Chapter 8
Trixie waited with Stephanie until Mayor Meanswell came home at four o'clock. She pulled him aside and told him everything that had happened. Then Trixie went home. The Mayor was shocked and went immediately to Stephanie's side.
Stephanie didn't acknowledge him as Uncle Milford sat down next to her. He pulled her over to him and gave her a hug. Uncle Milford assured her everything was going to be all right, but he didn't really know if that was true. He told Stephanie to go take a relaxing bubble bath and he would fix dinner. Mayor Meanswell practically had to push Stephanie up the stairs. Quickly he ran downstairs and called Bessie.
"Bessie we've got a huge problem." He then went on to explain what little he knew. For a long while Bessie just listened and tried to absorb everything.
"Bessie are you still there?" Mayor Meanswell said nervously.
"Yes and I have an idea." She explained in detail what the two of them would do tomorrow. Thanking Bessie, Milford hung up the phone. He then made some dinner and went to get Stephanie. He was in for the shock of his life.
Sportacus' crystal went off. It shook him from his stupor of what had happened today. He looked into it and saw the Mayor. Swiftly he climbed down the ladder and rushed to the Mayor's house.
Mayor Meanswell found Stephanie lying on the bathroom floor. She would not respond to him. The bathtub was still filling with water. It looked as if Stephanie had never made as far as to turn it off. Suddenly he heard someone rushing up the stairs.
Sportacus entered the bathroom. He saw Stephanie lying on the floor and asked the Mayor what happened. Mayor Meanswell had no answer to that question. Quickly Sportacus scooped up Stephanie and headed for Dr. Feels Good's office.
As he was running toward the doctor's office Stephanie stirred in his arms. She was disoriented and she began to writhe in pain. Sportacus held her tighter and burst into the doctor's office.
"What happened?" Dr. Feels Good asked.
"I think she slipped and hit her head." Sportacus said lying Stephanie down on the exam table. Dr. Feels Good looked at her eyes while Sportacus held her down. Stephanie would not stop struggling; she was in a lot of pain.
"She has a concussion. Stephanie can you hear me? Are you dizzy or nauseous?" Dr. Feels Good asked. Stephanie tried to answer but all that came out was "mmffphemmln". Quickly the doctor ran to his medicine chest and grabbed out a bottle and a needle. He filled the needle and injected it into Stephanie's arm.
"What was that?" Sportacus asked.
"It was a pain killer. She should be able to talk to us soon. Hopefully she hasn't had too much memory loss. It is quite common for people to lose their memory after such a head trauma. There is no way that she got this from slipping on the bathroom floor. When she was pulled from the tree house rubble she must have already had a slight concussion. That could be why I didn't detect anything. She is drenched in sweat. I'd better check her blood pressure." Dr. Feels Good explained. Sportacus remained lost in thought while the doctor checked Stephanie's blood pressure.
"Well its a little low but soon that should change. The next few days she will be dizzy, nervous, and probably have some nasty headaches. Sportacus I want you to hold her hand and slowly, quietly talk to her see if she can tell you anything. She will be very sensitive to sound and light. I'm going to call Mayor Meanswell and let him know what is going on." Dr. Feels Good said. As he left the room he turned down the lights. Sportacus picked up Stephanie's hand and rubbed his thumb over her fingers. She seemed to becoming more lucid.
"Stephanie, can you tell me what happened." Sportacus said slowly and quietly as the doctor had instructed.
"Who is Stephanie?" Came the reply.
To Be Continued…
