Chapter 10 - Attempt to sayoncea captain, what to do...
"Good morning Ms. Smollet. How are you feeling today?", the doctor inquired while entering the room.
He nodded in greeting to Delbert, as he had done since the two previous weeks.
"Well, to tell the truth, I'm feeling very well, because I know I'm coming out here today finally", Amelia replied with a rumbling voice.
Delbert smiled at that and even the doctor had to grin.
"Okay then Ms. Smollet. Then we will examine you one last time."
Delbert stood up to leave the room, when Amelia grabbed his hand.
"Delbert", she said with a tone in her voice, that Delbert thought she was uncertain. Almost as if she was afraid.
Yet questioningly but still lovingly he looked at her.
"You... You will come back, won't you?"
A smile spread through his lips, when he turned to her and laid his hand on hers on his arm.
"Sure I will. I have indeed just to go home because I promised Sarah to help her with the planning for the new Benbow Inn, but right after that I will come back and bring you to your house after your release."
Amelia smiled relieved, when the doctor suddenly interrupted them.
"Wait a moment, pleas. Does that mean you two aren't living together?"
Basically the question has already been answered when he saw both Delbert and Amelia got a bright red head and sheepishly turned away their eyes.
So he thought that..., Delbert thought, slightly pleased.
So he thought that..., Amelia thought, while she was pleased about it, that her and Delbert seemed to match that good, but nevertheless she was a little worried about her captain facade.
Finally Delbert cleared his throat.
"No, we both live alone. Why are you asking?"
"Oh", the doctor then said, "in that case I can't let you go unfortunately, Ms. Smollet. By living alone it would be impossible to provide your wounds and thus would mean, that you recovery is not guaranteed."
With wide eyes Amelia first blinked at the man in the white coat and then at Delbert.
"But - no, I - You can't be honest about that!? I want to get out of here! I can't stay just one day longer!"
She looked at the doctor, who did not flinch even a bit. Then her gaze turned to Delbert.
"Delbert!", she cried out in despair.
But Delbert didn't know what to say.
"Well Ms. Smollet. Since you have already told me in the admission interview that you do have no contact with your relatives, you have to ask around in the circle of your friends, if someone could take care of you."
That the doctor emphasized the word friends in a special way, of course purely coincidental, while looking at Delbert, seemed to escape her.
"Delbert, what's wrong?", she asked him, as he suddenly turned red again and then looked away.
But the doctor did know, that Delbert understood and with that he suddenly was about to left.
"So, Ms. Smollet. Please worrying about with whom you can stay for the period of recovery. It would take about two months to complete. I'll give you a short time, so that you can contact someone. I'll be right back."
Again the doctor looked at Delbert with that weird gaze. But even this view escaped the otherwise unbeatable attentive feline captain, because Amelia fixed with mixed feelings the door through which the doctor had just disappeared.
"Is this to take it?! As he imagines that in mind?!", she bleated applied, "Where should I go!? Delbert, what do you think about-?!"
Amelia paused suddenly, when she saw Delbert's heavily reddened face.
"Um... Delbert... What's wrong with you?"
Delbert started to hem and haw.
"Ahem, well... Well...I...He...I think he..."
Delbert got lost in his stammering, but as cute as Amelia thought that it was, momentarily all she wanted to know was what he was talking about.
"Delbert", she tried.
Delbert continued stammering.
"I mean... I-"
"Delbert?"
"...a-a-agree with him... me thinks... y-you-"
"Delbert...!"
"…should… I-I-I mean y-you can…at my h-h-h-house-"
"Delbert Doppler!", she nearly yelled at him. But while he stopped, Amelia seemed only now to realize what he had just tried to say. At that moment it was hard to tell whose eyes were bigger.
Wait, what did he just say, she asked herself while she didn't know what to say.
Oh my goodness I've actually said it, it screamed in his head.
"What did you just say?", Amelia finally asked and found herself even as the heat shot in her head, as the mercury level of a thermometer does with sudden warming by 100%.
Delbert didn't know, if he should say his thoughts out loud - that he would find it incredibly beautiful to have her with him. But even before he could decide to stay quiet about this, Amelia got back her almost loosen words.
"You mean that I should live at your house? But Delbert, I'd just drop the load."
There they went, the good intentions of silence.
"You wouldn't drop the load, Amelia! On the contrary, it would be simply wonderful to have you with me!"
Amelia reddened even more, where Delbert inferior her in nothing.
After a shy nod and a lovely embrace of relief, it has been decided. Amelia would spend the time of her recovery at Delbert's home.
