P/N: OK, I screwed up the chapters a little bit. I somehow left out chapter 41 and put chapter 42 in its place. Everything is ok now. Enjoy!
Chapter 43: The Check-up, Part 2 / I'm Tom, I'll be your examiner today
"(When this began) I had nothing to say / And I get lost in the nothingness inside of me (I was confused)
And I let it all out to find / That I'm not the only person with these things in mind (Inside of me)
But all the vacancy the words revealed / Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel (Nothing to lose)
Just stuck hollow and alone / And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real / I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long
(Erase all the pain till it's gone) I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along / Somewhere I belong
And I've got nothing to say / I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face (I was confused)
Looking everywhere only to find / That it's not the way I had imagined it all in my mind (So what am I)
What do I have but negativity / 'Cause I can't justify the way, everyone is looking at me (Nothing to lose)
Nothing to gain hollow and alone / And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real / I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long
(Erase all the pain till it's gone) I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along / Somewhere I belong
I will never know myself until I do this on my own / And I will never feel anything else, until my wounds are healed / I will never be anything till I break away from me / I will break away, I'll find myself today
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real / I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long
(Erase all the pain till it's gone) I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along / Somewhere I belong
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm somewhere I belong / I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm somewhere I belong / Somewhere I belong" – Linkin Park (Somewhere I belong)
They spent the next few hours watching really bad B-movies on cable and laughing. They had a light lunch because neither were very hungry, and played with Donovan for a while. At about one o'clock, the phone rang.
Sydney reached over and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi Sydney, it's Tom."
She looked over to Vaughn who looked at her, "Hi Tom."
"I'm on my way, I should be there in like 15 minutes…"
"Ok, we'll see you then."
"Ok. Bye."
"Bye."
She hung up and looked over at Vaughn. His eyes had taken a familiar gleam, one of apprehension and nervousness. She sensed his mood change, "Hey, it's gonna be ok…he's not sending you back. It's just Tom…just remind yourself, it's just Tom."
He took a deep breath, "Yeah…ok…just Tom."
She cuddled with him as they spend the next fifteen minutes in anxious silence. Vaughn jumped when the doorbell rang.
"It's ok…" Sydney said as she got out of the bed. "Remember – just Tom."
"Got it," Vaughn said.
Sydney walked to the door and opened it to find Tom standing there with a bunch of stuff in his arms, looking very much like a tailgater and not a doctor. She laughed at his appearance – rumpled tee shirt, faded jeans, and a Dodgers baseball hat. The only thing that looked even remotely medical was the stethoscope around his neck. She reached out so she could take some of the paraphernalia out of his hands before he dropped something.
"Tom, let me help you…"
"Thanks…I thought I was going to drop something on the way in!"
"I'm surprised you didn't!"
"How is he," he asked, changing his tone so that it was lower.
"He's ok…you know, it's hard…but we're dealing…"
"I never had a doubt." He smiled.
"I should warn you though," she said in the same hushed tone, "he's kinda freaking over this whole thing. He's absolutely terrified that you're going to make him go back to the hospital. He's really nervous," Sydney said while chewing her lip.
"I'll be gentle…" Tom said smiling. "He's really got nothing to worry about. I don't have any intention of making him go back. I think he's fine here…"
"I know, but he's really scared."
"I'll be gentle," he repeated, and she believed him.
She walked him back to the bedroom and entered first. Vaughn forced a tense smile, but Sydney could see that he was nervous. She smiled in reassurance, put the stuff she was holding on the chair, and mouthed "it's just Tom." He smiled and nodded.
"Hey Mikey!" Tom said as he came over to the bed. "How're you feelin?"
"Not too bad…Sydney keeps me feeling pretty good…"
"I'm sure she does Mike. I brought you something," he said.
Vaughn looked to Sydney and she smiled again. Tom rummaged around in the stuff he brought and finally found what he was looking for. He handed it to Vaughn.
