (let alone males) being this close without hurting me.

I turned to Judy asking desperately with my eyes for help

She must have got the memo because she cleared her throat and spoke.

She seemed somewhat hesitant though "Alpha, I don't mean to overstep my boundaries, I know you must be worried sick as we all are, however would it not be prudent to give the girl some space?"

The man searched my face for a moment, before straightening and stepping backwards.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he muttered guiltily.

"You didn't," I lied before I could think about it.

"My name's Shawn what's yours?" he asked holding his hand out for me to take.

I kept my mouth shut, years of torture telling me to keep quiet. He dropped his extended up so it was back at his side.

"Alrighty then, when you're ready. I won't push you." He spoke, it seemed as though he was trying deliberately to keep his tone, soft, conversational and I appreciated it.

At that moment the doctor walked in. "It's good to see you awake Miss," he spoke echoing Judy's words.

"I'm sorry to say you're quite banged up." Shawn started pacing again at his words.

"

I would have sworn I heard a growl.

"Shawn you have to stay calm," Judy spoke, it sounded almost as if she was trying to comfort him, confusing me further.

Once the doctor left Shawn calmed down, having dragging a chair from outside my room to sit beside my bed.

"I heard something about killing another pack?" I asked weighing my words cafefully. "So are you all wolves too?"

"Yes, honey, but I promise you're safe here," he replied softly, looking over at me. I looked down again, not able to take the human interaction.

"Everytime I look at you, you look down. Why is that?"he asked, sounding sad.

" I didn't mean to upset you," I panicked.Starting to pick at the I.V in my arm, it was something I always did when I was nervous, picking things, my skin, nails whatever seemed to help.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that, I'm not mad," he cut me off. "I just mean I've noticed it is all," he lay a hand carefully on my arm and surprisingly the contact helped.

"I don't know," I pondered, distracted by his touch. There was a weird, warm feeling flowing from the point of contact straight up to my chest, not dissimilar to when your hands or feet go numb and then start to respond again. It wasn't unpleasant, just strange. "I guess, I'm not used to positive human contact," I admitted, looking up to see him shaking his head.

"Are you the Alpha?" I asked suddenly. He looked at me, surprise washing over his face at the boldness of my question.

"Yes, I am," he spoke proudly. "Of the Shadowmoon Pack, greatest pack in all of Canada if you ask me," he smiled.

I liked the way he was so confident. It made me feel safe and secure. A few more hours past with us sitting in a comfortable silence, I couldn't help but feel safe around him, and as foreign as the feeling was, I also craved it.

"Are you ready to go home now Poppet?" Judy ssekd, making her way into my room again sometime later and starting to mess around with the I.V tubing.

I looked at her panicked.

"Home?" I squeeked. Surely they weren't really going to send me home. It wasn't a home where I'd come from it was a hell, my own personal hell and I'd be damned if I was going back.

Shawn seemed to noticed my emotions and stepped forward, slowly holding his arms out, and instead of backing away as I had done earlier,I surprised us both and stepped into his hold.

He was warm and comfortable, our bodies seemed to fit perfectly,denim of his jacket just scratchy enough and the now semi familiar tingling from our contact pleasant enough to ground me somewhat. I stayed like that for a minute or so before I became a little more aware of what I was doing. I was hugging a near stranger,worse he was a male, worse again Ii was actually lettung myself like it.

Sorry, I blushed, stepoing away quicky and looking down.

"You don't need to apologise," he smiled.

"What was the tingling I felt" I asked wanting to change the subject.

"That is what you get when two mates make contact" He smiled wider than I had ever seen a person smile, his fangs being exposed in the process.

I stood, silently, shocked.

"Are you okay" He asked moving to step towards me, I held a hand up and he halted midstride.

"I promise you. We'll take things slowly, right now I just want to get you home- to our home," he amended when he saw the look of panic in my face. "So you can rest."

I nodded. Still not entirely comfortable, but what other choice did I have? Go back to the pack that had tortured me all these years, or even end up homeless on the street? And from everything I'd seen Shawn seemed like a genuinely nice person, who everyone respected. Plus,if he was telling the truth, which from heat I could tell, he was, he was my mate and from all the stories I'd heard as a child, your mate was meant to be the one person in the world who would do anything for you, be anywhere for you. They would literally protect you with their lives.

"Shawn I don't have anything to wear," I whispered embarrassed again, looking down at the gown which barely covered anything as Judy finally finished what she was doing in the corner of he room having taken out my I.V. and left.

"I brought you some clothes, don't worry," he smiled.Pullnig out the most comfortable pale pink sweater I'd ever seen, he handed it to me and I was hit with his scent.

"This is yours?"

",Is that okay?" he worried. " I could go home and get something from one of the girls if you're uncomfortable," he offered.

I just smiled,letting out a little giggle at the extreme level of concern he was showing, which caused him to immediately relax l, shoulders dropping, a slight smile gracing his lips as he shook his head softly.

"Can you turn around please?" I requested. He did as asked giving the privacy I so desperately craved.

When I was finished he took my hand, holding his other under my elbow to support my weight.

He was so patient, never rushing me as he lead me through the hospital and out the doors into the world. I couldn't help but savour the fresh air,the cold winter air burning my lungs but in a good way.

"I bet it feels nice to be outside again,"

I nodded, "How did you find me" I asked, as we continued to walk. It was as if now that I was free my mind could finally ask questions and process all the stuff I had never done previously.

"That's a story for when you've had some more rest," he answered, coming to a stop in front of a Jeep, opening the door and lifting me in. The tingling was still a shock,l everytime he touched my skin.

"Feel free to sleep we've got a bit of a drive ahead of us" he smiled reassuringly, before turning the ignition,the car coming to life.

I woke to someone shaking me,it was dark now and I immediately jumped back in my seat, unsure, before my groggy eyes made contact with Shawn's and I realised where I was and relaxed.

"I won't hurt you, you're safe now Pup," he murmured, moving to brush some hair out of my face with a feather-light touch. I blushed at the nickname."I was just waking you because we're here, this is home" I took in the house illuminated by lights in complete awe.

"So you're an Alpha and you don't hurt humans?" I asked as he helped me cafefully from he car.

"You're not human, you're an omega, but no I have nothing against humans," he added, holding me steady as I swayed on my feet slightly, not used to standing anymore.

I stood stunned again," I know it's a lot to take in, but we'll get to all of that, for now though, you need rest.

We made our way through the house in silence, I could hear other voices, yet we never came across anyone.

"This is my room," he spoke, shifting his grip on me slightly to open the door.

The room was large with huge french doors leading out to a balcony overlooking a big yard and a lake, soft- what looked like silk curtains framing the windows, a guitar sat in one corner a futon in the other. There was a record player in the corner, playing a soft melody which filled the space, creating a warm inviting feeling. In the centre of the room was the biggest bed I had ever seen.

It had several large cushions on it and a duvet cover that looked like it would feel like laying on clouds. Just this bed was bigger than he cell I'd been forced to spend so many years in,I thought with a shudder.

"This is your room?I stumbled over my words.

"Well I'm hoping it will be our room actually." Shawn spoke, scratching at his neck.

I turned panicked. "But only when you're comfortable I'm not about to force you into anything I promise."

He held his pinkie finger out, and I just looked at it unsure of what he wanted.

"Here," he smiled, taking my hand and locking my own little finger with his. "This is called a pinkie promise. It's like a pact that you don't break," he explained with a smile.

"Oh,I guess, I must have forgotten." I felt extremely stupid and shit up quickly, the only sound that of the record player still in the corner. I found it so comforting, my own father had had one when I was little and I could remember watching the record and needle spin for hours.

"There's a room adjacent to mine which I've had the maids freshen up, there's a comfortable bed and an ensuite with fresh towels and a toothbrush." he continued as if there wasn't just a massive awkward silence emitting solely from my lack of understanding.

He turned leading me back out and across the hallway to another door. When he opened it, I saw a room, smaller than his, but still warm and cosy, with a big bed, a window, lots of pretty lights and yet more records, this time hung in the wall.

"You didn't need to do this for me," I told him, as I took it all in.

"I wanted you to be comfortable," he shrugged.

He lead me back to his room where he sat down on the bed, kicking his shoes off and patting the spot next to him.

"How long was I out" I asked after a minute. He got what I meant immediately.

"Three days," he answered somberly.

"How are you feeling? he asked.

"Still very sore," I admitted.

"Here let me see your injuries." he reached over picking up a box of what I soon realised was full of first aid stuff.

He was extremely gentle as he tended to he cuts and scrapes that covered my shoulders, arms,and legs. He even managed to convince me to let him check my ribs. This I found uncomfortsbly and awkward once again, but he was careful not to make it any worse than it had to be and he had rewrapped them quicky and easily.

"How do you know how to do all this?" I asked quietly as he gently dabbed at a cut on my hand. "We'll I'm actually a trained doctor. When I'm not working as the Alpha, I work at the pack hospital. There all done," he announced,packing up the box and disposing of he rubbish in a small medical waste tin.

Half an hour later and I'd gotten changed, again into one of Shawn's oversized hoodies and made myself comfortable in his bed after he insisted I stay in his room incase I needed him.

"Sleep well, Pup, I'll be here if you need me."

He went to lounge on the futon, and I was left to drift to sleep, exhausted by the day's events. My sleep was fitful to satly the least, dreams bad nightmares melding to form weird and wonderful scenarios which would never make sense.

When I woke, it was to a soft knock on the door. Opening my eyes, I could see that it was still slightly light out, though dinner than it had been, probably somewhere around dusk. A girl with dark hair, dark eyes and a kind smile stepped tenntively into the room.

