LOST - PART I
CHOICES
Chapter 4
Adam's dark, furious words seemed to echo in the large room as Thea stood very still, staring at him. Then she blinked and green fire sparked in her hazel eyes. He almost drew back when she leaned over him.
"I did not let you stay dead because I took a vow to preserve life at all costs."
"So you brought me back...and for what? I HAVE nothing. I AM nothing." Thea started to shake her head and he made an impatient sound in the back of his throat.
"For God's sake, can't you understand? I don't even know who I am!"
Thea's eyes narrowed and she dropped into her chair, leaned back, and watched him carefully for a while. He returned her cool gaze.
The silence in the room lengthened, but the only people who seemed to feel uncomfortable were Abner and Glory.
Thea finally spoke. "So what are you going to do?" she said in a conversational tone.
Adam looked at her as though she was insane. "Do? What the hell are you talking about?"
She shrugged. "What are you going to do with the rest of your life?"
"Seemingly spend it as a destitute cripple with no name." His tone was sarcastic and his expression said that should have been obvious to anyone, even her.
She smiled, "You don't have to."
"I don't' have to what? Be a cripple?"
"No, you don't, and you don't have to be destitute either. Once you are out of that bed and have recovered your strength I'm sure you will be able to think of a way to make a living. And you DO have a name - Adam - and if you want a last name, pick one."
"That can't possibly be legal."
"Yes it is, I asked. As long as you are not consciously trying to avoid prosecution, jail time, or incurred debt, you can call yourself whatever you want. For a single court fee you can change your name to William Shakespeare if you like."
His expression was still hostile and she decided to go for broke. She needed to push him, and push hard to get him over this first hurdle. Leaning forward, she let her own annoyance at his attitude show.
"Look, Adam, you can lay there, do nothing, and die at a relatively young age. Or trust me and become well again, which will be difficult and painful, but possible."
"Just 'possible'?" he answered.
"Alright, more than possible, but less than certain. I can't give you any guarantees. All I can give you is my word that I will do everything I can and use every bit of experience and skill I possess to make you whole again." She kept her gaze locked with his and could see she almost had him. "So you have a choice to make, right here and right now. You have to decided whether or not you have the backbone for this uphill battle." Falling silent, she looked at him expectantly.
"What's in it for you?" he asked suspiciously and she smiled a very wide smile as her eyes lit up. "The challenge," was all the answer she would give.
"An experiment?" he asked tightly and she nodded, still smiling.
"You don't pull any punches, do you?"
"No, I don't have the time for that and neither do you."
He closed his eyes to think and a wave of weariness washed over him. His weakened condition coupled with the minimal dose of morphine was making his thought processes slow.
"You'll never stop pushing me to cooperate, will you?" he asked with his eyes still closed.
"No," she answered softly.
"So I really don't have a choice." He almost smiled. "You just wanted me to think I did."
She held back a laugh, happy his mind was so sharp, even with the morphine. "Possibly."
"Possibly?" he opened his eyes and their gazes locked again. She held her breath. He could almost feel her will touch him, prodding him to give in. He sighed and did.
"Alright then," he gave in and even though he knew it was the right and intelligent thing to do, it still left a sour taste in his mouth. Suddenly, he felt like laughing at himself, but didn't.
Then he was surprised when all she said was, "Good," gave Abner and Glory a significant look, stood, and quickly left the room.
Abner came over to the bed to tend to Adam's needs while Glory hurried after Thea. She found her friend and employer where she expected her to be - sitting at the kitchen table with her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of tea. The woman was shaking like a leaf, her eyes awash with unshed tears in reaction.
Thea raised a trembling hand to her mouth as the other woman sat down on the opposite side of the table. "Oh God, for a minute there I thought I'd lost him," Thea's breath hitched in her chest as she tried to calm down.
Glory reached out to take one of her hands. "That's funny, because it looked to me like you had him in the palm of your hand."
Thea shook her head. "Him? No never. There's never been a woman born who could do that."
Tipping her head to the side, Glory's expression said she was concerned. "I've never seen you cry over a patient before."
"That's right, you've never seen me. I usually don't let anyone see me cry." She paused to shudder, "But the pain, the anguish I saw in that man's eyes was enough to make even a rock weep."
Glory nodded and patted her hand, trying to comfort her.
With tears still spilling down her cheeks, Thea said, "Please...tell me I'm doing the right thing."
The blond woman smiled and met her friend's gaze steadily. "You ARE doing the right thing," she said firmly. Thea gave her a suddenly sharp look. "You really mean that, don't you?"
