What a Pain! Chapter Thirty-One
Cap sat up in his bed. A frown creased his mouth and his thick brows were knitted in consternation. He was half watching "All My Children" on the television and half dozing. His wife sat nearby, working a crossword puzzle.
"How can people watch this stuff?" he grumbled at each commercial break. "She's sleeping with him but he loves someone else, her mother is really her twin sister, the neighbor is a spy who came back from the dead...sheesh. I'll never figure out how anyone can get so hooked on a TV show."
He was deeply bored with television and bored with reading and generally just bored with recovery. He sighed loudly which brought a glance up from his wife.
"Honey? Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm just...tired of this," he mumbled back to her. Pointing to the television he said, "Could you turn this stuff off, please? I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to follow this dreck anyhow."
She stood up and turned off the television as requested. "Would you like this crossword book?"
"No..." Cap growled.
"Honey, how about we go visit John? You haven't seen him yet and I'll bet he'd welcome the company as much as you'd like the chance to get out of this room for a while. Dr. Ramsey said as long as you're mindful of the IV, you can get around."
Cap's face brightened, "Ellie, that sounds like a good idea. Can you help me up and out?"
Ellie smiled, popped a pair of handmade slippers on over the socks on her husband's feet, and gave him a kiss on the nose. Gently, she took his good arm and helped him sit on the side of the bed, then eased him to a standing position. His other arm would remain in a sling for a while yet, just to keep it resting above the injury site. He grimaced a little as he took the first few steps, then smiled in satisfaction as he walked through the door as Ellie pulled the IV pole along side.
His pain was minimal for the time being, and for that he was grateful. There had been moments when it was intense and he tried to ignore it, but Ellie had been on to him and reminded Hank to stop being a macho fireman and accept the pain relief.
Hank recalled the first time he realized how seriously he was hurt, several hours after his surgery while he was being moved to an ICU room. The pain then had been intense, but he did his best to deal with it. His pale face and moans at every movement however, had betrayed him. Hank smiled at the memory of Ellie shaking her finger at him when she realized his expression had been from trying to protect her from his pain.
"There's no way I'm going to put up with that nonsense" she had scolded him with a false fury. Then she had bent down to the bed and wrapped her arms around him, tears streaming down her face. "Oh, Hank... I love you so much."
Her words and loving touch had anchored him in his sea of pain and disorientation. Everything had been so foggy and confusing; he was surprised that he could remember what she wore that day, how she had her dark hair pulled back with a lavender ribbon, even the scent of her perfume. Ellie was his comfort and Hank promised her then he'd never again hide his pain from her. He smiled and gripped her hand a little tighter as they continued their stroll down the hall.
The halls were remarkably empty and quiet as Hank and Ellie made their way down to Johnny's room. The occasional nurse popped in and out of a room and a candy-striper brought a cart of books to an office. Other than those few, the couple was alone. They arrived at Johnny's room just as the florist was delivering the bouquet.
"Oh, Hank, look! Someone sent John some flowers; how nice," Ellie smiled. Eleanor Kathryn Stanley had a very protective nature, and securely under her wing were the men of Station 51. She had become quite close to Joanne DeSoto and perhaps when the other men married, she'd become friends with their wives as well. Until then, it pleased her to look after them from time to time. She loved that someone had thought to send get-well flowers to John.
Hank could hear Johnny laughing and gasping for air as the delivery girl left the room. He peeked around her shoulders as she passed and saw him sitting up with one arm wrapped around his midsection, and wiping tears from his face with the other. Ellie held the door for him as he walked in, a puzzled look on his face.
Gage looked up and grinned hugely at the sight of his Captain, even knowing he'd have a great deal of explaining to do. When he noticed Eleanor Stanley walk in behind Hank, Johnny gulped and tried to regain his composure, unsure how she would react to what he wanted to tell Hank. Gage sat up as much as he could with his back still hurting, and cleared his throat.
"Hey, Cap...Mrs. Stanley, nice to see you!" he greeted.
Cap smiled warmly, "John, looks like someone sent you something to brighten your day, eh? Those are some nice flowers."
"Hoo...I, uh, yeah, they're, uh, real nice, Cap," Johnny said, attempting nonchalance.
Ellie walked over, set her purse on the table and admired the blooms. "Such pretty daisies and lilacs!" she exclaimed, "and such a nice vase they're in!" She bent forward to sniff the flowers, then turned to Johnny. "Who are they from, John? I don't see a card."
Gage cleared his throat again nervously, "Oh, uh, they're from a friend. I, um, put the card away already, and uh..." He shifted uneasily and stuffed the card from Mike further under his butt. "Say, uh, Cap, h-how are YOU feelin' by now?" Johnny asked, nervously smiling and sliding his hand across his face.
John's unease and swift change of subjects did not go unnoticed by his Captain. Hank turned to his wife, "Ellie, is there any chance you could scare up a coupla' cookies or a piece of pie or something for Johnny here? I think he's looking a bit rawboned," he smiled.
"Oh, I imagine I can do that, I'll go see what I can find in the cafeteria." She helped Hank sit in the chair nearest Johnny, then retrieved her purse. She winked knowingly at her husband, "I'll be back in a bit."
Once the door closed behind Ellie, Cap blew out a breath and scrutinized Johnny who fidgeted and looked out the window, avoiding Cap's face.
"John? I, uh, kinda' get the feeling you're hiding something from me. Everything okay?"