"My name's Karla. Im in the pack. It's nice to meet you," she added warmly. "Shawn's had to go deal with some pack matters so he asked me to come keep you company. I brought you some food. He said you might be hungry." She held out what looked like a croisant, the smell of butter instantly filling the room."I also brought a hair brush," she added. "I thought you might like to brush your hair, I know that always makes me feel better. Or I could do it?" she added again, shyly.

"Thank you."I whispered, my voice still hoarse.

The girl, Karla, came to sit on the bed. She had to be the same age as me. Maybe a year or two older.

"I hope the pack meeting doesn't go too long," she said as I started picking at my croisant. "Shawn won't want to be away from you, it's hard to be away from our mates." She looked dreamy as she spoke, leaving no question that she too had a mate.

"I'm nervous to meet everyone," I admitted with a frown, suddenly not hungry anymore.

"Aww, don't worry everyone will love you," she smiled. "We've all been waiting for ages for him to meet his mate and you're finally here." she clapped in excitement, breaking E and forcing me to smile just as Shawn came through the door with another soft knock.

"Ahhh, I see you've meet Karla," he smiled, raising his eyebrow a little bit. " I hope she's been telling you good things."

"Yep, what were you doing" I asked watching as he took his deniem jacket off- the same one from earlier and chucked it onto the futon, coming to sit next to me on the bed, careful not to invade my personal space.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked watching as I pulled the crosiant to pieces no longer interested by the food, now that I had him here.

"I'm alright," I shrugged.

He nodded, and we lapsed into yet another comfortable quiet.

It was only then that I realised Karla had left the room, she must have excused herself, seeing that she was no longer needed and didn't feel the need to encroach.The hairbrush however was still laying on the bed.

"I just want you to know," he spoke, breaking the silence after a while, "that no matter what happeneds you'll be safe here. I'll protect you with my life, it's my job both as your Alpha and as your mate," he spoke earnestly.

He was looking at me with such an intensity as he spoke that something broke inside of me, and I cracked. "Lucy," I whispered looking down and away from his gaze.

"What?" I could here the confusion in his voice.

"Lucy, my name, my name is Lucy." I spoke more clearly this time, though I still couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"Lucy, that's a pretty name," he murmured. I could see from the corner of my eye that he was reaching for me, and as much as I wanted to move, my body was frozen whether in fear or anticipation I couldn't know, but the next thing I knew both his hands were cupping my face. He was so gentle, almost as if he thought I would break. I looked up at him, once again taken aback by the intensity of his stare.

I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks.

"You're so pretty when you blush," he smiled, caressing my cheek.

"Please don't compliment me, I don't deserve it, I'm ugly," I repeated the words my captors had drilled into me for so many years.

"You, Lucy," he put emphasis on my name. "are anything but ugly. You are the most beautiful person I have ever known, inside and out."

"How can you say that?" I replied.

"Because, I can feel it Lucy, right here," he took my hand in his and placed it over his chest where I could feel his heart beat strong and sure. "I've been waiting for you my entire life. And now that I have you, it's my job, my honour to protect you with my life," he explained fiercly.

"Thank you," I chocked out, tears welling in my eyes.Leaning into his frame just slightly despite myself and my fears.

"No pup, thank you."

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

Ruin

-Ellen-

stood staring in the bathroom mirror at the large pink scar that snaked across my forehead from my left temple to just above my right eyebrow.

It had been almost three months now, and I was still in pain, some days it felt like I couldn't escape it.

I lifted my shirt to show my tummy, yet another angry looking pink scar this one jagged from where the glass had gotten me. It still pain, dull ache ever-present, the itch constant. I frowned, frustrated with how long everything was taking to heal.

"Morning baby," Shawn whispered into my neck,coming to rest his head softly on my shoulder and smiling at me in the mirror.

"Hey," I couldn't help the small smile that pulled at the corner of my lips. He was so beautiful, even first thing in the morning, dressed in an ugly washed-out green coloured pair of scrubs,ready for another day as a doctor in the local emergency department.

"What was that frown I saw before I walked in?" he asked, still watching me in the mirror.

I sighed, "Im just sick of being sore and having these ugly scars all over my body. I can't get it out of my head," I whispered, feeling the tears welling up, an all to familiar occurance these days.

"It's gonna take some time baby," he murmured, pulling me to his chest and holding me tightly.

"Yeah I know," I sighed leaning back into his hold. He really had been the best thing and he had quite literally saved my life, both physically and mentally. Our relationship had never felt forced, we'd just naturally fallen for one another, but if I was being honest I would never have imagined to be where I was today three months ago.

-Three Months Earlier-

-Third person-

"This is a trauma call for an eta of ten minutes," a voice came over the Emergency Department intercom.

"I hate trauma calls," Brian sighed as he got geared up, placing the label that declared him to be team leader onto his protective gown, before pulling a fresh pair of gloves on to replace the ones he had just used to help stitch up a little girl's head after she took a tumble.

"Is the bed all ready?" he asked, ducking his head around the curtain of the only free bay in the department. It had been one of those nights, and it was only eight, meaning that he was only two hours into a twelve-hour shift.

"Almost," his college, and fellow critical care doctor, Connor spoke as he wheeled the crash cart into place, and situated the supplies draw.

"What do we know so far?" Michael, another doctor asked, coming to stand by the other two doctors.

"Adult female, hit and run, while crossing the street." Connor spoke, while glancing down to check his watch for the time remaining before they were set to arrive.

"That sounds nasty," Michael commented, wincing slightly in sympathy. "It's a good thing the nurses decided to page Ortho I suppose, it sounds like you'll be needing my expertise," he turned to face his colleague.

"I hate to stay it, but I'd have to agree," Brian replied, sharing a knowing look with the other two doctors.

All three of them knew that pedestrian hit and runs where never good, and there was a high rate of critical injuries sustained, and of course these were usually inflicted on the innocent party. They didn't speak for several minutes, each fidgeting, just wanting to start helping the poor girl already. They didn't say it, but they knew it wouldn't be pretty. This has been confirmed when they got a message via one of the nurses, saying that Shawn, one of their friends and fellow colleague, and, emergency care physician was on route to the scene of the accident after the paramedics requested his help. This was not something that happened ogten, and only when completely necessary. The hospital liked to keep Ashton there as his expertise was so useful in many of the situations that the department faced.

-Ellen-

All I could feel was pain. Pain everywhere. Every inch of my body was hurting.

I tried to piece together how I had come to be here, but was met with some unknown resistance when I tried to turn my head, and survey my surroundings. "Stay still honey. We're going to get you to the hospital shortly, but just bear with us okay," a voice spoke from somewhere above my head. It was then that I became aware of the hands touching me, and instinctively I tried to pull away. "Dave, I think It'll be best to sedate her for the time being," a different voice spoke. That was the last thing I was aware of before I woke to bright lights, and calm, but still somehow urgent, voices.

-Third Person-

When Shawn and Dave arrived on scene, it was worse then they had expected. The poor girl was laying in the middle of what would normally be a busy street, onlookers everywhere watching with baited breath. "Can we move some of these guys out of here?" Shawn asked one of the many police officers that were standing around, waiting for direction. The last thing his patient needed was an audience when they were completely defenceless.

When they finally managed to push their way through the crowd of people, and get the relevant equipment set up, it was to find that things were much more complicated and critical then they had first thought.

"What do we know?" Dave, the paramedic on the case asked.

"They've not been able to give us much, but they're saying that someone ran a red, hit her, and took off. They're trying to run the plates now, track the person down," a burly police officer spoke. " I'll leave you guys to it," he spoke, patting them both on the shoulder, before getting up and going to help the other officers control the swelling crowds,"

As they both surveyed the situation, the injuries were clear to see. The girl had dislocated her left shoulder, broken her collarbone, and from the blood soaking through her pants and the angle of her right ankle, she had a compound fracture. Perhaps more concerning though was the blood that was fishing from a open head wound above her eyebrow, and flowing from her nose. The latter was usually a sign of internal bleeding.

"Hello?" Shawn spoke, as Dave started getting the collar ready. "If you can hear me, give my hand a squeeze okay," he continued slipping his gloved hand into the girl's bloody one, and praying there was a response.

After a moment there was, and they both thanked the heavens.

"Sweetheart, my name is Shawn, I'm a doctor, and this is Dave. Can you remember your name?" Shawn asked, leaning down in the hopes of hearing the young woman's response.

"Ellen," she whispered. It was barley there, but it was still a response.

"Okay Ellen, this is going to be uncomfortable, but we need to put this collar on you so that you don't hurt your neck or back okay. And then we'll get you to the hospital," Dave reassured her, before going about fixing the hard plastic to the girl. Both the medics had had to put the collar on to experience what it was like for the patients, and it was uncomfortable to say the least. Neither one could fathom how bad it would be to have injuries on top of this.

They both felt dreadful when Ellen started trying to claw at the collar, desperately trying to get it off, tears flooding down her bloody face.

"I know sweets, it's okay," Shawn tried to comfort her once they were in the ambulance and had hooked her up to an I.V. with pain medication.

"Shawn, I think It'll be best to sedate her for the time being," he informed his partner, getting the sedative ready.

"Can you check her vitals again please?" he requested, "And get some oxygen on her for good measure," he added, before stepping out of the ambulance and heading to the driver's side. "I think she's stable enough to go," he added, before starting towards the hospital with lights and sirens on, indicating that this was a life-threatening situation.

