Rip - Trust (Completed)

Promises

"You come with me, and Jacob you take the horse back to the ranch," he told them. They both knew why, he needed Jamie to talk for him.

It was Bernard who opened the gate for them when they arrived at the vet's place. Rip was surprised to see him there and it made him feel uneasy. Everyone else spoke in warm amusement about the grumpy man, but he did not like him. He did not know what to make of him and stayed out of his way. 

"What's he doing here?" Rip asked no one specifically. "They are a couple," Jamie simply answered.

Jamie took Dante to the side and talked to him quietly and out of earshot, while Rip and his uncle waited in the vet's office. 

When they returned, Dante smiled at Rip and invited him to sit on a chair. "So, you came of your horse, and Jamie here tells me that you think you dislocated your shoulder? I don't often have patients who tell me what is wrong with them," he chuckled. "What happened?" he asked. "I don't know," the boy mumbled. 

"Well let's have a look at you then, let's get that shirt off first." He was a vet and not a doctor. It was natural for him to examine his patient by touch and not to ask too many questions. It never occurred to him to ask the boy to take of his shirt by himself. 

 "Take your fucking hands off me, you fucking shirt lifter," the boy shouted at him aggressively, and jumped off his chair, throwing it over in the process of moving himself into a corner. There had been no other path open to him. "Pervert!" he snarled hatefully, when he saw the vet try to approach him a second time.

"Rip!" his uncle roared and then addressed the vet more calmly, "I am so sorry Dante, I can't believe he said that." He then turned his attention back to his nephew. "You will feel my belt on your backside for that! I'll promise you that," he snarled.

The vet turned around and squared up to him, putting his face right into that of Mr Dutton's. "That's not helping, John, and it's what got you here in the first place as far as I can make out," Dante said sternly. He put his finger into his friend's face and said, "One more outburst like this and you can wait outside in the waiting area, understood?" He never gave him a chance to respond and instead addressed the boy, while Jamie received a threatening look from his father that made him feel the same age as the frightened teenager in the corner.

"It's alright Rip, I am not going to touch you." He spoke soothingly like Jamie had earlier and gave him time to process what he had said before he continued, "Jamie tells me you are scared of going to the hospital," he paused again, "because you think they won't let you come back to the ranch," again he paused. "Your uncle John is afraid of the same thing," another pause. "He wants you to stay." 

The boy stared at him hatefully but seemed to be listening. "If it is just a dislocated shoulder or a simple break, I should be able to fix you up, but I need to have a look at it," he told the boy.

"The last time it fixed itself," the boy answered defiantly.

"Yes, sometimes that happens, but if it doesn't it could get a lot worse and swell up real bad and then there is nothing much I can do for you. You would definitely have to go to the hospital." He paused to give the boy time again to consider what he had said. 

"I tell you what, let me take an Xray of your arm, and then we know for sure what we are dealing with, I won't have to touch you for that at all," he told him reassuringly.

"I am not taking my shirt off", Rip spat back.

"That's okay. You don't need to for now", Dante reassured him.

"I won't!" the boy told him.

"He was right, John. It is dislocated. I am not a doctor but it doesn't look to me as if it would simply pop back in by itself. I reckon it needs to be manoeuvred back in. I am pretty sure I can do it, but it will hurt an awful lot and I have nothing I can give him for the pain. I can't take the risk with a child. I could end up in jail if something went wrong." Dante explained while he was showing him the imagery of the Xray on the monitor.