(This chapter has some bad language and attempted violence, It is also shorter cause I'm tired.)
He headed home which was not far from work walking and closer by car and packed a bag and headed for the hospital. After parking the car plant in hand he signed himself into the emergency letting them know he had been beaten up and just needed to be looked over to make sure nothing was broken and some pain killers if they had them and water for himself and his plant. The on call nurse thought he was a bit off his rocker but got him bottle water for him and his plant to which he got a cup and pour a bit of the water in to the cup and wetted down the roots once more, then got himself a cup filling it also with the water from the bottle and then sipped down several cups. He was in the E.R. waiting for 8 hours and in that time the police had brought in the A.D. raving that a dead man had burned down the funeral home as revenge against him, but at least he had gotten laid a lot. He drunkenly raged so hard he had to be sedated and locked into the side of the E.R. for folks that were dangerous to themselves. Castel just looked on and shook his head he felt sorry for the A.D. and didn't understand why he would go as far as to accuse a dead man of burning down the funeral home, didn't he see the ironicy in that, he hoped the police and doctors would see the A.D. needed help and was rather crazy. He also knew the A.D. would never admit to what he had done that had caused the fire and lost them both their jobs. Time passed so slowly for him there as he drifted in and out of painful half sleep always jolting awake if it felt like he was loosing grip on the plant. The jolting awake also hurt so he tried not to sleep but his body hurt so much, it was hard not to pass out purely from the pain. When the shift change happened Castel had just about given up being seen but his gut told him to stay and keep trying.
As Castel finally found the strength to head back up to the desk to let the new nurse know he had been there already 8 hours, she looked at him and asked him why he didn't sign in sooner it seemed funny to him she looked familiar as he reached over to show her the page he had signed in on verifying he really had been there 8 hours already. The A.D. came running thru having escaped the 2 police men and the orderly trying to sedate him once more. He stopped cold in his tracks his hospital gown threatening to fall off him and screamed when he saw Castel. "The..the ...the dead guy! Your dead..your dead..I killed you...how the fuck are you alive..you were...supposed to burn! What the fuck is wrong with you? Why couldn't you have burned in the fire...I..killed...YOU!" Face contorted he lunged at Castel, who confused attempted to step back because he didn't know how to process what was happening in the moment. His brain was whirling, "what did he mean he killed me, what did he mean I was supposed to die in the fire? What does it mean...what does it mean?" There was a blur of movement as his hands attempted to connect with Castel's neck and the nurse on desk had stood up and socked the A.D. hard in the jaw knocking him out cold as he fell a few teeth fell out too. Two orderlys showed up and carried the now unconscious man to a more secluded part of the hospital ward and the police came over to take statements from a very stressed out Castel. The desk nurse intervened and stated that this patient had just been called in and needed immediate treatment and could they take his statement later when he wasn't under duress from his immediate assault issues.
It worked and the officers asked her to have the hospital call the police station to have him make a report when he had more clarity of mind. She jotted it all down and left a note for the head nurse and then escorted Castel thru the inner E.R. doors and into a room just past that, handing him and bottle of water she crossed her arms and said matter of factly "I remember you, your the guy who helped my sister in law so long ago at my fathers funeral. Weren't you also at the funeral home yesterday evening say around 6 pm?" Castel nodded numbly and shyly having a hard time looking her in the eye for 2 reasons one his head still hurt so bad and two he was shy. "Do you work there? Sorry did? Did you work there?" He looked at her confused and then nodded numbly again. She took that as he didn't know his place of work was gone and started explaining. "Oh ..Oh I am so sorry you didn't hear the news. The O.d.a.a. t. funeral home burned down early this morning, tho you did say you had been here for 8 hours so it must have happened while you were stuck waiting to be helped." Her words were slurring in his mind as he struggled to stay upright and found himself falling forward before he knew what was happening. She stepped in front of him and caught him mid fall "Say your not a big guy please let me help you lay down on the bed I am so sorry I was yammering at you when your not ok." She helped him to the bed and let him lay down then tried to take the plant and put it on the table beside him but he shook his head and looked like he was bout to cry. Leaving it she examined him then put in a call for the doctor on staff and went to leave the room. "Please don't..go...this is all really...scary." Letting out a breath thru her nose she called the front E.R. desk and explained there was a patient who needed someone by their side and had asked for her to stay with them til the doctor got there. Then she grabbed one of the chairs and sat where he could see her, she checked his vitals again and helped him sit up so he could drink more water. Every once in a while asking him a question here or there.