In the back of the vehicle, Shawn was going about checking her pupil reaction, which turned out to be slow, indicating a moderate concussion. After this, he placed a mask on the girl, ensuring that the saturation levels were as high as possible, as after attaching her to the relative monitors, it was found that she was only satting a 80%.

Finally, he went about checking the heart and lungs, and by this point they were beginning to pull into the hospital, which relieved the medic immensely.

They were met with a team of people at the entrance, Shawn was glad to see this included his three colleagues, Michael, Connor and Brian.

"What do we have?" Brian asked, stepping behind the gurney to help Shawn push it now that Dave had left on a new call.

"This is Ellen, she was hit by a car side-on while crossing the road. She's got a dislocated shoulder, broken collar bone and a compound fracture to the ankle. Possible internal bleeding and concussion. The paramedic also found some swelling, possibly indicating spleen bruising. Lacerations to the head, with nasal bleeding. Her BP is low, same with heart rate, lungs sound normal, standard dose of pain medication given on route." He finished as they made it to the bay that had been set up before their arrival.

"Okay, I want a CT, scan of the head and abdomen and spine, and can someone get me an ultrasound machine, stat, and in the mean time let's get her hooked moved on the the bed so we can start preliminary examinations. On my count!" Brian commanded, directing the team in transferring her safely to the hospital bed.

-Ellen-

The first thing I was aware of when I came to be was the bright lights above me, making me want to shut my eyes again almost instantly. After this, it was an annoying tickling sensation on my face. I moved my hand to try and swipe it away, but was met with resistance.

"Leave it there, Ellen," a calm voice spoke. A young man came into view then. "My name is Brian I'm one of the doctors looking after you, do you know where you are?"

"In the hospital," I answered, beginning to feel overwhelmed at the gravity of the situation, which was only made worse when I realised I couldn't move anything apart from my arms.

"Just try to stay nice and calm for me, you'll be fine, we just need to do a few tests and then we should be able to get you out of this contraption," he smiled sympathetically.

"Shawn?" he called. Another youngish looking doctor, this time with tanned skin, dark hair curly hair and several visible tattoos came over.

"You called?" he asked, before turning to me. "Hi Ellen, my names Shawn," he introduced himself with a smile, "I'm another one of the doctors."

"I want to roll her to do a spinal check,"

"No problem, so on three, I'm going to roll you onto your side and Brian is going to check for sensation." He explained to me, seeing the confusion I was feeling.

A few minutes later, they determined that my spine was fine, and this was confirmed by scans they had done when I was out, that came back fine.

"There you go, that's got to feel better," Shawn smiled, readjusting the blankets to provide me with more modesty.

"Ellen, are you in any pain?" Brian asked, coming over and shining a small light in my eyes.

"My tummy is really sore, and my shoulder and chest area," I told him.

"Okay, I'll get the nurse to increase the hourly dosage, there's no reason you should be in pain. You'll probably still be a little sore though, you've got a bruised spleen, which given time will heal, but you'll be tender for a while. As for your chest, you broke your collar bone on impact. We've put your arm into a sling to help limit the movement and give it an opportunity to heal. You did dislocate your other shoulder though, and we're going to have to put it back into place- don't worry though, we've got Michael doing it for you, and we're going to dose you up so you won't remember a thing," he laughed, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

"You needed me?" yet another doctor walked in, dyed blonde hair, sitting across his face. "Sorry," he added, "There was an emergency in the pit,"

"Ellen, this is Michael, are you ready?" Shawn asked.

"Mmmmm?" I responded unsure.

"You'll be fine," he responded, going to adjust my meds.

To the say that the process was painful would be the understatement of the year, and I may have called all three of them some uncomplimentary names, but after the fact I got some immediate relief.

The rest of the night was spent getting my many cuts stitched up, with the doctors, helping to keep me distracted by talking to me about my everyday life. I ended up in tears when I was introduced to Shawn again,apparently I'd met him a few times before, but I really couldn't remember, who I was told was one of the main people who got me to the hospital. "It's okay," he had spoken, giving me a gentle hug. "It's what we do!" he smiled, grabbing a tissue and wiping the tears off my face.

"They told me you're studying vet science?" he asked, sitting down on a chair next to the bed Connor another doctor and Brian went back to stitching me up. I felt my whole face break into a smile.

"Yep, I'm already a certified carer, but I wanted to take the next step,"

"I really admire that," he told me, "Hopefully we'll be able to get that ankle of yours fixed up first thing tomorrow and onto the road of recovery." he spoke, referring to the compound fracture in my ankle that Shawn had told me about not long after I woke. Admittedly, I had thrown up when he told me what a compound fracture was, and had gone into a panic when he explained it would need surgery, but he had calmed me quickly.

"You'll be fine, you've got the best Ortho in the place working on you, Michael. You won't know anything happened once he's done, and you're all healed.

The coming weeks were filled with highs and lows, the surgery went well, and there was no post op infection, something that made all the doctors very happy, however the pain was almost unbearable at times, and they had to give me multiple pep talks to get me through it. I did it though, we their help.

The experience had helped to shape me, and when it was finally time to leave, I knew that I was leaving with four new friends.

But the one person I could always count on was Shawn. He helped me through everything, physio appointments, monthly reviews but above everything else he was a shoulder to lean on, someone to cry to when things got tough. And I guess through all of that our relationship had blossomed without us even realising. But one thing was for sure...

-Present Day-

I turned smiling now, as Shawn looked down at me I uttered the five words that meant so much to me.

"You save me from Ruin."

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

Deliverance| A Werewolf Shawn AU

Part One🐺

Part Two🐺

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

A Knight to Remember

"Remember when we met?" I murmured, picking at Shawn's scrubs as I lay on his chest. I hadn't been feeling well all day with my monthly cycle so when Shawn had come home he'd sweetly offered to order dinner in and have a movie night, despite having things he probably really needed to do.

"Mmhhh," he responded, hand playing with my hair, massaging my scalp, as he watched the film we'd put on. "I was your knight in shining armour." I could head the playful teasing behind it,but it was true, if he hadn't been there that night,I don't know what would have happened to me.

I could feel the tears welling in my eyes,overflowing and rolling down my cheeks landing on the light blue material attached to Shawn's body.

"Why are you crying baby?" Shawn asked,sitting up. I could see the worry etched into his face as he looked at me.

I shrugged,I didn't know why I was crying. Was it because if my period, was it because I didn't feel well or was it because I would never be able to repay Shawn for what he did for me that night.

...

1 year ago

When I came to, I didn't know where I was, or how long I had been there. What I did know was that I was freezing, and in more pain than I had ever been before. I lay there for what must have been at least a few more minutes before finally building up the courage to open my eyes. When I did, I found myself crumpled at the back of a dark stone alley, but I couldn't remember where exactly I was, or even how I had come to be there.

More than the pain that was now beginning to radiate from every part of my body- my legs, my chest, my head, even my eyes... how can my eyes be hurting? I wondered... I was concerned about the obvious gaps in my memory. Putting this thought aside I tried to take inventory of how bad my injuries were. I tried to wiggle my toes, and was immediately rewarded with a sharp shot of pain that ran straight up my leg, and into my lower back. At least I could feel my legs I thought, mentally sighing.

It was then that it began to rain, blood running from an unknown source into my mouth. I couldn't help but panic at the thought that there was a very real possibility that I may not be found. But how was I going to get someone, anyone for that matter to notice me?

This thought was interrupted by voices, male voices.

"So how was your shift? Mine was crazy, broken bones, crying kids, one of my residents even got bitten by a kid today," one of the men laughed.

"Mine was pretty chilled actually, but I'm not going to lie, I'll be glad to get these scrubs off and switch off 'doctor mode' for a few hours," the other one replied.

Somewhere between the haze of the pain and cold my brain comprehended the fact that this person had just said 'doctor', something which I knew, even with my limited knowledge of medicine- most of which was thanks to Grey's Anatomy- was something I needed right now.

Before I could think, I found myself screaming out for help, granted it was less of a scream and more of a horse grunt, but it got their attention and the two men were soon kneeling beside me. One tall and brunette,with curls the other shorter, but more built with wavy blonde hair.

"Hi honey, my name is Shawn, the brunette one said, and this is Connor, we're doctors at the hospital, we're going to help you okay, but I need you to tell me where it hurts okay" he asked, gently resting a hand on my arm, pulling a bag off his shoulder which I had not noticed.

As Shawn was rummaging around in his bag, Connor, came over to take my hand. "Hi sweetheart, I'm just going to take your pulse, can you remember anything that happened? Where you are or even your name?" he questioned, before going quiet. "Pulse is fast, but irregular, I'm going to go call for an ambulance, and let the guys know we'll be needing their help. We need to get her warmed up too, she's freezing," he spoke, rubbing my arm, before standing and making a call. Probably calling whoever 'the guys' were.

"I'm just going to test a few things before we get you to hospital and I need you to tell me if anything is painful okay?" The man- Shawn asked with a soft smile. I went to nod, but he reached for my head, stopping the action. "Just keep nice and still for us, we don't know what damage you've done, and we don't want to make anything worse. How about thumbs up for yes and thumbs down for no?" he suggested. I went to nod again, but caught myself, and gave him thumbs up instead.

"Okay, so I'm going to shine this light in your eyes," he explained, holding up what I recognised as a pen light from all the medical dramas I watched. "It might be a little bit uncomfortable, but it's important that we check this stuff out, so we know what we're working with," he finished, smiling sympathetically again, in the half light of the dim alley. "Just follow the light, but remember, don't move your head."

I did so, and he was right, it was uncomfortable, but I put up with it.

