Chapter Ten: Recovery

My eyes opened to stark whiteness. Blinking several times revealed small black dots in the mass of white. I started to wonder where I was before discovering that my thinking was muddy.

I heard a soft click to my left, and looked to see a man in a white coat who smiled when he saw me. "How are you feeling?"

"Kinda foggy," I croaked through a dry and sore throat, and I could hear that even my words were coming out slowly. "Are you a doctor?"

"Yes, I am," he said evenly, for which I was grateful; I didn't think I'd be able to handle a bunch of noise.

I took a moment to put together my question. "Why…do I feel so sluggish? It's…kinda hard to think."

"We had to put you on a pretty high dose of painkiller," he replied as he picked up a clipboard from the end of my bed. "You were…" He glanced up at me before looking back to my info. "Well, let's just say that you were in a lot of pain and leave it at that."

"Okay." I looked around the room as he continued to read from the clipboard. "Why am I here?"

"We were actually hoping you could tell us that," he said, replacing the board. "From what I understand, though, your daughter called an ambulance, and-"

I gasped as a flood of memories started to return; the gathering, Kyou's announcement, and… "Oh my god… Ushio. Is she okay? Is my daughter all right?"

"Fine, as far as we can tell." He walked slowly up beside the head of my bed. "Look, I'm not sure how you're going to take this, but…the police are here, and would like to ask you a few questions."

That was it; my life was over. They'd assume that I forced myself on my own daughter, and I'd spend the rest of my so-called life in prison. "Well…it'd be better if I wasn't so foggy, but…" I felt a twinge in my right shoulder as I shrugged with a heavy sigh. "…Let's get it over with."

"All right." He went back over to the door and opened it, and I could briefly see two policemen outside before he closed the door behind him. I couldn't tell for sure, but it sounded like he was saying something to them in a stern tone. Then, the door clicked open again. "Remember, he's heavily sedated and may not be very coherent," he said, presumably to the officers.

"Understood," the taller of the two said as he approached my bedside while pulling out a tablet computer. "Okazaki Tomoya-san?"

"Yeah," I grunted as I shifted my position in bed to get a better look at him.

"I'm Officer Ueno and this is Officer Oshiro," he said, gesturing to the shorter, stockier man. "We'd just like to ask you a few questions about what happened."

"All right," I said, dreading the inevitable.

"Can you tell me, to the best of your recollection, what happened early this morning with your daughter?"

I sighed heavily; the very memory broke my heart, but… "I was having a dream about me and my wife and then I woke up to find Ushio sitting on me, dressed in one of my business shirts."

"Where, exactly, was she sitting?" the shorter officer asked. "On your stomach, your legs, or…?"

"On…my hips, just…" I tried to find the best way to describe the situation while still keeping it decent. "…just below my bellybutton."

"So she wasn't directly on your genitals?" Ueno said.

"No, sir," I replied, trying to contain my shock at the question.

Some scribbling, then: "You said she was wearing one of your shirts; could you tell what else she was wearing?"

"I'm…not sure," I admitted. "I had the curtains shut, so I couldn't see very well, but…" I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to answer, "All I can remember is that she was wearing my shirt and her pan-her underpants."

I saw the officers glance at each other with grave expressions, then Officer Ueno looked back to me. "I'm sorry to have to ask this, but…was there any penetration?"

"NO!" I yelled. "She's my daughter! I'd never do anything like that! Or allow anything like that if I could stop it!" I started to shake, and I could feel tears pooling in my eyes. "I woke up to her on top of me, wanting to have s-sex with me to make up for the loss of her mother!" The tears started to overflow, but I couldn't care at that point. "My wife died giving birth to her, and I think she thinks it's her fault and I guess she's trying to make up for it!"

"Did she give you any clue, any hint, that she felt that way?" Officer Oshiro asked, then gave me a lopsided smile. "Don't worry; we haven't forgotten you're on meds right now."

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. "I don't know… Maybe. When she turned sixteen back in February, she told me that she wanted to become a better wife, but I assumed she was talking about getting ready to be some young man's wife." I swallowed, trying to get rid of a feeling of nausea. "I figured she was just using me for practice 'cause I was a 'safe' person."

"One last question since we can see you're starting to fade out," Officer Ueno said. "Your shoulder; we figure it was injured during the…the situation. Is there anything you can tell us about that?"

"Why do you need to know?" I asked.

Officer Oshiro opened his mouth, then seemed to catch himself. "We'll tell you after your answer."

