InsaneJournal

Who: Tinkerbell and Frank Hardy
When: Monday night, late
Where: Hospital, then ice cream
What: Stitches
Rating/Warnings: Low/Hospital stuff, Tink gets stitches
Status: Complete


Tink was still in pain as they turned off the road. She’d cleaned up her face as best she could, and had a sterile gauze pad held in place at her hairline with a headband. The pressure was comforting, though she thought she could still feel it oozing. Gross. And those painkillers hadn’t kicked in yet. Frank had come by, her knight in shining armor, and Tink did her best to convince him she was fine. The whole family was buzzing around. It was a very weird way for Frank, the guy she’d been dating, to meet her whole family. But they’d seemed more concerned about her than interested in Frank.

When Frank mentioned ice cream, though? Tink was all about it. She changed her shirt (after all, the old one was covered in blood) and practically ran to the car. Ice cream heals all wounds, right? But when he turned off the road, Tink frowned.

“This isn’t Baskin Robbins,” she said, looking out the window at the glowing Emergency Room sign.

Frank had visited his share of emergency rooms. Growing up with his brother Joe, the two of them were more apt to get into trouble than not. Some of those adventures had inevitably ended up in casts and stitches. So when Belle had informed him that she had gotten hit with a trebuchet mishap with her siblings, Frank had easily empathized with the situation. The unspoken rule had always been to suck it up while they were still playing, but then they would humor their mother with a requisite trip to the emergency room. You couldn’t brag about how many stitches you got if you never got them in the first place.

Granted, there were several times that either he or Joe had insisted that they were fine and their would didn’t even qualify for stitches. At those times, Laura Hardy knew just how to get her sons into the car and off to the doctor. As the eldest son, Frank had learned well and had taken over as primary distractor when Joe was being stubborn.

“It’s not?” Frank said innocently as he pulled into the small parking lot. He set the parking brake before turning to Belle. “Don’t worry, this is just a quick stop on the way to get ice cream. I promise we’ll stop at Baskin Robbins on our way home.”

Tink gave a deep sigh. “I can’t believe you tricked me. Aren’t relationships supposed to be built on a foundation of trust?” But she was unbuckling and opening the door as she spoke. It felt like it’d been a long day, and it was about to get even longer. She was already tired. Was she supposed to fall asleep when she had a head wound? Maybe they could check for that kind of thing. Tink didn’t know--she’d actually, luckily, never had a head wound before. It’d always been other parts of her body injured by the experiments and contraptions that she and her brothers built.

“You owe me hot fudge and whipped cream.” Tink said, wrapping an arm around Frank’s arm as they headed into the Emergency Room. “And a cherry. I demand a cherry on top.”

“You’re also supposed to listen to your boyfriend when he’s being logical, because he has your best interests at heart.” Frank slipped his arm out of hers so that he could wrap it around her shoulder instead. He might have been feeling a little more protective than usual, even though the anger and need for retribution had faded.

“Hot fudge and whipped cream.” Frank confirmed, steering her toward the check-in counter. Belle’s mom had slipped him her insurance card before they had left. On the bright side, it seemed as if his deception had been approved of by her family, even if the girl herself was unhappy with the situation. He placed a quick, gentle kiss on Belle’s uninjured temple. “And all the cherries you can eat.”

So, that was the first mention of the word ‘boyfriend.’ Tink’s heart practically skipped a beat over it. Thankfully, she didn’t stumble in her stride, the warmth of Frank’s arm around her shoulders providing a great comfort to her. She felt her cheeks growing hot. Damn it, now her face was going to be all red. And what was he saying? Something about cherries? Tink really hadn’t heard anything past the word ‘boyfriend.’

“Uh… right. Yes. Cherries.” Tink said, brain buzzing. She had this excited, swirly feeling in her stomach, and the thundering of her heart in her temples. It was making the wound on her forehead throb.

Completely oblivious to the bomb he had just dropped on his companion, Frank chalked the reddening of her face to the fact that she was being herded up to the front desk. He hadn’t thought she had a problem with PDA, but usually they walked arm-in-arm as opposed to having his arm around her. Before that train of thought had time to completely run its course they were greeted by a woman in scrubs.

Moments later they were checked in and seated, waiting for Belle’s name to be called for check in. Frank kept his fingers laced with hers as he sat beside her. The nurse manning the reception desk had seemed a bit worried about her pulse and red face, so Frank figured that she would be called in sooner rather than later.

