Author: Catgurl83
Title: Shocking News
Disclaimer: Not mine and never will be.
Feedback: Appreciated.
Rating: G
Author's notes: As always, thanks to Kimberly for beat reading this for me.
Phoebe- No, I don't think that you are an insane stalker but I still can't write to you. I don't EVER converse using real mail with people that I meet online. My suggestion would be that you register for a Yahoo e-mail address, it is free. I'd be happy to e-mail back and forth with you. Or, if you register for AIM, you can IM me.
**************
Exiting Ruthie's room, Lucy walked down the long hallway that she and the rest of the family had gotten to know so well over the last few months. In some ways she felt that she now knew this hospital as much as most of the staff did, she had been spending so much time here.
She really couldn't figure out how doctors, nurses, orderlies, nurse's aids, and the other assorted staff did it every day, every month, every year. Spending time here was depressing, even when your own loved one was doing okay. You inevitably ran into families who had obviously just received very bad news. In waiting rooms, in the cafeteria, on the grounds, even in the elevators you often ran into individuals who were dying. The whole place smelled of disinfectant; even the patients started to smell of disinfectant over time.
Almost without thinking about it, she took a left turn and continued walking.
"Lucy."
She looked up in surprise; she hadn't even heard footsteps approaching her. She smiled at her older sister as Mary walked closer. "Is Benjamin off?"
"I just dropped him off at the airport about a half hour ago. The flight should be leaving pretty soon," Mary answered. "Did you just see Ruthie?"
"Yeah. She's eating lunch. Why don't we go get something to eat and then you can come back to see her?"
Mary shrugged, "Sure."
Silently they headed toward the elevator at the end of the hall. They stepped into the empty elevator and Lucy punched in the button for the main floor where the parking lot that they had both parked in was located.
"So, how did she seem to be doing?" Mary asked as the elevator began to descend.
Lucy hesitated before answering with a sigh. "The same physically. Very beaten down emotionally. This is really starting to get to her."
"I can't blame her. She's been taking this better than I would have. She's been cooped up here for almost three months."
"I hope that she starts making enough progress so that she can come home soon, at least for a few weeks. It is starting to get so hard to think of ways to entertain her here." Lucy sighed again.
"I know," Mary agreed as the elevator doors slid open and the two women stepped out into a lobby on the main floor. Over the last months, they had brought Ruthie various books, magazines, books of cross word puzzles and games, board games. Matt had even brought her an Etch-a-Sketch. All of those things had held her attention but only for a short time. Everything got old fast when you were in Ruthie's position. Ruthie had actually already filled an entire diary during her stay here and was working on another one.
In the parking lot, they decided on a small restaurant that was close by before separating to get their cars. It was a small, family-owned Italian place that they had all frequented in the last few months. The restaurant and its quiet, peaceful atmosphere catered to family members of patients in the hospital. It was less than a five minutes drive from the hospital and was open until midnight unlike any of the other restaurants close by.
Mary arrived first and found a small booth near the back and slid in. She glanced around. Not many people were here right now. The lunch rush was apparently over.
Lucy slid into the seat across from her sister.
"On the drive over here I was thinking," Mary said.
Lucy raised an eyebrow curiously. "About?"
"Ruthie. We need a way to cheer her up."
"I've thought about that. But what? The only thing that I think would cheer her up right now is getting to go home and we don't have the power to make that happen."
"No we don't." Mary grinned, "But I thought of something else. It probably won't make her as happy as going home would but she'll like it, I can guarantee you."
"And this amazing plan would be?"
Mary leaned forward, her grin growing even more as she prepared to share her idea with her sister.
*************
Annie turned the dial, effectively starting cold water running into the washing machine. She poured a capful of Tide into the water and watched it start to fill with suds. Reaching behind her she grabbed a basket full of light colored clothing and started to drop the items into the machine making sure that nothing needed to be treated.
"Mom."
Annie carefully closed the lid and turned. Sam stood in the doorway wearing a pair of jean shorts and an Angels T-shirt. "What is it, Honey?"
Sam hesitated and shrugged. "I just wanted to talk to you."
"I have plenty of time. What do you need?"
Sam stepped farther into the room and leaned against the wall. "I'm worried," he admitted very quietly.
"About?" Annie prompted softly.
