Step by Step

Chapitre 3

The young woman nodded and went to join Rose, who was waiting in the corridor.

"Bad luck," muttered the little brunette as they both walked away from the conference room. "I didn't know you were the one who'd get stuck with him."

"It's fine, Rose. I'll manage."

"I have no doubt about it. I'm sure that with you, Solo will be as gentle as a lamb!"

OoooooO

Rey was quite satisfied. She'd found a small studio for rent in Greenwich, and her previous day's work had gone pretty well. She had met Harriet Harper, a somewhat wacky grandmother who'd had her hip replaced by Poe, and Lewis O'Hara, a snowboard champion, who had suffered a double tibia-fibula fracture while backcountry skiing in Aspen. The young therapist had above all been reassured to find that she was quickly finding her footing once again.

This morning she'd seen little Ethan Fallon again, and she was now enjoying lasagna while seated at one of the tables in the cafeteria. Ben Solo's file was open before her and she was browsing the information about him.

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Admission: December 5, 2019

Status: Vertebral fracture in D7 and D8 with compression of the spinal cord. Facial laceration without bone involvement of the right profile.

Interventions performed at St Thomas Hospital in London on November 20, 2020.

Vertebroplasty performed by Dr. Wellington,

Emergency restorative cosmetic surgery performed by Dr. Hames on November 20, 2020.

Recommendation for care: Wearing a brace for a period of two months. Physiotherapy, balneotherapy and kinesiotherapy / Weaning off the brace and muscle reconditioning.

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She was looking at Rose's footnotes when the young woman and Poe came to sit next to her with their meal trays.

"Hey, hi guys!" Rey exclaimed, closing and pushing the files to the side.

"So how's your first day back on the job going ? Everything okay?"

"Couldn't be better. What about you, Poe? Not too sad that Kaydel is gone?"

"Are you kidding me? I was constantly telling her to take it easy! And now she's going around in circles at home, desperately looking for something to have me fix, or a wall that needs repainting in the babies' room."

"Can you believe that you'll be a father of twins in a few weeks?" said Rose, attacking the contents of her plate.

"As if I'm not freaking out enough, Rose, thank you for reminding me," said Poe, running his hand through his hair. "I can't think about it without laughing, girls, I swear. I'm so stressed out. I feel like I'm going to be a disaster as a father."

"Are you kidding me? I have never seen anyone so comfortable with children. You'll be wonderful! Besides, look, Ethan adores you. You did a great job with his prosthesis. You're his hero."

"Ethan is my 'Galactic Wars' buddy. He's amazing. But I think it's you who he fell in love with, Rey. Last week, I had the misfortune of telling him that you were coming back, and then he hounded me every single day about when you'd get here! I think that kid is downright ready to marry you!" the orthopedic surgeon said with a smile.

Rey's face suddenly closed off. She looked down, and Poe realized a little too late that he had just blundered. The young therapist began to push her food around on her plate, and Rose took the opportunity to cast a glare at Poe while mimicking a furious gesture of decapitation. But Poe frowned and decided that he would continue to stick his foot in it.