Lucky Me
Chapter 008
My mother (the one who wasn't talking to me right?) once told me about how much it hurt women to give birth to their children. She said there was the painful, insane, and ultimately inhumane way of going about it and then there was the way God intended—strapped to a table and numb from the neck down. Actually, I think I heard that last part from a rerun of Golden Girls, but who knows?
And although I've never given birth, heck, I never did anything to even get me to that possibility; I could relate my pain to it. The one major difference I would have to say is that instead of 'down there' it was coming out through my back- twins at the same time. It had started at school and continued to increase to the point of madness.
I was literally held down on the table when they took the IVs out of me (my beloved pain killers were gone! Just like the cookies!) and I was screaming my head off as they did this. Dr. Hank would later to explain that if they would have continued to give me medication there was a high possibility that I would have O. . Trust me, if I had a choice about whatever would have happened next or ODing, I would have chosen to OD.
Laying in the Medical lab, curled up in a tiny ball (as tiny as a 5'6.5'' girl can get at least) muttering incoherent words, and when I wasn't doing that, I was screaming in pain or passed out from screaming. This was not a fun time.
Just to illustrate how it was for me, let me tell you what kind of pain it was. I felt these-things were moving, pushing, and splitting my skin on my back. Blood seeped into the sheets, and soon covered a good portion of the bed. I think they changed the sheets when I was knocked out, because I would always wake up to clean sheets and pass out to red ones.
"Is she goin' to die?" I heard after the hours flew (ha-ha) by. I guessed it was sometime after three if D-M was home. But, boy, I didn't want her optimistic happy self anywhere near me. I was in pain, I didn't have morphine, and I was cookie deprived, I would have plainly ripped her head off.
"No, she's going to be fine, she's just in a lot of pain right now," Came Dr. Hank's voice. I wished I could open my clamped, tear-filled eyes long enough to glare at him. Did I mention I am not a pleasant person when I fell like I'm being ripped in two?
"Is there anything that Ah can do?" The bumpkin's accent really came out, or maybe it was just because it was so annoying to me (anything was) that I picked up on it.
"No, Kerry has to get through this herself." I did not like that answer. I had to get through this by myself. I'll get through depression by myself; I'll get over a boyfriend by myself, for this, this I wanted drugs for! Forget getting through it by myself. Painkillers or a whopping big mallet to knock me out until it was over. Anything at this point would be better than the ripping sensation of my back and bones.
It was later, I mean like close to ten (by the annoyingly cheerful green digital clock they put by my bed) when I felt it burst. No, not my bladder, but my back. Yes, disgusting to hear about it, but try living through it. I think I let a scream go that curled every body's hair in a five mile radius.
The fluid sacks (I didn't even know I had those) of blood had finally burst and made the floor slick with their nasty juices. From behind them came the mutation I had unhappily anticipated for almost a month. The tops of two bony new attachments to my body exposed themselves to the air.
My screech must have caught someone's attention, because while I was busy going insane with the throbbing hot white pain of having 'birthed' these things I felt hands on my face. I only heard my racing heart beat, pumping blood throughout my worn and torn body. My eyes were wide as possible, hands clapped over my ears as I tried so hard to block out the sound of the sickening slaps coming from behind me.
/Kerry, calm down, / a voice whispered gently.
Bull crap! How the heck was I supposed to settle down when I was dying on the friggin' bed! I was in pain. I hurt. I was being torn in two. I had these things coming from my body where there wasn't supposed to be anything. And I was told to calm down!
/Relax; I can't help you unless you relax. / The voice was in my brain, but at that point I really didn't care.
"They're jammed; we'll have to surgically remove the rest. The pain killers must still be relaxing her muscles..." I shuddered and let loose a scream that a dying cat would have been jealous of.
The only way he could help me was to kill me. I didn't want to live like this! Just when I was about to let loose another high pitched protest, the pain went away. Just, poof. All gone.
I didn't really want to die! I take it back!
/You're not dead/ came that same voice, this time with clarity.
There was no throbbing or searing pain giving static to the voice now. My eyes, which I must have closed, opened to a stormy landscape. It was like a black sanded desert, with a rolling thunderstorm in the distance, yet all around.
