Why?
By: Blade
All disclaimers still apply.
Chapter 8 – Evening Blues
The Doctor came in a few minutes after Janet had left with his empty food tray. Of course his mother had not come back yet. "Hey Maurice, I don't know if you remember me or not, but my name is Dr. Westlake. I treated you when you first came in."
"I remember," Maurice answered.
"Well you are talking more now than you were in the Emergency Room," the Doctor smiled, "well let me check your bruises and see if they are healing correctly and then I'll talk to your mother."
"She's not here."
"She's out in the hallway waiting with Nurse Janet," the Doctor assured. "I wanted to check you over myself before I talked to her. She will be in here as soon as I finish."
'I can't believe it. She is actually waiting for me outside.'
The doctor finished his examination with a smile, "you are healing nicely, I'm going to go and tell your mother she can come in now." He walked to the door and stepped just outside the doorway and motioned to someone in the hallway. Immediately his mom and Nurse Janet came walking in.
"How is he doctor?" his mother asked.
"He is healing nicely. His bruises are fading and he seems to be less exhausted and dehydrated. We will still keep him tonight, but I don't see why you can't take him home tomorrow." He said with a smile. The doctor then turned and left the room.
"Did you hear that Baby? You can go home tomorrow, isn't that great?"
"Yeah mom! Are you going to stay here with me for the rest of the day?"
"I'm sorry, but I've got to go home and fix supper for your dad. I'll be back tomorrow to pick you up though." His mother assured, "I've got to go, but I'll see you tomorrow, bye Baby." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, then headed out the door.
Nurse Janet came over, "I'm sorry she wouldn't stay."
Maurice looked at her and shrugged trying to fight back tears. "It probably would be boring for her anyway." 'Yeah why should she stay with a reject son like me?'
"It's time for you to take a nap, and I have other things I have to do. Try to get some sleep, and when you wake, you can eat supper." She then turned and left the room.
Maurice watched as Nurse Janet left the room. As soon as the door shut, he turned onto his side and curled into a fetal position, his favorite position of late, and let the dam holding back his tears fall. It wasn't long until he had cried himself to sleep.
***************
Maurice awoke a few hours later, and it was dark in the room. For a moment he thought he was back in the linen closet. His breaths came fast and shallow. He started panicking, he felt something on the back of his hand and his imagination thought it was something had a hold of him. With his other hand, he reached over and yanked at whatever had grasped his hand. Pain flooded his hand and ran quickly up his arm, he let out a yelp. Immediately someone came bursting through the door, turning on the lights. The nurse, someone Maurice didn't recognize gave a gasp. "You pulled your IV out!"
"It was dark. I got scared when I woke up and didn't know what it was. You were supposed to leave the lights on. Nurse Janet knows to leave the lights on." Maurice was crying and ranting now. "Where is Nurse Janet? She said she was coming back to bring me supper."
"I'm sorry, but her shift was over right after you fell asleep. You sure she said 'she' was bringing you supper?" the nurse said haughtily.
Thinking back he wasn't sure.
The nurse came over with some supplies and began working on his now bleeding hand. "Once I fix you up, I'm going to get you some supper. You better not pull this IV out when I leave."
'It's not like I did it intentionally. If you had left the light on like Nurse Janet, I wouldn't have panicked and done it in the first place.' Maurice thought to himself, but said instead, "I won't, I promise."
After replacing his IV, the nurse left the room grumbling about snotty kids.
'Yeah, I bet you hate kids as much as I'm starting to hate you.' Maurice thought as he tried to wipe the tears from his face.
It was thirty minutes later when the nurse brought his food in. It was something that Maurice didn't recognize and certainly didn't smell good. "What is this?"
"Food, just eat it so I can get out of here."
"Can I have a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich instead?"
"No, that is all you are getting. Eat it willingly or I will force feed it to you." The nurse said.
Maurice didn't know what force feeding was, but it didn't sound good, so he assumed it was something he wouldn't like. He took a big breath and began eating. It was all he could do not to gag on the food, but somehow he managed to force a good portion of the food down before he signaled that he was done. It must have been enough to satisfy the nurse because she took the tray and left the room after saying, "I'll be back to get you ready for bed."
'Bed? But I just woke up. Man, talk about the Nurse from Hell'
****************
The nurse came back shortly pushing a cart. On the cart there were some leather things lined with fleece that Maurice didn't recognize. She picked up one and turned to Maurice. "These are restraints, I'm going to put them on you to make sure you don't pull your IV out again." She put up the side rails on the bed and attached the restraint first to his wrist then to the bed rail. Maurice pulled on it testing it and immediately knew he wouldn't get out of it. She moved around to the other side of the bed and repeated the process with the other wrist. 'Dad better not get a look at these, it would probably give him some ideas.'