"We don't want to influence your response," Ueno explained.

I mulled this over as much as my sleepy brain could; it seemed a fair question. "My shoulder was actually injured back when I was in middle school," I explained. "Because of that, I can't raise it higher than about halfway."

"Did it cause pain to force it higher than that?" Ueno asked.

"I don't know," I said, managing a smile. "I never risked it."

"Fair enough," Officer Oshiro said with a chuckle. "We asked because we'd have to charge your daughter with assault if she was the original cause of your injury."

My skin grew cold at the idea of my little girl going to prison. "Officer? Will you be arresting anyone? I don't want Ushio to go to prison."

"I'm not allowed to say at this point," Officer Ueno said as he rested a hand on my good shoulder, "but I can say that if the two of you have been completely truthful with us, then our report should show that no arrests should be necessary." He gave me a meaningful look. "With that being said; is there anything else you think we should know?"

I gave his question some thought. "Not right now, but… If I think of something later, can I let you know?"

He smiled affably. "Sure, but understand that we may not be able to admit any statements after this."

I mulled this over as my shoulder started to ache. "I…think I've told you everything I can, to the best of my recollection."

"Then thank you for your time, and I hope you recover quickly," Officer Oshiro said, and they turned and headed toward the door.

One question dominated my mind at that point: "Officer?"

The two men stopped by the door and looked back to me.

"Have you talked to my daughter? Is she okay?"

They briefly exchanged glances. "Considering the circumstances, she's fine," Officer Ueno said. "She seems like a strong girl. A strong-willed girl."

I managed to chuckle. "Yeah, she can be. Thanks, officer. Take care."

The taller officer nodded once before opening the door and heading out, the other one following.

Oddly enough, I felt a sense of peace as I settled back into bed and allowed myself to drift to sleep.

My eyes fluttered open to the sound of my door opening, and Pops and Sanae entered, bringing a smile to my face. "Hi," I croaked, feeling a smile spread across my face at the sight of my in-laws.

"Hey, brat," Akio greeted with a slight whistle to his voice, a side-effect of his smoking addiction. "What kind of trouble didja get yourself into this time?"

I opened my mouth to reply, then thought better of it; if there was an investigation going on… "I probably shouldn't say just yet; the police are investigating, and-"

"The police?" Sanae gasped, covering her mouth. "So that's why they brought Shio-chan to us!"

"Probably," I said. "I'm not fit to take care of her right now, and…"

"You can't tell us because of the investigation," Pops finished for me. "Fine. At least that explains why they couldn't tell us anything."

"Is she okay? Did she tell you what happened?"

"No," he said with a short shake of the head. "She seemed really sad…lost, really. She's just been sleeping and eating, mostly."

"Did she go to school?"

"No, we went and picked up her assignments," Sanae said with a worried look.

There was knock at the door, and it opened to reveal Ryou in her nurse uniform. "Oh, hey," I greeted.

"Good afternoon, Tomoya-san," she greeted as she made her way to my bedside. "I'm here to replenish your pain medication."

"Thanks," I grunted. "Any idea how much longer you'll be stupefying me?"

She giggled as she detached the empty IV bag. "Well, we've already been able to reduce your dosage by about a fourth," she replied.

"Why're they doping you up?" Pops asked.

"My shoulder was reinjured," I explained; I figured I could tell them that much.

"That's a shame," Sanae said with sympathy in her eyes. "I do hope you recover quickly."

"Thanks, me too," I quipped, drawing smiles from them.

"Have the doctors talked to you about…? Well, I guess not yet," Ryou said, drawing my attention.

"About what?" I asked.

"It's not my place to say, but they should be around later today to talk to you, then," she replied.

"Okay."

Just then, there was another knock at the door. "You're popular today, brat," Pops said with a smirk.

The door opened, and an unfamiliar face appeared. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had company!"

"Come on in," I grunted. "There's plenty of room."

"I'll be leaving in just a moment," Ryou said as she finished attaching a fresh IV bag.

He smiled as he turned to close the door behind him, then made his way to stand next to Pops and Sanae, and I took a moment to study him. He definitely wasn't Japanese; his skin was too pale. I couldn't tell how old he was, but the salt-and-pepper color of his hair told me that he was an older man. "Good afternoon, Okazaki-san; I'm Ashton Jeff; I'm the chaplain for the hospital." I was surprised that, despite being a non-Japanese, he had a very light accent; in fact, if I wasn't listening for it, I probably would have missed it. "I'm here to see if there's anything I can do for you, but if this is a bad time…" he trailed off as he looked over at my in-laws with a smile. "Nice to meet you both," he greeted with an informal bow.