"The guys said they'll be here in five minutes, and they've put in a trauma call for an eta of twenty minutes." I couldn't help but jump at the voice that was suddenly right next to me. "Sorry darling, didn't mean to startle you," Connor apologised, reaching for my hand, and giving it a squeeze.

"Awesome," Shawn replied, clearly eager to get me to the hospital. "The sooner we can get her in the E.R.,the better, her pupils are uneven and slightly slower than I'd like."

"While we're waiting we may as well do the rest of her vitals. Have you got the rest of your kit? Normally I leave mine in my locker, but I guess it was somewhat of a happy accident I took it with me," Connor smiled down at me, before grabbing a stethoscope out of a bag which I had not noticed he had either. "Before I check your airways, can you remember your name yet? How old you are?"

I thought for a moment, which was much harder work then it should have been. "Grace..." I started, a little unsure.

"Great, well it's lovely to meet you Grace, can you tell me how old you are?"

"Twenty."

"Perfect," he praised. "Well that's a start." he nodded to himself, before moving to put the metal of his stethoscope to my chest. "Sorry hon," he apologised when I shivered from the cold of it.

They were both quiet for a moment, Connor listening to my chest, and Shawn doing something down by my legs. "Her breathing is shallow and uneven, sounds to me like there could be a collapsed lung, but we won't know for sure until we get x-rays," Connor told Shawn, pulling the metal away from my body.

"Grace," Shawn called, "Can you feel this?" he asked. I could feel him running his finger along the bottom of my foot, though I didn't know where my shoe had gone.

"Um, yeah."

"And this?" he continued up my leg, to a point I felt no pain, and then I was in the most pain I had ever been in.

"Ow! Ow! Stop, stop, please!" I begged, tears flooding down my face, as I tried desperately to pull away.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, I'm all done." he reassured me, moving back to my head, and wiping away the tears that were beginning to soak my clothing with gloved hands. "Connor, she's got a compound fracture to the fibula on her left side. Grace if you had to rate your pain, one being nothing, and ten being unbearable what would you say?" he asked.

"Ten," I whispered, trying to compose myself, before anyone else saw me crying.

"We'll get Brian to check it out when they get here, I can hear them now." Shawn was right, I could hear a faint siren in the distance which rose to an incessant blaring as an ambulance pulled up.

"Hi guys, what have we got?" I heard a new voice ask. They sounded cheerful, and oddly calm. Basically, everything that I wasn't at that moment.

"This is Grace, she's twenty, we found her here, she has no memory of what happened. She's got a slight concussion, with a suspected partially collapsed lung, compound fracture to the fibula- left leg and possible broken ribs. Possible internal bleeding as well, pain rating ten out of ten." Shawn recalled quickly.

"Hi Grace, my name's Brian," the man spoke appearing above my head. "And this guy here is Dave," he added, pointing to another person with tan skin, several tattoos and dark hair. "We're doctors at the hospital and we work with these two guys that you already know." As Brian explained, Dave got up, only to appear seconds later with a massive bag, and a board.

It was at this point that I was starting to become drowsy, which Shawn quickly noticed, tapping my face lightly to get a response. "Grace, we need you to stay awake okay, I know it's hard, but it's important you try. Dave has the spinal board so what we're going to do is splint this leg and then get you onto the board."

I didn't' respond, tiredness sweeping over me like a thick fog. From then on everything was hazy. I could hear the odd thing, but it was like I was under water.

...

When I woke, it was to bright lights and a painful swaying motion. I tried to shift, to alleviate some of my discomfort, but was meet with a hard, cold surface under me.

"Welcome back, we were starting to get worried there, we'll be about five minutes, and then hopefully we'll be able to get you slightly more comfortable." Shawn spoke from a seat at head of the bed I was laying on.

"Let's run some pain meds," I heard someone request, Dave I thought.

"On it," Brian spoke, from where he sat next to me. "Grace, I'm going to put an I.V. in okay, it'll just be a sharp scratch and then it's over,yeah?" he tried to appease me. I wasn't aware of it immediately, but I must have started to hyperventilate, because I found myself getting dizzy, and suddenly Connor was taking a mask off that one of them must have put on me while I was out.

"Just take deep breaths, Brian's a pro okay?" he smiled, taking my hand in a silent act of comfort.

Connor was right,Brian was a pro and soon enough I found some of the pain drifting away.

...

When we got to the hospital, I was metwith more bright lights, and lots of noise. No one ever tells you how loud a hospital emergency department is, and at that point in time, all I wanted to do was sleep!

After several random people, nurses I think had finished hooking me up to monitors, and had changed me into a gown- an embarrassing process in which I'm sure I managed to flash all four of the doctors, Connor insisted on getting x-rays and an MRI and CT scan, to look at the break in my leg. I hadn't seen it, but twenty minutes after the scans had come back declaring I had no life-threatening brain damage, Shawn came to inform me that it would indeed need surgery, which only caused more tears.

He was quick to assure me that he would be there throughout the whole process, something which I found mildly panic relieving, but it didn't change the fact that I was still having to go into surgery. Why was medicine so much less glamourous and fun in real life than on T.V? I wondered as he started attaching me to electrodes,"For an ECG," he explained when I looked at him questioningly from my stagnant position on the bed.

I did find a small ray of hope in the deluge of bad news, in that I didn't have any spinal damage, which meant I could have the stupid collar taken off, and be removed from the back board.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Dave asked, coming to stand next to the bed after Shawn and Connor had managed to get me back onto the normal bed, somehow doing so without causing me additional pain.

"Ummm?" I started, before laughing meaning that I dissolved into a fit of coughing, resulting in an intense burning throughout my chest.

"Just take a few breaths, no rush," Brian spoke, picking up my hand, taking my pulse again, as Shawn listened to my breathing again.

"Okay, there's definitely some damage, but it should repair itself in time. The important thing will be rest."

"Grace are you feeling light-headed at all?" Brian asked, a slight frown on his face, as he dropped my hand and turned to look at the monitor.

"No,why?" I asked.

"Because your pulse is fast, and your blood-pressure is high, nothing to worry about, probably just the stress of the situation, but we need to keep an eye on it is all."

"Oh okay,"

"So back to what we were saying before," Connor started. "Good news is, there's no signs of internal bleeding on any of the scans, but your leg on the other hand is a little more complicated, you'll probably need plates, and physio for sure."

"How long will it take to heal?" I asked, feeling dread bubbling up to the surface of my thinking.

"It really depends, on a couple of things. How bad it is, what your pain levels are like with the physio, and so on. But roughly, at least six months." He broke to me slowly, looking at me with sympathy in his eyes.

After that it was all a bit of a blur, the stress of the event finally starting to catch up with me. I woke up some time after the surgery, in a cast and traction, something which I was not happy with... especially when I realised that it meant that I would be relying on bed pans and sponge baths for the foreseeable future.

The coming days were easier, except for a particularly bad reaction to a pain killer Shawn gave me on the second night, which caused nasty bed spins, with vomiting thrown in. Luckily for me, he was a pro at dealing with things like this, and it was nothing out of the ordinary for a normal shift as an Intensive Care physician he reassured me, as my face burned in embarrassment when the nurse had to change my gown, due to sick getting on it. It was the absolute last thing I would have wanted to happen in front of someone like Shawn. When I'd first come in,I hadn't realised just how good looking he was, but oh my god, was he gorgeous, tall and muscular with curls that seemed to fall perfectly- a few resting on his forehead despite him constantly pushing them back. He was sweet too, always going out of his way to make sure I was okay, that I was as comfortable as I could be.

---

They pieced together when I was in surgery, that I had definitely been involved in a hit and run, something which they had concluded in my initial assessment unbeknownst to me when they found a series of tyre marks across my abdomen. They were sure to tell me just how lucky I was to get away with the injuries I did. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at this, and so ended up doing some of both.

Each day was easier than the last, and my mood was raised when my parents arrived, from arrived in Toronto all the way from Sydney, my home, which I had remembered after the concussion had subsided.

Eventually I could start rehabilitation, having to relearn how to use my leg, something which wasn't always easy, but they guys were always there to support me, and would supple a constant stream on bad jokes to keep my mind off the pain.

When it came to leaving day, as excited as I was I was also sad, I had formed bonds with these guys, especially Shawn, and they had literally given me my life back, something which I would also be grateful for. Little did I know that just over a year later I'd be laying on Shawn's chest as comfortable as could be, having been dating for a bit over nine months.

...

Present day

"Why are you crying Gracie?" he asked again, wiping away a tear with the pad of his thumb.

"I'm just so tired," I sniffled,hugging him more, craving the comfort and warmth he provided.

"How about a bath and an early night?" he suggested.

"Will you join?" I pleaded with my best puppy dog eyes.

He sighed, he hated baths and I knew it, but I needed him with me tonight, I was feeling emotional and vulnerable and he was the only one that could make it better.

"Only because it's you Princess," he smiled, shaking his head, before bending down and attaching his lips to mine in a long tender kiss.

"Love you," I smiled as he wrapped his arms around me again, creating the cacoon of warmth that I loved so much.

"Love you more."

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

From Unpredictability Comes Strength

Are you sure you're okay babe?" Shawn, my boyfriend asked as he walked over to the bed where I was currently laying curled up.

"I'm sure, still exhausted from the jet lag, and my period is giving me grief," I told him causing him to pout. Most girls my age would probably cringe at the thought of telling their boyfriend details about their period, but not me. See Shawn my boyfriend, my older brother Connor, and their friends Dave and Brian were all well respected doctors at the local hospital here in Toronto. That was part of reason for my moving from LA to Canada, I didn't want Shawn to loose such a good job, it was an added bonus that Connor and the other two guys also lived with us so I would get to see all of them.

