AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello to my little sundae supremes! This update's a long one, so settle in with a bag of gummies. :p

Follow me on Twitter. DO IT. Now.

Don't make me send Liam Neeson out to look for you.

TWITTER: @lovethedinklage

dedicated to Xena4Sure
for helping me figure out medical details concerning Harry's condition
(TRANSLATION: If anything doesn't stack up, it's HER fault.)

*****

But it's when my eyes reach his beautiful sleeping face, curls splayed around him like a halo on the pillow that I feel my tiny vulnerability crack expand in a succession of fissures so rapid that I can scarcely hold myself together.

A fragile whisper falls from my lips as the jumbled puzzle pieces in my mind finally settle into place.

"Harry."

*****

I feel Mr. Twist's eyes on me as I try to digest this revelation. My brain scrambles to accommodate, to make sense of what is happening. I cannot. It is not. It couldn't be...

I allow the shock factor to work in my favor when Mr. Twist asks, "Everything okay?"

With great difficulty, I tear my eyes away from Harry and look to Mr. Twist. "Yes, yes. Certainly," I smile. And then, "He looks a little familiar. Is he enrolled in university?"

"As a matter of fact, he is. The same one you are. I noticed that on your resume and thought it might help with the transition?"

"Of course," I nod. It isn't until I turn to take another look at Harry that I realize there is a third person in the room.

"I'm Liam," he smiles cordially and extends his hand. "I'll be working the day shift."

"I'm Sherry," I shake his hand and take in a few details. He's a bit taller than I am, with scruff and brown eyes. Like a puppy.

Mr. Twist spoke, "I'll just leave you two to discuss the particulars, and we'll see you at the house on Friday then?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you Friday," I nod to Mr. Twist as he shakes hands with Liam and exits the room.

The Force is strong, and it tries to compel me to look at Harry. A strong Jedi-like war wages within me and it takes all of my energy to resist. I can look at him all I want to later, when I'm not under scrutiny. I must not look. Not until I absolutely have to.

I redirect my focus, turning my attention to Liam. "Well? What first?"

He grins, revealing a perfect row of white teeth. "Alrighty," he begins, "Meet Harry," Liam gestures toward the bed with a flourish. "Mr. Twist is his stepfather. I believe you two already discussed the fact that there would be a separate caretaker for both the day and night shifts?"

"We did," I nod. My mind is still all over the place trying to figure out why bad things seem to happen to good people. I just met him. He was young, vibrant, kind, probably able to leap a building at a single bound, and definitely capable of giving a girl he just met the WP with just a glimpse of a dimple.

Kate and I used the acronym WP (Wet Panty) for anything that turned us on, or caused a girl's panties to moisten from arousal. "Just looking at him gives me the WP," we'd say. I'd be suffering from this condition a lot of I was going to take care of Harry.

"I'm going to be on days," Liam says, "and you'll have evenings, possibly nights on occasion, if Mr. Twist travels."

Overnights with Harry? What was exactly wrong with him anyway? How did I get here? Maybe it wasn't anything too serious, and this would all turn out to be a wonderful stroke of luck. Getting paid to sit and look at my crush all day? Maybe give him sponge baths? Fuck. WP alert already.

"Are you a registered nurse with the hospital?" I ask Liam.

"Not yet. I'm working on my residency here. I still have a couple more courses I will take in the evenings. Mr. Twist is a big supporter of the university, so instead of hiring registered nurses, he prefers to give the jobs and learning experiences to students when it's possible."

Liam walks to Harry's bedside and begins fiddling with his IV drips. Harry isn't on a ventilator or anything, so that's good, right? I notice his right arm is broken.

Maybe this is all superficial. Rich people tend to over-react a lot. Maybe a broken arm and a bruised ego was the worst of it?

I decide to ask what I've been dying to know all along. "What happened to him?"

Liam exhales. "He was in some sort of car accident late Friday night. He doesn't remember anything about the event, so they're still trying to figure out exactly what happened."

"Does he suffer from other memory loss?"

"Not that we've noticed, no. Just the details of the accident. That's a normal occurrence in these kinds of situations though. The memory could return to him later. Or not." Liam shrugs.

"What else is going on with him?" I ask.

"He may have suffered a spinal cord injury in the accident. He is unable to feel his legs, or walk. There was a lot of swelling when the x-rays and MRIs were done, so those will need to be re-shot after it subsides."

He can't feel his legs? Harry can't feel his legs.

"He's paralyzed? Quadriplegic?" My voice sounds flat, toneless. I feel so far removed from the situation, it's almost like I'm watching it happen on a shitty soap opera. This can NOT be my reality. Harry's reality.

"No, no," Liam replies. "He has a broken arm. He has full mental capability, and full upper body capability, aside from the arm. He's in a back-brace temporarily so that he doesn't try any sort of weird acrobatic moves that might make his condition worse."

"Why would he do that?" I remember him stumbling over Niall's books in class and over his own shoes that night in the closet. This boy shouldn't try acrobatic moves even with full functionality.

"Well, he suffered a concussion during the accident. While it's only a temporary head injury, it can result in confusion, anxiety, and combative behavior for several days. Hence, the sedation. He kind of flipped out a bit when he realized he couldn't move his legs at all, and has pretty much been fighting his medical care ever since."