"Yeah…you too," Pops greeted with duck of his head.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well!" Sanae gushed. "What does a chap…I'm sorry; this should wait for another time." She turned to me and laid a hand on the side of my face. "We should be going; you have healing to do, and this nice man is here to help you."

"You sure?" the chaplain said. "I can come back later."

"We've pretty much said what we want to," Pops said. "He's fine, so we're fine. Thanks, though." He fixed his gaze on me. "Get better soon, brat."

"I'll do my best."

"And don't worry," Sanae said as she joined her husband by the door. "We'll take good care of Shio-chan."

"I know you will. Thanks."

Pops and Sanae left the room, Ryou following them after giving the chaplain and me a bow to which he gave a small wave in response.

"They seem like neat people," he observed as the door closed. "Are they your parents?"

"Sort of," I replied. "They're actually my in-laws."

"They sure seem fond of you," he said, causing me to wonder how he'd think that with the way Pops tended to speak to me. "In-laws, huh? I'm surprised your wife isn't here; is she at work?"

"She…won't be visiting," I told him. "She died about sixteen years ago."

His face fell almost immediately. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't…" he gestured at me helplessly. "For what it's worth; you have my condolences."

"Thanks, and don't worry about it," I said. "It's been a long time, anyway."

"You never really get over it, though, do you?"

I blinked at his question; how did he know? "No…it still hurts every once in a while. Most of the time it's tolerable, though."

"What have you been doing to cope?" he asked with what looked like genuine concern.

"Well, at first I tried smoking, drinking, and working myself to death," I joked, drawing a slight smile from him. "Seriously, though, what really helped was raising my daughter."

"How so?"

"Caring for her took my attention away from my own pain, gave it time to go away, I guess," I said with a lopsided smile.

"But it doesn't go away, does it? It just…fades?"

"Yeah," I admitted. "How do you know so much about this, anyway? You sound like you've been there."

"Well, I didn't want this to be about me, but if it helps..." He took a deep breath. "I'm a widower as well."

I blinked at him. "Seriously?"

He nodded solemnly. "About twenty-five, thirty years ago now. Lost my Jessica to breast cancer."

"Damn," I grunted, then remembered my visitor's job. "Oh…sorry."

"Don't worry about it," he said, waving a hand. "You have other things to worry about right now."

"Yeah, I guess," I said as I caught myself rubbing my right shoulder.

He smiled at me a moment longer, then seemed to catch himself. "Well, listen; I mainly just came in to say 'hi', but if there's anything I can do to help you…"

"What's a chaplain do, anyway?"

He exhaled through his lips. "Well, the main thing we do is pray for those who need it…or ask for it."

"So you're like a priest?"

"Sort of. I'll admit that I don't know what priests over here do; you'd think I'd learn after twenty-five years of ministry," he said with an embarrassed chuckle, "but I pray on behalf of those who, for whatever reason, can't pray themselves."

"What religion are you?"

"I'm Christian," he replied easily. "Pastor Jeff Ashton; call me whatever you want, as long as it's not a profanity."

I burst out laughing at his words. "You're not like any priest I've ever seen, that's for sure."

"Happy to disappoint," he replied with a wink. "Anyway, I mainly pray for people who need it, but I've also shared the Gospel – that's God's good news – to anyone who asks."

"That's nice of you," I said. "You don't shove it down people's throats, then?"

"Nope," he said. "That's one of the quickest ways to turn people off to the Gospel. It's free to those who want to hear. If they don't, I respect that; Jesus respected it, after all."

"That's nice of you," I repeated, not sure what else to say.

"Anyway, like I said; I'm just here to say 'hi' and see if there's anything I can do for you."

I mulled this over. "Nothing comes to mind at the moment, but it was nice meeting you, Ashton-sensei."

"Nice to meet you, too," he said with a slight bow. "Before I go; may I pray for you?"

"Couldn't hurt," I said, glancing over at my right shoulder and remembering how it ended up reinjured. "Maybe pray for my situation…which I can't tell you about."

"Were the police here to talk to you?" he asked with a look of concern. "Was your shoulder injured due to this…situation?"

"'Yes' to both."

"I'm so sorry," he said. "Even though I don't know the details, I can see that it's troubling you greatly."

"You could say that," I admitted.

