Disclaimer: I don't own anything Trigun, so don't sue me please, thank you!
Tying Up Loose Ends
Chapter Twenty
Looking It in the Eyes
Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…
It took then over an hour to get Knives to the bathroom and back; most of the time was spent waiting for Knives to finish his business. Actually, Edy suspected that Knives probably sat in there on the bench doing nothing just to spite them, but she didn't say anything. Dinner needed to be ready for the girls when they got there and Edy didn't feel like spending any more time on Knives that day. As patient as she usually was with the plant, a neck ache the size of the hole in the fifth moon had moments before taken over all her nerves, leaving not a last one for Knives to get on.
Together Vash and Edy walked downstairs, both lost in their own thoughts. Vash had retreated into his worries about what to do with a Knives on the mend. As for Edy, she could only think about pain killers and the consumption of whole handful of them in the near future.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…
Without warning, Edy pitched forward, consumed by a sudden dizziness. The pain at the base of her head intensified, and every muscle in her chest tightened, causing her to emit a loud, strange cry. Before Vash knew what had happened, Edy tumbled down the remaining three or four steps, landing in a heap in the entryway. Then the convulsions started.
Her entire body shook, her back arching and flattening against the floor, her limbs flailing. Saliva escaped from the corners of her mouth, seeping through clenched teeth. By this time Wolfwood and Isaiah had run to see what had happened, having heard her cry out and crash to the ground. None of them could move, riveted by fear and shock.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…
Then, as suddenly as it began, the seizure ended. It all took maybe thirty seconds, a minute at the tops, but to the three who witnessed it, an eternity had passed. Vash fell to his knees, turning Edy on her side towards him and pulling her into his arms, pleading with her to wake up. Vash realized numbly that he was sobbing. He also realized that Isaiah was screaming, being held back by Wolfwood; tears of fear had even found a path down the normally less emotional priest's cheeks.
Shaking, frantic hands wiped at Edy's chin, trying to get rid of the spit. Everything was blurred as Edy opened her eyes; she began to panic, unable to see well or remember what just happened. Her entire body hurt and she was so confused. Edy tried to speak, tried to ask Vash what was going on and why he was holding her there in the entryway, but nothing came out.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…
From miles away came Wolfwood's voice, soothing Isaiah into a sniffling quiet and trying to keep his voice from breaking as he told Vash to pick Edy up and get her to Angelina II.
The hospital, of course, they needed to get Edy to the hospital.
Scooping her up into his arms, Vash held her close and followed Wolfwood to the motorcycle outside as he himself tried to calm Edy, who had begun to struggle in her confusion and fear. He vaguely recalled his friend telling Isaiah to stay and send the girls to St. Luke's, the closest hospital, as soon as they got into town; Isaiah himself wasn't allowed to leave the house, a fact that hadn't bothered him before then but now seemed to be a fate worse than torture followed slowly by death.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…
Wolfwood took Edy while Vash settled himself into the sidecar and then passed her to the other man, helping to get her situated as best as possible; Wolfwood sent up a couple of thanks to the Man Upstairs for convincing him a month ago to outfit Angelina II with the sidecar. Jumping onto the motorcyle, the three of them sped off into the night.
Edy could feel the wind tearing at her but she couldn't see anything beyond blurred flares of light from time to time and the pale blob that was Vash's face. She also could feel his tears as they dripped onto her head, his own resting atop hers as she sat there, curled into a little ball in his lap. Only moans and awkward grunts and noises came out when she tried to speak again. The pain still lingered in her neck, though not as intense; it was a relief no matter how minor it seemed.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…
Quiet resided over the emergency ward that night at St. Luke's; the nurse working the desk yawned and checked his watch, realizing with a groan that he still had eight more hours on his shift to go. He couldn't get over how dead the place had been all evening, no pun intended. Usually they were swamped.
Two men came bursting through the doors, one carrying a frightened, dazed-looking woman in his arms. Jumping from his seat the nurse rushed around from behind the desk to help them. So much for being bored.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…
Within minutes Edy had been spirited away by doctors and nurses to assess what was wrong with her, leaving the men to slump down in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs without any clue about what just happened. Vash tried to stay with Edy but he had been politely but forcefully told to take a seat and be patient; she was in good hands now, they said. Everything would be alright now, they said.
They stared at each other for awhile, Wolfwood and Vash both trying to silently and separately assimilate the events of the past twenty minutes. Then their staring eyes turned elsewhere, but not before Wolfwood passed Vash his handkerchief. The fearless gunman noisily blew the crying-snot from his nose and sniffled pitifully, his big turquoise eyes red and his cheeks blotchy from the tears.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…
A doctor came to talk to them every fifteen to twenty minutes, asking questions about Edy's personal information and what they witnessed, as well as keeping them informed of any leeway they were making. The hospital had to bring in one of their neurologists who was on call that night and had to run several tests, including an MRI, so it was slow going. Vash spent much of the time fidgeting or pacing and Wolfwood spent much of it yelling at Vash to sit down.
After a couple of hours the Insurance Girls came running in, Milly crying and Meryl white as a sheet, her jaw taunt. Their arrival seemed to have been timed perfectly because as soon as they greeted the men, spreading hugs, tears, and choked words of comfort, the neurologist walked up.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…
"Miss Gardener suffered a from a subarachnoid hemorrhagic stroke, caused by the bursting of a blood vessel near the surface of her brain," the neurologist explained, her voice kind and sympathetic. She made an effort to explain everything as simply as she could to the worried knot of the patient's friends that clustered before her, sensitive to their fears and apprehension. "That was what triggered the seizure. The blood vessels in her brain were surprisingly weak; coupling this with high blood pressure had brought on the hemorrhage and then the stroke.
"Thanks to the quick actions of you two gentlemen Miss Gardener is safely out of danger and resting comfortably. We will have to keep her here for a few days to observe her immediate recovery and then decide a course of long-term treatment; luckily, Miss Gardener will probably not have to undergo surgery unless her condition becomes significantly worse. More likely than not, with medication and some changes in her lifestyle, she'll be perfectly fine."
When all the information sank in, the four breathed a collective sigh and thanked the doctor for everything she did to help Edy. Still badly shaken but better, Vash and the girls followed the doctor to Edy's room in the ICU. Wolfwood told them he'd better go home and tell the other two about what was up; he promised to be back as quick as he could and ask them to send his regards and love to Edy until he could do so in person.
Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God… Thank you for not taking her from us yet, thought Vash. Thank you for not taking her from me yet.
In all the chaos no one noticed the increase of black in Edy's hair, a fact that wouldn't be identified for another day or two until after things began to settle down; theories would have to wait until then to be formed about it as well.
* * * * *
Myshkin: Phew! I don't know about you, but I'm completely drained after that. Sorry for the short chapter but I'm pooped after writing that. Jeez, where'd my tissues go… Why do I do this to myself! …_…