Page 73 of Powerless
"I'll be the first to volunteer." To everyone else, "Mari worked tirelessly all night to patch us up from the attack. You can trust her, not only with your own lives but your children's."
"Any medical issues you come to me with will also be kept confidential," I added. "This is something I take very seriously, so please don't suffer in silence because you're ashamed or embarrassed. Trust me, I've seen every body part and organ you can imagine, and probably some that you can't."
That got a chuckle out of some people.
"So please," I reiterated, "come see me if you're having any medical issues or just have questions."
Jandro raised his hand next. "I also volunteer for vacs and blood donation." He shot me a grin. "As long as you don't hurt me too badly."
"I won't if you won't," I retorted without thinking.
Chuckling, his eyes dropped to the table.
Reaper's hand on my shoulder moved to the nape of my neck.
"Thanks, sugar." The pet name and the contact on my skin seemed to send a clear message without explicitly saying it.
I was his. And I liked that a lot more than I thought I would.
"Thanks, everyone." I gave a small wave as I headed for the door. "You know where to find me."
"You okay with this?"Reaper's green eyes shone like bright jewels under my office lights.
"Of course. What matters isyou'reokay with it. You're the patient."
I glanced up at the dozen or so people crowded around my tiny office. Tessa was there, along with her two kids. So was Noelle, staring nervously at my blood-draw syringe despite the lengths of colorful tattoos decorating her arms.
"I want them to see that this isn't a big deal," Reaper said, lifting his eyes to our visitors. "That we don't have to be afraid of blood or needles or any of that shit. This can help us live longer, and therefore make the Steel Demons even stronger." He nodded at me. "Do what you gotta do, sugar."
"All right, I need your arm."
He extended his hand to me. I pushed his sleeve up past his elbow and placed the back of his forearm on the small pull-out table between us. Tying a strip of gauze around the widest part of his forearm, I began tapping the inside of his elbow in search of a vein.
"Why do you do that?" Tessa's older boy asked.
"This is to slow his blood-flow a little bit," I said, tugging on the gauze strip. "It helps me find a vein to draw blood from." Reaper's veins were already swelling inside his elbow. "Now," I said. "Here's a little poke."
I inserted the needle and opened the tube, then taped the needle down. A few people let out soft gasps as dark red blood flowed out of his arm and into the bag.
"That's all it is," I said, turning to everyone. "A pint of blood can potentially save three lives and it'll only take about ten minutes." I turned back to Reaper. "How bad was that?"
"Not bad at all," he grinned, staring at the needle in his arm. "Kind of a rush, actually."
"I want to go next!" Tessa's boy declared.
"Hey, little man," I rolled my stool over to him. "You're big and strong, but you need all your blood to grow even bigger right now. In a few years, though, you'll have some extra you can give if your mom says it's okay."
"Are there any, uh, side effects?" Noelle asked nervously.
"You might feel a bit weak and dizzy after donating. It's important that you don't exert yourself for several hours afterward. Drink plenty of fluids and eat well to help replenish what you donated. You might also feel sore and have a bit of bruising at the injection site but that will fade after a few days."
When that answer seemed to reassure her, I looked at everyone else. "Any other questions?"
Once Reaper finished up, the response was overwhelming. A line formed outside my office door of people wanting to donate blood, get vaccinated, talk to me about check-ups, or all of the above. I did my best to give everyone my undivided attention while also trying not to panic at the line growing longer.
But no one seemed to mind waiting. If anything, the hallway buzzed with excitement. And still, people kept a distance outside my office door to provide privacy to those I was seeing. It ended up being a long day, but one I'd been dreaming of for years. Seeing patients, putting fears to rest, and providing them with insight about their health and bodies. It was all I ever wanted to do with my life, and the Steel Demons MC made it happen for me.
When the last patient left, a tall, handsome man leaned into my doorway. He already had his arm bandaged so I jokingly made a shooing motion at him.