He started to reach toward my good shoulder, but stopped himself. "Is it okay if I lay hands on you? The Bible says that's what Christians are supposed to do, so…"

I shrugged with my good shoulder. "Just don't touch my right shoulder or anyplace weird."

He chuckled lightly. "I'll behave." He then placed his hands on me, one on my left shoulder, the other he lifted palm upward, to my surprise. "Lord Jesus, I lift up Okazaki Tomoya-san to you. He's been injured, both in body and in spirit, and really needs your care. Please pour out you healing power; not just into his body, but also into his mind and soul. Strengthen him for what lies ahead, and let him know that you are with him, regardless of the trials ahead. Give him peace and clear thinking in this trial. Let these things be done in your name." he lowered his raised hand, and I felt the pressure from his other hand decrease as he released me. "It's okay to ask for miracles," he told me. "Just don't expect them in your time, okay?"

"O-Okay," I replied, awed by the intensity and emotion of his prayer.

"God be with you," he said with another bow before heading to the door and out, gently closing it behind him, leaving me alone…but, oddly enough, not feeling alone.

I put down my magazine as the door opened again, and Ryou stuck her head in the room. "I'm here to replenish your medication," she announced.

"Good," I replied. "I was starting to feel thirsty."

She giggled behind her hand before looking over her shoulder. "You can come in, too." She then entered my room, and my jaw nearly dropped as the entire Hiiragi family plus Kyou followed her in.

"Hey, Tomoya," Kyou greeted.

"Heeeeyyyy," I greeted. "Man, it's good to see you!"

"Okazaki!" Kappei boomed in his typical style as he reached for my hand. "What have you done to yourself this time?"

"Kappei!" Ryou scolded. "You're in a hospital, remember? And Tomoya-san's a current patient!"

"Sorry, sorry," he said as he shook my left hand. "Hey, sorry about your injury. How're you feeling?"

"Drugged," I said, causing Kyou, Kappei, and Tadashi to chuckle, while Mika looked concerned. "From what I've heard, I was pretty loud when they brought me in, so I've been on pain juice ever since."

"'Pain juice'," Ryou giggled. "You're so funny, Tomoya-san."

"Hey, what about me?" Kappei protested. "I can be funny too, right?"

"Yes, Dad," Mika said timidly. "But Okazaki-sama is in pain right now, and needs the encouragement."

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, grabbing at his chest. "Even my own children!"

All I could do was shake my head at the exchange as Kyou laughed. "Kappei, it's good to see you again."

"Thanks," he said, dropping the drama. "And, seriously, I'm sorry you're in pain. I hope you recover quickly."

"Thanks."

"We'll try not to stay too long," Kyou said as her sister worked on removing my empty bag. "We just came here so Kappei could say 'hi' and I could make fun of you."

"Not now, Kyou," I said. "I've got too much on my mind right now."

"Does it have to do with Shio-chan?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "I can't say much, but you were right; more than you know."

"I'm so sorry," she said with a look of sympathy. "I hope she's all right."

"She's with Nagisa's parents," I told her. "She should be fine for now."

"I wish you could tell us what happened," Ryou said, "but I understand you can't say anything since the police are involved."

"The police?" Mika exclaimed. "Is it that bad?"

"I hope not," I said.

"Once they get all the facts, they'll see you're not a bad guy," Tadashi said, surprising me.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said to the fifteen-year-old. "It's nice to know that someone believes in me."

"We all believe in you," Ryou said as she finished replacing my IV bag. "There! You're all set!"

"Thanks."

"You're quite welcome," she said, smiling down at me. "You'll be happy to know that the doctor has decided that you don't need as high a dosage, so you should be able to think more clearly now."

"That's good to hear," I said, then realized: "Wow, three times in one day, huh?"

"They may have overestimated how much you'd need," she said with a light blush. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault," I said. "My shoulder actually hasn't felt this good in…I don't know how long."

"Oh! That's right!" she chirped. "I've been told that the doctors should be in to see you in about an hour."

That's right; I'd forgotten about that. "Okay…wait, more than one doctor?"

She nodded briskly. "That's right; Doctor Fujibayashi, your physician, along with Doctors Mori and Miyamoto."

"Fujibayashi, huh? Any relation?"

"None that I'm aware of," she replied with a shake of her head.

"Well, thanks for letting me know in any case," I said.

"We'd better get out of here, kids," Kappei said, redirecting everyone's attention. "It'll be dinnertime by the time we get home, and your mom needs space to finish up…and you both have school tomorrow."

