”Uh uh, no crutches,” Dar immediately objected. ”I hate those things.”

”Dar.”

They both turned as a light knock came on the door. ”Come on in,”

Dr. Steve called out, smiling as the door eased open and Kerry poked her fair head in. ”Well, hello there.” He beamed at her.” Come in, come in.” Kerry stepped inside and gave him a tentative smile in return, as her eyes flicked to Dar’s face. ”How’s it going?”

Dar exhaled. ”Kerry, this is Dr. Steve.” She lifted a hand and waved at the doctor. ”Steve, this is Kerry.”

”Nice to meet you.” Kerry extended a hand, and returned the doctor’s firm grip.

”Ah, it’s nice for me to meet you, Kerry. I cannot tell you how much,” the doctor returned her greeting. ”Now, perhaps the person who puts a smile on this stubborn cat’s face will help me convince her to use a simple pair of crutches, eh?”

”Hey.” Dar's brows knit.

”Dar, are you being difficult?” Kerry chuckled softly and moved over to her lover, leaning against the couch and letting a hand rest on Dar’s thigh. ”What is it you want her to do?” She asked the doctor.

”Well, there’s a lot of swelling in there, and fluid,” Dr. Steve explained briskly. ”I can get rid of it one of two ways; either we wait, and let Dar here rest and see if her body reabsorbs it, or...” he held up a long, hollow needle.

Dar’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything.

”So I wanted to put a brace on it, to hold all the bits and pieces together, and convince my good friend here to keep off the darn thing and give it a chance to heal.”

Kerry peered at him, then at Dar. ”So, what’s the problem with that?”

Her lover sighed. ”I hate crutches.” She growled. ”I had a broken leg when I was in college and got stuck on the damn things for four months—drove me nuts.”

”Ah, well, Dar, we’re asking for a week here, hmm?” Dr. Steve coaxed her. ”Come on now. It’s either that or stay in bed.”

A faint, elfin smile wrinkled Kerry’s face and brought a twinkle to her eyes. ”Hmm...” Then she chuckled. ”Think of it as a strategic plus, Dar. If you show up on crutches at work, it’s going to throw everyone way off their game.”

Blue eyes regarded her glumly.

Kerry sighed. ”Okay, then look at it this way. If you show up on crutches and they annoy you, you can bap them over the head with them in the executive meeting.” She paused to see the effect her words were having and saw a grudging grin start to edge Dar’s face. ”It’s just a week.”


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Dar exhaled. ”Well, it’ll give me an excuse to dress casual at work.

I’m not wearing a damn skirt and jacket with a brace and crutches.” She finally relented. ”They can just cope with it, since it happened on their damn field trip.”

”See? There you go.” Kerry turned and winked at Dr. Steve. ”Now what?”

The doctor chuckled. ”Lie down, Dar. I’m going to get that brace on, and give you a minute to get used to it.” He went out, then came back with a sturdy looking white cotton brace, sliding it onto his reluctant patient’s leg and positioning it over the injury. ”Lucky thing you keep these in good shape.” He thumped his knuckles on her thigh.

”I think that’s what kept your leg in one piece.” He tightened the straps and fastened the Velcro tabs, adjusting tiny laces on the side to make the fit right. ”There, how’s that?”

Dar flexed her thigh muscles and lifted the leg up, then let it drop and swung to a seated position, bending the stiff supports with difficulty. ”Tight.”

”It’s supposed to be,” Steve told her cheerfully. ”All right, let me get some crutches. You like wood, or aluminum?”

”Wood,” Dar replied absently, as she fussed with the brace. She glanced after him as he left, then her eyes met Kerry’s. ”I’m being an ass, aren’t I?”

”Umm, no, well...” Kerry cleared her throat. ”I think admitting to weakness is really tough for you, Dar.” She traced a tiny line along the fine, soft hairs on Dar’s arm. ”I know that bothers you, especially at work, and especially this week.”

She was right, on all counts, Dar acknowledged silently. ”Well, I’d better get used to the damn things a little. Can I interest you in some lunch and a short walk out on the beach?” She offered.

Kerry’s eyes lit. ”Sure. How about brunch at Joe’s, then we can walk on the boardwalk a little.” She’d developed a strong preference for fresh seafood since she’d started living with Dar and now her mouth watered a little, as she imagined the buffet at Joe’s. And, she virtuously decided, it was healthy for you.

”Sounds good to me,” Dar agreed, as Dr. Steve came back with two wooden crutches, which he handed to his victim. ”Let me adjust these first.” She reversed the crutches, and loosened the wing nut that held the bolt adjusting their height, and lengthened them. ”Okay.” She put the tips on the ground and stood up, fitting them under her arms.

