Genevieve's POV
I wake up in the hospital and it all starts coming back me. The shower, the pain, the itching, the screaming. The last thing I remember is being strapped to my bed and stabbed in my upper arm. I look at that spot and see a bandaid then I see white bandages adorning the rest of my arm. Looking over, I see my left arm met the same fate. What happened? Following my leftward gaze, I see Prince fast asleep his arm around my shoulders. I nudge him and slowly he returns to the conscious world.
"Hey, Chocolate Drop. How do you feel?" He smiles still waking up.
"I'm not itchy anymore. My arms still kind of hurt. Do you know why I'm wrapped up?"
"They said you had a panic attack and started scratching your arms."
"Is my skin back to normal?"
"No, you're still covered in hives but they're coming up with a plan to keep them from bothering you until they go away."
"How long do you think it will take?"
"They said a couple weeks." The doctors walks in and gives me a smile.
"Glad to see you're awake. Any itchiness or pain?"
"Just my arms."
"Well those are going to take a while to heal. You scratched yourself up pretty good. We're gonna prescribe you a strong antihistamine to help combat the hives. I'm also gonna prescribe you a steroid cream to put all over twice a day. Avoid putting this on your genitals and face. You can get any over the counter hydrocortisone for those areas. You could also do cold compresses or oatmeal baths. Grind the oatmeal until it's a fine powder and add a cup of it to bath water, soak for 20 minutes then put on your lotion and your ointments. I have some gauze for you. I want you to rewrap your arms every time you apply the ointments or take a bath. You may see some hyperpigmentation, especially on your arms, but it will fade over time. Do you have any questions for me?" I shake my head and he gives me another odd smile. "If you have any issues or it gets worse feel free to come back to the ER." He hands me my discharge papers and a small bag of medical supplies and walks out of the room closing the curtain. A nurse comes in shortly after, removing my IV. She smiles and tells me she's hopes I get better. I thank her for her kindness and watch her leave too.
"Do you want to come home with me or do you want to go home?"
"I should probably stay with you. I'm gonna need your help."
"With what?"
"Well, I did put that soap everywhere and he expects me to cover my body in ointment twice a day. I'll need help reaching my hard to reach places and wrapping my arms."
"Okay, mama. Throw your clothes on and we can go." He stands up to leave the room but I hold his arm. He looks at me for a moment trying to understand.
"If you're going to be rubbing ointment on me I think you have to see my naked body." He sits back down as I stand up and grab my caftan of the other chair in the room. I reach behind my back, untying each string on the hospital gown and let it fall to the floor. His eyes examine me in my nakedness and I feel unsure. Under normal circumstances, showing him my body would be okay but I'm covered in hives and welts and patches. My skin is red and swollen and angry. I do not feel beautiful in this moment, in this body. I slide the caftan over my body and slip on my shoes.
He makes no fuss he just stands grabbing my paperwork and supplies and helps me to the car. He stops at the nearest pharmacy and gives them my prescription orders. I wait in the car while he grabs them, not wanting to be seen. He returns to the car with a few bags and hands them to me as he steps into the car.
"I got you something."
"What is it?"
"Look in the bag." I dig through the first bag and find all my medicines, some rolled oats, and some lotion. The second bag brings a smiles to my face as I pull out a Reese's cup.
"Aww, look its us. My, Peanut Butter." I rest my hand on his both of us holding the gear shift. He lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses it.
"My, Chocolate Drop." We pull into Paisley Park and go straight to the kitchen. We greet Susan who is cooking dinner and try to divide a plane. The effects of the medicine begin to wear off and I start feeling itchy again. I lightly scratch my my chest and shoulders. "Uh uh, don't start that. I'll have to wrap you up like a zombie. Susan, can you put this in the blender and bring a cup of it upstairs? Make it real fine." He hands her the container of rolled oats and she nods.
"Making an oatmeal bath?" I nod feeling exposed. "Don't worry, darling. It'll make you feel much better." We leave her to the blending and decide in the meantime to take my oral medication and get everything else ready for the bath. We grab a cup of juice and make our way to his bedroom.
Sitting on his bed, I rip open the first of two paper bags. I pull out the bottle of pills and quickly read over it. One pill twice daily until gone. I open the bottle and pull out the small white pill. Placing it on my tongue, I say a little prayer as I prepare myself to swallow. I sip the juice and am grateful it went down the first time.
"Prince?" He renters the room from the bathroom where he was setting up and take a the seat beside me. "Will you unwrap my arms?" I hold out each arm and he is careful removing their bandages. Starting at my wrist he unravels them. My arms stings in the air and I can feel a grimace forming in my face. Then, he does the second one. Looking at my now exposed arms I feel sad. I allow my fingers to run over each patch and feel immense pain knowing I did this to myself. Where the rest of my skin is covered in swollen red welts, my arms are covered in a dry leathery rash.
"Mama, don't be sad."
