Page 39 of Blue Norther
She nodded. “There’s just a pre-filled syringe in some packaging.”
I nodded. “I took a look at the box when they were dropped off. And I looked at an article quick when I was waiting for the briefing to start this morning. Injecting it looks pretty straight forward.”
Violet stood up from her chair and turned towards the door.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Oh, I…uh. I didn’t notice the alcohol pads I use with the box, so I was just going to wash a spot on my belly in the bathroom before we did this.”
I shook my head. “Hank has a first aid kit in his desk. We’ll just grab one out of there. If we can’t get back into your parents’ place to grab the ones you have, I’ll pick some up at the Shop and Save so we have our own supply for the next few days.”
“You really think they won’t have what they need by tomorrow?”
“It can take a few days to turn a crime scene around.”
Shivers rolled through her body. “God. I hate how that sounds.A crime scene. I was standing there, not even knowing something had happened. If I hadn’t seen that email, I would have gone upstairs…I can’t imagine.”
“I’m glad you didn’t have to see it.”
“I just want the baby’s things. They were in one of my suitcases, but I hadn’t unpacked anything yet. Did you see it up there? Maybe they won’t need to enter it for evidence.”
I winced as I walked around to my desk, not answering as I grabbed the first aid kit out and started looking through it. Just like I thought, alcohol pads were in there behind the bandages.
“Colt?”
“Come here.” I guided her back, so her bottom was resting on the edge of my desk. Her hands went behind her, stabilizing herself on the desktop. It made her belly stick out further than I’d seen it before. There was no way I could stick a needle into her skin.What if I hurt her? What if I poked through something important?
No. I knew that was a dumb thought. The needles were short and c-sections had to cut through something like seven layers of skin, fat, and muscles to deliver a baby—yes, another thing I’d learned as I scrolled every possible new parent website forinformation about everything I’d missed, and everything that would be happening over the next few weeks.
I swallowed down my nerves. While I mentioned the article I’d read to Vi, I left out the fifteen videos I’d watched on properly injecting the medication, specifically in the belly during pregnancy. There was no way I was about to mess up something so important.
“Let me get through this, and we can talk about it.”
She smiled. “This isn’t surgery. I promise, it’s no big deal.”
“I’m about to push a needle into your body and inject you with medication. It’s a very big deal.” I knelt down between her legs, pushing my sweatshirt all the way up to the top of her belly. She was wearing some sort of maternity leggings, and my fingers reached out to pull them down over her bump, but I froze.
“Is it okay if I?—”
She nodded, and I slipped my fingers under the band, pulling the fabric down so it rested across her hips. The line of bruises, all in different stages of fading, appeared.
I sucked in a harsh breath. “Christ, I don’t know how you do this, Vi.”
“The outcome is worth the cost.”
I felt like I’d been kicked in the chest. Of course she felt like that. Before I ripped open the alcohol wipe, I pressed my lips quickly over the darkest looking bruise.
“Thank you for taking such good care of our son,” I whispered, unable to clear the emotion from my throat.
I reached over her hip and slipped my glasses back on. The antiseptic cloth came out of its packaging and I found a clear spot, an inch to the right of her belly button, just like the instructions online had said. Violet’s muscles tightened as the cold cloth pressed to her skin.
“Sorry,” I muttered as I cleaned an area larger than I needed to. Like I said, I wasn’t about to take any chances that something could happen.
As soon as I lifted the cloth away, I blew my breath across her skin. Her breath hitched, but steadied as I took the syringe out, pulled the cap off, and in one smooth motion, pushed it into her skin.
“Go slow, it burns if you go too quickly,” she instructed.
I nodded, pressing the small blue plunger as evenly as possible. Once I hit the stop, I pulled the needle out, capped it, and deposited it in the SHARPS container in the corner of Hank’s office.