"Ruthie," Sam almost whispered it.
"Oh, Honey. Dad and I told you that she was doing okay. Her body is getting better thanks to Charlie's bone marrow."
"If she is going to be okay, then why isn't she at home yet?" he asked accusingly.
"Sweetie, she is going to be okay but she isn't okay yet. Her body is still healing. It takes a long time to get better from leukemia, even with a successful bone marrow transplant.
Sam continued to stare at his mother with a frown on his face. He'd been sick before and it had never taken him this long to get better. His Grandpa Charles had never been in the hospital for this long at once. When Sarah had had Charlie, she hadn't been in the hospital more than a day afterwards. When his Dad had his last heart attack, he was only hospitalized for two weeks. Ruthie had been in the hospital for over two months. "If she is really doing better, than how come I can't see her?"
Annie sighed as she knelt down next to her son. "It isn't as easy as just us taking you to see her. The hospital has rules for visitors. One of those rules is that children under a certain age can't go in certain parts of the hospital. Ruthie is in one of those parts."
"Oh. How old do you have to be?"
"Fourteen."
"What if I promise to be real good?" he asked earnestly. "I'll be quiet and on my best behavior."
"It doesn't work that way."
"But I miss her," he pleaded.
Annie's heart almost broke at the expression on Sam's face, at the hurt in his eyes. "She misses you too." She stood. "How about we go upstairs and you can write her a letter and draw her a picture? I'll take it to her tonight," she promised. "If you'd like, I can also help her call you before you go to bed tonight."
"Cool," Sam said quickly as he began mounting the steps, determined to make Ruthie one of the prettiest pictures that she had ever seen.
************
Lucy took a small bite of garlic bread as she considered her sister's idea. "That just might work."
"Of course it will."
Their waitress arrived with their plates and set them on the table.
"Do you have any idea when Benjamin is going to be back?"
Mary took a sip of her soda. "No, I don't. He'll probably get a flight to California relatively soon, he flies here often. But most of the time he has a flight right back to New York.
"He seems to enjoy his job."
Mary grinned. "He loves it. Being in the air is amazing."
"It is also dangerous," Lucy pointed out, twirling her fork around her spaghetti.
"Not any more dangerous than anything else. There is a bigger chance of being in a car accident than a plane crash." She paused, lowering her voice. "Kevin has a very dangerous job."
"He does," Lucy agreed. "And I worry about him so much. Every time that I hear sirens I wonder if he is involved," she admitted. "Are you willing to spend the rest of your life wondering if his plane is going to crash?"
"I'm on flights a lot too," Mary pointed out. "And I think that you'd worry no matter what your loved ones job was. Something bad could happen no matter what."
Lucy nodded, taking a bite of her lunch. "You and Benjamin seem close. When did you meet him?"
"Almost two years ago."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Two years ago? Sarah and Matt have known him for awhile?"
"Yeah. About a year and a half. He and Matt hit it off immediately. They have been hanging out ever since." She smiled, "I was relieved. He's never really liked anyone that I've dated that much. He tolerated them but that was about it. I was terrified that he wouldn't like Benjamin."
Lucy shot her sister a wry smile. "How could he not? How could anyone not? Benjamin just has something about him. I don't think that there is anyone in the family who doesn't already like him. Did you see him last night at the barbecue? He fit in perfectly with Kevin, Chandler, and Matt. Kevin was impressed with him and Kevin is not easily impressed."
"Benjamin liked them too."
"How did you and Benjamin meet?"
"We were at the same party. It was at the home of one of the other pilots." She grinned, "I bumped into him while talking to someone over my shoulder. My punch spilt all over his shirt."
"Ouch. That sucks as a first impression."
Mary shrugged, "It didn't seem to work against me. He asked me out on the spot."
"And you agreed?"
"Did you see his smile? Of course I agreed. Plus, I had just ruined his shirt, I figured going out on one date with him was the least that I could do." She shrugged again, "We hit it off."
They finished the rest of their lunch leisurely, neither of them in a hurry. It seemed like it had been ages since they had had time to really talk, without anyone else around. They had both missed their conversations, each others listening ear and advice.
*************
Author's notes: Let me know what you think. I bet none of you are going to figure out what I'm planning to cheer Ruthie up. :-)
Title: Shocking News
Disclaimer: Not mine and never will be.
