20, October 2020
It's been five months since their rescue from the island, and they are finally feeling settled. They've adjusted to Nikki's patrol schedule and Josh started school online. Josh challenged a few courses. He was able to get credit for Math and History and came close to getting credit for English and science.
At 7 months old, Gale has started to sit on her own, loves hearing herself make a variety of noises and loves her stuffed koala. The daily jogs with daddy are a favourite.
Up at his usual time of 6:00, while Gale was still sleeping, Josh took his coffee outside to his lounge and sat down to read the news on his tablet. Around 6:30, he could hear Gale waking through the baby monitor. He got up, put his cup in the sink and went up to her.
"G'Day, little Poppet, did you have a good sleep?" he said as he picked her up. She was all smiles. "So let's get you changed. What would Princess like to wear today?" He picked out one of the outfits that Nikki had gotten for her when they were in Port Douglas.
All changed up, he got her bottle and returned to the lounge chair to give it to her. He loved how she held her bottle now and how she would look up at him while she drank it.
"Okay, Sweetums, time for Daddy's run. You like that, yes? I think that you do," he deposited her bottle with his coffee cup and, kissing her cheeks, he made his way down to the garage to get her settled in her stroller.
All strapped in, they left the garage and turned right towards the park running at his warm-up pace. By the time he reached the park and was on the trail, he was ready to pick up his speed.
It was a perfect day, relatively cool for Cairns but with a bright blue cloudless sky. As he jogged along, he became lost in thought, thinking about an assignment he needed to work on for English Literature class, when out of nowhere, he was hit from the side and was on the ground, having no idea what had happened. When he fell, Josh had pulled the stroller over with him, he could hear Gale wailing, and he couldn't get to her. ( Did I hit my head? I don't feel right )
"Mister! Mister! Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I lost control..." a young boy appeared in a panic.
All Josh managed to get out was "get help."
As things began to become clearer, he realised that his ankle may well be broken. Not being able to stand, he dragged himself over to a very distraught Gale. Looking her over and talking to her soothingly, she seemed to be okay, just frightened. Just then, a couple came jogging around the bend in the trail, saw Josh on the ground and a stroller on its side.
"Oi! Mate! What happened? Are you alright? My girlfriend is calling the rescue."
Barely able to speak through the pain, "My baby girl, help her, please. I think my ankle is broken."
"Sure, Sure," he said as he set the stroller right.
"Thanks, Mate," Josh groaned.
The young guy's girlfriend came over then, "They said 5 minutes for the rescue," and then they could hear the wailing of the sirens.
"Should I pick her up?" the young woman asked.
"No," Josh grunted. "Let the paramedics take her out in case she's hurt."
"Okay… She looks to be fine; she was well strapped in."
"Yeah, good," Josh said.
The Skateboarding kid came back around with his father, and they were both apologising.
"No... worries... Mate... an accident." Josh could hardly speak through the pain.
The arrival of the paramedics brought over more onlookers.
"Did you hit your head, Mate? You have quite a scrape there," one of the paramedics asked him. He noticed that Josh was pale and diaphoretic.
"Look after Gale first please, I'm alright."
"My partners got her, she's fine, but she'll be checked out anyway. Now, what about your head?"
"I think I might have blacked out for a second or two."
He nodded, "Your ankle is definitely broken. I'm going to put a field splint on it, might sting a bit."
"Do what you need to," he groaned."
Field splint applied, Josh was moved onto the gurney, and then he was handed Gale to hold. The stroller was folded and set to the side.
"We'll be taking you to Barry General, Mate."
"That's fine."
The jogging couple saw him into the ambulance and wished him luck.
"Thank you for your help."
"No worries, Mate. I hope everything works out okay for ya." The doors to the ambulance closed, and they took off. Ten minutes later, they pulled into the ambulance bay at Barry General E.R.
Almost as soon as he was wheeled into the ER, they were looked over. Gale was perfectly fine, but Josh had a minor concussion and a badly fractured ankle requiring surgery.
Gale started to fuss, and Josh asked the Nurse to hand her to him. After putting the side rails up on the gurney, she passed Gale to him. As soon as Josh held her to his chest, she snuggled into him and settled down.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is your pain?" his Nurse, Jill, asked.
Taking a deep breath, "close to a ten."
"Okay, as soon as you sign the surgical consent, I'll give you some pain med as she applied an ice pack.
"She's hungry," Josh told her. "We missed breakfast, and I'm sure that she needs a change too."
"Do you have anything for her?"
"No, just going for a jog," he said, taking a deep breath trying to breathe through the pain. "We usually eat after our run."
"I'll check pedi and see if they can help us out with something for her," Jill told him. "Can we call someone for you? Baby's mum?"
"My wife is in the Navy and out on patrol right now. Do you have my phone? There is someone I can call that may be able to help, and I need to call her Commander."
Jill looked through his things and found his phone. The screen was badly smashed, but he was still able to use it.
"Hello?"
"Sally, it's Josh."