Thankfully, Frank was sitting on Tink’s good side. The side that didn’t have a gaping wound at her hairline, above her eyebrow. She wasn’t bloody and disgusting on that side. When they sat down, she gave his hand a very gentle squeeze--a thank you. Because now they were here, she realized that this was what she needed. She needed the stitches, the pain killers, and a doctor to look into her eyes and tell her whether or not she’d sustained a concussion.

And her boyfriend brought her here. The thought made her heart jump again, and she couldn’t stop smiling. She leaned her cheek against his shoulder for a moment, then swallowed before speaking softly. “You said boyfriend.”

Frank was glad that Belle wasn’t kicking up more of a fuss about being tricked into a hospital visit. He had a feeling she would give in once she realized a trip to the ER wasn’t nearly the three ring circus it sounded like at home. As he looked down at their intertwined fingers, the original train of thought that had been derailed by the receptionist came back.

He had just started to consider whether he should have made such an overt move when Belle spoke. Frank blinked. Oh. Ohhh.They had never really talked about it, had they? He had just assumed… And made an ass out of u and me, came the adage. It was no wonder Belle had felt insecure enough to drunkenly text Joe about their sex life. Or rather, their lack of one.

Frank cleared his throat, closing his hand around hers. “Is that...okay?” Better late than never, right?

Things probably would have gone slightly more smoothly if they talked a little more to one another. But TInk wasn’t complaining. This whole boyfriend business was pretty exciting. She’d never had a boyfriend before. She wondered if she was doing things correctly. So far so good, she assumed. (Heh.)

“I think so.” Tink responded, lifting her cheek from his shoulder so she could look at him. “That’s what you want?”

Frank may have made a career about bringing information to the public, but the irony was that he was horrible communicating with the people he cared about. He ran his thumb pensively over their joined fingers. The two of them had been getting closer over the last few months. Even dating for the last few weeks. Frank should have known better, though. Belle was a modern woman. She knew better than to assume things like he did.

“I do.” Frank twisted a bit so that he could get a better look at Belle. “But only if that’s what you want.” In a lot of ways he was lucky that she hadn’t found someone else while he was shuffling his feet thinking things were already clear between them.

“Um,” Tink was actually finding it a little hard to wrap her head around things. It made her stomach twist and flutter in wonderful ways thinking about Frank as her boyfriend. At the same time, she’d never really had one before, and she didn’t know what she was doing. Would he help her figure things out? Would he think she was lame for needing help?

“I’d like that. I mean, I would. It’s just… I don’t know how.” Tink admitted, going red in her cheeks.

Frank had always thought Belle’s blush was extremely fetching. He still thought so now, even with the patch of gauze covering part of his view of her face. So it took a beat for him to finish processing her words. “What do you mean?” He frowned, a little confused. Did she not know how to date him? Well, according to both Joe and Callie, he was rather difficult to date. He supposed that would be fair, but he was also at a loss at how to correct it.

“I mean…” Would it make her seem lame to admit it? It wasn’t as if it was that unusual for someone her age to… to be… what would the word for it be? A dating virgin? Maybe there wasn’t a word for it. “I’ve never had a boyfriend before. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.”

Staring was probably not the correct reaction for this situation, but Frank couldn’t help himself. There was a blank look on his face as he processed the information. “Never?” More pieces started to fall into place. Most of those pieces came with additional questions of their own. Did that mean Belle was a virgin? No, that couldn’t be right. She would not have complained to ‘Joe’ that they hadn’t had sex yet if that were the case.

“No.” Tink said, giving her head a gentle shake. That made the room spin, so she decided not to shake her head any more, no matter how many times she said ‘no.’ “No, never. That doesn’t… stop you from wanting to date me, does it?”

“No,” Frank began, his face pensive but brightening. So she was open to dating. That relieved a lot of the worries and questions that had popped up in the last few minutes. “I’ve never cared about your dating history - or lack thereof.” There was a sheepish look on his face as he continued. “Although, I’ve been told I’m not the easiest person to date, so…”

He was about to continue when a woman in scrubs came out and called Belle’s name. Helping her stand, Frank gave her a small smile. He let go of her hand so that they could maneuver through the seats, but he made sure to keep one hand at the small of her back so that she knew he was there.

Tink almost said something about how she’d been told as much, but was interrupted by the nurse calling her name. She stood from her chair, straightened her blood stained shirt, and headed off to her doom. Though Frank’s hand on her back was warm and comforting, she was a little nervous still about the whole thing.

