Chapter 15: Breathing is Good, Even When it Hurts

Pain. My whole world was pain. It hurt when I breathed. I tried to move my hand to where the pain was the worst. I had to stop because it hurt so much. Everything was black. I could feel pins and needles all over my body, so badly that I groaned. It came to me that I had heard that noise, and then other noises—beeping, breathing ... my own, maybe someone else's.

A touch on my face. Fingers moving my hair. A voice, very close, "Please ... please wake up. I love you. Come back to me." I knew that voice. I thought I did. More pain as I tried to turn my head toward it. Everything was still black. I finally focused enough mental energy to realize that my eyes were closed. Slowly I opened them. Dani's face was there, but it was a blur. I couldn't focus. I felt her lips on my forehead. She pulled back and my eyes found hers.

Hers were filled with tears. I saw them run down her cheeks, felt them drip on my face. She smiled and tangled a hand in my hair. A flash of pain made me groan and flinch and a look of horror crossed her face. She let go and pulled back further, afraid to touch me again. "Are you with us? Please don't go away again."

I tried to say something, but all I could manage was a croaking sound. She turned to pick something up and I felt a straw at my lips. I sucked at it, but she pulled it back. "Easy. Just little sips." She moved it back and I took a sip, felt it roll around in my mouth. Swallowing it hurt the first time. The next one was easier. After the third I thought I might be able to talk. I pushed the straw away with my tongue.

"What happened? Where am I?"

Dani grinned. "How did I know those would be the first questions you'd ask? You're as bad as a soap opera." I tried to lift my eyebrows, but it hurt too much. I had to wait for her to answer. She put a hand back to my face, very gently this time. "You're in the hospital. You gave me a hell of a scare."

"What happened?"

"You got thrown from the horse. You really went airborne, and then you got knocked out when you hit. I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't respond. I got really scared so I called an ambulance and they airlifted you here."

A soft knock at the door interrupted us, and I flicked my eyes over toward the sound; only my eyes moved since I couldn't turn my head without a lot of pain. A head full of blonde curls over a set of scrubs came bouncing into the room. When she saw that my eyes were open she grinned widely and said, "Good! You're awake!"

She was entirely too chipper for the way I felt, and she reminded me way too much of a high-school cheerleader; she even looked young enough to still be in high school. She came over to the right side of my bed, her eyes automatically scanning the monitor I was attached to as she spoke.

"I'm Doctor Richards. I was on duty in the ER when you were brought in this morning. I'll be going off shift in an hour or so and I wanted to check on you before I left." She started flipping through my chart, making a few 'hmm' noises while she did it.

Dani filled the silence after a moment. "Is she going to be okay, Doctor? Will she need surgery? How long does she need to be here?"

The Doctor lifted her head from the clipboard full of paper. "I'm sorry. I was just checking to make sure that all of the test results were back." She pulled the clipboard to her chest and folded her arms over it. "You gave us quite a scare at first, and you've been unconscious for a lot longer than we would have expected." I felt Dani's hand grip mine a little tighter, as if she was preparing the two of us to hear something bad.

"Fortunately, everything is pretty much intact. We ran a whole bunch of tests, including a full-body CT scan. You have no broken bones, although you do have a couple of cracked ribs, but those will heal without any real issue, or even without treatment; just be careful for a couple of weeks. We haven't found any signs of a concussion, so if you do have one it's very minor and won't cause you any problems. You should be alert to any odd symptoms like dizziness, blurred vision, or slurred speech for the next couple of weeks.

"Now, the bad news: you are going to turn all kinds of interesting colours over the next few days because you are bruised pretty much over the length of your body. You had quite a fall—your friend said something about a horse..."

Dani spoke up before I could answer. "I was teaching her how to ride. She was just walking the horse around the exercise yard. It was her first time." Her voice quavered for a moment, and she hitched in her next breath before she continued. "There was a rattlesnake that came out of nowhere. It spooked the horse and she reared up. Before I knew what was happening I saw Kelli flying through the air. She landed on some hay bales and must have been knocked out right away because she was unconscious when I got there. I ran into the house and called for an air ambulance, then rode in with them." She turned to me and took my hand in both of hers. "You scared the hell out of me. I was never so frightened in my life ... and then when you wouldn't wake up..." I squeezed her hand in reply, but even that minor gesture hurt.

