DISCLAIMER: (Must I go through all this again?) I don't own Zoids or
anything associated with them except the Cunning Wolf, and all the doctors
and nurses. Everything else that has to do with Zoids belongs to Viz and
Pioneer. I just use them because I want to. I am not making any money off
of this. No infringement is intended.
BelleLuna: Wow. I. I, I, I-I. wow. I'm flattered. Thank you. I never thought I would actually touch someone like that. See, the story is me too. All the way. Except for, I'm still waiting for my Oscar Hemeros and Bit Cloud to come through for me. That's why I wrote this, to get it all out of my system. It's my way of expressing myself and the stuff I've been through. Thank you so much. Don't be embarrassed. It really means a lot to me that I could actually reach someone like that.
CHAPTER TEN: The Gift of the Eagle: Things change for the better
Oscar sat back in his chair, dumbfounded and absolutely speechless. Grief contorted his features as his son's raspy voice, broken up by chokes and sobs, washed over him. He'd had no idea. NO IDEA that it had gotten to this.
At first Jamie had been tentative in his speech, not wanting to seem petty or over-dramatic, but as he continued to speak he grew more confident - and the tears flowed more freely. The Doctor sat in a black chair next to the hospital bed, holding a thin folder in his hands and watching his young patient gravely.
Jamie told them about being ignored; told them many small stories of the various times when he had been tossed aside like a used dish rag - being abandoned on a beach with the crabs, helpless to protect himself had been one of them. He told them how they stood around and watched as he did every bit of the housework and paperwork that existed, and yet the Doc still deemed it okay to slip behind Jamie's back and buy the things he wanted without Jamie's knowledge and/or against his will. He told them how protective Leena, Brad and Bit were of their respective Zoids, and yet how casually they climbed over and stole, often trashing, the Pteras and the Raynos, weather Jamie was around to protest or not. He told them how everything he ever said around the base was ignored as easily as if he had simply remained silent; how before mealtimes he would be nagged and pestered mercilessly, yet no one, not *once* had anyone stopped to ask if he needed help.
Weather he was done or just unable to continue, no one could tell. Jamie trailed off in his speech, rolled over facedown on the bed and sobbed into the pillow. Oscar ran a hand over his son's trembling back.
"They had no right to do that to you," he whispered gently, though he could not keep his voice from wavering with fury, "None. You don't deserve any of that. It's stopping here, son. Things are going to change after this. I promise."
Jamie turned his head so that his cheek was pressed against the pillow and watched his father through teary eyes.
"I don't want to be any trouble," he rasped.
"You're not," Oscar replied soothingly, feeling his insides collapse and hot tears poking at the back of his eyes. *What have you done to my son, Torros?* he thought bitterly. "Of course you're not. You never have been. Now stop thinking like that and smile for me. Things are going to be better after this; there's nothing more I want right now than for you to be happy. You aren't placing any unwanted trouble on anyone, understand?"
Jamie nodded and forced his lips to turn upward, if ever so slightly, at the corners. It was extremely difficult - trying to seem happy when all he wanted to do was curl up in a corner and sob until he was too exhausted with the world to go on living. More tears began to well in the corners of his eyes; Jamie clenched his teeth and wiped them away with a trembling hand.
"Sorry," he whispered.
"For what?" he heard his father reply gently. Jamie closed his eyes, squeezing more hot tears out below his eyelids, and felt a warm hand slide up and down his back consolingly. "Don't be ashamed of crying, Jamie. You need it. You're certainly entitled to it after all you've been through. It doesn't mean you're weak," he said with a sudden change of tone, making Jamie feel as though he had read his mind. "It just means you're unhappy, you're exhausted, you've been through much more than most people your age should have to put up with. It's nothing bad."
"Your father's right," the Doctor cut in. "You have been through a complete mental and emotional breakdown, so tears at this point are perfectly natural, I assure you. Don't try to hold them in, Jamie; suppressed emotions can't help you at all at this point."
Jamie nodded and struggled to sit up. Oscar helped him with strong arms and gently set up the pillows so that Jamie could lean back against them.
"What's going to happen to me now?" Jamie asked Dr. Goman weakly.
"Well, you're going to need to see a counselor while you're here in the hospital. You and your father will meet with her for an hour every evening, and we'll determine what happens after your discharge based on her opinion."
"A shrink?" said Jamie incredulously. "Am I psycho?"
