How Green Becomes Wood

"Well do not scream this time," Dark advised them, looking down at his hands with a tiny little smile. Then, the nurse called Alec's name and he moved to stand up, "Are you ready?"

~~

"Oh, come on," She pleaded, rocking forwards slightly, "After everything I've told you, I don't get to know what the tattoo looks like? It's not like I can see it! And I already know it exists, now."
 
Alec nodded and stood up, confident now that he had Dark and Xander with him. "I'm ready, and I will not scream."

"Better not. My head might actually explode," Xander grumbled, following them more slowly. Fast moments jarred his head.

~~

"Very well, but you mustn't tell," Sally warned. She glanced at innocent little Ivy and leaned closer to Daizi to describe a shockingly inappropriate (for someone like Sally) tattoo hidden in a place that could only be seen if she chose to wear a very skimpy bathing suit, which was not her style anyway. It had to do with certain feelings about a certain man who was not Jack, but, in fact, a fictional character from a popular British show.
 
Dark said little, he just followed them into the room, and since there was only one place to sit besides the exam table, Dark gestured for Xander to take the chair. He could stand, Xander had a concussion. After identifying which of the three was Alec and confirming what he was there for, the nurse set about taking all of Alec's standard vitals.

~~

"Oh my god," Daizi laughed, putting one hand over her mouth, "That is... I can hardly believe that." She playfully shoved her friend, very lightly, "Why did you decide that? I--I'll tell you, though, so we're even, I used to have, you know, piercings," Daizi raised her hands to indicate where these piercings were, "I actually really liked them, but they took forever to heal, and I had to take them out for an MRI once, so I just never got them redone. Which is a good thing, now, considering," She nodded towards Ivy, who had started to laugh when her mother did. "I'd have had to take them out to nurse, I think."
 
Alec watched the nurse closely and asked questions, not resisting in the least. It seemed like he was just curious, but somehow, he almost always managed to be where Xander could see what the nurse was doing and why. This would be hard for Xander considering how much touch was necessary, but it would be easier after seeing it done to Alec. Plus, Alec really was interested all the bits and bobs and things everywhere.

Xander sat in the chair watching from behind his dark glasses. He had an inkling of an idea of what Alec was doing, but he mostly thought it was because his brother was nervous and naturally curious. He focused on keeping his breathing steady and not getting too worked up before his turn.

~~

"Teenage stupidity. I was seventeen and I'd just had a fight with my parents, and one of my friends said something dismissive about the man of my dreams," Sally said, waving a hand. "Jack thinks it's hilarious and once asked if I'd get it touched up as it fades." When Daizi mentioned the piercings, it was Sally's turn to gasp. "That sounds so incredibly painful! I could never work up the nerve to do something like that."
 
During Alec's examination, Dark spoke little, but he stayed right there, except for when he was briefly asked to step out so both boys could be asked if he were responsible for their injuries. It was policy, which of course he knew, and the nurse made it very clear to the twins, but knowing what was being asked behind the closed door still bothered him. How many times since becoming a father was it questioned if he was abusing them? The same moment from the day before flashed through his mind, and he came back in as soon as he was allowed to.

~~

"Would you get it touched up?" Daizi asked, having not realized how young Sally and Jack were when they met, "I was... 26? When I had mine done. It did hurt pretty badly, but Dark's got one tattooed completely black, and what happened is we were at the shop, and he was getting some work on his... I think it was his hip down to the top of his thigh, and I asked him what the most painful part had been so far. Somehow the conversation got to piercings, and I brought up what he'd think if I got them, and he liked the idea, and if you spend enough time in a place like that..." She shrugged, "It did hurt a lot, but I'd consider getting them again."
 
The moment Dark returned to the room, both boys turned to him, visibly relaxing just a little. All Xander did was look at him and then away, pretending he hadn't been bothered at all, but Alec touched Dark's arm briefly, both as a reassurance to himself and to Dark. He didn't like the questions any more than Dark did, no matter how "policy" it was. It wasn't fair.

