Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 4- Hospital Walls
Ah, and the Chocolate Usa-chan strikes again. As you remember, last time Jim tried to sneak away in the ship he repaired for Gene. Then he revealed some secrets about his past and in return, Gene got drunk and Jim got shot.
To Kate-chan, thank you! I'm glad someone liked that! My sister said it was corny. ;.;
In this chapter, Gene shows how he truly feels toward Jim. We get to see how Jim's stay at the hospital was, and he makes a new friend. He also learns how fragile life can really be.
And thus, it begins again.
--
"I need a report stat... Get me some syringe... Hook up an I.V.... Cutting the circulation... Blood won't stop... Loosing consciousness... Might not make it..."
His blue eyes bobbed open and closed as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He tried to talk, to ask where he was, what was going on, but nothing came out. He tried to move, to run, to do something, but the immense pain in his stomach ceased any thoughts of that. All he could do was force his eyes to stay open.
White. He saw a lot of white. He was in a hospital. There were so many people running around him. He was moving. He must have been on a gurney.
Jim felt himself slipping back to sleep. The figures around him became more faint.
Then he saw him. Gene. Sure enough, it was the same stubborn redhead who had gotten him into this predicament.
But he didn't have on the same tough veneer he had encountered over the past few days. He had a different expression. It was more gentle, but also more on-edge. He looked guilty and anxious. He was...
Worried.
"Ani...ki..." was all Jim could manage to say as he raised his hand to the man before blacking out once more.
But Gene took the boy's hand in both of his. He held, squeezed it.
"Will he be okay? Tell me!" he shouted to one of the doctors around the gurney.
"I'm sorry, sir. It's too early to tell," he responded quickly as if it were a rehearsed line as they pushed the table into a room.
-- "Please, let me see him! Please, I need to see him! I'm his brother!"
"Sir, you can't go in there!"
"Jimmy! ... Jimmy... Oh, God, Jim! I'm so sorry! I didn't want you to get hurt... I should never have gotten involved with those thugs... It's all my fault... Geez, Kokurando... You're such an idiot... You've really done it this time... Please... He's only a little kid... Let him be okay... Please, he didn't hurt anyone. It was all my fault... Jimmy..."
"Aniki..."
Jim's large blue eyes fluttered open slowly... --
"Aniki..."
"No, it's me, kid. It's Gene," the tall man said with a gentle smile.
"What... Happened...?" Jim asked, closing his eyes once again.
"Those guys I messed with at the bar followed us and we got into a fight. ... They got you," Gene said painfully. He had obviously been blaming himself for the whole thing and had been beating himself up about it. Jim's hand ran over his side. He winced in pain and quickly withdrew his hand. "Hey, don't touch it, stupid!"
"Are you alright?" Jim asked groggily as he half-opened his eyes again. Gene faked another smile.
"Not a scratch."
"I'm glad you're... Not hurt..." he said, resting his eyes again.
"I really hope that's not the morphine talking, kid..."
"It's... Jim..."
The next time Jim woke up there was someone in the bed on the other side of the room. It was a girl about the same age as him. She had beautiful chest-length wavy hair that came in three different colors- yellow, black, and purple. Although she looked very weak, her light blue eyes were bright behind her matching glasses as she watched the television.
"Oh, hi. You're awake. You've been sleeping since I got in here," she said, turning the t.v. off. "I'm Yuki."
"Jim."
"What're you in for? I have anemia and I'm here for my eleventh surgery on my heart. That's an operation a year," she said, oddly proud off the fact that she was most likely terminally ill.
"What's anemia?" Jim asked, deliberately ignoring the first question.
"It's a rare heart disease. But don't worry- it's not contagious. It's sort of like a tumor, I guess. Whenever my heart accelerates so fast, it just sort of... Stops. That sucks because it happens whenever I'm scared, nervous, or I run or jump or something, so I can't really do a lot of things. It really hurts, but the operations cost a lot of money and I've had ten so far. I'm getting what may be my last one tonight. If it doesn't work, they might stop, because so far, they really haven't made any improvements," Yuki babbled. Even though she was tired, she loved to talk. "So why did you say you're here?"