"Yes I do," Glory answered, and stood to pour herself some tea. Then she went to the cupboard to take down a bottle. When she came back to the table, she poured a generous amount of whiskey in each cup.
Suddenly laughing with tears still in her eyes, Thea said, "Thank you," and waited for the other woman to sit down again before speaking.
"I managed to bully him into cooperating, but that doesn't mean he won't change his mind. Now I think it will be best if I have as little contact with him as possible for a while. So you and Abner will have to do everything. But I want detailed reports every day and you bring anything that stands out even the tiniest bit to my attention immediately."
Glory smiled her agreement, happy to see Thea in control again. Both women took a deep drink of the whiskey-laced tea and Thea smiled back, but it quickly faded.
"I've told him the truth Glory. This will be a terrible uphill battle, we will all need to be behind him and pushing with everything we've got."
The other woman sat up and straightened her thin shoulders. "I'm ready!" she said brightly and Thea couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm.
"You would think the next month would be the hardest, but it won't be. The hardest period will be right after his casts are removed. Getting him up and walking again will be exhausting, painful, and frustrating."
She turned around when Abner's rich voice spoke from the doorway behind her. "Well, he's settled in for the afternoon. That battle of the wills with you wore him out."
"Come and have a seat Abner," Thea said and patted the empty place at the end of the table. Abner hesitated for a brief second then moved quietly across the kitchen to do as she asked. His expression was solemn as he shook his head.
"I can't believe how lucid he is. Dr. Charles didn't expect him to come out of it at all." Thea and Glory exchanged a knowing look and his eyes shifted back and forth between them. "What?" he simply asked, baffled.
Thea took a deep breath and explained. "Abner, you will find that I use unusual drugs and techniques in my practice, some things other doctors just laugh at or get highly insulted about. I have to have your word you won't say anything to anyone about this."
Abner nodded as his charming, white-toothed grin flashed. "I get ya," he said and was rewarded with smiles from the two women.
"Alright folks, now that we know just what we have to deal with I think we should put our heads together and come up with a course of treatment. I have a lot of ideas and I need your opinions before I can pick and choose." She paused to take another swallow of the tea while Abner rose and poured some for himself too.
"The whiskey is in the cupboard above you," Thea said absently and when he sat down again she started to outline her plans.
"Now I think we should begin with working on flexibility and here is what might be the best approach..."
CHOICES
Chapter 4
Adam's dark, furious words seemed to echo in the large room as Thea stood very still, staring at him. Then she blinked and green fire sparked in her hazel eyes. He almost drew back when she leaned over him.
"I did not let you stay dead because I took a vow to preserve life at all costs."
"So you brought me back...and for what? I HAVE nothing. I AM nothing." Thea started to shake her head and he made an impatient sound in the back of his throat.
"For God's sake, can't you understand? I don't even know who I am!"
Thea's eyes narrowed and she dropped into her chair, leaned back, and watched him carefully for a while. He returned her cool gaze.
The silence in the room lengthened, but the only people who seemed to feel uncomfortable were Abner and Glory.
Thea finally spoke. "So what are you going to do?" she said in a conversational tone.
Adam looked at her as though she was insane. "Do? What the hell are you talking about?"
She shrugged. "What are you going to do with the rest of your life?"
"Seemingly spend it as a destitute cripple with no name." His tone was sarcastic and his expression said that should have been obvious to anyone, even her.
She smiled, "You don't have to."
"I don't' have to what? Be a cripple?"
"No, you don't, and you don't have to be destitute either. Once you are out of that bed and have recovered your strength I'm sure you will be able to think of a way to make a living. And you DO have a name - Adam - and if you want a last name, pick one."
"That can't possibly be legal."
"Yes it is, I asked. As long as you are not consciously trying to avoid prosecution, jail time, or incurred debt, you can call yourself whatever you want. For a single court fee you can change your name to William Shakespeare if you like."
His expression was still hostile and she decided to go for broke. She needed to push him, and push hard to get him over this first hurdle. Leaning forward, she let her own annoyance at his attitude show.
"Look, Adam, you can lay there, do nothing, and die at a relatively young age. Or trust me and become well again, which will be difficult and painful, but possible."
"Just 'possible'?" he answered.
"Alright, more than possible, but less than certain. I can't give you any guarantees. All I can give you is my word that I will do everything I can and use every bit of experience and skill I possess to make you whole again." She kept her gaze locked with his and could see she almost had him. "So you have a choice to make, right here and right now. You have to decided whether or not you have the backbone for this uphill battle." Falling silent, she looked at him expectantly.
