Over an hour later, a nurse came out of the room that Mia had gone into, pushing a wheelchair with Mia in it. Her face was as white as a sheet, head leaning slightly to one side, eyes partially closed. Christian's head snapped up and he instinctively rose to his feet.
"Oh my god, Mi," Andy said, getting up and going to Mia before Christian could take a step. "What happened to her?" He asked, looking frantically to the nurse.
"She had to give a lot of blood," the nurse explained. "She's just going to be a little weak for a while,"
"A little?" Mia snorted softly. Andy kneeled down beside her, placing a hand on her arm.
"Are you okay?" He asked. Mia tried to nod but that required too much energy.
"Yeah," she said.
"You look like hell." Nathan muttered.
"I feel like it too...But it'll help Kira." She replied.
"There's some orange juice over at the nurse's station," the nurse said. "Raising her blood sugar will help her feel better."
"I'll grab that." Andy commented as he stood and headed towards the nurses station. The nurse nodded before she placed a hand on Mia's shoulder and left them, going back behind the doors. Christian looked to see Andy was still speaking to the nurse at the station to get the juice. He took his chance to take the seat next to where the wheelchair was parked. He sat down and placed a hand on her leg. Mia titled her head to look at him.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked. Mia gave him a watery smile and closed her eyes.
"Yeah," she breathed out. "Just a little tired."
"Do you want to stretch out on the chairs?" He asked softly. Mia shook her head.
"If I stretch out, I'll fall asleep," she said, opening her eyes. "I don't want to fall asleep until we know for sure Kira's okay," she said. Christian went to place a hand on her cheek but stopped himself as he saw Andy making his way back over to them.
"You should try and sleep Mia...You'll feel better." He muttered as he moved back from her.
"Here we are," Andy said with a smile as he approached Mia. "Orange juice…fresh from the container," he smiled as he handed her the plastic cup. Mia slowly rolled her eyes to look at him.
"Andy, babe, I can barely lift my head up, how do you expect me to take a cup from you?" She asked, her tone a mixture of sweet and tired.
"Oh right." He replied. Christian rolled his eyes and took the cup from Andy.
"I've got it." He spoke as he put the cup to Mia's lips and tilted it towards her. Andy opened his mouth to object, not liking how close Christian was being to Mia but Nathan, observing the whole scene spoke up.
"How about we track down some disgustingly sugary vending machine snacks for her?" He asked, standing up. Andy looked at him. Mia swallowed a small sip of orange juice she had taken and chuckled.
"Vending machine snacks, yum," she said.
"Better than nothing." Trent replied.
"How 'bout Christian tracks them down and I take over-"
"Andy for god's sake just go with your boyfriend," Mia sighed. Christian bit the inside of his cheek to keep from chuckling. Andy raised his eyebrows at Mia's response.
"Ok, fine." He replied. Nathan smiled and went over to Andy, sliding his hand into his as they went to walk off. Mia mouthed a secret 'thank you' to Nathan as he passed by her before Christian pressed the cup to her lips again. She took another sip of the juice before sighing and closing her eyes. She forced her arm to slide off the armrest of the wheelchair and placed her hand on Christian's leg.
"Thanks," she said.
"Feeling any better?" He asked.
"Getting there," she replied.
"Good." Christian replied, squeezing her hand gently. "Have some more juice." He told her. Mia nodded and took another sip as he pressed the cup to her lips.
"I'm surprised they didn't have you stay back there until you got your strength back," Trent commented. Mia looked over to him.
"They were, but I didn't want to stay back there doing nothing all by myself like that," she said with a small attempt of a shrug.
"You shouldn't have done that Mia...You need your strength." The comment came from Conner, whose eyes never left the OR doors.
"I'm fine," she insisted. "Why use up a bed for someone who might really need it?"
"You mean like you?" Ethan asked. Mia rolled her eyes.
"I'm fine," she said again. "I'm already starting to feel a little better. In another few minutes I'll be pink as a pistol."
