When Alex, Rachel and Kat made it to the hospital, it wasn't hard to find
Nick's room again.....they just followed the sound of shouting.
"I said, I want outta here!"
"Mr Boyle --"
"Don't Mr Boyle me, I said I want outta here."
Rachel and Alex shared a look that was unique to the friends and loved ones of Nick Boyle. Sort of amusement mixed with exasperation. Pushing open his door, the saw a pale looking Nick, sitting up in bed and trying to remove the I.V line with his cast clad arm. He wasn't having much luck, but he wasn't giving up, either. Rachel decided that she had to put a stop to this right now.
"Nick! What on Earth do you think you're doing?"
Nick and the unfortunate nurse he was arguing with looked up, and Rachel was hard pressed not to laugh at their expressions. Kat was not so discreet, and she let out a giggle at the look of determination on Nick's face and the look of total frustration -- another familar expression to the friends and loved ones of Nick Boyle -- on the nurse's.
"Rach, thank God you're here. 'Nurse Nazi' here is refusing to give me my clothes so I can get outta here."
Rachel took a moment to think of all of the things she had learnt during her psychiatry training. Patience was topmost on the list, and she had a feeling she'd need bucketloads to deal with this.
"Nick....you've just had surgery to repair the break in your arm.....you also suffered a concussion and short term memory loss. You aren't ready to be discharged yet."
"Rachel, I feel fine. Now, I don't know what happened, that's true. But how the hell am I goin' to find out if I'm cooped up in here?"
The nurse, who had stayed silent since Rachel had tried reasoning with Nick, walked forward now. "I trust you have this under control now, Dr Corrigan?"
Rachel nodded. "Thanks Wendy."
As Wendy exited the room, Alex turned a questioning gaze on Rachel.
"I've worked with Wendy before when I've attended patients here," she offered as explantion. "Now, Nick.....what do you think you're doing?"
He sighed, finally giving up on the I.V. "What do you think I'm doing? Something put me in the hospital, and I wanna know what it was."
Alex moved forward, pushing Nick back onto the bed. "I'll do you a deal. If you lie down before you pass out, I'll tell you what it is you want to know."
He considered for a moment, before nodding. "Okay, fine."
"Alright then," Alex said. She pulled up a chair, watching as Kat sat at the head of the bed, closest to Nick, who gave her a smile which she returned. Rachel sat at the foot of the bed, sharing a look with Alex.
"Okay," Alex started. "How much do you remember?"
"I remember the case we were working on......something about a pendant that summoned a demon, who then somehow honed in on the pendants location. Derek was brought in by the parents of some kids who discovered it, I think. I remember.....I remember that we planned something....but I don't know what. And then nothing, 'til I woke up here."
Rachel nodded. "Like I said last night, head injuries are unpredictable. Concussions often result in memory loss preceding and in some cases following the injury. You may not ever get those memories back."
"Okay, great. So does someone wanna fill me in?"
Alex sighed. "Right. Anyway, the plan that you mentioned......we decided that the only way to get the demon and hopefully banish it, was to summon it, and hope that once in this world it zeroed in on the location of the pendant. So, that's what we did. Or you and Derek, anyway. I was monitoring from the control room. Derek said the chant, and we waited. When nothing happened, he did it again. The next thing I know, this wind kicked up and the monitors went blank ......I heard Derek shout something over the earpiece, and then the mics went down. I rushed down to the Foyer, but by the time I got there, it was all over."
"That's not all though, right?" Nick guessed.
"No, it's not." Alex looked him right in the eye, knowing how he would react to her next news. "When I got there.....you were the only person I found."
Nick frowned. "What do you mean, the only one?"
"I mean.....that there was no demon.....and no Derek. You were injured, so I called the Evac team and we were taken to the hospital. But that isn't all.....before you passed out, you said something. You said, 'It
took Derek. It needs him.' You were out cold before I could ask you about it, and I didn't even remember you'd said it until later. Anyway, at the hospital they rushed you away from me.
