Matthew propped himself up halfway in the bed of his private room, then stopped and cringed as the pain of his wounds reminded him sharply why he was here. As the pain subsided, he slowly pushed the rest of the way upright and gently swung his legs over the side of the bed. He didnt know what time it was; this damn city of light and its eternal glare had robbed him of his finely honed sense of time. He did know that his physician had released him for short walks about the hospital, and it was time that he checked in on his body guard, Eva, without whom his wounds would have been a great deal more permanent. There were slippers on the floor, right where hed left them after the orderly and nurse had helped him up the first time in what he guessed was this morning. He slipped his feet into them as best he could without bending and braced his better arm against the bed, shifting his weight to help push himself unto his feet. He lost his balance momentarily and reached instinctively towards the small bedside table with his other arm, a mistake he regretted immediately. Still, it was better than it had been. He didnt see stars this time, and was grateful to still be standing, however unsteady. There was a cane leaning against the table. It was a long reach, but Matthew managed it with his better arm, and felt a bit more steady on his feet for his efforts. Hed have to have another discussion with his physician. The medications didnt seem to do much for the pain, but they did make him light headed and dizzy enough to make standing more uncomfortable than the pain itself would. Slowly, with a great many tiny steps, Matthew worked his way to the door and looked each way to gain his bearing. He saw a nurse bent over a desk three rooms down. Matthew thought his name was Sean, and he was busy writing notes in a file before him. Still slowly, and with great care, Matthew began to shuffle his tiny steps down the hall towards the nurse. After what seemed like hours, his shadow fell across the desk. The nurse looked up and immediately stood, gently offering Matthew support and guidance into his own chair. “Mr. Stewart, you shouldnt be up on your own yet. Let me get a chair and Ill take you back to your room. Kevin, bring me a chair please.” the last being yelled over his shoulder. Matthew sat still, letting his shallow breaths slow to manageable pace. When he felt he could speak again, he told the nurse “Id like to see my body guard, Eva Blackburne. She was brought in the same time as me. Her injuries were much more severe.” Matthew paused to get his breathing back under control. Hed never realized just how much his ribs moved until this particular injury. “Ill check in on her for you. Lets get...” “Youll take me to her, now!” Matthew bellowed, regretting every painful moment of it. In a much more restrained tone he continued “She is the reason Im still here today to yell at you, and Id like to express my gratitude personally.” The nurse stepped back and exchanged whispers with the orderly, who had just rolled up with a wheel chair. He then turned to Matthew “Mr. Stewart, Kevin is going to help you into this chair, Im going to see if I can find Miss Blackburne for you. I must insist that you dont try to walk there. It could be quite a ways.” “Thank you.” Matthew said, relieved that he wasnt going to have more of a fight. Even just sitting was on the edge of his pain tolerance right right now, and he looked forward to having proper support again soon. The nurse left Matthew with the orderly and walked off out of view. “Alright Mr. Stewart,” Kevis said as he pushed the wheel chair into position. “Lets have you use that cane in your left hand just like we did earlier. Im going to give you a little support under your right arm. Lean forward now and up onto your feet. Feeling okay? Lets get you turned a bit here, there you go, just have your self a seat right there.” Matthew didnt like feeling helpless, but that was the worst part for a bit. He wouldnt have to get out of this chair until it was time to get back into his bed again. He sat there quietly concentrating on using as minimal an effort to breath as he could manage. He was jarred back to reality when the nurse returned, announcing “Mr. Stewart, Ive found Miss Blackburne. The nurse on her ward says that shes doing well, but not quite alert yet. Do you still want to see her?” “I do, please.” “Kevin, Miss Blackburne is down on five in the north ward, bed twelve. Please take Mr. Stewart to see her.” “Ready for a ride Mr. Stewart?” the Kevin said, as he stepped behind Matthew and began to push him to the lift, just past the desk. He pushed the summons, and they waited in silence. After several minutes, a car appeared behind the gate, which opened with a double clank. The orderly turned Matthew around, and pulled him into the car backwards. With a push of a button, the gates closed again, issuing