It took over an hour for her to get to the hospital, due to a combination of unexpected traffic, multiple construction zones, and a basic lack of navigational skills on her part. By the time she got to the hospital, she was due back at work. Oh, well, it's not like I've ever been late before. But a part of her knew that she, like Ryan, was unpopular at the Lab, and some of her coworkers would likely fault her for any mistakes she may make. Oh well, Ryan could be in serious trouble here.
Following a map of the hospital which indicated "Recovery" on the third floor, she took the elevator up, and proceeded to peer into each room in search of her colleague. She found him towards the end of the hallway, unconscious in bed, with an IV in his arm, an oxygen tube under his nose, and a large white bandage covering much of the right side of his face. Natalia opened the door quietly, and it wasn't until she was fully inside of the room that she noticed Benny sitting in a chair in the corner, an expression of confusion upon her face as she regarded the intruder.
What the hell is Boa Vista doing here?
"Uh, Ben, hey. After we spoke, I got a little worried." That's certainly not a lie. Natalia made her way to Ryan's bedside, so that she was on the opposite side as Benny, her back to the door. She looked down upon Ryan's bandaged face, hoping sincerely that he would recover safely and in good health. "What happened to him?"
When Benny didn't respond for a long while, Natalia looked up to see her colleague, still seated, with a decidedly perplexed expression.
"I mean, is it just the old injury?" She tried to emphasize how she, and not Ben, had known Ryan when he had taken the nail to the eye. The slight length her relationship with Ryan had over his with Ben was, perhaps, her only leverage.
Benny nodded slowly, not sure how to handle the situation. She hadn't expected anyone to show up; he wasn't even sure how Natalia had found them here, and so quickly! Ryan had only been settled in bed by the orderlies for ten minutes when Natalia had entered.
The two women stood—and sat—in silence for a long while, Benny seething with unspoken jealousy and rage as Natalia reached out and stroked Ryan's face with a single loving finger. What right do you have to be here? Who put up with his shit for a full year? Who drove him here? Who filled out all his insurance forms? And now you come in and wait for him to wake up and see you looking down at him like Florence freakin' Nightingale? It just figures. Instead, she said, "Hey, Natalia, you don't have to stay here. Really. It's just a matter of waiting for him to come to and watch the drugs wear off. I'm sure they need you at the lab. I've got it under control here." All of this in her most painfully polite and civil tone. Funny, she had never had a problem with Natalia before.
"Oh, it's alright. I don't mind. In fact, you look spent. You could go get yourself a coffee or something if you want. I think the caf—" Natalia was interrupted as Ryan groaned from his position on the bed. He was waking up. Benny jumped up to his side. He was now flanked by beautiful coworkers.
"Ryan?" Benny called out softly as she took his hand in hers. She wanted to make it clear to Natalia, without saying anything, that Ryan was her property. "Honey, how do you feel?" She asked as he opened his eye—maybe the other one, too; it was impossible to tell through that gauze—to survey his surroundings. He groaned again, this time more loudly, and raised the hand closest to Natalia to his face. He tenderly touched the bandage, and frowned sadly. It was all coming back.
"What's…over?" He was clearly still groggy from the anesthetic. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, then again touched the bandage lightly, apply slight pressure to various places to gauge the damage. He then focused his visible eye on Benny, and smiled for the first time.
"I wondered…you stay." He muttered as he continued to smile at her, as if waking up in a hospital with a bandage over his face was worthwhile, if he woke up to her smile. "You stayed."
Benny nodded, squeezed his hand lightly. "Of course." Natalia was temporarily forgotten as they gazed at one another. That is, until she cleared her throat loudly, and stroked Ryan's arm gently.
"I came over as soon as I heard." The connection between her coworkers was undeniable, but she had to try.
Ryan focused his free eye on her for the first time. "Oh, umm…Boa Vista. Thanks." He was smiling at her, but not in nearly the same way he had smiled at Benny.
There was an awkward moment as the two women stood over the still somewhat incoherent Ryan. His left hand held Benny's right, and his right arm lay still on the bed as Natalia stroked it affectionately, a gesture not unnoticed by her colleagues.
The silence was broken when Benny's pager went off unexpectedly. She frowned as she unclipped it from her belt. You've got to be kidding me. No one ever pages me, and when they do, I'm at the hospital with my…
Ben: Emergency. Call me at home –Fiona
"OK, it's my sister; I've got to call her." She looked from Natalia to Ryan, hoping to God that nothing significant would transpire in her absence. Natalia nodded politely and smiled; Ryan waved slightly from the bed. "I'll be right back, babe." She whispered in Ryan's ear as she gave his hand a final squeeze.
I'd more uncomfortable if not drugs. Ryan would have been much more uncomfortable in the silence with Natalia, were it not for the anesthetics that still reigned over his nerves. Vaguely, he realized that she had pulled up a chair, and was now seated at his side, her face less than a foot from his as she ran her thumb from his cheekbone to his chin. The bandage effectively obscured his view of her, but he could tell that she was moving closer. Some…happening. He knew, somewhere in his mind, that something was happening, but he didn't understand. So tired...tired…He felt his breathing deepen, his body relax, as sleep claimed him. The last words he heard before he fell into a deep slumber: "Ryan, you know, I was so worried about you when I heard you were in the hospital. It made me realize that, you know, life is so short, and you and I really deserve another shot."
Where Ben…hmm…The chattering in his ear was giving him a headache, so he did the only thing that ever shut a woman up: he nodded his head pensively, trying to seem as though he was truly listening to whatever it was she was saying.
Natalia smiled broadly as Ryan shook his head. He said yes! I knew he wanted us to be together!
Three floors down, Benny craved a cigarette as her sister sobbed into the telephone.