C Shorts - 4. Maybe it's Fate (Prompt 506)

When a dark green SUV pulled into the parking lot, the Hawthorn Clinic lot held only two other cars at such an early hour. The older man with greying hair, who had helped Liam into his SUV after finding him injured on the park’s path and had driven him across the street to the clinic, came around the car and opened the door wide. He put the arm of the slight jogger around his shoulder then helped him slowly from the car to place his uninjured left foot on the ground. Liam leaned into his savior’s larger body which held most of his weight as they moved into the clinic.

A tone chimed from behind the empty reception desk as they walked inside. The nurse’s station was barely visible from the waiting area, but they were able to see a young man with dark hair stand from one of the handful of computers. The large man, who had driven him, aided him in sitting in one of the plastic chairs and propping his leg across the adjacent ones.

“Do you have someone who can come pick you up when you’re done?” The older man asked, dropping a hand on his shoulder, as the nurse came around the corner with a wheelchair. The man set his shoe that he’d forgotten next to him.

“I’m sure my little brother owes me a favor or two.” He attempted to smile around the pain, but it came out as more of a grimace. “Thank you for helping me out.”

“Well, I wasn’t gonna leave you stranded there. You sure you don’t need anything?”

“I’ll be fine. Thank you.” They nodded their goodbyes. As the man left, he turned to the nurse who was standing not far from his injured foot. The man in a blue scrub shirt and black scrub pants looked a few years younger than him. He had dark hair and stunning green eyes that managed to distract Liam from his pain for a moment.

“Hello. Have you been here before, sir?”

“Yes, I have. My information is even the same.” He attempted to smile up at the handsome nurse who smiled back, almost making the trip worth it, and moved the wheelchair into a position that Liam could easily maneuver into it.

“Then let’s get you set up in a room, then I’ll go find your file.” The nurse kept a hand on his arm ready to catch him as he stood for long enough to sit in the wheelchair. The man moved behind him and rolled the wheelchair back to the exam rooms taking him into one with the number 2 on the door. The pale blue room with medical poster covered walls held a small exam bed that he needed help getting onto. The nurse retrieved an ice pack from a cabinet before returning to him. “Hold this to your foot. What’s your full name?”

“Liam Wallace,” He answered the question and watched as the nurse nodded and left. He gingerly placed the ice pack on his sock covered foot, putting almost no pressure on it. He kept up the challenge of not putting pressure on his foot but still close enough to numb the pain until the nurse came back.

“Mr. Wallace, what’s your date of birth?” the nurse asked while looking down at the open file in his hand. Liam betrayed his thirty years to the man, as well as a few medical details. “Alright, I’m nurse Andino. I’m going to take your vitals real quick, then we’ll tackle your foot.”

“I’d rather we not. It already hurts pretty badly.” His pain hadn’t dampen the smart alec in him. Nurse Andino shook his head while lifting his stethoscope from around his neck and placed it in his ears. He felt a slight chill when Nurse Andino lifted his shirt to place the head of the stethoscope above his heart and it wasn’t just because it was cold. After his pulse, blood pressure, and temperature had been taken, the nurse turned the attention toward his foot.

“On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst, how bad is the pain?”

“Um… Seven or eight, maybe. It’s worse than any sprains I’ve had but not quite as bad as when I broke my collarbone. Now that was excruciating.” He was never very good at explaining these things. He just knew it hurt and that he was glad he wasn’t crying in front of the sexy nurse. Yet.

“Ok. I’ll remove your sock now.” Andino stepped to where his foot lay.

“Uh.” Andino paused and looked to his face. “When I took my shoe off earlier I almost died from the pain.” He really didn’t want to cry in front of this nurse.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.” The nurse smiled and lightly grabbed the top of his sock, slowly removing it. Liam had to fight the smile that threatened to rise at those words. He watched the beautiful green eyes as they focused on his foot as his injury was revealed. “So, how did you manage this injury?”

“Oh!” His question snapped Liam out of his staring. “Well, I was jogging…” He nodded. “And I was attacked by a ninja.” Andino stopped and looked at Liam’s straight face.

“Ninjas? That’s the story you’re going with?” Amusement and confusion were battling across the nurse’s well-sculpted features.

“One ninja actually.” Liam’s face remained serious. “It may have been in squirrel form at the time.” It took a moment for what he said to register for Andino, before he burst out laughing.

“A squirrel broke your foot? How?” Andino returned to his exam with a smile on his face.

“As I said, the ninja-in-squirrel-form attacked me. It lept from a tree as I was jogging past, but I was able to dodge, only to fall into its trap! It had carefully disguised a hole it’d dug with a puddle of water.”

“I see. You fought a very brave battle, Mr. Wallace.” Nurse Andino chuckled at the tale before announcing, “You’ll need an x-ray.” True to his word, the exam had held minimal pain. The nurse left for a few moments before returning to escort him to the x-ray room, take the photos, and then escort him back to his room.

“You’re the receptionist, nurse, and tech,” He started asking as he helped me into the bed once again, “What? Do you do everything here?”

“Only before 8 a.m. when the others show up. We rarely need more than the doctor and me before then,” Nurse Andino said, explaining a bit about the twenty-four hour clinic that Liam kept ending up in.

“So, you aren’t actually a receptionist, nurse, and tech? You’re not a quack who’s going to harvest my organs or anything, are you?”

“No, but I am a nurse and tech and I have many skills,” Nurse/Tech Andino pointed to the spot on his nametag where his degree and certifications were indicated by groupings of letters, but what drew Liam’s attention was the name. His first name was Elliot. He looked up at Nurse Elliot Andino, who had skills that he was imagining. “I’m going to let Doctor Consonni know the x-rays are done.”

