BITTERSWEET

CHAPTER 7 / REMOVING THE CAST

The day had finally arrived. Almost six long months after Nana had sustained the injury on her left forearm; he day had come for the cast to be removed. Following the events, of which Nana had ridden a misbehaved, yet poorly chosen steer, harshly knocking the meif~wa to the ground. 

Once Nana had hit the gravelled natural flooring, she'd fallen victim to a concussion, unconsciousness, shattered bone of her left forearm and the trigger of the slow healing on her torso, that had begun to bleed. The group later sent her to the nearest hospital and she'd woken up (fully I may add) after three operations, on two parts of her body. 

~ 

Today, Nana was filled with excitement. Between the baby, summer holidays at her dream destination and the opportunity to have her hand free, she'd never felt so willing to leave her new home. 

The pink-haired meif~wa had gotten used to disability of only use the one hand.
Between baking, tying shoelaces, or even typing on a laptop, she'd gotten pretty sick of the closure. 

It'd be like she'd have been trapped within herself, unable to fully peek out freely. 

Usually clean cut broken bones, take three months with a cast to heal.
But, with the reconstruction of the forearm bone and the metal slate implant, the orthopaedic doctor, (also Zane's coworker; Dr Thomas McCarthy) had advised the girl to keep the casts on for another twelve weeks, to ensure a full recovery. 

~ ~ At a quarter to ten, Zane and Nana set off together to the orthopaedic doctor's office. Also known as the Falcon Claw Hospital's emergency room. The two had gotten eerily used to the usual hustle of the ER, watching as normal people being laid on stretchers, placed into intensive care, uncertain whether they'd survive or not. 

Remember, despite Zane being a neurosurgeon, he'd been taking shifts as a physician in that line of work. As well as being FCH's complimentary qualified neurosurgeon (in training).

(the more I work off zane, the more he's like doctor strange. now he just needs wizard powers, and off he goes! 🥳🤣)

As the car was parked, Nana practically leaped out of the car with a bundling smile. 

Zane hadn't actually seen her that happy since they'd first moved in with one another. 
After locking the car behind them and entering the bustling, sterile emergency room, they were immediately welcomed by a couple of the rushing nurses. 

One of which was pushing away an unconscious patient, who was wearing a ventilation mask. 

The two made it to the receptionist's desk, then took a seat beside Dr McCarthy's makeshift office. 

"I'm getting my cast off! I'm finally getting my cast off~!" Nana hummed, squirming in her seat. 

"Nana. Nana! Ssh," Zane said, gently grazing his hand over her own, which had been clutched onto the arm of the chair. She gave him a soft smile at the edge of her lips in thanks. 

"Dr Ro'Meave? Miss Ashida?" McCarthy asked, not needing to read from his clipboard, knowing the two outside of the ER. The couple glanced over to the doctor, releasing the hold of each other's hands and stood up to follow the trained orthopaedic doctor through the curtain. 

Zane took his usual spot in the corner of the room, in sight of both Nana and his colleague, as Nana sat up on the examination table. The meif~wa's tail gently swished from side to side as the doctor checked his digital files on Nana's progress. 

Spinning in his chair, he turned to Nana. "So! Nana! How's that arm?" Dr McCarthy asked, jotting down details on his beloved clipboard. 

Nana gave a relieved smile since this was getting along quickly. "There hasn't been any throbbing pain, or as much itchiness like the last couple of times. Feels just as it was in November." 

Yes, when she didn't have a shattered forearm. 

"All clear for cast removal then," he confirmed, receiving a soft squeal from the meif~wa. Zane proudly smiled at her reaction, pulling out his phone to take memorial photos. He closely watched as the doctor unwrapped the bandage layered around her arm, as well as the plastic guard that kept in place. 

Nana's bare forearm poised a lighter tone of skin than the rest of her arm. Her wrist also held victim to the ugly stitching remaining from the reconstruction of the bone from the two operations; which hadn't had the free opportunity to fully heal. The scar was not only particularly nasty but dangerous looking. 

It was neat, yet bare.

With an enormous smile, Nana wriggled her fingers, circularly moved her wrist and held her arm to her chest. 

"Thank you Dr McCarthy," Zane said, shaking hands with the orthopaedic specialist. 

"You're very much welcome, Dr Ro'Meave. Miss Ashida, to have a patient come this far as you have now is a tremendously freeing sight. I thank the two of you," he answered, his brown locks fell to the front of his face as he grinned.

"Thank you, thank you Dr McCarthy! I basically wouldn't have my left arm if it wasn't for your careful treatment plan. So again, thank you!" Nana said, going to Zane's side, holding his right arm with her left. 

"The pleasure was all mine Miss Ashida." 

"Is there anything else we should know in case something happens to the stitching or something internal?" Zane questioned.

"If the stitching breaks, I'm sure you could do it yourself since you know the whole drill. If anything does bleed internally; from the plate or a bone fragment which leaves the nest, you know where I am," he explained, receiving a nod from his colleague, and another smile from Nana.

He led the two out and waved to the doctors and nurses who'd met the pair. 

As Zane and Nana reached the car-park, the pink-haired meif~wa rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. Just as he brushed one of her loose strands of hair out of view from her rosy face, an idea ran through Nana's head in sync with a smile. 

"Zane?"

"Yeah?"

"How would you like to go baby shopping?" she asked, as Zane grinned. 

"Why not?" 

((im sorry for imagining thomas mccarthy as nick robinson for this chapter. excuse my fantasies))