The Doctor picked up the narrative. "Well, I think the hay explains why you got off so well, since it probably absorbed most of the impact." She chuckled for a moment. "It also explains one of the mysteries. We found bits of hay embedded in your skin all along one side. We got the worst of them out to make sure they wouldn't cause any kind of infection, but you'd probably benefit from a good long soak in a hot tub followed by a scrubbing. It will hurt, because you're basically one big scrape and bruise, but it will soften up the hay and get it out of your skin."

She paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, then nodded almost to herself. She suddenly spun and moved to the door. On its outside there was a sign that she set to read 'Examination in progress. No entry.' She closed the door, then moved back to the bed to stand beside me so she could face both Dani and me.

"I said that explained one of the mysteries. There were a couple of others." She looked from me to Dani, then back. "First, the questions I'm about to ask are not in your record—they are between you two and me. I'm asking out of curiosity, since I think I already know the answers." I felt Dani's hand squeeze mine again as we waited for the other shoe to drop.

"I told you that we found bits of hay embedded in your skin. Well, we found hay in places that should have been covered by the clothes you were wearing. Therefore, I assume you were naked when you were on the horse and your friend put some clothes on you before the helicopter arrived."

My eyes looked at Dani as she waited for a beat or two and then quietly said, "Yes. She had no clothes on."

"Hmm, Lady Godiva. You do make a pretty one, at that."

My eyes snapped to the Doctor's face. She nodded at me and said, "Yes, I'm gay. And you're beautiful, even covered in scratches and hay and dirt. And I got to see all of you because we had to strip you down to see the extent of the damage." She looked toward Dani and said, "I'm sorry about that, but it was medically necessary. You're just as beautiful; I wouldn't mind dating either one of you, but I can tell that you're both very committed to each other." Dani gave her a very small smile, and an equally small nod.

"Now, to other mysteries." She pointed to my neck as she continued. "You have some very slight bruising around your neck, and around your wrists, none of which are consistent with a fall. They're what we would call 'ligature marks' since they're usually indicative of being restrained somehow, or even of being strangled. I don't think that's the case here, but at a guess I'd say ... a collar and cuffs?"

I gasped, then hissed because that had hurt. Sudden motion was something I would have to be careful of for the next while. Dani squeezed my hand again, then quietly said, "She wasn't cuffed when it happened, but she has been. And yes, she was wearing a collar. I took it off of her before the helicopter arrived to avoid the questions."

The Doctor nodded a couple of times. "My roommate and I have played with tying each other up, and she spanked me once. Something tells me that you two are way more serious about this." She looked from one to the other of us, and the expectation was obvious on her face.

I didn't really want anything said about our lifestyle, but it wasn't for me to decide. Dani lifted my hand to her mouth and kissed it, looking past it to lock her eyes with mine. I knew she was waiting for some acknowledgement of the doctor's implied question, and I gave her the smallest of nods. She kissed my fingers again, then looked up.

"Yes, we are very serious about this. Kelli is my slave, at least for now. I'm training her to show her what that lifestyle is all about. I'm a dominant, and I train slaves. It's different with Kelli. She's only going to be my slave for a little while, then she's going to be my partner."

"Oh, wow! So you're her Mistress? But you're going to ... what? Get married?"

Dani looked at me for a moment, her eyes conveying how she felt about me, then she looked back at the Doctor. "Yes, to all the questions. We have an agreement about her training, but we haven't fully settled on what's going to happen afterward."

"That is so neat!" The Doctor's high-school cheerleader persona was coming out. She was practically vibrating as she stood there. "Please, if I'm getting too nosy, tell me to shut up, but I've never met a real Mistress before. How did you two meet?"

Dani chuckled and caressed the back of my hand. "I manage a bar and she came in one day. She had just lost her job so I put her to work waiting tables."

