Grimacing Forward
Roy did take a nice nap in the tub filled with bubble gum scented bubble bath. When the dog still ran away from him he went about setting up the large family sized tent on the back deck were he could tie the tent down and not risk damaging the lawn. He was just putting up the camp cot to sleep on when the children came home from school.
JoAnne had tried not to worry her children but they knew their Dad had spent the night in the hospital and everyone else at the station too. They were excited when their mom met them at the bus stop with news that their father was home and ran ahead of their mother to see him. Books and coats were dropped just inside the front door as the children made their way strait to the back deck where their mother had said their father could be found.
Roy had only looked up to see who had opened the back door before he was tackled by his two children. Happy to see them too he returned their hugs and after a few moments the greeting he expected came.
"Daddy you smell funny," Jenny looked up at her father but didn't pull away.
"Yeah Dad, how come?" Chris added nervously.
Roy sat down with his children and told them the story of what had happened, with every detail then taught them again how to avoid being sprayed by a skunk. He then answered their questions about each of his crew mates. When Jenny suggested that he take a bubble bath Roy only had one comment.
"I've already tried that."
When JoAnne announced that dinner was ready Roy guided his children to the table and after dishing his plate was headed back out to deck to keep from destroying anyone's appetite when the phone rang.
The Call was from headquarters for Roy so he set his plate down and took the phone from his wife.
"Yes sir," Roy nearly snapped to attention on the phone. "I'm fine sir, just still a little offensive." "Thank you for saying so sir."
There were several more 'yes sir's' spoken as Roy was informed that he was to report to the station at 7 the next morning to supervise a couple of boots in need of discipline. The job at hand would involve getting all the mattresses, and linens from the dorm loaded in a truck to that they could be sanitized or replaced, As well as all the contents of all the lockers. Each Locker contents would need to be properly labeled and hung in the truck to be sent to the cleaners. The department had been assured that the smell could be removed providing it wasn't too bad. When all that was done all food in the kitchen that wasn't in can's needed to be written down and then thrown out. If the skunk spray didn't taint the food the cleaning solvents surely did.
Roy was assured several times that this was in no way a form of discipline of punishment he was just the best person to supervise the final clean up at the time.
"I understand sir, you're right, my sinuses were fried before I got out of the station and they haven't recovered yet. I'm the best person for the job. Besides I don't think anyone else wants to be my partner just yet."
The two men shared a reserved laughter as the conversation was brought to an end and Roy took his now cold dinner out on the patio to eat it. Before he was finished with his dinner JoAnne brought out the desert and their children and they all sat on the deck together to eat their cake.
While the children were getting their baths Roy slipped into the master bathroom and took yet another bubble bath. When he headed for his tent wearing his flannel pajamas he found two extra sleeping bags rolled out in the tent with children settling in for the night.
With a warm smile in his heart Roy ruffled the heads of each of his offspring before tucking them in. After crawling into his sleeping bag, an old one that could be thrown away if his wife couldn't wash the smell out of it, the tent flap was pulled open and standing there in a pair of adult sized footed sleepers and the teddy bear he had given her for valentines, was JoAnne with her finger in her mouth and mock tears on her face.
"Is there room for one more, it's lonely in the house all by myself?"
00000
At the hospital, the 'skunk ward' had managed to keep themselves well entertained with only minimal assistance from the nursing staff. Evening Lab results prompted another blood transfusion each for Mike, Marco, and Chet, and Chet and Marco had remained far quieter than anyone felt comfortable with.
It was after lights out as Johnny lay awake thinking about what had happened and how serious things were in a situation that most people would only laugh about. As he looked around he could see that everyone else was asleep. Cap was exhausted, he didn't need another transfusion but he was still anemic. Mike, Marco and Chet were all sedated because their eyes were bugging them and they needed some help to keep from rubbing.
John was just settling in to a comfortable position with his arm over his eyes when he heard a wheeze and a gagging cough. John threw his covers off and pushed the call button before racing to Marco's bedside. Sliding one hand under Marco's head and the other under the arm on the opposite side Johnny pulled Marco into a sitting position resting his head on his own shoulder as he started rubbing Marco's back and since the nurse wasn't in there yet Johnny pushed Marco's call button.
While Marco was coughing up a foamy substance all over the front of Johnny's lovely hospital gown, Johnny worked the mechanism to raise the head of Marco's bed. When he had the bed in the right position Johnny lay Marco back against his pillow and moved to hook up the oxygen mask hung on the wall. That's when he noticed that Chet was also foaming at the mouth but his respirations were so suppressed that he wasn't able to cough and so sedated he couldn't spit it out.
Johnny was able to reposition Chet and open up his airway more completely and Chet took in a deep breath and started coughing. Johnny did with him as he had done with Marco and had him sitting up resting his head on his shoulder while he worked with one hand to set up the second Oxygen mask.
When John pushed Chet's call button the door to their room finally opened and a nurse stepped through. "Is there something I can do for you men?"
"We've got a serious respiratory distress with these two men we need a doctor in here ASAP!" Johnny called out as he was adjusting the bed while still holding Chet against his shoulder as he coughed out a frothy sputum all down the front of him.
