Just A Simple Exchange

*(*(*)*)*

Ch. 10

The nurse prepared to irrigate the Foley catheter first, laying a Chux pad on the bed with an edge trailing over the side of the bed nearest her. Taking a large syringe and placing it on the cart top next to her alongside the bottle of sterile water, she clamped the drainage tube on the Foley bag to the side of the bed sheet. She had the tube from the catheter held bent in her hand so that even if it had been draining, nothing would come out. She filled the syringe with the water and inserted it in the tip of the tube leading into the catheter, and spoke gently. "Take a deep breath, Thomas."

The former SEAL did as instructed.

As she forced the fluid into the tubing, Magnum's legs knifed towards his chest before Rick could stop them. Thomas managed to stop his legs before he would have struck the nurse, murmuring. "Sorry, Nurse Hong,"

The woman smiled gently. "Wouldn't be the first time…I'm amazed you had the restraint to stop yourself."

"Naval Academy will do that for you, ma'am. Not to mention, my mom would have taken my head off if I'd hit you." The Frogman replied, looking at Rick who was shaking his head at him. Thomas panted slightly. "As much as I hate to admit it, Nurse, I don't think one was enough."

"Unfortunately, I didn't think it would be. Ready for me to do it again?"

"Not really, but I know you have to, so let's do it." Rick reached down and pulled Thomas legs back into position and held them there. "Hold tight, Rick."

"I got you, just don't kick me." The gunner replied.

"I'll try not to." Magnum managed a grin though it was clear the fullness had gone into pain long ago.

The nurse repeated the process a second time and this time she felt something give and quickly connected the Foley tubing to the drainage tube and released the clamp, watching as the fluid ran down into the drainage bag hung below on the frame of the bed. She knelt down taking a large red colored pitcher down from the lower shelf of the cart and placing it on the floor she flipped the drainage tube down so it went into the pitcher, unclamped it as the bag was rapidly filling up.

Magnum exhaled a sigh. "Whew…so much better."

"How do you spell relief, huh, buddy?" Rick smiled at his friend.

Impishly, Thomas started spelling out. "W-h-i-"

"Don't finish that, Thomas. Your mom woulda whooped you up the side of your head…" Rick kidded him. "Language like that in front of a lady."

Nurse Hong chortled. "Son, I'm not a lady, I'm a nurse!"

"Still a lady…" Rick and TM both chanted in perfect time.

The nurse smiled at the two friends. She clamped the lower drainage hose of the bag and snapped it up against the bag, then raised the pitcher, checking the level. "Good Lord! Almost 1800 ml's? That's some capacity you have there, sailor."

Magnum was bright red in the face in embarrassment in response to which the nurse just smiled tolerantly at his chagrin and went to dump the fluid out in the bathroom. They heard the water run as she rinsed the pitcher, brought it back and returned it to the bottom shelf of the cart.

*(*(*)*)*

"Now," Hong spoke softly, "I'm going to have to flush the chest tube."

Thomas nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'm ready."

"This is liable to be more uncomfortable."

"I don't think so," Magnum assured her.

The woman changed the Chux underpad for a fresh one, even though the old one wasn't noticeably soiled. She excused herself to go and wash her hands thoroughly. She returned, washed her hands again with the steri-wipe from the package of the kit for flushing the chest tube. She had already closed the three-way valve on the drainage unit for the chest tube. Now she put on sterile gloves, used the different syringe included to draw up fluid from the second sterile water bottle she had procured from the lower shelf on the cart inserted into the flushing valve on the chest tube and slowly pressed the plunger into the syringe releasing the fluid into the system. Magnum jumped slightly as the fluid pushed into his chest, then sighed in relief as the clots slid out the tube, down the drainage system and proper drainage of his chest resumed. "Thank you, Nurse Hong."

"Just doing my job, Magnum."

"Still, I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Thomas. Think you can get some more rest?"

"I don't know…I'm kind of uncomfortable, but I'll try." Thomas' eye closed, Rick gently began rubbing TM's back and the man almost purred. "Keep that up a while, will you, Rick? It's helping."

"Just relax, buddy."

The nurse regarded the two men with genuine affection. "Now that's a sight to see. True trust and caring between friends…you are lucky to have each other."

Rick smiled at the nurse. "We really are." He assured her. "Even if this one keeps getting himself hurt and near killed all the time."

"I don't do it on purpose," Thomas muttered. "And I said I'm sorry."

"Still not mad - you just worry me, bro, damn sense of wanting to serve everyone." Wright's affection was obvious in his tone. "Relax. Try and sleep."

"Uh-huh…" Magnum sounded as if he was already starting to dose as he answered.

The nurse smiled at the sleeping man, glad to see his face looking more peaceful. "I love seeing the way you care for your friend, Rick."

"If you knew half the stuff he's done for me over the years, Ma'am, you'd realize I couldn't repay him if I did this every day for the rest of my life. The three of us…it used to be four, but Nuzo died earlier this year. We survived hell. Thomas would steal food from our captors for us. Always claimed he'd already eaten his share. Tried to steal a gun. Tried to steal a radio. Took the beatings, time in the hole, time in solitary…gone so long at times, we were sure he was dead this time, but they'd drag him back in worse shape, then the previous time. He was willing to do anything, to endure anything, to get us out; and, he didn't care if he made it out, too. We wouldn't go for that. Had to be all of us getting out together..or none of us would go. That's what these rings stand for. As long as we stick together, we can survive anything. He's pretty damn special."

"Sounds like you all are. I'm sorry for your loss of your friend, Nuzo."

"Yeah, that still hurts. It always will, but it's hardest on Thomas because they were SEALs together and real, real close. He…he said." Rick paused a moment, clearly too distressed to continue for an instant. "He said he saw Nuzo earlier…said he wanted to go with him, but Nuzo wouldn't let him. I-I told him, 'Thank God for that.' I just can't lose him, too."

Compassionately, the nurse reassured him. "Keep doing what you are doing, Rick…between you and I, we'll make sure this young man doesn't go anywhere!"

"Thanks, Nurse."

"It's a pleasure, Rick Wright. You let me know right away if those tubes stop again."

"Oh, don't worry, I will."

"Good man." She winked at him and left the room, pushing the cart in front of her.

A/N: Another chapter...short one today - but also posted a vignette to Restless, so...forgiven?