What a Pain- Chapter Six
Three and a half hours into Mike's surgery, the men of Station 51 were still there, waiting and worrying. They had all awakened from their naps, and resumed their collective fretting. They had not gotten any updates as of yet, and to them, that meant bad news. Chet looked about to implode with his distress as he twiddled his thumbs and chewed his nails. Cap was as anxious as he'd ever been, pacing frenetically around the small room, down the hall and to the restroom and back. Marco had read and re-read the same paragraph in the year-old magazine he held on his lap, alternating between that and staring off into space. If any of them had been smokers, they might have been transformed into chimneys by then. Logically, Roy and Johnny knew that no news was probably still okay, but when in Rome... all that nervous energy was starting to affect them too.
Johnny repeatedly started to ask Roy questions, and then thought better of it as he knew his crew mates would be paying too much attention to him; pouncing on any details the paramedics might give.
Roy finally stood and stretched, deciding he might go home for a bit to check on Joanne and the kids. He felt he should go and assure Joanne that she had done everything right and had in fact, most likely saved Mike's life. When stress and worry pushed him down, Roy longed for his wife's embrace; it was truly good medicine. Just as he turned to inform his friends of his plans, Dixie walked in with an update.
"Hey, fellas," she began, but as soon as the men saw her, they all bombarded her with questions. She held up her hand and shook her head to silence them. "Hold on, guys! One at a time! Better yet, how about you all hush and I'll tell you what I know." Each one of them was instantly silenced.
"Joe's just finishing Mike's surgery and is having him brought to recovery in about twenty minutes. The procedure itself went very well; nothing too surprising." All the guys let out a sigh of relief. "Joe said to make sure to tell you that it was a sub-acute hematoma and fortunately, it drained well. There was no need to drill a larger hole or for a craniotomy. Mike's going to be needing the vent for awhile and there may be some after-effects that will be pretty uncomfortable for some time. Could be for days, could be weeks, could be months. That's just something that will have to be dealt with as it comes."
"But...he'll make a full recovery...right?" Cap almost whispered. "He'll still be able to function as an engineer?"
"Well, now, Dr. Early seems to think everything points in that direction. He's very optimistic, but we all know how delicate brain surgery is; there are no absolutes at this point. We'll all just have to wait and see for a few days at least," Dixie comforted. "You know, Mike's going to be asleep for quite some time and won't even be moved to ICU for at least another hour or more. Why don't you guys go home and get cleaned up, get something to eat or whatever, and come back a little later, hm?"
They had all been so tightly wound waiting for news, that now, once they knew their friend would recover, the departing tension exhausted them. Chet felt weak in the knees with relief, Marco closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. Cap had already ceased his panicked pacing, and was ready to simply drop. Johnny and Roy exhaled, smiled and nodded. Just having Mike survive the surgery was enough to make it a really good day.
Roy was the next one able to speak. "Okay, Dix. We, uh, we all really appreciate you coming out here to tell us how it all went. I think we'll all go on home for a bit. I know Joanne will be worried sick." Turning to Johnny, Cap, Chet and Marco he said, "C'mon guys. How about we all come back in a couple of hours?"
The men bade Dixie farewell, and were slowly walking to the exit when Johnny said, "Hey, Chet? You still have the key to Mike's place? I think I'll go check on that cat."
Chet dug around in his pockets and produced the key. "Here, man. Don't let that crazy thing attack ya' again."
Johnny chuckled a little, "Yeah, Tarzan the Ape-Cat sure took a heck of leap onto my shoulder, didn't he?"
They walked together to the parking lot, then simultaneously realized that they had all ridden in Chet's van. "Well, Chet, looks like you're playing chauffeur again today," Marco said. As they all climbed in, he added, "Home, James, and don't spare the horses!"
It was nearly six-thirty by the time everyone got back to their own homes, and Chet had brought Johnny to Roy's. Since his Rover was being worked on, Gage would borrow Roy's truck so he could go back to Mike's. The three firemen stood in Roy's driveway, talking.
"I think after we see Mike later on, maybe I'll just stay at his place tonight. You know, kinda' keep an eye on the house and all. Mike's got a spare room I can use and I'll pick some clothes up from my apartment."
Chet scoffed, "Right, Gage. You just want to use Mike's big bathroom and watch his color TV and drink his beer."
That's not true, Chet!" Johnny protested hotly, "I was going to take in the mail, and feed his fish and water the plants. Man, why do you always have to be such a jerk? Can't a guy help out a pal without you takin' jabs at him? Jeez," Johnny paused and smiled, "besides...he doesn't keep any beer on hand."
