Each bump in the road shot pain from Jill’s ankle to her hip as the driver drove her to the hospital. She’d sprained ankles before, but none this bad. She felt the ankle with her hands and noticed it was already quite swollen.
The driver parked the Hummer in front of the hospital emergency entrance, “Ma’am, would you like a wheelchair?”
“Yes, that would be helpful.” Jill was happy to have the driver offer assistance now that she was out of sight from Sergeant Savage. She was careful about her military relationship to Jack. Her position of authority over him required her to act like a leader, and with that she needed to be brave, even during times of great pain. I hope Jack noticed that I was capable of learning during stressful and painful situations.
Inside the hospital, the triage nurse interviewed Jill and sent her back for a CT scan. While the CT scanned her leg with a humming sound, Jill continued thinking about Jack. Did he notice anything about me? Did he think I was pretty? What does Jack like to do when he’s relaxing? Does he go to the beach and lie in the sun? Does he go to the symphony? Does he read good books? Does he—
“All done Lieutenant Jacobson,” the technician said, startling Jill. “Your CT is finished. You can get up now. We’ll have the results shortly.”
An orderly wheeled Jill to a far corner of the waiting room. I hope it’s not broken. If it is, I’ll never be able to go on the mission.