Chapter 6
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry about the sudden break in Chapter 5; just felt it was getting too long and wanted to divide it up so it would flow more evenly.
Irene got up from the table and was escorted to the infirmary. The Medic opened the door and let Irene in. "I'll leave you two alone; just let any one of us know if you need anything." he told her and closed the door.
Irene walked over to Dell, who was lying down on a hospital bed, propped up by pillows and resting comfortable. He was wearing a hospital nightgown and had the covers pulled up to his lap. Dell looked paler than normal and had a soft glow from sweating so much due to being sick. His eyes where closed but fluttered open when he heard Irene's footsteps. He turned to her and smiled weakly.
"Honey Bee…you made it." He said quietly.
"Of course, I would go to the ends of the earth for ya." She said and kissed his forehead.
"Sorry ya had ta come visit me at work when I'm not in the best of shape." Dell told her. He pointed with his good arm at the bandaged right hand resting on a pillow in his lap.
"I feel so stupid for not bein' careful…" he trailed off.
"Don't start a Pity Parade on me now! I'm just glad that you're OK." Irene scolded, but eyed the bandaged hand. She decided not to bring it up now and let Dell reveal it personally.
"You know how I've been doing Irene, so I want to know how you've been. You tell me in the letters you write back, but I just want to hear everything from you and not hafta read some piece of paper."
Irene was more than happy to talk to Dell about life back home. The two of them talked about everything from her job, to their families and everything in between. After was seemed like hours, Dell finally decided to let Irene see his right hand.
"I've been pretty nervous about this ever since I had my surgery on it…Doc told me not to take the bandage off, but hell; it's somethin' ya need to see!" Dell said and asked Irene to hand him the bandage scissors on the table next to the bed.
She did and watched as Dell slowly and carefully cut away the gauze that incased his right hand. When he managed to make an incision, he picked apart the bandage and pulled it back, slowly revealing his hand. Except it wasn't his hand…it was something more…mechanical. Irene's eyes grew wide as she now saw what Dell was afraid to tell her in that letter.
Dell's new right hand was fashioned out of hard, black steel (or whatever metal it was) and had segmented finger parts and wires. A pressure gauge and blue colored casting where adored to the wrist that now served as a brace of some sort for Dell's arm. The fleshy parts that Dell still had intact where red and shiny, indicating that the area was still battling an infection and swelling up as a result. It was like something out of a science fiction novel or movie; but instead of reading about it or seeing a cheap prop on screen; the skeletal hand was very real and very much functioning. Dell winced as he moved the fingers, apparently still learning how to control his new appendage.
"This…this is what you couldn't tell me in your letter…" Irene asked and pointing to the machine now hooked up to her husband's body. Dell said nothing, only looking down at his lap in discomfiture. "Can I touch it?" He nodded yes.
Irene carefully placed her hand on the limb, slowly getting a feel for it. The digits and palm of the hand where cold and unfeeling, making Irene uncomfortable. Dell started to clasp the hand around her own and Irene quickly pulled away, not yet ready to have this new object touch her in such an intimate way.
"What is it?!" she blurted out the obvious statement to Dell, who finally had the courage to look at her.
"This is the Gunslinger. It was originally a gloved weapon invented by my grandfather long before I was born." he explained. "He made both a left handed and a right handed model. One day, for some unknown reason, he chopped off his left hand an' implanted the Gunslinger on his body, as an experiment, ya see. After workin' out the kinks, he made modifications to the right hand model, wantin' ta give it to my father, hoping his son would find a practical use for it. My father wasn't going to chop off his own hand fur no good reason, so he packed it away. When I was old enough, he handed it down to me, hoping I might find a use for it…" he paused, looking at his new hand once more. "I just never expected to use it quite like this."
"I take it the Medic helped you surgically attach this…this thing onto you." said Irene.
"It was just after that sentry exploded. The Doc ran over and found me on the ground, hunched over like a newborn baby, cryin' and bleedin' like a slaughtered pig. He took one look at my arm and asked about my hand. Told'em it was gone; had blown up like a firecracker on the Fourth of July. The Doc rushed me to the infirmary and was about to sew me up when I mentioned the Gunslinger. He didn't hesitate to go grab it and slap it on my bloody stump of an arm."