"... I was shot," replied Jim.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Well at least you're alive. Be thankful for that. I heard my parents talking. My 'due date' is in exactly two months, one week, and two days," she told Jim.
"Due date?" Jim asked with a confused expression.
"When they expect for me to die."
"Lunch time," a nurse rang as she pushed a cart in the room with two plates full of a variety of foods. "Do you think you want to eat tonight, Yukiena?" The girl slowly shook her head.
"I'm not hungry, ma'am. But could have some water, please?" she asked quietly, instantly growing timid.
"Of course," she said with a sweet smile. "Here you are, James. I hope you like it."
'In a way, this place is like the orphanage. It sure has the same dreary tone. I guess the nurses and doctors are like nuns, and the patients are like orphans,' Jim pondered as he poked at whatever the green stuff was.
"Yukiena, you're parents are here. They're signing in now and they'll be here shortly," a different nurse said, poking her head in. She had the same false cheerfulness splattered across her face.
"My parents always go all out whenever I go to the hospital. What about yours?" Yuki asked Jim.
"I don't have parents. I'm an orphan," Jim replied after a long pause.
"Well, I'd better leave you kids now. Just push this button if you need me, James. Don't hesitate to call for anything at all. My name is Tae," the first nurse said, winking. "Yukiena, I trust you know how to use the nurse call button," she breezed as she patted the girl on her multi-colored head and briskly left the room, returning just as quickly with a glass of water.
The next time the door opened two adults and two teenagers entered the room, arms full of bouquets, stuffed animals, candy, and cards.
"Yuki, honey, how are you doing?" the beautiful blonde woman cried in an English accent as she rushed in high heels to the girl.
"I'm fine, mom. Same as always," Yuki piped. "Hi, dad, Ri, Rosie."
"We come bearing gifts," her father said, dropping the load at the foot of her bed.
"Jim, this is my mom, dad, and my older sisters, Hikari and Rosetta," Yuki introduced, pointing to each person as she said their name. "Everyone, this is Jim. He was shot."
"Actually, we're not Yuki's real sisters. Ri and I were adopted," the younger of the two piped.
"Shut up, you. I'm sure the kid doesn't want to hear about it," the older one said, elbowing her sister. "Besides, not that you couldn't tell. Rosie and I have blue hair."
"Here, sweetie. We all pitched in to buy this bouquet for you. Your father, your sisters, and myself," her mother said, offering a large, beautiful bouquet of blue and white roses to the girl. "Your favorite flowers."
Yuki held the bouquet in her hands and thought for a moment. She offered it to Jim. "Here, Jim," she said with a smile. "You need this more than I do. It's from me and my family to you, because just like my sisters, you don't have a family to buy you one." Jim shyly took the roses.
"Thanks, Yuki."
"Yukiena, it's time. I feel good about this one," a doctor said as he came in.
"Good buy, honey. Good luck," her mother said, kissing her on the forehead.
"Good luck? Mom, I'm getting an operation, not competing in the Olympics," Yuki cried jokingly as they wheeled her out. "Oh, Jim? I'll see you when I wake up. Bye!"
Jim went to sleep for the day and woke up late the next evening. Yuki should have been out by now. He tiredly turned his head and looked over at her bed.
It was empty. All her stuff was gone.
A short time later a nurse came in to clean up the room.
"Excuse me, sir?" Jim asked. The man looked up.
"What's wrong? Do you need something?" asked the nurse as he walked over to Jim's bedside.
"Um, I was wondering where Yuki went. She went into surgery early yesterday," Jim informed him as he pointed to the empty bed.
"Yukiena Munoh? She didn't make it through the operation. She died around seven this morning."
--
There you go! Jim's alive. Unfortunately, his new friend isn't. Poor Yuki. There really wasn't a lot of Gene in this one. Don't worry, next time Jim goes home. There'll be more Gene there. I promise. We'll also find out where Gene was for the most part when Jim was at the hospital. Until next time, this has been Chocolate Usagi! Bye now!