"What's in it for you?" he asked suspiciously and she smiled a very wide smile as her eyes lit up. "The challenge," was all the answer she would give.
"An experiment?" he asked tightly and she nodded, still smiling.
"You don't pull any punches, do you?"
"No, I don't have the time for that and neither do you."
He closed his eyes to think and a wave of weariness washed over him. His weakened condition coupled with the minimal dose of morphine was making his thought processes slow.
"You'll never stop pushing me to cooperate, will you?" he asked with his eyes still closed.
"No," she answered softly.
"So I really don't have a choice." He almost smiled. "You just wanted me to think I did."
She held back a laugh, happy his mind was so sharp, even with the morphine. "Possibly."
"Possibly?" he opened his eyes and their gazes locked again. She held her breath. He could almost feel her will touch him, prodding him to give in. He sighed and did.
"Alright then," he gave in and even though he knew it was the right and intelligent thing to do, it still left a sour taste in his mouth. Suddenly, he felt like laughing at himself, but didn't.
Then he was surprised when all she said was, "Good," gave Abner and Glory a significant look, stood, and quickly left the room.
Abner came over to the bed to tend to Adam's needs while Glory hurried after Thea. She found her friend and employer where she expected her to be - sitting at the kitchen table with her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of tea. The woman was shaking like a leaf, her eyes awash with unshed tears in reaction.
Thea raised a trembling hand to her mouth as the other woman sat down on the opposite side of the table. "Oh God, for a minute there I thought I'd lost him," Thea's breath hitched in her chest as she tried to calm down.
Glory reached out to take one of her hands. "That's funny, because it looked to me like you had him in the palm of your hand."
Thea shook her head. "Him? No never. There's never been a woman born who could do that."
Tipping her head to the side, Glory's expression said she was concerned. "I've never seen you cry over a patient before."
"That's right, you've never seen me. I usually don't let anyone see me cry." She paused to shudder, "But the pain, the anguish I saw in that man's eyes was enough to make even a rock weep."
Glory nodded and patted her hand, trying to comfort her.
With tears still spilling down her cheeks, Thea said, "Please...tell me I'm doing the right thing."
The blond woman smiled and met her friend's gaze steadily. "You ARE doing the right thing," she said firmly. Thea gave her a suddenly sharp look. "You really mean that, don't you?"
"Yes I do," Glory answered, and stood to pour herself some tea. Then she went to the cupboard to take down a bottle. When she came back to the table, she poured a generous amount of whiskey in each cup.
Suddenly laughing with tears still in her eyes, Thea said, "Thank you," and waited for the other woman to sit down again before speaking.
"I managed to bully him into cooperating, but that doesn't mean he won't change his mind. Now I think it will be best if I have as little contact with him as possible for a while. So you and Abner will have to do everything. But I want detailed reports every day and you bring anything that stands out even the tiniest bit to my attention immediately."
Glory smiled her agreement, happy to see Thea in control again. Both women took a deep drink of the whiskey-laced tea and Thea smiled back, but it quickly faded.
"I've told him the truth Glory. This will be a terrible uphill battle, we will all need to be behind him and pushing with everything we've got."
The other woman sat up and straightened her thin shoulders. "I'm ready!" she said brightly and Thea couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm.
"You would think the next month would be the hardest, but it won't be. The hardest period will be right after his casts are removed. Getting him up and walking again will be exhausting, painful, and frustrating."
She turned around when Abner's rich voice spoke from the doorway behind her. "Well, he's settled in for the afternoon. That battle of the wills with you wore him out."
"Come and have a seat Abner," Thea said and patted the empty place at the end of the table. Abner hesitated for a brief second then moved quietly across the kitchen to do as she asked. His expression was solemn as he shook his head.
"I can't believe how lucid he is. Dr. Charles didn't expect him to come out of it at all." Thea and Glory exchanged a knowing look and his eyes shifted back and forth between them. "What?" he simply asked, baffled.
Thea took a deep breath and explained. "Abner, you will find that I use unusual drugs and techniques in my practice, some things other doctors just laugh at or get highly insulted about. I have to have your word you won't say anything to anyone about this."
Abner nodded as his charming, white-toothed grin flashed. "I get ya," he said and was rewarded with smiles from the two women.
"Alright folks, now that we know just what we have to deal with I think we should put our heads together and come up with a course of treatment. I have a lot of ideas and I need your opinions before I can pick and choose." She paused to take another swallow of the tea while Abner rose and poured some for himself too.
"The whiskey is in the cupboard above you," Thea said absently and when he sat down again she started to outline her plans.
"Now I think we should begin with working on flexibility and here is what might be the best approach..."