The next morning, Dr. Salk called Rebecca, Baloo and Louie from where they had been napping uneasily.
"Molly almost died last night." Rebecca gasped, turned pale, and swayed. "But the fever is broken... and we think that the polio virus is in full retreat... and she still is breathing on her own, which means that the disease didn't get to her lung muscles." He paused. "This might mean that she is out of the woods... and that means that we can concentrate on figuring out what damage, if any, has been done, and what rehabilitation program is best for her."
"She's not going to die?" Rebecca asked.
"I don't want to rise undue hopes... but it does look like she's turned the corner." He paused. "We'll know later today."
There was a knock at the door, and Wildcat was let in by a nurse.
"Wildcat... what are you doing here?" Baloo asked, then: "You didn't let Britches come with you, did ya?"
"No Baloo... that's dangerous... He's waiting outside the gates, and he promised not to move." Baloo still looked worried, and Salk gave a small smile.
"If it was that contagious... there wouldn't be a person on the planet who didn't have it, Baloo, relax."
"Anyway, I thought about them burning all the clothes, and since Lucy's made of cloth, they'd burn her too!" Rebecca winced.
"Molly already thought of that, Wildcat."
"Oh... well here's what me and Kit made for her," Wildcat said as he handed a doll to Rebecca. She almost dropped it.. it had to weigh at least a pound. She looked at it and realized that it wasn't plastic. "I made it out of bronze and steel.. and Kit an I used the joints from his air board to make the arms an legs bend." He looked very happy. "so, you can heat it up and kill all the germs, without killing the doll!" Salk blinked.
"I think that's a brilliant idea..." he paused, "The moment she's awake, well give it to her." There were nods all around.
"I gotta talk to Britches.." Baloo said, "I'll be right back."
Outside of the hospital grounds, Kit was bouncing a ball off of a wall, looking up occasionally. When Baloo walked over, he caught the ball and stood looking at Baloo.
"Papa Bear... how's Molly?"
"The docs think she might have turned the corner, but they're waiting to be sure.... I don't blame 'em." He paused, "That was a nice thing you did."
"Well, I can always get Wildcat to help make another airboard." Kit said, feigning unconcern. Baloo reached out and took him by the shoulder.
"No, Britches... that was a real nice thing you did.... I know how much that means to you... and I'm real proud of you.... There's a hotel not two blocks up the street...we'll stay there, all of us, until this thing gets worked out. OK?"
"OK, Baloo." Baloo noticed his eyes.
"Been crying?" Kit looked away for a moment.
"Yeah..."
"Don't worry about it, I've done a bit myself over the past few." He looked back at the building. "Britches... the docs think she's over the disease... but they don' know how much it's cost her yet..." he paused again. "Beckers... she's only one person, and if Molly needs a lot of help, well, we'll have to look for short term stuff... so we can stick close to Cape Suzzette, Rebecca and Pigtails....."
"OK... I understand, we can help Rebecca with Molly... but Baloo, we don't know that yet, do we?"
"Naw... an you're right... we shouldn't borrow trouble." Baloo said.
Molly woke up. She was tired and still didn't feel really good. But bright sunlight came in the room, and the trees outside looked like trees.
"Hello, Molly." One of the doctors leaned over the bed, a kind look on his face. "Can you tell me who I am?"
"You're the doctor that was here... with Dr. Gozzlin." Molly said.
"That he was," Dr. Gozzlin said, moving into her view. "How do you feel?"
"Tired."
"Do you hurt?"
"No."
"How are your legs?"
"They still feel asleep."
"mmmm....' Dr. Salk said. "well that happens a lot if you've been in bed for a while. Tell you what. Is it okay if Dr. Gozzlin holds you on his lap while I check them?"
"OK." Molly said, drowsily. When he lifted her the pins and needles in her legs got worse, before he sat her on Dr. Gozzlin's lap.
"Now Molly, I want you to tell me if you feel anything, ok?"
"ok."