another double clank. Kevin then turned a dial and pressed another button. The car lurched into motion and began its slow fall to the fifth floor. “Thank you Kevin. I would not have enjoyed trying find her myself.” “Your welcome Mr. Stewart.” The car settled a few more floors before Kevin spoke again. “Mr. Stewart, I think you should know that the fifth floor has the nightman wards. Its going to be a lot different than youre used to up in your room.” “How so?” The orderly paused, considering his words carefully. “Its not as comfortable down there. The care is good as any other in the hospital, but there arent a whole lot of extras.” The car settled with another lurch as the sound of screams, moans, and a hundred conversations filled Matthews ears with dread. Kevin opened the door and rolled Matthew out of the lift, into a narrow hall crowded with patients in various states of ambulatory heath, orderlies directing traffic, and nurses scurrying about. Kevin rolled Matthew up to the little desk next to the lift and announced “Mr. Stewart to see Miss Blackburne.” A stern faced grandmother looked up from the file she was reading and asked “D you know where ya be goin?” “Yes Maam.” Kevin stated with military precision. “Then don be bothern me. Check in with the nurse when ye git there.” Kevin turned the chair and pushed Matthew away from the disk, making a left turn into another narrow hall, just as crowded as the last, then proceeded to weave through the crowd with surprising speed and minimal disruption. “Shes a friendly one, isnt she?” Matthew offered in condolence to Kevin. “Not at all, but it would have been much worse had I not stopped. Mrs. B, the head nurse in the North Ward is much nicer though. Miss Blackburne is under good care there.” The hallway was not long, and ended in a doorway that had been propped open. Kevin pushed Matthew through and up to another small desk. Beyond the desk, Matthew could see a very large room filled to the brim with four rows of beds, probably 20 beds in each row. Women in less ambulatory health than hes seen in the hall lay in nearly every bed, with disheveled blankets showing that the empty ones were only temporarily vacant. Matthew averted his eyes, when it became clear that no privacy, not even a curtain between beds, was offered these women. “Hello Mrs. B. I have Mr. Stewart here to see Miss Blackburne.” Kevin said in a chipper tone as short and very round nurse turned to face him with a beaming smile. “Kevin! Deary, you dont come to visit me nearly enough any more. Got yerself all promoted to helping the high en mighty. Miss Blackburne is right over there in bed twelve. You do remember where that is, doncha?” “Yes Mrs. B. I havent been gone that long.” “You go wheel Mr. Stewart over to his darling, then come back a catch up on some othe juicy.” “Shes not my darling, shes my bodyguard” Matthew piped in. “Whatever you say deary. Miss Blackburnes not much for conversation right now.” Mrs. B winked at Matthew as Kevin wheeled him to one side of the room and down the aisle. Matthew felt a bit uncomfortable in the large ward. It was obviously a woman’s ward, and he appeared to be the only visitor. Many of the women were moaning in pain. All of them looked away as he was wheeled past. A little bit past half way down the aisle the orderly turned him in, next to the bed where Eva lay, heavy bandages covering a large part of her head and face, and clear tubes sticking out of both her arms. “Ill leave you here a bit.” Kevin said, as he set brakes on the wheelchair. “Ill be over with Mrs. B when youre ready to go back.” “Thank you, Kevin.” Matthew turned to face Eva again. “Hello Eva.” There was a fluttering of her eyes. It was hard to tell if she had heard him. Matthew looked around again. Some of the women in were involved on quiet conversations, others were just laying there, obviously enduring pain or other discomfort. One looked to be wrapped in a cocoon. There wasnt so much as a radiant or book for entertainment. It was becoming clear what Kevin had said on the lift. It didnt appear that any extra was given for the care or comfort of these women. He turned his attention back to Eva. “I appreciate the effort you went to, to protect me, but were going to have to have a chat about your technique.” Eva stirred this time, opening her eyes half way and staring blankly at Matthew. “You cant do a very good job of protecting me if you are in the hospital you know. I kind of need you able bodied for that.” Matthew couldnt tell if Eva chuckled or coughed. She closed her eyes again and settled back into the bed. Two beds down, the woman wrapped in the cocoon began to moan. Then she began to struggle. Then she began to scream. There was nothing coherent about it. There were no words. It was angry screaming and it scared Matthew. Mrs. B rushed passed him with a syringe and three orderlies, including Kevin, in