"Oh, no." I look at Harry's face, so calm in slumber. The eyes I know to be green are closed, his full eyelashes lightly touch the skin beneath his eyes. Even under sedation he is more beautiful than I could ever be. "Maybe they should have gotten someone stronger for this job?" I think aloud. Stronger physically as well as emotionally.

"No way. Mr. Twist is pretty set on you. Maybe he thinks a cute southern nurse might pep him right up."

"What?!" Our laughs echoed in the sterile room, surprising the both of us. My mouth drops open when I hear a slight rustle of Harry's sheets, my wide eyes dart to meet Liam's.

"Shhh..." I address both the boys at once. Shame on me for trying to barn boss Harry while he's under sedation.

Maybe he can hear us. Sometimes people in comas can hear everything going on around them. I make a mental note not to ask if Harry is sexually functional.

I notice Harry's brows are furrowed in his now restless sleep, and I place my hand gently on his shoulder, giving a slight squeeze. His eyebrows relax, and he quiets at my touch.

"Did you see that?" Liam asks, awestruck.

"I did. I'm the Patient Whisperer." I stick my tongue out at Liam.

"Shut up," Liam rolls his eyes in response. Hey, that was a good joke.

"Anyway," Liam says, "The effects of the concussion will wear off in a few days. Then he won't need sedation. He'll be awake, and hopefully more cooperative than he has been. We'll be waiting for his spinal swelling to go down so we can see what the damage is."

"How long will that take?"

"A couple of weeks. He is on anti-inflammatory medication as well as something for pain. It will take about 8 weeks for the arm to heal. It's not a serious injury, but it hinders everything else. He could be in a wheelchair and a lot more self sufficient if he had the use of both arms."

I found out that Harry did know/feel when he needed to go to the restroom, only he wasn't able to physically get there at this point. Liam said after Harry's sedation wore off he could use a urine cup, and pee in the comfort of his bed, provided he was able to manage doing so without the use of his dominant hand, which was broken.

Until sedation was no longer required, Harry wore an external catheter. Liam told me it was somewhat like a condom.

"We are hoping to have him out of the external catheter and using the urine cup before his Friday dismissal, but if he's still experiencing the combative behavior he may refuse to help himself or allow anyone else to do so without getting really agitated. We want to avoid that of course. Here, let me show you how everything works just in case," Liam said as he pulled Harry's blanket back.

Oh my God. Was I going to see Harry's penis? Be professional. It is only a penis. I've seen penises before. What was the big deal?

It felt so wrong to be looking at him like this. It wasn't at all sexual, but...I felt like I was violating him. He didn't give me consent to look. In fact, I'm sure if we were in a more desirable situation, I'm sure he'd even want me to. It was weird because I knew him, the patient/caretaker boundary lines had blurred.

My mind drifted back to the party, and our closet taste test. That seemed so long ago.

I blink and force my attention back to Liam and try to think only medically. Liam shows me how the external catheter is basically like a condom. He explains that the pubic hair must be maintained to prevent discomfort. The skin must be dry and warm, and a skin prep sealant is applied to the penis area to protect against moisture and urine, as well as to help the catheter slide off smoothly and not chafe the skin upon removal. There was a tube inserted in the end, and it was taped to his thigh, and it ran to a bag that hung on the side of the bed.

I committed that information to memory as quickly as possible so that I didn't have to look at a limp and shaved Harry. I wonder if he always shaved. Either way, the whole situation broke my heart, and I couldn't help but wonder how he was going to feel when he woke up. Would he be angry with me for accepting the job and looking at him naked? Was this a betrayal?

In addition, Liam explains that the hospital bed has built in equipment for bowel movements. Wow, technology has come a long way. Liam did say that the amount of care that Harry would need would vary greatly as time passed, being very needy at first and less needy as he adjusted to his situation, things came easier to him, and as he begin to heal.

Harry was lucky that he was aware of his natural urges, otherwise it would have to be handled in a much-more hands on manner I was glad to avoid.

It seemed ironic somehow, that in less than two weeks after Harry blindfolded me and fed me candy in the closet, that the situation was entirely flipped on its end. I would be the one feeding him to some degree, only this time, it wasn't a lighthearted game.

I would need to make sure he stayed clean, fed, and in good spirits. Liam stressed that much of the recovery process depended on Harry's attitude. He had to want to get better, do his therapy, and try to be independent. He hoped this wouldn't be a permanent situation, but at the same time, no one knew for sure until the swelling went down and more x-rays could be taken. It was critical to help Harry maintain a balanced outlook so he didn't lose hope, or the opposite, endure a crushing disappointment.

"What about his classes at university?" I ask.

"Mr. Twist was debating what to do about that. He doesn't want to cause him any additional stress, yet he wants to maintain some semblance of normalcy." Liam answers.

I made a mental note to ask Mr. Twist about Harry's studies. I could at least pick up his assignments before reporting to work on Friday, and approach the subject gently with Harry.

Then I wondered. Did Harry know I was going to be his caretaker? Would he even remember me? After all, he hadn't texted me since. He obviously had other priorities due to the accident, but he was laying in a hospital bed, it wasn't like he was busy. He was probably emotional and concerned about his future. Yes, he definitely had more important things to think about.

Maybe it would be best if he didn't remember me. Then I'd be a stranger, he wouldn't care if I had to look at his private parts, and I wouldn't be embarrassed. Maybe not remembering would be the best for both of us.