But It Isn't Right (Duskwood Fanfic)

Healing

I'd been in this hospital bed for a week. I understood why Dan had been so frustrated now.

My surgeon told me that it was actually a blessing that I'd been sedated. It slowed my heartbeat, which reduced the bleeding from my wounds. The unfortunate part was that it complicated the medicine they needed to give me to perform surgery, and my heart had stopped on the table. Having your heart stop beating makes you really tired, and you end up with an ache in your chest from being resuscitated. There were a few days there when all I did was sleep around the clock.

I was in the ICU, and I had asked that nobody be allowed in to see me. Not even my parents. I didn't want any news from anyone, and I didn't want to feel any guiltier than I already had. I didn't even ask how I'd been found, or who had saved me. I couldn't think about it. 

There were also police officers outside my hospital room door 24/7. Phil had escaped. After that news, I asked to not be told anything more. 

But now the wound on my abdomen was starting to feel a little better, and the doctors said my heart seemed to be hanging in there, but I needed to keep my stress down. I wouldn't watch TV--I was afraid I might see a news clip related to something I didn't want to know. My phone was probably exploded in the mine. So I had no contact with the outside world. I eventually asked for a paper and pen and started composing music by hand. It was something I hadn't done in a long time, but it was therapeutic. I ate small amounts, slept, and wrote songs. By the end of the week, I was ready to be transported out of the ICU.

As they were wheeling me out, I heard a voice behind me. "Hey, boo."

"Dan?" The police officer stepped in front of me, but I told him it was alright.

"Looks like you've got wheels now, too."

"Only temporarily, just like yours. How did you get in here?"

"I may have bribed a nurse or two that I met during my stay." He winked at me. I smiled.

"It's good to see you, Dan." I paused for a minute. "I don't want to talk about anything."

He nodded. "I don't blame you. Shit, I don't want to talk about it either. I just thought I'd come by and check on my girl, see if you wanted to watch a horror flick." He held up a laptop. "I even brought drinks." He showed me a bottle of soda.

"That sounds nice, actually." After the nurses finished transferring me into my new room, Dan rolled over and set the laptop on the table.

"Alright, let's see. We've got horror, action, and even comedy. You're not gonna ask for a chick flick, are you?"

"Heck no," I told him. "And no comedy, either. I don't want to pop a stitch."

"How many stitches did they give you?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged. "However many it took to sew my abdomen back together."

"I got 27 in my head," he informed me proudly.

"Wow."

"Well then, action or horror?"

"Have you got Evil Dead?" 

Dan squinted at me. "I'm offended that you even had to ask."

We sat quietly and watched the movie, making comments during our favorite parts. Without a conversation about it, Dan went right into Army of Darkness afterward. When he noticed me yawning for the third time, he shut off the movie.

"Alright, alright, you've had enough. Time for you to get some rest."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, mom."

He smirked at me. "Glad you haven't lost your sense of humor." His eyes widened in horror. "No, no, don't cry! Shit." He couldn't really reach me from his wheelchair, so he settled for patting my arm awkwardly while I broke down.