Chapter Six
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Chapter Six
Danny looked at the contents of the tray with disdain, it had been sitting there for almost half an hour and he was still yet to touch it.
"It won't get eaten by staring at it" his father commented from beside him.
"I'm not hungry Dad" he replied softly, his stomach churning even at the thought of food.
"Come on son, you heard what the doctor said, you can't get out of here until you are able to eat" Frank continued. He got to his feet and lifted the lid from the tray to look at what it contained. "Danny it is only soup and some bread" he told him, carefully. He was worried about the listlessness that his son was showing, his interest in his recovery lacking and his energy waning.
"Dad please, I am not hungry" Danny reasserted, his head pounding as he spoke.
"Danny I'm worried about you son. I want you to get better and get home to us, for you to be able to go back to Linda and the boys" Frank told him, not opposed to using a little emotional blackmail in order to help his son.
"It's disgusting" Danny commented, gesturing towards the bowl of soup weakly. Frank chuckled at the tone and smiled openly.
"Leave it to me son" he replied, stepping out of the room.
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"Are you sure it is safe?" Linda asked Jackie cautiously, desperate to see her husband, but not wanting to place her beloved sons in any danger.
"Yeah, the guys are in the car in front and the car behind. There is a guard on door and I will be with you the whole time" Jackie replied with a smile. Frank had contacted her a short while ago and she had sprung immediately into action to do as he asked.
"Thanks Jackie" Linda replied with a smile. The journey passed quickly, and Linda had to smile at the boys chatting excitedly in the seats behind them, they had missed their father and despite her telling them constantly that he was getting better and would be home with them soon- they were worried sick about him. Seeing him would do all of them the world of good. She clutched tightly onto the large cup of soup that she had picked up for Danny, hoping that he would behave and manage to consume it. The group made their way through the hospital quickly, keen to see the patient, but Linda didn't relax until she stepped into her husband's room.
"Hey Danny" she greeted, unable to help the tears that welled up in her eyes as she caught sight of him. He still looked pale, and bruised- but he looked so pleased to see her that she instantly knew that Frank had been right. Jackie and the two boys waited outside, and Frank stepped out to join them. "Your father has reliably informed me that you are being stubborn and refusing to eat the offerings that the hospital has given you- so I brought you this" she told him, presenting him with the cup of steaming vegetable soup that she handed him.
"I've missed you" Danny told her, his voice croaking with emotion. "When Dad couldn't contact you I thought..I thought" he told her, unable to complete the sentence and his mind unwilling to let his thoughts drift that way.
"Hey, its okay I'm here and I'm fine" she told him, carefully reaching over to wipe the tears from his cheeks. "Come on Danny, eat your soup" she prompted him and he looked at it as though it was a foreign object unknown to him. "Come on, just try some babe" she asked him. He sighed and nodded slightly, then gestured towards his strapped up shoulder. She smiled at him and perched on the edge of his bed, still holding the cup. She carefully lifted it to his lips and tilted it to allow him to take a sip from it. He swallowed cautiously, knowing how much pain vomiting would cause. When the small amount was able to stay down he took a little more and so the process continued until he had managed half of the cup.
"I'm done" he told his wife softly, unable to take even one more sip.
"You did good" she told him as if she was speaking to a small child. He rolled his eyes at her use of tone.
"Thanks Mom" he told her tongue in cheek. She giggled before reaching over and kissing him softly.
"You need to get better and come home, I miss you" she told him seriously. He nodded in understanding. "Anyway you have some more visitors" she told him getting back to her feet and heading to the door.
"Who?" he asked hesitantly, he didn't really feel up to visitors, he just wanted to spend some more time with his wife. Linda didn't answer, she merely pulled the door open and allowed the boys to run into the room- both of them pulling short at the edge of their father's bed.
"Dad?" Sean asked questioningly. Danny blinked back tears as he looked at his sons stood in front of him watching him- their little faces so full of fear as they took in his appearance.
"Hey boys!" he greeted them, his tone as jovial as possible. "What no hug for your pop?" he asked them teasingly, and instantly relieved when their wobbling bottom lips morphed into radiant smiles and they both clambered onto the bed to visit with their father. Linda smiled, pleased to see her husband looking so alive. The hour that the group stayed for seemed to pass far too quickly for all parties, and before Danny knew it his wife and boys were kissing him goodnight and leaving the room. He closed his eyes against the wave of loss that coursed through him, and when he opened them again his father was once more beside him.
"Dad, go home" Danny told him softly.
"You want me to go?" Frank asked in surprise, Danny shook his head to the negative.
"No, but I think you should" he replied quietly. "Dad you haven't been properly home for four days, you work all day and then come and sit here at night. You go home, I'm fine and just going to go to sleep anyway" Danny told him, not wanting his father to make himself ill for him.
"I think someone should stay with you" Frank protested, not wanting to leave his son alone.
"Dad honestly, I am ok. I just want to sleep and nothing will happen- theres a guard on the door after all" Danny argued. Frank sighed, not fully convinced that it was a good idea to leave his son alone in the hospital, but he really didn't have the energy to argue.
"Fine, I will go home. Under protest" Frank finally responded, knowing that his son was far too stubborn to not argue the point if he didn't. Danny smiled, pleased that his father was seeing reason and going home for a break. "We all love you very much son" Frank commented seriously as he shrugged on his coat, being uncharacteristically open and emotive in his language.
"Thanks Dad, love you too" Danny whispered, touched at his father's words. He closed his eyes as exhaustion overwhelmed him, and merely felt his fathers gentle kiss brush his forehead.
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Linda smiled as she poured herself a glass of wine from her mothers fridge, she was glad that she had seen Danny- and it looked as though he would be discharged in a day or two, which meant he would be back where he belonged, beside her.
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"Take it nice and steady Danny" the nurse urged her patient, as he hesitantly swung his legs over the side of the bed. He was desperate to go home, and in order to do so he had to make it to his feet and to the bathroom by himself. He made it upright and then paused as the world spun around him and he desperately swallowed down on the bile that had risen in his throat. "Easy Danny, just ride it out and breath through it" the pretty nurse advised, correctly recognising what had caused the hesitation. He gathered himself together before sliding carefully from the bed to his feet, his legs almost giving way as his weight was placed on them for the first time in a week. Shakily he took a step forward, his body betraying him by its weakness. It was only three steps to the small bathroom, but to Danny it felt like he had run a marathon. He breathed a sigh of relief as he made it, managed his business and shuffled back to the bed.
"So can I get out of here now?" he asked the nurse as she helped him to ease back into his bed. The beads of sweat on his brow telling the story of how much just that activity had taken out of him. The nurse chuckled at his question.
"I'll speak with the doctor" she promised, before she once more left him to rest.
End Chapter Six
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