Project Rescue - A Shifter Novel (NaNoWriMo19)
Chapter 2 - Hard knocks

I could smell the flight attendant walking closer. If she asked me to wake up the girl I was going to blow. I knew I was. I should have ignored her but I didn’t want to seem rude, not that I cared. But, I had an image to protect, and protecting my image was most important to my plan - my plan to stay alive.

The flight attendant stopped by my seat. “Would you like a breakfast sandwich, ma’am?”

“Uh, sure.”

“What about your friend?” I looked at who she pointing at, even though I knew who she was talking about.

“I don’t know what she likes. I just met her today. You can ask her if want,” I stood up and moved. I didn’t want to be anywhere close to Daisy if she woke up squirrely.

The flight attendant sat in the middle seat and lightly shook Daisy, not that she quit snoring. The attendant sighed and clapped her hands loudly, which caused a reaction I was expecting, and one she was not. I guess I should have taken the slap, or not. I could have caught her arm in mid-strike. Now I felt guilty for some reason. Probably had to do with how hard she was hit.

Damn that girl was strong.

“Oh. My. God! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you,” Daisy said as she started to cry.

Could my life be any more fucked up?

“Ma’am, could you let me see your face better. I can tell you if anything is broken,” I informed her. She nodded her head, wincing at the action. Too bad this was probably going to hurt as much as the nod did. “I’m sorry if this hurts but I will try to be gentle, okay?”

She tried to smile a little but her jaw didn’t quite line up I grabbed both jaws easily, feeling with my hand the differences between both sides. Ah, hell, her jaw was broken. I looked around at the passengers. “Is anyone a doctor?” No one moved or said anything. “Anyone?”

She wrote a note, showing it to me. The note asked why she needed a doctor. I pinched the bridge of my nose, sitting her down, getting ready to let her know my diagnosis.

Before I said anything, angels sang from heaven, babies were quiet and I was saved. “I’m a doctor.”

“Oh, thank God,” I breathed out.

“What do you think it is?” He asked.

“What kind of doctor are you?” I angrily asked.

“A podiatrist.”

And then the angels stopped singing, babies screamed, and I wanted to kick his ass for bursting my bubble.

“Well, fuck me and my life,” I stopped talking. “Sorry. Okay, doctor, do you have anything for pain, and I’m not talking about the roll-on crap either.”

“Actually I do. Is she allergic to morphine?”

Was this dude seriously asking me? I swear I’m about to punch him in the jaw. I snapped my teeth together, trying hard to not knock this fool out. “Don’t ask me, ask her? She does have a pen and a pad of paper,” I said, annoyance in my tone.

Finally, someone else rolled their eyes. The flight attendant held up her pad, showing me her answer. She’s not allergic to morphine and wants me to set her jaw.

Damn, she’s too smart.

I nodded my head and asked the doctor to give her some morphine, telling him I was going to set her jaw. I thought he was going to swallow the damned cap off the needle. I leaned over to see how much morphine he was going to give her. I shook my head. “She can have another cc of morphine for her weight. She has a cute curvy body,” I said, hoping she understood that I meant she wasn’t fat but had some meat on her bones.

Yeah, me being nice - scary.

He gave her the morphine, watching for any sign of a reaction, finally nodding at me. After she started feeling the pain medicine, I squatted down in front of her. “Okay, ma’am, I’m going to put my hands in the same spot as before. Let me know if you feel pain, okay? This is not going to be pleasant. I need to put my fingers in your mouth to hold your lower molars, okay?

She nodded her head as I put my hand on her jaw. It was good that she didn’t have the same pain. But, I knew it was still going to hurt like a bitch before I was done. “Close your eyes and think happy thoughts.”

Damn it! What was I going to say next?

After washing my hands and putting on gloves, I was ready to set her jaw. I put my fingers in her mouth, feeling for her molars. When I found the molars, I pushed down as fast as I could, hearing a satisfying pop.

She cringed, nodded her head slowly, and shook my hand. “I still need to ice your jaw. You need to go to the emergency room when you leave here. Have them take x-rays, okay?”

I was handed an ice pack and some tape. I looked up at another flight attendant. “Nice job. Maybe we should call you the doctor.”

“Please don’t. I would appreciate it if you would make sure my picture is not on the news, Youtube, or Facebook. I’m hiding from an abusive ex-husband. I can’t tell you how dangerous he is,” I pleaded, laying it on thick.

She nodded her head and spoke with the other flight attendants. I could see them asking to see everyone’s phones for my safety. I wasn’t sure if they would catch the people on time. People were quick with those little gadgets.

I made a make-shift bandage, making sure the ice was on her jaw. I grabbed my backpack and moved to another seat, leaving my seat open for the sleeping flight attendant, effectively blocking Daisy in her seat.

Score one for me.

I finally got some sleep, not waking up until we were about to land. I looked over to where the flight attendant was surprised to see her not in her seat. “They took her off the plane in Palmas. She will end up going home after she had x-rays done,” another flight attendant explained.

“That’s good,” I turned my head back toward where Daisy was sitting. “And her?”

“The air marshal has her cuffed in the back. I know it was an accident. Cece wrote a note explaining what happened. She will probably be in Brazil in a couple of days. But, she will be sitting next to the air marshal all the way back.”

“Thanks. If you see Cece please let her know I was checking on her. She seemed really sweet,” I expressed to her, trying hard to fit in. And boy was it hard for me to do. I have never spoken so many words before. I was always quiet but watchful, kind of like my jaguar.

She nodded and walked to the other passengers and then put her seatbelt on, getting ready for the landing in Santarem, Brazil.