Feedback: Appreciated.
Rating: G
Author's notes: As always, thanks to Kimberly for beat reading this for me.
Phoebe- No, I don't think that you are an insane stalker but I still can't write to you. I don't EVER converse using real mail with people that I meet online. My suggestion would be that you register for a Yahoo e-mail address, it is free. I'd be happy to e-mail back and forth with you. Or, if you register for AIM, you can IM me.
**************
Exiting Ruthie's room, Lucy walked down the long hallway that she and the rest of the family had gotten to know so well over the last few months. In some ways she felt that she now knew this hospital as much as most of the staff did, she had been spending so much time here.
She really couldn't figure out how doctors, nurses, orderlies, nurse's aids, and the other assorted staff did it every day, every month, every year. Spending time here was depressing, even when your own loved one was doing okay. You inevitably ran into families who had obviously just received very bad news. In waiting rooms, in the cafeteria, on the grounds, even in the elevators you often ran into individuals who were dying. The whole place smelled of disinfectant; even the patients started to smell of disinfectant over time.
Almost without thinking about it, she took a left turn and continued walking.
"Lucy."
She looked up in surprise; she hadn't even heard footsteps approaching her. She smiled at her older sister as Mary walked closer. "Is Benjamin off?"
"I just dropped him off at the airport about a half hour ago. The flight should be leaving pretty soon," Mary answered. "Did you just see Ruthie?"
"Yeah. She's eating lunch. Why don't we go get something to eat and then you can come back to see her?"
Mary shrugged, "Sure."
Silently they headed toward the elevator at the end of the hall. They stepped into the empty elevator and Lucy punched in the button for the main floor where the parking lot that they had both parked in was located.
"So, how did she seem to be doing?" Mary asked as the elevator began to descend.
Lucy hesitated before answering with a sigh. "The same physically. Very beaten down emotionally. This is really starting to get to her."
"I can't blame her. She's been taking this better than I would have. She's been cooped up here for almost three months."
"I hope that she starts making enough progress so that she can come home soon, at least for a few weeks. It is starting to get so hard to think of ways to entertain her here." Lucy sighed again.
"I know," Mary agreed as the elevator doors slid open and the two women stepped out into a lobby on the main floor. Over the last months, they had brought Ruthie various books, magazines, books of cross word puzzles and games, board games. Matt had even brought her an Etch-a-Sketch. All of those things had held her attention but only for a short time. Everything got old fast when you were in Ruthie's position. Ruthie had actually already filled an entire diary during her stay here and was working on another one.
In the parking lot, they decided on a small restaurant that was close by before separating to get their cars. It was a small, family-owned Italian place that they had all frequented in the last few months. The restaurant and its quiet, peaceful atmosphere catered to family members of patients in the hospital. It was less than a five minutes drive from the hospital and was open until midnight unlike any of the other restaurants close by.
Mary arrived first and found a small booth near the back and slid in. She glanced around. Not many people were here right now. The lunch rush was apparently over.
Lucy slid into the seat across from her sister.
"On the drive over here I was thinking," Mary said.
Lucy raised an eyebrow curiously. "About?"
"Ruthie. We need a way to cheer her up."
"I've thought about that. But what? The only thing that I think would cheer her up right now is getting to go home and we don't have the power to make that happen."
"No we don't." Mary grinned, "But I thought of something else. It probably won't make her as happy as going home would but she'll like it, I can guarantee you."
"And this amazing plan would be?"
Mary leaned forward, her grin growing even more as she prepared to share her idea with her sister.
*************
Annie turned the dial, effectively starting cold water running into the washing machine. She poured a capful of Tide into the water and watched it start to fill with suds. Reaching behind her she grabbed a basket full of light colored clothing and started to drop the items into the machine making sure that nothing needed to be treated.
"Mom."
Annie carefully closed the lid and turned. Sam stood in the doorway wearing a pair of jean shorts and an Angels T-shirt. "What is it, Honey?"
Sam hesitated and shrugged. "I just wanted to talk to you."
"I have plenty of time. What do you need?"
Sam stepped farther into the room and leaned against the wall. "I'm worried," he admitted very quietly.
"About?" Annie prompted softly.