"Here?"
"no."
"Here?"
"no."
"Her-"
"Ouch! Dr. Gozzlin was better then that, he didn't hurt." At the spirit in the child's voice Gozzlin grinned. Salk was already grinning. The leg had twitched... not as far as it should have, but a lot more then it could have.
"Sorry, Molly. Now, are you hungry?"
"A little..."
"I'll send a nurse to feed you... but don't expect to eat too much at first."
After a few minutes, a nurse came and Molly ate, but only a little before she felt full and tired. Then, the Nurse presented a bundle to her.
"Here you go, dear.... when your Uncle Wildcat heard that you couldn't have Lucy with you, he and your brother made this for you... you don't worry about here getting burned up... she can take it." She finished, unwrapping the bundle for Molly. Molly squealed as she saw the gleaming bronze and steel...
"It looks like Lucy's sister..." She hugged it to her cheek, feeling the coolness. The nurse smiled, before tucking her in, the child already drifting off into sleep... a natural, restful sleep.
The next few days passed slowly. Dr. Salk and Gozzlin both agreed that the worse was apparently over, but that Molly should stay isolated until they were certain. Louie stayed, cajoling, bribing and occasionally threatening Baloo, Kit, Rebecca and Wildcat into eating, while neglecting his food himself. Dr. Gozzlin had to go back to his office, he had other patients, some of them just as ill of other ailments, but Dr. Salk continued to give the family updates.
"She's having great difficulty walking, Ms. Cunningham." He said at one of the meetings. "But that is too be expected, and it's far less then it could be..." he paused, "She'll need a fair amount of physical therapy, some of it painful, but if she goes through it, she will recover almost all, or even all functioning of her lower limbs, though she'll probably always have to work a little bit harder then others to achieve the same results, at least in the legs. Her endurance and upper body strength will probably be the same, or even greater, compensating, you know." Rebecca nodded. The meeting was off the hospital grounds, in an outbuilding, so Kit was also in the office with the others.
"Now, that means that all of you, especially you and Kit, Ms. Cunningham have to let her do these exercises, to walk, swim, everything. I'm not kidding you, any misguided attempt to spare here some pain now could leave her permanently handicapped." Rebecca nodded, and then Kit did, before speaking up.
"How bad is it going to hurt her, doctor?" Salk smiled.
"Not as bad as I'm making out, but there is a sad tendency in our culture to well... think that the formerly ill need to be babied. She doesn't. She needs the most she can take, no more and no less, and I'll give you the guidelines, and Dr. Gozzlin will modify them. You see he's going to be seeing you at regular intervals, starting at once a week, and you are of course to take her back right away if you see anything unusual."
"Dr. Salk." Rebecca asked, still looking a bit fragile, "What is the chance that Molly could have a relapse?"
"Very low. We know that once someone's had Polio, they're immune to that particular strain forever... in fact that is one of the routes were trying to develop a vaccine from... they're other strains, but I'd say Molly has less of a chance of contracting them then you or I do..." Rebecca nodded, still not satisfied. Nor would she be, Salk knew... if other cases were any indication, it would be a long time before any sniffle or fever went unchecked in the Cunningham household.
"And now, I have another visitor..." He said, as the door opened and a nurse emerged, holding Molly in her arms.
"Mommy!" Molly held out her hands to Rebecca, and whatever the problems her legs might have, there was nothing wrong with her arms.
"Oh God, baby..." Rebecca grabbed her and hugged her, as the others came around her. Rebecca smothered her daughter with kisses and hugs until Molly protested.
"Mommy... I'm ok... but did you make certain to feed Lucy like Louie promised."
"Oh yes, Sweetie... and we have food for you too... just as..." Rebecca's voice temporarily failed her and she just hung on to her child, redeemed to her. Kit and Baloo were hanging on to both of them, as Molly looked around with all the energy that she had possessed before.
"when...When can she go home?" Baloo asked Dr. Salk.