”Anything else, Dr. Steve?”

He studied her. ”You want something for the pain?” he offered.

Dar thought about it. ”No,” she finally decided, with a pensive sigh. ”I tend to rely on it too much, not a good idea,” she replied honestly. ”I’ll stick with the aspirin.”

Steve patted her side. ”Good girl.” He then tugged on Kerry’s blonde hair ”You take care of her, okay?” He took her hand, then Hurricane Watch

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stopped, peering at it. ”And what did you do?” He glanced up. ”You fall in that hole too?”

”Um, not exactly.” Kerry rubbed her ear. ”I, um, hit it on something.”

”She slugged someone,” Dar supplied helpfully.

Dr. Steve’s eyebrows lifted. ”Did you?” He laughed in surprise, tugging her over to the light. ”Here, let me take a look.”

Dar’s direct stare dared Kerry to protest and the blonde woman merely sighed and went along, wincing as the doctor’s probing hit very sore spots. ”Ow.”

”Can you close your hand?” He asked.

”Um, not really,” Kerry confessed, moving her fingers as far as she could. ”Just that much. It really hurts past that.” She found herself being led over to the x-ray platform and heard Dar’s soft chuckle. ”At least I’m not arguing,” she called back over her shoulder as Dr. Steve positioned the machine.

They finally exited out onto the sunny street, with Dar maneuvering carefully with her crutches, and Kerry cradling a hand that now bore a thin, compression bandage. ”I had no idea a bone bruise hurt that much,” she complained. ”It didn’t feel that bad yesterday.”

”It’s nothing.” Dar mimicked, teasing her with a grin.

”Yeah, yeah yeah,” Kerry sighed, examining the bandage. ”You have to wrap it, though. It’s the first one I’ve ever had.” She wiggled her fingers. ”I’m glad it was just a little bruise.” She dismissed her annoyance and glanced ahead. ”C’mon, there are some nice, big shrimp over there calling my name.”

They moved down the street slowly, evading the Sunday crowds, a definitely mixed bag that ranged from gawking tourists to throngs of locals in a colorful, eclectic show.

Kerry watched the people around her, stepping aside as two very young and very athletic men sped by on roller blades, their short shorts almost revealing what religion they were. Kerry chuckled softly and shook her head, then excused herself as she almost collided with two women strolling through the crowd. They smiled back at her, then let their eyes linger and Kerry blushed a little at the approving looks, as she glanced down.

”Something wrong?” Dar inquired glancing at the retreating pair.

”Um, no, no, I just...” Kerry tugged at her snug white t-shirt and adjusted the buckle on her neatly pressed shorts. ”They, um...”

”They were looking at you?” Dar’s eyes twinkled, as she lowered her voice. ”Don’t blame them, you look very cute.” She let her eyes roam over her companion’s body, and up to her braided hair, pulled back from her face.

Kerry straightened her shoulders a bit under the regard and eyed her friend. ”So why aren’t they all staring at you?” She indicated Dar’s faded denim cutoffs and tucked in crimson polo. Dar had also donned a 114

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favorite baseball cap, which was holding her dark hair off her forehead, and directing the loosely caught pony tail out the back of it.

”Ah ah, staring at a cripple’s in bad taste,” Dar smugly told her.

”Relax. Looking’s a hobby down here. Don’t let it bother you.” She maneuvered around a sidewalk café. “These things aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be.”

“The crutches?” Kerry asked.

“Mm.” Dar flexed her fingers on the handles.

”Hey, you guys.” A strange voice caught their attention and they both stopped to avoid crashing into a tall redhead accompanied by a shorter, ash blonde woman. ”How’s it going?”

Ah, Dar shuffled her mental deck and placed them. The choir leader and her friend from the church. ”Not bad, and you?” she replied politely. ”We got the newsletter the other day. Thanks for sending it.”

”No problem,” The redhead grinned. ”What happened to you guys?” She pointed at Dar’s leg. ”Car accident or something?”

”Or something.” Kerry smiled easily. ”Hi, Anne. That’s a nice shirt.”

Anne grinned back. ”Thanks. Where are you two off to? Just browsing?” She edged out of the stream of traffic. Both women were wearing jeans and t-shirts from the Arts Festival the prior month, and seemed in good spirits.

”We’re headed over to Joe’s for lunch, then for a walk. Dar’s trying to get used to her crutches,” Kerry explained, glancing around. ”What about you?”

Anne shrugged. ”We were just wandering. Mind if we join you?”

She poked her companion. ”Liz here was just saying she was hungry.”