Chapter Text
Harvey glanced at the analog clock that sat on his desk.
6:14pm
The clinic closed a little over 3 hours ago, it was a rainy spring Tuesday so Harvey didn’t expect much company today, aside from some check ups.
He picked up the broom and dustpan from the corner and began to clean the lobby. Jaz and Vincent had tracked some sand in here earlier today when they came in for their check up. Didn’t bother him too much. They were sweet kids.
Maybe some day he’d have kids of his own.
He’d like that.
He swept the tiles, quietly humming to himself. While sweeping he found a rain cap lost underneath a seat in the lobby. Definitely Vincent’s. He picked it up and set it on the countertop, mentally making a note to return it tomorrow.
Although it was a slow day, he was suprised when the farmer didn’t show her face this morning. It had become a regular thing for her to stop by with coffee.
He had grown to really enjoy that 5 minutes every morning.
Although the he loved the saloons coffee, he was slowly growing to enjoy the farmers homemade coffee more.
Her first batch was- interesting.
She made the two cups and brought it over for them to try together. The second he sipped it he nearly died. Ok. Not really. But it was really really bitter.
It was a funny memory to them now, how they both frantically spat it out and choked down water between laughs.
Her coffee was much better now that she had had a couple weeks to workshop it. He could confidently say it was his favorite. The perfect blend of freshly grown coffee beans and sweet cows milk creamer mixed all together.
And for it to come from her? All the better.
His thoughts were interrupted by a quiet knocking on the door.
Setting the broom down, he walked to the door, wondering who could be here at this hour. He concluded that it must be penny, here to pick up the cap. He picked it up off the countertop and walked to the door.
He wrapped his fingers around the handle, ready to greet her and return the cap.
Instead, he came face to face with the farmer, soaking wet, her eyes wide. He could barely see her over the dark sky, only her face was illuminated from the clinic emergency lights that remained on always.
“Juno?”
“H-hey.” She smiled weakly.
His eyebrows furrowed in worry, noticing how she swayed as she stood. A harsh shiver wracked her body, prompting Harvey to guide her inside, his hand guiding her in. She was trembling.
“June what’s going on?” Harvey closed the door behind her and flicked on the lights. He sat the hat down on a chair next to the door and looked to her. It’s only then when he finally got a good look at her, and his question answered itself. She was a battered mess.
First thing he noticed was the harsh cut on her knee, (how is she wearing shorts in this weather?), and how her clothes soaked to the point that she could’ve gone swimming, and how tightly she held her arm to her chest. Her eyes were red and puffy, face sunken and paled. She swayed in her stance, knees buckling slightly.
“I-.” She confessed, voice wavering as her relaxed and calm front broke down. “i think i need your help.”
He moved forward quickly, ushering for her to sit down. She gladly took the offer, basically collapsing into the seat. As she leaned back, she flinched forward, hissing in pain as she clutched her arm.
“Your arm.” He looked at her, worried brown eyes meeting tear filled green. “What happened?”
“I was chopping wood and I didn’t see one of the stumps in the ground.” she breathed, “I tripped, a-and I stuck my arms out without even thinking. I didn’t hear a crack or anything but-“ she looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. “It hurts. Really bad.”
Harvey’s eyes widened, realizing this could be more serious than he thought. “Let’s get you to a bed and I can have a look, okay?” He spoke calmly, doing his best to comfort her.
Internally, he was freaking out. No matter how many times he pried for her to get her bruises and bumps checked, she always brushed it off and said she was fine.
This time, she had come to him in literal pieces.
“O-okay.” She nodded, standing up with his help letting him guide her to a clinic room.
He didn’t miss the way that she struggled to put one foot in front of another, and her pained cries as he helped her sit onto the bed. “Easy, just rest against the wall and take some deep breaths.”
As soon as she was on the bed, he got to work figuring out what happened.
“So-” He pulled two gloves from their box, throwing them on quickly. “You said you fell onto your arm correct? How did you fall?”He pulled his stethoscope from around his neck and gently held it to her heart. Her pulse was high, heart pounding out of her chest. He could’ve been able to tell without the device just from her whole demeanor.
“Yeah.” She nodded, breathing deeply. “It’s harder to see everything in the rain, and I, I guess I left a stump in the ground. I reached my arm out without even thinking and it just-“ she breathed shakily. “It exploded in pain. I almost threw up. I just hauled ass over here without looking at it. I don’t think I could handle that.
