What a Pain! - Chapter Thirteen
As soon as Dr. Early made the changes to Mike's meds, the nurse came in and injected the pain relief into the IV. In only a few minutes, he could feel the pain lessening, and with it, came an immediate change in his disposition. It still made him drowsy, but as the piercing pain in the left side of his face melted away, he sighed, "Ohh, that's much b-better!"
His mom and sister sneaked a grin to each other and watched as Mike relaxed into his pillows. Soon lunch would arrive and after that was physical therapy. It was quite a workout for Mike and he wasn't really looking forward to it. Everyone understood that Mike Stoker was a patient man, but even he had his limits.
A couple of hours later, Gage knocked quietly on Mike's door. "Can I come in?" he asked.
Jeannie looked up from her magazine, "Hello, Johnny! Come in, please. Mike's with the physical therapist right now, but he should be back soon. Can you wait?"
"Well, not too long, Roy's with a patient we just brought in, but, uh, I think it'll be a few minutes yet before we're released. I know we were here earlier, but since we had a little time, I thought we'd check in again. Don't know when we'll have another chance ya' know and...wait, where's your mom?"
"She's decided that she needs to keep walking, and she wanted to go it alone this time. I imagine she's somewhere in the hall, waiting for Mighty, er, I mean, Mike to be done," Jeannie blushed.
Johnny snickered upon hearing the nickname again. "How's Mike doing, anyway? Any more seizures?"
"No, no more seizures, thank heaven," Jeannie said quietly. "This surgery has made him angry, and just...very emotional. He's not liking it one bit. I think another seizure would, well, I think you can imagine what that would do to him."
Johnny looked down at his boots and scuffed the toe of one with the sole of the other. "Yeah…I can imagine." As he looked over at the scores of get-well cards and flowers, he remembered something. "Oh, hey, I have pictures for Mike, but I think I'll give them to him later...when he's at home again."
"That's very nice of you, John." Jeannie walked over to look out the window at the still-misty sky. "You know... Mike's determined to get back to his job; it means the world to him."
Gage acknowledged her statement with a short grunt. "Yeah, it's pretty important to all of us."
The door opened and Mike walked in on his own with the help of a single crutch to keep his balance. He smiled at the sight of Johnny chatting with Jeannie.
"Hey, you t-two," he greeted, "J-Johnny, how long have you b-been here? Wh-where's Roy?"
"I just got here a few minutes ago; Roy's with a patient we just brought in," Johnny answered. "Just thought I'd run up here and check in on ya' again. You're looking good, how're you feeling?"
"W-well, I'll be rrreal honest, I'm n-not finding the after-effects of th-this to be very e-enjoyable. But, I-I'm sure I'll b-be okay," Mike told his friend.
Johnny's eyes went back to the door as it opened. Roy stuck his head in, smiled at Mike, and announced, "Hey, Mike! Good to see you up and around! Johnny? Hey, we gotta go; got another run!"
"Holy cow! Alright. Well, we better git! See you guys later," Johnny said brightly as they left in a rush.
As John and Roy dashed out, Mike stared after them and heaved a sigh. He had only been down for the count for four days, but it seemed like a hundred. He missed the Fire Department already. He'd had only had two part-time jobs as a teenager before finding his passion in firefighting. He couldn't even begin to imagine what else he'd do. Jeannie noticed Mike's face clouding over and knew without asking what was going through his head.
"Mighty...you'll be back with them, you know. This isn't going to keep you down."
He let out a breathy laugh, "Yeah, I kn-know. I just felt my ad-adren-aline ramp up...when th-they had to leave. I miss that part...I mmmiss the ex-cite-ment already."
"Well, listen. I, being the big sister here, and having infinite wisdom, can tell your speech is getting better. Plus, you've already proven that you can walk without tilting too much anymore." She looked him in the eyes, "The stitches in your hand will be removed in a week or so, and you're doing really well with the physical therapy. I'd say you're making huge strides for a guy who had surgery just three days ago."
Mike grinned at Jeannie, "Hey, c'mere," he said, holding out his hand. She approached him and took his bandaged hand in hers. "I really ap-preciate everything you're d-doing. You're not ssso bad for a big sis-sister."
"Aw, shucks, Mighty, you're pretty great yourself," she said, giving her "little" brother a half-strength noogie. They were still laughing when their mother eased her way back into the room. She smiled at the sight of her two children clowning around.
"Some things never change, I suppose," she said with mock annoyance.
"Hi,Mom!" They greeted simultaneously.
Dorothy walked over to give her son a kiss. "Michael, I'm so glad to see that smile again," she said, patting his hand.
Turning to her daughter she said, "Jeannie, that walk just about did me in for the day. Would you mind bringing me back to the hotel?"
