FULL CIRCLE
Chapter 40
Miles was still where Natalie had left him. Looking up at her and Frank, he said, "I think I need a little help."
Frank looked down at the younger man and said, "No offense, Miles, but you look like Hell." As he was speaking, he was getting Miles to his feet.
"Probably a pretty good description since I feel that way," Miles replied. He stood unsteadily, the only thing holding him up was Frank's arm around his shoulders.
"What did you do anyway?" Frank was asking as he got Miles back to the room.
"Something dumb."
Once inside the room, Frank helped Miles to sit down on the edge of the bed and Natalie removed his jacket. Frank looked over at her and said, "You get his shirt and I'll get his pants."
"Miles, we're going to get you in bed and I'll see about giving you some aspirin," Natalie said, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry but it's the best I can do. Until you get the alcohol and codeine out of
your system, you'll just end up making yourself sicker if you take any more of the pain meds."
"Can't be worse than I already feel," Miles muttered.
"I'll get the aspirin," Natalie said and rummaged in her purse. Frank had headed for the bathroom to grab a damp washcloth and a glass of water.
Once Miles had taken the aspirin he lay back closing his eyes and looking absolutely miserable. "You'll be feeling better in the morning," Natalie tried to reassure him as she placed the cloth on
his forehead.
"Then it's gonna be a long night," he told her.
Natalie motioned Frank to step outside the room so their conversation wouldn't disturb their team mate. "He should be okay in the morning, Frank," she said quietly.
"What happened?" Frank asked.
Natalie sighed and said, "Instead of staying here and resting like he'd been told to do, he decided to go see his father. I think the visit didn't go very well." She would keep to herself what Miles had
told her, at least for the moment.
"You sure he'll be okay?" Frank asked.
"I'm sure," she replied.
"Anyway, I'd better go back and keep an eye on him," Frank decided.
Their conversation was interrupted by Stephen heading down the corridor. "Frank, I've been looking for you. The plane reservations are confirmed for 3:30 tomorrow."
"Great. I guess it's just you and I then," Frank replied.
"Looks like it. Have either of you seen Miles? I thought he was to stay here and rest," Stephen said.
"He was," Natalie said. "But he decided to go visit his father. I don't think it went very well because he called me from a bar."
"He's in bed feeling sicker than a dog," Frank elaborated.
"He appears to be having a reaction to combining alcohol and codeine from his pain meds," Natalie explained.
"You think it's no more than that?" Stephen asked.
"I'm fairly certain. He told me he didn't start feeling really bad until he started drinking. And he said he'd taken some of the pain meds about an half an hour earlier. Add in the fact he hadn't
apparently eaten anything since yesterday. He'll probably be feeling better in the morning," Natalie answered.
"All right. Someone ought to check up on him every once in a while though. Just to make sure he's not suffering from anything more serious," Stephen told them.
"I'll do it." Frank volunteered. "Unless one of you would like to."
"I'll take over for you later," Natalie told him.
"Let me know if you need me," Stephen said and headed back to his room to begin packing.