"Right now." Dr. Salk replied. "The fevers broken, the virus looks like it's been well and truly thrashed, and the best cure for the remnant is to return to normal surroundings... and exercise." Baloo looked at Molly laughing with her mom and Kit.
"So Kit, can I play horsy when we get home?"
"OK..." Kit said,
"Gee Kit, don't you need a horse to play horsy.. and Mizz Cunningham said no pets, that one pig was enough.... oh wow, if we get that back she can ride it like Rebecca did..."
"Wildcat...."
"Yah, well doctor, I'd really like to-" Baloo stopped, feeling an odd tightness in his throat, "I mean, excuse me.." He tried to clear his throat, and it worked a little, but now he was having a hard time seeing, what with all the extra moisture in his eyes. "What I mean is if you ever need anything that I can give.. you call.." Abruptly he had to turn around and look at the wall for a few minutes, what he could see of it.
As the group headed out for the car, Salk came with them talking to Rebecca and Baloo.
"Now remember what I said about the physical exercise and therapy... don't underdo OR overdo it. If it hurts while she's doing it or if her legs are a little achy afterwards, that's normal, but continual pain, sudden weakness, or a loss of feeling when she's not exercising, needs to be checked... it could indicate that we need to change the regimen to prevent permanent disability."
"I understand, Doctor. And thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart." Rebecca said, holding her sleeping daughter. Salk had explained that she wouldn't have much endurance for a few days, so to expect her to drop off to sleep after excitement.. which was normal and healthy.
Time has a way of healing wounds, and Molly seemed to bounce back fairly quickly... with the exception of her legs. Dr. Salk had warned her, and the later checkups indicated it might be years before she regained her full use of them. For weeks afterwards, getting across the living room was difficult for her. She tried to crawl, but Rebecca refused to let her.... and bit her lip as Molly walked, tears brimming in her eyes from the effort. Once she asked Dr. Gozzlin if she could...
"No!" he said, "Rebecca, get her used to crawling, and the muscles will get used to it... you'll set her back years." He paused, "There's a rehab group for children... it'll help her, and also keep her from feeling singled out. They have a meeting tonight... can you go?" Rebecca who had a loan meeting, four clients showing up, and an invite to a dinner ball, nodded unhesitatingly. "Good. Here's the address."
"Mommy.. what if everyone laughs at me?" Molly asked, a hint of fear in her voice.
"Don't worry, nobody will." Rebecca replied as the taxi stopped in front of the building. As they entered, she could here the sound of children and adults. A woman looked up.
"Oh, you're Ms. Cunningham and this is Molly." She looked at Molly, in Rebecca's arms and then looked at Rebecca.
"Ms. Cunningham, there's one thing I have to tell you and your daughter. I understand it's difficult, but in this building, everyone walks on their own... we don't help them up after they fall, unless they absolutely cannot do it themselves." Rebecca began to get angry. How dar-
"Does everyone do that?" Molly asked.
"Yes, Molly.. .everyone follows that rule."
"Then I shouldn't be up here in Mommy's arms right now." The six-year-old asked, "Should I?"
"No." The woman said.
"OK... Mommy, can I walk in there?"
"Are you certain, sweetie?" Rebecca said, as she put her daughter down. Molly immediately began to stump towards the open door with the painfully careful gait that was so unlike her previous bounding run.
"Very nice..." the woman next to her murmured.
"What?"
"Oh.. that level of self-confidence is very unusual in children that young, especially ones who have suffered a serious illness.... how does she react to pain during her therapy?"
"She cries... and gets frustrated when she can't do it." Rebecca answered. "But she doesn't ask to stop."
"Well, in that case, we'd better follow her, since she's rapidly outpacing us." The two women entered the room. Rebecca looked around and noticed people from all different walks and jobs, mothers in expensive dresses next to laborers and clerks.
"This is a nice building." Rebecca said, looking at the furnishings.