The doctor smiled. "No. Many people, you might be surprised, go to counseling once or twice a week. It doesn't make them 'psycho,' it just means that they need help sorting out some problems in their lifestyle. What happened the other night was a desperate cry for help on your part, and this is our response. Understand this, Jamie, because it's very important: you did absolutely nothing wrong. What your teammates did to you was wrong. It's neglect, and it's a form of child abuse. You did nothing to provoke that kind of treatment, and it is *not* your fault that this happened. We're here to help you get your life back on track."
Jamie nodded; staring through newly formed tears at the bedsheets.
"This is where I leave you," said Dr. Goman as he stood up. "I'll come back to check on the both of you sometime in the evening. Is there anything you need before I go?" Jamie shook his head. "Are you sure? Would you like some crackers or something to eat? The sooner you get some food into your system," he added, "the sooner we can take that IV out of your arm."
"If it isn't too much trouble," said Jamie quietly, "May I have some crackers?"
"Of course you may," the doctor replied with a smile. "It's no trouble at all. I'll have one of the nurses bring a package in for you right away."
"Thanks."
"No problem. Remember to get some rest as well. You'll need it to recover."
Jamie nodded, and the doctor left quietly.
"So, son," said Oscar after a moment of silence. "How would you like to open your birthday present now?"
"My-my. my b-birthday present?" Jamie stammered, thunderstruck.
"Course! Don't you remember? I told you when I called that I was going to wait until I saw you in person to give it to you." *Didn't expect it to be under these circumstances, though,* he thought darkly.
"Oh yeah," Jamie mumbled. Oscar smiled and reached below the bed to retrieve a medium sized box covered in shiny silver and gold wrapping paper. Jamie took it with trembling hands.
"There you are, Jamie," said Oscar with a grin. "Happy birthday, son."
Jamie couldn't speak, but his father seemed to understand. For a full minute, the kid just sat there staring at the gift in his hands through more tears that began to well up.
"There's a present actually *inside* the box, too," said Oscar gently. Under any other circumstances, he would have laughed heartily at the absurdity of the moment, but knowing what he did about life at the Torros base, it just made him angrier.
"Oh, right," said Jamie, shaking his head. His fingers trembled so hard as he began to peel off the wrapping paper that it took him longer than normal to completely unwrap it. Oscar had to help him peel off the tape that sealed the top of the tan cardboard box inside. Jamie lifted the thing inside it slowly and stared at it with wide eyes.
"Hand carved at a special shop," said Oscar proudly. "Thought of you the instant I saw it, after all that Torros had told me about you flying the Raynos."
"Thanks, dad," rasped Jamie, his throat suddenly dry.
It was an eagle. A wooden one. With beautifully painted white feathers and yellow eyes that sent faint chills down Jamie's spine. The tiny fibers in each individually carved feather in the wings - which were posed as though mid-flight - had been carved flawlessly. Every tiny little detail from the open beak to the sharp talons portrayed a sense of motion, of carelessness, of the infinite freedoms of flight. Truly a wild eagle.
"You're welcome, Jamie," Oscar replied. He smiled and clapped a hand on Jamie's shoulder.
Just then, a nurse with short, teal colored hair entered the room with a full package of saltine crackers.
"Dr. Goman told me you wanted something to eat," she said kindly. Jamie nodded, so she handed him the bag.
"Thanks," said Jamie and Oscar at the same time.
The nurse's eyes grew wide.
"Wow," she breathed. "What's that?" She gestured to the wooden eagle in Jamie's lap. "It's. that's amazing. It's beautiful."
Jamie and Oscar both smiled.
* * *
No one had dared to attempt conversation with Bit since his argument with the Doc. in the strategy room. There was just this air to him. an expression on his entire body that just said 'Back off' all over. Outside of battle no one who knew Bit well thought of him as an intimidating person, but after last night they were treating him like a force to be reckoned with.
He'd returned after about two hours with two grocery bags- no one knew what they contained - and a glower on his face that could have frozen water in July. They didn't dare ask him what had put him in such a mood. Since then he had talked to no one.
This evening Bit entered the kitchen with his grocery bags as soon as the last person had cleared out, and had not left it for nearly two hours now. No one dared to poke a head in to see what he was doing; though curiosity pricked at them all.
Bit stood over his work at the kitchen table and ran a hand through his wild blond hair. He had long since finished what had actually needed to be done in the kitchen, but he'd figured it would be easier to just get everything set up in here so to avoid questions and curious glances when moving all this stuff from room to room.