The doctor finally came in after a bit of a wait time, and she was a young, cheery, professional woman. She did pause a little at the sight of Dark, her eyes going wide, but it was only for an instant before she pulled herself back into her professional mindset. Alec went first again, and other than the trauma to his scalp and a couple of small bruises on his arm from when he fell, he got a clean bill of health. She advised him to not wash his hair with shampoo and only let the water run over it as there was some skin damage, but it should heal up after a couple of days as long as he treated it gently. For brushing his hair, she advised he be very careful, but to go ahead and do it. His scalp would tell him if he was being too rough.

Xander was up next. He tensed the second her hands moved toward him, his body instinctively shifting away from her. She hesitated, her hands hovering, and glanced questioningly toward Dark.

~~

"I could not imagine," Sally admitted with a shudder. "But, then, I have always had a fairly low threshold for pain tolerance. It is rather embarrassing at times. However, they do sound like they would be rather fun during... certain times." She allowed her significant pause to say exactly what she meant by that. "I might consider getting it touched up, but I'm not sure if I could handle the needles again now that I'm not being fuled by teen hormones."
 
When Alec touched him, Dark gently put his hand back over Alec's before returning to his corner. When the Doctor came in, he nodded at her and uncrossed his tattooed arms to make himself seem more pleasant. When it was guaranteed Alec was essentially okay, his face relaxed just a bit. At least one son was okay.

When it was Xander's turn, he spoke up for the first time, "He does not like being touched. I understand how that may be difficult."

~~

Daizi chuckled at Sally's implication, "I can't deny that, and I wouldn't if I could. But we still have fun. It was a wonderful night here when you chaperoned that party." She pushed her hair back and lay back down with Ivy, grinning at her tiny face, and in a baby voice so she could keep her daughter entertained while still continuing the conversation said, "You should speak with Dark's artist, I'm sure he has ways of making it more bearable. Dark's planning a tattoo to represent my sweet beautiful Ivy-Qadira."
 
"Ah, well, we can work with that, though I'm afraid some touching will have to be necessary," the doctor said, taking it in stride.

Xander didn't relax even an inch, but, true to her word, the doctor touched him as little as possible, giving a lot of verbal guidance for what she needed from him. She took longer with Xander than she had with Alec, in part because he had a lot more to examine and in part because a touchless examination was naturally slower. The worst part was when she had to check his face to make sure nothing had been broken.

When she concluded his examination, the doctor addressed both Xander and Dark. "It feels as though you got away without breaking anything, but that is a lovely concussion you have. All concussions are not good, but, thankfully, yours is on the lower end of serious. You still need to take it serious so it doesn't get worse. I would recommend not going back to school until Monday, and I'll write a note for your teachers. Use painkillers as needed - don't be tough, take the pills and you'll heal faster - and keep your stimulation to a minimum. No homework, no more than half an hour of screen time twice a day, no books, and only calm music. It's boring, I know, but it could be a lot worse. Have you been having trouble with your ear?"

Xander hesitated, feeling a little lost with the sudden flow of information, but he finally said, "It keeps ringing, and sound is... fuzzy."

"Not unexpected," the doctor assured him. "It'll take some time for that to go away, and it looks like that eardrum was slightly damaged, but it will heal. Until then, try not to compensate for the loss of sound by turning your speakers up to 11. That'll make it worse. Just be patient, and it'll be gone in no time. Well, two-to-three weeks no time."

~~

"I would be surprised if he didn't," Sally admitted. "I hope it is in a place where I might be allowed to see it in a non-intrusive manner. Do you know what the boys will be doing for him for father's day?"
 
Dark nodded as the doctor explained what Xander's situation was. "How long will it take his concussion to heal? And his ear, do you expect any long-term effects of that? Anything he should do in the future to prevent any," he paused, searching for the correct word, "Reoccurence?"

