G.I. Stacy

Part 10 - And then there were two...

Part 10

The evening is spent achieving various levels of drunkenness and I seesaw between elation and depression.

We drink whiskey and dance and laugh until we eventually pass out from sheer exhaustion.

The next morning I wake up fully dressed on the couch.

Eric is sleeping next to me on the floor and I don’t know where Scotty and Uncle James are.

I rub the sleep from my eyes and instantly regret sitting upright.

A pounding headache forces me to my feet and I go in search of aspirin. 

In the bathroom I find Scotty asleep in the bath with a pillow and a towel so I quietly take my toothbrush, toothpaste and a bottle of aspirin into the kitchen. 

I swallow two pills and put the bottle in the middle of the kitchen counter, surrounded by three glasses full of water.

Then I wash my face and brush my teeth by the sink.

After I change my clothes I start looking for my cell phone.  I had switched it back on last night to let Libby and Spence know that we are back safe.

I find my phone inside an empty glass next to an equally empty bottle of whisky in the dining room. 

***No New Messages***

The aspirin finally starts kicking in and I decide to make a giant pot of coffee.

Two cups of coffee and a slice of cold left-over pizza later I decide to leave the sleeping men and go to the hospital.

I pull Theo’s Jeep into a parking space at the hospital and take a couple of deep breaths to calm my nerves.  I don’t know why I’m so anxious to see him.

Inside I’m directed to his room by a friendly nurse and as I approach the door I can hear voices.

I knock on the askew door before poking my head in.

Theo is sitting on the side of a bed and Nick is standing next to him; they turn towards the door at my knock and Nick’s face breaks into a smile.

“There she is!  GI Stacy, hero of the hour!” He grins and opens his arms to give me a hug.

Shyly I smile and return the hug.

When he lets me go I’m face to face with Theo and awkwardly I don’t know what to do, hug him, kiss him?  So I opt for a peck on the cheek instead.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

Before he can answer Nick interrupts, “Sorry guys, I gotta run, Theo, see you soon dude,” he says and shakes Theo’s hand, “oh, and Stacy, Mr Donovan asked if he could come and see you sometime this week, I gave him your number okay?”

I nod and wave at him as he dashes out the door.

“So you were about to say?” I ask Theo as I face him again.

“A million times better thanks; amazing what a hot shower and lots of prescription drugs can do for a man,” Theo says and smiles.

“Okay, that’s good, can you come home today?”  I ask and point to the clothes he is wearing, the same ones I dressed him in yesterday.

“Yep, just waiting for the doctor to sign off!” Theo says. 

I’m confused, if he knows he is being discharged, why didn’t he call me to let me know to come and pick him up? 

And then I make the connection; that’s why Nick left so quickly.  Once I arrived he no longer needed to hang around.  Smart man!

“Stacy, look, I didn’t know what your schedule is like and when Nick called I just figured it would be easier,” Theo says apologetically.