A Time For Love (A Time For Love Series-Book 1)

Caring

LENA POV

Today had been a rather emotional day, and the only thing that was keeping me from not breaking down were my patients. I was trying very hard to keep things to myself and to remain focused but my Uncle Alvin was not doing well and I had been forbidden from even going in his room, much less even entering that floor. 

I had never been on that floor that the staff now refers to as the "AIDS," floor, but I didn't care and I knew I couldn't get AIDS by simply touching my uncle or holding his hand. Unlike my mother and many of the staff in this hospital, I refused to be scared or ignorant of the fact. Sure it was a scary thing, it was terrifying and there were still so many unknowns about the virus but Uncle Alvin had been like a father to me, even like a mother and there was no way I was not going to see him.

The only information I got was that he had pneumonia and me being me. I was certainly going to try to sneak down there later. How could I not? This man meant the world to me, and there was no way in hell I was going to let him think that I didn't love him or let him think he was alone. It was bad enough that those patients down there were left to die alone and afraid, and my mother was keeping her distance like always.

I push all of that out of my brain as I gently hold Stef's leg in my head, helping her lift it up and down. Her legs were very, very stiff, and I could see it caused a great deal of pain, especially the knee she was shot in, much like Bird.

"Good job, Stef. It's really good." I smile as I see she winces in pain some, and I gently help her put her leg down. "Let's try the other one, okay? I know this one needs the most work, and I promise you we will get there. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I...I can. Keep going." She says as I gently lift her leg up again, and she grips the sides of her wheelchair. "FUCK."

"Sorry, tell me how far you can move it, okay? I want to push you but not to the point where you are in terrible pain, Stef. Because that won't help you."

"I feel, feel like it's coming out of the socket." She winces as I gently massage her knee cap.

"Okay I'm going to help you get it back down. That is a normal feeling based off your injury but we are going to make it stronger. I'm going to massage it and get it back down for you, okay?"

"Yes." Her voice is soft and I can tell she is in more pain then she lets on as I continue to gently massage her knee and when I try to bring it back down I can see her tensing her body up. "I, I can do it. I want to do it."

"I don't want to push you too hard, Stef. It's okay if you need me to help you. I can-

"Pu..push." She says gripping the side of her wheelchair again. "Just push me. I don't want to be like this anymore." Tears run down her face as I continue to rub her leg and she gently brings it down with my help.

"Good, good job. Take it nice and easy. Now, on a scale of 1-10. What is the pain level? Ten being the worst."

"Twenty. Twenty. May...maybe more." She says trying to bring her leg back up as tears continue to run down her cheek. She closes them tight again and moves her leg back down now looking right at me. 

"Stef, you are doing good. You are. And I promise you it will not always hurt like this. The beginning is going to be hard, I won't lie to you and we are going to put in the work but I promise you are going to get strong. You will." I smile softly at her as she stares hard at me in way that I have never seen before. 

"Are you okay?" She asks surprising me as I am rather taken aback and gently wrap her knee up.

"Me?"

"Yes. Are you okay? I know I have no brain but you..you don't seem okay." She continues to stare hard at me as I finish wrapping her knee up. It wasn't like me to divulge my life to my patients at all because I wanted to be professional and focus on their needs. "I don't always want to talk about me. I get tired of that."