Jimmy and Kim walked down the hall, back towards the waiting room. A small sense of relief had taken over their bodies. A few feet before they reached the door, Kim reached over and took a hold of Jimmy's hand.
"Kim?" Catherine said standing up, "How is he?"
"He's doing well," Kim replied.
"Yeah, the doctor says he's doing better the expected. He was starting to wake up, so they asked us to leave while they removed all the tubes & stuff." Jimmy said.
"That little boy sure has some guardian angel," Catherine commented.
Kim smiled, "Yeah, he does... doesn't he?"
The day slowly turned into night, and the waiting room slowly started to empty out. Jimmy and Kim thanked everyone for staying, but with things looking up didn't see a reason with everyone staying. Catherine headed home only after Jimmy insisted on it, and called her a cab. Kim, and Jimmy spent the night camped out in Joey's room.
The morning sun shined into the room, onto Jimmy's face awaking him from a restless sleep. He had spent most of the night tossing and turning in an uncomfortable chair, each time he fell back asleep the accident replayed in his mind. Jimmy yawned, and looked over at his son. Joey was still asleep, he woken up a few minutes the evening before but he was pretty dazed. Jimmy's eyes shifted over to Kim, she was crawled up on to a reclining hospital chair, the sun lit up the side of her face and Jimmy couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was.
Kim slowly opened her eyes, and yawned. She looked up, and noticed Jimmy staring at her.
"Hey," Kim said half awake. "Did he wake up yet?"
"No, not yet. The nurse came in about an hour ago and hung new bags."
"I wish he'd wake up, I just want to hear his voice." Kim said, brushing Joey's hair off his face.
"I'm sure he will soon," Jimmy said reassuring Kim. "So, how'd you sleep?"
"About as well as I did the night we camped out for Pearl Jam tickets in the rain." Kim replied.
"What are you talking about, you slept with a baby that night. You made me stay up because you insisted the bum across the street was looking at you weird." Jimmy said with a smile.
"Well, he was."
"Kim, he was blind and had one leg. How dangerous could he have been?"
"He didn't have one leg. He had two legs, and one foot... and he could have been faking that whole blind thing."
Their light conversation was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Kim, and Jimmy both looked in the direction of the knock.
A young nurse peaked her head in, "Good morning," she said greeting them. "I'm taking over Nurse Fallon's patients for the shift. My names Kathleen Cande, but you guys can just call me Kat, everyone else does."
Jimmy stood up, "Hi, I'm Jimmy, this is Kim" he said pointing at Kim.
The nurse walked towards Joeys bed with his chart in hand, "This little guy sure had a day yesterday, didn't he?" she said as she checked his IV bags.
"How's he doing?" Kim asked.
"The doctor is on his way right now, he's going to want to check him over and then talk to you. Do you two want to go make any phone calls, or maybe grab some breakfast? The doctor is probably going ask you to step out while he examines your son."
"Yeah," Kim said looking at Jimmy "I promised my Mom I'd call her in the morning."
"I could definitely use some coffee," Jimmy said.
The two got up, and walked out of the hospital room. "Jimmy, you should probably give your parents a call."
"Yeah, I will" Jimmy said looking down at his watch, "Later though, they're probably still asleep."
"Are they staying at your brothers?" Kim asked.
"No, they were driving back out... that's why they didn't want to stay long last night." Jimmy said.
Kim could tell he was uncomfortable talking about his parents, "Ok, wait for me and I'll come with you to get a coffee." Kim said picking up the phone.
They stepped off the elevator onto the first floor, "Mmm, I smell eggs." Jimmy said.
"Wow, you must really be hungry if the smell of the hospital cafeteria is making you say hungry." Kim said joking around.
"Yeah well, I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday." Jimmy said, walking towards the cafeteria.
Jimmy grabbed a tray as they entered the cafeteria. "You know, I actually ate here when you had Joey. The food isn't that bad."
"Really? That's not what I remember saying the next morning..."
"Oh yeah... I wonder if they have cereal." Jimmy said. "Ooo, look Coco Puffs. Joey used to love these. Remember that? All he wanted to eat was Coco Puffs; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was all Coco Puffs."
"Yeah, and you would have let him. I never wanted him to have that sugary foods."
"No kid should be forced to eat Grape Nuts Kim, it's just not right." Jimmy said, grabbing a small box of Coco Puffs. "Are you going to eat?"
"Yeah, I'll grab a muffin. What I really want is that coffee." Kim replied.
Jimmy paid for the food while Kim grab packets of sugar and cream for their coffee. He carried the tray over to where Kim was waiting, "Do you want to sit here, or go back upstairs?"
"Let's sit here, they gave us that pager incase anything happens. The doctor probably is still with him." Kim answered. Kim walked towards an empty table, and was about to sit down.
"No, not that table. This one." Jimmy said as he walked towards a back table up against a large glass window. "This is where I sat the night you had Joey... when you kicked me out of your room for breathing too loud."
"You do breath kinda weird in your sleep," Kim said sitting down at the table.
"See that machine behind you?" Jimmy said pointing at the old looking coffee machine, "That machine stole $5 of mine that night."
"Your still not over that?"
"No, I'm over it. I'm just saying it took my money." Jimmy said pouring the cereal and milk into the Styrofoam bowl.
"I don't know how you can eat that. Chocolate flavored cereal, with coffee."
"It's the American Dream Kimmy, you just gotta learn to live a little."
"Yeah well, keep putting six packs of sugar into for coffee and you wouldn't be living long." Kim said. Kim was stirring in the packs of Sweet-n-Low into her coffee when the pager went off.
"Is that us?" Jimmy said, standing up.
