Chapter 5 - What a Yellow Rose Means to a Texan

"How is he?" Clay asked when the doctor came out that morning.

"The good news is he survived the first night," said the doctor. "He should be able to survive the rest of them. Bad news is that…we couldn't rebuild everything."

"What do you mean?" asked Kimiko.

The doctor handed her a picture and she whimpered at it. "That is the state of his face currently. An impressive improvement from where he was, but…"

Kimiko looked at the pale Irish face. It now had three long gashes down the right cheek and one long scar curving under his left eye. "It's okay," said Kimiko. "It's okay, we'll still love him, no matter what he looks like. He's still Elijah." She looked up at the doctor. "Transfer him to a plastic surgery center, or whatever."

"He has no insurance—" started the doctor.

"I'll pay for it. My dad's Toshiro Tohomiko, and I will not have a friend who goes through life looking like that. He'll always be my friend, but I want to spare him the pain of meeting new people like that."

"As you wish," said the doctor. "You can go in and see him now, if you want to. He might be able to talk, and you can talk to him." He led them through a door into Elijah's hospital room. Elijah was lying on a bed, tubes in his nose and in his arms, breathing lightly. He had a cast covering his right arm. His eyes were open, and when he saw them walk in, they softened.

"Hi, Elijah," said Kimiko, pulling up a chair.

"K-Kimi," whispered Elijah.

"Shh," said Kimiko, smiling gently at him. "I want to tell you that we're getting a plastic surgeon for you. My daddy's paying for it. So don't worry. You'll look just like your old self in no time." Elijah smiled weakly and she squeezed his hand. "The rest of us want to talk to you also."

"Hey, Elijah," said Rai, sitting next to Kimiko. "Dude, you need to stop getting hurt." Elijah chuckled slightly at that before wincing. "No, dude, don't hurt yourself," said Raimundo worriedly. "Just…keep fighting, okay? São forte." He smiled at Elijah and Omi climbed up to Elijah's bedside.

"Elijah? You are most good at getting hurt," said Omi, smiling at Elijah. "The nice man said you would be okay. They are taking you to a place where they will fix your face with plastic. I hope plastic works well with faces." Raimundo smacked his forehead.

Clay walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down. Elijah turned his head and looked at him. The two shared a long look for a moment, and then Clay sighed and said, "I'm sorry."

"D-don't…be," whispered Elijah.

"Shh," said Clay, standing back up. "You're going to be back in surgery in a bit, so you should get some rest." Elijah smiled slightly at him, nodded almost imperceptibly, and then closed his eyes.

The group walked to the door. "Young monks, you are no doubt tired," said Master Fung. "The doctor will call us when Elijah is ready to go home."

"If'n you don't mind, Master Fung," said Clay, "I'd like to stay here."

"I understand, young monk," said Master Fung. "Is there something you would like ready for you when you return?"

"A change of clothes would be nice," said Clay. "I'd like some flowers, too, actually." He handed them a list. On the list was, in Clay's spiky handwriting:

Yellow chrysanthemums

Lilacs

Hyacinths

Pansies

Red tulips

"If I might ask, young monk, why these flowers in particular?" asked Master Fung.

"'Cause Elijah likes them," said Clay quickly, a slight blush appearing behind his sprinkling of freckles.

There was a pause while Master Fung looked Clay up and down. Then he smiled slightly and said, "All right, young monk, I shall get you these flowers."

"And…and Kimiko, can I talk to you for a second?" asked Clay.

Kimiko shrugged, and then said, "Y'all go on home on Dojo, I'll get Ken to take me home."

"Okay, Kim," said Raimundo, walking out, followed closely by Master Fung and Omi.

Kimiko looked up at Clay. "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I need one more flower," said Clay, "and you're the only one I would trust to keep it secret. I need a yellow rose, just one."

Kimiko's eyes widened slightly. "Clay, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"Yes, Kimiko, okay? You know what a yellow rose means to a Texan." He sighed. "You want to know what happened last night? He kissed me."

Kimiko placed her hand on Clay's arm. "And do you care for him?"

"The way I figure," said Clay slowly, "and I've been thinkin' about this for a while, is that if I love someone, it shouldn't matter what gender they are." He chuckled slightly. "My family's just gonna have to get over it."

Kimiko hugged him around the waist. "Clay, you are a wonder," she whispered. She stepped back and smiled at him. "I'll get you your rose. Don't worry."

He smiled at her. "Thanks, Kimiko." He sat down next to Elijah's bed. "Thanks a bunch."

The surgery for Elijah went rather well in the doctor's opinion. Clay couldn't really tell, as when Elijah was put back in his room, his face was covered in bandages. Elijah rested in his room for a few hours, during which time Clay also restlessly slept a bit in his chair by Elijah's bed. A soft voice saying awakened him, saying, "Hey."

Clay opened his eyes groggily and sat up. He took his hat off and looked at Elijah. His bandages were gone and his face was good as new, just like Clay had promised, although it was very swollen. The doctor stood nearby, depositing Elijah's old bandages into a trash bin. Clay smiled at Elijah. "Hey, yourself."

"Where's my clothes?" asked Elijah.

"Ripped," said Clay. "Bloodstained. Ruined, basically."

"Aw," said Elijah dejectedly. "I liked those jeans, too." He looked up at Clay and smiled. "What do you think of me?"

"Good as new," said Clay, smiling back. "I'm gonna call the temple."

Elijah reached up and gently stroked the dark circles under Clay's eyes. "You should get more sleep," he murmured before shaking his head. "Yeah, you'd better call for a ride."

Clay smiled slightly and called the temple, asking them to send Dojo down. The nurse helped Elijah into a wheelchair and Clay signed him out. They went out to the parking lot and saw Dojo waiting there. They both climbed on and Dojo took off into the waning light.