“You didn’t hear a crack or anything?”
“I don’t think so. It sounded more like a pop.”
“Got it.” He said, taking the stethoscope and draping it over his shoulders. “Can I take your jacket off of you? I don’t want you to move that arm, but I do need to see it.” He asked, rolling his chair closer to her. “Plus it’s soaked, and will only make you colder.”
“O-okay.” She nodded, giving him the okay to start the process of removing her jacket.
Her heart continued to race as she watched him roll her jacket down, growing closer to her elbow.
“W-wait.” She panicked, grabbing his hand with her good arm causing him to stop and look at her.
“’m sorry if it hurts, but I really need to take this off-“
“No- I just-“ her breath hitched. “I can’t do blood or, anything like that.” She looked at him with panic in her eyes, tears welling and threatening to fall. “I can’t look, or even think about looking. D-don’t let me. please.“
He nodded, squeezing her hand warmly. Harvey was aware of her medical anxiety, remembering back to her first check up when she came to town. Her heart was racing then like it is now.
He opted to distract her and keep everything as calm as he could, even if he was internally freaking out. He found his key as he unzipped the jacket, revealing her shirt underneath.
“You like Pink Floyd?”
“Y-yeah. Why?” She stuttered.
“Your shirt. It’s Dark Side of the Moon, yeah?” He spoke.
“Yeah. My dad likes them a lot, and I guess that rubbed off on me.” She sniffled, tears drying from her eyes.
“I’ve got a bunch of their CDs. I can show you sometime.” He smiles up at her. “Almost off. You’re doing great.”
Her nerves settled with his smile. He really knew how to make her feel better in any situation.
“Thanks.” She said, glancing quickly to the other side of the room, trying to distract herself as he slowly and delicately rolled her sleeves down.
He removed her jacket successfully without budging her arm, and folded it to be placed on the chair, eyes staying focused on her arm.
Harvey stayed silent, blinking slowly at the mess infront of him.
“So how bad is it doc?” She joked, feeling that her jacket was now off.
Harvey held his breath.
Shiiiit.
“Okay. So- it’s not broken.”
“That’s good- right?” She asked, counting the ceiling tiles, pushing down the panic rising in her throat. She hoped he couldn’t hear the pounding of her heart.
He definitely could.
“Y-yes.” He cleared his throat. “However-“ he gentley placed his fingers on her elbow, sending a jolt of white hot pain through her entire arm. Enough to make her jerk away and look down involuntarily.
A wave of fear flooded through her immediately. Her arm looked like a mess of parts. Her elbow bone (?) jutting out harshly maybe an inch from where it should be. It made her sick. Her eyes widened, and face paled.
“Look at me! don’t look down!” He stood, blocking her view. “I know it looks- wrong- but It’s just dislocated.” He rushed. “I’ll fix it, I promise.”
She didn’t realize she was hyperventilating until Harvey had to remind her how to breathe. While he worked with her to calm down he not so subtly propped a pillow up behind where she sat against the wall in concern she would pass out.
“Good. Good. Easy does it. In and out.” He sighed, sitting back down in his chair.
“I know it looks bad-“
“What the fuck.” Juno breathed heavily. “Dislocated? I didn’t know elbows could do that.”
“It’s a posterior radial dislocation. Fairly uncommon, but it happens.” He said, backing his chair up and opening a cabinet. He rolled a standing iv cart to her and began opening a small package.
“What does that even-“ She gritted, a wave of pain pulsing through her arm. Through it all, she kept her eyes on him. “English. Please.”
He explained that her arm, still in one piece, was dislocated from the elbow joint. Her elbow bone, the ulna, normally acted as a socket for the humerous ball joint to sit into, making the familiar L shape that gave the arm the ability to bend. Instead, the socket itself had been forced backwards, clearing itself from the ball joint completely.
Which made it clear why there was now a harsh bump protruding where her elbow should be, and why she couldn’t move it. There was no connecting point to move
“wh-what the fuck.” She stammered, naseau and dizziness swirling. She laid her head back against the wall.
“Which also means it probably hurts like hell.”
She nodded. “Anything you can do about that?”
“Of course, that’s my job.” He smiled, “I’m going to need to do an IV to get some pain meds and muscle relaxer into you, which will help the process go smoother and lower your pain, then I’ll do the reduction.” He had unboxed a small butterfly needle, supposedly to go into her arm.