"Okay," he agreed, though I could tell from the tone that he wasn't completely convinced.

"Call me if you need me, I get off at 6," he added before kissing my head and leaving the now empty house, the other having already left for the hospital.

Several hours later, and the pain just wasn't getting any better. I had always had bad periods. They were made especially bad though by a cyst that I had on my left ovary, something which when I asked my old doctor about she had told me that there was nothing that could be done short of some pain relief. I had tried everything though, hot packs, cold packs, a bath, even drinking green tea, (which I hated) to no avail. Finally I decided that I would try going for a short walk, as I heard that exercise could alleviate pain.

While on the walk I got a call from Shawn, "Babe come home, we all got off early so we're having a family dinner, " he spoke.

"Be there soon, I love you," I told him, before turning around and jogging home. As I went to cross the road, a dog came out of nowhere, and me being deathly afraid of them as I was tried to avoid it, by running the other way only to mis-step and fall directly into gravel. Unfortunately for me, I ended up skinning my knees and as I stood, groaning from the painful sting tht was now emanating from my limbs I realised there was dirt caught in them. Great, just great, I thought as I made my way home slowly, tears falling as I tried to ignore (and failed) how much pain I was in.

"Ana!" Brian called coming over to greet me with a hug. "How was your run?" He asked stepping back to look at me. "Wait, " He paused looking at me more closely. "Ana, you're crying, and bleeding, " he spoke as he looked me up and down before spotting my bloody knees.

" Shawn, " he called, looking over his shoulder to the kitchen where I could hear the other guys all laughing.

"Hi babe, " he started before noticing my knees as Brian had moments earlier and pouted.

"Let me see Princess," he spoke as he helped me into the kitchen and lifted me onto the bench.

"Aw, Poppet, what happend?" My brother asked when he saw me crying as Shawn gently examined my wounds.

"There was a dog." I shivered. I hated dogs except for Tarzan. "So I ran but I tripped." I hiccuped as I tried to slow my breathing.

"One Dr. Brian at your service," Bring sang as he reappeared holding the household first aid box, pulling out tweezers, antiseptic spray, gauze, tape, bandages, cream and pills. "I'm just going to remove the dirt, clean them and then I'll bandage them up. " He explained as he positioned my leg so the kitchen lights were directly above him. "Hold Shawn and Connor's hands for me okay, this will probably hurt."

He wasn't lying it feel like fire was being rubbed into my wounds, and I found myself biting my lip to try and stop myself from crying out loud.

"Nearly done hon," Brian soothed patting my leg as he washed out the last little bits of dirt. A minute later, he stepped back with a smile.

"The worst part is over now Princess," Shawn whispered in my ear, causing me to loosen my grip on their hands just a little. I still clung to them as Brian bandaged them up though, needing the physical contact.

"And you, my fair lady, are all finished," he smiled as he tucked the last bit of bandage in. "You'll need to get me or one of the guys to change it daily for three or so days, but other than that you'll be fine. "

"Thanks Brian," I whispered reaching to give him a hug.

"Ready to get down babe?" Shawn asked, going to grab my hands again.

"Can you just hold me for a minute?" I asked feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Of course. " He smiled before wrapping me in a warm embrace, and allowing me to rest my head in the crook of his neck. "Are you okay? " he asked when I sniffed.

"Mmm," My response was muffled, but they must have heard it because Connor was the next one to speak.

"Why are you so upset Bug?" he asked, using my childhood nickname.

"I don't know!" I cried. "I'm not sleeping because of the jet lag. I'm in pain and now this." I threw my hands up.

"Tell you what, " Connor started. "you have a shower then we'll have dinner and you and your other half-" he gestured to Shawn "can go have sappy cuddles on the couch. How does that sound?" He ruffled my hair softly as he spoke before returning to the cooking.

Fifteen minutes later, I came back down the stairs wearing one of Shawn's old Zeppelin shirts, it reaching my knees and drowning me, but I didn't care. It was comfortable, and it smelt like his aftershave.

"Feeling any better Princess?" he asked coming over and kissing my forehead

"A little," I spoke. Sighing as I leant into his hold. Truth was I was feeling less of the period pain and more of a sharp ache now. But I wasn't going to tell them that, all four of them would be swarming around me like sea gulls if I did.

"I'm hungry," I spoke stealing a piece of tomato that Connor had placed on the counter to add to the salad.

He merely glared at me playfully, but didn't say anymore.

Half an hour later and we were all sat at dinner, the boys all chatting amongst themselves about their work days, discussing patients and funding. While I just pushed my food around my plate, trying to ignore the now increasingly sharp pain radiating from my stomach.

"Ana are you okay?" Dave asked worriedly, watching as I pushed my plate away.

" I don't feel good," I spoke, before grimicing in pain as a particularly bad cramp took hold.

"Dont feel good how?" Shawn asked as he came over to where I was sitting, two seats down from him, bending down.

"Just make it stop," I groaned, reaching for my stomach.

"Make what stop Princess?" he asked, searching my face, and rubbing my leg trying to comfort me.

"The pain, it's like there's a knife there!" I cried, leaning into him and breathing heavily.

"Do you think you can stand up?" Brian asked, coming over to help Shawn support me as I slumped in my chair.

I stood slowly feeling extremely shaky before nearly collapsing as dizziness took over.

"Ana you went for a run right?" Dave asked, coming to stand by my side, taking my wrist so he could take my pulse.

I nodded my head, trying to slow my breathing as the room kept spinning.

"Shit, her pulse is racing, bring her over to the couch." he told Shawn before leaving the room.

Shawn and Dave both held me tightly as we moved slowly. I could barely lift my legs as every time I did pain took hold. "Okay, lay back babe," Shawn spoke as he helped me sit down, and situated me between his legs as he sat behind me.

"Right, Ana where is the pain?" Dave questioned coming to kneel down beside the couch.

"Right here, " I spoke pointing to my left side.

"I'm just going to feel," he spoke as he hiked my shirt up to just under my chest.

Everyone was quiet as Dave concentrated, moving around to press on different sections of my stomach. Finally he said "It is a bit swollen. Do you have any pain in your back or thighs?"

I looked back at Shawn, confused. "If the cyst on your ovary has ruptured or is close to, it can cause pain in the back and thighs," he explained, helping me to pull my shirt back down.

I nodded causing him sigh.

"We'll try some heat, maybe have a bath okay, the water may help to soothe it," Dave added before standing up and taking my wrist again. "Your heart rate is a little high, but we'll just keep an eye on you." He smiled, as Shawn scooped me up into his arms, and carried me up the stairs to our ensuite.

"Arms up Princess, do you want bubbles?" he asked as he deposited me onto the closed toilet seat and helped me remove my clothing.

"Please?" I asked, watching as he grabbed my favourite bath lotion, and poured a generous amount in.

"Here we go. In you get," he spoke as he helped me into the tub. The difference was almost immediate.

"I think it's time my little invalid gets out," Shawn whispered after about twenty minutes of me just laying back in the water, and letting him massage my scalp from where he sat next to the tub.

"Okay," I agreed, taking his hand as he helped me out of the bath slowly.

It was a slow process getting dressed, as I couldn't make any sudden movements, but Shawn was patient. "There," he said finally. "Snug as a bug, " He had not only redressed me into the shirt I had stolen from him, but had gone and gotten a sweater that he had left lying about and pulled it on me. "Can't have you getting cold little one," he laughed, before pecking my lips.

"It's freezing!" I agreed, as we made our way down the stairs.

"How's my patient?" Dave asked as Shawn placed me gently onto the sofa, covering me with a quilt.

"Sore," I replied, pouting, causing him to laugh.

"Here, this might help," Connor called walking in from the kitchen and placing a heating pad on my stomach.

"Thanks Con," I yawned, readjusting myself so that I could lay against Shawn's side as he squished onto the sofa beside me.

"Get some sleep babe," he whispered, "You need it." He didn't need to tell me twice, it was about three seconds and I was out like a light.

...

When I woke I wasn't sure what time it was, but I was no longer in the couch, instead Shawn had taken me up stairs and tucked me into the bed, and judging by the lack of light and the soft snores coming from Shawn as he slept soundly beside me, it was much later.

Unfortunately for me, there was no way that I was getting back to sleep any time soon, as the pain that had been uncomfortable, but bearable earlier was now causing me agony. So much so that I was literally feeling nauseous.

"Ana, are okay?" Shawn asked, talking into my neck, sleep thick in his muffled voice.

I didn't answer, trying to focus on not passing out.

"Ana," he sighed, as I just sat there crying grabbing fist fulls of sheet as each wave of pain came over me. Sitting up and switching on the lamp beside the bed, he rubbed my arm softly.

"Hold on I'll get the guys." He got up, before quickly exiting the room. A minute or so later I heard the sound of him knocking on the other's doors, and tired voices.

"It's worse? " Dave confirmed, walking into the room closely followed by Shawn, Brian and Connor.

"It never hurts this much, it's so bad!" I cried, pressing on my stomach, wanting the pain gone. I could feel a stronger wave of nausea just as Shawn bent down so that he was at my level, Connor coming to sit with me on the bed as he saw me gag, holding my hair back just in case.

" I'm gonna be sick!" I gasped holding my hand on my mouth, feeling the bile rise.

"Okay, just a second, Bri's gone to get a bucket bub," Shawn soothed coming to rub small circles in my back.

Finally just as I nearly let myself be sick on the bed, Connor spoke, "Here let it all out, " he soothed rubbing my back as Brian held a bucket beneath me that he must have bolted to get from somewhere. I was thankful though, as I could no longer hold it.