I squeezed Dani's hand as well as I could, and squeaked out, "Tell her the truth."

The Doctor looked a little puzzled, and her eyes flicked back and forth between Dani and me. Dani looked at me and asked, "Are you sure?" I did my best to nod, so Dani turned back to the Doctor and grinned at her. "Okay, I did make her wait tables, but first I took her clothes off, so she had to schlep drinks in just her stockings and heels. After that I took her upstairs to my apartment and fucked her brains out for a few hours, after I taught her how to use her mouth for more than talking."

"Oh. You really are dominant."

"Come on over to my bar sometime and I'll show you. You'd look good waiting tables in the nude." I made a noise in my throat and Dani hastened to add, "You wouldn't be my slave though. I've got my hands full dealing with one slave, and I won't be with another woman unless she gives her permission." Dani swung her gaze to me, and her look said it all. Her words were the strongest commitment she had given me yet, and my eyes filled with tears at hearing them, and seeing the way she looked at me.

After a moment the Doctor quietly cleared her throat, and said, "I'll leave you two alone in a minute, but I have to warn you that anything physical is going to be really hard for a few days until the bruises heal a little. We want to keep you overnight, just to be on the safe side, but we'll probably be discharging you in the morning."

The mention of an overnight stay in the hospital reminded me that I was in what seemed to be a private room, and the thought of my current job status made me start to panic. I squeezed Dani's hand, and when she looked at me, I whispered, "Dani, I can't afford this, I don't have any health insurance."

She looked puzzled for a moment, then her eyes flicked around the room. When they came back to me she smiled. "Yes, you do. I called Eve to let her know what had happened while you were in the ER. She made a couple of calls and arranged for a private room, and made sure that you got the best doctors."

"But ... I'll never be able to pay her back. This is so expensive."

Dani squeezed my hand again, and chuckled, then gave me a lopsided grin. "Oh, I think that arrangements can be made."

I could tell from the expression on her face, and the way she spoke that the 'arrangements' would likely include me being naked in a room full of women. In a very small voice I said, "Oh." Her response was another chuckle and another squeeze of my hand, then she turned to the Doctor again.

"You said she'd need to stay overnight. Is there any chance we could get a cot or something in here for me? I'm not leaving until she does."

"Oh, for sure. That's easy." Her curls bounced as she nodded. "I'm glad you suggested that. If you'd wanted to be in the same bed as her, I'd have to advise against it, especially with her ribs the way they are."

"Not to worry. I'm too afraid to touch her right now."

The doctor gave her a big smile. "Oh, you can touch her. Just be gentle."

I gave a little snort at that comment, thinking of the number of times I had been spanked or whipped. When Dani's head turned to look at me, I winked at her and stuck my tongue out a little bit. I knew I might pay for the insubordination at some point in the future, but right now I thought I could get away with it.

The Doctor headed for the door with a promise to get the cot sent in, and to arrange for some food for us. Dani came over to perch on the edge of the bed. She ran her fingers through my hair. "Please don't scare me like that again. I know it wasn't your fault, but I couldn't stand to lose you, not after just finding you." I could see tears glistening in her eyes.

I grinned at her, not too widely because even my face hurt. "Hey, tough bitch. Bend down here and kiss me, and get your mind off my sexy doctor."

She smiled for the first time since I had woken up. "I am so going to beat your ass when you get out of here. I'll give you new bruises to replace these." When her lips met mine I did my best to tell her how much I loved her, and that we would both come through this.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was taken up with furniture being moved in and around, and a parade of visits by nurses, interns, residents, and anyone else who thought they should know something about me. Trays of food arrived at one point, and I realized that I actually was hungry. For hospital food it was surprisingly good, although it certainly wouldn't have won any awards.

Dani settled on her cot beside me, making sure that she could easily reach out and touch me if she felt the need. We talked quietly for a while, then decided to dim the lights when even conversation seemed to be too difficult to maintain.

