Warning: Rated for language, violence and references to adult behavior.
The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
In the Emergency Room, they got the damage assessment. Aelita only had bruises and the one small cut, which was treated by a good cleansing and a bandage. She needed no stitches and would be able to return to school with the principal.
Jeremie was a different story. He had cuts and bruises, but he also had two broken ribs, and the doctors were afraid there might be internal bleeding. He was taken for further tests, and they would be admitting him for the night, at least.
At that news, Jean-Pierre Delmas got on the phone and called Jeremie's parents. They would need to know this, and would need to be here to authorize any further treatment.
All the while, Aelita, Sissi and Odd sat in the Waiting Room, waiting for any word on Jeremie. Now that the crisis had passed and she was safe, Aelita broke down and started shaking and sobbing. Odd and Sissi both held her and comforted her as best they could.
The doctor finally came and told Mr. Delmas the news. Jeremie didn't have any internal bleeding that they could find, and the two broken ribs were the worst of his injuries. They were still going to keep him over night for observation, but more than likely, he would be released tomorrow.
After the doctor left, Aelita babbled, "sir, I'm sorry, we didn't know any of this would happen..."
Mr. Delmas knelt down in front of Aelita, took her hands in hers, and replied, "there's nothing to be sorry about, Aelita. I know it wasn't yours or Jeremie's fault. The police told me everything."
That calmed her, a little. "Can we go see Jeremie now?" she asked.
"Of course."
When they got to his room, Jeremie was carefully sipping on a cup of water. His face was black and blue from the beating he took, and his lip was split open and swollen. He was no longer hooked up to the IV. When she saw him, Aelita ran over to the bed and grabbed him in a fierce hug. He winced from the pain when she did, but didn't protest.
"You see? Jeremie is safe and comfortable. We should return to the school now," Principal Delmas said.
"Sir, I know this isn't quite proper, but could I stay here with Jeremie tonight?" Aelita asked. She looked as if she was on the verge of crying again.
"Daddy, I'll stay too, if that would help," Sissi piped in.
"Me too," joined Odd.
Jean-Pierre looked at the kids for a moment. He then said, "if the nurses will allow it, we all will stay with Jeremie tonight."
The Duty Nurse had no problems with them staying with Jeremie as long as they didn't disturb the other patients on the floor. Mr. Delmas gave the nurse his word they would be quiet, and she left. A few moments later, she returned with extra pillows and blankets for the group.
Jean-Pierre found an extra chair in the hallway and brought it into Jeremie's room. Odd and Sissi had settled down on a couch in the room, and Aelita had taken the room's chair and pulled it close to Jeremie's bed. She was holding his hand and quietly talking to him. Mr. Delmas closed the door, propped a pillow behind his head, leaned back as best he could in the chair, and fell asleep.
During the night, Jean-Pierre was awakened by the sound of two chainsaws mating. He opened his eyes and looked around, finally settling on Odd as the source of the noise. How such a scrawny kid could make that much noise was beyond him.
He then saw that Sissi had fallen asleep next to him, and had laid her head in his lap.
Mr. Delmas got a hard look in his eyes for a moment. The last person in the world he thought Sissi would ever start a relationship with was Odd Della Robbia. Those two had gone hammer and tongs at each other ever since Odd came to Kadic Academy. But something happened around Sissi's birthday this past summer, and she started going out with him.
Jean-Pierre almost died that Sunday when Sissi ran over to Odd, and he grabbed her like he was afraid she had died or been hurt. The look in the boy's eyes that day was something he had never seen in Odd before, real care and concern. From that moment on, it seemed, they were nearly inseparable.
Seeing them now, Odd sitting sprawled out on the couch, trying to suck his own sinuses down his throat, Sissi laying in his lap, sleeping like a baby, was almost more than Jean-Pierre Delmas could bear. He was Losing His Daughter. He knew this day would come, from the moment he held her in his arms in the hospital those many years ago, but it still hurt.
He turned away from the couch and his pain and to Jeremie's bed.
Sometime during the night, Aelita had crawled into bed with Jeremie. She was laying on top of the covers, curled up in his arms, her head resting on his chest. Every now and then, she would shiver and fuss a little, and then settle down. He sighed and got up, walked over to the bed, and pulled the blanket up from the foot of the bed over Aelita's sleeping form.
God alone knows what her uncle would think, if he saw the scene.
Jean-Pierre Delmas sat back down in his chair and went back to sleep, trying not to think about young love and the passage of time.