"That was fun!" Shinbo called out to the street, half drunk. "to bad the strip club was closed."
James rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he muttered, grabbing Shinbo's car keys. They walked (well, Shinbo was hopping parking meters) from the bar to Shinbo's car. "I'm driving," James announced, waving the keys that Shinbo was checking his jacket for.
"Dude, I'm fine!" his friend insisted, cheeks as red as his hair.
"I'm not letting you crash us into a tree, come on," James told him, opening the car door. He liked driving, it was relaxing and he wished he had a car of his own to use instead of Shinbo's.
-
"Who is she?" the nurse asked the scruffy man. He was a hiker, one of a group of five that arrived earlier that day with an unconscious girl in tow.
He shrugged. "I dunno," he started to explain. "We were hiking, and got off the trail...WAY off the trail. We'd set up camp at who knows where, and I guess she smelled the food-wild thing, that one-but she comes over. Marty over there, with the black eye, tried to talk to her and she jumped him."
The nurse looked concerned. "I wonder how long she was up there, I mean, judging by the state of her clothes..."
"Speaking of which," the man reminded her, "what was left of those clothes is clearly an outdated Rocket uniform-she's dangerous."
The Nurse looked thoughtful and worried. "We'll have to see," she said. "If she has been up there for a long time, it might not be her fault-she could be crazy."
A candy striper came out of the girl's room, and handed the nurse a chart. She looked at the thing for a minute or two, seeming to be concentrating hard, until she finally turned back to the man. "Mr. Basho, we're keeping her sedated and moving her to a bigger hospital in Jhoto," she told him. "I know you and your men have done a brave and heroic thing by saving her, but I think that if she was surrounded by press...well we don't know what state her mind will be in, so please, could we keep this quiet for a bit?"
Basho grinned. "That's no problem at all ma'am."
Shinbo had a hangover and was presently on the floor of James's bathroom, trying not to throw up. He had too much to think about in his aching head, and it didn't help that all the money he'd spent on drinks last night had literally gone down the toilet.
Looking back, it was a stupid decision to go out drinking last night. That made him too sick to go out tonight, the night that poor James would benefit most from getting drunk and forgetting certain things.
Shinbo knew what today was. A year after he met James, he'd found out the cause of the man's downfall, and today was the anniversary of it.
Three years ago today was the last time he'd seen that Jessie person.
James always got depressed this time of year, and Shinbo was at a loss to make the guy snap out of his daze. The hangover wasn't helping much either-the minute James had finally opened the door (looking like a train wreck) instead of offering some comforting words, Shinbo had rushed into the bathroom and it was now two hours later.
The medicine seemed to finally be taking effect (he hadn't puked in the last tem minutes, that was always a good sign), and he risked resurfacing into the living room.
James sat on the couch leaning over the coffee table and not blinking as he quickly changed the channels. Over and over again, he kept circling around the stations at a crazy speed. Shinbo knew that he was watching for any sign on the news of his friend being found-poor guy, it was sad.
"James!" he said, swaying a little but keeping his balance. "Let's go out and do something-you can't just sit around here-"
"Can't," James said quickly, not looking at him. "I might miss something."
Shinbo crossed his arms. This time, he knew he'd be unable to get James to hang out. Not today. It was so unhealthy for the guy to obsess like this, even three years after she was gone. Maybe if he just got a little air to clear his mind, but he didn't look like he was going anywhere. James sat, glued to his seat, and refused to take his eyes off the screen for a moment.
This required a more devious plan, or as Shinbo referred to it "tough love". He reached for the car keys James had taken from him last night (he'd taken the bus this morning). "Well," he said in a melodramatically defeated tone, "I guess I'll just drive home then."
It took a moment for James to register this, and when he did he immediately snatched the keys back (which was amazing because he still had his eyes on the TV). "Oh know," he said, still watching the monitor, "You can't even stand up straight." Shinbo (purposely) slouched even more as he said this.
"Well I have things to do, and the bus won't come for another half hour," he said, putting his acting skills to work. "If you have so little faith in my driving ability, than you could drive me home but you're busy as I see..." he trailed off there, knowing what would happen.
James was very overprotective of his friends, after loosing his closest it made sense. He wasn't about to let Shinbo drive just yet, so he regretfully turned away from the television. "I'm not staying," he said. "You don't have enough channels, I have to check them all, and something's bound to have..."
"Okay!" Shinbo shouted quickly, hurting his own head with the noise he'd made. "Let's go then."
Dr. Kenson had seen the girl wake up. She'd opened her eyes slowly, then jerked up, disconnecting her IV in the process. She'd crouched on her hospital bed, looking ferocious as she took in the atmosphere of the unfamiliar place. She slowly looked at each thing in the room, and at the scared nurses, and immediately was calmer. She'd collapsed on her stomach, and glared at the room from that position, completely silent.
Dr. Kenson had no background file for this girl. Nobody knew who she was, only that she'd been found in the Andes wilderness and had apparently been there for some time.
