Chapter 6
Emery
Since Ville was expecting me, I didn’t even bother knocking. I just walked right into the cabin. Ville’s head whipped around, a soft smile crossed his face, and he stood quickly. I pointed at him as I blindly shut and locked the door behind me.
“Stay right there,” I demanded, kicking off my shoes. I fished my phone out of my pocket and dropped it onto the sideboard as well. “I need to be squished.”
Ville’s brows creased as he watched me walk toward him. “Okay?”
I flopped backward onto the couch, slid down so I filled the length of it, then lifted my arms up and out. “Commence with the squishing.”
He didn’t move. After a second, he said, “If I lay on top of you, you won’t be able to breathe.”
“Yes, exactly.” I nodded for good measure.
This did not convince him. “Emery—”
“I need you to lay on top of me, be a human weighted blanket, and shove me back into my body,” I said earnestly. This did not seem to help his confusion. In fact, it had the exact opposite effect. I sighed. “The deep pressure will help regulate my nervous system.”
Ville still looked like he didn’t quite get it.
Perhaps he’d never been in need of squishing before.
But this time, at least, he did as I asked.
Mostly. He did lay on top of me, molding his body to mine, but he still positioned his arms to keep some of his weight off my chest. I appreciated the gesture, and his consideration, but it wasn’t what I needed.
“Please, sugar. I need it.”
That was all it took. He finally gave me all of his weight, sliding his arms underneath me to hug me tightly.
I released a long, slow breath and yeah, it wasn’t exactly easy to draw in a new one, but it didn’t matter.
That fast, and I already felt my body creeping out of fight or flight mode into something calmer.
“You okay?” Ville murmured into the skin of my neck. A zing went down my spine, but he was holding me so tightly, I couldn’t even shiver.
“Yeah,” I whispered. That was all I had the breath for. “Just…had a day.”
Ville let that sit between us for a long moment before he asked, “Want to talk about it?”
“I can’t.” I had to fight for a breath. Ville’s whole body moved with the motion. He immediately tried to adjust his position but I trapped him with both my arms and legs. He let out a quick chuckle and settled back down. “I can…talk around it…though.”
“Whatever you want.” Ville kissed my neck and then adjusted us so that I was trapped between the back of the couch and his hard body. “You need to be able to breathe. Is this sufficient squishing?”
I heard the hint of amusement in his voice and I couldn’t help smiling. It wasn’t quite as much pressure as before, but it would do. I nodded and tucked one of my legs between Ville’s, just so I could get a little closer.
“My day started with a conversation about how I need to spend less time with patients.” I couldn’t help the scowl.
I got where Dr. Hastings was coming from.
We had jam packed days, since we were the only clinic in town.
And it was important that we saw as many people as possible, without making them wait too long.
But I couldn’t get behind rushing through appointments just to make that happen.
What if I missed something important just because I wasn’t listening to my patients fully?
“I get it, but it’s more important to me to make sure my patients are getting the best care, you know? ”
“We need more doctors like you,” Ville said. I couldn’t help the swell of pride I felt. It was good to be recognized and sadly it didn’t happen enough. Not that I was in it for the praise, but it was still good to hear.
I gave him a quick kiss in thanks and then continued my story. This was the part where I had to be careful about what words I used.
“I had a patient today whose symptoms pointed to a diagnosis I’ve never personally seen before.
It’s not common. So I pulled Dr. Hastings in to consult.
First he told me to stop hunting zebras and then he insisted on seeing the patient himself.
Ultimately, he dismissed my concerns and convinced the patient’s guardian I was being an overzealous new doctor. But I’m worried.”
I couldn’t help the grunt of frustration I let out.
This child had the markers for Hashimoto’s disease, but Hastings completely ignored my assessment.
It was incredibly unusual to be diagnosed in a child so young, but it wasn’t unheard of.
It was far better to do the testing and rule it out than to ignore the symptoms and forgo treatment.
“First of all, ‘hunting zebras?’ What the fuck?”
I had to chuckle at that. His disgruntled expression was too cute.
“That saying, you know? If you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.” I snuggled in a little tighter, tucking my head under his chin.
Ville got the unspoken request and squeezed me harder.
“It’s pretty common in the medical field.
Especially since there’s so many popular TV shows where it’s always some rare, crazy disease.