He smiled when he was finished and took a glance over his shoulder at the clock on the wall. 9:33pm (I don't like military clocks); he was making pretty good time.
*I just need to get this stuff down to the hospital and I'm all set,* he thought to himself.
Liger turned his mighty head to look at the teenage warrior when Bit entered the hangar, walking carefully with his burden of two very full grocery bags.
"Sorry, buddy," grunted Bit, loading the stuff into the back of the car. "I'm not taking you this time. It would attract too much attention." Liger growled sadly. Something in its tone made Bit pause for a second and look over at his great white partner. How long had it been since the two had last gone for a run together? It seemed like ages. Certainly before Jamie had been sent to the hospital. Bit felt a pang of guilt and sighed in sadness and frustration. Why must it be so easy to concentrate on one person close to you, and yet push aside another in the process?
"Look, Liger," he said patiently. "This whole Jamie thing has just been tearing me up these past few days. I mean, if you think about it, we've been horrible to the kid. Yeah, it was great to get all that attention. The news people, the interviews, the pictures in the paper. but that was mostly just the two of us. We make an *awesome* team, Liger, and I'd never fight with anybody but you, but think about how poor Jamie must have felt. I can't live like that; knowing it's partially my fault this happened. I just need to get this one thing done, and I *promise* you tomorrow we'll go for another run, okay buddy?"
Liger roared happily.
"Yeah! That's the spirit, partner!"
And with that, Bit drove off into the darkness.
* * *
"I'm sorry sir," said the surprised looking young woman at the receptionist's desk. "We don't allow visitors after 8p.m, and no one is permitted to see that boy - "
"I know, I know," Bit replied hastily. "I'm not here to visit him. I just wanted to drop by and set this up in his room while he's asleep. I want it to be a surprise."
"I'm sorry, sir," the receptionist repeated. "I can't let you in there. It's against the rules."
"What?" Bit cried impatiently, "You can't at least let me put this in his room? What kind of a place is this?" Couldn't this woman *see* the seriousness here? How was Jamie supposed to get better if he couldn't see how much Bit really *did* care about the kid? How was Bit supposed to show him if these stupid hospital people wouldn't let him in?
"Look," he said to the woman angrily, "This is important to me. Really important. I screwed up, big time, and this is my way of apologizing. If I can't get this stuff to him. well, I'm *going* to get this stuff to him, and that's final."
"Sir - "
"Is his dad awake? Can you see if he'll come out and talk to me? Maybe he can take this stuff and put it in his room."
The woman was silent for a moment. She sighed and agreed reluctantly, "But if he's asleep, or if he asks you to take your things and go, you have no other alternative. You'll have to wait until visitors are allowed to see the boy."
Bit folded his arms and said nothing.
A few minutes later, Oscar followed one of the nurses out into the lobby. He glared at Bit through stern eyes and took a quick glance at the bags at his feet.
"You're Torros's newest warrior, aren't you?" he said neutrally. "What is it?"
"I'm really sorry for what happened," Bit began, "I would never in my life have intended to do anything like that to Jamie. I didn't know - no one ever told me when Jamie's birthday was. I had no way of knowing, and I feel really bad about missing it. So I brought this, because I want him to know that I wouldn't have forgotten if, if I knew."
Oscar eyed him suspiciously.
"How long have you been on the team?" he asked.
"Around eight or nine months now," replied Bit.
Oscar considered this for a moment.
"I'll take that in for you," he said at last.
Bit beamed.
"Will you set it up and everything? I want him to wake up and be surprised."
"Sure thing. Bit, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Thanks. Very much. It means a lot to me."
Oscar nodded, taking the two bags into his arms.
"This'll probably mean a lot to Jamie, too," he said sincerely. "Thanks a lot for doing this. He really needs it right now."
"How's he doing?"
"As well as can be expected, I guess. He's still in pretty bad shape, but he's getting better. I'm doing everything I can for him. It'll help a lot that you stopped by."
Bit nodded. "I wrote a letter. It should be in there somewhere; make sure he gets a chance to read it."
"I will."
* * *
Jamie opened his gray eyes slowly and yawned into the morning sunlight streaming through the windows. The clock someone had placed beside the bed read 8:56 p.m.; the earliest he had woken up since he got here - yet later than he'd ever gotten out of bed at the base.
