Ginny tried the house once more. Still no answer. She changed her tack and called Meg. Meg picked up on the first ring. “I was beginning to wonder where you were,” Ginny said into the phone. “No, we’re okay. Just hadn’t heard from George in a few days and was a little worried.” Ginny paused for a few minutes listening to Meg. “Okay, Glad to hear things are going well. Talk to you later. Love you,” Ginny finished.
“So, do you feel better?” Patrick asked.
“Sorta. Apparently George and Angie really hit it off. Plus, Cal and Peter have been called in to do some of the work since George has been ‘busy’,” Ginny said with a smile.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” said Patrick. Angie is a sweet little armful and I bet George is keeping her close.”
“I just hope we don’t have to get another receptionist,” joked Ginny. That made them both laugh.
*
Four hours later, the two wolves slipped over the railing and down into the forest. There was plenty of game out tonight. The smaller of the two caught the first rabbit. The next rabbit was almost gone when it began to snow. The flakes were fat and heavy as they drifted to the ground. By the time the third rabbit was eaten, there was a good inch on the ground and the going was getting sloppy.
The larger of the two wolves nipped at the smaller one and then headed back to the village. They raced long and hard as they headed back. Once when going through a small meadow, they spooked a herd of elk. Neither wolf wanted to tackle such large prey tonight, so they plowed through the startled animals and burst out the other side of the meadow before the initial bugling had even died down. They were running hard now with snow and mud flying behind them.
The two wolves slowed as they passed behind the outer buildings. The big male jumped over the balcony railing first. He shook snow and mud from his coat. Mud and slush went everywhere. Nosing the handle, he entered the room and waited for the female before shifting.
She jumped with one paw landing on the rail. She hadn’t gotten enough of a push off and had to compensate. The mud on her paws greased the rail and instead of landing on all four paws, her back foot slipped and she came crashing down on her nose and head. She was out cold.
Patrick watched the whole thing happen in slow motion and while he moved as fast as he could from wolf to man, he wasn’t in time to catch her. He checked for a pulse, and after finding that, lifted her gently and put her on the bed. He’d figure out how to explain the muddy sheets later. Once he’d closed the door and drawn the curtains, he went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel and washcloth. The wolf had blood running from her nose. It didn’t look broken, but he wasn’t sure. There is a lot of bone there and he wasn’t sure how it translated when she shifted. He put the washcloth under her nose and started trying to dry off her fur.
“Ginny, Can you hear me? Ginny, Can you shift back? Come on girl,” he said close to her ear. He shook her gently and then went back to drying her off. He didn’t feel any broken bones under the fur, but her coat was so thick it was difficult to tell. “Ginny, wake up. Ginny, come back to me,” he said again. When she didn’t respond, he checked her skull and found a bit of swelling next to her eye. “Oh Ginny, you are going to have one hell of a concussion,” he said to himself.
Looking around, Patrick decided that he’d get cleaned up. He was still spattered with mud and blood. He grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. He had barely turned off the water when he heard Ginny moan. He grabbed a towel and headed for the bedroom. Ginny had shifted back and was sitting up in bed holding her head between her hands.
“My head hurts,” she whimpered.
“You knocked yourself out,” Patrick said. He took her head in his hands and did a quick assessment. “How does your nose feel?” he asked.
“Like I used it to stop a train,” said Ginny.
“Well, it isn’t too swollen. Not sure if you broke it, but it isn’t crooked. You have a hell of a bump on your head too,” Patrick added as he just barely touched the swollen skin.
“Ah… oh, don’t,” Ginny winced. “Would you help me into the shower? I want to get all of this off of me.” There were mud and blood spatters everywhere.
“Of course. I just got out of the shower. Let’s just take it easy,” he said as they stood up and headed towards the bathroom. They didn’t get two steps before Ginny crumpled. Patrick picked her up and saw that her right foot was swelling at the ankle.
“I didn’t even feel the ankle,” Ginny said.
“I’m not surprised. Between the nose and the head I’d be amazed if you felt a train hit you,” Patrick said.
“Gee, thanks,” said Ginny.
“Hon, you got hurt. Some of them are going to fade in comparison to others. Let’s get you cleaned up and then I’m going to see Sam,” he said.
“Oh, no, don’t bother her,” Ginny tried to protest.
“Ginny, you’re hurt. I can’t fix this with a kiss and a bit of water. So just shut up and deal with the fact that you aren’t in charge at the moment,” Patrick said as they stepped into the shower. He held her up as she rinsed off. It only took a minute and then he had her back out and sitting on the edge of the tube.
“I can dry myself,” Ginny said.
“No. I will do this. I don’t want you bending over and making your head pound,” said Patrick in a voice filled with sub-vocals. She was hurt and there was no way she was going to make matters worse by being proud.
“Okay,” said Ginny.