"You'd tell me if it wasn't?" He asks huskily, cradling that hand between both of his. Juliet tries to protect everyone, always, and that's why he asks to begin with.
She meets his gaze, but then a surge of pain ripples through her and she whimpers, closing her eyes.
The doctor gets x-rays taken and there are two broken ribs but no internal bleeding, luckily. She'll have a hell of a chest bruise but all in all, it's a miracle the damage isn't worse. They decide to drug her for now, get her sedated so they can wrap her ribs securely. When that's all done, they let James sit with her, assuring him she's fine.
Juliet's completely out of it for now, though she does mumble his name, fingers reaching for him.
He's so damn relieved that he lets out an audible breath, clapping the doctor on the shoulder and nodding with a thanks to him. The minute he's able to just sit with her, he plants down next to her, taking that hand reaching for him and holding it between both of his.
"It's me, baby. I'm right here," he assures her, kissing her knuckles softly before moving one hand so he can stroke her hair back from her eyes.
Juliet holds onto him, offering a weak smile before they head home slowly. Getting in and out of a jeep would be worse than simply walking, so that's what they do. By the time they're home, breathing hurts, and she just wants to sit.
"Think I'll get worker's comp?" she jokes, trying to make him joke in return.
In other circumstances, a responding joke would have been easy and automatic. But she's in pain, and he can see the tension in her face, how out of breath she is just from walking. It's all because it hurts like hell, and he's damn grateful she's alive, but that fear hasn't yet dissipated.
"Don't seem the type around here," he grunts back, getting her situated on their couch.
When he can't make a joke in return, she knows he's still terrified; truthfully, she was too. Now, she can assess herself medically but before, all she could think was that she had her one good thing, and of course, she would die for it.
Reaching out for him, she tugs so that he's kneeling by the couch, eye level with her. Then, she cradles his face with one hand.
"I'm okay, James," she whispers quietly, stroking his cheek. "Everything's okay now. I'll heal, fully."
He does get down on one knee, right there beside her, leaning his cheek into her hand a little more. "When I got there and I saw you just layin' under that van..." His voice gets suspiciously shaky.
He doesn't hesitate to kiss her back, over and over. When he pulls back, his forehead comes to rest against hers. "I ain't used to feelin' this way, Juliet."
He looks her over, eyes roaming the length of her body and focusing on her upper abdomen where her ribs are wrapped. She'd been so hurt, she could have been bleeding internally. It's only by pure luck that she's not.
He gives her question serious consideration for a minute, but then quickly diverts rather than answer her.
"Can I get ya anything?" As he asks, his hand comes to rest against her wrist, and it's almost as if he hasn't heard her at all.
He leans in to kiss her softly again for a moment, nodding a little. But then he gets up and grabs everything she needs, bringing back a glass of water and a pill.
As he breathes slowly in and out, measuring each breath, he watches her face intently. Then, his fingers stroke up and down her arm tenderly. "You got it, Blondie."
James reaches for the book on the table now, beginning to read while keeping one hand on her.
Juliet is out quickly, sleeping soundly right there on the couch. When she wakes, it's late and she's hungry. She makes a soft whimpering noise to indicate her coming back to consciousness, carefully stretching until she can't.
"James," she murmurs, hand reaching for him in the dark.
He's moved around a little since she fell asleep, but mostly stayed right there with her. He'd gently pulled her legs into his lap, quietly reading while she slept. So when she wakes up, he's still right there, and immediately reaches for her hand.
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