CHAPTER 9

"Can I get you something to drink? Some water? A beer? Juice?" Carmen asked politely as Kreese walked into the apartment.

"No, I'm fine, thank you." Kreese replied. Carmen led him into the living room and sat face to face at the dining table.

"So… what can I help you with, Mr. Kreese?" Carmen asked as she scowled at him. The Cobra on his lapel was enough for her to already have a bad first impression of him.

"Please, call me John. And yeah, um… Ms. Diaz, now that Miguel is out of the hospital, I wanted to talk to you about Miguel's recovery process."

"Yeah, okay. Let me call Miguel really quickly though." Carmen replied, standing up. But before she could, Kreese stood up and raised a hand to stop her.

"Please, Ms. Diaz, if we could talk just you and me first, and then Miguel can join us?" Kreese requested. Carmen eventually sighed and nodded, sitting back down at the table. The two of them looked at each other for several moments, trying to size each other up and read each other's unreadable facial expressions.

After several moments, Kreese broke the silence.

"You don't trust me, Ms. Diaz, do you?" Kreese asked. Carmen shrugged.

"Why should I? The last person who came into this house wearing the emblem you're wearing sat at this very table and swore to me that there was no way that he would let my son get hurt. But here we are, my son paralysed by none other than the man's own flesh and blood."

Kreese nodded.

"I completely understand. And I first of all want you to know that I take partial responsibility for what happened that day. I persistently tried to convince Johnny that the way he was teaching Karate was the incorrect way and was going to lead to somebody getting hurt, but it wasn't enough. But I want you to also know that I have taken control over Cobra Kai now, and I would never let something like what happened to Miguel happen again."

Carmen's eyes widened.

"Seriously?! That's what this is about?! You're trying to recruit my son back to your karate dojo?!" Carmen exclaimed, her voice rising in anger. "After everything that has happened to him, all you care about is him returning to fight for your stupid karate rivalry?! Get out of my house right now!"

Kreese shook his head and raised his hands in surrender.

"No, no, no. That's not what I'm here to talk about, I swear." Kreese said. "What happened to Miguel kills me every day, not only because I tried and failed to prevent it, but also because it happened to a member of our Cobra Kai family. As the person who started Cobra Kai way back when, I can tell you from experience that Cobra Kai is more than a dojo: it's a family. You have brothers, sisters, fathers who are always by your side no matter what. Miguel is one of us, always has been, always will be. And when a family member is down, you always help them up however best you possibly can, right?"

A look of frustration saying "get to the point" flitted across Carmen's face, and Kreese noticed.

"Ms. Diaz, I'd like you to take a look at this." Kreese said, pulling a brochure out of the small bag he had brought with him and handing it to Carmen. As Carmen scanned the front page, she realised that it was a leaflet for a hospital of some kind. Children of seemingly all ages, all of whom clearly containing physical disabilities, greeted her on the front page.

"What is this?" Carmen snapped.

"This is Lionsgate Hospital, the country's leading long-term care hospital, but added bonus, this place is only for people between age 8-18. They have the best doctors and treatment in the country for spinal injury/stroke paralysis recovery. "

Carmen looked through the brochure and remembered that she had actually heard of this place quite a bit among her nurse friends. All of them had the dream of being able to work in this place, and Carmen never really understood why. But she saw now…

She saw that the hospital had not only the best doctors and equipment in the country, but also had incredible grounds too. It was situated in the outskirts of a city so was relatively private but with easy access to the city. It contained 25 acres of space that was taken up by not only the hospital, but plenty of fields that the people were able to sit and enjoy the sunlight in, and the people in the latter parts of their recovery were able to play in. Needless to say, the children and teenagers who went there all definitely enjoyed themselves. And not only that, the hospital's methods worked. The patients who went through the hospital had a 65% higher chance of recovering from respective injuries. Heck, the hospital even contained a boarding residence for all of its patients as the hospital had been equipped with top-of-the-line technology to make the lives of those physically handicapped a lot easier, so the children and teenagers wouldn't have to go through all of the added stress and hardships that came with living at home with an injury like the ones they had. It even had multiple academic teachers on their payroll that tutored all of the patients so they didn't fall behind in classes by the time they got back to their real life. It was basically heaven for patient recovery. But there were a few problems for Carmen. For one, the hospital was in San Francisco, all the way across the State and a 6 hour drive away. And second…

"So, what, you want me to send Miguel there? You do realise that my family and I are already in debt from all of Miguel's medical bills, and that debt is increasing every day? This place is insanely expensive!"

"I understand, ma'am, but I may be able to help with that. I reached out to a close friend of mine as he is a former Cobra Kai sensei so he understands what it truly means to be part of our dojo. He is a very successful businessman and he volunteered to pay all of Miguel's medical bills from his coma, and the fees for Miguel to be sent to this hospital for as long as it takes for Miguel to make a full recovery."

However, rather than being grateful or thanking Kreese, Carmen shot the man a glare so powerful that if looks could kill, Kreese would be not only be dead, but would be eviscerated.