Seeing Maurice was then fully helpless the nurse asked, "Are you sleepy enough to go to sleep on your own or do you need some help?"
Having just waked a little over an hour ago, Maurice wasn't sleepy. "I'm not very tired. Can I stay up and watch TV for a while until I get sleepy.
"No! I'm not going to come in here and check on you every hour. Janet might cater to all you spoiled brats, but I'm not. You are going to go to sleep now whether you like it or not. Now do you want a sedative or not?"
"No, I'll go to sleep on my own." Maurice said. 'This lady's crazy. How in the hell did she get a job nursing anybody, let alone kids.'
"Fine, I better not hear a word from you," the nurse said as she was pushing her cart towards the door. As she started out the door she reached for the light switch.
"Please leave the light on. I don't like the dark." Maurice pleaded.
"Look, I saw the note Nurse Janet put on your chart about leaving the light on, but you are getting too old to sleep with the lights on. Get over it." With that she flipped the lights off and went out the door, plunging Maurice into the darkness.
As soon as the door shut, Maurice began to panic. It was dark, he was tied down, and his nightmares from before started to come back to him. His breathing became erratic and his mind started to play tricks on him. The shadows seemed to move, he started to believe that they were men coming to beat him like in his nightmares. "Help me please!" he yelled out loud without even thinking about it.
Suddenly the nurse came bursting in the door turning on the lights, "What do you want now?" She then saw he was panicking. "What is wrong with you?"
"I don't like the dark, please leave the light on." Maurice pleaded again this time with tears streaming down his face.
"I've already told you, get over it," the nurse said turning to go out the door.
"Wait," Maurice said, "Maybe I do need help falling asleep."
"Fine, I'll go get it," the nurse then flew out the door.
She came back with a syringe and walked to the side of the bed. Maurice, expecting her to put it into the IV like Janet did, jumped when he felt her grab his arm. He went to move the arm out of her way but the restraints limited his movement. "Hold still, so I can get this into your vein," she hissed. Maurice let out a small shriek as she jabbed the needle into his vein and depressed the plunger. Immediately he started to feel the effects. "I better not hear anymore from you tonight." She said leaving the room turning out the lights once again. This time Maurice didn't even notice the darkness, he had already dropped into a deep sleep, his face still wet from his tears.
Tbc…
****************
More to come!
By: Blade
All disclaimers still apply.
Chapter 8 – Evening Blues
The Doctor came in a few minutes after Janet had left with his empty food tray. Of course his mother had not come back yet. "Hey Maurice, I don't know if you remember me or not, but my name is Dr. Westlake. I treated you when you first came in."
"I remember," Maurice answered.
"Well you are talking more now than you were in the Emergency Room," the Doctor smiled, "well let me check your bruises and see if they are healing correctly and then I'll talk to your mother."
"She's not here."
"She's out in the hallway waiting with Nurse Janet," the Doctor assured. "I wanted to check you over myself before I talked to her. She will be in here as soon as I finish."
'I can't believe it. She is actually waiting for me outside.'
The doctor finished his examination with a smile, "you are healing nicely, I'm going to go and tell your mother she can come in now." He walked to the door and stepped just outside the doorway and motioned to someone in the hallway. Immediately his mom and Nurse Janet came walking in.
"How is he doctor?" his mother asked.
"He is healing nicely. His bruises are fading and he seems to be less exhausted and dehydrated. We will still keep him tonight, but I don't see why you can't take him home tomorrow." He said with a smile. The doctor then turned and left the room.
"Did you hear that Baby? You can go home tomorrow, isn't that great?"
"Yeah mom! Are you going to stay here with me for the rest of the day?"
"I'm sorry, but I've got to go home and fix supper for your dad. I'll be back tomorrow to pick you up though." His mother assured, "I've got to go, but I'll see you tomorrow, bye Baby." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, then headed out the door.
Nurse Janet came over, "I'm sorry she wouldn't stay."
Maurice looked at her and shrugged trying to fight back tears. "It probably would be boring for her anyway." 'Yeah why should she stay with a reject son like me?'
"It's time for you to take a nap, and I have other things I have to do. Try to get some sleep, and when you wake, you can eat supper." She then turned and left the room.
Maurice watched as Nurse Janet left the room. As soon as the door shut, he turned onto his side and curled into a fetal position, his favorite position of late, and let the dam holding back his tears fall. It wasn't long until he had cried himself to sleep.
