Chapter 21: Discharged, finally
Ray's P.O.V
When Abby and Nick returned, she was in an obviously better mood. They were bantering back and forth, something about eloping to Antarctica. I admit I was jealous. I hadn't been able to make her laugh like that all day.
I noticed that the guarded look in her eyes was mostly gone, and I felt a rush of relief. She came over and I slipped my arm around her waist, a gesture that was slightly possessive, but mostly the need to touch her. She looked up and smiled before resting her head on my shoulder.
I noticed her tense when Nick motioned for JT to meet him outside the room, and squeezed her a little tighter.
Leaning over, I whispered in her ear,
"What's going on? You've been acting weird since the restaurant."
"Nothing." She replied, not meeting my eyes.
"You sure?" I pressed.
"Yes!" she said, sounding irritated.
"Ok." I said, making it known I didn't believe her, hoping she'd get the point and tell me what was going on.
Madi must have noticed the tension between us,
"Ray when do I get sprung? I need to get out of here."
She hadn't set foot in a hospital since the night Mom died, with the exception of this hospitalization. They brought back too many bad memories.
"Well if all goes well, possibly this afternoon, Madison." Her doctor answered, upon entering the room.
"Oh, hi Dr. Nesbitt." She replied, "Really? I might get out today?"
"Yes, I just need to check you over, see how your knee is healing."
"Her knee seems to be healing fairly well from what I see, I checked her over earlier." I interjected.
"Ray?" she asked.
"The one and only." I responded lightly.
"Good to see you, you finally came back to town; unfortunate reason I must say, but it's good to see you nonetheless. So where are you working now?"
"Resident, Cook County General ER."
"Hm, you're working with some of the best doctors in the country there. Is John Carter still there?"
I felt Abby stiffen at the mention of Dr. Carter's name.
"No ma'am. He recently returned to Darfur."
"He always was one to help others, such a sweet young man."
"Mind me asking how you know Dr. Carter?"
"No, not at all. I had the honor of meeting him at a conference in Philadelphia about 4 years ago."
"Oh."
"Well Madison, your knee does seem to be healing quite well. Can you bend it?"
"Barely, it's pretty stiff though." She said, demonstrating, and wincing slightly.
"Good, good. Some stiffness should be expected during the healing. Have you been doing the exercises the physical therapist showed you?"
"Yup, but I have to stop sometimes cause my knee hurts so much."
"Well if it hurts too much you should stop and rest for a little while, then resume the simpler ones. You need to start rebuilding the strength in your knee, but you have to be careful not to do any more damage."
"So things look good?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes, I'll send a nurse with the discharge papers for you to sign."
"YAY," Madi squealed. "I get to go home!"
"We need to figure out living arrangements, and get that out of the way. When does school get out?" I asked.
"It gets out this coming Friday. We've got exams starting Monday." Nick replied.
"Madi, are you planning to go to school on Monday?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm planning on going to school, I've missed enough as it is, and I don't want to miss finals."
"Ray, how much time did you take off?" Abby asked.
"They gave me 10 days off, what about you?"
"I got 9 days off."
"So we've been here 2 days, we could probably stay and get everything sorted out before we have to go."
"Hm." She replied, and I noticed Nick and JT exchange dubious glances.
'They know something.' I thought, before helping Madi get all her stuff together.
Come on, push the little button and give me a nice birthday present! lol