Disclaimer: I don't own them, and I don't make a dime. I just let them out for air. I'll try to put them back the way I found them. Mostly.

I Don't Really Like Parties All That Much Anyway

Chapter 3.

"Are the sandbags supporting that knee? We don't want any movement there."

CRACK! CRUNCH!

Hell is that noise?

Yeah, thought someone took a chainsaw to my leg.

KHKHKHKHKHKHBBBZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Crack.

"Okay, it's open. Let's just get the top off so I can see what's going on in there. Okay, really careful cutting the padding around the stitches. Great."

Ahh, finally some peace and quiet.

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Hey, quit that poking! Hm, don't think he heard that.

"stoppit"

"Sorry, Mr. Gage, I know this is very uncomfortable."

What's he doing, anyhow?

"doin'?"

"Mr. Gage, please try not to talk." Hey, she's got a nice voice. Hell are they doing to my leg?

"wha... cha doin'?"

"hur's... more 'n jus' busted... real fucked up."

"Mr. GAGE!" Maybe not so nice.

"It's all right, nurse. Mr. Gage, sometimes with a serious fracture such as yours, there's bleeding or swelling inside a muscle – inside the lining of the muscle, where the fluid can't get out on its own. If there's too much pressure, the circulation can be compromised."

oh god oh god oh god don't take my leg off

"gonna lose th' leg?"

"That would be a possible complication, but no, we caught it in good time."

"Mr. Gage, you need to try to stop moving."

Leggo my hands. Gotta hide.

OK, definitely not so nice. Try not to hit 'er though.

Face is wet. Least it's not in front of the guys.

"Okay, yep, that's what I thought - it's the lateral compartment. The tibia ruptured the anterior compartment, but there's definitely pressure in the lateral compartment. Mr. Gage, I need to make an incision on the side of your calf to let the pressure out. It shouldn't have to be too big, because we caught this really fast."

"'kay." Just what I need is to be cut up some more. Throat's so sore. Gotta try not to yell.

Ow. Only a couple little stings. Not so bad. Huh. Easy. I'm tough.

"Okay, lidocaine in. Betadine prep please."

Oh. That was just the local. Heh heh.

"Okay, Mr. Gage? Can you feel this?"

"feel wha?" Wish he'd stop sayin' "okay" all the time.

"How about this?"

"nope."

"Okay, you should just feel some pressure now. Let me know if this gets uncomfortable. Nurse, scalpel." Stupid "okay" again.

"There's the fascia, and, okay, it's open now. Sponge... good, not too much bleeding. Looks good."

Not from here it doesn't. Shit, wish I hadn't looked. Least there's no bone stickin' out this time. Skinny ugly leg though. Must be true – Kelly says.

"Okay, nurse, let's close the skin. Sutures please. No, the 4-0 silk. Watch out, don't bump the bed-"

I didn't think I had any screamin' left in me. Wrong again.

"Hang on, Mr. Gage. Okay, 2 more milligrams MS, IV push. For his weight that's really all we can

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"Mr. Gage?"

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"John Gage, it's Dr. Henry. I need you to wake up, okay?"

" 's not." It's not okay. Really.

"Mr. Gage? Can you hear me? Okay, ah, nurse, he's really down deep. We're going to have to keep a close eye on him if he can't wake up. Monitor his respirations for the next

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Getcher knuckles off my sternum.

"wha..."

"Johnny? Come on, you need to open your eyes." Roy?

"Lice." Not what I meant.

"What's that, Junior?"

"Lights. Too much."

"All right, let me dim that for you. Better?"

"yeah...thought you wen' home."

"Well, I came back. Two hours ago. You've really been out."

"Roy?"

"I'm still here."

" 's not."

"Huh? Do you want a tissue?"

"No! 's not!"

"Uh, you said 'snot,' but I don't know what you mean. Is something wrong with your nose?"

Moron. I expect this from Chet, but Roy's my buddy. He's s'posed to get it.

"It's NOT okay!" There.

"Sorry, Johnny, I'm just not following."

No shit.

"Doc keeps sayin', okay, okay. 's not okay." Goddamit, I'm cryin' again.

"I know, Johnny. I know."

Do I let him hold my hand? Guess so.

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Static in my ears, and I hear my pulse. Feel it, too. What happened?

"Johnny? Do you know where you are?"

Ummm. "Rampart? 'Splosion. Leg."

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"Johnny. Try to open your eyes, junior. Hey, there you are."

I don't really want to, but I think it's time. Should I look? I can feel there's no cast. I just hope there's still a leg. Yep, thar she blows – real puffy. How come there's no cast on?

"Roy?" Gotta clear my throat. Hoarse.

"Yeah, Johnny, it's me."

"Roy, how come there's no cast on?" Hey, that came out pretty easy!

"Well, Dr. Henry said everything's looking good, but the swelling needs to come down some more before he's okay with putting it back on. He's got it splinted, and some mild traction to keep things lined up, but he says you really need to stay as still as you can, at least for the rest of today."

"Today? Is it still today? Or is it tomorrow?" Duh. "I mean, is it morning?"

"It's the day after your accident, yeah – 'bout 0700."

He looks tired.

"Man, you were here all night, weren't you." Of course he was.

"Of course I was."

"Hope I didn't give you too much trouble."

"Nah, only trouble was you had so much morphine in you we couldn't wake you up. At least you kept breathing, though."

"Yeah, well I guess that's good."

"Hey, you're really sounding a lot better! How is your leg feeling – and before you even open your mouth, it's the truth I want, and not some cockamamie story like you gave me yesterday. If something's not right, you need to speak up."

Yesterday? Oh. Ooohhhh, yeeaahhh. That. Sigh.

"It's... manageable." Yeah, that's a good word for 'not screaming and bawling like a baby.'

"Johnny? 'Manageable' doesn't tell me anything. Come on, pal, unpack."

Unpack? You want me to unpack? Well, all right, then, I'll give you unpacking. Can't look you in the eye, though.

"Roy, my leg hurts like hell, even though I'm still on morphine, which I can tell because you're right there but you're, like, reeealllly far away. I have a splitting headache, I'm pissing through a tube, and," I take a deep breath, 'cause here it comes, "I'm afraid I won't make it back on the team, and I don't know what I'll do if that happens." There. How's that for unpacked?

Silence. Food for thought, pal?

"I asked Doc Henry about that earlier, 'cause I figured that would be on your mind when you had one again, and he said there's no reason you shouldn't make a full recovery."

Sheesh, that's not what I meant.

"Yeah, but what about my little performance yesterday?"

"Johnny, all any of us cared about was how bad you were hurting. Nobody was ashamed of you, or for you, and in fact I'm really goddamned impressed you held it together long enough to not scare the kids. I don't think I could've, and they're MY kids!"

Oh. Um. "Uh, sorry." Wow, Roy never swears.

"Nothing to be sorry for, Junior. Sorry I flew off the handle there, but that's how it is."

Can I look him in the eye? I'll try.

"Hey Roy?" There, that wasn't so hard. "Thanks."

TBC

A/N: Please review! Constructive criticism fuels the fire. Are there parts that are confusing as to who is speaking? I'm trying to do this with as little exposition as possible – POV and character stream of consciousness only - at the risk of confusing the reader.