***************
Maurice awoke a few hours later, and it was dark in the room. For a moment he thought he was back in the linen closet. His breaths came fast and shallow. He started panicking, he felt something on the back of his hand and his imagination thought it was something had a hold of him. With his other hand, he reached over and yanked at whatever had grasped his hand. Pain flooded his hand and ran quickly up his arm, he let out a yelp. Immediately someone came bursting through the door, turning on the lights. The nurse, someone Maurice didn't recognize gave a gasp. "You pulled your IV out!"
"It was dark. I got scared when I woke up and didn't know what it was. You were supposed to leave the lights on. Nurse Janet knows to leave the lights on." Maurice was crying and ranting now. "Where is Nurse Janet? She said she was coming back to bring me supper."
"I'm sorry, but her shift was over right after you fell asleep. You sure she said 'she' was bringing you supper?" the nurse said haughtily.
Thinking back he wasn't sure.
The nurse came over with some supplies and began working on his now bleeding hand. "Once I fix you up, I'm going to get you some supper. You better not pull this IV out when I leave."
'It's not like I did it intentionally. If you had left the light on like Nurse Janet, I wouldn't have panicked and done it in the first place.' Maurice thought to himself, but said instead, "I won't, I promise."
After replacing his IV, the nurse left the room grumbling about snotty kids.
'Yeah, I bet you hate kids as much as I'm starting to hate you.' Maurice thought as he tried to wipe the tears from his face.
It was thirty minutes later when the nurse brought his food in. It was something that Maurice didn't recognize and certainly didn't smell good. "What is this?"
"Food, just eat it so I can get out of here."
"Can I have a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich instead?"
"No, that is all you are getting. Eat it willingly or I will force feed it to you." The nurse said.
Maurice didn't know what force feeding was, but it didn't sound good, so he assumed it was something he wouldn't like. He took a big breath and began eating. It was all he could do not to gag on the food, but somehow he managed to force a good portion of the food down before he signaled that he was done. It must have been enough to satisfy the nurse because she took the tray and left the room after saying, "I'll be back to get you ready for bed."
'Bed? But I just woke up. Man, talk about the Nurse from Hell'
****************
The nurse came back shortly pushing a cart. On the cart there were some leather things lined with fleece that Maurice didn't recognize. She picked up one and turned to Maurice. "These are restraints, I'm going to put them on you to make sure you don't pull your IV out again." She put up the side rails on the bed and attached the restraint first to his wrist then to the bed rail. Maurice pulled on it testing it and immediately knew he wouldn't get out of it. She moved around to the other side of the bed and repeated the process with the other wrist. 'Dad better not get a look at these, it would probably give him some ideas.'
Seeing Maurice was then fully helpless the nurse asked, "Are you sleepy enough to go to sleep on your own or do you need some help?"
Having just waked a little over an hour ago, Maurice wasn't sleepy. "I'm not very tired. Can I stay up and watch TV for a while until I get sleepy.
"No! I'm not going to come in here and check on you every hour. Janet might cater to all you spoiled brats, but I'm not. You are going to go to sleep now whether you like it or not. Now do you want a sedative or not?"
"No, I'll go to sleep on my own." Maurice said. 'This lady's crazy. How in the hell did she get a job nursing anybody, let alone kids.'
"Fine, I better not hear a word from you," the nurse said as she was pushing her cart towards the door. As she started out the door she reached for the light switch.
"Please leave the light on. I don't like the dark." Maurice pleaded.
"Look, I saw the note Nurse Janet put on your chart about leaving the light on, but you are getting too old to sleep with the lights on. Get over it." With that she flipped the lights off and went out the door, plunging Maurice into the darkness.
As soon as the door shut, Maurice began to panic. It was dark, he was tied down, and his nightmares from before started to come back to him. His breathing became erratic and his mind started to play tricks on him. The shadows seemed to move, he started to believe that they were men coming to beat him like in his nightmares. "Help me please!" he yelled out loud without even thinking about it.
Suddenly the nurse came bursting in the door turning on the lights, "What do you want now?" She then saw he was panicking. "What is wrong with you?"
"I don't like the dark, please leave the light on." Maurice pleaded again this time with tears streaming down his face.
"I've already told you, get over it," the nurse said turning to go out the door.
"Wait," Maurice said, "Maybe I do need help falling asleep."
"Fine, I'll go get it," the nurse then flew out the door.
She came back with a syringe and walked to the side of the bed. Maurice, expecting her to put it into the IV like Janet did, jumped when he felt her grab his arm. He went to move the arm out of her way but the restraints limited his movement. "Hold still, so I can get this into your vein," she hissed. Maurice let out a small shriek as she jabbed the needle into his vein and depressed the plunger. Immediately he started to feel the effects. "I better not hear anymore from you tonight." She said leaving the room turning out the lights once again. This time Maurice didn't even notice the darkness, he had already dropped into a deep sleep, his face still wet from his tears.
Tbc…
****************
More to come!