CHAPTER 11

"You've sure made an amazing recovery, Stringfellow," the doctor commented. "It's like your body went into hibernation for a week, but when you came out of it you were well beyond the worse parts."

He saw the tired blue eyes searching him, imploring him to skip the extra dialogue and get straight to the news he wanted to hear.

"We'll let you have a little water now and see how you handle it. You have spent about a week on nothing but intravenous nourishment so it might take a few days to get your appetite worked up though."

"And?"

"You are recovering remarkably well considering the condition you were in when you got here. On a good number of painkillers, but that is to be expected and you're already being worked off part of those. We can very gradually start working you off the other medicines and get closer to being back to normal."

"What about the fuzziness?" String questioned hoarsely.

"Probably just a side effect from the drugs. We'll get the rest of the test results in this evening to make sure, but it wouldn't be an uncommon side effect."

"When can I get out of here?"

"Slow down, here son. You're just coming out of a very serious injury and can't expect to go home immediately."

"How long?" he repeated.

"It depends on a lot right now. If all your tests come back clean and you can hold down your food, you should be able to go as soon as we make sure all the infection is gone, but at the very minimum it'll probably be a week, maybe more."

\A/

Two Weeks Later

The Santini Air Jet Ranger came around the tree tops and landed on the end of the dock.

Home sweet home.

"You sure you don't want me to watch Chance for you? The doctor did say you should take it easy for a while."

"I can do it."

"I know you can, but I don't want you to run yourself into the ground doing it."

Occasionally String would still get spells of lightheadedness and fuzziness and it worried Saint John enough to be leaving String here, much less Chance with him, especially with Cait,... well, wherever she was.

"Tell you what..., get settled back in here, and I'll drop Chance off with you in a day or two."

"I want Chance here," he requested, almost a plea. If he couldn't have Caitlin and Chance, he at least wanted Chance.

"If you're sure…" Saint John began doubtfully.

"I'm sure. You can come by tomorrow for dinner and if I feel differently, or like I can't handle it yet, then you can take him with you."

"Just remember, I wouldn't find it a burden, and I did promise to take care of him if you ever needed me to."

"I'll remember and be eternally grateful, and you have done a great job at it the last few weeks, but I think I'm up to it now."

Saint John nodded understandingly. He would have felt the same way. "Alright then."

"See you for dinner. Just remember, if you want meat, you bring your own. I'm sticking to fish."

"You aren't going out on that lake are you?"

"Where else would you suggest I fish? The grass?"

"Uh-uh. No. I'm not leaving you to get dizzy out there and drown yourself," Saint John stated firmly.

"I won't," String replied. "I promise."

"You better not. That one was cutting it too close."

"I won't. Dom brought enough food to keep us feasting for three months. There's fish in the freezer," he added relenting when he saw the continued worry on his brother's face.

\A/

Waking up early the next morning, String started the coffee and stepped outside to admire the sunrise. It was stunning, much more beautiful from the ones he'd seen lately from his hospital bed. An idea suddenly occurring to him, he went back inside, returning a moment later with Chance in his arms.

He settled on the steps of the front porch with his son in his lap, enjoying the most beautiful sunrise he'd seen in a long time.

"Pretty," Chance commented.

"Yeah, pretty."

Pretty sunrise, pretty nice life. Everything was pretty good, probably the closest to perfect he would ever get.

Caitlin seemed to be gone from his life, but she could very possibly be gone a different way if he had allowed her to come along. He still couldn't quite believe she'd left both him and Chance though. Especially Chance. Pain bubbled up in his chest at the thought, even as he shoved it back down ruthlessly. Life wasn't perfect and he would have to learn to live with whatever it threw at him. At least he could know that she wouldn't be hurt, or even killed, because of him. Fate didn't have a good previous record for letting those he loved live, but he somehow still had Dom and had finally found Saint John after all those years. Chance was, in so many ways, like him, in looks, in personality, and in that he had already experienced more than his fair share of problems, but he also seemed to have that eerie, unnatural ability to survive. String could only hope, he wouldn't have the same problems he had had, because he had had plenty of close calls and and even he knew eventually his luck would run out. For now though, he tried be thankful for what he did have, even as he looked out on the still lake and thought longingly of Cait.