"Uh huh...Sure you will." Christian replied, tipping the cup towards her again. "You're not going anywhere fast." He murmured lightly. Mia finished off the contents of the cup in a few more sips. "Do you want some more juice?" He asked. Mia shook her head slowly.
"No...I'm good for now." She replied. Christian nodded and set the empty cup on the floor. He looked over her shoulder and saw Andy and Nathan returning. He sighed and sat back.
"Oh look whose back," he muttered. Mia squeezed his leg lightly.
"It'll be okay." She smiled softly. Andy and Nathan approached the group.
"We come baring powdered doughnuts, cinnamon roll packs, Heresy bars and the whole array of Mountain Dew flavors," Nathan announced. Mia chuckled.
"Uh guys, the goal is to raise my blood sugar, not to put me in a sugar coma," she said.
"I figured if you didn't eat them all, we would." Andy replied, teasing her. He went over and sat at one of the empty chairs beside her and nudged her chair back towards him, causing her hand to slip off of Christian's leg. Andy placed his arm load of snacks on the empty chair beside him. "So, which would you like to start off with?" He asked.
"I guess a Hershey bar." She replied. Andy grinned.
"Wise choice," he said as he picked up a chocolate bar and opened it up for her. Christian rolled his eyes to himself and stood up.
"Guess I'll go throw this out," he mumbled as he picked the empty juice cup from the floor.
"You do that," Andy said uninterestedly as he broke off a piece of the chocolate bar and brought it to Mia's lips. Mia sighed and reached her hand up, taking the piece from him.
"I've got it," she muttered as she popped the piece in her mouth.
"Aww, getting your strength back already?" He teased. Mia glared at him.
"Use that tone again, and I might have to hurt you." She replied sweetly.
"Well, mental note, low blood sugar equals cranky Mia," Andy mused.
"Funny how she wasn't cranky while you were gone," Christian muttered as he walked off to the nearest trash can.
"Really? I'd think anyone would be plenty cranky around you," Andy replied. Christian came back and crossed his arms over his chest. He opened his mouth to reply but the pleading look Mia was sending him made him stop.
"Hey if you two have some sort of issue you need to settle take it outside," Ethan ordered. Christian held up his hands.
"Sorry Ethan." He replied. Andy simply returned his attention to Mia and broke off another piece of chocolate, handing it to her. Mia grabbed the piece out of his hand and shoved it in her mouth, ignoring Andy as the chocolate melted in her mouth.
"Do you want something to drink?" Nathan asked, indicating the two bottles of soda he hand in his hands and the two Andy had been carried. Mia looked at him and shrugged.
"Yeah, sure, whatever," she said. Nathan unscrewed the lid of one of the bottles and handed it to Mia.
"You good?" He questioned. "Or..." He finished, trailing off. Mia smiled softly, touched at the fact that he was actually willing to help her, but not baby her about it.
"No I'm good." She replied, taking the bottle from him. She took a sip and sighed, holding the bottle down on her lap. "I can already count the cavities all of this is going to cause," she chuckled. Nate grinned.
"I'm sure they won't be too horrific." He chuckled. Mia smiled and took another sip of soda.
"Besides, you haven't even started on the mini doughnuts yet, so don't start thinking about cavities," Andy chuckled. Mia rolled her eyes.
"Guess I better get started then." She remarked, holding her hand out for the mini doughnuts. Andy grinned and picked up the pack of powdered doughnuts, opening it up and placing one in her hand. Christian watched the pair closely realizing this was how it was going to be—him and Mia sneaking little moments that would be totally disregarded and ended the second anyone else, namely Andy, showed up. He wondered if he could actually settle for that. If it was worth it.
"Mmm, powdery," Mia muttered as she plopped the small treat in her mouth.
"And delicious." Nathan commented, his hand reaching for one. Andy playfully smacked his hand away.
"Did you just give blood?" He asked. Mia sighed and sent Nathan an apologetic look as he pulled his hand away. She picked up a doughnut from the pack Andy was holding and held it out to Nathan.
