Bikky had called Dee in a panic, not knowing what else to do, because Ryo was sick, or hurt, or something. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, arms wrapped around himself, groaning, and all Bikky could get out of him was that it hurt to breathe.

Dee had rushed over, because he was bound to be worried if something was wrong with his baby. Ryo was still hunched over on the bed when he got there, and Dee immediately took charge.

“Where does it hurt?”

“My ribs,” Ryo said, wincing with every breath.

“What happened?”

“It’s stupid.”

“Just tell me.”

“I was making the bed, and I sneezed.” Ryo sounded so indignant, if he hadn’t been so obviously in pain, Dee might have laughed. “Felt like something popped.”

“Right, think you can stand? I’m takin’ ya to the ER.”

“They’ll laugh.”

“So what? You’re injured and in pain, so c’mon, let’s get ya checked out.”

Not having much choice in the matter, Ryo went, but when he explained what had happened, the doctor didn’t laugh, she winced. “Okay, you’ve either torn one of your intercostal muscles, or cracked a rib. It’s easily done. Cough or sneeze in the wrong position, and…” She trailed off with a sympathetic smile. “I’ve done it myself, coughed as I was closing a drawer. The pain is unbelievable. We’ll do an x-ray to check nothing’s broken, then it’s rest, painkillers, and ice. It’ll hurt to breathe for a while, and you’ll need to avoid doing anything strenuous. No heavy lifting, no running… You’re a cop?”

Ryo nodded.

“I’ll sign you off work for a week, then deskwork only for at least another two. You don’t want to aggravate the injury.”

“I really don’t,” Ryo agreed. “I never knew sneezing was so dangerous.”


The End