Johnny's head pirouetted back to Cap, "Oh, uh, sure Cap, everything's good. It's ah, good...good," he fumbled and nodded. "Well, actually," he grinned, "things are probably pretty great at Mike's house right about now." He started to chuckle, then worked around to retrieve the card. "Ya' see, Cap, uh, Mike and I were talking a while ago...right before he was being released...and Chet walked in to get him, ya' see, so Stoker and I, we...we thought we would play a little joke on the phantom, ya' know, kinda' lighten things up a bit..."
Cap was amused by Gage's bumbling. He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, "What sort of joke, John?"
Johnny grinned bigger still and started to laugh, "Well, we didn't plan on this, ya' see, it just sorta' happened on the spur of the moment. I guess I did kinda' start it, but Stoker really ran with it and..."
"What sort of joke, John?!" Cap asked a bit louder.
"Oh, uh, sorry Cap." Johnny just found the whole thing hilarious and nearly lost it a few times before he got around to explaining things, "Well, Cap, uh, Chet thinks Mike and I are in love and movin' in together!" he choked out. Gage pulled the card out, handed it to Cap and started laughing harder than he had been earlier.
Cap read the card and looked up wide-eyed at Johnny. "Stoker sent the flowers?" he asked in disbelief. "Our Stoker?"
"Yep," Johnny gasped, "isn't it great? Chet about crapped himself!" Then he proceeded to tell Cap about how Hank was supposedly in full support and that Marco had once been the main man in Stoker's life.
Hank shook his head as he grinned, "And Chet believed all this nonsense?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he did; Stoker was pretty convincing, I'll say. Man, it was incredible. I wish I knew what all he told Chet on the ride home."
"Well, I don't know how you guys are going to handle this, but until I hear from you or Stoker...I, uh, I suppose I could play along," Cap snickered.
"No kiddin', Cap? Man, I sorta' figured you'd be upset." He wheezed out another small laugh, "Guess you really are supportive of us!"
That was all it took for Cap and Johnny to dissolve in laughter and that was how Eleanor Stanley found them when she returned with two pieces of apple pie. Her bewildered expression made Hank and Johnny laugh even more.
Hank wiped his eyes and began to stand; Ellie quickly stepped over to him. "Boys," she said with a wry expression, "I have no idea what's been the topic of your conversation while I was gone...but I'm very glad to see you both laughing. Now, you," she said, pointing to her husband, "stay put." She sat him back down in the chair and handed the pie over to Hank and John. "You guys need to eat a little something first."
Hank and Johnny nodded and happily dug into the pie. After the desert was eaten and a little more innocuous conversation, Hank grabbed the bars on Johnny's bed for assistance up. He leaned over and shook hands with his junior paramedic.
"Hey, we better get going, but I'm sure we'll talk later, John," he said with a grin. Then he waggled his eyebrows, "Oh, and ah, congratulations!"
Ellie looked startled and looked at Hank. "I assume you'll be filling me in on everything?"
Hank swallowed hard but kept a smirk on his face, "Oh, yes...yes of course, dear."
Johnny gave a small wave as Hank and Mrs. Stanley left his room then picked up the card from Mike once more. Delighted that Cap wasn't going to spoil the joke, he wondered if Stoker had managed to call Marco and fill him in. Channeling his inner Boris Badenov, Johnny twirled the ends of an imaginary mustache, then rubbed his hands together with glee. If it hadn't yet been spoiled, this ploy would go down in history as the best prank ever pulled on ol' Chester B!
E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!
As he drove away, Chet couldn't help but look back at Mike's house and shake his head in confusion. He thought he wanted to go talk to Marco and rehearsed what he was going to say.
He stared at the water-filled compass that was mounted on the dashboard, envisioning it as his friend. "Say, Marco," he practiced, "How well do you really know Stoker?" Shaking his head again, "No, that's not right...uh, Hey, Marc...have you and Mike ever...oh good lord, I can't say that!" Unable to decide what to say, he kept driving and working out the questions in his mind.
Trying again, he asked the Marcompass, "So, uh, Stoker says you guys used to be uh, really close, uh, tight, uh...crap. How am I ever gonna find out if they're pullin' one over on me?"
Without his even noticing, Chet had driven straight to Marco's house and pulled in the drive. Realizing what he had done, he sat there with the engine running, staring at the front door. Inside, Marco was on the phone...with Mike Stoker.
Laughing loudly at what Stoker told him made Marco's mother run up to him. She peered suspiciously at him with dark eyes and began whispering her concerns in his ear. Marco tried to wave her away with limited success.
"Mamá, por favor! No pasa nada, estoy hablando con Mike. No, no, está bien, te lo prometo. Sí, estoy seguro de que le encantaría unas enchiladas, le diré ... " (Mama, please! It's okay, I'm talking to Mike. No, no, he's fine, I promise. Yes, I'm sure he'd love some enchiladas, I'll tell him...") Marco turned away and rolled his eyes. "Mike, look, I gotta go, but thanks for the information! I'm gonna love this! I'll talk to you later; if you're up to it, I'll bring over some lunch tomorrow. Yeah, okay I'll call you then. Bye." He hung up and turned around, reassuring his mama that Mike was doing really well. She was pleased with the news, then looked out the large living room window.
"Marco! ¡Tu amigo Chester se encuentra fuera de su camioneta. ¿Por qué está mirando a la casa? No sé qué pensar de él,Marco, es muy raro." ("Marco! Your friend Chester is outside in his van. Why is he staring at the house? I don't know what to think of him, Marco, he's very odd.")
Marco peeked around the drapes and saw Chet was indeed sitting there in the van, and it appeared he was having a conversation with himself. Marco coughed, shook himself, and eliminated all traces of laughter from his face as he walked outside to face the music. This was gonna be fun.