"Yes, Dad," Tadashi replied while Mika appeared to study me.

"Will you be able to have dinner with your family?" I asked Ryou.

"Yup!" she chirped. "You're my last patient for the day!"

"I'm glad that works out for you, then," I said. "Enjoy your time with your family."

"Mom? Dad? Could I talk to Okazaki-sama for just a minute?" Mika requested.

Kappei and his wife exchanged a brief glance. "Sure, we have a couple of minutes before your mom's ready to go," he said, stopping just inside the door.

"A-Alone?"

Kappei and Ryou exchanged another glance. "I…I suppose," he said, clearly surprised by the request. "We'll be right outside."

As the door clicked shut behind the rest of the Hiiragi family, Mika approached my bedside. "Are…Are you okay?"

"I've been better," I replied.

"Is…Is it true that the police talked to you?"

"Yeah."

"Did…Did Ushio do something bad that hurt you?"

I sighed, unsure how to answer her question. "Yes…and no. I really can't say any more than that."

I saw her gently bite her lower lip. "I'm…sorry you're having to deal with all this. I…I hope things get better for you, real soon." She cautiously reached out and patted my arm. "You're a good man, Okazaki-sama. Have a good day."

"Thanks. You, too," I said, chuckling lightly.

She didn't return my smile, but took a step back and bowed before turning and leaving my room.

"What a nice family…" I said to the empty room.

"We have a proposal for you, Okazaki-san," Dr. Fujibayashi said while the others looked on. "Your particular injury provides us with an…opportunity to try a new medical technique."

"What, for my shoulder?" I asked as I looked at the place in question.

He nodded solemnly. "We see a lot of shoulder injuries, but not many as severe as yours." He exchanged a look with the other doctors before continuing. "Not to sound condescending, but you wouldn't understand all the specifics. However, I can tell you that it would involve a targeted freezing of the damaged tissue, quickly followed by a stimulation of the surrounding tissue to…encourage growth of replacement tissue."

"You can do that?" I asked, astounded.

"Not yet," he said with a gentle smile. "But, with your help we could come at least one step closer."

"We're amazed at some of the things we can do with 2021 medical technology," Dr. Miyamoto, an older man with graying hair said, "but shoulder injuries have been a bane due to their lack of bone."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You shoulder mainly consists of muscle connected to large tendons," Dr. Mori said. "While there are bones in there, they're rather loosely connected, which allows for the wide range of movement."

"The downside is that they're vulnerable to dislocation," my physician added. "Which, based on our studies of your right shoulder, appears to have happened. In fact, it appears you dislocated it a long time ago; is that true?"

I thought for a moment. "About thirty years ago, yeah."

"This is perfect!" Dr. Mori exclaimed, addressing the other doctors. "An older injury with damage to the infraspinatus as well as the coracoacromial? This is almost a godsend!"

An image of the chaplain flashed through my mind. "I don't get everything you're saying here, but…what would the risks be?"

The mood of the room suddenly dropped. "You…could lose all use of your right arm," Dr. Fujibayashi said. "Understand; in order to potentially fix your shoulder, we would have to damage it further, in a manner of speaking. We'd be freezing the damaged tissue, effectively killing it."

"How is that bad?" I asked.

"Even though it's damaged, it's still being used to support your shoulder," Dr. Mori explained. "Once it's frozen, though, it's gone and you lose the support."

"For what it's worth, you'd be compensated for your time," Dr. Miyamoto said. "And you wouldn't be charged for the surgery since it will be a contribution to research."

"In the event that you did lose the use of your arm," Dr. Fujibayashi added, "you'd receive a small stipend every month for the rest of your life."

"Small consolation," I grunted. "But…"

"Take some time to think about it," Dr. Fujibayashi said, patting my good shoulder. "This isn't a decision to be taken lightly, to be sure."

"How long to I have to decide?" I asked.

"Until you're discharged," Dr. Mori answered. "Should you opt for the surgery, you'll be staying longer, of course."

"All right, doc," I said. "I'll give it some thought. Will the investigation be an issue?"

"No," Dr. Fujibayashi replied. "Not to unfairly influence your decision, but I will say that choosing to help us will help to show good character."

"Fair enough," I grunted. "I'll think about it."

"We appreciate it, Okazaki-san," Dr. Mori said as the three of them bowed informally. "We look forward to your decision."

As they left my room I resettled into my pillow; I had a lot of stuff to deal with, and a lot of thinking to do…