That may not have been the right word, but it was the best he had.

~~

"He's planning it for the inside of his left bicep. He has this old, faded lizard there he doesn't really like, and for years he's been saying he's going to get it covered up with something, he just hadn't been able to design something he liked. He designs all of his own tattoos, you know. It's not something he shows off much, but he's a brilliant artist... I have no idea what Alec and Xander are cooking up. I should really talk about it with them."
 
The doctor turned to Dark. "A concussion at it's most basic is essentially a brain bruise. Our brains are notoriously slow healers, so while most would say that the concussion can be healed by two weeks, it can actually take much longer for it to actually be fully healed, and some of the worse concussions never do actually heal, especially if it keeps getting reinjured. However, in Xander's case, I would expect most of his symptoms to have abated by about three weeks. He might still struggle with a bit of what we call brain fog, but other than that, he should be fine. He will need to be a little careful with his physical activites for the next month because it is easy to essentially aggrivate or rebruise the area if it is jostled too much."

"There go my Judo classes," Xander grumbled.

The doctor glanced at him sharply. "Definitely no Judo for at least a month! I would prefer two months, but you might be able to get away with some of the gentler aspects." To Dark, she added, "For his ear, it should heal up fine with no long-term reprecussions, but if the ringing does not stop or comes back with frequency, I would recommend an Otolaryngologist. An ear specialist. I am not worried about it, but if anything changes, just give us a call."

~~

Sally smiled. "I haven't made any plans for Jack yet. He tends to treat himself a lot, so sometimes it can be hard to surprise him with a treat. I don't want to tell you how many birthday gifts I've gotten him only to find out he got one for himself only a couple of days before."
 
"I would not have let him go," Dark assured the doctor. Part of him had asked his question for his own sanity, so he knew what to watch for, and what he should be careful about, but also because if the order came from the Doctor, and not from him, he thought it'd be easy to take. It had the added bonus of demonstrating for Xander the sort of questions to ask. Then, regarding the ear specialist, he said, "I will keep that in mind for him," and shot a quick look to Xander which silently said, if you have any issues with your ear. Tell me. because he respected Xander enough to not give him that command out loud with the doctor present.

~~

"That's one thing I don't have to worry about with Dark. He loves treating other people, but he's less good about treating himself." As she said this, she bounced a toy for Ivy, who rolled over from her back onto her tummy to try to grab it.
 
Xander gave a tiny, grudging nod to Dark to show he got the message.

"Basically, for the next two weeks, he needs a lot of patience and to be treated with kid gloves before being gradually reintroduced to regular life." The doctor glanced at Xander and gave him a cheeky smile. "You look like someone who can handle that with no problem!" Xander gave her a flat look, and after a bit, her smile wobbled. She cleared her throat and turned to Dark. "And you also had some issues we need to discuss, correct?"

~~

Sally cheered with a few little claps. "Oh, good girl, Ivy! You rolled over! Brilliant!"
 
He nodded, taking a few steps towards the table, "I was just a little bit hit. It was important to my wife I be checked out, and to them."

~~

"Did she?" Daizi asked, putting her hand and touching Ivy, and then making her own excited squeak when she realized she touched Ivy's back, "She's never rolled that way before! She's only gone tummy to back! Good job, Hummingbird!!!"
 
"Of course!" the doctor agreed. "Are you alright with stripping to the waist for me?" She patted the table, inviting him to sit in the spot Xander happily vacated.

~~

"She hasn't? Oh, she made it look so smooth! That was excellent," Sally told Daizi happily.
 
As Dark walked to the exam table, he untucked his shirt and unbuttoned it as he sat down, with only mild difficulty due to his damaged hand. One good thing about his height was how easy it was to sit on the table, it stopped him from hurting too badly as he took his spot. With his shirt off, he had a nasty purple bruise on his left side that, despite being relatively small, looked angry. Curiously, it was underneath his tattoo, there, changing the colour of a gargoyle's face and making the negative space behind it seem like the night.