The nurse took her vitals; height, weight, blood pressure, temperature, and then sat her down on an examination table to unbandage the wound and check it out.

“Oh, honey,” the woman in scrubs said, shaking her head. She was wearing latex gloves, and she poked at Tink’s hairline. “We’re gonna have to shave this. But I’ll let the doctor explain.” She pulled away and started to dig out supplies from a cabinet.

Tink looked over at Frank, frowning sadly. She mouthed They’re gonna cut my hair. and pouted.

Frank had had a feeling a bit of her hair might have needed to be shaved, but he had hoped for Belle’s sake that he was wrong. Sometimes, being right didn’t pay off nearly as well. Seeing the pout, he gave the nurse’s back a glance before dipping down for a quick kiss. “Don’t worry. I think you’d look cute with a pixie cut.” Dark eyes sparkled with the pun as he stepped back to let the nurse work.

It didn’t take that long, really, but to Tink it felt like an eternity had passed by the time the nurse gave her a heavy duty pain killer. Then the world grew fuzzy and warm. The nurse and the doctor finished shaving and stitching Tink’s head. Good thing she didn’t have a needle fear. They had to give her three shots to numb it. Actually, by the time it was numb and the pain was gone, she felt incredibly sleepy. She’d even closed her eyes a few times and minutes passed while the doctor worked.

A nurse came with discharge papers, and Tink signed. She let Frank accept the instructions--keep it clean, come back to have the stitches removed in a week, etc. And she leaned against him as they headed back out toward his car. “Was I a good girl?” She was still a little drugged, and the words came out sleepy, even as she grinned. “Do I get my ice cream now?”

“You did very well.” Frank squeezed her hand as they headed through the parking lot. He opened the passenger door for her. He was glad that the visit had gone well, minus the bit of lost hair. That was okay, though. Frank might have been looking forward to getting to tease her a bit to try and get that adorable pout to appear. “I promised you ice cream, didn’t I? With hot fudge and cherries.”

It was probably not the best move to kidnap his girlfriend right after an injury, but that was exactly what Frank intended to do. He would text Joe from the ice cream place. Once he got Belle settled in the car he leaned in conspiratorially. “I think the question is: are you going to fall asleep before we get there?”

There must be a twenty-four hour ice cream place. Must be. This was Orange County in the twenty-first century. Tink settled into the car and tipped her head back against the headrest. “You sure did. Hot fudge and cherries, and whipped cream, too.” She thought she’d close her eyes for just a moment. Then he mentioned falling asleep, and that sounded pretty good, too.

“I’m gonna be honest with you,” Tink said without opening her eyes. “I just might.”

Frank watched her from the driver’s seat for a moment before grinning. “I’ll wake you up when we get there.” Luckily for Belle, he was a frequent customer of the 24 hour Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins combo store that was just down the way from his work. He had switched locations after an attempted robbery the year before. Plus, they made sure that the coffee at midnight was just as fresh as the pot at noon.

Pulling into the store, Frank turned to look at the dozing woman, eyes lingering for a moment longer than strictly necessary. He reached over to gently shake her hand. His girlfriend’s hand. “Wake up, sleepy head. We’re here.”

Yeah, Tink was out cold by the time they reached the ice cream shop. There were still drugs in her system--the painkillers they’d given her at the hospital, along with one of her brother’s leftover Vicodin from his wisdom teeth removal a couple months ago--and the adrenalin was wearing off. It meant she was exhausted.

“Mmmmmrph?” She turned her fingers over to take hold of his hand before her eyes opened. “Ice cream?” she asked in a sleepy, happy, hopeful, child-like tone.

“Ice cream.” Frank pulled her hand up to kiss it while he watched her wake. He wondered if she would have car bed head. Or rather, a part of him hoped she did. Frank had a feeling it would be all seven shades of adorable. It was probably best if he didn’t tell Belle that, though. He doubted she would find it nearly as amusing as he did.

Letting go of her hand, Frank slipped out of the driver’s seat and around to help Belle out of the car. Not because she needed the help, but because it was something he enjoyed doing for her. “C’mon. Let’s get you some ice cream and then home. As comfortable as Sammy’s seats can be, I think an actual bed might do you more good right now.”

“Mmmpf.” Tink nodded in agreement. She really did need a bed. But first some Rocky Road. It really did heal all wounds.