QoH: This part is based on an idea given to me by DJ. ^_^ Thanks! By the way, about the injuries... yeah, u can survive with this stuff. My mom works as a fire safety officer, and she told me about this dude who was burned to this degree over 90% of his body (only his scalp and the soles of his feet weren't burned, can u imagine?) and he survived. 'Course, he killed himself later, unable to bear the intense pain (they're the worst in that department, cuz no drugs can dull somethin that extreme)... poor guy... -_-
Chapter 4: Mission
They just sat there for a few moments in a collective state of shock. The stillness was so complete, Serenity nearly jumped out of her skin when the doctor finally broke it, "Someone should probably look for her. In that state, anything can happen to her."
"Hey, what's goin' on?" her brother's bewildered voice came from the doorway, "We just saw Tea flyin' down the hall like all the demons of Hades were chasin' her."
"She just heard news about her mom, Joey." Serenity explained, "She's in a coma, but the doctor says she's doing well, considering how badly she was hurt," she turned her face toward where she'd heard the doctor speak a moment ago, "Please, ma'am, can you tell us just what are her mother's injuries? Tea may want to know later, when she's had time to calm down."
The doctor hesitated, then smiled faintly, "We usually only disclose this information to the family members, but seeing as how the only one here just ran out, I believe you're right. Mrs. Gardener sustained third-degree burns on over forty percent of her body, as well as compound fractures in her left femur and humerus. She also has a serious concussion that we're keeping an eye on."
"Holy..." Tristan breathed, dropping into the chair beside Serenity.
"What's your prognosis for her?" Bakura's usually quiet voice was barely above a whisper now.
"It all depends on whether she regains consciousness. The odds are that she'll remain in this vegetative state, yet I've seen many people beat those odds in this place."
The intercom interupted the stillness her words brought, "Dr. Tamahome to surgery, please."
"Well, it seems I'm being paged, kids." Dr. Tamahome smiled at them and headed for the door, "I hope you find your friend soon. Loved ones often seem to make a difference no medicine can ever duplicate."
Serenity nodded and returned the smile, "Thank you, doctor, for your kindness and your frankness, too."
"Not at all." With that, she left to answer the summons from her colleagues.
"I'm going to find Tea." Yugi announced, speaking for the first time since the proverbial bomb had been dropped.
"But you don't have any idea where she might be." Serenity protested half-heartedly, putting her hand on his arm as he stood up to follow through on what he'd said.
"I have to do something," he turned to her, taking her hand earnestly, "I can't stand seeing the girl I love like this."
Serenity, unable to speak around the lump in her throat, merely nodded. She listened to him run out, and wondered if Tea knew what a wonderful guy she had. From what she'd gathered, somehow, she didn't think so.
~She don't know it,
she's a lucky girl,
got the best thing in
the whole wide world.~
****
While the others set out on a search party for Tea, Serenity remained in the waiting room. According to her brother, it would just make matters worse if they had to search of her, too. She supposed she could've gone with one of the others, but she'd felt it best to be alone with her thoughts for a bit.
Now, part of her regretted that decision, not liking the utter silence surrounding her. That sort of thing always made her feel as though she were only a disembodied voice among the uncaring sands of change. The other part staunchly defended its ground, insisting that this was the perfect time to sort out her jumbled emotions. Unfortunately, though, the war between these two halves only succeeded in leaving her even more confused and mixed-up than she was to begin with.
Not for the first time, she wished heatedly that the bandages were off, that she could see. Then, I could help Yugi and the others, instead of being entirely useless, as usual. What good am I doing by just sitting here? She shook her head, attempting to clear it of the bitterness that had, once again, managed to worm its way to the forefront of her attention.
All right, then. Serenity stood resolutely and made her way toward the elevator. If there's nothing else I can do, at least I can try and find Tea's mom, tell her everything will be all right. Hopefully. I don't know, maybe she can hear me, somehow. I've heard of stuff like that. Luckily, it was only a few doors down, and nobody questioned her, busy as they were, themselves. Once inside, she felt for the buttons that operated it. As she knew it would be, the brail was readily there to be recognized by her fingers.
