Title: Pride of Lazytown (Part Two)
Author: PT Malvik

Rating: PG13
Summary: A Sports Day disaster leads to strange revelations and some unlikely heroes.

The ride to the hospital took little over half an hour as the nearest fully equipped ER was in the next town over. Uncle Milford and Sportacus rode with Stephanie -- Sportacus quietly holding her hand, Uncle Milford fretting loudly at the ambulance driver every few seconds to hurry.

"Don't worry," Sportacus whispered in her ear, perhaps to drown out the sounds of her uncle's agitation. "You're going to be fine."

No, I'm not, she thought, but only tightened her grip on Sportacus' hand in response.

"We're almost there," Sportacus continued. "And, once we're inside, the doctor will take a look and bandage you up a little and then, zip, zip, zip, you'll be on your feet again in no time. You'll see."

Kind words, but hot tears still ran down her cheeks and Stephanie was grateful when Sportacus dabbed a tissue against her runny nose. Her ankle throbbed horribly with every bump in the road. She didn't even want to think about how it would feel when they'd start moving the stretcher again.

The ambulance dipped down into a narrow driveway. A hospital loomed overhead and the paramedic crew scurried to get everyone out -- Sportacus, a hyperventilating Uncle Milford and finally, Stephanie. Somehow, Sportacus managed to keep a hold of her hand even as he helped the crew get her down.

It didn't matter. She had to bite her lip against crying out in pain as they rolled her into the ER. The smell of hospital disinfectant filled her nostrils as they pushed her through the doors. "Pediatric!" one of the paramedics called out. "We have a possible ankle fracture here. All life signs are stable."

Stephanie opened her eyes. A young doctor was already standing over her. "Hi, sweetie. Can you tell me your name?" she asked, all the while fiddling with various pieces of equipment.

"Stephanie."

"You took a tumble, huh?"

"I was tripped," Stephanie muttered, the anger still fresh. "The other team tripped me on purpose."

"Oh my," the doctor said, checking her eyes and feeling gingerly around her neck, obviously more interested in the nature of her injuries than in the cause. "That wasn't nice. Do you have any pain up here, in your head or neck?"

"The brace hurts."

"Any pain besides that? Does anything look blurry to you?"

"No."

"That's a good thing. We'll take the brace off in a little while. Now, let's look at that ankle." She pulled very gently at the hem of Stephanie's sweat pants and gave a low whistle. "Oh, boy. That's a doozy you got there, honey. We're going to bring the X-Ray machine over here instead of making you go over to another room. You know what an X-Ray does, right?"

"Yes. It takes a picture."

The doctor seemed pleased. "That's right. Such a smart young lady. Once we get the picture, we'll see what's what." She turned to the nurses, her tone turning professional. "Get radiology in here with the portable unit. Then call orthopedics, tell them we have a likely pediatric talus fracture. I want the X-Rays stat, before swelling gets past the casting point." She turned to Uncle Milford and Sportacus. "Are either one of you this little girl's father?"

"Uh ... uh ... I'm her guardian," a flustered Uncle Milford replied. "Her uncle."

She motioned for him to join her at the other side of the ER. "Let's talk over here, uncle." Her voice lowered, but Stephanie could make out the words "likely broken", "possibility of surgery", "pins" and the sound of Uncle Milford getting more and more upset with every scenario the doctor presented.

"Oh, my! Oh, dear!" he yelped and Stephanie started to shake with fear.

Sportacus leaned over and softly rubbed her arms, smiling and talking to her in his kindest voice. "Stephanie, listen to me. If you were that badly hurt, you'd already be taken upstairs or to the back area for them to work on. She is just telling your uncle about all the possibilities because she has to. Don't be afraid."

"Did you ever break anything?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Sportacus chuckled. "I sure have. Let's see ..." He held up his hand to count off on his fingers. "My arm, my collarbone, one little toe, one big toe .. and yes ..." Here, he waggled his thumb. "My favorite finger. And boy, did that hurt. I cried for the whole day."

"How little were you when that happened?"

Sportacus laughed heartily. "Not so little. In fact, I was the exact same height I am now." He brushed a few strands of sweat damp hair away from her forehead. "Don't be scared. I know it hurts, but it will get better, I promise."

The doctor finished up with Uncle Milford, who looked white as a ghost and was gasping for air. "It'll be okay, Mr. Meanswell," said the doctor. "Deep breathing, now." She motioned at a nurse. "Nancy, please get a Valium and some water for this gentleman here ... thanks." She turned to Sportacus and Stephanie, with a very large, and not very reassuring, smile on her face as a man pushing a large machine came through the curtain. "Jim here is going to take that picture now. Coach, I'm sorry, but you'll have to step away for a couple of minutes."

"No problem," replied Sportacus, who leaned in to kiss Stephanie on her forehead. "I'm going to be right outside."

She clutched his hand tightly. "You won't leave? You promise?"

"Cross my heart," he replied solemnly. "I'll be right outside and will come back in when they are done." He grasped a shaky Mayor Meanswell by the arm. "Come on, Mayor. I'll get you a bottle of cold water."

Sportacus left and the X-Ray machine was rolled over to her bed. Stephanie never felt tinier or more alone. She closed her eyes and tried to think positive thoughts but between her anger at what happened and the throbbing pain, she wasn't having much success.

In her heart, she knew that everything would probably be all right, eventually, even with Uncle Milford's meltdown and all, but eventually seemed like a really long time away.