Kim looked down at the flashing pager, "Let's go." Kim said, grabbing her coffee.
"Kim?" Catherine said standing up, "How is he?"
"He's doing well," Kim replied.
"Yeah, the doctor says he's doing better the expected. He was starting to wake up, so they asked us to leave while they removed all the tubes & stuff." Jimmy said.
"That little boy sure has some guardian angel," Catherine commented.
Kim smiled, "Yeah, he does... doesn't he?"
The day slowly turned into night, and the waiting room slowly started to empty out. Jimmy and Kim thanked everyone for staying, but with things looking up didn't see a reason with everyone staying. Catherine headed home only after Jimmy insisted on it, and called her a cab. Kim, and Jimmy spent the night camped out in Joey's room.
The morning sun shined into the room, onto Jimmy's face awaking him from a restless sleep. He had spent most of the night tossing and turning in an uncomfortable chair, each time he fell back asleep the accident replayed in his mind. Jimmy yawned, and looked over at his son. Joey was still asleep, he woken up a few minutes the evening before but he was pretty dazed. Jimmy's eyes shifted over to Kim, she was crawled up on to a reclining hospital chair, the sun lit up the side of her face and Jimmy couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was.
Kim slowly opened her eyes, and yawned. She looked up, and noticed Jimmy staring at her.
"Hey," Kim said half awake. "Did he wake up yet?"
"No, not yet. The nurse came in about an hour ago and hung new bags."
"I wish he'd wake up, I just want to hear his voice." Kim said, brushing Joey's hair off his face.
"I'm sure he will soon," Jimmy said reassuring Kim. "So, how'd you sleep?"
"About as well as I did the night we camped out for Pearl Jam tickets in the rain." Kim replied.
"What are you talking about, you slept with a baby that night. You made me stay up because you insisted the bum across the street was looking at you weird." Jimmy said with a smile.
"Well, he was."
"Kim, he was blind and had one leg. How dangerous could he have been?"
"He didn't have one leg. He had two legs, and one foot... and he could have been faking that whole blind thing."
Their light conversation was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Kim, and Jimmy both looked in the direction of the knock.
A young nurse peaked her head in, "Good morning," she said greeting them. "I'm taking over Nurse Fallon's patients for the shift. My names Kathleen Cande, but you guys can just call me Kat, everyone else does."
Jimmy stood up, "Hi, I'm Jimmy, this is Kim" he said pointing at Kim.
The nurse walked towards Joeys bed with his chart in hand, "This little guy sure had a day yesterday, didn't he?" she said as she checked his IV bags.
"How's he doing?" Kim asked.
"The doctor is on his way right now, he's going to want to check him over and then talk to you. Do you two want to go make any phone calls, or maybe grab some breakfast? The doctor is probably going ask you to step out while he examines your son."
"Yeah," Kim said looking at Jimmy "I promised my Mom I'd call her in the morning."
"I could definitely use some coffee," Jimmy said.
The two got up, and walked out of the hospital room. "Jimmy, you should probably give your parents a call."
"Yeah, I will" Jimmy said looking down at his watch, "Later though, they're probably still asleep."
"Are they staying at your brothers?" Kim asked.
"No, they were driving back out... that's why they didn't want to stay long last night." Jimmy said.
Kim could tell he was uncomfortable talking about his parents, "Ok, wait for me and I'll come with you to get a coffee." Kim said picking up the phone.
They stepped off the elevator onto the first floor, "Mmm, I smell eggs." Jimmy said.
"Wow, you must really be hungry if the smell of the hospital cafeteria is making you say hungry." Kim said joking around.
"Yeah well, I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday." Jimmy said, walking towards the cafeteria.
Jimmy grabbed a tray as they entered the cafeteria. "You know, I actually ate here when you had Joey. The food isn't that bad."
"Really? That's not what I remember saying the next morning..."
"Oh yeah... I wonder if they have cereal." Jimmy said. "Ooo, look Coco Puffs. Joey used to love these. Remember that? All he wanted to eat was Coco Puffs; breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was all Coco Puffs."
"Yeah, and you would have let him. I never wanted him to have that sugary foods."
"No kid should be forced to eat Grape Nuts Kim, it's just not right." Jimmy said, grabbing a small box of Coco Puffs. "Are you going to eat?"
"Yeah, I'll grab a muffin. What I really want is that coffee." Kim replied.
Jimmy paid for the food while Kim grab packets of sugar and cream for their coffee. He carried the tray over to where Kim was waiting, "Do you want to sit here, or go back upstairs?"
"Let's sit here, they gave us that pager incase anything happens. The doctor probably is still with him." Kim answered. Kim walked towards an empty table, and was about to sit down.
"No, not that table. This one." Jimmy said as he walked towards a back table up against a large glass window. "This is where I sat the night you had Joey... when you kicked me out of your room for breathing too loud."
"You do breath kinda weird in your sleep," Kim said sitting down at the table.
"See that machine behind you?" Jimmy said pointing at the old looking coffee machine, "That machine stole $5 of mine that night."
"Your still not over that?"
"No, I'm over it. I'm just saying it took my money." Jimmy said pouring the cereal and milk into the Styrofoam bowl.
"I don't know how you can eat that. Chocolate flavored cereal, with coffee."
"It's the American Dream Kimmy, you just gotta learn to live a little."
"Yeah well, keep putting six packs of sugar into for coffee and you wouldn't be living long." Kim said. Kim was stirring in the packs of Sweet-n-Low into her coffee when the pager went off.
"Is that us?" Jimmy said, standing up.
Kim looked down at the flashing pager, "Let's go." Kim said, grabbing her coffee.