"No, but I'm sure he paid for these," Mia replied, "So he deserves some sugary goodness."
"Thank you Mia," Nathan said, accepting the doughnut. "I'm beginning to wonder if I'm dating the right friend here," Nathan teased, looking at Andy as he put the doughnut in his mouth. Andy just stuck out his tongue in response. Mia giggled.
"Aw, thanks Nathan. But I'm taken," she said. Andy looked at her. Mia blinked. She had meant to just think that but was too caught up in her laughing she forgot to censor herself. She forced another laugh and grabbed another doughnut. "By these fattening powdery treats," she quickly added, shoving it in her mouth. The group fell back into silence once more, chatting every once every so often. Nearly another hour later, Dr. Wells walked back through the operating room doors and motioned for Tommy to come with him. The others looked at him as he stood up and walked over to the doctor.
"If the doctor tells him they need more blood, I'm throwing a cinnamon roll at his head," Mia muttered. The other's simply watched Tommy and the doctor closely. The doctor and Tommy spoke for a few minutes before Tommy smiled and nodded, thanking the doctor as he walked back into the OR.
"Well?" Conner asked impatiently as Tommy returned to them.
"The doctor said Kira's out of surgery, she's okay. They just want to start the transfusion and get it going for a bit before moving her to recovery." A collective sigh of relieve sprang from the group at the news.
"Thank god." Ethan muttered.
"Can we see her?" Conner asked.
"Not yet," Tommy said. "They want to set her up in the recovery ward first." Conner's face dropped slightly and Trent put his hand on Conner's shoulder.
"You'll be able to see her soon." He reassured his friend. Conner sighed, nodding.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right," he muttered. Ethan looked over at the four teens.
"Well since it sounds like Kira's on the mend, there's no sense in you guys wasting anymore of your Saturday," he said lightly, giving them a smile.
"Uh yeah, girl who just unloaded a Buick's worth of blood isn't leaving 'till she sees Kira for herself," Mia asserted as she took a sip of her Mountain Dew. Ethan sighed. There was just no getting rid of them.
"And since I'm that girl's ride, guess I'm staying too," Andy said. "And since I'm his ride too," he said, pointing to Nathan, "he can't really go anywhere. But hey, Christian, you can-"
"Andy maybe you should go, I can just call one of my brothers to come get me," Mia said, getting a tad bit irritated by Andy's attitude.
"Huh?" Andy replied.
"Ok here's the deal." Trent spoke. "Everyone can stay until we see that Kira is out of surgery... And then you four will be going home." Mia opened her mouth to reply but Trent quickly continued. "Mia, we're all very grateful that you 'unloaded a Buick's worth of blood' for Kira, we really are. But right now it's a-"
"Ranger thing?" Mia asked. "Well," she said with a small tilt of her head and a shrug of her shoulder. "In case you've forgotten the four of us are rangers now too. So, as much as you guys are Kira's family, I guess now we are too."
"We understand that," Ethan said, taking the diplomatic approach. "And we're not saying we don't want you here-"
"Sounds like it," Christian cut in. Ethan sighed.
"Fine that's exactly what we're saying," Conner said, rolling his eyes. "So just go home and stay out of trouble."
"That'd direct." Nathan commented. Tommy sighed and rubbed a tired hand over his face.
"Look, you guys can visit her tomorrow if you want but right now just let us have some time with her," he said.
"Please." Conner spoke, his voice cracking on the last part of the word. Mia sighed.
"Fine," she said, shaking her head. "I guess as long Vengabitch's bragging rights were exaggerated that's all I need to know," she shrugged. She was in fact still worried about Kira and wanted to stay but if this was going to continue being an adults versus teenagers fight she'd rather not waste all the effort on an impasse. Ethan sighed and nodded.
"Thank you...We'll see you guys tomorrow." He commented.
"Guess we'll just go now," Mia muttered as she went to push herself up out of the wheelchair. Tommy looked at the teens.
"Thank you." He commented. The teens just nodded. Andy shot a glance at Mia.
