Chapter 5
"I missed you too."
Natascha grinned at Loki. She obviously knew how to deal with the young man but Thor, on the other hand, was still holding back. It was his first day and Loki was his second patient. Normally, he would have introduced himself, but something made him hesitate. Maybe the words of his colleague had unsettled him a bit, that he had to get to know each patient and that he couldn't compare Loki with Mrs. Hansen. Maybe he was afraid that he would do something wrong. So far, the day had been relatively good and Thor really wanted to leave it at that. He took one deep breath and slowly approached the two.
"Hi, my name is Thor. I am pleased to meet you."
Thus far, Loki hadn't paid him much attention. It was as if he wasn't aware of his presence until after Thor had spoken directly to him. He looked critically up to him and turned his wheelchair slightly, so he had a better look at him. Thor gave him a charming smile and held out his hand to Loki. But he didn't return the gesture. Loki kept his hands on the pushrims.
"Hello. I wasn't told that I have two assistants."
Uncertain, Thor looked to Natascha, who had to suppress a laugh.
"No, I thought I'd surprise you with that. Mrs. Hansen was very fond of our dear Thor, especially of his strong arms."
The redhead was now standing next to him and squeezing his bicep.
"But seriously, this young gentleman is my new intern and he will accompany me the next days, so get used to him. And Loki, today is his first day. Please, promise me that you'll be nice to him. He just looked like a kicked puppy."
She winked, causing Loki to roll his eyes and smile.
Natascha looked at her watch and indicated that they had to go, if they wanted to make it to therapy in time. She took the books from Loki's lap and put them into his bag, which hung at the back of his wheelchair and pushed him in the direction of the exit.
When they were back at the main entrance, they faced a new problem. Despite the fact that most of the classes were over and many students were already on their way home, the parking spaces for disabled people were still occupied, which meant that their driver actually had to park behind the building. But before Thor could remember that the way to the main parking lot included stairs, he could already hear the familiar Russian cursing of the young nurse.
"Ok. Can you please go ahead. Hopefully, Clint is on his way back."
Said and done. Thor quickly made his way to the stairs, but unfortunately Clint was nowhere to be seen, which meant that they both had to manage to transport Loki down the stairs. He groaned in frustration and gave Natascha a sign that they couldn't hope for further help.
So far, he had never really been aware of what could be done with rather minor things such as parking in the wrong place. Thor and Fandral had often parked in these spots as well, either because they were too late for school and they had had no time to look for another parking lot or because they had just been too lazy to walk. They had never felt remorse. On the contrary, both men had laughed at fellow students who had warned them that they couldn't stay there. But now that he learned what it meant to be dependent on such things, he was ashamed of himself. Helplessly, he looked to his colleague, who briefly considered what they should do.
"It's not worth waiting for Clint, we clearly have not enough time for that. Who knows where he parked. What do you think how many stairs are there? Definitely more than thirty."
Natascha sighed loudly and pulled her hair in frustration. She seemed to be planning their next actions. Tensed, she crouched down in front of Loki, so that both were at the same eye level.
"I know you won't like my idea, but I guess that we have no choice. It's the fastest way. Thor will carry you down the stairs and I'll follow you with your wheelchair. If that's okay for you?"
Unethusiastically, the young man nodded. Thor, with a short nod, also indicated that he had no problem with the idea. He licked his lips nervously and approached Loki. He had never carried a disabled person in any way. Sure, the blonde had already had dozens of lovers, whom he had carried into his bed in bridal style, kissing wildly and full of lust, but this was a completely different situation. What if he did something wrong? What if he hurt the young man or worse, if he stumbled.
"Thor?"
Natascha looked at him expectantly. So, he mentally kicked himself in the ass and leaned down to Loki. First, he lifted his legs by putting one arm under his knees, then gently placed the other arm on his lower shoulder blades. One last look to his patient, who gave him the approval, in which he laid his arms around Thor's neck. Finally, he lifted Loki and was surprised that he wasn't as heavy as he thought. Carefully, he climbed down the stairs. When he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he signed with relief.
"I was afraid that I would drop you."
Surprised, Loki looked up at him and for the first time that day, Thor had proper eye contact with the young man in his arms. What struck him immediately were the green eyes. A color he had never seen before. A small smile formed on his face and suddenly he could relax, as if all his worries had been completely unnecessary.
"How nice of you that you didn't."
It was just a mumbling with a undertone that didn't exactly hide a certain hint of sarcasm, which made the blonde smile even more. He had met Loki ten minutes ago, but he was sure that he could get used to him. Shortly afterwards Natascha approached the two of them and they could put Loki back into his wheelchair.
****
After a fast ride, where Clint and Natatscha had imagined more than a hundred methods, what they would most likely to do with the idiots who had taken away the parking lots and where they had more than once exceeded the speed limit, the four had finally managed to reach the therapy centre.
