When Fools Rush In

Chapter 31 - Relief

"I'd love to meet your whole family," Lucy said, grinning. "And I want to take you to meet the rest of mine, although it would be mostly my cousins considering I'm a sad only child." She remembered that, her parents aside, the rest of her family had no idea about her relationship with Jack. That was going to be a difficult one to explain.

"Nah I'd love that like," beamed Jack.

Monica was on shift again after two days off and was in charge of discharging Jack from the hospital. She dished out a range of medication for him to take.

"We'll arrange for a nurse to visit to take your dressings off at the weekend, and to check everything is healing properly," Monica said. "The stitches are dissolvable so we won't be needing to take those out. Just take care, OK? And do let us know if you aren't sure about anything."

Jack nodded as Monica shared instructions for the medication she was leaving him with.

"Make sure you finish the course of antibiotics - that's very important," she said. Jack looked a bit flummoxed with the various instructions, glancing over at Lucy for reassurance.

"I'll make sure he takes everything," Lucy interjected with a wry smile, stroking Jack's hand. 

"And..." continued Monica, handing over the final large packet of medication, "some laxative sachets here if you need them. Just dissolve in a glass of water before you go to bed."

"Pfffffftttt," muttered Jack, rolling his eyes, "nah won't be needin' them once the one you gave me earlier kicks in." His eyes then lit up mischievously as he turned back to Lucy. "Or...maybe I can save them for when we play Man U and I can mix up their drinks."

"Jack!" exclaimed Lucy, in mock outrage, "you're so naughty!"

"Don't tell my husband you said that," smiled Monica, "he's a red and his whole family are reds."

"Yeah but ya won't tell," Jack winked at Monica as she finished up her discharge notes.

"Course not," she replied, "we're going to miss having you on the ward, that's for sure. Just make sure we all get our signed shirts, OK?"

"Nah nah I won't forget, I got loads to give out now!"

Jack put on his zip-up hoodie, physically unable to lift anything too heavy over his head, and his baseball cap, tugging his hood over it. While it was an open secret he was in this very hospital, he wanted a quiet exit. The hospital staff had arranged for Sandeep to park in a designated loading bay at the back of the building which was fairly secluded, with one of Man City's minders, Abdul, joining him to ensure there were no issues in safely escorting Jack into the car. Lucy, meanwhile, carried Jack's bags as they headed out the hospital.

It was slow progress, with Jack still stiff and slightly hunched over with the tightness around his abdomen. However, it was a smooth transition into the car and soon they were on the way home.

"Ah so good to get fresh air," enthused Jack, winding down the window a little despite the fresh December temperatures outside.

"We're so happy you're out of hospital," said Abdul, "we told the lads first thing this morning so they're all excited."

"Yeah they ain't stopped messaging me," said Jack, holding up his phone.

"Pep's going to sort you out some proper rehab in the next few weeks," said Abdul, "honestly the club are so good at stuff like this."

Lucy squeezed Jack's hand, knowing he would be relieved to hear that the club would be doing all they could to get him back to action as soon as possible. She just hoped he appreciated it wouldn't be an easy ride back to fitness.