Healing (KTH, featuring KNJ)

Chapter 61

The shower was a very emotional experience for both Taehyung and Clara. She began to finally allow herself to fall apart under his gentle and careful touch and he could finally see the full extent of her injuries.

He began by carefully transferring her to the bathroom counter, ensuring there was a soft towel she could sit on so she would be comfortable. Mrs. Kim had found a small stool Clara could sit on in the shower which would help keep her safe.

After the shower was a comfortable temperature Taehyung quickly undressed himself, and then more slowly undressed Clara. First her sweatshirt which was covered with dirt and stains and ripped in several areas. Then the long sleeved jersey t-shirt she must have taken from Taehyung's closet, which used to be white but now had blood splotches all over it, particularly on the arm. Then he proceeded to help her remove her jeans, which was difficult because Clara was uncomfortable with the stiff material rubbing against her injuries. But with lots of assurance and a great deal of care, they were finally removed. Taehyung carefully removed her underwear and then slipped off her bra, cautiously avoiding the large abrasions on her arm as he pulled the straps away. He tried to gently remove the bandages on her legs and arms, but it required a bit of tugging which he apologized for in a repeating refrain. And he became frustrated when he realized that the hospital had partially taped directly on the wound in one area, which left him almost no choice but to painfully tug at the injured skin.

After she was fully undressed he offered a gentle kiss to her uninjured template, then put his hand on her sides and helped her off the counter to guide her directly to the stool in the shower. By now Taehyung could see the large bruise on her hip, and painfully skinned arm and leg. But she otherwise looked relatively unharmed, beyond the row of stitches on her face that he was still having a hard time looking at.

From here he gently washed every part of her body, talking to Clara the entire time. "Sweetheart, I'm going to wash your toes now, and then I'll move on to your foot and leg but I promise I'll be extra careful to avoid touching your wounds. You are doing so well. I know this is hard and it must be very painful. You are so brave and strong, our babies will be lucky to have a mother like you."

From there he continued on to other parts of her body with the same detailed explanations of where he was going and how proud he was of her. He was constantly going back to the soap to thoroughly lather his hands to caress her skin. He wanted the skin to skin contact, but also knew that his fingers could be more precise in avoiding injured areas which would make Clara more comfortable.

He felt relieved to feel kicking when he gently caressed Clara's belly with his soapy hands, and as usual followed washing with soft kisses all over the protruding mound. After washing her body he needed to move on to her hair which had become crisp with dried blood. This required extra care to ensure he didn't get the stitches wet, so he used the handheld to carefully wet the hair before very gently washing the strands. It was very difficult to fully clean her hair considering running of his fingers through the strands uncomfortably pulled at the stitches. And It took several rounds of shampoo before the water finally ran clear from the blood. He increasingly dreaded the idea of having to brush through her hair afterward, knowing it would likely be agonizing for both of them. With that in mind he applied conditioner several times, attempting to make the hair as soft and untangled as possible for the later chore.

After he completed the final rinse of her hair, he squatted down in front of Clara to see how she was doing. And it was then that she truly broke down, reaching to hold him while staying on her little stool. He wasn't very comfortable squatting and then kneeling on the floor of the shower, but Taehyung was so glad to provide her comfort and feel her in his arms again he would suffer almost any pain to help ease hers. He felt it was the least he could do after her traumatic experience.

Eventually her hiccups of sadness subsided and Taehyung felt she was ready to transition from the shower and get warmed up. As gently as possible Taehyung dried her off, barely patting dry the injured areas, and then helped her back to the bed. The bedding had been changed while she was in the shower so she wouldn't have to see any lingering blood stains from her clothes or her wounds. And several soft towels had been laid down to keep things neat while the doctor cleaned and re-dressed her wounds. But before the doctor could begin Taehyung very gently brushed her hair, holding it by the roots to ensure it didn't pull. He then carefully weaved it into a braid, once again cautious to avoid pulling but working to ensure it was tight enough to hold so he wouldn't have to brush her hair again anytime soon. He was glad Clara couldn't see his sorrow during the process, he was trying to maintain a strong facade to help buoy her. But just feeling her hair in his hands he knew so much had been lost. And while it really was the least of his concerns at the moment, there was no easy way to address the gapping bald section of her head. If Clara felt self-conscious before, the likely scarring and lost hair would only add to her shyness and reluctance to be around others, particularly those she did not know.

After the braid was complete, the doctor came and applied ointment to all of her injuries, finally rebandaging them. The strain of the shower and the pain of the cleaning and bandaging had Clara exhausted and she once again fell into a nap. Taehyung was still anxious to know what had happened, but he'd have to wait just a little bit longer.