"Hello, Miss," he tried, slowly approaching her. She gave him a look that, if he didn't know any batter, seemed patronizing. "I-am-Doc-tor-Ken-son-" he tired slowly. She raised an eyebrow and gave the look of someone who was amused, but Kenson dismissed it. She'd been in the wild for so long, she probably couldn't understand him.
He turned to a nurse. "Mel, could you get some x-rays? And I want you to call the other healthcare chains to see if they have her file. Also, we'll need a blood test..."
As he was talking, nobody noticed the girl sneak out the door.
She walked into the hall, holding her hospital gown closed with one hand. A receptionist's desk was just outside her room, at the entrance to the patient's wing, and she headed for it. The nurse who sat behind the counter had her back to the girl, fiddling with some files and grumbling to herself. She didn't see the girl pick up the phone.
The girl stared at the receiver in front of her face, scolding herself. 'The number's too old, it won't work,' she told herself. 'You shouldn't be bothering him after all this time' she felt horrible. 'You're too dangerous, you can't be around people' but she'd go crazy if she stayed away from people. Why not give it a try... 'He could get hurt if they're still after you' but who else could she call? Hating herself, she dialed the number.
James's cell phone went off while they were on 10th street. Shinbo glared at the thing. "Don't answer it," he told James. "It's another telemarketer, you're only fooling yourself."
James knew what he was talking about. He'd kept his cell phone running (paid for and everything) just in case Meowth, Mondo, or even Jessie might contact him. It hardly ever rang, and when it did it was a wrong number, or somebody selling something, and it always left James feeling depressed.
Shinbo was probably right. It really wasn't worth the disappointment, but still...
He remembered the St. Anne. She'd said she wouldn't leave him, and ever since then she'd been there when he'd nearly given up. And he wouldn't give up now. He picked up the phone. ("You're crazy" Shinbo groaned.)
At first there was an odd silence. He could hear background noise, but nothing from the immediate area of the speaker. "Hello?" he tried, unsure.
He heard somebody inhale sharply, and then slowly, as if it hurt to talk, he heard "James?"
Shoibo was suddenly jerked forward, and he heard a crashing sound. "Dude!" he yelled. They'd just hit a mailbox. "I know I was drunk at the time, but YOU were the one worried that I would crash..." But James wasn't paying any attention to him.
James was leaning over in his seat, phone to one ear, and hand pressed against the other to keep out the wound of the honking cars behind them. He seemed to be in a sort of shock, and at first Shinbo thought it was the crash, but James was focused on the phone. "Jess...?"
James rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he muttered, grabbing Shinbo's car keys. They walked (well, Shinbo was hopping parking meters) from the bar to Shinbo's car. "I'm driving," James announced, waving the keys that Shinbo was checking his jacket for.
"Dude, I'm fine!" his friend insisted, cheeks as red as his hair.
"I'm not letting you crash us into a tree, come on," James told him, opening the car door. He liked driving, it was relaxing and he wished he had a car of his own to use instead of Shinbo's.
-
"Who is she?" the nurse asked the scruffy man. He was a hiker, one of a group of five that arrived earlier that day with an unconscious girl in tow.
He shrugged. "I dunno," he started to explain. "We were hiking, and got off the trail...WAY off the trail. We'd set up camp at who knows where, and I guess she smelled the food-wild thing, that one-but she comes over. Marty over there, with the black eye, tried to talk to her and she jumped him."
The nurse looked concerned. "I wonder how long she was up there, I mean, judging by the state of her clothes..."
"Speaking of which," the man reminded her, "what was left of those clothes is clearly an outdated Rocket uniform-she's dangerous."
The Nurse looked thoughtful and worried. "We'll have to see," she said. "If she has been up there for a long time, it might not be her fault-she could be crazy."
A candy striper came out of the girl's room, and handed the nurse a chart. She looked at the thing for a minute or two, seeming to be concentrating hard, until she finally turned back to the man. "Mr. Basho, we're keeping her sedated and moving her to a bigger hospital in Jhoto," she told him. "I know you and your men have done a brave and heroic thing by saving her, but I think that if she was surrounded by press...well we don't know what state her mind will be in, so please, could we keep this quiet for a bit?"
Basho grinned. "That's no problem at all ma'am."
Shinbo had a hangover and was presently on the floor of James's bathroom, trying not to throw up. He had too much to think about in his aching head, and it didn't help that all the money he'd spent on drinks last night had literally gone down the toilet.
Looking back, it was a stupid decision to go out drinking last night. That made him too sick to go out tonight, the night that poor James would benefit most from getting drunk and forgetting certain things.
Shinbo knew what today was. A year after he met James, he'd found out the cause of the man's downfall, and today was the anniversary of it.
Three years ago today was the last time he'd seen that Jessie person.
James always got depressed this time of year, and Shinbo was at a loss to make the guy snap out of his daze. The hangover wasn't helping much either-the minute James had finally opened the door (looking like a train wreck) instead of offering some comforting words, Shinbo had rushed into the bathroom and it was now two hours later.
