In Your Shoes-Part 5

Hello! Here it is.

Dale blinked, letting the information sink in. Nancy stood there, waiting for him to say something. The shock was wearing on his energy, and threatened to shut him down, but Dale wanted to respond to Nancy, at least get that look off of her face.

He gulped, then nodded. "Really!" Nancy nodded. "That's great!" Dale said happily, as he moved to hug Nancy. Nancy, still in the tight grasp of Dale, moved herself to the chair. "Yep, isn't it great, Sug? And it's really yours this time, and I'm so happy, and I hope it's a girl." Nancy rambled.

Dale's mind didn't register yet about what she had said in the middle of that rant. If they were having another kid, he wanted no lies between them. "Nancy..." Dale started. "I have to tell you something." Nancy sat still in her chair, holding her breath as she waited for Dale to say what he was going to say.

Dale whispered everything that had happened with Sandra. He kept apologizing, and saying that he loved her. Nancy listened with mixed emotions. Her feelings had been right. But Dale hadn't actually cheated on her. Unlike her. She had to clear the dense fog of air between them.

"Dale, I have to tell you something, too." Nancy started, fighting the tears that threatened to fall out. She had used his first name; no backing out now. Slowly, she told him about John Redcorn and her. She told him about her stopping the affair, then him ending the affair for good. Dale listened with a blank stare. She then told him, with bitterness in her voice, that Joseph was really John Redcorn's, but she wanted Dale to raise him. She apologized to him every other second. After she was done, she noticed Dale was having trouble breathing.

"Sug!" She asked in a small, scared voice. "No more lies..." He muttered under his breath, like a chant. Then, his eyes rolled back, and he went into that nice coma the doctor had been talking about. But it was far from nice.

The doctors had rushed back in, and she had been ushered out. She sat on the same waiting chair she had been, crying. Crying for her stupid affair, crying for her unborn baby, crying for her husband on the medical bed, crying for herself.

Hank found Nancy like this. "Nancy, what happened!" Hank asked alarmed. "I told him everything." She muttered, barely above a whisper. "The affair, Joseph. Everything. Coma..." She chocked out, before she ran back into the lady's room. Her tears mixed with her throw up.

Hank wanted to strangle the doctors, nurses, and everyone in this stupid hospital, for that matter. The only person he didn't want to hurt was Dale, but Dale was in enough pain right now. He was in a coma, that was all Hank knew, or could find out.

The nurses were no help; they just said to ask the doctors when Hank asked how Dale was. When he caught one of the 'busy doctors', they gave him some wishy washy thing about 'classified information'. And, even though Hank supported Nancy telling the truth to Dale, Hank wanted to choke Nancy for telling Dale, and putting him in a coma.

He couldn't hurt Nancy though, because she was beating herself up. Hank actually felt sorry for her. She was a wreck.

Boomhauer was no where to be found, and knowing what Boomhauer usually did, and was famous for...

Bill calmly sat there eating Jell-O from the Hospital Cafeteria. Everyone was acting so...

Hank calmed himself down, and stopped his pacing in front of Dale's room. He wasn't allowed in (No one was), but the doctors wouldn't tell him anything. Dale could be in a slight coma, that he would be out of in a few days or hours, or it could be one that he can be in for months, years, or forever. But Hank didn't know which. And Hank hated not knowing.

Another night past, without so much as a word from the doctors. When Hank awoke the next day, he had an uneasy feeling.

A doctor came out, and ushered the 'Gribble Party' of awaiting people. "Folks, we are not sure if Mr. Gribble will pull though or not." The doctor held up his hand for silence as the others started to protest, moan, etc. "We will call you the moment there is any new news. But, for now, we ask that you go home."

Hank wanted to slap the younger man right then and there. You can't just ask people to leave. But, a stupid working voice in the back of his mind spoke up. 'You can't help Dale by just standing here. So, it doesn't matter if you're here or there. And, you have to go back to work today.' The voice scolded Hank.

With a bit more grumbling, the 4 people left the hospital. Bill had to go back to the Army and give hair-cuts (The Army didn't like all the time Bill had taken off...) Boomhauer went back to his house. Hank went back to Strickland Propane. Nancy disappeared.

Hank made his way back to his house, after a long day at work. As he walked into his kitchen, Peggy stood up from the table, a truly worried look on her face. Hank, thinking it was bad news about Dale, stood where he was, his breath clogged.

"It's about Dale, isn't it? What is it!" Hank asked, a bit of panic creeping into his voice.

"No. It's about Nancy. She didn't come home, when you guys came back from the hospital."

He-He! Don't know where I want her to be, to tell you the truth. But, I've got a general idea. PLEASE, review, so I know people are reading. Unless you don't like it...

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