Chapter 1168: A False Alarm (part two)

"Tom?" Leena carefully opened the door a crack and popped her head in to look for Tom.

"Come in." Tom didn't think anything of it. He thought that Leena came by herself, so he just glanced at her casually and turned his gaze back to the case files again.

"Sorry to disturb you, Dr. Qin." Kevin followed Leena into the office and greeted Tom first.

"Hey! Kevin! Been awhile. Oh -- oh no! Is Leena okay?" Tom was surprised to see Kevin, but he was more worried about Leena. He probably took her here, and Kevin wasn't a frivolous man. It was likely that Leena was hurt.

"Yeah. Someone elbowed her in the back. I thought I'd bring her here and get it checked out." Kevin liked Tom. He was a lot nicer than Edward or Duke.

What? Leena was attacked? What happened? Do Edward and Duke know?" Tom stood up from the chair when Kevin told him this. This was not the time to be careless. Leena was sick recently, so he had to take precautions.

"Don't tell them, Tom. They'll have a fit. It's annoying," Leena said anxiously. She didn't want to have them make a fuss over her, so she hoped he'd keep quiet.

Come over here and lie down on the couch. Let me take a look." Tom stared at Leena angrily. There probably wasn't anything wrong. Otherwise, she wouldn't be this happy. The person who beat her was asking for trouble. If Duke knew, he'd track the guy down and chop off his hand. If Edward found out, who knew what might happen? Maybe he'd kill the thug.

Go ahead and eat, Tom. No rush," Leena said with a smile, and put the takeout bag on the table.

"Naw. Let's get this over with. So, lie down, please." Tom was angry because Leena hadn't taken good care of herself. Yes, it might be the 21st century. But she would always be their little princess, and anything that happened to her was automatically deserving of treatment.

"You sound mad. You're scaring me." Leena pouted after she said this. She walked over to the couch and lay on it, like he asked.

"Close the door," said Tom, jerking his head in Kevin's direction. At his words, he reached for the remote and raised the indoor temperature several degrees higher. He couldn't have Leena catching cold, now.

Kevin nodded and quickly closed the door. He was worried about Leena, and paid no attention to Claire at all. Claire was apparently still lost in her own thoughts too; otherwise she would have said something by now.

"Can you take off your coat? Make it easier. I don't have X-ray vision," Tom teased.

"Err… Sorry. I forgot." Leena made a face and stuck her tongue out at the man. She stood up to shed her long coat, pausing to hang it on the coat rack, and then lay back down again.

Tom shook his head. Sometimes he felt helpless to help her, although he was used to her being scatter-brained.

"Oh my god," Tom said, shuddering. "We have some bad bruising here." Worry wrinkled Tom's forehead as he saw the severe bruising marring the girl's back. Her skin was fairly white, so the bruising looked terrible. It stood out starkly to anyone looking at it.

"Is it serious?" Kevin popped his head in. He didn't take a look at the wound before they came, so he didn't know whether it was serious. He just thought it was a good idea that she should be examined, just in case. Tom looked at Kevin. "Sort of," he said, and then turned his attention back to Leena. "Leena, I'm going to apply pressure to different parts of your back. Let me know if it hurts." Tom extended his hand and pressed lightly around the bruising. He was checking if the impact had affected the bones in any way.

Okay. Go ahead." Leena started to blush. She felt shy as her back was bare. Her conservative upbringing wouldn't let her feel any other way.

"Does it hurt when I press here?" Tom asked the girl in a concerned tone. He moved his hands and pushed a little. Sweat broke out on his forehead -- he didn't want this sweet girl to feel any pain.

"Ouch! It hurts!" Leena had a low pain threshold. She grimaced as Tom pressed hard.

"Alright, we're done now. You can sit up. We'll need an X-ray just to be on the safe side." Grim-faced, Tom pulled down her shirt. He knew Leena could hardly bear any pain at all, but he was still uneasy. He might find something -- a pinched nerve, strained muscle, a bruised bone perhaps. Maybe an X-ray would show him what was going on.

"What? Why do I need to take an X-ray? Can't you just give me something for the pain?" Leena pursed her lips, looking pitiable. She came to Tom precisely because she didn't want an X-ray. It was a headache for her, and frankly she was more than a little afraid of it. But she ended up needing one anyway.

"You can't just bat those eyes at me and expect to get anywhere. You need an X-ray. Let's go. I'll take you there." Tom grabbed her coat from the coat rack, and held it up while she put her arms through the sleeves. He affectionately tucked the loosened tendrils of hair behind her ear, while her husband Kevin could do nothing but stand by anxiously.