"Josh, what's wrong? You don't sound good."
"Well, I'm kind of not. I'm in the ER at Barry General with Gale. We had an accident…. No, No, she's fine. I've broken my ankle and I have a concussion. Could you come and get Gale? I won't be going home; the ankle needs surgery."
"Gale is okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine. The stroller protected her really well. It was worth every cent we paid."
"What happened?"
"I was jogging the trail in the park when I was taken out by a young kid on a skateboard."
"I'll be right there."
Next, he called Mike at NAVCOM.
"Mike Flynn."
"Mike, it's Josh."
"Not sounding too great there Mate, what's going on?"
"Ahh, I had a bit of a dust-up while jogging this morning. This kiddo ran into me with his skateboard. Took me right out, broke my ankle, gave me a concussion. The ankle's going to need surgery."
"Jeez, are you managing? What about Gale?"
"She's fine. Sally's coming to get her."
"Alright, Josh, I'll call Hammersley and let Nikki know. I'm not sure that I can get her home…"
"I know, Mike."
"Anything I can do?"
"Well, could you pick up my laptop from Sally so I'll be able to email or skype Nikki? And I don't know if I'll be up to it or not but I've got some studying that I could do. Sally will be going by the house to pick up some things for Gail. I'll have her get the laptop too."
"Sure, I can do that. Anything else?"
"Nah, I think that's it. Thanks, Mike."
"No worries, mate."
Sally arrived about fifteen minutes later. He told her all about what happened while Gale was sleeping peacefully on his chest. Jill had been able to get a nappie, a jar of peaches and some milk from Pedi and now she was pretty content.
"Sally, take my keys. There are bottles in the kitchen and some baby food. Bibs are in the kitchen drawer near the table. Everything else is in her room. Would you please grab my laptop too? Mike said that he'll get it from you later and bring it to me."
"Okay. When is your surgery?"
"Later this afternoon, I'm on the 'on call' list. I'll have them call Mike with the time, and then he can call you and Nikki."
"Okay, Josh," kissing him on the cheek, "no worries, okay? We'll be fine."
"I know you will, thanks, Sally."
"We'll be by to see you tomorrow."
"Good."
Sally took Gale from Josh, placed her into her stroller, and she didn't wake until she went to put her in the car seat. She was able to borrow an infant car seat from the hospital until she could get Josh's from his car.
"Alright," Josh's Nurse Jill says. "Dr Lucas just got out of surgery and will be in shortly to talk to you. Once you sign the consent and then I can get you medicated with the good stuff."
"Sounds good," closing his eyes.
Dr Lucas walked into Josh's cubicle in the ER and immediately recognised him from the media stories about the rescue and Nikki's accident.
"Mr Holiday, I'd say it's nice to see you, but these are hardly the circumstances… How's the pain?"
"Fairly tough."
"Let's get this consent business over with, then we can give you something."
Taking a deep breath, "that would be good."
"Tell me what happened."
Josh went through the telling one more time, explaining how he fell onto his ankle when he was knocked over.
"Ouch, well, your x-ray shows a displaced fracture of your left ankle that will require some screws and possibly a plate. The surgery shouldn't be more than an hour or so. Recovery… you'll be in a plaster splint until the sutures are removed about 10 days after the surgery. Then a full cast will be applied, and you will be non-weight bearing for 6 more weeks. At that point, you will be started on Physical Therapy with limited weight-bearing. Any questions?"
"No, but I can see that this is not going to be easy. Especially with Gale."
"Gale?"
"Yeah, we have a little girl, 7 months."
"Well, congratulations, and you are going to need help."
"Yeah… Okay, where do I sign…"
Dr Lucas explains the consent and the possible complications; Josh signs.
"What happened here?" pointing to the scar on his left shin.
"That's from an incident when I was in the Navy. Boat accident, my leg was trapped between the hull and a rock. I almost lost my leg when they weren't able to free me. The water was pouring in through a hole in the hull and was up to my neck. Nikki saved my leg with an idea to get the boat free from the rock."
"Wow...Now, how is Nikki doing? The way you two were together… Did you ever get married?"
"We've been married a little over a year now."
"Baby was born on the island then. Incredible, you have had quite the year."
"Ha, yeah, we have."
While Josh and Dr Lucas talked, Jill went and got the medication that Dr Lucas ordered and put it into Josh's IV.
"So, will I be seeing Mrs Holiday?"
"Not sure; she's out on the ship right now," he said, fading.
Shaking Josh's hand, "They'll be taking you to your room shortly. I'll book the theatre, and we should have you in later this afternoon. When's the last time you ate or drank anything?"
"Coffee at 6-6:30 and some water while I was running."
"Perfect, I'll see you later."
Right after he left, Josh started drifting off.
NAVCOM:
Mike had just hung up from talking to Josh, sighed, and placed a call to Hammersley. RO answered, "HMAS Hammersley, Leader Robert Dixon answering."
"RO, Commander Flynn, put the Captain on, please."