"I'll push you out." He spoke lightly.
"I can walk, thanks," Mia replied as she stood up. She blew out a puff of air as her head swam a bit. She stumbled back and placed a hand on the side of her head. Christian stepped forward and took hold of her arm to steady her.
"You sure about that?" He asked. Mia sighed.
"I'm fine." She replied. Christian led her back to the chair.
"Just let Andy wheel you out," he said, setting her back on the chair. Mia looked at him as he stood back. "Guess I'll be going," he said to the others as he moved towards the stairs. Mia watched him leave and looked down.
"Alright then, where are the elevators?" Andy pondered aloud as he took hold of the grips on the chair.
"Down the hall and to the left." Conner replied. Andy nodded and pushed the chair along with following behind them. The former rangers watched them walk towards the elevator. They waited only a few seconds before they disappeared inside and headed downstairs. About twenty minutes later, the doors to the OR opened, two nurses pulling a bed behind them. The four former rangers sprang to their feet as they watched Kira come into view. The two nurses pulled the gurney behind them as others crowded around the bed, two pushing along an IV stand on either side of Kira. Dr. Wells walked out behind the gurney.
"I'm going to have to ask you all to step away from the gurney...We need room to move." Tommy nodded as he and Trent stepped back. Ethan took hold of Conner's arm and pulled him back along with him as he joined Trent and Tommy.
"Is she….she okay?" Conner asked in a small voice. Dr. Wells nodded.
"She's responding well to the blood transfusion," he informed.
"Thank god." Conner muttered.
"We've got her on a low dose of morphine to help with the broken ribs," Dr. Wells informed as the nurses wheeled the gurney towards the elevator.
"Is there anything else that can be done?" Conner asked, worried she was getting inadequate care. Dr. Wells shook his head.
"Unfortunately rib fractures cannot be fixed in a cast like one would use for a broken arm or leg. They have to mend on their own," he said. The doctor cast a look over to see the nurses pushing the gurney into the elevator. "You all can make your way up to the recovery ward waiting room, it's two floors up," he told them before going off to join the nurses and Kira in the elevator. Conner sighed as he watched the elevator doors close and he got his last glimpse of Kira. Ethan placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.
"She's okay," he said. Conner nodded.
"Yeah…." He said softly. He closed his eyes. "Yeah, she's okay," he repeated to himself.
"Lets head upstairs." Trent commented. Tommy, Conner and Ethan nodded and the four made their way to the row of elevators. Tommy pressed the up button and they waited for a few minutes in silence as the elevator climbed up from the first floor. The doors slid open as the elevator arrived and the four filed in. Trent hit the button to the recovery ward and they all stood back as they waited for the doors to close and the elevator to move. The elevator slowly climbed up two floors to the 6th floor. The doors opened and the group filed out. They came out just in time to see the doctor and nurses file out of one of the other elevators with Kira in tow.
"I guess we just go and wait over there," Trent said, gesturing to the waiting area, "until someone tells us we can go see Kira." Tommy nodded.
"I'd assume." He replied. The four made their way to the chairs in the waiting area and sat down to wait being allowed to see Kira. The gurney made its way to one of the rooms and disappeared as the nurses went to setting Kira and the IVs up. The only had to wait a few moments before Dr. Wells returned.
"We're going to keep Ms. Ford here on the recovery floor until she wakes up. After she wakes up, we'll be moving her to the ICU to monitor her recovery closely."
"ICU? As in intensive care?" Conner asked, surprised and fearful. "I thought she was okay." Dr. Wells looked at him.
"It's just a precaution. Once she wakes up she has to be very careful due to her ribs. I'd rather have her be watched closely in ICU than take any chances." Ethan nodded.
"Sounds reasonable." He agreed. Tommy nodded as well.
"Yes, thank you doctor," Tommy said. Dr. Wells nodded.
"One of the nurses will be out to let you go see your cousin," he said. "I'm sorry I have to go to a surgery consultation. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to have me paged."
"Will do." Trent replied as the Doctor walked away.