Lights were turned on and Cap was awakened as Dr. Early and Dr. Morton converged on the room with a crash cart. They weren't responding to a code blue but the crash cart held most of the medications and supplies they were likely to need. But the sight of it coming through the door sent waves of terror through everyone in the room, especially Marco and Chet.
So much was going on in their little room over the next couple of hours, that they had to pull a couple of nurses out of ER to help with the crisis. Both men were given several different medications in their IV's, along with chest x-rays and breathing treatments. In the end they were both breathing much easier but the medications made them feel jittery, hyper and even more anxious.
John had been given a clean pair of pajamas to change into and when he was done he stepped out of the bathroom to see the looks of fear on his crewmates' faces.
Chet and Marco were each now hooked up to a heart monitor and a pulse oximeter with constant displays of their heart rhythms, pulse rate as well as the oxygen levels in their blood. Johnny took in the readings of each machine but he was also aware that his room mates were watching his expressions carefully. He felt the weight of their gazes as he walked up to Chet and took hold of his trembling hand.
"Those are good numbers now." Johnny told them what he knew they needed to hear. "The pulse is a little on the fast side but that's because of the medications. It will settle down after a while. The same goes for you Marco."
Captain Stanley followed his paramedic's lead and stepped up to offer Marco a calming hand to hold.
An hour later Dr. Early returned armed with lab results and developed Chest x-rays, "I think we're headed in the right direction now," He tried to calm his patients and their friends. "We just need to remain a little more aggressive in flushing your system of the toxins for a while longer and watch your lung functions a little closer. You two took a lot of that spray into your system. Are either of you aware of getting much in your mouth?"
"I wanted to spit it all out," Chet spoke softly behind his mask, "but I had to swallow so I could breath and then I wished I hadn't taken a breath."
"I think I still have some of that stuff in my mustache." Marco added.
"Well we could always shave them off," Dr Early offered, "that's going to be the best way to get the stuff out. I don't know how the rest of you feel but I also think it will be beneficial to these two if we clear all of these flowers out."
Hank looked at Johnny and Mike, "Fine by me," Johnny agreed, Mike just nod his head. As Hank and Johnny each filled their arms with flower vases, Marco and Chet made a decision on their mustaches.
Marco couldn't get rid of his mustache fast enough; Chet took another couple of deep thoughts before he agreed to part with his.
"The rest of you may want to consider getting a trim, I can't say for certain but it seems logical to me that the skunk spray would have adhered to the ends of your hair and if you trim it a little shorter it will help rid you of the smell quicker," Dr. Early offered to the rest of the men in the room.
A cart was brought into the room and quickly loaded with flowers with instructions to share them with someone who didn't already have any. A hospital orderly with skills in barbering came in and two men were quickly clean shaven while three more lined up for a trim. The man was given a stuffed skunk for each of his children when he was done and there was still plenty more where those came from.
Dr. Early came in again just as the men were finishing their hair cuts, "I don't think you men could have found another barber shop that was open at this hour, but my, don't you all look Dapper."
After Dr. Early finished listening to his patients lungs, Captain Stanley moved the chair from the side of Marco's bed to a spot between Marco and Chet before barking out orders. "All right Gage back to bed I'll watch with these two till morning and then you can take over till their families get here."
"But Cap,, your worse off than I am." John dared to deify authority.
"Do I need to remind you that I'm your Captain?" Hank stood his ground only to hear the laughter of the Dr. who was still in the room.
"I don't think I've ever heard one of my patients ordering another around," Dr. Early continued to giggle as he shook his head. "As far as authority around here, I believe that falls to me and I say you both get back in bed. The nurse will stay in the room for the rest of the night and I'm sure these two fine men would enjoy her company to you two's any day. Besides you both need your rest; we don't need any more complications around here. Do I make myself clear?"
Johnny gave the good Doctor a sheepish grin before slowly climbing back in his bed and pulling the covers up. It took Dr. Early giving a hand gesture toward the empty bed before Hank made a move. Drapes were pulled to block out the light the nurse needed to take care of the two more serious patients and then the rest of the lights were turned out.
Mike was back to sleep first but then he had been fighting his meds to stay awake as long as he did. Johnny could see Cap trying to stay awake but he didn't last much longer than Mike did. As for himself Johnny fell asleep with a big smile on his face, listening to the nurse flirt, in a professional manner, with his two friends on the other side of the curtain.
00000
Roy woke up before the sun the next morning to the chill of the morning air. Noticing the tent overhead he quickly remembered where he was and why. He rolled to his side pulling the sleeping bag tighter around his shoulders as he finished waking up. There was his loving wife; it had only taken him a minute to set up a second cot for her when she asked permission to join the rest of the family. She had snuggled until she fell asleep but then she rolled away from him in search of sweeter smells to fuel her dreams.
Getting out of his sleeping bag Roy carefully pulled his children's sleeping bags tighter around their shoulders as he stepped over their bodies that had twisted and turned during the night till their feet were under his cot and their bodies half on top of each other. Smiling with love for his family Roy made his way to the master bathroom and another bubble bath before getting dressed for work. He would be supervising the last stage of clean up for the station and he wasn't really looking forward to it.