/Where-what the heck happened/ I questioned, hoping the 'voice' would not be my Siamese twin that I just gave birth to out of my back. I told you, I thought I was ripped in two and a world with two Kerry D'mons would be a very scary place. Especially for Bobby-meanie and Mr. Cookie hog.
/We're in your mind/ the voice answered.
That would explain why it was so creepy.
/We?/
/Get up, I'm right behind you. / Sure enough, after I did what the 'voice' told me to, I saw him. Professor Xavier standing there in his normal 'casual' clothes (white button down shirt with green colored pants, ick).
/What happened/
/I took you out of your misery,/ he stated simply, observing the landscape with his brow knitted into one. You know the thing I was fighting in the bathroom on Monday?
/I thought you said I wasn't dead./
Professor gave me a funny stare, /You're not. Right now Dr. McCoy and Dr. Reyes are performing surgery on you. /
Oh heck! No way! If I wasn't a figment of my imagination, I think I would have lost my mind's self lunch (I just confused myself). Surgery! Didn't they have to get my consent or something first?
/You've lost a lot of blood and because of the sedatives you were not able to push the bone and skin part of your wings out from where they were under your skin. /
If he was here to cheer me up, I'd rather that Dr. Kevorkian-or whoever he was. Mary Poppins this guy wasn't...
"She's coming through."
Yeah I was, and none too soon. I think if I was to stay in Professor's 'help' much longer, I would have hurt my mental self. I like the guy, I mean; he did take me in and was giving me all the essentials, but talk about feeling awkward. Standing in my brain talking to this guy, it wasn't like I could just walk out of the room.
"Kerry, can you hear me?"
Yes, though why they sounded like they were under water I didn't understand.
"We just took out the frame work of your wings," Translation: Congratulations! Twins! or 'You are now an official freak! Smile for the camera!' They hooked me back up to the medication that was for sure. My thoughts were still scattered, I couldn't feel anything below my neck, and I felt a goofy smile on my face.
This dark blob in white then came into focus; it was a pretty lady in a white coat. She flashed a light in my eyes, I moaned, she checked my ears, and I felt the fluid start to build up in them. But you know what? I couldn't really feel anything. Life was good.
"So how long is she going to be down here, Hank?" I came to at the nice voice.
"Hmm, probably until the stitches are taken out."
"And that would be?"
"Three days," He paused, "Did the Charles talk to you about-"
I interrupted when I croaked out, "Fooo..." which was supposed to mean 'Please, I'm starving, feed me!' but it didn't.
"Well, welcome back," Came the nice voice, I decided to open my eyes. I opened my eyes to wings and a blue face. A very blue face and very white and feathery wings.
I thought Professor said I didn't die!
"How are you feeling?"
"No...fee..." This translated into that I didn't feel a thing below my neck still. But I didn't know if you were supposed to feel any discomfort when you were dead anyway. But after he put his furry hand on my forehead before Dr. Hank sighed and gave me a big fangy smile I don't think I was as dead as I originally thought.
"That's good. We were starting to worry if perhaps the over use of pain killers had put you into a catatonic state."
I wanted to cry, Dr. Hank was getting back into those 'big' words again, and I was sleepy, confused, hungry, and severely doped up-don't use big words on a person like this.
"Hello Kerry," came the winged one's voice. This scratched the idea that he was the angel of death come to take me away, since I recognized the voice from the car ride here. Of course, even with wings and blue skin, I'd gladly follow him into eternity; he would definitely make a good angel of death. All the women would die just to meet him then all that would be left on earth were males and the human species would die out.
Hey, I'm pretty coherent for not being coherent.
…I guess that just proved I was still whacky.
"Oh my stars!" Oh goodness, now what? Dr. Hank didn't just bust out in exclamation...I don't think...I really need not to spend so much time in my room.
"What?" the other blue, though less hairy, man asked.
"Where are my manners? Kerry D'mon, I would like to humbly present you with the other winged student of Professor Xavier, Angel."
Well, at least his codename made sense (sorry I'm still trying to figure out that whole 'Hi, I'm Phoenix,' thing). I looked up from where my face was squashed into the pillow and moved my eye around lazily, it was my own form of a wave.
"Hello Kerry, it seems as though you and I will have something in common," Angel stated, with a very pretty smile. I did not know guys could be pretty-much less their smiles. Then what he actually said hit me.