Vaughn looked at the package in his hand with wonder. "Tom…wow…this is…thanks…you didn't have to do that…"
"I know that Mike…but I wanted to…open it…"
The box was already slightly ajar and Sydney smiled when she realized that Tom had done that on purpose so that it would be easy for Vaughn to open. Her curiosity got the best of her and she sat down next to Vaughn on the other side of the bed.
She smiled at him as he opened the box, like it was Christmas morning and he was 9 again. Sydney watched as he pulled out a framed picture of himself, Eric, and Tom smiling; a college picture she guessed. He smiled at the faces smiling up at him and she met Tom's eyes and he was smiling as well. Next he pulled out a shot glass and gave Tom a questioning look. "That's for later…when you're better…than we can get drunk, but not now…cause I'm the doctor, and that would be very bad advice…" Vaughn smiled and took out the next item, which was a small statuette of a hockey player wearing a Kings uniform. Vaughn smirked and Tom added, "Yeah, there's something else that goes with that…" Vaughn looked back in the box and found a puck. He looked at it and then looked again to Tom. "It's from their last game…the one they won…"
Vaughn looked at it astonished, "But…how did you…"
"Ebay…I'm kind of a junkie…you'd be amazed what you can find on there…" he smiled. "You like it?"
"Huh! Do I need to answer that?" Vaughn inspected it further, "You can see where somebody's stick caught the edge…took a sliver off."
"Yep," Tom said proudly.
Vaughn looked up at him, "Tom…thanks…" He reached out his hand which Tom took urgently and shook it. He then leaned down and gave him a gentle hug as well. "Anytime, buddy, anytime." He said as he stood back up.
They spent a few minutes more just talking idly, and Sydney couldn't stop smiling. Tom just had this incredible sense about Vaughn. He'd made him totally relaxed, as a friend, before he stepped into the doctor mode.
Finally though, Tom said, "I suppose we should get on with the check-up, huh? Then I can get out of here and leave Sydney to do the real caring…" he smiled at the two, who smiled back.
Tom changed to slightly more professional, but still cordial and friend-like. "So, have you been resting?"
"Yeah…I have…it's driving me insane…I can't move at all…bed rest sucks, Tom."
"I know…but it's what you needed to do…what about the spasms? Have they been a problem?" he asked addressing both of them.
Sydney piped up, "He's had a few, but the morphine does its job. He usually sleeps a lot after one though, they really wipe him out."
"Yeah, they have a way of doing that…but you wouldn't say they're excessive, would you? They don't happen on like a daily basis?"
"No."
"Good…what about pain…tolerable? Horrible?"
"It's tolerable I suppose. The pain medication dulls it…it goes away completely if Sydney mixes them…but then I get weird, and I don't like that feeling. It's like I'm high or something."
Tom laughed, "High? You?"
Vaughn scowled at him, "Yeah, you should talk…"
Tom smiled, "So it's manageable? Has it lessened at all?"
"I don't know…it depends on the time I guess…sometimes it's better, sometimes it's worse."
"Ok…breathing…you've followed directions – you still have the oxygen on…so that's good, I'm very proud…good boy…What about the breathing exercises, have they gotten any easier?"
"Yeah, I guess so. Sydney makes me do them at least twice a day. It really hurt the first couple of times, but it's not bad now. Holding the breath still smarts though."
"Ok…I want to listen to your chest ok?"
"Yeah…sure."
Tom moved over and sat down on the edge of the bed. He moved the stethoscope under Vaughn's shirt and listened to him breathe for a minute. "K, can you take a deep breath?" Vaughn nodded and took a deep breath. "Ok, I'm going to take the oxygen off for a minute, and I want you to just breath normally. If you have trouble, I'll put it right back on, so don't worry, ok?"
Vaughn nodded and Tom took the tube off. He listened again to his breathing, which was slightly more labored, but not bad. "Deep breath now." Vaughn took a deep breath and winced. "Can we try that one more time?" Vaughn took another one and winced again. His breathing was getting more labored than before, and Tom replaced the tube. He checked the tank.
"Ok…now let's check the wounds and the bandages, you ok?" he asked Vaughn.