"Yes, Sir. Captain, NAVCOM, Commander Flynn, Ma'am."
"Thanks, RO. Mike, what's up?"
"It's Josh," Kate's heart skipped a beat, "He's had an accident, fallen and broken his ankle. He needs surgery."
"Oh God, this is going to be hell on Nikki. How's Gale? Who's with her?"
"She's fine; Sally Blake has her."
"That's good. I'll go and tell Nikki and have her use the SAT phone in my cabin."
"Good. I love you. Talk soon."
"You too," the call disconnected.
Kate picked up the PA, "Nav, call the bridge."
"Captain?"
"Nav, Nikki, meet me in my cabin."
Confused and worried, "I'll be right there."
Nikki and Kate arrive at Kate's cabin at the same time. "Nikki, come in, have a seat."
"Have I done something wrong, Ma'am?"
"Nikki, it's Kate in here, okay? Nikki, Josh had an accident while jogging."
Nikki goes pale."What? What happened? Is Gale okay?"
"He's alright, but he's broken his ankle badly and has a concussion. His ankle needs surgery which he'll be having later today. Gale is absolutely fine and is with Sally Blake. It seems that while jogging in the park this morning, he was run into by an out of control kid on a skateboard. He fell hard, hit his head and fell on his ankle."
"Poor Josh, what happened to Gale?"
"The stroller tipped over onto its side. Thankfully she was well strapped in and the stroller protected her. They checked her over in the ER, and she is perfectly fine."
Putting her face in her hands for a moment, then looking up with tears, "will I be able to speak with Josh?"
"We can try the SAT phone. He's at Barry General. Try his cell; if that doesn't work, we'll call the hospital. Stay here, use my cabin."
"Thanks, Kate."
"No worries."
Nikki picked up the SAT phone and dialled Josh's cell.
Thinking that Nikki or Sally might call, he had the Nurse leave his phone where he could reach it on the overbed table. The ringing woke him.
"Hello?" sounding groggy.
"Baby, how are you?"
"Nikki, Hi, I'm okay, a fair amount of pain, but the morphine has helped."
"What happened?"
Josh went through the events of the accident and reassured her that Gale was Okay and being well cared for.
"When is your surgery?"
"It's scheduled for three as long as theatre isn't backed up. You'll never guess who the on-call orthopedic surgeon is."
"Dr Lucas?"
"Yeah, he was asking after you."
"He's a good guy. What did he say about recovery?"
"He said around eight weeks in a cast with no weight bearing as long as there aren't any complications. Then partial weight-bearing and Physical Therapy."
"Josh, you're going to need some help."
"Yeah, Can you call my mum and see if she can come up until you get home?"
"Of course, that will be good. I wish that I was there with you."
"Me too."
"I love you, rest. You sound tired."
"It's the morphine. Mike is going to patch the doc through after surgery so he can talk to you, and he is bringing my laptop so we can Skype."
"That's great, Luv. I'll call your mum, and I'll let you know what's going on. Now sleep."
"Thanks, Nik, love you." and Nikki disconnected. She lay back on Kate's rack for a few minutes to gather herself, then she dialled Diane's number.
"Hello?"
" Diane, it's Nikki."
"Nikki! What a surprise! Aren't you out on the ship?"
"Yeah... Diane, we need your help if you can."
"Of course, anything."
"Josh has broken his ankle fairly badly and is having surgery today to repair it. He's going to be in hospital for a couple of days, but he's not going to be able to take care of Gale when he gets out. We just left on a 16-day patrol; I won't be home for another two weeks. Could you come up and stay with us at least until I get home?"
"Oh, my. Of course, I'll get a flight today if I can. How is he, and what's happening with Gale?"
"Gale is fine. She's with Sally Blake. Josh is okay but in a lot of pain. It kills me that I'm not there."
"I know, Luv. How can I get in touch with you about my plans?"
"Call Commander Flynn at NAVCOM. He's a friend and will get a message to me," Nikki gave her NAVCOM's number and Sally's number.
Her final call was to Sally.
"Sally, it's Nikki."
"Oh, Nikki! Are you okay?"
"I'll be okay. How's my baby?"
"She's great. The kids are keeping her entertained," Sally said with a chuckle. "Josh sent me to the house to pick up a few things for her."
"Good. Sally, Josh's mum, Diane, is coming to stay with us for a little bit. She'll be giving you a call so she can arrange to pick up Gale."
"No worries, in fact, I'll just bring her home once Diane is settled."
"Sally, that's great. Thank you so much for stepping in."
"Really, Nikki, no thanks necessary. See you when you get in," and they said goodbye.
Josh went in for his surgery a little after 3:00 and was back in his room at 5:45p. He was given some pain med, and he went back to sleep.
Mike came by a little after 7 with his laptop.
"Thanks for this, Mike and for all of your help today."
"Really, no worries, Mate. You never told me how it happened. Are you up to telling the story again?"
"Yeah, sure." Josh went through the events again.
"Talk about unlucky…" Mike commented.
"Yeah."
