A/N- YES! I finished chapter nine, I finished chapter nine! You have no idea how long that took me to write! Phew!
Navy Girl
Chapter Ten
Danny sat on a table as a nurse poked a needle into his arm, but he wasn't paying attention to that. He was looking through a window to the kitchen. A familiar body lay on a counter in there; he knew it was Miranda even though he couldn't see her face. She wasn't moving. A blonde nurse came over and started bandaging a deep wound on Miranda's arm. Danny could tell that she had been shot. Then the nurse started pointing to Miranda's leg. He tensed as he saw a doctor in a bloodstained coat come over. The doctor's hands were shaking. Damn you, calm down! Danny thought. He was going to kill Miranda if he tried to operate with those hands. The doctor picked up a scalpel as the nurse began gesturing towards the apparently wounded leg. The doctor nodded, and the scalpel disappeared from Danny's view.
The nurse removed the needle from Danny's arm, and he hopped up from the table, about to go over to Miranda. He was out the door when he heard a shout. "We have men trapped in the harbor, we need help from anyone who can move."
His heart beat with rage, but Danny knew that he couldn't do anything for Miranda. The men in the harbor were another story. He followed Rafe and a few other men out the door and down to the harbor. Flames leaped from buildings, staining the azure sky with smoke. The clouds were tinted brown as a haze of ash and dirt settled in the air. He heard shouts and cries for help. Electric tools buzzed as they tried to dig into the metal of the battleship Arizona. Danny could tell that it was hopeless. Even the workers knew it was hopeless.
***
Miranda opened her eyes slowly. Blood was everywhere, even smeared on the walls. The nurses ran about, ignoring her. Fierce pain in her arm and leg replaced the previous numbness and Miranda wondered why she had not been given any morphine. Maybe they were out.
She raised her arm just enough to see that the wound was bandaged. There was a bloodstain on the top of the cotton pad that had been taped over it. Miranda craned her neck to see her leg. It was bandaged too, but not with a cotton pad. A women's stocking had been tightly wrapped around her leg, almost to the point where her circulation was cut off. A nurse stumbled into the room, running a hand through her hair and leaning onto the counter. Miranda weakly reached out to her, getting the woman's attention.
"Danny," she mumbled to the nurse, hoping that she understood her. "Danny."
"Danny?" the nurse asked, shrugging her shoulders. "Danny…"
"Danny Walker," Miranda said, getting a bit angry at the nurses stupidity. It wasn't like there were any other Danny Walkers walking around Pearl Harbor. "Danny Walker!"
"I'll be right back," the nurse said, walking out the door. Miranda slammed the flat of her hand onto the countertop, watching the nurse walk around to another room. She started looking at Coke bottles. Coke? Screamed a voice in Miranda's head. COKE?
The nurse came back, the heels of her pumps clicking on the tile. It was annoying. "Danny Walker was here a few minutes ago to give blood, but he's not here anymore," the nurse said. Miranda slammed counter again, and the nurse walked away, shaking her head and muttering, "sailors."
Miranda tried to take a deep breath. She had to stay calm. Another nurse walked by the door; Miranda vaguely recognized her. "Nurse," she called. The nurse turned around and came back into the room.
"Yes?" she said. She looked tired.
"What happened?" Miranda asked.
The nurse sighed and slid onto the counter, sitting at Miranda's feet. "The Japanese bombed the Harbor. I don't know the details."
Miranda leaned back and sighed, cradling her head in her hands.
***
Danny walked back from the Harbor the next day towards the hospital. His arms were black and covered with grease and soot from the ships. He had seen men die today, he had been right there and he hadn't been able to help them, and still all he thought about was Miranda. He had to get to her, to see if she was okay. He broke into a run, shoving nurses in white uniforms out of his way in haste. He dodged a doctor carrying a scalpel and turned a corner, elbowing his way through the crowds to the kitchen. A nurse stopped him.
"Where d'ya think you're goin', huh? Nobody's allowed'n
Intensive Care, y'hear?" she said through a mouthful of bubble gum.
"Yeah, I hear you," Danny said,
walking past her into Intensive Care, anyway. He noticed Miranda laying on one
of the cots; they must have moved her off that uncomfortable counter and moved
her into a real bed. He scurried over to her and took her hand. Her face was
placid; she was sleeping. He squeezed her hand. Her head moved slightly,
sending her long brown hair tumbling over the pillow. He absentmindedly wrapped
a strand of it around his finger. Miranda's eyes moved under the lids and her
lips parted.
"Danny."
"Yes, Miranda," Danny said, leaning over to hear what she was saying. She rolled over in her bed, away from him.
"Danny."
"She's sleeptalkin', son," said a kindly doctor passing by. Danny nodded and squeezed her hand again, waiting for her to wake up. He waited an hour before she opened her bleary eyes and turned towards Danny.
"Danny," she said, curling her fingers around his hand. Danny's eyes filled with happy tears. She was all right!
"How are you feeling, Miranda?" he asked, his voice shaking just a bit. She heard it and smiled.
"I'm doing okay now," she answered. "How are you? Are you hurt?"
"No."
"How's Rafe?"
"He's good. I want to stay longer but I have to get back to work." Danny paused. "There's still men trapped alive inside the battleships."
Miranda closed her eyes. Her lashes shook as she nodded. Danny leaned down to kiss her, and then he left. Miranda leaned back onto her pillow, curling up and giving in to her tears.