The medicine seemed to finally be taking effect (he hadn't puked in the last tem minutes, that was always a good sign), and he risked resurfacing into the living room.
James sat on the couch leaning over the coffee table and not blinking as he quickly changed the channels. Over and over again, he kept circling around the stations at a crazy speed. Shinbo knew that he was watching for any sign on the news of his friend being found-poor guy, it was sad.
"James!" he said, swaying a little but keeping his balance. "Let's go out and do something-you can't just sit around here-"
"Can't," James said quickly, not looking at him. "I might miss something."
Shinbo crossed his arms. This time, he knew he'd be unable to get James to hang out. Not today. It was so unhealthy for the guy to obsess like this, even three years after she was gone. Maybe if he just got a little air to clear his mind, but he didn't look like he was going anywhere. James sat, glued to his seat, and refused to take his eyes off the screen for a moment.
This required a more devious plan, or as Shinbo referred to it "tough love". He reached for the car keys James had taken from him last night (he'd taken the bus this morning). "Well," he said in a melodramatically defeated tone, "I guess I'll just drive home then."
It took a moment for James to register this, and when he did he immediately snatched the keys back (which was amazing because he still had his eyes on the TV). "Oh know," he said, still watching the monitor, "You can't even stand up straight." Shinbo (purposely) slouched even more as he said this.
"Well I have things to do, and the bus won't come for another half hour," he said, putting his acting skills to work. "If you have so little faith in my driving ability, than you could drive me home but you're busy as I see..." he trailed off there, knowing what would happen.
James was very overprotective of his friends, after loosing his closest it made sense. He wasn't about to let Shinbo drive just yet, so he regretfully turned away from the television. "I'm not staying," he said. "You don't have enough channels, I have to check them all, and something's bound to have..."
"Okay!" Shinbo shouted quickly, hurting his own head with the noise he'd made. "Let's go then."
Dr. Kenson had seen the girl wake up. She'd opened her eyes slowly, then jerked up, disconnecting her IV in the process. She'd crouched on her hospital bed, looking ferocious as she took in the atmosphere of the unfamiliar place. She slowly looked at each thing in the room, and at the scared nurses, and immediately was calmer. She'd collapsed on her stomach, and glared at the room from that position, completely silent.
Dr. Kenson had no background file for this girl. Nobody knew who she was, only that she'd been found in the Andes wilderness and had apparently been there for some time.
"Hello, Miss," he tried, slowly approaching her. She gave him a look that, if he didn't know any batter, seemed patronizing. "I-am-Doc-tor-Ken-son-" he tired slowly. She raised an eyebrow and gave the look of someone who was amused, but Kenson dismissed it. She'd been in the wild for so long, she probably couldn't understand him.
He turned to a nurse. "Mel, could you get some x-rays? And I want you to call the other healthcare chains to see if they have her file. Also, we'll need a blood test..."
As he was talking, nobody noticed the girl sneak out the door.
She walked into the hall, holding her hospital gown closed with one hand. A receptionist's desk was just outside her room, at the entrance to the patient's wing, and she headed for it. The nurse who sat behind the counter had her back to the girl, fiddling with some files and grumbling to herself. She didn't see the girl pick up the phone.
The girl stared at the receiver in front of her face, scolding herself. 'The number's too old, it won't work,' she told herself. 'You shouldn't be bothering him after all this time' she felt horrible. 'You're too dangerous, you can't be around people' but she'd go crazy if she stayed away from people. Why not give it a try... 'He could get hurt if they're still after you' but who else could she call? Hating herself, she dialed the number.
James's cell phone went off while they were on 10th street. Shinbo glared at the thing. "Don't answer it," he told James. "It's another telemarketer, you're only fooling yourself."
James knew what he was talking about. He'd kept his cell phone running (paid for and everything) just in case Meowth, Mondo, or even Jessie might contact him. It hardly ever rang, and when it did it was a wrong number, or somebody selling something, and it always left James feeling depressed.
Shinbo was probably right. It really wasn't worth the disappointment, but still...
He remembered the St. Anne. She'd said she wouldn't leave him, and ever since then she'd been there when he'd nearly given up. And he wouldn't give up now. He picked up the phone. ("You're crazy" Shinbo groaned.)
At first there was an odd silence. He could hear background noise, but nothing from the immediate area of the speaker. "Hello?" he tried, unsure.
He heard somebody inhale sharply, and then slowly, as if it hurt to talk, he heard "James?"
Shoibo was suddenly jerked forward, and he heard a crashing sound. "Dude!" he yelled. They'd just hit a mailbox. "I know I was drunk at the time, but YOU were the one worried that I would crash..." But James wasn't paying any attention to him.
James was leaning over in his seat, phone to one ear, and hand pressed against the other to keep out the wound of the honking cars behind them. He seemed to be in a sort of shock, and at first Shinbo thought it was the crash, but James was focused on the phone. "Jess...?"