"Nikki called your mum, and she's flying up. She was able to get a 5:30 flight on Jet Star. She will be getting in at 8:30. I'm going to pick her up at the airport and bring her to yours. Sally is going to bring Gale home after your mum gets settled."
"Mike, that's great. Thanks. Sally has my keys, but you can get the office to let you in."
"Do you need anything?"
"No, I'm good."
"Okay then, Mate, rest, I'll see ya soon."
Josh drifted back to sleep. He woke just before eight and felt up to sending Nikki an email asking for a video chat if she could. It wasn't long before his laptop pinged with a video call coming in. He pulled the laptop over and opened the chat window.
"Hi, Babe."
"Josh, how are you? Mike was able to get a call from Dr Lucas to me after your surgery. He explained everything."
"I'm doing okay, it hurts, but I guess that's to be expected. Mum will be here anytime now. Mike is picking her up at the airport and bringing her to the house, then Sal will bring Poppet home."
"That's great. I've been so worried."
"It's all good. I should be able to go home in a couple of days."
"That's good to hear."
"You're just what I needed. It's so good to see you."
"I'm glad that I can see you too, even if you're not looking your best, I have to say," said with cheek.
Josh chuckles, "hasn't been the best of days."
"Get some sleep, and I'll check in with you in the morning."
"Okay, I miss you; love you."
"I miss you too. I wish that I could be with you. Love you." They ended their chat, and Josh called for some pain med.
The next morning he was feeling only slightly better, his ankle still hurt like a bitch. After breakfast, PT came by to help him out of bed and onto crutches.
"Have you ever needed to use crutches before Mr Holiday?" the therapist asked.
"It's Josh, please, and yes, around 2 years ago. I injured my leg."
"Well then, this should be fairly easy for you." They walked the hallway a couple of times then the therapist had him climb stairs.
"You're good to go. Remember, no weight on that leg."
"Gotcha, thanks."
"You're going home tomorrow?"
"I believe that is the plan."
"Best of luck. I'll probably see you again when you start your PT."
It was 9:30 when Josh's phone rang. It was Nikki on the SAT phone and they talked for around 10 minutes.
"Are you still going home tomorrow?"
"I should be. PT was here getting me out of bed and walking with crutches. It's good that it's my left leg. At least I'll be able to drive after I get the stitches out. I can't put any weight on it until the cast is removed in about 8 weeks. I'm pretty much not going to be able to do much of anything without help."
"Josh, this is awful. I feel so bad being out here and not there with you."
"It's okay, Babe, you'll be home soon enough to wait on me," he chuckled.
They talked for a few more minutes and then said their goodbyes.
Just about noon, Diane walked in with Gale, and Josh just beamed. Diane found him sitting in his chair with his leg up. She walked over to him, kissed him on the cheek and placed Gale on his lap. Gale gave him a big smile and patted his face, which turned him into melted butter.
"Oh, little Poppet, I missed you too. I hope you were good for Aunty Sally and Nana."
"Sally said that she was an angel. She's such a little doll. We've been doing just fine."
After a little while, Diane offered to get them coffee and a snack. "Will you be okay for a few?"
"No problem, Mum."
Josh's Nurse, Linda, happened into his room to check his IV and vital signs and saw Gale on her daddy's lap.
"She is absolutely gorgeous! She definitely has your eyes."
"Oh, that she does, but the rest is all Nikki," said with a big smile.
Linda left, and then the other nurses filed in to get a look at the baby.
Diane arrived back from the cafe՛ just as Dr Lucas walked in.
"Josh, how's the ankle?"
"Hurts, but I guess that's to be expected."
"Unfortunately, it's going to hurt for a few weeks but getting gradually better. Have you been up walking?"
"PT was in this morning; we walked the hallway and did some stairs."
"Good, that's good. Everything looks good for you to go home tomorrow. I'll be by in the morning to process your discharge. Now, this beautiful little one must be Gale."
Josh is beaming his proud poppa smile, "It sure is, and this beautiful woman is my Mum, Diane Holiday. She's going to be staying with me to help out until Nikki gets home."
"That's good. I was concerned about how you were going to get on. It's essential, Josh, that you don't put any weight on that leg. If you do, you could displace the screws and make a real mess of that ankle."
"I'll stay off it. How long before I will be able to walk on it?"
" 8 weeks and then with partial weight and gradually to full weight-bearing."
"Jeez… So this is going to be a long haul then."
"I'm afraid so. So, tomorrow then. Nice meeting you," extending his hand to Diane. " And you too, little one," and he heads out to see his next patient.
"God, Mum. This sucks."
"Josh, we'll work something out, not to worry. Nikki is usually home around every 2 weeks, yes?"
"Yeah, but sometimes she's crash sailed. And sometimes, shore leave is only 1 week instead of 2."
"Josh, we'll figure it out. Please just relax and don't worry," as she stood.
"I'll be on my way. Call me in the morning when you have a time for me to come get you."
"Okay, Mum. Thanks again."