Meanwhile Delbert was back at the hospital and now that the final examination was completed and Amelia's luggage was seized, a young nurse brought in a wheelchair. Disgruntled Amelia looked at the wheeled metal frame. Then her view turned to the nurse, then to the doctor.
"What's hat now?", Amelia hissed in an annoying tone.
"Each patient who is not fully healed but leaves the clinic will be driven in a wheelchair to the front door."
Amelia sighed again but she paused, when she heard Delbert chuckling. She couldn't deny that she was a little outraged about that but before she could say this out loud, Delbert began to speak.
"Captain Smollet…"
Amelia could feel her heart beating faster but she didn't know the reason of it. Was it because he had suddenly talked that formally to her or because of the fact, that there was such an exhorting tone in his voice…
Normally I must be angry about him talking like that, but somehow it brought some memories to my mind… When we were at that metal man's house back there on Treasure Planet and I gave orders to Mr. Hawkins, Delbert was just as exhorting as now, but… nevertheless so lovely… Just like now, Amelia thought.
With another sigh, the usually even intimate, unflinching feline gave a call for improvement and sat down in the wheelchair. Delbert smiled whereby Amelia acted somehow relaxed. But unfortunately, this feeling did not last long, because when the nurse wanted to push Amelia's wheelchair, the man in the white coat added something.
"Oh yes, Ms. Smollet. Before I forget… I have to inform you that you aren't allowed wear your uniform for the time of your recovery."
Amelia froze and Delbert could imagine only too well what the doctor was going to have to listen to.
"You've got to be kidding?!", Amelia yelled at him. "You can't just ask a captain to take off his uniform!"
But as the doctor, as Delbert, had already anticipated such a thing, he turned for a moment to Delbert.
"Since you now accompany Ms. Smollett, I'm probably right in assuming that she comes with you?"
Although this was a clear question, the doctor rather said it as an observation. Delbert nodded expectantly, The doctor continued.
"The recovery is to extend, as I mentioned earlier, about two months. All the while, My. Smollet may not wear the uniform. The narrow cut would cause the bandages such pressure and she would get a lot of pain. So please pay attention to the fact that her uniform is best locked awa-."
"Okay, so that's it!", Amelia yelled incensed. "It's not only that you get to talk about me as if I'm not here… Now you also require that I'm not allowed to wear my uniform for that long?! After all I'm not saying that you have to take off your coat and then to leave the hospital right now!"
The present people stared at the feline and everyone felt like something else. The nurse was so scared that she nearly had let go Amelia's wheelchair and Delbert was inwardly fascinated that he now came to know such a side of Amelia. The doctor sure made big eyes, but he stuck to his decision.
"Ms. Smollet. As much as you also seek and contrast ruffle; ... Here I am the boss, and when you sit down my instructions like that, then I have to pass you of into the rehabilitation center instead into the hands of this man. And in that center-!"
He emphasized the last word extremly.
"…you will wear nothing but a tracksuit for your entire stay!"
This speech was nearly violent. Amelia stayed silent. Not even Delbert at yelled at her that much, when she had commanded him around while escaping from Treasure Planet. But the view of the doctor dispelled any doubts and so Amelia put herself to her destiny. Just a few moments later she found herself sitting in Delbert's carriage, waiting for him to enter too, while he was storing her luggage. Then he sat down next to her, took the reins of Delilah in his hands and clucked his tongue. Delilah started to move.
They've been on their way for about fifteen minutes, when Delbert suddenly felt something warm on his shoulder. He looked to the side and found Amelia's head lying on his shoulder. She was asleep. He smiled before he brought his view back to the street again.
A few moments later they had arrived at his manor and he woke up the feline by stroking her silky hair gently.
"Amelia, we're there."
She blinked and sat up slowly. When she looked at the big house she held her breath in admiration.
"Good god, Delbert! I thought that you would have a lot of money, when I heard that you wanted me and the legacy for the trip, but this…"
He laughed embarrassed.
"Oh, it's not worth mentioning. The house is inherited."
Amelia rolled her eyes. Sometimes the good doctor was simply sweet like a piece of sugar. The young feline smiled at this thought when a sudden hand brought her back to reality. Delbert offered his hand to her to help her out of the carriage. Thankful and with a smile on her lips she took his hand and a few moments later she stood on the paved ground in front of Delbert's manor. Delbert shouldered her luggage and told her to follow him. She did and together they walked up the stairs until they finally went through the main door. He put down her luggage and then spied into the drawing room.
