H is for Hurt
Characters: Adam Rove, Grace Polk, Karen D'Alessandro
Rating: borderline R for language
Genre: Het
Summary: Adam didn't duck fast enough and now he has to pay the price
Character Age: 27
Joaniverse: Butterflies
"Ow! Dammit, that hurts!" Adam exclaimed frustrated.
Grace stopped dabbing the small cut above his eye with the cloth that was soaked with disinfectant. "Geez, Rove, you're such a wuss. I can't do this if you whine before I even touch you."
She handed the cloth to Karen. "Here, you do this."
Karen smiled an amused smile and accepted the cloth, exchanging places with Grace to tend to Adam's injury. She stared at him with a the best mockingly menacing expression she could muster. "Don't be a wuss."
"I'm trying!"
After a few more dabs and Adam's silent flinching, she sat back and examined her handiwork. "It stopped bleeding. I don't think you need stitches." She removed the paper covers from the butterfly bandage and placed one over the cut. "There isn't much I can do about the split lip. We have some ice in the freezer."
Grace was watching them intently, strangely fascinated. "Tell me again how this happened. I can't believe Girardi would throw inanimate objects at you."
"She's not called Girardi anymore, Grace."
"I don't care. She'll always be Girardi to me. Don't change the subject."
He sighed. "Yes, she threw a shoe at me, one of those, you know pointy, high-heeled things."
"Jesus, she threw one of her fuck-me pumps at you?"
"Fu-what?!?" His brow knotted up in confusion, and it hurt. "Ow!"
"She could've put your eye out. What the hell did you do?"
"Grace, you're supposed to be on my side here!"
"All right, all right," she conceded. "Why didn't you at least duck?"
"Because I wasn't expecting her to actually throw the damn thing."
Grace studied Adam's face that was starting to swell slightly in the injured places. "And it hit both your temple and your lip? Did it bounce, or something?"
"No."
"Then explain to me how that happened."
Adam started to get impatient. "What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?"
"Rove, after just tending to your almost mortal injuries, I think you at least owe us an explanation."
"She threw the other shoe too, okay?!"
Grace tried not to laugh but didn't quite succeed. "Seriously? And it didn't occur to you to duck the second time either? I mean, why??"
"Because I didn't think she- Look, it doesn't matter, okay? It happened. I'll live."
"Yeah, with a fat lip and disfigured face."
Karen interjected. "Aw, come on now, Grace. Enough with the hyperbole."
Grace threw up her hands. "Sorry. I'm just trying to decide what's more mind-boggling, the fact that Girardi actually hit you in the face or the fact that you were too stupid to take evasive action."
"She didn't hit me in the face, Grace."
"Don't split hairs over technicalities. So what are you going to do now?"
He shrugged. "She'll calm down. I'll apologize. Seeing my fat lip and disfigured face, she's gonna be sorry in an instant."
"My goodness, I can't believe you're being so calm about this. Rove, she threw a stiletto at you! Two stilettos! That's aggravated assault. It's reason for divorce."
"Come on, you're blowing this out of proportion, Grace. It wasn't anything like that. We just had an argument. It got heated. Joan's temper flared. You know how impulsive she can get sometimes when she's obsessed with something. Like you said, I was just too stupid to duck. It was an accident. Well, kind of."
Grace's expression calmed slightly. "Sometimes I don't understand you."
She looked at Karen, who was listening to their conversation. Grace asked her, "Don't you have anything to say about this?"
"What can I say? I wasn't there. If Adam says it was just an accident, then what is there to say?"
Grace shook her head. "You two are unbelievable."
She got up from her chair to go to the kitchen and a minute later she handed Adam a plastic bag filled with ice. "Here, use this before you turn into Quasimodo. And tell Girardi if she hurts you again, I will personally hunt her down and make sure she pays for it."
Adam couldn't help but grin, even though he knew it wasn't just an empty threat.
Rating: borderline R for language
Genre: Het
Summary: Adam didn't duck fast enough and now he has to pay the price
Character Age: 27
Joaniverse: Butterflies
"Ow! Dammit, that hurts!" Adam exclaimed frustrated.
Grace stopped dabbing the small cut above his eye with the cloth that was soaked with disinfectant. "Geez, Rove, you're such a wuss. I can't do this if you whine before I even touch you."
She handed the cloth to Karen. "Here, you do this."
Karen smiled an amused smile and accepted the cloth, exchanging places with Grace to tend to Adam's injury. She stared at him with a the best mockingly menacing expression she could muster. "Don't be a wuss."
"I'm trying!"
After a few more dabs and Adam's silent flinching, she sat back and examined her handiwork. "It stopped bleeding. I don't think you need stitches." She removed the paper covers from the butterfly bandage and placed one over the cut. "There isn't much I can do about the split lip. We have some ice in the freezer."
Grace was watching them intently, strangely fascinated. "Tell me again how this happened. I can't believe Girardi would throw inanimate objects at you."
"She's not called Girardi anymore, Grace."
"I don't care. She'll always be Girardi to me. Don't change the subject."
He sighed. "Yes, she threw a shoe at me, one of those, you know pointy, high-heeled things."
"Jesus, she threw one of her fuck-me pumps at you?"
"Fu-what?!?" His brow knotted up in confusion, and it hurt. "Ow!"
"She could've put your eye out. What the hell did you do?"
"Grace, you're supposed to be on my side here!"
"All right, all right," she conceded. "Why didn't you at least duck?"
"Because I wasn't expecting her to actually throw the damn thing."
Grace studied Adam's face that was starting to swell slightly in the injured places. "And it hit both your temple and your lip? Did it bounce, or something?"
"No."
"Then explain to me how that happened."
Adam started to get impatient. "What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?"
"Rove, after just tending to your almost mortal injuries, I think you at least owe us an explanation."
"She threw the other shoe too, okay?!"
Grace tried not to laugh but didn't quite succeed. "Seriously? And it didn't occur to you to duck the second time either? I mean, why??"
"Because I didn't think she- Look, it doesn't matter, okay? It happened. I'll live."
"Yeah, with a fat lip and disfigured face."
Karen interjected. "Aw, come on now, Grace. Enough with the hyperbole."
Grace threw up her hands. "Sorry. I'm just trying to decide what's more mind-boggling, the fact that Girardi actually hit you in the face or the fact that you were too stupid to take evasive action."
"She didn't hit me in the face, Grace."
"Don't split hairs over technicalities. So what are you going to do now?"
He shrugged. "She'll calm down. I'll apologize. Seeing my fat lip and disfigured face, she's gonna be sorry in an instant."
"My goodness, I can't believe you're being so calm about this. Rove, she threw a stiletto at you! Two stilettos! That's aggravated assault. It's reason for divorce."
"Come on, you're blowing this out of proportion, Grace. It wasn't anything like that. We just had an argument. It got heated. Joan's temper flared. You know how impulsive she can get sometimes when she's obsessed with something. Like you said, I was just too stupid to duck. It was an accident. Well, kind of."
Grace's expression calmed slightly. "Sometimes I don't understand you."
She looked at Karen, who was listening to their conversation. Grace asked her, "Don't you have anything to say about this?"
"What can I say? I wasn't there. If Adam says it was just an accident, then what is there to say?"
Grace shook her head. "You two are unbelievable."
She got up from her chair to go to the kitchen and a minute later she handed Adam a plastic bag filled with ice. "Here, use this before you turn into Quasimodo. And tell Girardi if she hurts you again, I will personally hunt her down and make sure she pays for it."
Adam couldn't help but grin, even though he knew it wasn't just an empty threat.