Chapter 30: Mike's Return
Cathy rushed up to Anakin, who was lying on the floor of the cave.
"Are you okay?" she asked. He shook his head. "Let's take you up to the hospital," suggested Cathy. She hooked up Brown Sugar to their new sleigh (that everyone had helped make) and helped Anakin inside. She climbed on Brown Sugar and led him through the trees into Gifek.
The small clinic Cathy had known had been gone for a long while now, and it had been replaced by a hospital. Cathy and Anakin rode up to the building and went inside.
"How can I help you?" asked a fat, old, lady at the front desk.
"My friend hurt his arm."
"Follow me," said the lady, getting up and walking down a long hallway. She led them into a room. "Sit up here," she instructed to Anakin. Anakin sat on the long counter. "The doctor will be here shortly," said the lady, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.
Cathy took a seat next to the wall of the room. The doctor came in. He was old, too old to still be working.
"Hello! I'm Doctor Howe! What seems to be the trouble?" said the old doctor, kindly.
"Well, my friend hurt his arm."
"How did this happen?" asked Dr. Howe, checking out Anakin's arm.
"Uh…" Cathy paused. She didn't want to say that Damien had hurt him, because then they'd be after him, and maybe come to inspect the forest. Everyone in the forest's biggest fear was that they'd be caught one day and not allowed to live there anymore. "He fell," she answered. This wasn't entirely false. Anakin had fallen when Damien had let go, hadn't he?
"I see," said Dr. Howe, as though he didn't think Cathy was being completely truthful. "We'll have to take an x-ray." He led Anakin and Cathy into another room. He took an x-ray of Anakin's arm.
They went back into the other room and Dr. Howe put the pictures up on a light board. "His arm is fractured. It's a small break, though. See right there?" He showed Cathy a picture of the small break in Anakin's bone. "It should only take a few weeks to heal. We'll put a cast on it."
Cathy read a magazine in the lobby while Anakin was getting his cast on. It didn't take long.
"Now, I'll need your name and address to bill you," said Dr. Howe.
"Cathy."
"Last name?"
"Uh…" Cathy couldn't think about her last name because she was so worried about having to give an address. She also wondered if they had any money.
Dr. Howe stared at Cathy. "You look like someone I used to know… but they'd be around my age by now."
Cathy stared at the old man. No wonder he had looked familiar. "Mike?"
Dr. Howe nodded slowly and said. "You couldn't be Cathy…I knew I shouldn't have stayed at work so long; I'm starting to hallucinate!"
"No, Mike, it's really me."
"But, but, you'd be my age. You still look twelve!"
"Uh, Mike, there are some things I need to fill you in on," Cathy started.
Mike rushed out of the room and back to the lobby where the fat lady stood at the desk. "Ms. Sim, I'm leaving now. I'll see you tomorrow. Tell everyone I'm off duty."
Ms. Sim looked at him strangely but then said, "Good bye, doctor," and went back to what she was doing.
Mike rushed outside into the parking lot. He walked over to a black convertible and motioned for Cathy and Anakin can get in. While they rode back, Cathy told him about the aging problems in the forest.
"What did you do after you were adopted?" asked Cathy.
"Well, my father, Dr. Howe, started this hospital when it got too crowded around our small clinic. I was around twenty then, and going to medical school. Then we got some government funding from King Humperdink to build a hospital. You know, the population of Golda is really growing. Anyway, shortly after the hospital was completed, my father died. Then the hospital was handed over to me. I now own it. I'm pretty old, as you can see, but I have no heirs to give the hospital over to since I never married. Plus, I love my job and being a doctor. One day, I'll probably give the hospital over to a hard working, young doctor who will enjoy it as much as I did."
Cathy then started talking about the other strange things that had gone on while they were in the forest. She told about the Hunter, the Jedi, Mara Jade, winter, and the flood. She also told the real story about how Anakin had broken his arm, which caused her to explain all the newcomers in the forest.
"Erin, Lauren," came a voice from downstairs, "Time to clean up! Erin's mom will be here any minute!"
"No! It can't be time yet!" Lauren looked at the clock. It was almost five o'clock.
"I guess we have to clean up," said Erin, as she picked up the pond and started to take the trees apart. Lauren started to separate her things from Erin's. The doorbell rang.
"Oh, no!" Lauren said. She shoved the last remaining items into Erin's box, and Erin closed it tightly. She slipped on her shoes and ran downstairs.
"Bye, Erin!" Lauren called as Erin walked out the door. "Next time, we'll play at your house!" Erin got in the car and drove away. Lauren went upstairs to finish cleaning up her Playmobil.