"How can I not be? Look at me! Look at my skin!"
"It'll go away. It might not be as fast as you want it to but it will."
"I don't want anyone to see me like this."
"You don't have to go anywhere. You can stay right here if you want." I sigh feeling comforted knowing that there's always a place for me here. "You aren't any less beautiful this way and I'm still going to hold every inch of you. You know that right?"
"Really?" He nods offering me a smile.
"You want me to prove it? Come here." I scoot closer to him and he wraps me in a tight embrace. His hands rub my back and, even through the fabric of my dress,I can feel every bump in my body. A gentle knock tells us Susan has finished grinding the oatmeal. She hands him a cup of it through the door and goes back to cooking. I follow him to the bathroom and watch as he starts the bath. The powder quickly dissolves as it gets churned by the running water. The water turns milky and slightly thick as the oatmeal absorbs it. Curious I stick my hand into the water and it already feels really good on my skin. When he turns off the faucet, I stand and remove my clothes. He holds my hand as I step into the bath. I sit carefully and feel severely relieved. I sink down into the tub, leaving only my head exposed. He smiles seeing the relaxation on my face. "Twenty minutes to go."
"Will you sit with me?"
"Sure, Genny." He smiles. I close my eyes and relish in the silence. I didn't want to talk I just wanted him here, but I think he knew that. I doze off for a moment and am woken up with a tap on my forehead. "I didn't know where else to tap you but your time is up. You can get out now." I stand carefully stepping out of the tub and onto the bath mat. I try to pick up the towel in his hands but he won't give it to me. Instead he pat my skin dry. I feel a little stuck but my discharge papers said that's normal. I feel exposed standing here naked in front of him but he doesn't seem fazed. He just continues to gently blot the liquid from my skin. We walk into the bedroom and I have a seat on the towel. He reaches into the bag pulling out the next paper bag and a rectangular box holding hydrocortisone. "How can I help?" He asks softly holding out the two creams.
"Let me put this on first, then can you do the rest?"
"Sure." I take the hydrocortisone with me into the bathroom. Pulling the tube from its cardboard prison, I quickly read its instructions. I open the tube, flipping the cap to pop the seal and begin applying. First to my face, then to my more sensitive areas. I'm disgusted feeling the bumps covering my genitals. The shaving definitely made it worse. I breathe through the discomfort and make my way back to the bed.
I sit down beside him and wait for something to happen but nothing does. There's no hoopla, no fan fare, not even a sideways glance. He simply tells me to turn around. He starts by rubbing the ointment into my shoulders and back. I turn to face him and he moves to my arms and neck. I close my eyes as he approaches my chest with the thick white cream. He's thorough in spreading it, rubbing under each breast. His hands don't linger too long in one place. It feels respectful as if he knows this isn't the time to be sensual in his touch. I lie down allowing him to get my stomach and each leg. His hands are soft as they massage the ointment into my legs he pays special attention to my calves and feet which seem to have gotten the worst of it. Lastly, I turn over and his hands focus on my hips and ass. I sit up again, holding out my arms. He wraps them gently taping the gauze in place. When he finishes, he gathers the medications and supplies and puts them all in the medicine cabinet.
Prince's POV
When I walk back into the room she's standing. Our eyes meet but only briefly as her emotions get the best of her.
"Why can't you look at me?" I ask walking towards her.
"This isn't the way, I wanted you to see my body."
"Genevieve mama, I'm not upset that you look this way."
"But I am!" She looks at me with sorrowful eyes.
"Your body is still beautiful. It may not look how you want it to but that's okay. I think I should be at least 5' 10" but I'm only 5' 4" and that's permanent!" She chuckles softly and I can feel the darkness leaving the room. "Your still my woman and nothing is going to change that. Not hives, not scars, not a crooked eye, nothing." She smiles up at me and I smile back. "There's my baby." My hands find their way to her waist and kiss her softly pulling her closer to me. The kiss is simple and sweet like the kiss at the end of a movie. When I pull away she looks at me but she doesn't say anything. Her eyes tell me to take off my day clothes and come lay down. With one hand she pulls me over to the bed. She sits patiently waiting for me like you wait through the trailers for a movie to start. I smirk as I remove my shirt and my pants but decide against being completely naked. She moves over making room for me in the bed. I lay down and immediately hold her. Our legs intertwine and my arm wraps around her rubbing her back. Our chests touch in a way she isn't used to but she adjusts and finds comfort in all the skin to skin contact.
I wish she could see herself the way I see her. I wish she could see how much power and beauty she holds. I see how she deflects comments and how soft she says thank you. I want her to be as loud and excited about her beauty as everyone else is. Everyone who meets her thinks she beautiful inside and out but, she's convinced that no one will care about her if she doesn't maintain the visual. I wish I could tell her I fell in love with her heart and her gaze first and that her body was just something that came with it. I think it's still too soon for those kinds of confessions but one day she'll know.