~~

"No, never!" Daizi said, unable to resist the urge to scoop up Ivy to give her all of her kisses. But then, she stopped, holding Ivy partway in the air, "Oh. Oh no," she laughed, "This is bad, isn't it?"
 
Alec winced when he saw the bruise and shifted a little. That looked so painful! Dark had taken care of them, looked after them, and he hadn't even realized how hurt Dark had been. The gargoyle didn't help. It looked so bad.

The doctor, on the other hand, was unbothered by the look, though she was clearly taking it seriously. She asked several questions as she gently explored the area, giving it a good, close look. She took her time, but finally told him, "I'm afraid we are going to have to send you to X-ray. It may be nothing, but ribs are tricky."

~~

"By bad, you mean she is approaching crawling, yes, it is very bad," Sally chuckled. "In no time at all, she'll be planking! Which I thought was the most humerous stage before crawling got underway."
 
During his examination, Dark avoided looking at the doctor or his sons. Instead, he watched the ceiling, doing everything he could to not wince away from her touch, and after she stepped back, he moved to put his shirt back on, "Is the X-Ray here or will you write a referral for another facility?"

~~

"Even before she's crawling it means she's technically mobile now," Daizi replied, nuzzling her cheek against Ivy's tummy, "Ivy, baby, you don't get to be on the bed anymore! You can roll right off! Until now, we've known she's only able to roll one baby's width to either side, so we've been able to just set her in the center, but now she can just keep rolling! Oh, Ivy, sweet girl," Daizi smoothed her dark hair back and kissed her cheek, "If I lay you back down, will you do it again? So we can send a video to Baba and your brothers?" Then she widened her eyes and turned to Sally, "No, we can't do that. Dark will be crushed, it bothers him to miss milestones because he's at work. The first time she rolls over like that when he's home, that's her first time rolling onto her tummy."
 
"Yes, which is unusual for a facility like ours, but we do have one!" She sounded rather excited. "Unfortunately, your boys won't be able to come with us. You can wait here, if you want, or you want wait in the waiting room until we are all done. It should take us only about fifteen minutes or so unless there's a delay."

"Waiting room's fine, I guess," Xander said slowly, and Alec nodded in agreement.

~~

"Normally, this is how the husband reacts for the mother, so I rather enjoy this flip," Sally admitted. "I will gladly keep this a secret until he knows. It is so good to see a father wanting to be involved with their infant! I love it."
 
"I will see you both soon, then," Dark said, getting up off the exam table and buttoning his shirt partially. "Let your mom know we should be home soon."

He pushed his hair back and followed the doctor to the x-ray room, waiting until they were out of earshot of the twins to say, "I think it is broken. I do not want them to know."

~~

"Dark absolutely adores her," She said, setting Ivy down in her lap, "I mean, you were there when she accidentally hit where he had been punched, but was adamant to keep holding her despite that. I think she gives him the chance to have the childhood he never got to have, and I don't think he's realized it. It's the most beautiful, endearing thing..." She sighed happily and lay on her back, lifting Ivy up like an airplane, "Alec will be thrilled too. Xander is harder to gauge."
 
"I suspected as much," the doctor said, not asking how Dark would know what it felt like to break a rib. "Your medical information is as confidential as you would like it to be. They will hear nothing from me that you do not want them to know. This way, please." She indicated a small room off to one side where Dark could put anything metal into a tray away from the machine. While he did that, she went to ensure the machine was available and then guided him through the process. It did take a bit of time, but she did her best to make it go as smoothly as possible. Then he had to wait while the negative was developed.

~~

"Xander is quite the closed book, but he does seem a bit more open than when I first met him," Sally remarked, smiling as she watched. "And Alec is just such a gentle, loving soul."
 
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