His father's bed was empty. Jamie figured that he'd gone down for a quick breakfast while Jamie had been asleep. Oscar didn't like to be out of the room when his son was awake, especially since that incident with Wolf the other day. But it didn't matter. Jamie figured his father would be back soon, and something in his gut told him that Wolf wasn't going to return after this. He'd seen the last of that creepy old man; not that he felt any remorse about it.
Jamie propped himself up on one elbow to look around for the call button, planning to ask for a glass of orange juice. Something caught his eye before he found it. The table. There was something. on it.
Jamie's gray eyes widened. He sat up all the way, ignoring the dizziness that engulfed him as he did so.
The door opened with a swish to admit his father. Oscar at first looked surprised to see Jamie awake, but a grin lit up his features when he saw what Jamie was looking at.
"What do you think, son?" he asked Jamie happily. "The guy came to see me last night after you fell asleep. The receptionist said he was really stubborn about getting this to you." He took a moment to sit beside Jamie on the bed and placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder. "Seems like he really cares about you."
Jamie nodded with wide gray eyes.
Draped across the tabletop was a beautiful green canvas table cloth, almost exactly matching the color of his Raynos. Topping it was *another* present for him wrapped in shiny blue wrapping paper with white letters saying Happy Birthday littered across the surface. A paper bag sat towards the back with a white note stapled to the top, but the highlight was the cake. A double layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and red and white icing around the edges sat in the very center of it all. The words 'Happy Birthday, Jamie!' were written across the top with *very* wobbly handwriting, and Jamie grinned. It was the first genuine grin that had crossed his face in a very long time. He'd had no idea this was coming.
A box of birthday candles and a box of matches sat at the base of the cake, accompanied by an envelope with just the word 'Jamie' written on the front. Jamie's grin only grew bigger. His dizziness faded into the background and he began to laugh out loud. He'd had no idea, never in his life had he expected this to happen.
Jamie's young laughter struck something into Oscar's heart. He smiled widely, convinced for perhaps the first time that Jamie was actually going to be okay. It wasn't all dark. Things were starting to look up.
A simple white placard stood at the very front of it all. Bold green lettering on a white card that no one could misread. It's presence added to the mood and lifted Jamie's heart considerably.
FROM BIT
END CHAPTER TEN
NEXT CHAPTER: God, I Am So SICK Of Thinking Up These Stupid Titles: in which Superkat finally realizes this story is getting way, WAY too long and promises all readers that the end is nearing!
BelleLuna: Wow. I. I, I, I-I. wow. I'm flattered. Thank you. I never thought I would actually touch someone like that. See, the story is me too. All the way. Except for, I'm still waiting for my Oscar Hemeros and Bit Cloud to come through for me. That's why I wrote this, to get it all out of my system. It's my way of expressing myself and the stuff I've been through. Thank you so much. Don't be embarrassed. It really means a lot to me that I could actually reach someone like that.
CHAPTER TEN: The Gift of the Eagle: Things change for the better
Oscar sat back in his chair, dumbfounded and absolutely speechless. Grief contorted his features as his son's raspy voice, broken up by chokes and sobs, washed over him. He'd had no idea. NO IDEA that it had gotten to this.
At first Jamie had been tentative in his speech, not wanting to seem petty or over-dramatic, but as he continued to speak he grew more confident - and the tears flowed more freely. The Doctor sat in a black chair next to the hospital bed, holding a thin folder in his hands and watching his young patient gravely.
Jamie told them about being ignored; told them many small stories of the various times when he had been tossed aside like a used dish rag - being abandoned on a beach with the crabs, helpless to protect himself had been one of them. He told them how they stood around and watched as he did every bit of the housework and paperwork that existed, and yet the Doc still deemed it okay to slip behind Jamie's back and buy the things he wanted without Jamie's knowledge and/or against his will. He told them how protective Leena, Brad and Bit were of their respective Zoids, and yet how casually they climbed over and stole, often trashing, the Pteras and the Raynos, weather Jamie was around to protest or not. He told them how everything he ever said around the base was ignored as easily as if he had simply remained silent; how before mealtimes he would be nagged and pestered mercilessly, yet no one, not *once* had anyone stopped to ask if he needed help.
Weather he was done or just unable to continue, no one could tell. Jamie trailed off in his speech, rolled over facedown on the bed and sobbed into the pillow. Oscar ran a hand over his son's trembling back.
"They had no right to do that to you," he whispered gently, though he could not keep his voice from wavering with fury, "None. You don't deserve any of that. It's stopping here, son. Things are going to change after this. I promise."
