Chapter 4: Zara
The waiting to hear if they had found Jessica and if she was alright was driving me nuts. I didn’t know how the others didn’t scream. I could tell they were worried, but they seemed to cover it up better than me. If I was honest, I was worried about something happening to Demon. He made me crazy, but I didn’t want anything to happen to him, or to any of the other Warriors. It was insane how quickly they had wormed their way into my affections, though I shouldn’t let Demon do it. He had the ability to destroy what little bit of self-esteem I had left.
As a doctor, I was confident as hell. As a woman, not so much. I’d been taught in the past that I wasn’t what a man needed. That was the biggest thing influencing my thoughts about adopting or having kids via insemination. Demon didn’t seem to agree with that idea.
Deep down, I secretly wished I had someone like Demon—one who would love me like it appeared the Warriors loved their women. You could see it when they looked at them. If I had that, I’d be truly blessed, but that didn’t seem likely for me. I pushed those depressing thoughts away. I needed to concentrate on helping where I could as we waited. The guys who’d stayed behind gave updates as they got them, which I appreciated.
It was a few hours later when we heard she was found. She was fine, and they were on their way back. I hugged and cried with Devyn, Jocelyn, and Madisen. It had been particularly hard on Madisen. Jess was her best friend and Mad was only a few weeks away from having her baby. I’d made sure to keep a close eye on her. Something like this, with the stress involved, could send her into premature labor. Luckily, I didn’t see any signs of that happening.
It was over an hour later after we heard she’d been found when they came riding through the gates of the compound. I waited impatiently for them to enter the clubhouse. I wanted to check Jessica and see with my own eyes the others were alright, especially Demon. Ajax, with Jess in his arms, was the first one through the door. We all raced over to them. Ajax reassured us she was fine. He was taking her to his room. As he did, he looked at me.
“Zara, will you come with us and check her out?”
“Of course, Ajax. Let me grab my bag out of my car and I’ll be right there.” I went out the door to my car. I saw Demon getting off his bike. Blood was running down his arm. I ran over to him.
“What happened? Let me look at that, Demon.” I was scared, which wasn’t like me as a doctor.
He shrugged. “It’s nothing, Doc, just a scratch. You need to make sure Jessica is okay.”
“I’m getting my bag to go check on her, but let me peek at yours first. That seems like a lot of blood for a scratch,” I told him worriedly, as I touched his arm. He pulled away from me.
“I said it’s fine. Take care of Jessica,” he said with a remote look on his face. I pulled back. I guess he didn’t want my help. That hurt. Swallowing my disappointment, I turned and marched to my car and took out my medical bag. I ignored him as I passed him to go back inside. Screw Demon. I didn’t need his shit.
I went through the common room and down the hall. He was following close behind me. I chose to pretend he wasn’t there. As soon as I got Jessica situated, my ass was going home. I needed to get some distance between me and Demon. I knocked softly on Ajax’s door and entered. I went over to the bed where she was lying and shooed Ajax back.
“Give me some room. I won’t bite her. I need to check her out. Jess, did you get hit or fall?”
“Other than the knock to the head, no I wasn’t hit. As for a fall, I did fall to the ground, but I landed on my back and not my stomach. She was a little more active earlier but has settled down now.”
“Do you have any pain anywhere?”
“My head aches and my left hip where it landed on a stone, I think, when I fell. Nothing else seems to be hurting. I don’t feel any cramping or pain down in my stomach.”
“Good. Let me listen to you and then I’ll listen to the baby’s heartbeat. It can be a little tricky with a regular stethoscope, but I should be able to do it. Just be really quiet.”
I quickly checked her blood pressure, pulse, listened to her heart, and then felt her stomach. Lastly, I listened to her stomach. When I was done listening and had taken the stethoscope out of my ears, Ajax asked. “Well, are they alright, Doc?”
“They seem to be fine. The baby’s heartbeat is nice and strong and steady. Jessica’s blood pressure is a tad elevated, but that’s to be expected after what she just went through. I want to look at her hip and back. If you would step out for a minute.” I directed this to Demon. He didn’t say anything, but he did nod and leave.
I gently rolled Jess and helped her to work up her shirt and her pants down, so I could see her whole hip area. There was a big ecchymosis forming as well as the area being scraped. I gently palpated around it and then helped her to rearrange her clothes. As soon as I was done, Ajax opened the door to let Demon back inside. I wish he’d left him out there. His staring was beginning to bother me.
“I think we’re good. You can take Tylenol for the headache and drink a lot of water. If you start hurting more or in new places, have cramps, or spotting, call me right away. If I can’t come, then I’ll tell you to come into the ER or call Dr. Foreman. Now, why don’t you get some rest? Ajax, make sure she eats something in the next hour or two.” I said, he nodded. I was ready to leave.
“I will, Doc. Thank you. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. How’re you feeling?” He pointed to the cut on my forehead.
“I’m fine. I have a hard head. Just a little headache like Jess. When I get home, I’ll take a nap and should be fine. I mean it, Ajax, call me for anything.”
“Thank you, Zara. Will you be back tomorrow, or do you have to work?” Jess asked me.
“I work from six a.m. until six p.m. tomorrow and the next two days. Then I’m off for four days unless they call me in for a shift, which they almost always do. I’ll be lucky if I get two days. I’ll let you know. Now, get some sleep.” I gave her a hug then Ajax one. Demon let out what sounded like a low growl. I didn’t know what was causing that. He must be feeling his wound. Too bad he didn’t want me to check it. He’d have to suffer. I rolled my eyes but didn’t look in his direction. I said goodbye and went out the door. For some reason, he followed me.
I didn’t stop to talk. I nodded and waved at several people, as I went for the front door. I’d made it outside when Demon grabbed my arm and swung me around to face him. “What’s the hurry, Doc?”
“I need to go home and get some things done before work tomorrow. I’ll see you guys later.” I tried to turn away, but he was still holding on to my arm.
“What about me? I still need my arm checked,” he said with a crooked grin. I shook my head at him.
“You told me you were fine. I’m sure if you’re not, there’s plenty of help for you here. Just ask one of the ladies you seem to hang with so much. They can fix you up. Now, let go of me so I can leave.”