After a few minutes, I was able to catch my breath, though I still lay there sweaty and dazed.

"Here, come here Princess." Shawn motioned for me to shuffle over, so he could wipe my face down with a wet washer he had gone and gotten from out bathroom.

"I bleed on the bed," I cried, embarrassed as I shifted and felt the leak, before seeing the masive red stain on the once white sheet

" It's okay, it's normal to have heavy bleeding when a cyst is inflamed. Honestly, we see blood every day babe," Shawn soothed, as he pushed my messy hair out of my face "Besides, they're just sheets, worst case, we'll chuck them out."

"I feel horrible," I groaned letting my head fall onto Shawn's arms half an hour later, when even after a dose of strong pain killers I could barely move.

"Do you want to try sitting in the shower?" Brian suggested as he came back into the room after going to put the dirty sheets in the washer.

"Will it help?" I asked unsure.

"It might," Dave nodded, "The constant stream of warm water may help to loosen some of the muscles in your back and help with the pain and nausea. It's worth a try. "

"Okay," I agreed, watching as Dave stood up and came to stand at the side of the bed.

He held out a hand, helping to support me as Shawn pulled me into an upright position. The room spun a little, and I could feel myself swaying slightly but I managed to stay standing. "Just move very slowly, Ana, no sudden movements honey." Dave grimaced in sympathy as my face tensed with pain as I stepped forward. "

It's okay. We've got you. Breathe Ana. Just breathe," Shawn encouraged as we finally made it to the bathroom.

... Two hours later...

I had sat on the tiled floor of the shower cubicle for almost two hours now, yet nothing was changing and I was miserable. All I wanted to do was sleep. Shawn had sat with me the whole time, holding me gently under the water, not caring that his clothes were now soaked.

"Shawnie I feel dizzy," I told him trying to stay awake. "And my stomach is burning," I groaned, trying to ignore the hot feeling that was now taking over my tummy.

He took my wrist in his hand, before gently taking my pulse.

"Ana we need to go to the hospital honey," he spoke before leaning me against the glass door of the shower and standing up.

"No please can't you just do what you need to do here," I begged crying. I hated hospitals, and he knew it, it had been that way my entire 22 years of life.

"Shhh, calm down," he consoled before calling out to the others. "Dave, Brian, Connor!"

The looks of pity on all of their faces as they stepped into the room and took in my bedraggled state was too much for me to handle.

"Oh Ana, buddy, " Brian sighed, before bending down and helping Shawn to stand me up.

"We need to go to the hospital, she's dizzy her pulse is at 130 a minute, she's in more pain than before, she told me a minute ago that her stomach was burning, and she's bleeding more than she should be. I think it may have burst," he told the others as he wrapped a towel around my wet-clothed body.

"Burns," I whimpered as we made our way downstairs, me in my brother's arms, allowing Shawn to run and change into dry clothes.

I heard them muttering amongst themselves, not making out much more than medical word: inflammation and gastritis, and then I was tuning them out.

I couldn't help the tears as we made the short drive to the hospital, me laying across Connor and Shawn's laps.

"I know bub, we'll sort it out okay. But just focus in staying calm. The more upset you are, the worse you'll feel," Connor explained rubbing my stomach softly.

-Connor-

I felt horrible as I watched my little sister in pain, desperately clinging to Shawn as we pulled into the staff carpark. Luckily for us Shawn and I worked as critical care doctors in the ICU while Brian and Dave ran the ER, meaning we could just go straight in, not having to worry about admissions, and insurance just yet.

"I thought you were off tonight? It's been one hell of a night!" Nancy one of the nurses spoke as we walked in.

"We were, but Ana has a burst cyst," I spoke pointing to Shawn who held her in his arms as we walked towards the only available exam room.

Nancy frowned sympathetically, before walking back to the nurses station "You'll need to run it, no doctors available," she called.

Normally we won't treat relatives but she was high priority and as Nancy had said there was no one else there.

"Right Ana I need to run some tests honey, I'm going to get Shawn to change you into this," Dave spoke holding out a gown, as Shawn placed my sister onto the exam table gently.

Once that was done Brian came over, setting up the portable ultra sound machine next to the bed.

"So I'm just going to put some gel on your stomach, and have a look okay. It might be a little uncomfortable so I apologise in advance."

She whimpered slightly, grabbing Shawn's hand as Brian pressed the wand down."

"I know I'm sorry, " he apologised as he continued to move it around, finally he stopped, zooming in.

"Here it is, you've got a burst cyst on your left ovary that's why it's hurting so much. When you were running the exertion must have caused it to burst. It also looks as though you have evidence of gastritis too."

"What's that?" she asked looking to me for help.

"Its inflammation of the stomach lining, that's the burning you were feeling. We'll run some more tests though, just to be sure-"

He was interrupted as he spoke by one of the nurses poking her head around the curtin.

"Dr. Craigen would you be able to consult in triage?"

"No," he answered politely. "I'm currently busy looking after a personal patient."

Ana laughed once she had left. "Can you do that? Just ignore?"

"For you, yes, you're our most important patient." He winked. " Good news," he added, " There's no twist, so no surgery but it did burst, and you have lost some blood. So I would like to admit you so we can give you fluids and pain relief," he explained causing her nose to crinkle in distaste.

-Ana-

"Can Shawn stay?" I asked worried that I'd be stuck here by myself.

"I'm not going anywhere Princess," he reassured, me, coming to sit on the side of the bed with me.

Half an hour later and I'd been officially admitted and hooked up to a blood pressure machine, oximeter, and an I.V. with pain meds which was working wonders.

"How you feeling now Princess?" Shawn asked, looking at the machines briefly before focusing his attention back to me. We were now the only two in the room, Brian and Connor having gone to the Cafeteria for much needed coffee, and Dave to check my previous file notes, not that I knew how he'd get a hold of them.

"I'm cold." I shivered, trying to burrow myself further into the too think blankets.

"Here, this should help," Shawn smiled, pulling one of his jumpers out of his bag and helping me into it.

There was a knock on the door, before Dave stepped into the room,a clipboard in hand. "Sorry to interupt guys." he apologised. "Ana, I need to ask you some routine questions," he spoke coming to sit next to the bed.

"Is there any chance you could be pregnant?" he asked seriously.

I blushed, "Ummm no," I laughed hiding my face in Shawn's shoulder.

"Sorry, this is just as awkward for you as it is for me. Trust me I don't want to know the details of one of my best mates private this. But this important," he explained smiling sympathetically.

"Well, no, trust me," I laughed, just wanting to move on.

"Okay. Well I'm going to do a blood draw just to rule a couple things out. Make sure nothing additional is going on."

"The doctor basically told me there was nothing she could do," I told him, watching as he grabbed all the necessary supplies.

"Well now that you're over here Dave will take care of you Princess," Shawn spoke kissing my head.

"You don't have to worry about a thing." Dave smiled before snapping on a pair of gloves and coming to sit next to me.

"Shawn move your fat bum so I can get this blood work done," he spoke, shoving Shawn off the bed with his hip where he had been sitting next to me.

"Sharp scratch Ana," he warned causing me to squeeze my eyes shut in anticipation. "Just stay nice and relaxed."

Several hours later,and nothing abnormal had shown up in my blood work, meaning that once my pain was under control I was free to go, however Dave did explain to me that he had seen evidence of gastritis as Connor had mentioned earlier a symptom of the strong medications I had been taking to manage my pain. I was prescribed an ant-acid, told to stay away from spicy food, and change medications to something a little less harsh.

"You also need to be on bed rest for a few days to give your stomach time to heal," Shawn had added, laughing when I whined in protest. He knew I hated being stuck immobile.

Days later I had been released on strict orders to rest, something which I reluctantly agreed to.

" I'm so glad your feeling better," Shawn said sitting next to me on the sofa, that had become my temporary home due to not being able to walk easily on my own.

"Well it wasn't exactly the way I wanted to spend my first few days here, but thank you guys," I spoke, looking to the other three who sat across from us. They all smiled. "Seriously. Hopefully this will be the start of a great new chapter! I can't wait to see what living in Canada brings," I shouted causing them all to laugh.

"What would I do without you babe?" Shawn chuckled, kissing me.

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

Doctor Shawn AU Masterlist 👨‍⚕️⚕️

💙Anything For My Favourite Girl/S.M

❤️Months in the Making/S.M

🧡Laughter is the Best Medicine/S.M

💚From Unpredictability Comes Strength/S.M

💜Thank you for Loving Me/S.M

💛 I'm Your Brother It's What I Do!/S.M

🖤A Little Piece of Art/S.M

💙A Late Night Call/S.M

❤️ I'll Always Be There For You/S.M

🧡Matters of the Heart/S.M

💚A Knight to Remember/S.M

💛My Heroes/S.M

🖤 I'll Always Protect the People I Love/S.M

💙Ruin/S.M

❤️ Isn't She Lovely?/S.M

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

A Little Piece of Art

The art gallery had always been one of Shawn's favourite places, he loved the colours, the textures, even the smell of the freshly painted canvases.

During his residency year of Emergency Medicine this love, had become something more, something sacred. His weekly visits to the local art galleries were the only chance he got to 'just be'. He found something so comforting in the way the colours melded together forming any number of unique patterns, the colours quietly, but boldly expressing the many emotions with fuelled the artist's work.

Maybe it was this that he connected with the most? Life as a medical resident was hectic, always ruled, by other people's, needs, wants, emotions, there never seemed to be time to address your own wants and needs. But time, at the art gallery, Shawn found, gave him an escape, a way to wonder off into a world of bright unchecked colour and vibrancy, away from the harsh unrelenting realities of people's all too often life-threatening and life-changing injuries, away from everything an everyone. Well everyone except one person that was.