Josh cuddled with Gale, then handed her to his mother and said goodbye.
Morning came around, his IV was out, and he was eating breakfast when Nikki called.
" Hey, Babe."
"How was your night? Going home today?"
"The night was okay; the pain meds let me sleep. I'm waiting for Dr Lucas to come by, then I'll be getting out of here."
"That's good news. Make sure you rest."
"No worries there, it still hurts like a bitch, and I'm not to put any weight on it at all, so that limits a lot."
"I've got to get to the bridge. I love you, but you know that."
"Never get tired of hearing it."
"Me either. I'll talk to you later. Love you."
"Love you more."
"Not possible," she said, laughing, and they hung up.
Dr Lucas came in and gave him the okay to go home and a final warning of staying off the leg.
Shortly after Dr Lucas left, Linda came in to help him with his clothes and gave him his discharge paperwork.
"Do you have someone coming?"
"I have to call. Do they meet me here or downstairs in the lobby?"
"They meet you here. Let me know when you're ready."
"Will do."
He called Diane. "Mum, I'm being cut loose. I'm going to ask Mike if he can bring me home, so you don't have to fuss with Gale."
"We'll be fine, Josh."
"I'm sure, but I'm going to check with Mike. I may need some help getting in the house. If he can't, I'll call you back."
Mike was more than happy to help. Josh left the hospital at 1:00 and 10 minutes later, he was home. Mike helped him up the stairs and into his living room.
"Where do you want to be?" Mike asked him.
"My lounge chair on the balcony."
Once he was settled, Mike made his exit getting back to NAVCOM.
Diane went out to see him. "Can I get you anything? Do you want to eat?"
"I'm a bit hungry. Whatever you bring me will be fine. Mum, could you bring 2 pain pills?"
"Be right back."
"Is Gale sleeping?"
"She is, the little angel. I'll bring her to you when she wakes up."
"Thanks, Mum. " Diane returns with his pain med. " Jeez, Mum, I hate that you have to wait on me."
"Josh, you didn't ask for this. Now, no worries, okay?"
"Yeah."
Diane returned with a sandwich and lemonade, his laptop and kindle.
"This is great, love you, Mum."
"Love you too."
Hammersley:
After speaking with Josh, Nikki spent a few more minutes in Kate's cabin thinking about their situation and deciding that she would ask Mike for a family emergency leave.
Nikki went to the bridge to find Kate.
"Ma'am, could I speak to you for a moment?"
"Of course, Dutchy has the bridge."
"Dutchy has the bridge," he answered.
"Coffee?" Kate asked her.
"Yeah, that sounds good."
They entered the galley, made coffees and went to sit in the Officer's Lounge.
"What's up, Nikki?"
"Josh is in a bad way," Kate took a deep breath, and Nikki continued. "What I mean is, he has to be totally non-weight bearing on his leg, so he can't care for Gale. He can barely care for himself."
"What's he doing now? Is he home?"
"He came home today. His mum flew up from Melbourne to help out. Josh will be limited for 8 weeks at least, and she obviously can't stay that long. I suppose she could go back home during my leave and then fly back. That would be an awful burden."
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm going to ask Mike for an emergency family leave. What do you think?"
"That's probably not a bad idea. You need to be home, and also, I need your head in the game. You are doing great with that, by the way. Hopefully, there is someone who can fill in."
"If I call him now, with our leave when we get back, he'll have a little more than 3 weeks."
"I'm sure that he will come up with someone."
"Thank's Kate. I wanted to give you a heads up."
"Of course. I don't need you on the bridge right now. Why not take a break. I'll call if something comes up."
"Thanks, Kate. May I use the SAT phone to call Mike?"
"Any time, call Josh too when you're done speaking with Mike."
"Thanks."
Kate returned to the bridge while Nikki went to Kate's cabin to make her calls.
"NAVCOM, LT Smith"
"Daryl, may I speak with Commander Flynn?"
"He's in his office; I'll transfer you."
"Thanks."
"Mike Flynn…"
"Commander, Mike, it's Nikki."
"Nikki, what can I do for you. Is everything alright?"
"It is and it isn't. Josh was told absolutely no weight bearing on his leg for at least 8 weeks and then only partial weight for some time after that."
"Yeah, He told me."
"He needs help. You know his mum is there now, but it will be a burden for her to have to come back every two weeks or so. I would like to ask for emergency family leave."
"That sounds reasonable. I'll work on that for you and keep you posted."
"Thanks, Mike. I've talked with Kate about this, so she is in the loop."
"Good. I'll be in touch."
"Okay, great." and they disconnected.
She called Josh.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Babe, how's things? How's the pain."
"Hi, Luv, well, I'm hanging on the balcony, just finishing my lunch. Leg hurts, what can I say."
"I've just finished talking to Mike about getting an emergency family leave so that I can be home with you."
"Nikki, that would be so good."
"Let's hope that he can find someone in the next 3 weeks."
"Yeah, I'll let Mum know."
