| Subject: The Dragonslayer, Chapters 25 & 26 |
Author:
Jaron
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Date Posted: 19:21:20 12/18/01 Tue
In reply to:
Jaron
's message, "The Dragonslayer" on 16:44:37 12/16/01 Sun
The Dragonslayer, Chapter 25
Michael’s team helped the nurses move him into a hospital bed in an alcove near the
back of the Section infirmary. Rene and I watched as they settled him and
immediately started a series of IVs and then attached several monitors to his body. I
flinched when they inserted the IV needles into the back of his right hand, but Michael
never moved.
Soon, a nurse approached our small group and told us we had to leave, that there
were other patients who needed their care. She told us we were a distraction and she
wanted us gone. Nobody moved until a young man appeared at the door to Medical
and announced that Operations and Madeline wanted the team to debrief. He said
this quietly while pointedly gazing past our small group to get a look at Michael.
“Is he going to be okay?” the young man, who Carson identified to me as Birkoff, said.
“Sure, he’s going to be okay. He just needs his rest. Come on, guys. Let’s go debrief.
We can check on Michael later.” Carson said, as he put Rene down on the side of
Michael’s bed. “I’ll be back after awhile. You’ll be all right here with your Daddy.
Okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be okay. I want to be here when Daddy wakes up. It’s almost time for him
to wake up, isn’t it?” He looked at the faces surrounding his father’s bed as if
addressing the question to each one. Everyone smiled at Rene and nodded. Then,
one by one, Michael’s team reached out to touch Michael and quietly left the room to
go and debrief.
Nikita stepped forward and brushed a kiss against Michael’s forehead and then leaned
over to kiss Rene on the cheek. He ducked his head and giggled. “And I’ll be back
soon, too.” She looked into Rene’s green eyes, smiled wistfully and told him to take
care of his Daddy until she returned.
“You know I will, Nikita.” He promised her. Soon, only Walter, Rene and I were left in
the room.
“Gracie, I have to go to, but as soon as I am finished with Ops and Madeline, I will be
back!” He hugged me and ruffled Rene’s hair and was gone. Rene and I were left
alone with Michael.
Rene picked up his father’s hand and started talking to him. Telling him all about
what had happened since the day when Michael had to leave us to return to Section.
One of the nurses brought me a chair and I sat down, contentedly listening to Rene’s
voice as he whispered to his father, and willed him to awaken.
I must have fallen asleep, because I was jolted awake at hearing Rene’s agitated voice.
“Stop! What are you doing to my Daddy? You’re hurting him. Stop! MOM!!” I jumped
to my feet to find one of the nurses struggling with Rene as a doctor was attempting
to draw blood from Michael’s arm. Pushing the nurse away, I grabbed Rene’s hands
to try and subdue him.
“Rene. Calm down. The doctor is not hurting your Daddy. He just needs to take
some blood so he can do some tests. He only wants to help your Daddy. Right,
Doctor?” The doctor turned to Rene and tried to reassure him.
“Rene, I’ve known your father for a long time and I just want to help him and make
him better. I need the blood for testing, just like your Mom said. Okay?”
Rene stopped struggling and looked at the doctor. “You’re not hurting him?” The
doctor shook his head and finished drawing the blood. Laying the vials of blood on a
tray, he proceeded to examine Michael and nodded as he checked the bandages that
were wrapped around Michael.
“Well, everything seems fine. We will know more when he wakes up. He hasn’t
awakened at all since his injuries?” I shook my head. He tried to conceal his look of
concern, but I saw the look flash across his face. “Keep talking to him and get anyone
who comes to visit to do the same. I’ll be back soon to check on him.” The doctor
left the room and once more Rene and I started to talk to Michael.
Soon, Rene began blinking his eyes sleepily and began to nod off. He had had a long
day and was beginning to run out of energy. When one of the nurses came to check
Michael’s vital signs, I asked her if there was a place where Rene could lay down. She
glanced down at him curled up beside Michael and said, “Just a minute.” When she
returned, she was carrying what looked like a folded up army cot. She put it down on
the floor, unfolded it, and was soon covering it with sheets, a blanket and a pillow. I
carefully picked Rene up, disentangled his fingers from Michael’s and laid him on the
cot, stretching out his long legs and settling him more comfortably. There was a
curtain hanging from a track attached to the ceiling and I pulled this around Rene’s
cot to shield him from the activity going on in the rest of the medical facility.
I turned back to Michael and saw him staring at me. I ran over and called his name,
but there was no recognition in his gaze. Soon, he closed his eyes and once more lay
still. I called a nurse over and told her what had happened. She smiled, patted my
hand and said, “It looks like he is on his way back. Keep talking to him.”
The Dragonslayer, Chapter 26
Rene was sleeping peacefully when Walter came back to Michael’s room. He told me
that Nikita, Carson and the others had been sent on a mission and would not be back
for a few hours.
“And you, young lady, need to come with me and get something to eat,” Walter said
in a commanding tone. He put his arm around my waist and tried to pull me away
from Michael’s beside.
“You and whose army are going to take me away from Michael?” I smiled at him
sweetly, and stopped the forward motion he was attempting. “Walter, I don’t want to
leave him,” I said urgently, all of the mirth drained from me.
“Gracie, you have been awake for almost twenty-four hours and you need food and
rest, or you are not going to be any good to Michael when he wakes up. You know
that, don’t you?” I had to admit he was right, I was exhausted.
“But what about Rene? He’s sleeping and I don’t want to wake him.”
“I’ll watch him.” A quiet voice said from behind me. I looked around and one of
Michael’s nurses was standing there. “You go with Walter and get something to eat.
You can even bring something back for Rene. I don’t think he will want to leave his
father, so you bring him some breakfast and he can eat it here and still be with
Michael.” Her eyes twinkled as she smiled and glanced back at Michael.
“All right, but just understand Walter, I don’t want to be away for very long.” I took
his proffered arm and with a last quick look at Michael and Rene, I let Walter lead me
out of the room and down the corridor. “Walter, are all the women here fascinated
with Michael?”
“Just about, Gracie. All except the ones I have under my spell.” He grinned and
patted my hand on his arm. And so I left Medical for a few minutes respite with my
old friend Walter. I learned later that we were watched as we left Michael and his son,
both peacefully sleeping not far from each other.
Rene stirred in his sleep. A voice pierced his slumber and he thought he heard
someone talking to him. He opened his eyes, but no one was there. Then he heard
the voice again. It was someone talking to his father. When he awoke, Rene had
been facing the wall, so he turned over to his other side as quietly as possible so he
could hear the voice more clearly. The voice was still talking to his father, but his
father wasn’t answering. Daddy must still be asleep, he thought to himself. It must
be one of Daddy’s friends, come to talk to him like the doctor said they should.
“Michael,” the voice was saying, “you have to wake up soon, or I will have to start
making some decisions that I don’t want to make. You have always been such a
fighter! This isn’t like you, Michael. Wake up! Please! And that is an order!”
Rene was intrigued by this unknown voice, so he got up off the bed, puzzling as he
did as to how he got on the bed. The last thing he remembered was talking to Daddy
and wanting him to wake up. Shaking that thought from his head, he crept on tippy
toes over to the curtain and peeked through the slit he found there.
He saw a tall man with gray hair and icy blue eyes standing by his Daddy’s bed .....
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