He'd first met Auburn three years ago, it was a chance encounter, he wasn't meant to walk into that particular little gallery , and she wasn't meant to working that day, but as fate had it she was and he did.

They'd striked up a friendship fairly quickly, a mutual interest and respect for the works of art and the artist's behind them fuelled many hours of conversation. There had always been an unspoken, but undeniable chemistry between the two of them, but Shawn was busy with work and didn't want to drag someone else into that mess, and Auburn was just too shy to ask

When Shawn found out that Auburn was single, he was shocked. She was gorgeous, with long platinum blonde straight hair and the perfect figure, yet up close she had just the right amount of freckles scattered over the bridge of her nose, breaking the facade of perfection.

Auburn had been equally as confused when Shawn admitted that he too was single. She could understand the reasoning behind it, with a busy job and other commitments including a family that lived out of state, she couldn't however get over, but Shawn was gorgeous like some Greek God doctor-model who had just made his way from the runway and into her gallery. He was tall and lean, but muscular with tattoos scattering his hands and arms, deep brown eyes which seemed to reach your soul with the barest glace and a mop of perfectly kept brown curls- always tamed by hair product which Auburn longed to run her fingers through.

Two years and much flirting later and Shawn had finally gotten up the courage to ask her out l, to which she immediately agreed. He'd taken her to one of his favourite restaurants for dinner and they're talked for hours as if they'd known one another for a lifetime. Shawn told her about his hobbies, medicine was number one for which Auburn admired him for following his passions, closely followed by the guitar and ice hockey, not to mention family, he loved his family, Auburn found this to be an immediate turn-on as she too was close to her family although she couldn't get to see them as often as she liked l, they were across country and an art gallerist's wages certainly did not cover the cost of the ticket.

She found herself telling him all her most embarrassing stories from grade school when she's tripped and fallen into a muddy puddle bigger than she was in front of her entire class, and all about the time she'd been left to sit outside the movie theatre in 8th grade for two hours waiting for a date that would never show.

Shawn was furious at this, exclaiming that he would never do that to a girl, and anyone who would, was a coward, before downing the rest of his Tequila.

Admittedly by then they were both a little drunk and high on life and the presence of each other

When the evening ended Shawn walked Auburn home like the gentleman he was,turning to leave her and she made it to the doorstep, but something in him made him turn around causing him to crash into her body with the force of a truck as she too made her way to him. The two sharing a heated kiss before Auburn turned head down to hide the raging blush and wide smile that lit up her face and made her way inside.

From that moment the two had been inseperable, with Auburn moving into Shawn's condo- a far cry from the crusty old place she'd rented when she first got the city.

They'd done the whole meeting each other's families, both feeling completely at home and welcome, before a year later getting the happy news that they were expecting.

Auburn had been feeling off for over a week when Shawn finally convinced her to go to the doctors and get a blood drawn, a million things flying through his head as to what it might be.

The pregnancy news had completely shocked them both, but as they had sat there together staring down at the piece of paper stating the cause of all her sickness, irritability and hunger there was no denying that it was right.

They were over the moon, elated at the idea of being parents with Shawn referring to the baby as he laid his hands on her stomach as "Their happy little ancient!"

To say that Shawn was protective was an understatement a helicopter parent (to be) might be more apt Auburn thought as Shawn handed her what fleet like her tens of pills as she ate her breakfast before rushing from the room only half dressed to finish getting ready for work which now that he was finished residency (and at the top of his class, which Auburn loved to brag to her friends about) was a local hospital where he was working.

...

The day started normally, Auburn went off to the gallery to start her day l, daydreaming of seeing Shawn who'd been away on training for the last little bit.

Somewhere in this perfect daydream, everything came crashing down. The last thing Auburn was aware of was the screech of tyres and the immense, unstoppable feeling of pain.

...

"Dr Craigen,we need you in triage one." Brian's nurse Amy spoke as she came skidding into the room.

"Can it wait?"  He asked looking up briefly from the hand of a young girl he was suturing after she was bitten by a dog.

"No, it can't." He could hear the tension in her voice,  so he stood removing his gloves,  and paging another doctor to take care of the girl before following her out.

"What is it? Who?"  He asked as Amy all but ran through the corridor. His question was cut short as they reached the bay in question.

"Just stay still! For God sake, you don't have a choice." He couldn't see the patient's face from outside the door,  but he could see that two nurses and an intern were currently trying to restrain her,  against her will.

"What on earth do you think youre doing Doctor Tanaran?"  Brian asked as he grabbed a pair of gloves and stepped into the room. The intern stepped back from the patient, turning to look at him.

"We need to get an I.V. in her,  but she's not cooperating," he responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Brian?" The person on the bed asked. He recognised the voice immediately and sure enough as he stepped around to the other side of the bed,  there lay Auburn  a close personal friend, someone who he considered to be like a sister, and the girlfriend of one of his best friends, Dr. Shawn Mendes.

She was almost unrecognisable, bloodied,  and bruised,  tears flooding her face and falling into the linen of the bed staining it a muddy brown as they mixed with the blood flowing from a nasty looking gash on her head,  an oxygen mask laying forgotten beside her.

"Auburn?" he asked finally making eye contact, before looking up to find that she had not even been attached to any monitors yet.

"Everyone get your hands off the patient, now."  he stared poignantly at the intern that who still had his hands on her.

"She just wouldn't cooperate." he grumbled as he stepped back.

Brian saw red at that, turning to glare before speaking.

"Have you thought about why the patient might be uncooperative?  Have you even bothered to ask?"  I questioned folding my arms across my chest.

He looked down at the floor,  but didn't answer. "Didn't think so.  So not only have you terrified an already distressed patient,  but you've assaulted the girlfriend of Dr. Shawn Mendes,  head of this ER."

His head snapped up at this,  a look of shear panic on his face.

"Dr. Craigen I didn't think-"

"That's right,"  he interrupted.  "The same way you haven't thought the three other times I've had to speak to you over the duration of your time here so far.

Get out of this room,  and go and tell your resident that I don't want you on my service anymore.  Oh and Tanaran," Brian called as the man made his way for the exit.  "If I ever see or hear you do something like that ever again,  I will personally make sure you're pulled from this program."

He sighed and turned around to see Auburn smiling softly.

"Thanks Bri"  she spoke softly, very dazed,reaching her hand out for him to take. Somewhat restricted by the board and collar she had been placed on for spinal management.

"No problem hon. He's got an attitude that one.

So I'm just going to start slowly okay.  I'm just going to hook you up to some monitors so that we can check you're heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen. Can I see the chart please? " he asked one of the nurses that was stood meekly in the corner.

"Yes Doctor," she responded before leaving and returning a minute later with the relevant information.

"Okay so it says here,  that apart from that gash on your forehead and a fracture to your arm you have  some fractured ribs, a suspected bruised spleen and a dislocated ankle as well as possible spinal injuries," he listed off as he took in the notes from the Emergency Services.

"They only got half way through checking her." the other nurse  responded. Brian nodded, before placing the chart in the holder at the end of the bed,  and returning to Auburn's side. He picked up her hand gently to check her pulse,  watching as her eyes fluttered,  drooping slightly.

"Auburn, I need you to try and stay awake for me," he spoke, tapping her check softly, moving to check her focal response with his pen light and finding that she had a fairly moderate concussion.

She let out a small groan,  but managed to open her eyes, watching me tiredly.

"That's it," he praised. " smiling before grabbing his stethoscope from around his neck and resting it to her chest.

"Deep breathes," he asked quietly. She did as asked, but it was obvious from the way she was wincing every time she inhaled that she was in pain.

"It hurts and I want Shawn." she cried.

"I know you do hon. We'll get him here soon," he promised, paging one of his nurses to go and find him.

"How bad is your pain one to ten?' he asked,  watching her closely.

"Eight " she answered.

"Okay I'm going to help ease some of that okay. " he spoke resting the I.V.tray that the previous doctor had set up next to the bed.

"Tell me what you remember? " he asked, trying to keep her talking.

"I was just crossing the street,  and a car came out of nowhere. I don't know what happend. I was coming to see Shawn." she added.

"I'm sorry Auburn. " He really did feel sorry for her,  not only as a doctor, but as a friend.  She and Shawn had barely gotten to see one another the last few weeks, and now this. 

"They didn't even stop to help me! " She cried, more tears trailing down her face. He felt so sorry for her, and sick at the thought of how Shawn might react. He just hoped Shawn was able to stay calm,  for both of their sakes.

"Small scratch." he warned, inserting the line, and getting her started on some much needed fluids and pain relief. She flinched a little,  but didn't pull away. "Okay, so I'm going to get Dave to come and  help me with a spinal exam,  and he should also be able to determine if we need x-rays for these breaks okay" he explained gently,trying not to scare her.

She looked worried at the mention of x-rays,  but he just assumed it was due to her being clastrophobic,  as she didn't say anymore on the subject.

He walked out of the room, quietly closing the door after me, and made my way to the nurses station where I found Dave helping a nurse. As an Orthopedic doctor he was often called down for consults, so it was common to find him here.

"Dave, do you mind helping me for a second mate?" he asked, before coming to stand next to him waiting as he finished his conversation.

"Yeah what is it?" he asked as Brian handed him Auburn's chart.

"Auburn?" He asked disbelief clear in his tone,  eyebrows raised in confusion. "Auburn as in Shawn's Auburn.What happend?

"

"Hit and run." he answered. Causing Dave to wince in sympathy. "They didn't even stop!"

