Page 91 of Caged
"Jess, how about you come talk to Xander and me while they see what they're dealing with."
Danny stood back against the wall, wanting to stay and watch. When no one paid any attention to him, he simply stayed where he was, fascinated by how Faith and Rani seemed to work together without even speaking about what needed to be done.
"Let me get a look at it, then we'll give you something for pain while we fix you up." Rani glanced at Faith. "Did you prep the lidocaine?"
Faith gave a nod. "Everything you should need is on the tray." She taped the IV to Patrick's hand as she spoke.
Watching Faith was more fascinating than watching Rani. She was younger than he was and yet she handled this as if she'd been doing it for years. She didn't flinch at the sight of the blood or the way the knife angled from Patrick's thigh. Danny wished he was as brave as she was. Just the sight of the knife had him feeling dizzy and he was thankful for the wall he leaned against.
As if reading his thoughts, Faith glanced over at him. "You okay over there, Danny?"
"Yeah, I'm good." He hoped he wasn't lying.
"Sit down if you need to. You're almost as pale as Patrick. We don't need you falling," Rani told him.
"I'm good. I promise. I can leave if you need me to, but I'd like to watch."
"That's up to Patrick." Rani glanced up at the man he was working on.
"I don't mind you staying." Patrick grimaced at something Rani did. "Can I get something for pain?"
"I'm going to numb the area in a second. Faith, how are his vitals?"
"Stable. Pulse is a little high, but I think it's just stress."
"Give him something for pain." Rani nodded to her. "Patrick, this might make you drowsy. Any other injuries or anything I need to know?"
"Nothing." Patrick watched as Faith put something in the IV line.
"Okay, this looks good. I'm going to take the knife out and stitch you up. I want you to stay here and rest for a few hours, then you can hobble back to your room." Rani started to give a few small shots to the area around the knife wound.
Danny couldn't see well, but he was fascinated at how calm and easy everything was. It reminded him of when his mother would sit him down and pull a splinter from his finger. Of course, this was nothing that simple, but watching Faith and Rani, one would think it was.
Faith assisted Rani as he removed the knife, tossing it on a tray, then worked to clean the wound before he stitched and bandaged it. "Danny, why don't you go get Patrick a couple of those cookies if the others haven't eaten them all already." Faith smiled over at him.
Glad for something to do, he nodded. "I'll be right back."
He headed to the kitchen, surprised to find Marshall at the table, eating a cookie and drinking a glass of milk.
"Hey." Marshall smiled. "Learning a lot?"
Danny paused to drop a kiss on Marshall's lips. "They're amazing. They make it look so easy."
"I guess it is if you're used to doing it all the time." Marshall shrugged. "Patrick okay?"
"Hurting but fine. It doesn't look bad." He placed a couple of cookies on a plate and poured a large glass of Kool-Aid for Patrick. "How's Jessica?"
"Good. She went home already. So did D and Jeremy. Xander and Matt are in the computer room while they wait for Faith."
"She's so amazing. I wish I could be as strong as she is." Danny sighed.
"You are, just in different ways. You have your own talents. Don't compare yourself. You have to remember, she wasn't held for years, and she's been free a lot longer than you have. You'll get there if you give yourself time." Marshall stood and came to him. "Go deliver your food and we'll head home." He kissed Danny softly. "I need to hold you."
Danny leaned against him for a moment, taking comfort in Marshall's warmth. "It's been a long night. You okay?" He needed to remember that all this had to have some effect on Marshall too. Patrick was part of the team, a friend. No one wanted anyone to get hurt during a sting.
"I'm okay. Glad everyone is alright."
"Me too. Let me take these upstairs and we can go." Danny grabbed the plate of cookies and juice to take up to Patrick.
