The Worst Patients

Writers: AL, Heather
Date Posted: 8th August 2014
Series: The Unwanted Sister

Characters: Coran, Relea
Description: Relea finds out that the healer is not a good patient.
Location: Green Valley Hold
Date: month 8, day 10 of Turn 7

Relea

Moving from the infirmary to the comfort of his bed in their rooms had
been taxing, but Coran was glad to be back between his own sheets. It
was hard for the healer to relax and be the patient. Healers always
made the worst patients. There was nothing wrong with his legs after
all, but the two broken ribs were the most painful of all his wounds.
It hurt to breathe, it hurt to cough and it especially hurt to move,
and they were some of the slowest things to heal.

Face swollen from the punches he'd taken, Coran had to sip at water
through a straw. It was embarrassing in some ways, to have Relea see him
that way, but there was little he could do about it.

Relea was careful to watch the lips of the healers. Even though they
spoke to Coran, she was the one who would take care of him as he
convalesced. She wasn't strong enough to help him to his quarters,
but once he was there, she remained nearby, unwilling to leave since
she couldn't hear him. As he finished drinking his water, Relea set
it aside on the small table and then signed, "Do you want me to get
you anything else?"

Coran didn't sign, he merely just shook his head to let his wife know
that there was nothing else he needed. He sank back into his pillow
with a sigh. He had broken his leg once when he was a kid and had
spent weeks lying in bed. This wouldn't be nearly as bad as that, he
hoped, he just hated how restless he felt.

Relea's hands fell to the side of the bed and uncertainty settled in.
What would they do now? Sit there and stare at each other? After a few
moments of contemplation, she rose and left the room, only to return a few
moments later with one of her hats in progress and one of her baskets,
into which she'd put the supplies she needed. Carefully she perched upon
the bed next to him and proceeded to lift the hat, one made of pale pink,
and turned it around to study it.

As she spun the hat to observe it Coran studied it as well. It would be
nice if Relea could read to him but with her hearing, or lack thereof, and
her limited speech, that was impossible. **This is going to be a long
recovery.**

"You missed a..." He trailed off in his signing because he realized he
didn't know the word for stitch, "stitch." He mouthed the word which
caused his busted lip to split back open and began bleeding again. "Shit."
He muttered through clenched teeth in frustration.

Immediately, Relea set aside the hat and rose to fetch a handkerchief.
With gentle, careful strokes, she dabbed at the blood until it was cleaned
and the liquid stopped pulling. Relea gently rested her hand against the
least swollen side of his face and offered a small smile before she
straighten to put the handkerchief in the 'to wash' pile and fetch another
should the same thing occur.

"Thanks." He gestured with one hand before resting his head back in his
pillow. His eyes followed her around the room and when she rejoined him on
the bed he signed, "Tell me something about my wife I don't know. A
childhood story maybe?"

A child hood story. Relea's life had been pretty boring, in all honesty,
and she wasn't sure what might entertain him. Rather than working on her
hat, she set it down upon her lap and pondered the request. She still
couldn't think of anything, so instead she told him something else. "I
used to want to be a dragonrider."

"Gold or green?" He asked. Coran believed that every child thought about
it at least once growing up.

"What do you think?" Relea's smile brightened a little at the memory,
then faded. "But dragons don't Impress to people like me. That's
okay, though. If I had Impressed, I wouldn't have ever met you."

"Silly dragons." Coran signed before reaching for Relea's hand and
giving it a squeeze. He had wanted to be a healer more than he had
wanted a dragon. And Green Valley was his home, he couldn't imagine
living anywhere else.

Relea returned the gesture, her smile appearing once more and then
signed 'stay still'. She plucked the hat from her lap and carefully
placed it atop Coran's head and then studied it, lips pursed. "It
needs something."

Coran tried to imagine what he must look like with his busted up face
and pink hat. It was enough to make him chuckle which was followed by
a gasp and swift intake of breath as he pressed a hand to his ribs.

She winced in sympathy and removed it from the perch upon his head,
then placed a gentle kiss on his ear. "Maybe you can try it on later.
When you're feeling better."

"Will you put a dash of fellis in a cup of wine? If I can't do
anything else I might as well be able to sleep some of it off." And
now his ribs felt ten sizes too big for his body.

"Of course." Relea pushed herself off the bed then proceeded to pour
a cup of wine, followed by a splash of fellis. She was careful only
to put a little for she knew it was potent and she didn't want to
cause problems. Then she perched beside her husband once more, ready
to help him drink if he so desired.

Coran was grateful for his wife's assistance as sitting up with his
broken ribs was difficult. Sipping down the wine laced with fellis, he
sighed and panted as he slid back down into the pillows. Even that had
been taxing.

Relea set aside the glass, then signed, "Rest." She resumed her place
beside him on the bed so she could be there should he wake and need
her.

Last updated on the September 7th 2014

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