"It is, isn't it... the Vandersnoot's bought it for us... there son almost died in a car accident... when they found out that only rich people had access to this kind of rehab, they bought the building and put in enough money in the bank so interest pays for the upkeep." Rebecca blinked, that was something she had never known about the Vandersnoot's. The woman saw her gaze and continued, "Don't spread that around, though.. one of their provisions was that there was to be no publicity about it." Rebecca nodded, as she watched Molly continue forward, where one of the aids directed her to walk around the track in the colorfully painted room. Next to here, there was a small coyote boy, about her age, wearing somekind of brace on his leg... that looked to weigh about as much as he did.
He looked over to the Golden bearcub, already gasping as her leg muscles protested the effort.
"Does it hurt?" He asked.
"Yes." Molly said, "Does it hurt for you?"
"Not as bad today... The doctor had to rebreak my leg." Molly blinked.
"What does that mean?"
"I fell down some stairs and hurt my leg.. but when it healed it was all twisted because I fell down again afterwards, so the doctor had to break it again and reset it." The coyote said matter of factly.
"Oh." Molly said. "My Names Molly Cunningham."
"My Name is Jereem Kalin." Molly looked at him, then had a thought.
"That..."
"brace."
"doesn't it make it hard to walk?"
"A little...what about you?"
"I had Pollywogs..." Molly said, Jereem paused then brightened.
"Oh! Polioo?" He said, sounding the word out carefully.
"Yeah... it makes both my legs real tired... Mommy takes me out swimming and walking, but it's going to be forever before I can play Dangerwoman again." This was said with frustration.
"Well maybe we could race around the inside track." Jereem said, "I have one real bad leg, and you have two sort-of bad legs, so it's even."
"OK... ready, set, go!"
Rebecca had spent the time talking to the other mothers. She realized just how comforting it was to be able to talk to people who understood, who didn't try to change the subject, not because they were cruel, but simply because they had not the slightest idea of what to say. She resolved to never, ever say anything bad about the Vandersnoots.
Later, as the meeting was breaking up, Molly came stumping over to Rebecca, looking tired, with a boy next to her, a small Coyote with a brace about her age.
"Mom, can Jereem come over sometime?" Molly asked,
"Hello, Ms. Cunningham," The boy said. Rebecca liked him instantly.
"Rebecca, Jereem, Rebecca." She paused, and saw his mother, a timid Coyote who hadn't joined the meeting much, rather staying on the periphery. "Let me ask your mother." Walking over to the woman, Rebecca introduced herself.
"Would it be ok if your son came over to visit my daughter?"
"Wouldn't it be too much trouble?" The woman said, "I do not drive."
"Nonsense... I could pick him up from school... and drop him off home... it wouldn't be any trouble at all." The woman looked at her, then nodded with a tiny glimmer of a smile.
"I would be happy... my son has few friends." Rebecca smiled.
"Great..." Behind her, Molly and Jereem grinned at each other.
"Great!" Molly said, "When I get better and can be Dangerwoman again, you can be my Trusty Sidekick!" Jereem blinked, then looked at her.
"I listen to that radio show... isn't that the person who always gets captured?"
"Don't worry, I'll rescue you..."
Present day:
Michael looked at Molly.
"How long was it before…" Molly gave a soft laugh.
"Some ways, never." She said. "It was months before I could run around without falling… and it wasn't until I was ten that I could really move around without any trouble." Jereem nodded.
"She kept going to the rehabilitation center until she was nine." Jereem said. Michael looked at his girlfriend, trying to reconcile the athletic Molly with what he'd heard. But it made sense. Molly always gave a hundred and ten percent, and the struggle to retrain her legs would explain it. Molly continued.
"And if I don't keep up with my exercise… I lose muscle tone a lot faster." She said with some frustration. "It isn't so bad now, but I… have to work at it."
By the time the story ended, they had come to H4H, and Molly was getting rebellious again.
"Look, it's not Polio, and I'm not going to scare mom for nothing..."
