Some time later, Ralph slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying in a hospital bed. Glancing down, he realized he was in a hospital gown and had an IV in his left arm. His head started to throb slightly and he was a bit thirsty.
Hearing a rustling sound, Ralph glanced to his right and found Pam lying in the other hospital bed looking back at him. Bill was in a chair nearby, and had been visiting with Pam. He was also sporting what was the beginning of a lovely shiner on his eye.
"Hi hun, how are you feeling?" said Pam, smiling.
"Uh, better," said Ralph, slightly confused. "How long have I been out? Had to be long enough for them to decide to bring me to the hospital and admit me. About an hour or two?"
"Try about 9 hours," said Bill handing Ralph a glass of water.
Ralph frowned in confusion. "Nine hours?"
Pam decided to continue. "Well, in and out, but mostly out hun. The doctors told us that you have a mild concussion and some dehydration, not to mention the punch to the jaw and being exhausted. Said you must've had a delayed reaction to your injuries. You're going to be here a day or so too."
Ralph shook his head as he put the information together. "Huh. Talk about a delayed reaction, had to have been four hours from the quake to you and Bill being rescued," said Ralph softly. "That was one long span of an adrenaline rush though to have kept me conscious that long if my collapse was caused by my head injury."
"Yeah, but you didn't have to catch yourself after it left and ya passed out," grumbled Bill. "Remind me to never call ya dead weight again on cases. You're heavier than ya look."
Ralph rolled his eyes. "OK, it's a deal. Good thing it wasn't literally. I was afraid that'd happen when Tony stopped breathing and I had to resuscitate him..." Ralph paused, realizing how long he had been out cold. "How is Tony?"
"Got word from the doctors. Villacana made it through surgery fine and is in recovery," said Bill.
Ralph shook his head. "Surgery? I thought Tony had a broken leg and concussion, not to mention possible fractured ribs..."
Pam continued. "Yes, Ralph, but that wasn't just it. He did have a fractured rib, but had some minor internal bleeding caused when it broke and poked a lung. It was caused when the stretcher fell during the aftershock, but the doctors were able to fix it. They set his leg shortly afterward. He's going to be in the hospital for a while too, but should make a full recovery."
"That's good. I mean, when I was giving him artificial respiration, I wasn't sure if..."
Bill noticed Ralph's voice trailed off, realizing the situation. "Yeah, I hear ya. Felt the same way when the Counselor passed out and had her nightmare. The black eye was a small price to pay to bring her around."
"Yeah, and you'll be careful around me next time you annoy me," said Pam with a slight smirk. "I still can't believe I did that to you."
"I'm all right. The doctor said that it was going to be sore for a few days, but that was it. You are going to owe me dinner big time though," said Bill chuckling.
Ralph noticed the attempt at humor and chuckled. "Yeah, we'll have fun with the creep when we take him to dinner," he said, only to laugh when he saw Bill roll his eyes.
There was a soft knock on the door. When it opened, Ralph was surprised to see Rhonda and Cyler enter the room. "Come in Rhonda, Cyler before you're caught," he said, motioning for them to close the door. "How did you manage to get up here to visit?"
"Well, it's like this Mr. H," said Cyler. "We're basically the only family Tony has that cares about him, and the doctors know that. We were visiting Tony in his room when we heard that you were admitted too. Since you're basically like a father to us, we were allowed to come up and visit to see how you were doing."
"Yeah, when we heard that you passed out at the school and saw you being loaded into an ambulance, we were worried for both you and Miss Davidson," said Rhonda as she handed the Ralph and Pam each a small stuffed duck.
"We're fine Rhonda," said Pam as she accepted her duck. "Just acting a little 'quackers' from everything."
"Yes Rhonda, we're both well. What happened to me was that I had a head injury, but when I saw Tony was seriously hurt, the adrenaline kicked in and I just kept going," said Ralph, knowing he couldn't mention the suit. "Once Pam and Tony were rescued and safe at the hospital, that adrenaline must've stopped flowing and I passed out. Now, enough about what happened to us, how's Tony?"
"Tony's doing all right," said Cyler. "We couldn't stay too long as he was still tired from the operation and the meds they're giving him, but he said to tell you that he sends you his well wishes and that the ducks are also from him to get well soon."
Ralph chuckled. "Well, we hope he's doing well too, and once they let us move around the hospital, we'll stop in and say hello," he said. "Now, I think you two better head on out of here and go home so Pam and I can rest."
Rhonda and Cyler said goodbye and left. Ralph and Pam looked at each other and smiled, realizing that the two students were worried about everyone that was hurt. "I bet they snuck in," said Ralph simply. "Five bucks says they get caught and told off for being in the room."
"Nah, it's even money," said Pam. "It's been pretty busy here tonight as it is, so they probably weren't seen."
Bill rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you're probably both right. Now, I'm going to call it a night as well. Try to behave and get some sleep?"
Ralph and Pam looked at each other and chuckled mischievously, causing Bill to roll his eyes. "Don't worry Bill, we'll behave," said Pam.
"Don't worry Uncle Bill, we'll behave like a couple of good little boys and girls," said Ralph with a grin.
"Kids... I really have a couple of them, thanks to the green guys," said Bill, shaking his head as he left.
Ralph and Pam chuckled, realizing that for as much bluster as Bill likes to show, he was glad to see the two doing well. As both were awake and feeling all right, they started talking about what they experienced during and after the earthquake. After a while, both fell asleep, glad to know they were finally together again.