That helped break the tension and the men finally laughed after a stressful day. Roy handed the keys to his truck to Johnny. "Here ya' go, Junior. Take of the ol' girl, she has to last me a few years yet."
"Will do, Pally," Johnny replied. "Hey, it's about six-thirty right now, how about we all meet back at the hospital around eight? I know visiting hours will be over by then, but I'll bet Dixie'll talk 'em into letting us in to see Mike."
"Sounds good. Boy, I hope Joanne still has some dinner left; I'm famished," Roy told them. "I'll see you guys in a little while." He turned to go into the house as Chet and Johnny got in their vehicles.
When Roy entered his house, he was immediately bombarded by his children. Joanne had explained to them why Daddy wasn't there, so they were also worried about "Mr. Mike, the engine-driver guy."
Joanne was next in line for a hug and kiss. "Well?" she asked, "How is he?"
Roy told her everything Dixie had reported and Joanne sagged with relief against her husband. "I'm so glad," she choked out. "I was so worried when you called earlier and said he needed brain surgery. Thank Heaven, he'll be okay."
Back at Rampart, Mike was still sedated, but seemed to be holding his own quite well. Vitals all looked good and he would be going from recovery to ICU in just a few minutes. Dr. Early smiled in satisfaction; another job well done. He believed this man would be just fine and with some luck and hard work, he'd be back at Station 51 where he belonged. He patted the young man's hand, checked on all the IVs, the heart monitor, the ventilator and all the other things that reassured him that his patient was alive and healing. He knew that Mike had a long road to go yet. There would more than likely be side-effects from this surgery, and who knew how he would fare emotionally if the worst came to be and he would not be able to go back to his position as Engineer. Joe also knew, however, that no matter what happened, Mike would always have his friends and coworkers from Station 51 by his side.
At Mike's house, Johnny let himself in, and was greeted with a snarl from a very annoyed cat. Sir Pain had spent all day napping and was highly irritated that after all this time, he still couldn't find his human or a way outside.
"Awright, kitty, hold your fur on. I bet you're a hungry dude, aren't' ya?" Johnny thought for minute, then said, "Actually, I bet you need to go out first. Am I right?"
The cat seemed to know what Johnny meant and trotted after him to the door that led to the backyard. When the door opened, Johnny watched as the cat sniffed around, then sauntered out to the veggie garden, and set about doing his business. "Hmm, pretty smart cat," he muttered. Then he caught a whiff of something rank and followed his nose into the kitchen. His eyes widened as he saw the fish-tank lid askew, the bread bag torn apart and crumbs all over the counter and smelled the vomit that was still in the sink. "Oh, brother, what a mess!" He sighed deeply and got to work. "Can't leave Mike's house like this."
Johnny found a bucket and rags in the garage, soap and cleaners under the kitchen sink, and a mop in the closet. First he went to the bathroom to fill the bucket with hot water, and discovered the bathtub also still had vomit in it. "Oh, this just keeps getting better and better," he mumbled. He got the cleaner from the kitchen and started on the bathtub first. He ended up scouring the entire bathroom and as he sat back to admire his work, he heard the doorbell chime.
He opened the door and was surprised to see Chet standing there. "Chet? Why are you here? I thought we were going to meet back at Rampart."
"Yeah, well, I figured you'd maybe want to get something to eat. I tried to call, but nobody answered.
"Huh. I didn't hear it. Must have been when I was scrubbing the bathroom."
Chet raised an eyebrow, "You're cleaning a latrine? Willingly?"
Johnny frowned back at him, "Yes, Chet. Mike kinda made a mess earlier, ya' know. I don't want to let it set until he gets home."
"Oh, gotcha," Chet replied. "Um, well, you need any help?"
Johnny brightened, "Sure, pal. You can start on the blood stains in the carpet."
Chet blanched. "Blood stains? From when he cut his hand?"
"Yep, there's kind of trail from the living room to the bathroom. I have a bucket of hot, soapy water here. Just take a rag and scrub the spots with it. Make sure you rinse it really well with clean water."
Chet looked around to locate the stains. "Yeah, okay. I'll get right at it. What are you going to do?"
"I get the pleasure of washing the vomit from the kitchen sink and cleaning up after the cat. He apparently made himself some lunch earlier and didn't put his things away," Johnny replied, sarcastically.
"Speakin' of that freaky feline, where is he?" Chet asked.
"Back in the garden, doing his duty," Johnny smiled. "I don't know if there's any cat food around here, or where that thing sleeps, but I guess Mike won't mind if we wing it for awhile."