"Mr. Kreese, I have to ask… who do you think I am? You think I'm just going to accept you paying tens of thousands of dollars that his family should be paying? You think I'm going to let you turn my son and our family into a make-a-wish charity case? And for a place in San Francisco? Do you even realise what you're asking of me and my family? What happens if something bad happens to Miguel and he gets put back in a coma, or worse? It'll take me a whole day to get there! I think at this time in particular, Miguel needs to be at home with his family and friends, not across the state in some hospital boarding program. I appreciate the offer, Mr. Kreese, but the answer is no."

Kreese eventually nodded politely.

"I understand, Ms. Diaz. But could I please just say one more thing?" Kreese asked. Carmen nodded and Kreese took a deep breath. This was it. His hail mary. His last hope. "I don't know if you know this or not but I came to see Miguel once while he was in the hospital. If nothing else, I noticed one thing different about him and it wasn't his broken back. It was the look in his eye. A feeling of helplessness. I've seen this before in many troops I've fought with back in the Army, and I have seen what this feeling of helplessness can lead to if not stopped. These people… they no longer want to get better. They just want to numb the pain. I've seen countless of my men resort to self-medication through drugs and alcohol and the end results are not pretty."

Carmen sighed, her hard look softening a crack. Just a crack. But that was all Kreese needed. He knew that he was getting through to Carmen now.

"Look, Mr. Kreese, I'm really sorry about everything you've had to go through and what your friends have had to go through. You and those men have my utmost gratitude for your service. But Miggy isn't like those men. He isn't going to do that."

"No?" Kreese asked. "Well, please correct me if I'm wrong, but is Miguel acting more withdrawn and quiet as of late? Not enjoying the things that normally make him happy?"

Carmen didn't respond, but that answered Kreese's question for him.

"This is the first step, Ms. Diaz. And he's only going to spiral deeper." Kreese murmured, gravely. Carmen shook her head, in denial even though she knew Kreese was right.

"Even if you are right, that just means Miguel needs to be here more. Needs to be with his family more." Carmen replied. Kreese sighed.

"With all due respect Ms. Diaz, is that really the best thing for him? All of his friends are doing Karate - something you and I both know is one of the most important parts of Miguel's life. How do you think he's going to feel, watching and listening to all of his friends working hard, getting better, having fun around him while he can just sit idly by? If he stays here, he'd have to go back to school, right? Think about how many extra challenges that would bring. But at Lionsgate Hospital, he would not only get the best physical therapy there is for someone his age with his injury, but he would also be benefiting from just getting away from the Valley for a while. And at Lionsgate, they also have multiple mental health professionals and psychologists who would be sure to give him the help that he needs. So with that in mind, can you honestly say that staying here would be the best option for Miguel?"

The two lapsed into silence for several moments, as Carmen's mind raced with the possibilities. She was torn. On one hand, after everything that had happened, she was EXTREMELY reluctant to send her baby to a long-term care hospital across the state, where he wouldn't be able to see his family for a long period of time. But on the other, she knew that deep down, Kreese may be right. Miguel needed some time away. Being thrust back into his old life would for sure be a bad thing for his emotional and mental health. And then the obvious benefit of that hospital having the best injury recovery program in the country. Carmen might have negotiated into getting a free physical therapist to give Miguel weekly sessions, but she knew full-well that that cheap method had little to know chance of actually helping him. But the Lionsgate Hospital had some of the best resources available so their students were at an advantage when it came to recovering.

"Um… look, could you give me some time to think about this, and talk it through with Miguel? It's a big decision and I feel like it needs to be made partly by him as well." Carmen asked. Kreese nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Take as much time as you need." He replied. "Thank you so much for hearing me out."

"No, please, I should be the one thanking you." Carmen smiled faintly at him. "It's good to know that Miguel has people in his life who have his back like this."

"Well, Miguel's a great kid, and it was a pleasure to have been able to work with him over the summer. You should be very proud."

With that, Kreese began to walk to the door, and just as he was about to leave, he turned back to look at Carmen.

"Ms. Diaz?" Kreese asked.

"Yes?"

Kreese took a deep breath.

"Like I told you, I've seen a lot of bad things happen to close friends of mine who have succumbed to their PTSD demons. It would absolutely kill and tear me to shreds to see something like that happen to Miguel. Now, I'm not a parent and I know it's not my place to tell you what to do, but it would probably be wise to keep a slightly closer eye on Miguel, to make sure he isn't harming himself in any way. Self harm comes in many different forms so just… please just keep an eye out."

Carmen nodded. This man had completely defied the low expectations she had of him when she learned he was a Cobra Kai sensei, and he was the man Johnny had spoken so low of. But this man actually seemed like he cared a lot about Miguel, and genuinely wanted the best for him. And the opportunity that he was gifting Miguel was NOT something she saw everyday, and it was something people in Miguel's situation would kill for. She at least needed to consider it and talk to Miguel.

"Okay, thank you so much, Mr. Kreese." Carmen said.

"No. Thank you…"