Ah, and the Chocolate Usa-chan strikes again. As you remember, last time Jim tried to sneak away in the ship he repaired for Gene. Then he revealed some secrets about his past and in return, Gene got drunk and Jim got shot.
To Kate-chan, thank you! I'm glad someone liked that! My sister said it was corny. ;.;
In this chapter, Gene shows how he truly feels toward Jim. We get to see how Jim's stay at the hospital was, and he makes a new friend. He also learns how fragile life can really be.
And thus, it begins again.
--
"I need a report stat... Get me some syringe... Hook up an I.V.... Cutting the circulation... Blood won't stop... Loosing consciousness... Might not make it..."
His blue eyes bobbed open and closed as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He tried to talk, to ask where he was, what was going on, but nothing came out. He tried to move, to run, to do something, but the immense pain in his stomach ceased any thoughts of that. All he could do was force his eyes to stay open.
White. He saw a lot of white. He was in a hospital. There were so many people running around him. He was moving. He must have been on a gurney.
Jim felt himself slipping back to sleep. The figures around him became more faint.
Then he saw him. Gene. Sure enough, it was the same stubborn redhead who had gotten him into this predicament.
But he didn't have on the same tough veneer he had encountered over the past few days. He had a different expression. It was more gentle, but also more on-edge. He looked guilty and anxious. He was...
Worried.
"Ani...ki..." was all Jim could manage to say as he raised his hand to the man before blacking out once more.
But Gene took the boy's hand in both of his. He held, squeezed it.
"Will he be okay? Tell me!" he shouted to one of the doctors around the gurney.
"I'm sorry, sir. It's too early to tell," he responded quickly as if it were a rehearsed line as they pushed the table into a room.
-- "Please, let me see him! Please, I need to see him! I'm his brother!"
"Sir, you can't go in there!"
"Jimmy! ... Jimmy... Oh, God, Jim! I'm so sorry! I didn't want you to get hurt... I should never have gotten involved with those thugs... It's all my fault... Geez, Kokurando... You're such an idiot... You've really done it this time... Please... He's only a little kid... Let him be okay... Please, he didn't hurt anyone. It was all my fault... Jimmy..."
"Aniki..."
Jim's large blue eyes fluttered open slowly... --
"Aniki..."
"No, it's me, kid. It's Gene," the tall man said with a gentle smile.
"What... Happened...?" Jim asked, closing his eyes once again.
"Those guys I messed with at the bar followed us and we got into a fight. ... They got you," Gene said painfully. He had obviously been blaming himself for the whole thing and had been beating himself up about it. Jim's hand ran over his side. He winced in pain and quickly withdrew his hand. "Hey, don't touch it, stupid!"
"Are you alright?" Jim asked groggily as he half-opened his eyes again. Gene faked another smile.
"Not a scratch."
"I'm glad you're... Not hurt..." he said, resting his eyes again.
"I really hope that's not the morphine talking, kid..."
"It's... Jim..."
The next time Jim woke up there was someone in the bed on the other side of the room. It was a girl about the same age as him. She had beautiful chest-length wavy hair that came in three different colors- yellow, black, and purple. Although she looked very weak, her light blue eyes were bright behind her matching glasses as she watched the television.
"Oh, hi. You're awake. You've been sleeping since I got in here," she said, turning the t.v. off. "I'm Yuki."
"Jim."
"What're you in for? I have anemia and I'm here for my eleventh surgery on my heart. That's an operation a year," she said, oddly proud off the fact that she was most likely terminally ill.
"What's anemia?" Jim asked, deliberately ignoring the first question.
"It's a rare heart disease. But don't worry- it's not contagious. It's sort of like a tumor, I guess. Whenever my heart accelerates so fast, it just sort of... Stops. That sucks because it happens whenever I'm scared, nervous, or I run or jump or something, so I can't really do a lot of things. It really hurts, but the operations cost a lot of money and I've had ten so far. I'm getting what may be my last one tonight. If it doesn't work, they might stop, because so far, they really haven't made any improvements," Yuki babbled. Even though she was tired, she loved to talk. "So why did you say you're here?"