tow. They descended on the woman, the orderlies holding her still while Mrs. B struggled to inject the contents of the syringe into the only exposed place available: her neck. A minute later the screaming subsided and the woman settled into soft moaning again. Matthew turned his attention back to Eva, who was now wide eyed, sitting up in her bed, and struggling to remove the tubes in her arms. Matthew yelled “Nurse!” just as she gave up on the tubes and stood up on her bed to face the woman who had been screaming moments ago. Mrs. B glanced at Matthew, then turned to face Eva and said “Oh dear, not again. Okay boys, Mrs Travis should be okay now, grab Miss Blackburne while I git another one.” The orderlies turned in unison to face Eva, and quickly filed around both of the of intervening bed. Kevin quickly moved Matthew back out of the way, without ever releasing the brakes on his chair. The first one to approach Eva was rewarded for his efforts by hard jab just below his ribs and immediately retreated. Kevin, and the other remaining orderly, once Matthew was out of the way, came at her from opposite sides in a coordinated effort that allowed them to grab her arms. The injured orderly then returned to the brawl and eventually Eva was once again laying on her bed. Mrs. B returned with another syringe, injecting the contents into a joint in one of the tubes connected to Evas arms. Eva started to blink her eyes and then began to relax, settling once again into her bed. “That Mrs. Travis is a trouble maker I tell ya. Caught herself a lung full of æster couple weeks ago when there was an explosion up in the aeroplex. I hear it took six marines to bring her in to the hospital, and that two of them are still here healing themselves. Were jus holdn her till they can find a better place for her treatment. Shell probably need the Procedure. Your darling there is a different story. She mustve been in one hell of a fight. We just need to find her someplace quiet to rest an shell heal jus fine.” Mrs. Bs matter-of-fact tone did nothing to set Matthew at ease. “Why is she still in this ward if she needs quiet rest? “Where else would we put a nightman? “Shes not a nightman, and even if she were, my question remains. Why treat nightmen differently?” Matthews flat retort. Mrs. B Stared blankly at Matthew. Matthew quickly abandoned the fight he was clearly not going to win and started looking for one he might. “I understand that shes lived some time in the wilds, but she is a proper British subject.” Matthews brow furled “She should also have had her residency and employment papers on her person.” “I wouldnt know about that. Admissions wouldve taken her belongns for safe keeping.” “If I vouch for her as my employee, can we get her moved to a private room?” “If another room was available. Someone would have to pay for it.” Mrs. B. offered. “She is a valued employee and I can well afford it. Please make it happen.” There wasnt much that Matthew could do for the other women in the ward, but he could at least improve the conditions for Eva. Mrs. B. went back to her desk, pushed a few buttons on a device there, and started a quiet conversation. Kevin relaxed his hold on Eva, patted one of the other orderlies on the back saying “You gotta watch them little ones.” He then stepped around the bed and release the brakes on Matthews chair. “You ready to go back now Mr. Stewart?” “Not quite yet. I want to make sure there isnt going to be any more problems.” Right on queue, Mrs. B. returned to Evas bed with the bad news. “Im sorry Mr. Stewart, there isnt another room available on this floor.” “Does it have to be this floor?” “Well, we cant hardly have her in a mens ward, or mixing with the nobles, can we?” “Why not?” “Its just not done.” Mrs. B. said with a huff. “I am a commoner, there should be another room on my floor, if not, she can share mine. Weve had to endure close quarters before.” “Well!” Mrs. B. turned abruptly and returned to the desk. After several minutes of heated discussion through the device on her desk, and none too few slurs aim at Matthews hearing, Mrs. B, returned to Evas bed. “Shes been approved for transfer. She will be sharing youre room, and you will pay a separate fee for her. Kevin, please escort Mr. Stewart back to his room, now.” As Kevin stepped behind Matthews chair, Matthew politely requested “Please Kevin, Id like to wait and escort Miss Blackburne to her new room.” Kevin hesitated just a moment before Mrs. B. relented. “Ill get her file and you can take them both, but I dont have anyone to help you.” “Kevin, can you handle her by yourself? “Of course Mr. Stewart.” Kevin said matter of factly. Matthew gestured to his chair and said “Then its time I learned how to drive one of these with broken ribs.”
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 21:49:05 +0000
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