He nodded, and Tom looked to Sydney. "Can you help me get his shirt off? I'm sure you're better at it now than I would be since you've been doing it." Sydney moved over and gently took the sling off, and eased the shirt off of Vaughn. She praised herself for a minute that she had chosen a button-up one that morning; it was much easier to get off than the tee shirts. Once it was off, Tom checked Vaughn's splints and then moved to his shoulder. He prodded gently and moved it out slightly, which caused a yelp from Vaughn. "Sorry…" he said.
"It's ok…"
Tom then moved to take the rib wrap off and looked at Vaughn's his surgical bandages and peeled them off gently. He inspected each one, checking the stitches and for any sign of infection and then replaced them with new bandages. "Ok, I want to check the ones on your back…" He looked in Sydney's direction again, and she moved to help Vaughn sit up and then sat in front of him, helping him to stay sitting. Tom checked every bandage, being extremely thorough and then replaced those as well. "Ok, let's lay him back." Once Vaughn was reclining again, Tom said, "Ok…now the bad part…I've got to check your ribs…and it's probably going to hurt. I have to…so don't hold it against me," he said smiling.
Vaughn smiled back and Tom started to press gently on his upper chest. Vaughn didn't protest much, although Tom could tell which spots were sensitive. He was slowly making his way down to Vaughn's lower chest and abdomen, trying to prod as gently as was possible. Vaughn was trying to stay still, but he was wincing painfully. Tom watched his reactions, but needed to make sure. He tried to make his touch even gentler, but needed to put some pressure to check for any hemorrhaging. He made his way down to line of Vaughn's pants, and then stopped. Vaughn was slightly out of breath, and pain was evident on his face. Tom looked down sympathetically and said, "Sorry Mike. I know it hurt, but I have to be sure…"
"Yeah, I know…any more though, and I was going to have to ask you to stop."
"Anytime you want me to stop, you tell me, ok?"
Vaughn smiled, "Ok."
Tom moved next to Vaughn's ankle, "Can you move it?"
"Yeah, it's kind of tight, you know…as sprains are…but it's better."
"How about rotating? Try it." Vaughn complied and rotated slowly, but stopped when it hurt. "Good," said Dr. Tom. He took a flashlight out of his pocket and moved up to Vaughn's head. "Follow the light…loooook into my eyes…you are getting sleeeeppppyyyyy…sleeeeeeeppppppyyyyy…" Vaughn was laughing as he tried to follow the flashlight. "Well, as far as I can tell, you're doing quite well…accept for the head injury. You seem to have problems following the light..."
"Of course that had nothing to do with you being an ass, did it?"
"Of course not!" Tom said defensively, with a smile.
"Seriously, Mike, you're doing really well, considering where you started from here. Have you tried moving around at all?"
"You said complete bed rest doctor…" Vaughn snipped.
"Smart ass…"
"Yeah, uh…Sydney and Will help move me to the bathroom for a bath every OTHER day. I should thank you too for cutting my daily bath short…ass…anyway, and yesterday they moved me to the couch for a while, but I haven't gone anywhere on my own. I tried sitting up today by myself with some success, but it kind of hurt…a lot."
Tom smiled. "How about your endurance level."
Sydney snorted with laughter, covering her mouth and Vaughn smiled too.
"What?" asked Tom puzzled.
"Nothing…my endurance is fine…"
Tom continued to look from one occupant to the other. "I'm missing something, aren't I?"
Sydney snorted again and couldn't compose herself. She said excuse me and ran out of the room. Vaughn smiled as he watched her go.
"Ooookkkaaayyyy…Uh, I meant, are you tired?"
Vaughn laughed, "Yeah, I get really tired really easily. Moving makes me really tired. Of course, not moving makes me really crazy, so either way I lose here…"
"Ok…um, we can wait for Sydney a minute, I'll give you both directions on how to proceed then…" he stopped and studied Vaughn for a minute, "What was that all about?" he asked curiously.
"Nothing…really…inside joke…don't worry about it."
Sydney must have been almost ready to come back into the room, but she heard "inside joke" and stalked off again, and they could hear her laughing uncontrollably from the living room.