That's when I called Rachel, who came right over here."
Nick sat up quickly. "So let me get this straight.......while I've been lying in this bed, being tortured by the so called medical staff of this hospital....Derek's been missing. Possibly taken by a demon....and you didn't think to tell me?!"
"Nick," Rachel reasoned. "You were unconscious for most of the time.....there's nothing you could have done."
"Maybe not, " he allowed. "But there's something I can do now. I need my clothes."
Pulling back the blankets, he threw his legs over the side of the bed. He was dressed in a pair of flimsy hospital pyjamas, and Rachel knew that if she didn't stop him now, he would march out of the hospital in them.
"Nick, stop. Do you really think you're going to be any use to Derek in this state? Your body has been through a traumatic event, you have to let it rest."
"Rachel, I'm alive. Which is more than we can say for certain Derek is. We have to do something."
"Yeah, I agree. But you'll be of no help if you collapse from exhaustion. You could even aggravate your injuries, forcing you to spend even more time in here. Is that what you want?"
He sighed, his body slumping wearily in his sitting position. "No, it's not. But I can't sit here, doing nothing."
After having stayed silent since their entrance, Kat spoke. "You're not doing nothing, Nick. You're getting better, for Derek. The sooner you're well, the sooner you can get out of here. Then you can kick some demon as -- "
At a firm look from Rachel, she changed her phrasing. "Butt. You can kick some demon butt."
He seemed unconvinced, so she kicked it up a notch. "Please, Nick. I don't want anything else to happen to you."
Nick looked at her, and saw the geniune worry in her eyes. "Okay......I'll stay. But I can only tolerate this place for so long before I go crazy, you know." He directed the last part at Rachel, and almost missed Alex's comment.
"*Go* crazy?"
"Hey," he warned. "Watch it Moreau."
Kat giggled as the others smiled, before Nick asked one last question. "What do you think I meant?"
"What?" Rachel asked.
"What Alex said. She told us that I said, 'It
took Derek. It needs him.' What do you think I meant?"
Rachel shook her head. "I don't know, honey. I don't know."
************
"I said, I want outta here!"
"Mr Boyle --"
"Don't Mr Boyle me, I said I want outta here."
Rachel and Alex shared a look that was unique to the friends and loved ones of Nick Boyle. Sort of amusement mixed with exasperation. Pushing open his door, the saw a pale looking Nick, sitting up in bed and trying to remove the I.V line with his cast clad arm. He wasn't having much luck, but he wasn't giving up, either. Rachel decided that she had to put a stop to this right now.
"Nick! What on Earth do you think you're doing?"
Nick and the unfortunate nurse he was arguing with looked up, and Rachel was hard pressed not to laugh at their expressions. Kat was not so discreet, and she let out a giggle at the look of determination on Nick's face and the look of total frustration -- another familar expression to the friends and loved ones of Nick Boyle -- on the nurse's.
"Rach, thank God you're here. 'Nurse Nazi' here is refusing to give me my clothes so I can get outta here."
Rachel took a moment to think of all of the things she had learnt during her psychiatry training. Patience was topmost on the list, and she had a feeling she'd need bucketloads to deal with this.
"Nick....you've just had surgery to repair the break in your arm.....you also suffered a concussion and short term memory loss. You aren't ready to be discharged yet."
"Rachel, I feel fine. Now, I don't know what happened, that's true. But how the hell am I goin' to find out if I'm cooped up in here?"
The nurse, who had stayed silent since Rachel had tried reasoning with Nick, walked forward now. "I trust you have this under control now, Dr Corrigan?"
Rachel nodded. "Thanks Wendy."
As Wendy exited the room, Alex turned a questioning gaze on Rachel.
"I've worked with Wendy before when I've attended patients here," she offered as explantion. "Now, Nick.....what do you think you're doing?"
He sighed, finally giving up on the I.V. "What do you think I'm doing? Something put me in the hospital, and I wanna know what it was."
