By GeoGirl
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Alias, I'm just giving the characters something to do during the summer.
Distribution: SD-1, Cover Me, Fanfiction.net and anyone else who asks first.
No Parking On The DevilstripThe seconds moved slowly by and Will watched Allison/Francie's eyes fill with tears, filling up to the brim. They spilled over at the same time an anguished sob left her lips. The knife twisted between their bodies, each trying to get the knife in their control and with a twist of the wrist, the knife plunged into his stomach. Seconds ticked by and pain seared through him, starting at the wound and radiating outward. It felt like lightening coursing through his veins. He heard himself moan in pain and watched as tears slowly streamed down her face.
"I'm sorry," she cried. She leaned in and kissed him as he slid to the floor. The edges of the room became blurry and closed in. Grey clouded his eyes and he felt his body went limp.
***
Will's eyes fluttered open and were assaulted by light and color. He squeezed them shut quickly and he tried to turn away and realized he couldn't move his head more than a little in each direction. He swallowed and tried to speak and was unable to produce a sound.
"Hush, love, don't try to speak. There's a tube down your throat that was helping you breathe."
Will's eyes focus on the kind face of the nurse, he presumed.
"My name is Nan and I've been helping to take care of you."
He tried to mouth "thank you" and she smiled with the recognition.
"We'll get that tube out of your throat now, but don't try to speak once it's out. Your throat is bound to be very sore." Her gloved hand gently grasped the end of the tube. "Now, take a deep breath and blow out as hard as you can."
He did as told, the tube sliding out and he instinctively coughed.
She put a straw up to his mouth, "Take a few small sips only."
Again he instinctively coughed. He started to mouth question after question and Nan leaned in and patted his arm.
"Hush, hush. I'm going to go call your family and let them know that you're awake now. I'll be right back with something to write on so you can ask your questions." The answer appeased him and he relaxed back into his pillow and closed his eyes.
Will woke again sometime later and felt a pen and tablet of paper beneath his right hand. He tried to sit up and was rewarded by sharp pain in his mid section. He gasped and then inhaled sharply, setting off several monitors. He grabbed for the call button and before he could press it, the nurse shuffled in.
"Ah, I see you are awake again. Normally I would be insulted if a good looking man fell asleep on me, but this time I'll forgive you." She kept rambling on, not allowing him to get a word in, fussing about him and that seemed to ease his questions.
"I see that you tried to sit up on your own, which as you probably figured out, wasn't a good thing. I'm going to elevate the head of the bed slightly and let me know when it starts to hurt. I'll then up your dose of painkiller slightly to take the edge off."
She walked over to the side of the bed and worked the controls until Will winced. Nan keyed in a code to the small monitor on his right and within moments Will felt numb again.
"I know you've got lots of questions and your family should be here soon. What I can tell you is that you sustained a severe injury to your abdomen and we had to operate. It was touch and go for a while, but you're a fighter."
Nan pulled back the sheet covering his chest and began to inspect the bandages that covered most of the area. She gently pulled back the gauze and inspected the incisions, gently checking them for good color and for signs of infection. She kept muttering "good, good" under her breath and Will fought the urge to pull away from her scrutiny.
When she was done replacing the bandages, she gave him another sip of water and used the remaining water in the cup to water the plants on the windowsill. She briefly pulled back the curtains to reveal a starless night, sighed and shut them again. Again her hand patted his arm.
"It's finally a pleasure to meet you Mister Tippin. Once your family arrives, Doctor Phan will come in and give you all the details. In the meantime, the morphine is going to make you a bit sleepy again. Take advantage of it, sleep is good for you."
Nan bustled about until Will dozed off and headed back to the nurse's station. She pulled the phone over the desk and dialed a number from memory.
"Sir, Will Tippin is finally awake and coherent."
"His parents will be here shortly."
"Yes. I suspect he's going to have questions that only you can answer."
"Yes, I'll see you shortly."
***
Marjorie and Charles Tippin rushed into the hospital room, relief written all over their faces. Marjorie immediately tried to hug her son and was rewarded by a wince from her son. Charles stood near the window and surveyed the scene with a smile on his face. His parents fussed and fretted over the incapacitated Will until Dr. Phan arrived.
"Will, three weeks ago you were brought into the hospital with a severe stab wound to the upper right quadrant of your abdomen, which required immediate surgery. We were able to get in and stop the bleeding, but had to remove your spleen. Your kidney was nicked by the knife and was repaired.
Later we realized that your large intestine had also been nicked, and we had to go in again and repair it. We also removed some infected tissue. You've been on very strong antibiotic since then to stave off infection.
There was also severe bruising to your neck and vocal chords, which has been healing nicely on it own."
Dr. Phan flipped through the chart and added, "You also sustained a concussion. We kept you heavily sedated for the first week to allow for healing. You've been in and out of a coma since then, however you never really regained consciousness until last night. We're very glad to have you back."
Will's parents' eyes never left the Doctor's face during his explanation and when he reached the end, the tears in their eyes were evident. They nodded in agreement and Will's mother grabbed his hand, the one without the IV, and kissed it.
After a few more moments fielding questions from all three Tippins, Dr. Phan left them in relative peace. Marjorie and Charles spent another half an hour with Will until he started to fall asleep and Nan came in and ushered them out. They promised to return in the morning and to bring his sister Amy. Nan checked his vitals, administered more antibiotics and shut the curtains. By the time Nan left the room, Will was asleep.
Will slept dreamlessly for several hours and slowly woke to a dim room. A figure was silhouetted in front of the window and backlit by the parking lights outside. Startled by the figure in his room, Will gave a sharp yelp and fished for the call button.
"Welcome back Will." The figure stepped away from the window and into the light.
"Jack, what the hell happened to me?" he rasped.