Caged (On Hold)

Chapter 15

Christian

I got a call very early in the morning from Lucy. She wanted to sneak Jackson in before official opening hours at the vets. I woke Jackson up, he was extremely groggy, so I ended up carrying him to the car, in his pyjamas.

I placed him carefully in the passenger seat so he wasn't sat on his tail. I put a beanie on him to cover up his cat ears just in case anyone up at this ridiculous time, took a glance at him through the car window. Jackson slept the entire ride to the vets.

Darcy had left last night, after we were sure Jackson's medication had started to work, as she didn't want to leave knowing he was in pain. She reminded me countless times to call her if Jackson's painkillers weren't enough for the pain.

When we arrived at the vets, I carried Jackson around to the back entrance Lucy had told us to enter through. I made sure his tail was tucked in between me and himself, so no one would see but at the same time not hurt him.

Lucy was at the back entrance waiting for us. "Right on time." She said, as she let us in. I carried Jackson through to a room, where the x-rays would take place. Lucy instructed me to lay him on the bed. "Jackson...Lucy is going to do some x-rays on your tail, so you need to keep still okay?"

"Okay..." he fell straight back asleep.

Lucy positioned his tail and told me to come with her. We stood behind a screen while Lucy pressed a button. She went back to Jackson a few times to position his tail differently then coming back behind the screen to press the button again.

"Done. Let's take him to my office and we can review the x-rays." She said as we went back over to Jackson. I picked him up and follwed her to her office.

It was a small...clean smelling room. She sat at her desk and logged onto her computer. "Lay him down on the bed." I placed him gently on the small medical bed in the corner and took a seat next to Lucy.

"Here are the x-rays." She said, as the images appeared on-screen. "This is the base of the tail, where it was dislocated. You can see here, it has been put back in place correctly." She said, putting her finger on the screen where she was gesturing to. "He will need to keep that bandage on for a month most. Bring him here for weekly check ups and I will be able to give you a better time span depending on his recovery speed, he may need it for only one week...only time will tell."

I just nodded my head not sure what to say. "Here we can see a clear break in the tail...this will take longer to heal unfortunately. I can bandage him up and he should heal up in six to eight weeks, unless more damage is done between now and then. So you will need to be careful not to bump his tail, or have him sit on it etcetera."

With that she grabbed some bandages and re-wrapped the break on his tail. She used a different kind of bandage this time. "I don't need to re-bandage the base at this moment in time."

"What about his medication?" I asked, looking over at Jackson's face.

"I recommend sticking to one every four hours. Over time we will lower his dosage, but right now, one every four hours is ideal." She said, as she looked at her handy work.

"Come back in a week at the same time and back entrance. I will re-bandage his tail in both places and check his progress, with a bit of luck we can lower his dosage." She said, filling out paperwork.

"All done?" I asked, ready to go home...and back to bed.

"Yep. Just sign here, then you two are free to go." She said, handing over a sheet of paper and a pen. I signed on the line and handed it back to her. It was to prove I properly understood Jackson's dosage.

"I shall lead you out the back." She said. I picked up Jackson and carried him out to the car. I placed him on the seat and turned around to see Lucy.

"Have a safe drive." She said, pulling me into a hug.

"Will do. I will call you when we arrive home so you don't worry." I said, returning the hug.

"Don't hesitate to call me if you have any concerns." She said, before releasing me and walking back to the vet entrance.

I got into the drivers seat and buckled up. Jackson was still fast asleep...bless him. We soon arrived home. I sent a text to Lucy saying we had arrived home safely and I had put Jackson back to bed.

I then got back into my pyjamas and laid next to Jackson hugging him close. I silently cried. Jackson had been through so much, I let him out of my sight for a few minutes and this happens. It's all my fault. It's always my fault...

My phone beeped to say to give Jackson his next dose as the four hours were up. I fetched a glass of water and a tablet. "Jackson...painkillers."

He sat up and held his hand out for the glass. I placed the tablet in his mouth while he took the glass. He gulped down half the water before handing back the glass. He laid back down and curled up. Fast asleep. I kissed his forehead and shortly after fell asleep myself.