They talked for a few more minutes before hanging up.
The pain medication was kicking in, and he became drowsy; closing his eyes, he fell asleep. Diane checked on him and picked up his lunch tray. Gale was starting to wake, so she brought the port-a-cot out onto the deck so that Josh would be able to see her when he woke up.
Josh woke up to find his little girl playing in the cot; he smiled. He tried to get up, but couldn't from the lounge chair, so he called for his mum who was working in the kitchen.
"What's up?"
"Well, I need the loo, and I can't get up."
Diane went over to him and helped him up.
"I love it out here, but maybe the lounge isn't the best for me right now."
"I don't know, Luv. You'd probably have trouble getting off the couch too. At least until you get used to having that cast."
"I suppose you're right," and he made his way upstairs.
Ten Days Later:
Josh had become depressed. Usually very active, it was weighing on him being practically immobile and unable to care for Gale. He hadn't shaved or showered in three days and spent most of the day either sleeping or watching TV and drinking beer. He had figured out how to get to the refrigerator.
Diane was concerned, and she had had enough. Walking into the living room, she found him passed out on the couch again with 2 stubbies on the coffee table. She shook him awake.
"Joshua Holiday! Enough! Get your ass off the couch and get in the shower and find your razor too! And, no more beer, I'm taking out what's left of the beer from the fridge. What would Nikki say if she saw you like this? Now get up!" and she went to the kitchen. "When you come back down, lunch will be ready, and then you'll be getting outside."
Knowing his mother was right, he made his way upstairs. Showered, shaved and dressed in some baggy board shorts that would fit over the bulky splint, then returned downstairs feeling better. Physically anyway, mentally, he still had to get out of his funk.
As promised, lunch was ready.
"After lunch, we're going for a walk, even if it's just down the street and back. You need to get moving."
"Okay, Mum. You're right."
"Josh, I know that this is difficult, but you've got to snap out of it, or I'll have to talk to Nikki about it."
"Mum, please, you'll just worry her."
"Well, shape up," obviously still a bit angry.
Gale all settled in her stroller, they walked the street twice, and Josh admitted that he felt better. He promised himself that he would walk twice a day. When they got back, he went straight to the piano.
Gale was on the floor with some toys, so he started playing some bouncy children's songs that he had learned. Listening to the music, she started waving her arms about. Diane smiled as she prepared dinner.
Four days later, Nikki was coming home. Josh was upstairs on their balcony when he spotted the ship.
"Mum, come upstairs; I want you to see something," Josh happily called.
"What is it?" She found Josh standing using one crutch and leaning against the railing.
Handing her the binoculars, "focus on that dark spot on the horizon."
"Oh, My! Is that Nikki's ship?"
"It is. This is one of the reasons that we liked this place so much."
"How long before she's in?"
"We should leave for the pier in a half-hour."
They arrived in time to see Hammersley come in and slip flawlessly into her berth. Diane had never seen a Navy ship come in, so Josh explained what was happening as the cable party readied close-up and secured the gangway.
Within five minutes, the crew members began filing off the ship in whites. Then there was Nikki. She immediately spotted Josh and Diane and was grinning from ear to ear.
Almost running, she rushed to Josh, who dropped his right crutch and grabbed her into a hug and a kiss. She retrieved the fallen crutch and turned to Diane.
"Thank you for coming to our rescue," hugging her.
"It's what mothers do," she answered, smiling.
"And, how's my little Poppet?" kissing her cheeks, making her giggle.
Picking up her seabag, they made their way to the car. "Josh, you're going pretty well on those things."
Glancing at his mother, "I've been out walking, or should I say hopping, twice a day." Nikki smiled.
Reaching the car, "Nikki, would you like to drive? It is your car."
"No, not at all. The back seat with Gale is just fine with me."
At home, Josh made his way up the stairs and into the living room. Diane carried Gale and Nikki followed behind him in case he lost his balance.
She changed out of her whites and into a sundress while Josh played with Gale and Diane put their supper in the oven.
When Nikki came back down, she set the table on the balcony and got Gale her bottle and handed it to Josh.
"You don't want to give it to her?"
"I'll get the next one," sitting down on the couch next to him.
"Okay, dinner is ready," Diane announced 45 minutes later. Nikki went to the kitchen to help carry everything outside.
"Diane, this roast chicken looks fabulous! And roasted potatoes, you spoil us."
Once the table was settled, she returned to the living room to get Gale and Josh. Diane had brought her high chair outside.
The highchair was placed between her and Josh. Josh put some food on her tray. He had been getting her used to eating regular foods, some potato, carrot and some small pieces of chicken.
"Mum, this is wonderful, as usual. Thank you."
"No thanks needed. If you two are all set, I'm going to book my flight home tomorrow."
"We'll be fine, Mum." That was the first time that Nikki had called her "Mum", and she beamed.
"Go home and see Dad. I've asked for family leave. As long as Mike can find someone to take my place, we shouldn't need you to come back."
"No worries, Nikki, either way."