"Has anyone gotten a hold of Shawn?" He asked, shaking his head as they made their way to the door of Auburn's room.

"Yeah, but she's quite distressed obviously,  so I'm just taking it really slowly. At least until Shawn gets here, unless something is absolutely vital," he told him. Dave nodded before opening the door, and greeting Auburn with a bright smile.

"Hi Auburn, Bri told me you got in a fight with a car?" He asked, causing her to smile faintly.

"What have we got so far?" he asked.

"Large laceration on the forehead and a fracture to the left  arm, some fractured ribs, a suspected bruised spleen and a dislocated right ankle as well as possible spinal injuries, she is also complaining of chest pain." Brian added as he hummed at the growing list of ailments.

"Auburn are you having any trouble breathing? " he asked, she nodded letting him listen to her breathing as Brian had. The room was quiet for a few moments except for the beeping of the machines as he moved the stethoscope around her chest, before stepping back with a sigh.

"Slightly muffled left side," he agreed, glancing to the monitors,  a look of concern on his face.

"It'll need to get an x-ray,  and maybe an ultrasound." Brian nodded, adding,

"I'd also like to get some CTs of the head just to be sure there is no underlying bleeding. Is it okay if we give you some oxygen?" he asked wanting to up her saturation, especially given her breathing troubles.

She made a small jerk of the head in the affirmative,  allowing him to place the mask that had lay beside her back on her face.

"Any other pain?" Dave asked lifting the blanket to assess the damage to her lower extremities, she took a few shaky breaths.

"Just my ankle."

" Okay,we just need to turn you and have a feel of your spine. Before we do, anything else, as we don't want to aggregate anything." Dave explained coming back to stand at the head of the bed. "All you need to tell me is if you feel anything sore."

She hummed in resonse,  unable to nod due to the collar.

"On three, one,two,three. " Brian spoke before rolling her and holding her steady.

"Any tenderness?" Dave asked as he made his way down her spine, gently feeling for abnormalities.

"No." she answered innnediately.

"Wiggled your toes for me?" he asked as he went to stand by the end of the bed again. She did so,  causing them both to breathe a sigh of relief.

Five minutes later and Dave l had decided that x- rays were necessary, due to the precarious nature of the fractures in her arm and ankle and that the fractured ribs did need further investigation, however that no spinal damage had been done,  meaning she could be removed from the collar and brace.

"Where's Shawn?"  She asked, again as they went about removing the neck brace. Brian was starting to wonder what was taking the nurse so long himself.

-Shawn-

I hadn't been able to focus all day, it was my first day back after being away at a two week trauma conference,and also the first time I would be able to see Auburn and the baby since she was meeting me at work. I sighed as I tried yet again to focus on the swirling numbers of the department's budget on the screen in front of me.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a knock.  "Dr. Mendes you're needed down in triage. Urgently." A nurse spoke,making me stand and follow her immediately.

-Third Person-

"He's on his way now hon, but we really should get you up to x-rays okay." Dave spoke, going to start moving the bed.

"Not not until Shawn is here," she begged, catching his hand and stopping him. Seconds later, and Shawn ran through the door, eyes wide as he took in the site of me.

"Auburn, baby,what happend?" he asked, leaning down and gently stroking her head, careful of the cut.

"They didn't stop!A car!" She cried a fresh batch of tears starting.

Shawn was pretty calm considering the situation, Auburn however was not, Brian could see from the monitor that her heart rate was spiking and he tipped his head to Shawn, indicating for him to do something.

"Try and slow your breathing honey," he encouraged softly as it spiked to about 130 when it had previously been sitting about 110. She managed to slow it a little, Shawn not saying anything,  merely cupping her face gently and kissing her head.

"Shawn, " Daves spoke,  "we really need to get her to x-ray. She has broken ribs, we need to determine how bad."

"No, no x-ray," she interrupted again.

"Sweetheart, you'll be fine,  I promise. " he spoke,  stroking her hand softly.

"It's not that." She answered, looking away.

"Then what?" Dave asked looking to Shawn.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered. "We found out two weeks ago. We wanted to keep it a surprise."

"Someone get Connor down here," Shawn ordered almost too calmly.

Dave and Brian shared a worried look, if she was pregnant,  there was a possibility that something may have effected the baby.

"Page Connor." Dave mumbled to Brian.

"I've already done it ,he's on his way." Briam tried to reassure him, hoping that he would calm a little at the fact that the best ObGyn was going to be consulting.

"No what if something's wrong? " Auburnpanicked,  catching on.

"Auburn you need the ultrasound," Shawn spoke firmly.

Her lip wobbled a little causing Shawn to soften his tone a little.  "I'm sorry babe,  I'm just worried about you. And you need the x-rays," he added.

"Auburn, you need to understand that while normally we wouldn't use x-ray, in this instance it's important,  we won't have a healthy baby,  unless it's mummy is healthy too yeah? " Dave explained gently.

  "O-okay," she agreed reluctantly.

"I think we can however forgo the CT, given that you've been alert the whole time. " Brian spoke earning a smile from her.

"But you won't be allowed to sleep for the next few hours and even once you can we'll need to wake you every hour, on the hour," Dave warned.

Just as we were about to start moving up to radiology having unhooked the bed Connor arrived.

"Sorry I came down as fast as I could," he apologised "Hi Auburn," he smiled as he came over to the side of the bed.

"So you found out you were pregnant two weeks ago?" he asked. She nodded.  "And everything has been normal so far? No bleeding?

"

"No." She answered, nervously, causing Shawn to squeeze her hand a little.

"Okay then, I'm just going to pull your gown up."  he did so before reaching for the gel. That was housed next to the portable ultrasound machine that we always kept in the triage bays. They were smaller, and less powerful, but still useful in situations like this. "This will be a little cold," he spoke before placing the gel on her stomach. The room was silent, everyone waiting with baited breath, Auburn with her eyes shut. Connor hit a button on the machine and the room was filled with a rhythmic thumping.

"What's that?" her eyes snapping open to met his.

"Congratulations Auburn, that is your baby's heart beat. Junior seems very happy,  very strong heart rate at 150 beats per minute." Connor smiled. 

" Oh my God!" she cried reaching up to hug Shawn,  before sharing a kiss.

"Judging by the size, bubby's just gone 12 weeks," Connor added, pointing out the measurements on the screen.

Everyone's faces were the same- all smiling from ear to ear.

"Do you want a copy of the scan?" Connor asked.

"Hell yeah!" Shawn agreed making Leah laugh. "This is going on the fridge."

Twenty minutes later, and we had all gone down to radiology, Shawn not having left her side. A permanent smile etched on his face.

"Just stay still for me Auburn." Dave asked,adjusting her leg to get the right image.

Once that was done, and it was determined that nothing needed surgery she was taken back up to a more private room, and Dave set about casting her.

"This will feel a little funny, but it won't hurt now." He reassured her as she became a little fidgety,  giving her some laughing gas and upping her pain meds slightly.

It was then Brian's turn to stitch up the wounds on her head, something which should have been very straight forward, but she was terrified,  having all but jumped (or gotten as far,which wasn't very) into Shawn's arms.

"It won't hurt Princess, Brian will numb you up good okay?" he spoke, sitting next to her, while Brian sat on a rolly chair by her head, Dave next to Shawn.

"Ready?"

She nodded.

"You're being so brave Princess," Shawn encouraged as she clung to his hand.

"Have you thought of any names for the baby?" Connor asked from where he sat in the corner working, having left briefly while they were at radiology and then returned, wanting to be here for support. Something which Shawn was grateful for.

...

An hour later and they were officially off shift, but  had all taken up residency in Auburn's room,  wanting to keep an eye on her, as she was a part of the family. They all sat quietly doing paper work,  as she rested, fast asleep now that we have deemed it safe.

"How are you feeling Shawn?" Brian asked, looking up to find Shawn watching her.

"I don't know, I have never felt so many emotions in one day!" he laughed, before Auburn broke the silence with a small moan.

" I'm cold," she mumbled,  "And sore," she added, visibly shivering.

"Here,  budge up." Shane spoke, helping her to move over,  before getting into the small bed again.

Connor got up to adjust the pain meds and check her vitals. However she didn't settle.  "What's wrong Poppet?" Shawn asked. Sometimes the meds could make patients a little agitated.

"I want to have a bath,  I feel gross,  and you smell different. " she grumbled,  her nose wrinkling. Shawn looked up at Connor and Brian,all laughing.

"How much of the stuff did you give her?

"

"I'm serious." she pouted, swotting Shawn's shoulder. "I don't like the smell of the scrubs. It doesn't smell like you."

"How 'bout this?" he asked bending down to reach for his bag, and grabbing a hoodie.

"Much better," she spoke,  nuzzling her head into him.

"Now I'll help give you a pat down with a cloth if you want?" he offered. You can't really have a proper bath yet cause of all the wiring and your cast."

She nodded

"Just sit up slowly okay. You might feel a little dizzy." Brian warned, standing up to help too.

  Connor went ahead to start the water for her while Dave came to help move the wiring as they supported her to hop to the bathroom. Eventually Shawn just picked her up,being extra careful of her ribs, holding her under her shoulders instead,and cradling her somewhat like an infant.

Half hour later, and Shawn had successful sponge bathed her, the rest of the group having gone back to their work while they waited.

"Get some rest Princess, you've got a little piece of art growing in there, you and Jellybean need it," he whispered as he placed her back in bed, rubbing her stomach softly.

"Love you," she whispered, already half asleep.

"Love you more," he replied kissing her head, they all shared a smile, because at that moment, all was right with the world.