However, what Thor had noticed was that the closer they had gotten to their destination, the worse Loki's mood had become. Although he didn't know what his patient was expecting, he knew only too well how frustrating physical therapy could be. So he put a hand on Loki's shoulder and hoped that he could calm him down a bit as he pushed him through the reception hall.
"Ah Loki, there you are. Nice to see you. I thought you wouldn't come today."
They were greeted by a small man, the blonde estimated that he was in his late forties. But his physique was in no way inferior to that of Thor.
"Excuse us, Mike. We're a bit too late. There were a few problems at the university that we had to solve, but here we are now."
Mike, who was probably one of the therapists, first shook Loki's hand and then went to Natascha, who already took the documents out of her bag and put a pen in the man's hand.
"Thor, can you bring Loki to the gym. I'll just do the paperwork, so Clint can take the documents with him. He has to go back to the headquarters. "
Both men just nodded and Loki showed him the way. The building was huge and had several floors, fortunately the gym was on the ground floor, next to the indoor swimming pool. Thor was surprised when they entered the room. The usal fitness equipment, which came to his mind first if he heard the word gym, was missing and he could see large therapy beds instead. Some of them were already occupied and therapists performed a variety of exercises with their patients.
"It's the bed in the right corner."
Mike had caught up with them and told Thor that he would take over from here.
"Great. So, as dicussed last week, we will continue to work on the transfers. As you know, it's important to do it properly if you want to avoid injuries and it also increases your independece. I think that we start sitting."
In the meantime Thor had been looking for a place near the two men, where he could intervene in case of emergency. Natascha had pointed out that he should assist when needed but if he was honest, he had no idea how to do it. The blonde had never really been interested in nursing and hadn't received any training. But now, that he was responsible for a patient, he suddenly realized that this job didn't seem as easy as he thought. The profession included tons of expertise and hands-on training.
His sister had often dicussed the issue with their father that the employees earned too little money. In her opinion, it wasn't just about the responsibility, but also about the fact that the nurses and drivers had to study further constantly in order to keep up to date. This ambition should be fairly paid. Most of the time he could only smile about that. As an economist, he had looked at the matter from the perspective of the management. It was important for him to generate an annual profit to meet the wishes of Odin to be able to contiue to expand the company. Now, he did understand that his arrogance and prejudice were to blame for his failure to pursue Brunhilde's suggestions.
His eyes fell on Loki again. A man of the same age as himself who had to learn how to transfer from a bed to a wheelchair. He admired the willpower of him. Despite all difficulties, he tried again and again, although Thor could clearly see that Loki was soon at the end of his strength and had to take a break. But he didn't give up.
"Did you learn how to deal properly with patients who suffer from quadriplegia?"
These words tore Thor's thoughts away and made him wince in shock. He hadn't noticed that Natascha had come back and was now standing next to him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. But have you acquired any experiences in nursing? Have you ever attended a seminar or something like that?"
Thor could only shake his head, which made his colleague sigh in annoyance. When he looked at her, he could recognize that one special look. If Natascha was lost in thoughts, it usually meant nothing good for him. And he was right. Before he could do anything, she appoached the therapist, who was assisting Loki to sit safely and comfortably in his wheelchair again.
"I don't want to bother you, but before you two quit the session, I would like to add a little exercise. Don't worry. Loki would be the passive part. But would it be possible for me to briefly explain to Thor how to transfer a patient from a wheelchair to bed and back?"
Mike was the first to react and waved him over with a smile. Loki, on the other hand, looked at him with an indefinable look on his face. Thor swallowed loudly.
"Don't be shy, come on."
The therapist had grabbed his arms and pulled him towards Loki, who still hadn't said a word. When Thor came to a halt in front of the wheelchair, Mike pointed to the feet of the young man, which hadn't yet been put back on the footplate.
"Ok, do I understand Natascha correctly? You don't have much experience in such things? Alright. What you have to keep in mind is that you must lift the patient properly and you can't ignore your own posture as well. First, you place Loki's feet on the ground, they have to be parallel to each other and then you surround them with your own feet. After that, you pin his knees between your own. Understood so far?"
Thor followed the instructions, but was quite nervous. He prayed that they didn't notice.
"Very well. Now, Loki has to put his arms around your neck and you, in return, wrap your arms around his upper body. The area right under the patient's shoulder would be the best."
With a few skillful moves, Mike corrected him a bit so that nothing could go wrong.
"Ok. The final step is that you lift Loki to the other side. For that, you have to bend your knees a bit more, so that your back's straight. Then you lean backwards until the patient's bottom don't touch the seat anymore and finally you're able to turn, with the help of your feet, until you can safely let him down on the bed again."
To the surprise of all his colleagues, the blonde managed to transfered the young man flawless. It took a little longer, but it was his first try after all. A proud smile appeared on his face and he let out his breath with relief, not even aware that he had held it.
Unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy his sucess for long, because as he slowly loosened his grip on Loki, he hadn't thought of his condition. The young man was paralyzed from the chest down. Due to the lack of function of his abdominal and back muscles, he found it difficult to sit without help. But before Thor could realized this, Loki already fell forward.