"Com'n?"
"These," he said taping a feathery appendage over his left shoulder. These people must spend a lot of time talking to drugged patients to know what I was saying. I wasn't even too sure what I was saying from time to time.
"Foo," I protested again, my eyelids becoming heavy, something about the way there was fuzzy blackness around my vision told me I wouldn't even be awake long enough to have any food. I was right.
"Are you well enough to sit up?" Dr. Hank asked two days and off the pain meds later.
"Yeah," I replied, after spending two (probably more) days on my stomach, sniffing the same pillow I was ready to change positions (do not ask about my bathroom needs, that is a whole different embarrassment).
"Great!" He said, putting his large hands around my waist, and was lifted, and then with one arm under my stomach, he placed me in a sitting position. "Don't lean back," he instructed in the 'doctor' tone, "You're not used to the extra weight, and you'd probably get hurt."
After stacking about a million pillows for me to lean on, he quickly left the room promising me what I truly desired the most, food. That crap they stick down your throat tastes like it wasn't fit for a dog. Ick. Price is Right was on, and I watched it with some interest, muttering at the people who did the really annoying thing of bidding only $1 more than the person beside them. Hadn't they any compassion?
"Here we are!" That beautiful, wonderful Doctor said as he placed a TV tray right in front of me loaded with all kinds of healthy stuff. I didn't mind the meat and some of the side dishes, but honestly, peas?
"I thought you said food," I weakly exclaimed, I picked up a spoon full of the little green snot balls and held it up to him, "This isn't food."
"I see," Dr. Hank then sighed dramatically. "But, my dear, if you do not eat what you claim is uneatable, then I will not be able to allow you to have this." And from his white coat came a napkin; from the napkin came the love of my hour-a chocolate-chocolate chip cookie that seemed to be melting in his touch.
"H-how?" Didn't Mr. Cookie-Rebel-Summers swipe all the good food? How on earth did this even more beautiful wonderful doctor get a cookie?
"Rogue just finished baking this delightful little cavity causing morsel," He paused, eyeballed me, "But, if you don't want it..."
"I do!" With that I held my breath and began to eat those nasty little peas, hey, always darkest before the dawn right? When I was finished, I wiped my mouth (my upper arms were sore, so it was more or less me aiming my head at the napkin which was at lap level) and smiled at the doctor.
He went to place the long sought after morsel in my hand, it was so close I could almost feel the gooeyness melting on my fingertips, coating them with chocolate. It was so close I could still feel the heat from the oven where it was transformed into this eatable delight when—he appeared out of nowhere and took it again.
"I don't think so," Scott said (he has lost all respect with me now!) as he grabbed the innocent victim from Dr. Hank's hand and threw it away, right in front of me! "Hank, you should know better-"
I could do nothing but stare at the trashcan, being jealous of what it held inside it that I did not. I heard Scott and Dr. Hank laughing about some odd thing, yet I could not listen, I was trying to remember every detail of the smell and how gooey it seemed to be. I could only imagine how great it would have been.
"I was so close," I whispered, but even though it was barely audible, they heard.
"You say something Kerry?" Came that man's audacious question.
"H-how could you do that?" I squeaked. "It was only one."
"Sugar won't help you recover any faster, Kerry. Right, Hank?"
"Affirmative."
Of course it wouldn't help them heal any faster, they were male after all. Chocolate is like the ultimate medicine for the female population. The answer to everything is found by sharing a gallon of ice cream with Little Debbie and Hershey's syrup. And cheesecake, everything is answered with cheesecake. If the world was run by all women, all they would have to do to keep the peace is send each other sweets! And I'm sick! Who takes sugar from a sick person? It was supposed to make me feel better.
"I ate snot for that," I muttered, caught somewhere between being angry and crying.
"I'm-going to not respond to or ask about that." That cookie monster man said right before this beeper noise went off. He checked the face of the little beeper, sighed and said his farewells-well at least to Dr. Hank.
"Is it everyone or just with meeeeeeee!" My exclamation became a screech as I completely forgot Dr. Hank's warning about leaning back. As soon as I leaned back to shout closer to the door way, I lost my balance, with these 'wings' on my back and I not only fell on to my back, but managed to flip the whole freakin' bed on top of me.
Would there ever come a time when I would stop embarrassing myself?