Michael stepped in front of her, and didn't let her move.
"Molly. Let me put it this way. Either you tell you mother, Mac, Kit, Baloo, or somebody... or I'll do it. You don't have any other choice now." Molly glared at him then looked back down to the ground.
"Michael... you don't know how scared Mom was... for along time afterwards I'd be under the covers and she'd come and... just sit by the bed for hours." Michael nodded, then answered.
"And if she finds out you had something, and didn't tell anyone because you were afraid of what she'd feel... and so it got worse? How do you think she'd feel then?"
"But.... if I don't let it get to me, I can't have...I'm...Michael, I'm really scared." Molly said, hunched in, like a cold wind was blowing. Michael held her in his arms.
"Look....I'll go with you and we'll tell Mac..." He held his girlfriend. "I'm not going to leave you, and neither are Jereem or Hannah..." he put his hand to her cheek and brought her face to his. "and we'll deal with this, just like we've dealt with everything else, but putting something off doesn't get it done." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Ready?" Molly nodded, leaning into Michael like she wasn't certain of her footing, and Michael led them into the building.
Mac was alone in the building, helping finish some paperwork that Rebecca had left for him to do... he couldn't blame her... the baby had evidently NOT liked last nights dinner, and had been making it's dislikes known all day... Becky had finally gone home to rest and try to deal with the morning/afternoon, and evening sickness as she had put it. He looked up and saw the teenagers.
"Hi fellow-what's wrong?" Mac hadn't made one star by not noticing his surroundings. Michael sat Molly down and then looked at her. His stepdaughter looked up at him.
*I've never seen her look this scared* Mac thought, then sat back as Molly told him what had happened, along with occasional prompts from Michael and Jereem when she was trying to avoid certain points.
By the time she was finished, Mac picked up the phone and gave a quick call.
"Hello, Is doctor Draven in? Good."
"Draven, this is Mac....yeah that Mac. Remember the shipment of clamps that.. fell off that truck? Yes, I'm calling that favor in... I need a check up on the QT of one of your aids... Molly Cunningham.... yeah, the same. No I'm not planning on breaking Michael's kneecaps, it's not that kind of checkup so the rabbit's safe." Michael turned red. "She had polio a while back... six or seven, and she thinks she's having a relapse... Why? Because you know her, you're the closest, and her pediatrician retired five years ago. And also you're the best I know... thanks." He hung up the phone...
"OK, Draven's ready for us.'
"Now... can't we wait?" Molly asked.
"Nope... Look, Molly, there are three answers you're gonna hear... one, you have it. In that case you need to be in a hospital NOW. Two, you don't have it, but something else, and you're gonna feel pretty silly if you drop dead of something a purple pill can fix... Lastly, this is something else entirely, in which case going to the hospital is still the first step. " Molly nodded, and got up, Michael still at her side, and headed outside.
At the hospital, Draven shooed everyone out of the room, and conducted a physical of Molly. Michael waited with the others, and Mac paced, going out once to smoke one of the hideous Thembrian cigarettes he had officially given up, but still occasionally smoked when he could hide it from Rebecca.
Finally, Draven called Mac in, with Michael and the others waiting outside. Walking in, Mac sighed in relief. Molly looked embarrassed not stricken, and Draven looked seriously amused and exasperated.
"Ok... my aid, Dr. Molly Cunningham, diagnosed herself with Polio.... I'm happy to report that she should be sued for malpractice." Mac looked at Draven.
"What she had was a pinched nerve and strained ligament... from that fall down the stairs several weeks ago."
"That was two weeks ago." Mac said.
"The one she told you about was... not this one." Draven paused and flipped a book open. "When she fell, she bruised the ligament, and also pinched this nerve. Now the normal method to deal with this is a program of mild exercise... but Molly decided to try to exercise the daylights out of it, which made the problem worse..." Molly looked towards the floor, face burning.
"Any damage?" Mac asked.