While Liam waited, he texted his brother to come play chauffeur. After a what seemed like an eon to him, Elliot returned followed by a short woman with mostly grey hair, Doctor Consonni

“Liam, it’s good to see you again,” Dr. Consonni greeted, “Of course, it’s not good that you’re injured again. Jogging?”

“Yep. I love it, but that doesn’t make me any better at it.” He smiled at the kind woman who had taken care of him on his previous visits.

“I swear that park keeps us in business.” She shook her head before she scolded me like a mother. “It may not have prevented this injury, but you should still be wearing an ankle brace from your most recent sprain.”

“I am.” He raised his left leg to show the brace sticking up above his sock. She nodded.

“It seems ankle braces don’t ward off squirrels,” Elliot chimed in, confusing the doctor. Answering her question before she could ask it, he said, “He broke his foot avoiding a squirrel.”

“So, it is broken?” Liam asked, although he had already assumed as much. His question ended the small talk and brought the conversation to his foot.

“Yes. Your third metatarsal, the bone in the middle of your foot, is broken and your fourth metatarsal, next to it, is fractured. Nothing is displaced so we can go ahead and put a boot on it,” The doctor explained while gesturing above Liam's foot to show me the areas.

“A boot?” She gestured to a contraption Elliot had set on the counter across from me.

“Yes. This and some pain killers will be the main treatment.” Her and Elliot set about preparing his leg and setting it up in the immobilizing boot. She then launched into the do’s and don’t’s of a broken foot, the timeline that he should expect, as well as other information that was important in order for me to heal properly. “If your pharmacy is still the same, I will go call in your prescription.” He nodded.

Nurse Andino left to retrieve a pair of crutches that he was all too familiar with how to use. He was escorted to a desk just before the reception area, that had all the signs on their payment policies alongside various pamphlets. He did his best to keep the smile on Elliot’s face as they dealt with the tedium of medical payment. They had just finished up payment when his little brother walked through the door.

“Perfect timing,” he called over to the man who looked like him but built bigger, despite being younger. Elliot handed him back his cards. “Thank you. It was nice meeting you, Nurse Andino.”

“You too, Mr. Wallace. I hope the rest of your day turns out better.” Liam smiled at the man before turning to leave.

*****

Liam made his way on his crutches alongside his friend Alice, who’d driven him, into the backyard a small pale yellow house where his friend, Mike, was holding a housewarming barbeque. Once inside the fence he noticed several people standing and sitting around talking, while enjoying the cool fall afternoon. Alice spotted her best friend, that she acted like she never saw, and ran ahead.

“Hey Liam,” Mike called jogging over to walk beside him.

“Hey. Nice house.”

“Thanks. Let me escort you to your throne.” Mike led him to an outdoor chair with a foot stool.

“Thanks.”

“Can I grab you a drink or something?”

“What do you have without alcohol?” He pointed to his now propped up foot in its clunky boot. “Painkillers.”

“A few sodas and I think someone brought lemonade.”

“Lemonade sounds good to me.” Mike nodded, leaving to grab the drink. Liam watched him go until a man in a green hat that brought out his equally green eyes caught his attention. He stared at the man he’d been unable to get out of his head in two weeks. Nurse Elliot Andino. He was caught staring by Elliot, who said something to the person he’d been talking with before coming over to him.

“How’s fighting off the squirrels been going?” Elliot joked when he reached the seat next to Liam.

“Well, it’s been a difficult war Nurse Andino, but I think I’m winning.” The man smiled at him.

“Elliot,” he corrected, “It’s my first name.”

“Well Elliot, mine's Liam.”

“Here’s your lemonade, my lord.” Mike had returned, setting the glass down with a flourish on the small table in between Elliot’s and his chair. “I see you’ve met my awful cousin.” He put his hand on Elliot’s shoulder.

“Because, you’re the shining example of a cousin.”

“Cousins? Huh. Small world.” Liam looked between the two seeing a vague resemblance. “He put me in the boot. I mean, as a nurse, not that he injured me.” They chuckled at his slip up. Mike looked between Elliot and Liam, before stepping away.

“I’m gonna go see if I can annoy the wife. Talk to you guys at some point.” Mike walked away, leaving the two alone.

“Have fun,” He called after him before turning all of his attention to Elliot. “I didn’t expect to see you until the next time I injured myself.”

“I hope you weren’t planning on getting injured.”

“No, but I seem to end up hurt and in your clinic quite often.” He left out that he considered making up an ailment, since he doubted his chances of Elliot being his nurse during his follow-up appointment.

“Well, I prefer to see you outside of the clinic.” Elliot had contagious smile that he couldn’t resist. It was as beautiful as the man who created it.

Over the next few hours, Elliot hardly left his side. People rotated in and out of their conversation as the evening drew on. They met and got to know each other's friends, finding they had quite a few in common. Throughout the night they learned bits and pieces about each other and Liam didn’t hear anything he didn’t like. When the food had finished cooking, Elliot went with him and carried his plate so he could work around the crutches. He wasn't sure, but he thought the tall dark-haired nurse might be flirting with him. Liam had thought he couldn’t get the beautiful young man out of his head before. He was in trouble now.

“Hey Elliot,” Liam said to grab his attention after a few of their friends had said their goodbyes. “Do you want to get food?”

“Are you still hungry?” Elliot looked down at the empty dishes between them, then over to the table where the food had been set out. “There may still be something left.”

“No! I mean...” Liam looked down at his hands to collect himself before looking up to capture the gaze of the green eyes looking at him curiously. “Would you like to go to dinner with me? On a date?”

Elliot smiled at him lifting a weight off his chest.

“I’d like that.”

Why did I start trying to name these things? I hope if you got this far you enjoyed this story in some part. 
Also, my first story without a blue background!   Thank you!