Jamie turned his head so that his cheek was pressed against the pillow and watched his father through teary eyes.
"I don't want to be any trouble," he rasped.
"You're not," Oscar replied soothingly, feeling his insides collapse and hot tears poking at the back of his eyes. *What have you done to my son, Torros?* he thought bitterly. "Of course you're not. You never have been. Now stop thinking like that and smile for me. Things are going to be better after this; there's nothing more I want right now than for you to be happy. You aren't placing any unwanted trouble on anyone, understand?"
Jamie nodded and forced his lips to turn upward, if ever so slightly, at the corners. It was extremely difficult - trying to seem happy when all he wanted to do was curl up in a corner and sob until he was too exhausted with the world to go on living. More tears began to well in the corners of his eyes; Jamie clenched his teeth and wiped them away with a trembling hand.
"Sorry," he whispered.
"For what?" he heard his father reply gently. Jamie closed his eyes, squeezing more hot tears out below his eyelids, and felt a warm hand slide up and down his back consolingly. "Don't be ashamed of crying, Jamie. You need it. You're certainly entitled to it after all you've been through. It doesn't mean you're weak," he said with a sudden change of tone, making Jamie feel as though he had read his mind. "It just means you're unhappy, you're exhausted, you've been through much more than most people your age should have to put up with. It's nothing bad."
"Your father's right," the Doctor cut in. "You have been through a complete mental and emotional breakdown, so tears at this point are perfectly natural, I assure you. Don't try to hold them in, Jamie; suppressed emotions can't help you at all at this point."
Jamie nodded and struggled to sit up. Oscar helped him with strong arms and gently set up the pillows so that Jamie could lean back against them.
"What's going to happen to me now?" Jamie asked Dr. Goman weakly.
"Well, you're going to need to see a counselor while you're here in the hospital. You and your father will meet with her for an hour every evening, and we'll determine what happens after your discharge based on her opinion."
"A shrink?" said Jamie incredulously. "Am I psycho?"
The doctor smiled. "No. Many people, you might be surprised, go to counseling once or twice a week. It doesn't make them 'psycho,' it just means that they need help sorting out some problems in their lifestyle. What happened the other night was a desperate cry for help on your part, and this is our response. Understand this, Jamie, because it's very important: you did absolutely nothing wrong. What your teammates did to you was wrong. It's neglect, and it's a form of child abuse. You did nothing to provoke that kind of treatment, and it is *not* your fault that this happened. We're here to help you get your life back on track."
Jamie nodded; staring through newly formed tears at the bedsheets.
"This is where I leave you," said Dr. Goman as he stood up. "I'll come back to check on the both of you sometime in the evening. Is there anything you need before I go?" Jamie shook his head. "Are you sure? Would you like some crackers or something to eat? The sooner you get some food into your system," he added, "the sooner we can take that IV out of your arm."
"If it isn't too much trouble," said Jamie quietly, "May I have some crackers?"
"Of course you may," the doctor replied with a smile. "It's no trouble at all. I'll have one of the nurses bring a package in for you right away."
"Thanks."
"No problem. Remember to get some rest as well. You'll need it to recover."
Jamie nodded, and the doctor left quietly.
"So, son," said Oscar after a moment of silence. "How would you like to open your birthday present now?"
"My-my. my b-birthday present?" Jamie stammered, thunderstruck.
"Course! Don't you remember? I told you when I called that I was going to wait until I saw you in person to give it to you." *Didn't expect it to be under these circumstances, though,* he thought darkly.
"Oh yeah," Jamie mumbled. Oscar smiled and reached below the bed to retrieve a medium sized box covered in shiny silver and gold wrapping paper. Jamie took it with trembling hands.
"There you are, Jamie," said Oscar with a grin. "Happy birthday, son."
Jamie couldn't speak, but his father seemed to understand. For a full minute, the kid just sat there staring at the gift in his hands through more tears that began to well up.
"There's a present actually *inside* the box, too," said Oscar gently. Under any other circumstances, he would have laughed heartily at the absurdity of the moment, but knowing what he did about life at the Torros base, it just made him angrier.
"Oh, right," said Jamie, shaking his head. His fingers trembled so hard as he began to peel off the wrapping paper that it took him longer than normal to completely unwrap it. Oscar had to help him peel off the tape that sealed the top of the tan cardboard box inside. Jamie lifted the thing inside it slowly and stared at it with wide eyes.