"... I was shot," replied Jim.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Well at least you're alive. Be thankful for that. I heard my parents talking. My 'due date' is in exactly two months, one week, and two days," she told Jim.
"Due date?" Jim asked with a confused expression.
"When they expect for me to die."
"Lunch time," a nurse rang as she pushed a cart in the room with two plates full of a variety of foods. "Do you think you want to eat tonight, Yukiena?" The girl slowly shook her head.
"I'm not hungry, ma'am. But could have some water, please?" she asked quietly, instantly growing timid.
"Of course," she said with a sweet smile. "Here you are, James. I hope you like it."
'In a way, this place is like the orphanage. It sure has the same dreary tone. I guess the nurses and doctors are like nuns, and the patients are like orphans,' Jim pondered as he poked at whatever the green stuff was.
"Yukiena, you're parents are here. They're signing in now and they'll be here shortly," a different nurse said, poking her head in. She had the same false cheerfulness splattered across her face.
"My parents always go all out whenever I go to the hospital. What about yours?" Yuki asked Jim.
"I don't have parents. I'm an orphan," Jim replied after a long pause.
"Well, I'd better leave you kids now. Just push this button if you need me, James. Don't hesitate to call for anything at all. My name is Tae," the first nurse said, winking. "Yukiena, I trust you know how to use the nurse call button," she breezed as she patted the girl on her multi-colored head and briskly left the room, returning just as quickly with a glass of water.
The next time the door opened two adults and two teenagers entered the room, arms full of bouquets, stuffed animals, candy, and cards.
"Yuki, honey, how are you doing?" the beautiful blonde woman cried in an English accent as she rushed in high heels to the girl.
"I'm fine, mom. Same as always," Yuki piped. "Hi, dad, Ri, Rosie."
"We come bearing gifts," her father said, dropping the load at the foot of her bed.
"Jim, this is my mom, dad, and my older sisters, Hikari and Rosetta," Yuki introduced, pointing to each person as she said their name. "Everyone, this is Jim. He was shot."
"Actually, we're not Yuki's real sisters. Ri and I were adopted," the younger of the two piped.
"Shut up, you. I'm sure the kid doesn't want to hear about it," the older one said, elbowing her sister. "Besides, not that you couldn't tell. Rosie and I have blue hair."
"Here, sweetie. We all pitched in to buy this bouquet for you. Your father, your sisters, and myself," her mother said, offering a large, beautiful bouquet of blue and white roses to the girl. "Your favorite flowers."
Yuki held the bouquet in her hands and thought for a moment. She offered it to Jim. "Here, Jim," she said with a smile. "You need this more than I do. It's from me and my family to you, because just like my sisters, you don't have a family to buy you one." Jim shyly took the roses.
"Thanks, Yuki."
"Yukiena, it's time. I feel good about this one," a doctor said as he came in.
"Good buy, honey. Good luck," her mother said, kissing her on the forehead.
"Good luck? Mom, I'm getting an operation, not competing in the Olympics," Yuki cried jokingly as they wheeled her out. "Oh, Jim? I'll see you when I wake up. Bye!"
Jim went to sleep for the day and woke up late the next evening. Yuki should have been out by now. He tiredly turned his head and looked over at her bed.
It was empty. All her stuff was gone.
A short time later a nurse came in to clean up the room.
"Excuse me, sir?" Jim asked. The man looked up.
"What's wrong? Do you need something?" asked the nurse as he walked over to Jim's bedside.
"Um, I was wondering where Yuki went. She went into surgery early yesterday," Jim informed him as he pointed to the empty bed.
"Yukiena Munoh? She didn't make it through the operation. She died around seven this morning."
--
There you go! Jim's alive. Unfortunately, his new friend isn't. Poor Yuki. There really wasn't a lot of Gene in this one. Don't worry, next time Jim goes home. There'll be more Gene there. I promise. We'll also find out where Gene was for the most part when Jim was at the hospital. Until next time, this has been Chocolate Usagi! Bye now!