Suddenly, Dell became content. It was as if someone had flipped a switch inside of his head. Gone was a solemn and melancholy Dell and in its place was someone who was happy and satisfied with the events that had unfolded.
"You know, this hand here; it'll make my job a lot easier!" he beamed.
"Wha…what do you mean?" Irene said, taken aback by the sudden change of Dell's emotions.
"Yeah…yeah this contraption's gonna make my job here be smooth like butter! I can finally have a more practical weapon fur takin' out Spies and—"
WHACK! Irene slapped Dell across his face with such brute force that he stood still. He didn't know what to say. He just looked at Irene, her face flustered and her red hair whipped about from the sudden action she had just performed. Her breathing was slightly labored, her dark green eyes staring Dell down with such hatred that he didn't even know what to say to her.
"Irene…" was all Dell could muster before she turned away from him and made haste out of the infirmary. He wanted to go after her, find out what was wrong, but all Dell could do was just sit on the bed, contemplating about his decision to tell her.
The door to the mess hall slammed open, alerting the rest of the BLU mercenaries.
"Where's the Medic?" Irene demanded.
The Medic was busy going through the day's paperwork when Irene stormed in. "Yes, what iz it, Irene?" Irene said nothing, instead punching the Medic in the face. The sudden blow sent the Medic falling right out of his chair and onto the floor. He let out an "oomph!" and put a hand to his face. He felt something warm and wet and realized that Irene's punch had caused him to split his lower lip wide open.
"What the scheiye vas that for?!"
"You monster! How could you not have though out the consequences of your actions?! I hope you burn in hell, you bastard!" Irene screamed at the stunned Medic and pushed her way past the rest of the equally shocked men to exit the room.
Once outside, Irene eagerly looked for a more private place to vent out her frustrations. She soon discovered a small area with what appeared to be large bags of grass seed stacked atop each other under a covering to prevent the rain and sun from damaging them. There she just kicked and punch the bags, grunting and crying until she had no energy left and just collapsed on the ground, bawling like a baby. It was just how the Sniper discovered her, hands over her head, sobbing and gasping for air all while gently rocking back and forth. The Sniper stood a few feet away from her, wondering if she had notice his presence. Out of now where, Irene spoke.
"If you're the Medic, just stay away from me if you know what's good for you." she warned, not even turning around to see if it was him or not.
"Don't worry, I'm not the German." The Sniper said. "I came on my own accord." The both of them where quite for a moment until the Sniper let out a stifled laugh. "You throw a pretty good punch for a lady. The Doc's still in disbelief by how hard you hit'em; reminded me of this one time as a kid I—"
"I'm not in the mood to hear such stories right now." Irene stopped the Sniper, who cleared his throat.
"Alright, but can you do me just one favor then?"
"And that is?"
"Get off the dirty ground and come back inside."
It was then Irene turned around to see the Sniper extending his hand to help her up. She hiccupped and sniffled, but was glad to see that someone was willing to be nice to her after the temper tantrum she'd thrown. Rubbing away any loose tears from her face with her sleeve, she took the Sniper's hand and got up. After brushing herself off, the two of them went back inside. The mess hall was empty, which relieved Irene. She didn't want to have to explain herself to the rest of the team her actions. The Sniper told her to sit down at the table while he prepared some coffee for the both of them. After the coffee pot finished percolating, the Australian grabbed two mugs from the cupboard above the stove.
"I hope you don't mind decaf; regular coffee gives me the jitters an' I can't shoot straight, no pun intended of course."
"Coffee's coffee…got cream and sugar?" Irene asked.
"Sure do."
He went to the fridge and grabbed a small container of half and half. He set the half and half and the two cups down on the table before reaching back to get the sugar bowl. Irene fixed her coffee while the Sniper took his cup black. After enjoying their cups, the Sniper broke the ice.
"So, you saw Dell's hand, huh?"
"Yup."
"Not a pretty site, huh?"
Irene nodded, taking a sip of coffee.
"You know, Engie's been worried sick about this for the last week an' a half. He didn't know how'd you'd react once ya found out."
"He should have thought about more clearly." Irene said coldly. "He didn't even consider how this would affect our marriage."