Alex moved forward, pushing Nick back onto the bed. "I'll do you a deal. If you lie down before you pass out, I'll tell you what it is you want to know."
He considered for a moment, before nodding. "Okay, fine."
"Alright then," Alex said. She pulled up a chair, watching as Kat sat at the head of the bed, closest to Nick, who gave her a smile which she returned. Rachel sat at the foot of the bed, sharing a look with Alex.
"Okay," Alex started. "How much do you remember?"
"I remember the case we were working on......something about a pendant that summoned a demon, who then somehow honed in on the pendants location. Derek was brought in by the parents of some kids who discovered it, I think. I remember.....I remember that we planned something....but I don't know what. And then nothing, 'til I woke up here."
Rachel nodded. "Like I said last night, head injuries are unpredictable. Concussions often result in memory loss preceding and in some cases following the injury. You may not ever get those memories back."
"Okay, great. So does someone wanna fill me in?"
Alex sighed. "Right. Anyway, the plan that you mentioned......we decided that the only way to get the demon and hopefully banish it, was to summon it, and hope that once in this world it zeroed in on the location of the pendant. So, that's what we did. Or you and Derek, anyway. I was monitoring from the control room. Derek said the chant, and we waited. When nothing happened, he did it again. The next thing I know, this wind kicked up and the monitors went blank ......I heard Derek shout something over the earpiece, and then the mics went down. I rushed down to the Foyer, but by the time I got there, it was all over."
"That's not all though, right?" Nick guessed.
"No, it's not." Alex looked him right in the eye, knowing how he would react to her next news. "When I got there.....you were the only person I found."
Nick frowned. "What do you mean, the only one?"
"I mean.....that there was no demon.....and no Derek. You were injured, so I called the Evac team and we were taken to the hospital. But that isn't all.....before you passed out, you said something. You said, 'It
took Derek. It needs him.' You were out cold before I could ask you about it, and I didn't even remember you'd said it until later. Anyway, at the hospital they rushed you away from me.
That's when I called Rachel, who came right over here."
Nick sat up quickly. "So let me get this straight.......while I've been lying in this bed, being tortured by the so called medical staff of this hospital....Derek's been missing. Possibly taken by a demon....and you didn't think to tell me?!"
"Nick," Rachel reasoned. "You were unconscious for most of the time.....there's nothing you could have done."
"Maybe not, " he allowed. "But there's something I can do now. I need my clothes."
Pulling back the blankets, he threw his legs over the side of the bed. He was dressed in a pair of flimsy hospital pyjamas, and Rachel knew that if she didn't stop him now, he would march out of the hospital in them.
"Nick, stop. Do you really think you're going to be any use to Derek in this state? Your body has been through a traumatic event, you have to let it rest."
"Rachel, I'm alive. Which is more than we can say for certain Derek is. We have to do something."
"Yeah, I agree. But you'll be of no help if you collapse from exhaustion. You could even aggravate your injuries, forcing you to spend even more time in here. Is that what you want?"
He sighed, his body slumping wearily in his sitting position. "No, it's not. But I can't sit here, doing nothing."
After having stayed silent since their entrance, Kat spoke. "You're not doing nothing, Nick. You're getting better, for Derek. The sooner you're well, the sooner you can get out of here. Then you can kick some demon as -- "
At a firm look from Rachel, she changed her phrasing. "Butt. You can kick some demon butt."
He seemed unconvinced, so she kicked it up a notch. "Please, Nick. I don't want anything else to happen to you."
Nick looked at her, and saw the geniune worry in her eyes. "Okay......I'll stay. But I can only tolerate this place for so long before I go crazy, you know." He directed the last part at Rachel, and almost missed Alex's comment.
"*Go* crazy?"
"Hey," he warned. "Watch it Moreau."
Kat giggled as the others smiled, before Nick asked one last question. "What do you think I meant?"
"What?" Rachel asked.
"What Alex said. She told us that I said, 'It
took Derek. It needs him.' What do you think I meant?"
Rachel shook her head. "I don't know, honey. I don't know."
************