He nodded. "I'm okay. Really. I was wearing my boots, so it's not as bad as it could have been."

You kneeled down in front of him, reaching for his foot without really thinking, pulling it into your lap, so you could see if he needed to go to the emergency room. He resisted briefly, his muscles stiffening as he tried to keep you from doing so, but he quickly, if not reluctantly, gave in.

~♡~

I was a bit taken aback as she was suddenly on the floor in front of me, her hands gently taking my foot and pulling it to her lap. I had tensed up for half a second, not having expected her to do such a thing, but as soon as the feel of her soft hands on my foot registered in my brain, my resistance melted and I chose to let her be the caretaker this once.

Her hand moved across the top of my foot, her fingers gently feeling around, and I flinched slightly as she touched where the chunk of wood had landed. She drew her hand back, looking up at me with concern. Her other hand still cradled the bottom of my foot, and her thumb was moving back and forth along the arch, though I didn't know if she even realized she was doing it.

But I was painfully aware of it, because it felt nice. I should pull my foot away, and make her stop. I didn't want her to stop though, so I did nothing. I sat there, and let her caress my foot, gazing at her small hand, her delicate fingers barely reaching around the bottom.

"It might be broken. Maybe we should go to the emergency room."

Her voice pulled me out of my trance, and my eyes caught hers. "I'm sure it's just going to bruise. It hurt like hell when it happened, but the pain has already subsided. I'll be fine."

She shook her head. "It's already bruising, and I know it hurts, you jumped when I touched it. Are you going to continue to be stubborn?"

I smirked, tilting my head to the side. "Stubbornness runs in my family. Don't expect me to be able to just stop being stubborn."

"Fine." She sighed. " I can't force you to go to the hospital. But at least put ice on it, so that hopefully it doesn't swell. It's going to hurt putting your boot back on as it is."

She gently placed my foot on the floor and stood, going to the freezer. She dug around, and pulled out a bag of frozen peas, then grabbed a dish towel from the drawer. She came back and pulled another chair out, putting it in front of me so I could lift my leg and set my foot on it.

It was at this point that I realized she was wearing some of the new clothes. They seemed to fit her perfectly, and I sighed in relief. I'd rather not have to interact with that lady at the store again any time soon.

I blinked as I tried not to wonder if she was wearing the bland, simply functional underwear and bra she'd picked, or the pretty, lacey ones I'd picked. But wonder I did. She was beside me, waiting, and my eyes inadvertently lifted, her chest at eye level. I swallowed hard and quickly looked at the chair in front of me, lifting my foot and placing it there a little harder than I'd intended, causing me to wince in pain, hoping she didn't notice.

She wrapped the bag of peas in the towel, and placed it on my foot. I looked at her, and her face held an expression of worry mixed with aggravation. I realized she was upset with me, presumably because I wouldn't go to the hospital.

She moved to walk away, and I reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Y/n...I'm fine. Honest. It'll be okay. It really doesn't hurt that much anymore, I promise."

She pouted a little, looking at me in what I could only assume was annoyance.

"Don't be mad at me, Y/n." I frowned at her, poking my bottom lip out in an attempt to make her laugh.

She looked away from me, but I saw her lips twitch as she tried not to smile. She shook her head as I tugged on her arm, trying to make her look at me. She kept her back to me though, and I grew concerned when I thought I heard her sniffle. Was she crying?

I opted for seriousness, because nothing else was working.

"Y/n...Trust me, huh? If I thought it was broken, I would agree to go get it looked at. I might be stubborn, but I'm not stupid. I have too much to do around here to risk ignoring an injury that could have me stuck in the house for weeks. It's going to bruise, there's nothing I can do about that, and I'm sure it will be painful to put my boot on for a day or two, but I won't be able to avoid it."

She was still refusing to look at me, and I sighed, the next words leaving my mouth begrudgingly.

"If it makes you feel better, even though I'm against it because you are just getting over being sick yourself, I'll let you take care of the horses for me this evening."

I still had a hold of her wrist, so I gave it a slight tug, and she turned her head, looking at me over her shoulder. I raised my eyebrows at her, one corner of my mouth quirking crookedly. She pursed her lips, and turned her body towards me a bit. Her eyes shined with unshed tears, but for the life of me, I didn't know why.

"Really? You'll let me do that for you? You told me I wasn't leaving the house today, so how do I know you really mean it?" She sounded unconvinced, as she brought one hand up, blotting at her eyes with the sleeve covering it.

"I'd rather you didn't leave the house. You're just getting over a fever that had you out of it for twelve hours. But I know better than to mess with an upset, pissed off woman."

She huffed out a laugh, turning to face me. "Fine. You have to stay off your foot for the rest of the evening, and I will do whatever needs to be done around here, including getting the horses in and feeding them."

"Wait, I didn't say I was staying off my foot..."

She sighed, pulling her arm free of my grasp, crossing it with her other arm over her chest. God she was tough. It was invigorating. She got my blood pumping, but in a good way. I actually welcomed it. I crossed my own arms, prepared to argue until I got my way.

"I wanna help make the milkshakes, so you're going to have to allow me that. Then I will sit down. I promise."

She narrowed her eyes at me like she didn't believe me.

"I said I promise. I don't break promises."

She looked into my eyes for several seconds, chewing the inside of her lip. "Fine. Just the milkshakes, then you are sitting and staying off your foot for the rest of the evening.

I nodded, and she took the bag of frozen peas from my foot, leaning down to look at it closer.

"It's definitely bruising, but I think the peas helped to keep it from swelling."

"Good, can I put my sock back on? My foot is cold."

She smiled. "Yes, put your sock back on."

I bent, pulling the sock over my toes, trying not to make a face as I pulled it up my foot, because the spot that was bruising was very tender and sore. I got it up over my heel, pulling it up the rest of the way, and tugging my pant leg down. This was going to hurt for a few days, that I knew, but I honestly didn't think it was broken.

"So, are we making those milkshakes? I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." I stood up carefully, putting my weight on my foot a little at a time. It really wasn't bad, at least...not until I took a step.

I hissed as the pain pulsed thru my foot, and Y/n, who had walked over to grab the blender, spun around to face me, her eyes narrowing as she saw me standing. I quickly put on as normal of a face as I could, forcing a smile, which she obviously saw right thru.

She smiled sarcastically. "Doesn't hurt that much anymore, huh?"

I shook my head. "I just put weight on it a little too quick is all. It's fine now." I stood straight, keeping most of my weight on my opposite foot, and smiled at her.

She frowned, and huffed out an exasperated breath. "You're impossible. Fine, have it your way. If you insist on helping, can you plug this in while I get the milk and the ice cream?" She stepped up to me, placing the blender in my hands, and looking at me like I was giving her a headache.

I held back a smile until she turned away, then I set the blender on the table, limping to the outlet on the wall and plugging it in. I would have to remember to take some pain relievers before I went to bed tonight. I finally realized that I should probably sit, the pain being more intense than I thought it would be, but I was stubborn, and I was going to help make the milkshakes first. Then I would gladly go sit down for the rest of the evening.