"How so?" the Sniper was curious about the reason behind Irene's anger toward Dell.
"Well for starters, I could I possible get used to have that thing touch me? When he had his normal hand, Dell's touch was soothing, loving and warm. Now with that metal hand, it cannot feel how Dell's touch will make me react. It cannot feel my body heat, my hair, not even my lips kissing it…"
"That's all physical reactions, it really shouldn't matter." Irene just stared at the Sniper with annoyance. "Are you married Sniper?" she asked boldly. The Aussie hesitated, not wanting to share something so personal.
"Yes." he finally said. "I know firsthand what you're goin' though. Lana, my wife, still cannot get over the fact that I am not home for months on end. I took this job after we first got married. Anyway, no sooner than I started workin' here, she got into a bad car accident and landed herself in the hospital. When I finally managed to get back home to see her, she told me she lost her leg, got it replaced with somethin' similar to what Engie has."
The Sniper reached into his vest and pulled out a well-worn leather wallet. He dug out a small picture and showed it to Irene. It was a picture of Lana, standing over some large animal that she had shot with her rifle. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied in a loose ponytail and hanging to one side as she smiled broadly, proud of her kill. The leg she had placed on top of the slain beast was made of the same black metal Dell's hand was, half covered by her mid-calf boot.
"I reacted the same way you just did now: I upset by the fact that my wife how had some mechanical object attached to her body. It wouldn't be the same touching her now; the leg was made of cold, unfeeling metal. Lana and I fought about it for a few days; me calling her selfish and pig-headed and her saying I was uncaring and absent. However, we soon both came to a realization."
"And that is?"
"We both realized that no matter what happens, no matter how long we are apart, we know that we love each other dearly. Even if one of us had a life altering event happen to them, the fact is pure and simple: We have someone who's got our back and is willing to sacrifice anything to help that person overcome adversity."
"So what you're saying is that I should help Dell come to terms with his handicap and make our relationship stronger?"
"In a way, yes. Lana and I may not be able to see each other as often as you and Dell get to see one another, but when we have those rare moments in which we are able to touch and love each other, we relish in it."
The Sniper was right. Irene though about when Dell first told her about his mercenary job. He had laid everything on the line just to see whether or not she would still want to be together with him. She accepted him as he was and now she was being tested again. She had to accept this new part of him, this mechanical hand that had replaced his original of flesh and bone and not only help him come to terms with it, but also help herself come to terms with it.
"Thank you." she told the Sniper, who gave her a nod of appreciation. "I better go apologize to the Medic for slugging him so hard; although it was kinda funny seeing him so shell shocked from bein' punched by a woman." She let out a small laugh, which the Sniper joined in.
"I agree, it was nice ta see the Medic be humiliated for a change."
The Sniper stayed back in the mess hall, cleaning up his mess as Irene headed toward the infirmary again. When she entered the room, the Medic was with Dell, re-applying the bandages he had taken off earlier, grumbling as he did his work.
"I told you not to take za bandages off, dummkopf…I svear I am surrounded by idiots…" he looked up and saw Irene and just scowled at her. "Oh, Herr Conagher's wife. I vas vondering what happened to you after you caused injury to me."
"I just needed some time alone, but I feel better now. I came to apologize to both you and my husband for the way I acted." Irene said, extending her hand toward the German. "I am sorry I punched you in the face, can we let bygones be bygones?"
The Medic hesitated for a moment, but ultimately grasped Irene's hand and shook it.
"Apology accepted. " The medic turned to Dell. "You have a good wife, Herr Conagher. Take care of her well." He said and left to give the couple some privacy.
Irene tuned to Dell, who was about to say something, but she put a finger to his lips, hushing him. "No, don't apologize, you did nothing wrong. This is all my fault. I was being selfish and not taking your feelings into consideration. But you know what? This is just one more hurdle that we need to climb and I want to climb it together with you."
Irene then took Dell's right hand and grasped it into her own the best she could, due to the bandages making it difficult to hold onto. Dell moved the fingers and locked them with Irene's fingers. "That's all I ever wanted to hear from you…I love you." He said, touching his forehead with hers. "I love you too." Irene said right back, kissing Dell as they held one another in adoration.
