What Goes Around...

Part Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

They called to the hospital on the way back to the hotel. Coop was still silently fuming at Freya's antics, but there was nothing he could do, as she'd known, there was no way that he could let down the junior hockey league players in town. It didn't mean he had to like it, and it didn't mean he needed to go any easier on her. The infuriating thing was that she found it amusing, his anger, his indignation...all of it. He'd hired an SUV earlier that evening, after a good sleep, according to Freya, he was fit to drive.

He wanted to punch the steering wheel again, but he'd done it three times during the drive to the hospital and she'd giggled each time.

As he pulled into a parking spot near the entrance, he glanced at her, "you coming in?"

She shook her head, "I'm an unnecessary complication. I'll wait here." She patted her bag, "I brought a book."

Coop hated that he wanted her to join him, he had no one on his side, he shouldn't need support, but this was his family. Then he thought about his father. If he died...he shook his head, he couldn't think about that, couldn't go there.

It took moments to get to the ICU, but there was no sign of his mother. The same surgeon he'd spoken to on the phone greeted him with a firm handshake, and started to explain that the surgery had gone well, but his father was very weak. They had no intention of trying to wake him yet, he needed to recover, he may not be ready the following day.

He walked to the foot of the bed, his father had the sheet pulled back, a large ice white dressing was a stark contrast to the iodine stained chest it sat on. He hadn't thought he could look worse than earlier, but he did. The surgeon disappeared, but a nurse stood beside him.

"Your mother's gone for some sleep. Why don't you? We can call you if there's the slightest change."

He nodded at that, still too raw to speak.

Freya was surprised to see him back so soon. As he opened the driver's door, she closed her book.

"Ok?"

He shrugged, "no change. They'll call."

She nodded, "you want to go somewhere else?"

"I thought we could get a couple of beers, maybe a movie? Watch it back at the hotel."

"Sounds great...as long as I pick the film."

Coop knew he'd regret that condition, but it wasn't until he emerged from the bathroom to see her curled up like a cat on his bed with Drew Barrymore on the screen that he started to worry.

"What the hell is this?"

She looked up from her spot, sipping her beer before answering him, "Never Been Kissed. I love Drew Barrymore she's my new favourite actress."

"Who was the last one? Someone from the Disney Club?"

She looked at him quizzically, "are you being stupid or just grumpy?"

"This is like some teenager lurve film, we are neither of us that young!"

Freya nodded, "that maybe so, but I like her, I watched her in a couple of films last week. So I want to watch more by her, and it was on the hotel film list...it's called fate."

He shook his head slumping beside her and groaned, "you kill me...slowly, EVERY day!"

She laughed at that, "this is an easy to watch film. You want some complex Sci-Fi thing? Or a horror film?" She rolled her eyes. "NO chance. I want this, it sounds good..." she glanced at him as she added, "and it's research!"