"Nope... " Draven paused, then looked over at Molly. "That's why you suddenly couldn't come in over the last several weeks...you thought you might infect people here."
"Yeah." Molly said quietly.
"Well, don't be embarrassed.... that's more then a lot would do...but you've gotta start treating yourself like you do everyone else..." Mac nodded.
"That's right Molly... Thanks doc... you want to come out? This calls for a bit of a celebration."
"Naw... the devil finds work for idle hands, and I'm still paying for my second year med school pranks..."
"Well putting the deans bed on top of the flagpole, with the dean still in it WAS a bit much." Mac nodded to him, and headed out with his stepdaughter. Molly looked miserable.
"God, they're going to be angry with me." She said softly.
"Might be surprised." Was all Mac said.
When they got out, Michael and the others crowded around to ask what the diagnosis had been. Michael hadn't sat down once, stalking back and forth, occasionally slashing the air in a way that reminded people more and more every day of his granduncle. Molly spoke so quietly that she had to repeat herself several times. When she finally was understood, she felt herself lifted from the ground into a bearhug from Michael, who hugged her fiercely.
"Oh God... Oh thank God..." He whispered into her hair.... Then, realizing that this was possibly not the behavior you displayed in front of someone's stepfather, he put her down.
"Don't mind me...." Mac said. "But you might want to mind Rebecca over there..." He paused, "Draven sent word out midway through that whatever it was, it wasn't polio, so I had Kit pick her up..." Molly looked up and saw Kit and Rebecca standing in the door. Rebecca walked over towards her daughter and gave her a hug.
"Sweetie...." Rebecca murmured into her daughter's shoulder, as her baby was now a full head taller then she, as she hugged her.
"Yes, mommy?" Rebecca looked at her daughter,
"You don't have to do it alone... and so you don't need to keep anything from us... because we'll handle it together, even things that are too heavy for one of us." She pulled back, and looked at her daughter again.
"Now.... We're going to go celebrate, but first, I'm going to kill Mac for not telling me the minute you told him... and," She sniffed, "Oh lord Mac... not those cigarettes... they'll kill plants at ten feet." Kit smiled.
"They were a secret weapon during the war... send the Colonel out in a nicotine craze and every plant for a mile would die... great for clearing underbrush... in fact that was how he got his Star." Rebecca blinked at Kit, then looked over at Mac, half believing it from the noxious smell.
Mac looked sheepish, and gathered his wife in his arms.
"Now Rebecca.... the stress was there, and I smoked it outside, on the sidewalk... and any plants there are weeds, so I'm doing my civic duty." Becky laughed, then looked over at Molly, as she walked out, Michael's arm around her.
"Not making a prediction... but they do make a wonderful couple." She said softly to Mac...
"You got that..." Mac said, equally softly, so neither could hear.
Walking next to Molly and Michael, Kit grinned at Molly.
"How are you doing?"
"Embarrassed...."
"Don't be. Not a person here thinks you got anything to be embarrassed about..."
"Thanks." Molly said.
"Well there was that popfly three weeks ago... I wasn't going to say anything about it," Michael said, "But since it was before you hurt your leg, I just couldn't resist that a blind man with a hood on could have seen that."
"Hmph! You were going for it too."
"Yes... and so if a blind man could see the ball... then what do we say about a bear that can't see the six foot tall tiger who is already standing there ready to get the ball!" Molly blinked, realizing how easily Michael had mousetrapped her, and laughed and leaned into him.
"I guess I just run into you and then yell at you for no reason, especially when you try to make me do the right thing." She said to her boyfriend.
"Oh, congratulations Michael." Hannah said softly.
"For what?"
"It sounds like you're married." She said in the same voice. Michael paused, then exploded in laughter. Molly looked at Hannah unbelievingly, and then started to laugh, feeling the tension drain out of her. Kit grinned and looked at the two of them.
"Well if you can shake off wedded bliss, I have a cargo flight I'd like some company on... " He started, as the family walked out into the city.
END.