Home » The Archives » Chapter 9 » Regrouping and Recouperation
| Re: Regrouping and Recouperation [message #128 is a reply to message #127] |
Sun, 22 July 2012 19:01   |
artisticrainey
Messages: 1228
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
Karma:
|
Field Commander
Switzerland |
|
|
Monday, August 6; 2:30 PM; Wichita Memorial Hospital (9:30 AM 8-7 on TI; 12:30 PM in LA)
Michael Hart wheeled himself down the corridor of the children's section of the hospital. He was recovering swiftly from the injuries he'd suffered, although his left leg was in a cast and sticking straight out in front of him, and he had a bandage on his head. Plus, part of his head had been shaved. But he wasn't thinking of that. He was looking for Peter Valerian's room.
He almost passed it, but the door was open, and when he glanced in, he saw the boy's mother. She was sitting next to the bed, holding her son's hand and talking to him softly, but Peter was just staring at the ceiling, and not responding.
Michael backed up slightly, and turned to go in. As soon as he was close enough to the door frame, he knocked on it. Mrs. Valerian looked up and her face brightened when she saw who was in the doorway. She motioned for him to come in. She released Peter's hand and stood up, moving forward to greet her son's visitor.
"How is he?" Michael said quietly.
"His injuries are healing, but he isn't eating. They've got him on IVs to give him nourishment, but he won't respond to anything. It's like he's given up and wants to... to..." She couldn't go on, and tears streamed down her face.
He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it comfortingly. "We can't have that, now, can we? I'd like to talk to him, if that's okay."
She nodded and he moved the wheelchair to the left side of the bed. "Hey there, Peter. I've been hearing things about you that I can't believe are right. They say you won't eat. Now, I know that hospital food isn't the best tasting thing in the world, but it is nutritious, and will help you get better faster. Look at me; I've been eating it, and I'm still here, and getting well faster than the doctors said I would."
Peter still stared at the ceiling, so Michael tried a different tack. "Besides, how do you think it would make the people of International Rescue feel, to know that someone they saved didn't want to get well?"
There was a hint of a reaction, and he went on. "Look at us; we've got a lot in common here. We were both hurt, we were both saved by International Rescue, and we're both in the hospital. Now, I think we could have a little competition of our own here. Whoever gets out of this place first, the other one has to buy him a hamburger, soda and fries. What do you say?"
He waited for a long minute, the Peter turned his head and looked at him. He smiled slightly, and nodded. Michael let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and grinned. He took Peter's hand and shook it. "There. We've just made a gentleman's transaction, and we shook on it. To me, that's as good as a written contract, a promise, and I'm holding you to it. So you start eating and see how fast you can get out of the hospital, okay?"
Peter's smile got bigger and he nodded again, then turned to look at the tray of food lying on the table near his bed, then at his mother.
"Okay, honey. I'll feed you in a minute. I want to speak to Mr. Hart first."
"I gotta go, Peter, before the nurses on my floor hunt me down. I'll see you again, soon. Right?"
Peter grinned and Michael turned his wheelchair carefully around. Mrs. Valerian pushed him out into the hall and began to thank him.
"No need for that," he interrupted. "Peter's a great kid; I thought that when I first saw him. He just needs a little motivation."
"Which you gave him, Mr. Hart."
"Michael, please. Mr. Hart is my father."
She smiled. "Michael. And I'm Carol. Thank you for being his motivator." She bent down and kissed his cheek.
He grinned. "Aw, shucks, ma'am. 'Tweren't nothin'."
She laughed. "Yes it was." Then she grew sober. "I don't know if you heard, but the Thunderbird vehicle that brought us here encountered a tornado on the way back. They came out badly."
"No, I hadn't heard. Is the medical team okay?"
"They said the two nurses had minor injuries, but the doctor was badly hurt. I recently heard that she is expected to recover, though."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope this doesn't prevent them from continuing to go to where they are needed when they are called.
"I very much doubt they would stop. From the articles I've gotten for Peter, there have been some injuries, and they're still going." She glanced past him, and her smile returned. "But I see someone heading this way, and giving you the evil eye. I think you've been found out."
"Mr. Hart!" the nurse exclaimed. "You are not going to get better if you keep gallivanting all over the hospital against doctor's orders. If this continues, we're going to have to sedate you or tie you down. Now, are you going to behave or not?" She reached the couple and took the handles of the wheelchair, turning him around. "Now say goodbye and we're going back to your room."
"Goodbye," he said obediently, with a wink and a grin.
"Goodbye, Michael."
As the nurse pushed him toward the elevators, Carol heard him say, "Now, nurse, we need to negotiate this. If I promise to be good the rest of the time, you need to allow me to come down here and..." The closing of the elevator doors prevented her from hearing the rest of his words.
She smiled and went inside to feed her son.
Post by Hobbeth on 10/30/2006
  
|
|
|
|
Current Time: Fri May 17 07:24:16 EDT 2024
Total time taken to generate the page: 0.01361 seconds
|
International Rescue: The Next Phase
Search
Help
Members
Login
Home