She couldn't believe this had happened to her. Just as she was getting used to being in Lazytown and being happy there. And she couldn't believe all those people thinking it was funny that she'd broken her ankle on the playing field -- not to mention letting the other team get away with it.

Especially Robbie Rotten. What an idiot she'd been about him. Thinking he was nice underneath all that meanness. But he wasn't -- he was rotten to the core, just like his name. She was never going to trust him and his intentions again. As far as she was concerned, he was just plain evil. "Hope you're happy now, Robbie," she whispered under her breath. "I won't be playing outside for the rest of the summer."

In fact, he probably planned the entire thing, knowing him. This thought made her throat constrict and Stephanie grit her teeth, trying to keep more tears from rolling down her face.

Stephanie swallowed hard as the technician adjusted her leg ever so slightly. The machine hummed and he left, saying: "Don't move a muscle now, okay? One ... two ..."

Click! One X-Ray down. The technician returned and slid another plate under her foot, making her grimace in pain. "Sorry, hon. Just one more. Hold still."

Another buzz-click! and the X-Rays were done. As promised, Sportacus returned the moment after the machine was rolled away, as did Uncle Milford. He looked a lot more relaxed, a little woozy even and Stephanie wondered if that had anything to do with the pill the doctor had ordered for him.

Speaking of the doctor, she returned ten minutes later, holding two X-Ray sheets. She clipped them both to a light box on the wall and hit a switch, showing a ghostly image of Stephanie's ankle bones. There was an obvious black break line running through one of them. "Well, young lady, I'm sorry to say you have a fracture. But, I'm pleased to say that six or so weeks in a cast should set everything right again."

"Six weeks!" Stephanie moaned. Six weeks of summer ... gone down the tubes. It might as well been six years.

Sportacus rubbed his chin. "But everything will be fine after that?" he asked the doctor.

"If I were a gambling woman, I'd say so," the doctor replied, giving Stephanie's arm a friendly squeeze. "I know, it's not what you wanted to hear, honey, but let's just say I'm glad we didn't have to go in there and pin things back together. That would have made the recovery time much longer."

She reached for the wall phone and punched some numbers in. "Orthopedics? Yeah, send down Victor with some casting supplies to the ER. No ... no ... I'd rather have him do it. It's a pediatric. I want it done right. Yes ..."

"My dear," Uncle Milford's face was twisted with worry. "Please don't be upset. I'm going to call your father and have him come right ..."

"Don't," Stephanie interjected abruptly, thinking of her father and the business trip overseas he was on that was going to pay off many of the debts that had been quietly plaguing her family for the past couple of years, driving them deeper and deeper toward the point of no return. This was the break of a lifetime for him ... for all of them and Stephanie wasn't going to ruin it. "Daddy doesn't have to come home just for this. I know we can manage, right?"

Pleading, and Uncle Milford slowly nodded. "We certainly can, my dear. But if you change your mind ..."

"I won't," Stephanie said firmly. She took a deep breath, feeling a little more in control again. She tried to smile. "It's not that big a deal, really. It's just a little cast. Almost everyone gets one at some point, right, Sportacus?"

He gave her a thumbs up, then looked at his thumb and laughed. "I know I have."

"It's going to be okay," Stephanie whispered to herself, as the orthopedic doctor appeared with a pan and a casting kit. "It's all going to be fine."

But having a cast wasn't okay at all, at least not on the first night.

It was heavy and hot and clumsy, not to mention how it did nothing to relieve the searing pain Stephanie felt when she had to get from the car to the borrowed wheelchair, and from the wheelchair to her bed. Sportacus carried her over the really hard parts, but he couldn't stay forever and once he was gone, she was at a loss at how she would manage, even with the chair and crutches.

With some effort, she was tucked into her bed, just as the sun started to set outside her window. Sighing, she stared at it mournfully for a few minutes, until only a few pink clouds remained over the horizon.

Uncle Milford came in a few minutes later, carrying a bowl of chocolate pudding and a spoon. "I put your medicine in here, my dear. Miss Busybody says that's the easiest way to take it," he said, sitting himself down gingerly at her side. "Are you all right to eat it? I can help ..."

"I can hold a spoon, Uncle," Stephanie said, not unkindly, but she was too tired to be all that social. At his sad expression, she held out her arms and he gladly embraced her. It seemed like he needed the hug more than she did. "It's going to be okay," she murmured against his shoulder. "Really."

"I know, sweetheart. I just wish .." He paused, then smiled weakly. "How about you finish that pudding?"

"Yes, Uncle," Stephanie agreed, spooning up the gooey chocolate. It was sweet and cold and soon enough it was gone. Almost immediately, Stephanie began to yawn as the pain in her ankle slowly disappeared. "Gosh, it's been quite a day, hasn't it?"

"An awful day," he sighed, but he forced himself to brighten. "But tomorrow will be better, I promise."

Stephanie sunk into her pillow, yawning broadly. "I hope so."

"Goodnight, my dear, my sweet little one. Sleep tight."

"Goodnight ... "

At Robbie Rotten's underground lair, things weren't nearly as peaceful as he would have liked.

Especially considering that Sportacus was standing over his favorite resting chair and glowering at him ... dangerously.

"I think we need to talk, Robbie," growled Sportacus, both hands planted on his hips, his cheek muscles twitching "And you'd better tell me what I want to hear."

to be continued

Thanks for the very kind reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed it so far. There's more to come and as always, I love hearing from you.