There was a small problem, however. Intensive Care wasn't usually a ward they let visitors on, unless the situation was dire. She'd been in that same ward, herself, after the surgery, and she knew they were quite strict about enforcing the rules. She was still pondering how she would get past the nurses' station and so on when she realized there was another glitch in her, admittedly, half-baked plan. She had no idea which floor the ICU was located on, and there were, judging by the numbers on the keypad she felt before her, far too many for her to be wandering around without, inevitablely, being caught. Even though she'd been a patient there, she'd had no reason to pay attention to what floor it was on at the time. What would it have mattered then, anyway? Her dilemma was solved when the doors closed, and the elevator started up. It, of course, did bring up another thing, however. Whoever was on the other side when it stopped would surely realize something was amiss.
A wild idea came to her then. Thankful, for once, for the banadges, she now awaited the coming confrontation calmly. She just fervently prayed that the person on the other end was a stranger, someone unfamiliar with her case. When it slowed, she smiled amiably in the general direction of the opening doors.
"Why, hello," an aged matron's surprised voice came politely to her ears, "What are you doing here, young miss?"
"Hi, ma'am." Serenity returned, nodding at her new elevator companion, "I was wondering if you could direct me to ICU? I'm supposed to have these things cut off," she indicated her bandages, "and that's the only place I know in the least." Yeah, it's a flimsy excuse, but hey, if it works...
"It's on the eighth floor," she answered, mildly confused, "but that's not where you need to go, honey. You should see your doctor about that sort of thing," the elevator stopped and she gently took Serenity's elbow and led her out, "Here, I'll guide you. What's your doctor's name?"
Crud. This wasn't in the plan. Now what? "Oh, but, I don't want to be a bother to you."
"It's no problem," she replied kindly, "Since we're now on the floor I have a bit of business on, we can get that taken care of first, then we can go see about getting you where you need to be."
"All right, then." Serenity smiled at her, thinking fast, "This is really nice of you."
"Like I said before, it's nothing," she turned toward a door off to their right after walking for a few feet, "You can wait here, if you like. I'll only be a minute."
"Thank you, that'll be fine." When she heard the woman step into the room, she hesitated for a moment, then took off down the hall as fast she could possibly go. I hate deceiving you like this, but I really don't have a choice.
Luckily, her guess was right. The stairs were exactly where she thought it would be. She pushed the door hurriedly and felt for the floor marker beside it. According to the brail, she was on the fourth. Better get moving then. She climbed quickly, holding onto the banister for a guide, stopping at every landing so she didn't miss a floor. At last, out of breath, she reached the eighth. She cracked the door open, listening carefully for any people near her. Among other things, she didn't want to get caught and sent away. For another, Serenity had realized as she'd climbed that even though she knew the floor Tea's mom was on, she still didn't know quite where her room was. Hopefully, she could catch a few words of gossip and such from the nurses that would surely pass by here, checking on their patients.
Amazingly enough, she didn't have to wait for such an unreliable source, because she heard something unexpected come from the room across the hall and down a bit from her. It was Yugi's voice, and he was talking to somebody she didn't recognize. She couldn't quite make out what was being said, so she she moved quietly out of the stairwell, praying that she wouldn't be found.
QoH: Hm. This is a bit longer than I expected. How'd y'all like the "mission impossible" stuff I had Serenity doin here? Frankly, I think she did pretty well for herself, don't you? lol Yeah, it wasn't terribly important to the plot, I know, but I had to make her way of getting to her destination feasible, didn't I?
( QoH: Yes, I'm back. Heh. Despite the things conspiring to keep me from it. -_-' Ice storms... downed trees all over the friggin town... frequent power outages... the library (where I upload these things) bein closed 4 days on end... oi, what a nightmare... more than a week, 4 cryin out loud….)