"Mom? You o-okay?" Mike asked, becoming concerned. It wasn't like Dorothy to want to leave early.
"Of course I am, Michael. I just walked so much this afternoon; I'm really tired," she reassured him.
Unconvinced, Mike answered, "Okay. M-maybe I'll t-take a nap too, then. I guess it'll be d-dinner prrretty soon anyway. Y-you'll be back i-in the morning?"
"You bet, little bro, we'll be back," Jeannie told him.
Dorothy kissed him again and gathered her purse and book as Jeannie collected the other things she'd brought along to pass the time. With a final hug, Mike's family left. He sat down, watching as the door slowly closed on its hinges. Man, how he wished they could be around all the time.
Steve Taylor took the key to Mike's house and went in to feed Sir Pain. The house was predictably quiet and he uttered a soft, "Heeeere, kitty, kitty."
Sir Pain looked toward the door, recognizing the voice calling him. Pain accepted all the people who came to help, but he was Johnny's pal, that was for sure. The cat-caretaker du jour always filled the kitty dishes and cleaned out the litter box, and now and then stooped over to pat the little gray cat on the head before departing. Johnny, on the other hand, made time to drag a string around for Sir Pain to chase and sometimes tossed the mousie toy that had somehow appeared.
Johnny didn't feel he had to stay all night anymore, now that Sir Pain had a litter box, but he decided he would still come and take care of the lawn and animals. The next morning, he ran a few errands after work, then headed once again to Mike's house.
Johnny made sure Sir Pain got to go outside on nice days and would often bring lunch or dinner in and watch Mike's big TV for awhile. Pain liked this time immensely as Johnny always shared the tuna or ham from his sandwiches or the cheese from the pizza. Johnny relished the silence that Mike's house provided, since his apartment building was always bustling with people and noise. More than once, Gage would relax enough in Mike's house to fall asleep, and no matter if it was the brown tweed chair, the dark green sofa or outside in the hammock, there was always Sir Pain there to keep him company.
The next morning after shift, Johnny picked up the photos from the developer, and grinned as he looked through them. There were a dozen from his last camping trip, four or five of the DeSoto kids, two with him and a date whose name he couldn't recall, and five of Sir Pain. Johnny decided that rather than bring them to the hospital, he'd put them up in Mike's house. He bought some small frames and arranged the photos on the mantle, tucking them in alongside the ones Mike had of his own family and friends.
It was another week before Dr. Early told Mike he was allowed to go home, and for the first three weeks, he was not to be alone for more than two hours at a time. Mike hadn't had any more seizures, but he was still on painkillers, so there would be no returning to work just yet. Dr. Early also insisted that part of Mike's days be spent in total quiet with no distractions such as the radio or television, and that his vitals be monitored four times a day. His mom and sister were due to leave in two days, and Stoker was understandably worried about how things would go.
Jeannie brought Mike home and as he walked in, the first thing Mike did was call out, "Kitty? H-here, k-kitty." Sir Pain-in-the-butt darted in from the garage and trotted into the living room. Mike sat down and offered his hand. The cat sniffed it cautiously, then, realizing his favorite human had returned at last, hopped up in Stoker's lap and purred with every bit he had in him. Mike smiled and closed his eyes, welcoming the peaceful sound.
Naturally, the guys of 51 volunteered to stay a day each when they were off shift, but that still left the other times when they all had to work. Mike wasn't the type to ask for help out of turn, and so resigned himself to finding someone to stay with him. Before he had a chance to call in the home-health nurses, however, his neighbors, Jerry and Edna Shears, and their son Paul, along with Mary and Gus, the folks who lived in the bungalow behind him, were ready to help. Each morning, one of the women would meet him at his door with casseroles, cookies and cat treats, and stay during the day. Each night one of the men would help Mike with his shower if he needed it, and then stay the night. Turns out, living on a block inhabited mainly by retirees had its advantages!
It seemed Johnny had taught the cat a few tricks while Mike was gone and Sir Pain-in-the-butt had become something of a celebrity in the neighborhood. The cat had charmed his way into the neighbors' hearts by begging for kitty-treats and by riding around on Johnny's shoulder when the man worked outside. It wasn't difficult to find someone to help when everyone wanted to visit with the cat as much as with Mike.
Two days after he came home, Dorothy and Jeannie bade Mike a tearful goodbye as they headed to their own homes once again, promising to return just as soon as they could. Their departure seemed to extinguish the spark that Mike had acquired since being sprung from Rampart. Between visits, he stretched out on the sofa and sunk into an uneasy sleep.
An hour and a half later he was awakened by the doorbell. He scrambled to his feet and stumped over to the door. As he peeked through the curtains, he saw Officer Frank Belton standing there.