By eight o'clock we pulled into the driveway.

The Doctor wouldn't release Diana until she woke up and could tell him stupid things. Like who our President was, her birthday, what the square root of three was, and if she could spell her last name. Which she failed. She knew the square root of three, couldn't spell McKnight.

Hell I didn't know the square root of three, until today.

Well that went for Sanderson, Albert and I.

Then traffic was murder.

We lost Sanderson and Humera not twenty minutes from the hospital, she was hungry.

Albert drove, which meant there was a lot of swearing. Albert was divinely appointed by God himself to punish poor drivers on the freeway. Albert in bumper-to-bumper traffic was a nightmare, plus McKnight wouldn't let him smoke.

I was banished to the front seat while Diana slept across the back, her head on a pillow on McKnight's lap. While he hovered over her. As much as I wanted to hover over her I kept my mother shut, while Albert lost his mind.

When we pulled into the driveway an old beat up Ford sat there, when Albert put the car in park the Doctor, Wandle, climbed out of the Ford.

I climbed outta my seat and opened the door, he peered over my shoulder at the sleeping Diana. He shook her foot, "Hey. Sweet thang, wake up."

Diana let out a noise, but didn't move.

"Push'er ass up and bring'er inside. I wanna check her out fore you put her in bed," Wandle told us, in jeans and a t-shirt bearing the Confederate Flag. He had a blue backpack in his hand.

I leaned in the jeep and patted her thighs, "Darlin, wake up."

McKnight looked at me and gently pushed her up as she began to wake up, slowly. I patted her face with both my hands.

She had left the hospital half awake.

But awake enough to dress herself and get some fluids in her, she just slept the whole way home.

Diana opened her eyes, which looked so glazed I knew she'd fail any drug test. I reached for her to carry her inside. But froze, the lump under her arm was evident of bandages. Couldn't touch that.

So I reached under her bottom and pulled her across the seat, until her legs hung off the side, and then I lifted her out, she slumped against my chest. I held her against me with both hands under her bottom. Shutting the car door with my foot.

While McKnight collected all the medical shit the Doctor lady gave us, Albert ran ahead of me to open the front door, cigarette in his mouth.

I carried her inside where Wandle waited, "Where's the bedroom at?"

I nodded towards the staircase, afraid to wake her up.

Wandle lead me up the steps and down the hall to our room, where I very gently put her on the bed. "Hold her up," he told me.

I did, infact I sat right next to her. I watched Wandle pull a stethoscope from his pack and put it on, he then slid it up her shirt and listened to her heart. After a few moments he looked at his watch and counted silently, timing it.

I looked up to see McKnight standing in the doorway watching.

"Good," he said, then he pulled out a blood pressure cup from his pack, setting the stethoscope on the bed.

He unvelcroed the arm cuff and wrapped it around her bare arm. He squeezed that little round rubber ball, watching the clock-like thingie on it. And then he stopped and watched it as the air hissed out.

"Aight…….good."

Wandle took the cuff off her arm and put that on the bed.

He then pulled out one of those little flashlights and opened one eye, then the other, shining the light in her eyes.

He saw the look of confusion on my face, but when Diana moved back against me, muttering, "Stop….that." I was relieved, Wandle smiled, "Good."

He packed all his toys up and let me lay her down in the bed. I took her shoes off and covered her in the quilt before I met both him and McKnight in the hall.

Wandle turned to me, "Let'er sleep tha night away. When she wakes up fed'er breakfast and let'er take'a shower. Aight. Make sure she uses the shit the Doc gave you to clean the wound. Aight? I'll be by t'morrow night to be sure she did all that. If there's any problems, give me a call, I gave her daddy my number."

I nodded.

McKnight lead Wandle out, and I set up my bed on the floor. With my luck I'd roll over on her, squish her and rip her stitches.