They continued to enjoy their dinner and the company while Gale entertained them with her antics.
Later Josh was in bed and reading while Nikki went into the shower. When she came out, she dropped her towel and slipped into bed, snuggling up next to him, and started nibbling his neck and just under his jaw. He turned to kiss her, and the book fell to the floor.
"Ahh, Nikki, I'm kind of… I can't move."
"Josh, you don't have to move; it's my turn to take care of you. I've been so worried."
"I'm fine, but I am a bit handicapped…"
"Love you so much, Josh Holiday…"
It was morning and Nikki's first full day at home. She was between sleep and awake when she heard Josh fall and yell in pain. Jumping up, she found Josh on the floor near the bed, crutches flung to the sides.
"Josh! My God! Josh!"
He was pale, sweating and hyperventilating from the pain. He could barely speak.
Nikki had pulled the blanket from the bed and covered them as they both weren't wearing anything. She held Josh against her chest, supporting him.
Diane rushed into their room, "What? Dear Lord!"
"Diane, we need the rescue. Could you support him while I put something on?"
"Of course," she sat on the floor and took Nikki's place while she threw on some shorts and a top. Then she returned to Josh, and she switched out with Diane.
"All set? I'll go call the rescue and wait downstairs for them."
"Thanks, Mum," Nikki said. "I've got you, Luv; rescue is on its way." All he could do was nod.
The rescue arrived quickly, and Diane escorted the EMT's up to their bedroom. It just so happened that it was the same pair that had come for him in the park. "Mr Holiday! We have to stop meeting like this!"
Josh tried to laugh but came out sounding like a grunt.
"It's alright, don't try and talk." Then looking at Nikki, "Can you tell us what happened? Although I think I can guess seeing that he is on the floor."
"I believe he got out of bed to use the loo and must have lost his balance."
Josh nodded.
"Alright, let's get you squared away and to the hospital."
They brought in the gurney, lifted Josh onto it. "I like to ride with him, please," Nikki requested. "I need to get him some clothes. I'll meet you downstairs?"
"Sure… of course." then they carefully carried him downstairs and out to the ambulance. There was a gaggle of neighbours outside watching as Josh was taken from the house and loaded into the ambulance.
Nikki quickly grabbed a small bag, tossed in a pair of board shorts, a tee-shirt, boxers and his shoe. Then ran down to meet them at the rescue. Diane was already there waiting as Josh was loaded into the back.
"All set, Mrs Holiday? Climb on in," Jones, one of the EMTs, said.
Before she did, she turned back to Diane. "Dr Lucas' card is on the fridge. Could you call and explain what happened and that we are on the way to the ER?"
"No worries, Nikki. Call when you know something."
"I will," she climbed into the back of the ambulance and picked up Josh's hand. Jones, one of the EMTs, closed the doors and took off for Barry.
Once at the hospital, they were taken into one of the treatment rooms and were soon greeted by an E.R. Nurse.
"My name is Janice. Mr Holiday? Can you tell me what happened?"
"Nikki…" Josh groaned.
Before Nikki could launch into the explanation, a Dr joined them.
Janice started taking his vital signs and getting an IV set up, anticipating that one would be ordered.
"I'm Dr Johnson, the ER attending physician. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Nikki…" Josh moaned.
Then seeing the amount of pain that he was in, he turned to the Nurse,
"Janice, start a line and get him 10 of morphine." Then he said to Nikki, "And you are?"
"Nikki Holiday, Josh's wife."
Janice quickly and efficiently put it in the IV that she had set up and then left to get the morphine.
Nikki told Dr Johnson about what happened. When Janice returned, she confirmed with Dr Johnson that he wanted the morphine given IV, and then she administered it. Within a minute, Josh felt its effects and began to relax.
"So, you had surgery for your fractured ankle 12 days ago."
Josh grunted, "yeah."
"Okay, I've already had them put a call in for Dr Lucas. He said he'll be in around 30 minutes. In the meantime, I'm going to send you for an x-ray. That will save time when Dr Lucas gets here."
"Alright."
"I'll be checking in with Dr Lucas. Rest, they'll be in a few minutes to take you to x-ray."
"Thank you," Nikki said for both of them. "Oh, Baby, this is awful," Nikki said.
"I swear the pain is worse than when I broke it. Let's hope nothing happened to the repair…" he closed his eyes and drifted off.
Nikki was sitting on a stool next to Josh when the registration clerk came in. Seeing Josh asleep and Nikki's look of " don't you dare wake him", she looked to Nikki.
"Are you Mrs Holiday?"
"I am."
"I need to get him admitted," the clerk said.
Because Josh had just been a patient in the hospital, all of his information was in his record and just needed to be verified, so the whole process went quickly.
As the clerk left the orderlies came in to bring Josh to x-ray. Assuring her that they would be right back, Nikki stayed behind.
While waiting for Josh to be brought back, Dr Lucas walked in.
"Nikki!" he said, going over to her. "Good to see you, although I would have prefered it to be in the office."
