Mary stared anxiously at Matt, her little boy, her baby. She hated seeing him like this; it was her nightmare to see either of her boys like this. She turned to Terry. This is just the beginning, isn't it? she wondered, realizing with Terry's night job this was probably just the first of many visits to the hospital.
She could feel her eyes starting to water. She couldn't stand the thought of Matt or Terry being here, of either of her babies being hurt. Why? Why does he have to be Batman? Why couldn't it have been someone else? she wondered.
She couldn't stand the thought of going through this again. She hated every moment of it: the waiting, the not knowing, the helplessness. She couldn't do anything to help, no matter how much she wanted to. She would give anything to have Matt safe and sound, running around the house with more energy then any one person should have. She smiled slightly, I swear he sneaks a pot of coffee when I'm not looking, she thought, barely able to keep up with him most of the time.
Her smile faded as her eyes refocused on Matt and his unmoving form. Where is that doctor? How long does it take to get a few test results back?! she wondered, turning to the doorway, unable to take this waiting for much longer.
As if on cue, the doctor stepped into the doorway.
"Mrs. McGinnis," he greeted with a warm smile, as he walked over to the bed.
"Doctor," she replied, out of the corner of her eye she noticed Terry turn to him as well.
"Sorry for the wait…" he apologized, glancing at Terry a few times. His eyes widened, "McGinnis…" he mumbled as if realizing something.
"The test results?" Mary reminded, needing the answers they would provide, whether good or bad, she needed to know. She couldn't stand not knowing.
"Yes," he said, turning back to her. "The scans show that he has two cracked ribs, so pain medication will be prescribed and he is going to have to take it easy. Though he took quite a blow to the head, scans show no sign of any brain damage. We have to wait until he awakens to determine if he has a concussion. Either way it would be for the best for him to stay overnight, for observation."
Mary nodded, turning back to Matt, My poor baby, she thought.
"How long before he wakes up?" Terry asked.
"There's no way of telling," the doctor answered.
The doctor had left a little while ago, leaving Terry and his mom alone with Matt. Cracked ribs are never fun, but at least he's ok, Terry thought with relief, as he looked at his little brother. But why won't he wake up? he wondered, a wave of concern washing over him. No, he's fine. The doctors would have found something if anything was wrong. Other then the cracked ribs, they didn't find anything. He is fine, he reminded himself.
Terry looked down at his watch and winced, it had been nearly two hours since he first entered the hospital. Wayne is not going to be happy… I need to get back out there, he thought, realizing that by staying at the hospital, he had given the escapees two extra hours to disappear underground to blend into the crowd of unsuspecting citizens.
Terry sighed, he still felt guilty leaving his mom and Matt, but at least he knew Matt was ok.
Terry turned to his mom, "I have to go."
"What? Why?" she asked with alarm.
"I'm needed," he simply replied, standing up.
"You're needed here. Matt could wake up any minute," she added, obviously trying to get him to stay.
"Or he might be out for a couple of more hours…" Terry pointed out. "I need to get back out there… before they disappear forever. If it's not too late already," he commented more to himself then to his mom.
"Terry…" she pleaded, her concern clearly showing through her eyes.
"I'll be fine," he replied, giving her a reassuring smile.
"Terry… if you get hurt... I… please stay."
Mom, I don't want to go. I want to stay. But I can't. I can't just sit here knowing these criminals are on the loose. It's going to be almost impossible to find them as it is… and if something happens that I could have stopped… I wouldn't be able to forgive myself, Terry thought. "I'll be careful," he finally replied, as he started to walk towards the doorway.
"Terry," his mom protested.
"Mm… Mom?" Matt's mumbled voice stopped Terry dead in his tracks.
Terry quickly turned to face him. Seeing Matt finally awake was more of a relief then he could have imagined.
"Matt!" their mom said in joyful surprise.
Matt cringed, "Not so loud," he said. "Where… where am I? What's… um…"
"We're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?" their mom asked.
"Umm… Ts… They where… at the school," Matt answered.
He looks a little… off… like he's having trouble concentrating, Terry realized, fear rising up within him. I should get the doctor, he reasoned.
"Terry," their mom started, as he was about to turn and head out of the room. "I'm going to get the doctor, stay with Matt," she informed, as she got up and quickly walked past him before heading straight into the hall.
O…k, guess that works too, he thought, walking over to the hospital bed. "You ok, Squirt?" he asked, sitting down on the bed next to Matt; all his thoughts of getting back on patrol completely gone from him mind.
"Head hurts… chest… hurts… hurts to breathe… lights… not helping," Matt slowly answered.
Terry gave him a sympathetic smile, "Yeah; breathing won't be fun for a while... and I suggest you don't try to move too much either," he advised.
Matt nodded in agreement, before he winced.
Terry turned to the doorway, looking for their mom. He quickly spotted her and the doctor on their way back to the room. He stood up as they entered and stepped away from the bed, to allow the doctor room to get to Matt.