"Hand carved at a special shop," said Oscar proudly. "Thought of you the instant I saw it, after all that Torros had told me about you flying the Raynos."
"Thanks, dad," rasped Jamie, his throat suddenly dry.
It was an eagle. A wooden one. With beautifully painted white feathers and yellow eyes that sent faint chills down Jamie's spine. The tiny fibers in each individually carved feather in the wings - which were posed as though mid-flight - had been carved flawlessly. Every tiny little detail from the open beak to the sharp talons portrayed a sense of motion, of carelessness, of the infinite freedoms of flight. Truly a wild eagle.
"You're welcome, Jamie," Oscar replied. He smiled and clapped a hand on Jamie's shoulder.
Just then, a nurse with short, teal colored hair entered the room with a full package of saltine crackers.
"Dr. Goman told me you wanted something to eat," she said kindly. Jamie nodded, so she handed him the bag.
"Thanks," said Jamie and Oscar at the same time.
The nurse's eyes grew wide.
"Wow," she breathed. "What's that?" She gestured to the wooden eagle in Jamie's lap. "It's. that's amazing. It's beautiful."
Jamie and Oscar both smiled.
* * *
No one had dared to attempt conversation with Bit since his argument with the Doc. in the strategy room. There was just this air to him. an expression on his entire body that just said 'Back off' all over. Outside of battle no one who knew Bit well thought of him as an intimidating person, but after last night they were treating him like a force to be reckoned with.
He'd returned after about two hours with two grocery bags- no one knew what they contained - and a glower on his face that could have frozen water in July. They didn't dare ask him what had put him in such a mood. Since then he had talked to no one.
This evening Bit entered the kitchen with his grocery bags as soon as the last person had cleared out, and had not left it for nearly two hours now. No one dared to poke a head in to see what he was doing; though curiosity pricked at them all.
Bit stood over his work at the kitchen table and ran a hand through his wild blond hair. He had long since finished what had actually needed to be done in the kitchen, but he'd figured it would be easier to just get everything set up in here so to avoid questions and curious glances when moving all this stuff from room to room.
He smiled when he was finished and took a glance over his shoulder at the clock on the wall. 9:33pm (I don't like military clocks); he was making pretty good time.
*I just need to get this stuff down to the hospital and I'm all set,* he thought to himself.
Liger turned his mighty head to look at the teenage warrior when Bit entered the hangar, walking carefully with his burden of two very full grocery bags.
"Sorry, buddy," grunted Bit, loading the stuff into the back of the car. "I'm not taking you this time. It would attract too much attention." Liger growled sadly. Something in its tone made Bit pause for a second and look over at his great white partner. How long had it been since the two had last gone for a run together? It seemed like ages. Certainly before Jamie had been sent to the hospital. Bit felt a pang of guilt and sighed in sadness and frustration. Why must it be so easy to concentrate on one person close to you, and yet push aside another in the process?
"Look, Liger," he said patiently. "This whole Jamie thing has just been tearing me up these past few days. I mean, if you think about it, we've been horrible to the kid. Yeah, it was great to get all that attention. The news people, the interviews, the pictures in the paper. but that was mostly just the two of us. We make an *awesome* team, Liger, and I'd never fight with anybody but you, but think about how poor Jamie must have felt. I can't live like that; knowing it's partially my fault this happened. I just need to get this one thing done, and I *promise* you tomorrow we'll go for another run, okay buddy?"
Liger roared happily.
"Yeah! That's the spirit, partner!"
And with that, Bit drove off into the darkness.
* * *
"I'm sorry sir," said the surprised looking young woman at the receptionist's desk. "We don't allow visitors after 8p.m, and no one is permitted to see that boy - "
"I know, I know," Bit replied hastily. "I'm not here to visit him. I just wanted to drop by and set this up in his room while he's asleep. I want it to be a surprise."
"I'm sorry, sir," the receptionist repeated. "I can't let you in there. It's against the rules."
"What?" Bit cried impatiently, "You can't at least let me put this in his room? What kind of a place is this?" Couldn't this woman *see* the seriousness here? How was Jamie supposed to get better if he couldn't see how much Bit really *did* care about the kid? How was Bit supposed to show him if these stupid hospital people wouldn't let him in?
"Look," he said to the woman angrily, "This is important to me. Really important. I screwed up, big time, and this is my way of apologizing. If I can't get this stuff to him. well, I'm *going* to get this stuff to him, and that's final."