"Ruthie," Sam almost whispered it.
"Oh, Honey. Dad and I told you that she was doing okay. Her body is getting better thanks to Charlie's bone marrow."
"If she is going to be okay, then why isn't she at home yet?" he asked accusingly.
"Sweetie, she is going to be okay but she isn't okay yet. Her body is still healing. It takes a long time to get better from leukemia, even with a successful bone marrow transplant.
Sam continued to stare at his mother with a frown on his face. He'd been sick before and it had never taken him this long to get better. His Grandpa Charles had never been in the hospital for this long at once. When Sarah had had Charlie, she hadn't been in the hospital more than a day afterwards. When his Dad had his last heart attack, he was only hospitalized for two weeks. Ruthie had been in the hospital for over two months. "If she is really doing better, than how come I can't see her?"
Annie sighed as she knelt down next to her son. "It isn't as easy as just us taking you to see her. The hospital has rules for visitors. One of those rules is that children under a certain age can't go in certain parts of the hospital. Ruthie is in one of those parts."
"Oh. How old do you have to be?"
"Fourteen."
"What if I promise to be real good?" he asked earnestly. "I'll be quiet and on my best behavior."
"It doesn't work that way."
"But I miss her," he pleaded.
Annie's heart almost broke at the expression on Sam's face, at the hurt in his eyes. "She misses you too." She stood. "How about we go upstairs and you can write her a letter and draw her a picture? I'll take it to her tonight," she promised. "If you'd like, I can also help her call you before you go to bed tonight."
"Cool," Sam said quickly as he began mounting the steps, determined to make Ruthie one of the prettiest pictures that she had ever seen.
************
Lucy took a small bite of garlic bread as she considered her sister's idea. "That just might work."
"Of course it will."
Their waitress arrived with their plates and set them on the table.
"Do you have any idea when Benjamin is going to be back?"
Mary took a sip of her soda. "No, I don't. He'll probably get a flight to California relatively soon, he flies here often. But most of the time he has a flight right back to New York.
"He seems to enjoy his job."
Mary grinned. "He loves it. Being in the air is amazing."
"It is also dangerous," Lucy pointed out, twirling her fork around her spaghetti.
"Not any more dangerous than anything else. There is a bigger chance of being in a car accident than a plane crash." She paused, lowering her voice. "Kevin has a very dangerous job."
"He does," Lucy agreed. "And I worry about him so much. Every time that I hear sirens I wonder if he is involved," she admitted. "Are you willing to spend the rest of your life wondering if his plane is going to crash?"
"I'm on flights a lot too," Mary pointed out. "And I think that you'd worry no matter what your loved ones job was. Something bad could happen no matter what."
Lucy nodded, taking a bite of her lunch. "You and Benjamin seem close. When did you meet him?"
"Almost two years ago."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Two years ago? Sarah and Matt have known him for awhile?"
"Yeah. About a year and a half. He and Matt hit it off immediately. They have been hanging out ever since." She smiled, "I was relieved. He's never really liked anyone that I've dated that much. He tolerated them but that was about it. I was terrified that he wouldn't like Benjamin."
Lucy shot her sister a wry smile. "How could he not? How could anyone not? Benjamin just has something about him. I don't think that there is anyone in the family who doesn't already like him. Did you see him last night at the barbecue? He fit in perfectly with Kevin, Chandler, and Matt. Kevin was impressed with him and Kevin is not easily impressed."
"Benjamin liked them too."
"How did you and Benjamin meet?"
"We were at the same party. It was at the home of one of the other pilots." She grinned, "I bumped into him while talking to someone over my shoulder. My punch spilt all over his shirt."
"Ouch. That sucks as a first impression."
Mary shrugged, "It didn't seem to work against me. He asked me out on the spot."
"And you agreed?"
"Did you see his smile? Of course I agreed. Plus, I had just ruined his shirt, I figured going out on one date with him was the least that I could do." She shrugged again, "We hit it off."
They finished the rest of their lunch leisurely, neither of them in a hurry. It seemed like it had been ages since they had had time to really talk, without anyone else around. They had both missed their conversations, each others listening ear and advice.
*************
Author's notes: Let me know what you think. I bet none of you are going to figure out what I'm planning to cheer Ruthie up. :-)
