Learning to Trust

Chapter 58 - Real Bad

Chapter 58 - Real Bad

Tobias

"It's a big day today." Marie says near the end of our conversation in Ken's office. "Let's hope for the best results possible."

She's right. It's a big day today.

She's putting Tris under, or knocking her out, and taking the cast off of her left leg where all the bullet wounds and knife injuries have hopefully been healing correctly.

Today, Marie is going to do an MRI to see the muscles in Tris's leg. While she's knocked out, she's also going to change the stitches or take out the stitches in her left leg. She's also going to put a new IV in her foot, and give her her first round of eye drops that could help cure her blindness.

"I started giving her this drug to calm her down yesterday, but it gave her little effect from the genetics of her genes, along with her divergence and all that stuff. Then, early this morning I replaced that drug with the one that should knock her out. I'm hoping if she's in a somewhat calm state and is on the drug for long enough, maybe it will work. I really don't want to use the spray to knock her out for this. The point of today is to start making her more comfortable and better, and I think the spray would just make things worse for her." Marie says.

"Agreed." Ken speaks up for the first time since I showed up.

"Now Four, I won't be really able to see you in between the things I'm doing to Tris and tell you the results. I will be putting them in Tris's file, so Ken, you will be able to see them as they come through. Maybe you could update Four for me. If not, Four, I recommend going back home. I can call you later with the updates on her, and you can see her tomorrow. Chances are, considering it's already almost noon, it will already be the end of visiting hours once I'm done working on her. Since she's going to be in the regular part of the hospital, we do have to strictly go by those rules."

I nod, wondering what I'm going to do with myself all day now.

"Now, if you'd like, you can come with me to go check on her now. I'm hoping she's knocked out by this point, and I need to get her up into one of the beds that wheel so I can get her across the hospital. You could follow me over there if you please, or you could go home." Marie says to me.

"I'll follow you over. I already took off from work today, so I don't have anything I'm looking forward to at home. I mean, my dog is there, but he's okay on his own for a little longer."

"I've got some other patients to work with this afternoon, so I'll stay back. Keep me posted though, Marie. I'll call you with information, Four."

"Thank you." I smile.

Marie and I head out the door. On the way there, we stop and pick up a bag with a medium sized pillow and a thin blue paper blanket on it. Marie wheels it with us to the outside of Tris's room.

"Wait here for a second. I want to see what state she's in. It might be a minute or two, or just a few seconds." She says, knocking on the door quietly and walking into the room."

I stand outside for just a few seconds before Marie comes back out.

"Thank god. She's out like a light. This is a good start for now. Hopefully she'll stay like this for a solid eight hours at least. Okay, feel free to come in Four. The bed doesn't fit into the door, so maybe you could lift her out and into the bed. I could do it, considering she isn't heavy at all, but I figured you would want to."

"Yeah, sure." I walk into the room and see Tris asleep on the hard grey floor right next to the bed.

"Why doesn't she ever sleep in the bed?" I intend to say to myself, but end up saying it out loud.

"I think it has something to do with the PTSD. Maybe she doesn't necessarily have something against the bed, but it could be a preference for the hardness or coldness of the floor. I really don't know."

Marie takes the IV bag off of the wall where it was clipped. The cord from the bag is very long, and it goes into Tris's foot under the cast.

"I'll go out first so I can get the bag onto the pole at the end of the bed. Be sure to pick her up with her left leg outwards. That's the way the bed is facing."

I roll her over on to her back lightly, expecting her eyes to open up and look at me with their beautiful blue-grey color.

They don't though. She stays asleep. Once I pick her up, I notice she is slightly heavier, but not by much. It's probably from Marie finally getting some food in her system.

She probably needs to gain at least fifty pounds to not be so weak and underweight.

I walk her out the door and lay her on the bed, adjusting her legs so they are straight and her head isn't at a weird angle.

We begin walking towards the main section of the hospital.

"What kind of dog do you have?" Marie asks, breaking the silence between us.

"He's a German shepherd. His name is Indiana, but I call him Indy. He's about ten months old now."

"Oh wow. So he's basically fully grown then."

"Yeah. He's a big guy with a big heart." I chuckle because it's true.

"I didn't want to say this around Ken, but hopefully after today, Tris will be out of the MIU for good."

I smile lightly, hoping this idea of hers will be a reality.

"Alright. Well, this is the room I'm working on her in. I'll see you later, Four."

"Bye." I say, following the signs to the front door.

+    +    +

It's nearly ten o'clock the same night, and I'm nearly biting my nails off while I sit, watching some movie on the TV with Indy.

I've heard nothing all day.

No word from Ken.

No word from Marie.

I'm extremely pissed at Ken. He told me he would call me and keep me posted.

At some point, I close my eyes and fall asleep on the couch, only to be woken up hours later by my phone yelling at me.

Dr. Marie Scott the caller ID reads.

"Hello?" I pick up the phone, suddenly awake with my heart racing.

"Four, hi, it's me, Marie."

"Ken gave me no updates. Tell me everything."

"Her leg is bad, Four. Worse than I thought. I'm giving her more drugs right now to keep her knocked out. She needs immediate surgery."

"Did you get everything else done that you needed."

"Yes, but this is an all night project. I have to start from ground one with her leg, or else she's either going to get it amputated or never walk with it again. It either healed incorrectly in places, of it just didn't heal in places. Some of the stitches tore; it's bad, Tobias. Real bad."