“How are you with shots?”
“Depends. Is it vodka or rum.”
He snickered. “No- like needles.”
“I wish it was the first kind.” Juno mumbled. “They don’t bug me that much, but again I just can’t watch.”
“Fair. IV’s aren’t pretty to watch.” He spoke, tying a tight fabric around her upper arm.
“Y’know, medical anxiety is nothing to be ashamed of. I get it. It’s weird and kind of unnatural to be at the doctors. But you’re brave for coming to me.” He soothed, rubbing an alcohol pad on the inside crook of her good arm. “Can you make a fist and open and close it a few times for me?”
She nodded, squeezing her hand closed, then open. Her veins began to show clearer now.
He hovered the needle over her arm, sensing how her breathing began to pick up.
“I’ll be quick.” He promised, lowering the needle and pressing it onto her arm. “Tell me about your favorite Pink Floyd song.”
“Time.” She stated bluntly. She knew what he was doing, yeah it was working but she was still a nervous wreck.
“Hm. That’s a good one. You ever listened to wish you were here?” She felt a pinch, wincing and squeezing her eyes closed.
“That’s the really long album yeah?” She asked, tracing the weird shapes that appear when you close your eyes.
“Yep. There’s a song on there that’s- I think 10 minutes long, with only a couple words. It’s beautiful though.” He hummed. “We could listen to it sometime, If- you want to.” He cleared his throat. “When youre better, I mean. Speaking of, you’re doing amazing. I got it in the vein first try. Besides the elbow how are you feeling?”
Juno made a quick assessment of her body. Her arm was the most obvious thing, a dull ache spread across it coming from the elbow, her hand were scraped up, and her right knee was stinging a little, but other than that she was just cold and wet.
“Fine. Some stinging in my leg but overall im just cold.” She said, peeling her eyes open to looking to him.
He stuck his tounge out slightly, focused as he focused on whatever he was doing. He smiled proudly and looked up at her.
“Done. How was that?” He said, leaning back and threw away the remains of the needle in an orange sharps bin. It made her much calmer knowing the iv wasn’t actually a needle stuck into her arm, but a flimsy rubber tube.
“It’s done? I didn’t even feel that much. Wow.” She raised her eyebrows, looking down to assess his work.
The IV was placed perfectly. She marvels at his work, remembering how the doctors in the city always failed to get IV in the first time, leaving her shaky and bruised.
“Good!” He stood up, adjusting the drip from the hanging bag to slowly feed into her. “The drip’s started. You’ll feel much better soon. It’ll act as a muscle relaxer and pain relief. I won’t lie, morphine tends to make you feel pretty loopy.” He hummed.
“As long as the pains gone I don’t care.” Juno snickered. “Thanks for being so gentle.”
He smiled. “I’m glad it wasn’t too bad. But- that was the easy part.” He sat down.
“This specific dislocation is really common, and your story lines up perfectly with how you got it. Falling and extending your arm out pushed it forcefully backwards, causing it to pop out-“
“I get it.” She grimaced, interrupting his shpeel. “Can you fix it?”
“Yes. I’ll need to realign it.”
“And that’s gonna suck isn’t it.” She winced. “Like real bad.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I won’t lie, this will hurt. The meds will help, but you’ll still feel auite a bit of discomfort. Once it’s over you’ll feel a thousand times better. I promise.” He spoke. Her eyes began to well with tears as she listened. “I had this exact dislocation when I was a kid. Fell off the swings. It stinks. But it’s 5 seconds of hell and then it’s over.” He explained.
She nodded slowly, that made her feel a bit better.
“Go ahead and lay down for me okay? That’ll be best.”
“Mkay.” She mumbled. Things were moving fast, she wasn’t sure if she was ready for this yet.
“I need you to try your best to lay that arm out as flat as you can. If you can, try hanging it off the side of the bed.” He asked, scooting to her side to help her guide it.
From the shoulder it didn’t hurt too bad, but small currents of shooting pain made themselves known as she laid her arm down. She winced, whining in pain as Harvey guided her.
“Perfect.” He reassured, her arm now pointed towards Harvey’s spot at her bedside. “Remember, it’ll be over in a moment.“ He readjusted himself in his seat. “Do you want a countdown?”
