This is Why a Medic was Brought Along

I did not know a thunderclap could happen indoors. It takes me what feels like an eternity to collect myself after the shock wave. That is when I finally see Ingrid slumped on the ground.

“Oh god.”, I mutter as the ringing in my ears fades and I rush to the unconscious girl. I check for a pulse and quickly find it. I sigh in relief before I look at her burnt arm, it was still twitching as if the nerves were not told to stop despite the rest of the body doing so. Before I look further I open the first-aid kit I carry and swiftly find the burn spray. I thoroughly spray her arm before I begin to wrap it in gauze.

“We’re done here.”, Chief Benterro states as he walks over to us. I do not look away from the patient as he continues, “Do you need help?”

“We need to get her out of her.”, I answer, “now.” The fit man grabs Ingrid, “Be careful! She’s taken a lot of trauma in a short amount of time!”, I yell protectively at the chief.

“Got it.”, He responds as he briskly jogs out of the room.

-- -- --

“Doctor!”, I yell as Chief Benterro and I enter the infirmary. “She has severe electrical burns. She’s still breathing and has a steady pulse thankfully.”

Doctor Conti opens the door to our surgery room for the chief as he speaks, “Understood. Anything else?”

“Her nerves seem to still be firing off so she’ll be hard to keep still.”, I respond. “I was too concerned about the burns and her breathing to check for anything else.”, I add solemnly as I lower my head, “I’m sorry.”

-- -- --

“Is she still out?”, I overhear the chief asking the doctor about Ingrid’s condition in the main room.

“Yes. She’s stable and her injuries are healing quite quickly though.”, Doctor Conti answers.

“Has Lawson left the girl alone?”, The chief inquires further.

“Only to use the bathroom. Otherwise, no.”, The doctor responds.

Why is she still unconscious? I check her heart rate again on the monitor to see it is still a healthy pace. At least her injuries are healing faster than I would expect.

“You’re so reckless.”, I mutter to the unconscious girl. I gasp in surprise as her head rolls to face me and her eyes open. Before I can speak she says something unintelligible to me as her eyes roll back and she loses consciousness again.

-- -- --

“Magic can do a lot, huh?”, I ask Ingrid as she gives me a warm smile.

“It does.”, She answers as she puts a hand on my head and pats it. I give her a quizzical look and she asks me in response, “What is it?”

“Something doesn’t seem right.”, I respond as she removes her hand from my head.

“How so?”, She asks as she looks down at herself, “Is it the fact I’m not injured and covered in medical equipment?”

-- -- --

I jolt awake to see Ingrid still unconscious.

“Just a dream.”, I say. Why would I dream of her like that though? I rest my chin in my hand as I begin to ponder further.

A gasp from Ingrid knocks me out of my stupor.

I get up to my feet and check on her as I speak, “It’s okay. It’s okay Ingrid.” I wrap my hands around her uninjured hand. “I’m here. I’m here. It’s Kelly Lawson.”, I continue. Her breath steadies as I continue to try to reassure her, “You took out the device you were talking about. But you got really beat up and have been out for two weeks now.” Her eyes go wide and the heart rate monitor begins to beep loudly as her pulse rises. Damn it! I let it slip that she was unconscious for so long. She mutters something unintelligible again. “You’re alright. You’re alright. No need to strain yourself.”, I put my hands on her strong shoulders, yet they felt so much smaller than I thought probably from being bedridden for two weeks.

Her heart rate begins to slow down once again before she finally says in a weak gravelly voice, “Thank you.”

“I was just doing my job.”, I answer. “I’m going to get you some water.”, I say before we can continue further.

I quickly return with a partially filled bottle of water and hand it to Ingrid with a smile. Before we continue talking I let her start drinking, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

She finishes the water before she finally speaks, “I-”, Her voice sounding much better thanks to the hydration, “It hurts.” She puts her uninjured hand on her wrapped arm.