Usually, it isn’t some strange, uncommon diagnosis. It’s exactly what it looks like.”
“Makes sense, I guess.” He huffed. “But doctor fuckhead shouldn’t have ignored you. You were in medical school and residency a hell of a lot more recently than fuckhead was.”
The vehemence with which he defended me warmed my heart. It also made me laugh because he was just so grumpy. I soothed him by petting his chest.
“Don’t get me wrong, Hastings really is a good doctor. His patients love him, he’s got a great bedside manner, and he’s dedicated the past thirty years to the health and well-being of his patients. He’s just used to thinking horses.”
The corner of Ville’s mouth quirked up. “If anyone should know the difference between a horse and a zebra, it’s a Harrington, don’t you think?”
It took a second for my brain to catch his meaning, and then I lost it. I laughed so hard even Ville’s body shook. He looked incredibly pleased with himself and I had to agree, it was an excellent joke.
But as we calmed down, it also got my mind working. I chewed on my lips as I thought, a hold over from undergrad when I used it as sort of stim while studying. It had helped me focus then, and I still did it now.
There was a reason I always carried some kind of lip balm.
“You’re right,” I said quietly, coming to a solid conclusion.
I gave a single nod. “Tomorrow, I’m going to talk to him, present my case more solidly.
I can reach out directly to the patient’s guardian.
They are my patient after all. But it’s Dr. Hastings’ practice, and it would be smarter to go through him. ”
Ville smoothed a hand up and down my side, then cupped the back of my neck. “And if he doesn’t listen?”
I shrugged one shoulder, which was all I could manage in the position we were in. “I’ll reach out anyway and order the tests. It’s up to the patient’s guardian if they do them or not. But I hope they listen.”
Ville kissed me, slow and sweet. It had the potential to go somewhere, but Ville didn’t take it there. It kept it easy and gentle, more comforting than anything else. I followed his lead, as I always did, and sighed happily when he pulled back.
“You’re a good man and a good doctor, Emery. That’s all you can do.”
Again, even though I knew that, it was good to hear. Validating. And sometimes I needed that reassurance. Sure, Ville was probably a bit biased. He liked me after all. But he was the type of man that didn’t say what he didn’t mean, so I took the comment to heart.
And I was going to reward him for his support. Later. When I eventually felt like moving us to bed.
I hadn’t meant to stay all night. I didn’t care what my family thought or knew, but Ville seems less open about it. But after I’d woken him at three a.m. by sitting on his cock and he fucked me unconscious, the sun was rising before I managed to make it out of his bed.
He walked me to the door, kissed me gently, groped my ass which made me hiss, and then smirked as he stood shirtless in the doorway. I scowled playfully and walked with an exaggerated limp as I made my way off the small porch.
My antics were cut short when the door to Crew’s cabin banged open and Mal flew out the door. He hopped in his truck, which happened to be parked here instead of in the main lot and took off.
“Wha—”
“Jaina is colicking.” Crew cut me off, worry all over his face.
“Go. I’ve got Pay.”
Crew didn’t need to be told twice. He took off at a run.
In the distance, I saw brake lights, Mal having not gotten far.
As soon as Crew pulled himself into the cab, Mal pulled off again, before Crew even had the door shut.
I glanced at Ville, who had found a shirt somewhere, before I jogged over to Payton.
The little boy had his arms wrapped around his stomach, and he looked up at me with wide, scared eyes. After a second, he whispered, “Colic is bad.”
“It can be.” I crouched down so I was at his level. “Colic just means Jaina’s got stomach troubles. Some of ‘em are not that big of a deal.”
“Really?” His face brightened, hope filling his eyes.
Internally, I winced. I didn’t want to lie to him or give him false hope. But the truth was that most colic issues, especially if caught early, could be resolved.
“Really. I mean, look. Horses can’t throw up, right? So if Jaina’s stomach hurts, what’s she gonna do?” I made a face and was rewarded with a small giggle. “Some bad stuff could be going on too. I won’t lie. But maybe she just has a trapped fart.”
That really set him off and he laughed his big laugh, the one we didn’t hear that often. I smiled back, glad I’d eased his mind somewhat. But before I even finished that thought, he grew serious again.
“But it could be real bad, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said softly. “But your dads know all the things to do. And if they can’t help her, they’ll call Dr. Matigan and he’ll help Jaina.”