Home » The Archives » Chapter 9 » Regrouping and Recouperation
| Re: Regrouping and Recouperation [message #182 is a reply to message #181] |
Mon, 23 July 2012 09:00   |
artisticrainey
Messages: 1228
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
Karma:
|
Field Commander
Switzerland |
|
|
PM [/b]Tues, Aug 7, 4:00 PM, Mercy General Hospital, L.A. (Wed, Aug 8, 11 AM, Tracy Island)
"Mom!"
Alex ran through the door, past Jeff, straight to the bed where his mother lay. He slowed as he saw the I.V., oxygen cannula and cervical collar, and leaned over the edge of the bed to gingerly kiss her. Dianne smiled, and reached out an arm to draw him closer and give him a gentle squeeze.
"Mom, oh, Mom," Cherie said as she came up behind her brother. She was trying hard not to cry, and Dianne reached out a hand to cup her daughter's face.
"It's okay, Cherry, it's all right," she murmured. "I'm going to be okay. Let me kiss you."
Cherie leaned her head down near her mother's mouth, received her kiss, then laid her head for a moment on her mother's chest. "I was scared, Mom, especially after I saw..."
"I know," Dianne said, cutting off what her daughter was going to say. "That scared me, too, but we can't talk about it here, okay?"
Cherie lifted her head, and nodded. "How come you're talking so soft?"
"Because of the accident," Jeff said as he closed the door and joined Dianne by her bedside. "She's bruised in places that make it painful for her to breathe, never mind talk." He glanced around and asked, "Where's Tyler?"
"He's back at Drew's, with Maggie," Lisa said as she came to give her daughter a kiss of her own. "How are you feeling?"
"Exhausted," Dianne admitted. "The transfer took more out of me than I expected." She frowned and asked, "What's going on with Tyler?"
Lisa shook her head. "I don't know. He's been particularly well behaved, but he won't talk about what happened. He didn't watch the show, so he didn't see the... you know what. But I can't get him to talk to me. And he has no appetite, either."
Jeff sighed. "I hope we don't go through what we did after the tsunami," he said, shaking his head. "I don't know that I can handle that again." He gazed down at Dianne, and took her hand. "I know you won't be up to it either, love."
"We will do what we can," said Kyrano, who was arranging the bright flowers he had brought along in a crystal vase. "Perhaps I can tempt him with some of his favorite foods."
"Thank you for the flowers, Kyrano," Dianne murmured. "They make the room look brighter. Though there were already flowers here when I arrived."
Jeff chuckled. "Yes, flowers courtesy of the public... and International Rescue. I gather things are quieting down outside?"
"Yes, they are," Kyrano told him. "We had no trouble getting to the hospital."
"Good." Jeff blew out a relieved breath. "That was... eye-opening, to say the least."
There was a general murmur of assent from the adults in the room, and a pause in the conversation. Alex took advantage of it. "Hey, Mom! Guess what?"
"What?" Dianne replied.
"Grandma Tracy has some kittens!" Alex told her, his eyes bright with excitement. "And she says I can have one!"
Dianne gave her husband an inquiring look, and he shrugged his shoulders. "It's true. I heard about them from Virgil. He says they rescued a mama cat and four kittens from the remains of the barn. She's adamant about bringing them back to the island, and truthfully, I don't see any harm in it." He paused, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Besides, I'm too tired to argue with her right now."
"The house?" Dianne asked. "What happened there?"
Jeff sighed. This was a piece of information he'd kept from her, not wanting to upset her. "It's... it's gone. Twister took it and half the barn." He shook his head sadly, and squeezed her hand. "I'd like to say it's only a house, but... it was much more than that to me, to Ma. I don't know that I'll be able to go back there. The boys got footage... I haven't looked at it yet."
"Marion wasn't there, thank God," Lisa said gently.
"That's a blessing, anyway," Dianne whispered.
"Come, children," Kyrano said. "Your mother is tired, and we should go."
"Can we come back later?" Cherie asked.
"Yes, you can." Jeff leaned over and gave Dianne a kiss. "I'm going with them this time, love. Tyler needs me, and I need to spend time with the kids and catch up with life outside the hospital."
"Go." Dianne gave him a wan smile, and squeezed his hand.
"Virgil, John, and Em said they'd be by later," Lisa told her. "They're going back to the island in the morning, but wanted to see you before they left."
"I'll be glad to see them," Dianne said. "Give Tyler a kiss from me."
"I will," Lisa assured her.
"Goodbye, Mom. See you again soon," Cherie said, kissing Dianne once again.
"I'll be here."
"Bye, love," Jeff added. "I'll be back this evening."
Dianne nodded as much as the cervical collar would allow, then Jeff, Lisa and Kyrano herded the children out and the room was quiet. For the first time since the incident, Dianne thought about all that had happened, and how fortunate she was, and she sent up a prayer of thankfulness for her family, her husband, and her very life.
[b]Post by Tikatu On 12/9/2006
  
|
|
|
|
Current Time: Fri May 17 04:56:11 EDT 2024
Total time taken to generate the page: 0.01783 seconds
|
International Rescue: The Next Phase
Search
Help
Members
Login
Home