"Sarah? Jim?", he asked into the room.
When there was no answer he turned around to Amelia.
"Please make yourself right at home. I will show you my- um I mean your room to you equally. I just have to bring Delilah down into her stable."
And before she could answer, ha had almost disappeared with a smile on his lips. She smiled to, when she decided to follow his words. So she decided to go upstairs first, because she already knew the ground floor from her last time being here. After she reached the staircase approach she found herself on standing in the big corridor. Both, to her left and to her right side, there were each three doors. She started on the right. She opened the first door a bit and peered. She saw some dresses lying on the bed in the middle of the room. Because of that she thought it has to be the room of this friendly woman she had met and Delbert talked about – Sarah. In the second room she saw a case and a small seabag on the ground. Next to it was, hung over a chair, a too her familiar piece of garment.
A cadet uniform? So Mr. Hawkins has passed the test after enrolling!
With a nearly nostalgic feeling she looked at the white fabric and then closed the door with a smile on her face. She skipped the last room on the right side, because that was the room where she had woken up during her last stay here. So she now looked at the left side. The first room turned out as an unused guestroom. It seemed to serve only as storage – in everything standing around here. The second room was a spacious bathroom with a sumptuously bathtub, two washbasins and a toilet that was hidden in a small niche. The whole bathroom was decorated in shades of crème and here and there she found small golden appliqués. She left the room again and then looked to the last door.
Then this has to be…, she thought.
Suddenly Amelia heard the main door and turned around startled. She hurried, if her wounds allowed her to, downstairs, when –
"Uwah!", Amelia screamed a little scared.
Delbert did a similar sound, because when he came into the house, he was almost thinking of her being upstairs and so he wanted to look after her at the first floor. This caused them to bump into each other. As they did so it brought Delbert to the floor while Amelia landed on him. After they took a short rest from the shock, they looked at each other before they started to laugh out loud. Meanwhile Delbert sat up and as he did so, Amelia now leaned against him a bit. This pleasant proximity made their noses almost touching. Both didn't say anything and their laughing changed into a loving smile. Then Delbert leaned in and so closed the small space between their lips. Amelia paused for a few seconds, bewildered of the doctor for acting so suddenly. But at the next moment she melted into the kiss and then nestled up to him. Their kiss quickly became more intense, when a sudden noise startled them both. Quickly Delbert got up and helped Amelia to do so, too, when they could hear the door of the drawing room being opened and a happy smiling Sarah, followed by her son, a flying pink bubble and a robot entered it.
"Delbert! It's good to know, that you two are here again!"
She walked over to Amelia and offered her hand for introducing.
"When we' met back on Cresentia I had no idea of who you are. My name is Sarah Hawkins. I'm Jim's mom and momentarily you can say I'm the housekeeper here."
In contrast to Delbert Amelia understood this innuendo and shook Sarah's hand with a smile on her face.
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Hawkins. I'm Captain Amelia Smollet."
Sarah smiled back and then pointed at her son.
"You already know my son Jim." She turned to him. "Jim! Would you now please welcome our guest decently?!"
But Jim, who, how Amelia could see now, held a solar surfer under his arm, seemed literally to be on the go.
"But mom! I will see her later at dinner and now I have to-!"
"James Pleadies Hawkins!"
Jim only rolled his eyes. Oh how he did love this name…
"Yes mom."
He turned to the feline.
"Hello Captain. And welcome here."
"I really do thank you Mr. Hawkins. Oh uhm, by the way is that a solar surfer you're holding under your arm?"
Jim looked at it, then to the captain and nodded.
"Then you should use it for some training. You can really need this when you'll start at the academy."
Jim smiled now and his bad mood was washed away immediately. He gave Sarah a quick kiss on her cheek and then left, followed by Morph and B.E.N. Sarah watched him and then shook her head smiling. After that she turned to Delbert and Amelia again.
"So, what do you like for dinner? I haven't prepared anything yet so you two are free to choose."
Delbert nodded smiling and looked at the feline next to him.
"Amelia?"
Amelia thought for a moment. Then she answered: "Well, Mrs. Hawkins. You wrote about some Arkrianian onion casserole in your letter you left for me on my first stay here."
Sarah nodded happily and then walked inside the kitchen.
"Now Amelia, come on", Delbert said finally, "let us bring your luggage upstairs. Then you can also use the time 'til dinner to make yourself fresh and to change into something more comfortable."
Amelia smiled.
"I'd love to, Delbert. Thank you."
And so he took her luggage from the entrance and then accompanied her upstairs.