"Yeah, that would have been a whole lot better."
"Where's our boy?"
"X-ray, he's been gone around 15 minutes. He should be back soon, I hope."
"He should be. Can you tell me what happened?"
Nikki relayed the whole incident to him.
Just as she finished, they wheeled Josh's gurney back into the room.
Dr Lucas went up to him and stuck out his hand, " Josh, Mate. What's this bullshit now?"
"Yeah, I know."
"Okay, I'm going to go and check the films, and I'll be right back."
Nikki is holding his hand as Dr Lucas returns with the films in hand. He goes over to the lightbox and hangs the x-rays.
"Well, Josh, everything looks fine, no harm done. So, now it's been about 12 days since surgery; while you're here, I'm going to check your incision; if it looks okay, I'll take the stitches out. Then I'll put you in a below the knee cast instead of the splint. I'll be using fibreglass instead of plaster; it's a lot lighter."
While he was talking to them, Janice got him a suture removal kit. Then she got a basin of warm water and a washcloth to clean up his leg, and she set up a table with the casting supplies.
"Janice, thank you."
"Of course," she said, smiling as she stayed close by so that she could assist where needed.
Dr Lucas carefully removed the splint, and Josh tensed, expecting a lot of pain, but as it turned out, it wasn't too bad.
"Looks good here Josh, I'm going to take those stitches out. This shouldn't hurt at all." And it didn't.
Janice carefully washed and dried his leg then Dr Lucas applied the cast.
While the cast was going on, Nikke stepped out to call Diane.
"Nikki, how is he?"
"He's okay. No damage was done with the fall. Dr Lucas removed the stitches and is putting on a fibreglass cast. Then we should be done."
"Do you want me to come and get you?"
"No, we'll take a taxi."
"How's Poppet?"
"Too cute for her own good," Diane laughed.
"Okay, I'm going to get back to him. We'll see ya soon."
He was just finishing the cast when she walked back in, "Okay, Josh, you're all good. I'll cancel the appointment that you had that was to do what we just did here, and I'll see you in 6 weeks."
"That sounds good. Thank you."
"You were lucky, be careful and don't be shy about asking for help."
"I won't."
Janice came back with a wheelchair, and Nikki and Janice helped him into it.
"Do you have a car with you?" Janice asked.
"No, I rode in the ambulance. We'll need a taxi."
"I'll be right back. I'll have the desk clerk call you one."
"Thanks, Janice," Nikki said.
"No worries."
Ten minutes later, their taxi pulled up in front of the ER main entrance, and Janice helped them out and into the car.
Diane had been watching for them. When the taxi pulled up, she met them outside with Josh's crutches. Josh was still a bit unsteady from the morphine, so Nikki and Diane stayed close as he made his way up the stairs.
"I need to lay down for a while," Josh said, making his way to the couch.
"Okay, Luv," after he was settled, she kissed him on the forehead and covered him with a coverlet.
" Nikki, do you still think that it will be okay for me to leave tomorrow?"
"Yeah, we'll be fine. Thank you."
The following morning, after breakfast, Diane finished packing. Nikki would be driving her to the airport in a little over an hour. Josh was sitting in his lounge chair reading the news, his ankle still throbbing from the fall the day before. She went outside to sit with him.
" Mum…"
"Hi Luv, you know, except for the circumstances, it was really nice being here."
"Mum, it's been great that you have been here. I'm not sure what I would have done. Thank you."
"There's no need to thank me. It's what a mother should do, always be there for her kids. What are you going to do about school?"
"I think I'm going to have to ask for a couple of extensions."
"I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Yeah, me too. I have to write an essay for English. It counts as part of my final grade. I was going to write about the island, but I think I'm going to write about this instead, how an unexpected accident can affect your life."
"That sounds good. Oh, there's Gale," she could be heard over the baby monitor, and Diane went to stand up.
"Nikki will get her Mum, sit; you're relieved of duty."
She chuckled, "Yes, Sir."
Diane stayed with Josh, and they talked. At 9:45, Nikki wandered out to the balcony carrying Gale. "Mum, it's time we should be going."
"Alright, on second thought, Nikki, just call a taxi. There's no need for you to drive me. Stay here with Josh; I would feel better."
Nikki was about to argue but then thought better of it. Diane was right; someone needed to stay with Josh, at least for a day or two.
"Okay, I'll call a taxi for you," Nikki said.
The taxi arrived 15 mins later. Getting up, Diane went over to Josh, kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug. "Josh, don't overdo and be careful and be sure to call if you need anything."
"Will do, Mum. And thanks for kicking my butt."
Nikki looks at him with curiosity. Then Diane turned to Nikki and Gale with hugs and kisses.
"Diane...Mum… thanks for everything. You've been a Godsend."
"Nikki, he's my son, you're our family, there was no question of my coming. Take care of my boy and this fabulous little girl."
"You know I will."
With one more hug, she was out the door and going over to the taxi. Nikki and Gale watched and waved as the taxi pulled away.