“Wait-“ She blurted out, tears slipping down her face. It seemed like everything she was dreading was rapidly approaching.
“Fuck- I’m really fucking scared Harvey.” She cried, sparks of pain flickering off her arm. She looked to him, green eyes meeting brown, hers full of worry, his full of comfort. “I- I cant do this.“ she hiccuped, loosing control of her breathing again.
“You can. You’ve already been so brave. Coming all this way and somehow not collapsing, getting through the shot, I’m serious Juno, you are the bravest person I know. It takes a lot to ask for help.” He soothed. He positioned his hands firmly, one on her forearm and one just above the elbow. “Take a deep breath, and whenever you’re ready, give me the word. It’ll be over in one second and you’ll feel a hundred times better.”
She hitched as another tear rolled from her cheek. She stared into his eyes with fear, but was met with trust and comfort. She took a staggery breath in, and held it. Her heart was racing, threatening to jump out of her chest. Her vision was slowly starting to become fuzzy.
But she trusted him.
She braced, held her breath, and nodded.
“Okay.” She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut.
Without missing a beat, Harvey for lack of a more graceful word, shoved her elbow back into place. She cried in agony as a searing flash of pain ripped through her entire right side. It was harsh, having to forcefully shove a literal bone back into its socket, but Harvey was right. It was done after one second. And the relief was immediate.
The only issue now is her whole world was spinning. And she couldn’t hear a thing except ringing.
“Done. It’s in.” He breathed, holding her arm steady. He sighed, looking up at her. “How do you-“
Her breathing was erratic. She clutched a fistful of her shirt on her chest with her good hand as tears slipped down her cheeks. Her eyes wide staring at the ceiling. Black dots crowded her vision and his limbs started to feel tingly.
She slurred, blinking rapidly.
“F-fuck I cant-“ she gasped for air.
“Woah- hey it’s okay.“ Harvey stood, reaching for her. “Breathe, in and out.”
“Harv-“ She panted, eyes looking to him in panic. “Harvey!?“ she spoke in desperation. “I really don’t feel-“ her voice trailed off as her eyes slipped closed and her head lulled to the side.
“Shit.” He spoke.
The first the he did was remind himself not to panic.
He should’ve realized this was could happen. He assumed she passed out from the vasovagal response, when a large amount of pain forces the body to basically reset.
The second thing he did was thank yoba she was laying down, as all he had to do was prop her legs up with a few pillows to stimulate more blood flow to the brain.
The third thing he did was rush to hook her up to a heart rate monitor and put a blood pressure cuff on her. He wasn’t taking any chances.
Her heart rate was 110, not too bad for her circumstance, but her blood pressure dipped down to 80/45. Not good. Her body released an insane amount of adrenaline and forced the blood vessels to squeeze themselves shut from the pain.
Which meant that he had to be quick, and bring it back up. He had already propped her legs up which was good, so it was time to give her fluids.
He fumbled with the iv drip he had next to her bed, turning the already prepared fluids on and letting them join the flow of morphine. He watched as her blood pressure slowly rose back up a safer level.
He sighed, collapsing back in his chair as he listened to the steady beep of the heart monitor. All he could do now is wait.
Within a few moments, her eyes were fluttering open.
She groaned, instinctively trying to push herself up off the bed. Harvey was quick to guider her back down.
“Easy. Easy. You’re okay.” He soothed, brushing her bangs away from her sweat ridden forehead.
“F-fuck.” She slurred. Letting her eyes close. “Did I pass out?”
“Yeah.” He sat down. “I should’ve realized it might happen. It’s a natural response when the body undergoes a lot of pain and adrenaline. You were only out for about 30 seconds.”
“Fuck- that was awful.” She mumbled, her vision slowly clearing. An ache remained in her arms, but much less painful than what was there before.
She looked to Harvey, noticing now how disheveled and worried he was. His glasses were askew, his hair ruffled slightly, and his top button of his shirt coming undone. “I- im sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for?” He scoffed. “You did nothing wrong.” Harvey stood, guiding Juno’s arm back to rest on her stomach. He stood up to sift through a cabinet, pulling out a sling for her arm.
“Iunno.” She mumbled, able to fully open her eyes now. “Causing stress ‘n shit.”
“Accidents happen. It’s no worries at all. It’s why im here.” He reassured, finding a seat next to her. “Do you think you can sit up?”