I slept in little snatches during the night, mainly because nurses came into check on me almost every hour, and every time I tried to roll on my side I got sharply reminded of my cracked ribs. I didn't think that Dani got very much sleep. I heard her tossing and turning a few times, and I think she woke up every time a nurse came in.

Morning finally found the two of us looking at each other across the gap between our beds. Dani stretched and yawned, then said, "In hospitals they keep telling you to get some rest, but then they keep waking you up all the time, so you can't get any rest."

I smiled at her sentiment. "I've only actually slept with you a couple of nights, and I've been sleeping alone in a horse stall for more than a week. I don't want to sleep alone anymore. I want to sleep next to you, naked so that our skin touches from head to toe, and so I can wrap my arms and legs around you." I suddenly remembered that she hadn't said that I could sleep in the house yet. "That is, I want to sleep with you after you decide that I've earned that right."

She stood up and came to my bedside, leaning over to kiss me. "No more barns for you. Only my bed." As our lips made contact, the door swung open and I heard footsteps coming in. Dani finished kissing me soundly before she lifted her head and looked over her shoulder to see who had come in.

I heard our cheerleader doctor say, "I guess I should have knocked, but I'm not sorry that I got to see that. Damn girl, you are gorgeous." As Dani stood up, I could see that she was only wearing a t-shirt and a small pair of panties; bent over as she had been, she would have been giving the doctor a good view of her rear and her long legs. Her breasts were also well displayed in the t-shirt, since it was fairly thin and she wasn't wearing a bra. I could see the Doctor's eyes following the subtle sway of those beautiful breasts as Dani stepped over to her.

When they were almost nose to nose Dani gave her a crooked smile. "Like what you see? Wanna see more? Wanna touch me? Wanna taste me? Wanna serve me?"

The Doctor closed her eyes and swayed a little on her feet, I thought maybe from imagining Dani's wonderful body, naked before her.

Dani leaned in even closer and breathed into her ear. "I'll bet you taste really good. You look like you were a cheerleader. I love the taste of cheerleader pussy." She stepped back a couple of feet and waited while the doctor got hold of herself. She looked over her shoulder at me and gave me a big grin and a huge wink.

"Oh God! I'm going to have to go and change. You made me wet!" She shuddered and nearly dropped the bottle she was carrying.

"Been a while since someone made you scream in a good way?"

She locked eyes with Dani. "You're scary. And yes, it's been a while. Too long a while..." She shook her head, probably to clear the sexual images out of her mind.

"Come on over to the bar. I'm sure if I put you out waiting tables that someone would give you what you're missing pretty quickly." She cocked her head while she looked the Doctor over. "On second thought, though, I don't think you'd look right in heels and stockings. I think maybe knee socks and sneakers, and pigtails with ribbons in your school colours. Keep up that cheerleader vibe." She turned to look at me. "What do you think, hon'?"

I wanted to tell Dani to stop teasing the poor girl, but before I could say anything I heard her almost squeak, "I still have my cheerleader uniform."

Dani looked like a striking cobra as she turned to her again. "That's perfect. You start out wearing the full uniform, and every few minutes you lose a piece of it until you're down to just your sneakers and your knee socks. The women in the lounge will love it, and they'll love you because you're gorgeous and so fresh looking." She moved back into nose-to-nose territory. "I know the idea scares you, but I know it also turns you on. You need to do this. It will be the scariest, greatest thing you've ever done, but I guarantee you won't get hurt. I'll see to that. After what you've done for my girl, I owe you big time."

Dani moved over to her things and picked up her jeans. She took a card out of her pocket and handed it to the Doctor. "Here's the address of the club, and my number. Call me in a week or so, after you figure that Kelli should be fully recovered." She grinned at her. "You could even use it as a pretext to give her a check-up, so you'd get to see her naked again." She started to pull her jeans on. "For that matter, you might even get to see me naked."

Dr. Richards seemed to be under some kind of spell as images of the two of us must have been going through her mind. She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment, watching Dani get dressed, then her eyes went completely wide as Dani pulled her t-shirt off and reached for her bra. Dani was grinning as the doctor stared at her breasts.