"Sir - "
"Is his dad awake? Can you see if he'll come out and talk to me? Maybe he can take this stuff and put it in his room."
The woman was silent for a moment. She sighed and agreed reluctantly, "But if he's asleep, or if he asks you to take your things and go, you have no other alternative. You'll have to wait until visitors are allowed to see the boy."
Bit folded his arms and said nothing.
A few minutes later, Oscar followed one of the nurses out into the lobby. He glared at Bit through stern eyes and took a quick glance at the bags at his feet.
"You're Torros's newest warrior, aren't you?" he said neutrally. "What is it?"
"I'm really sorry for what happened," Bit began, "I would never in my life have intended to do anything like that to Jamie. I didn't know - no one ever told me when Jamie's birthday was. I had no way of knowing, and I feel really bad about missing it. So I brought this, because I want him to know that I wouldn't have forgotten if, if I knew."
Oscar eyed him suspiciously.
"How long have you been on the team?" he asked.
"Around eight or nine months now," replied Bit.
Oscar considered this for a moment.
"I'll take that in for you," he said at last.
Bit beamed.
"Will you set it up and everything? I want him to wake up and be surprised."
"Sure thing. Bit, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Thanks. Very much. It means a lot to me."
Oscar nodded, taking the two bags into his arms.
"This'll probably mean a lot to Jamie, too," he said sincerely. "Thanks a lot for doing this. He really needs it right now."
"How's he doing?"
"As well as can be expected, I guess. He's still in pretty bad shape, but he's getting better. I'm doing everything I can for him. It'll help a lot that you stopped by."
Bit nodded. "I wrote a letter. It should be in there somewhere; make sure he gets a chance to read it."
"I will."
* * *
Jamie opened his gray eyes slowly and yawned into the morning sunlight streaming through the windows. The clock someone had placed beside the bed read 8:56 p.m.; the earliest he had woken up since he got here - yet later than he'd ever gotten out of bed at the base.
His father's bed was empty. Jamie figured that he'd gone down for a quick breakfast while Jamie had been asleep. Oscar didn't like to be out of the room when his son was awake, especially since that incident with Wolf the other day. But it didn't matter. Jamie figured his father would be back soon, and something in his gut told him that Wolf wasn't going to return after this. He'd seen the last of that creepy old man; not that he felt any remorse about it.
Jamie propped himself up on one elbow to look around for the call button, planning to ask for a glass of orange juice. Something caught his eye before he found it. The table. There was something. on it.
Jamie's gray eyes widened. He sat up all the way, ignoring the dizziness that engulfed him as he did so.
The door opened with a swish to admit his father. Oscar at first looked surprised to see Jamie awake, but a grin lit up his features when he saw what Jamie was looking at.
"What do you think, son?" he asked Jamie happily. "The guy came to see me last night after you fell asleep. The receptionist said he was really stubborn about getting this to you." He took a moment to sit beside Jamie on the bed and placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder. "Seems like he really cares about you."
Jamie nodded with wide gray eyes.
Draped across the tabletop was a beautiful green canvas table cloth, almost exactly matching the color of his Raynos. Topping it was *another* present for him wrapped in shiny blue wrapping paper with white letters saying Happy Birthday littered across the surface. A paper bag sat towards the back with a white note stapled to the top, but the highlight was the cake. A double layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and red and white icing around the edges sat in the very center of it all. The words 'Happy Birthday, Jamie!' were written across the top with *very* wobbly handwriting, and Jamie grinned. It was the first genuine grin that had crossed his face in a very long time. He'd had no idea this was coming.
A box of birthday candles and a box of matches sat at the base of the cake, accompanied by an envelope with just the word 'Jamie' written on the front. Jamie's grin only grew bigger. His dizziness faded into the background and he began to laugh out loud. He'd had no idea, never in his life had he expected this to happen.
Jamie's young laughter struck something into Oscar's heart. He smiled widely, convinced for perhaps the first time that Jamie was actually going to be okay. It wasn't all dark. Things were starting to look up.
A simple white placard stood at the very front of it all. Bold green lettering on a white card that no one could misread. It's presence added to the mood and lifted Jamie's heart considerably.
FROM BIT
END CHAPTER TEN
NEXT CHAPTER: God, I Am So SICK Of Thinking Up These Stupid Titles: in which Superkat finally realizes this story is getting way, WAY too long and promises all readers that the end is nearing!