“You shouldn’t touch it. You got pretty bad burns and nerve damage up your whole left arm and even part of your neck.”, I say as I put out a hand in concern. “You’re probably going to need to go through physical therapy.”, I continue as I sit down and scoot the chair next to her bed. “Unfortunately neither Doctor Conti or I are very well versed in that.”, I finish solemnly.

A moment of silence falls between us, I am not sure if it is awkward or not but it definitely felt that way to me.

“I see.”, Ingrid responds oddly calmly. “I’m not sure that will be necessary.”, she adds confidently. What is going on with her? She must be feeling the relief from all the pain meds kicking in but that is just temporary. She puts her hand on her arm again and mutters something but before I can stop her a glow begins to shine under the bandaging.

“What, was that!?”, I stammer out in shock.

“A basic healing spell.”, The mage says matter of factly, as if I just asked her something moronic. I was beginning to really hate that about her. “It’ll help with my injuries. It’ll give me some phantom pain though.”, She adds.

“Phantom pain?”, I inquire with a look of concern.

“Despite the injury or injuries being gone, I’ll still feel pangs of them.”, She answers while still just staring at her wrapped hand. A pause hangs in the air between us before she winces, “It still hurts.”

“Of course it does!”, I vent out my building anger at the injured girl. She looks at me with eyes I had seen only once before, like a dog needing to be put down and afraid of the certain future. “I-”, I stammer. I cannot take that look, it tugs at something in me, I am not even sure what though. “I’m sorry.”, I am finally able to mutter as I begin to change her bandages. I notice her arm has rapidly gotten a little less puffy. It seems she really did increase the rate her body could heal.

“Oh you’re finally conscious!”, I jump in surprise at hearing the doctor’s voice from behind me. “How are her burns?”, The doctor asks me as I feel his eyes boring into the back of my head as if he is judging every little movement and thought.

“They, they’re better.”, I stammer out before gulping loudly. His gaze felt even more terrifying to me than those not alive but not dead in the base.

“Good to hear.”, He responds after a long pause. “I’ll leave her in your care then Kelly.”, He adds as he walks back out to the main room.

I sigh as the tension and fear leave my body and is replaced by the relief of air.

“Are you okay?”, Ingrid asks with a smile as gentle as a refreshing breeze.

“I should be asking you that.”, I chuckle weakly with a fake smile of my own.

“You really need to hide it better.”, She responds with that gentle smile across her face still. How can she be so blunt to me like that all the time. “It’s alright.”, She says as she wipes a finger across my cheek, “No need to cry.”

I put a hand to my other cheek and felt the tears, why was I crying? It is not like I had not dealt with the doctor’s gaze or judgment before. Was I so glad that Ingrid was okay? If so, why did I care so much? I have never felt this way about any patient I have taken care of before, not even her when she was first brought in. A chuckle that reminded me of better times brings me out of my thoughts. I look at Ingrid, she is laughing, it is a wonderful laugh.

“I’m sorry.”, Ingrid says as she stops laughing, “You’re face was just twisted up more than a dead tree.” I give her a confused look unsure of how to feel about that answer.

Before we can continue conversing I hear the voice of the security chief, “Is she awake?” I assume that the doctor merely nodded instead of saying anything because the chief responds, “Good.”

The chief stands in the doorway to the small recovery room and clears his throat before he finally speaks oddly robotic, “Hello Ingrid. I hope you’re doing better.”

“Thanks to Kelly and the good doctor.”, She responds.

He gives a fake chuckle before he continues, “Is she well enough to leave?” A moment of silence falls between her and I before we realize he is talking to me now.

“Oh!”, I exclaim in realization. “She just woke up so I would say no.”, I answer.

“Alright.”, The chief says as he turns around, “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“She won’t be ready to go anywhere for a few days at the earliest.”, I say trying to put reason into the man.

“Fine.”, He responds, “Then keep me posted until she is.”

He leaves before I can give verbal confirmation.