“Mmm yeah.” She said, slowly rising up to a seated position, slumped against the wall behind her. The walls had stopped spinning around her, thankfully.
“How are you feeling?”
She thought for a moment, and realized that Harvey was right about the relief. The pain had faded from constant jolts to a dull ache now. Her body felt tingly, a strange rush of endorphins and serotonin swimming through her.
“Good. Feels a lot better already.”
“Great!” He smiled, standing up to search through a drawer behind him. “Now for your arm, I want you to keep it in a sling for the week. No using it whatsoever, understand?” He said, turning to look at her. “Doctors orders.”
“But the faaaaarm.” She whined. “It’s peak blueberry season and-“
“Ah- nope. You heard me.” He interrupted. “If you need help, im sure Marnie wouldn’t mind feeding the animals. And I can always come over to help with the crops.”
She smiled softly, meeting his eyes. “Thanks Harv.”
“It’s what im here for.” He spoke, setting her arm in the sling. “There. It’ll fully heal in about 2 weeks, and this sling will help keep it still and give the muscles a chance to recover. How about I dress that cut on your shin now?”
“Oh, yeah. I kinda forgot about it.” She said, tilting ger head and straightening her leg to look at it. It wasn’t actively bleeding anymore, but still looked rough.
She giggled, resting her head against the wall. “You’re takin care of me like a baby.”
“What does that even-“ He cut himself off and prompted her to open her eyes.
Her pupils were dilated like saucers, letting him know that the meds had kicked in. “You feeling okay?”
“I feel funny. Nothing really hurts anymore but- I feel- weird.” She said. “Tingly n shit.”
“That’s the meds doing their job.” He said, cleaning the wound with alcohol. “Elaborate on weird.”
“Good weird.” She giggled. “Like i jus’ had a shot of rum.”
“You and your shots hm?” He laughed, continuing to clean her wound.
“I’ll take you out for some when this all blows over.” She winked at him.
His shoulders stiffened, warmth growing on his cheeks. “There no need-“
“Jus’ lemme repay the favor.” She whined. “You’re so stubborn sometimes.”
“I could say the same.” He retaliated, throwing away the now blood stained gauze pad, and applying a new one, followed by carefully wrapping a bandage around her leg.
“I like that.” She spoke, delirious.
“Like what?” Harvey asked.
“That thing your doin.” She leaned forward. “When you’re focusing on something you stick your tounge out a little. It’s cute.”
Harvey froze, blinking slowly. He didn’t even realize he was doing it, a habit he had picked up in primary school of sticking his tongue out when he was focused. He was teased for it, never had anyone ever called it cute.
“Y-you’re high.” He stammered, flustered out of his mind.
“I’m serious.” She slouched forward, dropping her head to look down at him.
“Drugs or not I think you’re really really-“
He raised his chin, their faces only a foot away.
She giggled. Letting their foreheads bonk together. “Cute.” She slurred.
Harvey blinked before tued off the bandage before backing away out of flustered panic. He cleared his throat and readjusted his glasses. His mind was racing, his heart pounding, and if he couldn’t get any more warm than he was now, he did.
“I- I think my work is done here. You’re bandaged up, arm is realigned, and your levels are rising. I’ll keep you on an IV for 30 more minutes, just so the meds can do their job and your BP can return to normal.” Harvey felt his cheeks grow warmer as she stared. “How do you feel?”
“Pretty damn good doc.” She giggled. “Don’t feel a thing.”
“Good!” He smiled, turning to check the monitor. “I’d like to keep you here for the night, to ensure everything heals smoothly. I’ll check in every hour, and come remove the IV in a half.”
“Wow im staying the night? Take me on a date first~” her eyes were slipping closed.
“Wh- Juno!“ his jaw dropped, staring at her with a shocked smile. “I’ve never seen this side of you before. Wow.”
She yawned,resting her head back against the wall. “I’m sleepy.”
“I’ll let you rest. I’ll stay here the whole night. I want to keep that heart monitor on you okay? Just to be sure.”
She was asleep before he even finished his sentence. Freckles dotting her cheeks as she breathed slowly. He smiled and laid her down, tucking her into the bed. He hesitated, then pressed a kiss into her forehead. He switched off the lights and closed the curtains behind him before placing his head in his hands. He could feel the heat radiating off of it.
“I’m in trouble.” He mumbled to himself.