Rio: The Aftermath
Chapter 3: confessions
After a drive through the city of Rio in one of the Carnival floats, Linda, Tulio and Fernando had finally made it back to Tulio's aviary, where Tulio works to protect the birds he loves so much like family.
When they arrived outside the front door, Tulio, who still had Jewel laid down in both his hands, quickly ran inside the aviary with Linda and Fernando following behind him.
All the employers inside looked at Tulio and Linda with curious face's as they ran past due to them wearing carnival clothes.
Tulio ran into the operation room as fast as his legs would carry him, and was desperate to help Jewel before it was too late.
Blu had gone with him too to comfort Jewel in her time of need. He knew she was in a lot of pain right now and had to do anything he could to help her.
Jewel laid still on the table while Tulio was away to get changed out of his ridiculous clothes and back into his regular clothes.
Blu sat down beside Jewel with a small smile on his face. Though he was a little shy and a little afraid of Jewel (due to her attacking him when they first met in the artificial jungle) he extended one of his wings out and softly stroked her head down to her back to keep her calm.
Blu continued to stroke Jewel with his wing as he watched her try and cope with the pain. "How are you feeling, Jewel?"
Though she was in pain, Jewel managed to move her head up to see Blu so she could respond to his question. "I'm doing OK, Blu. The pain just hurts SO much."
"Shhh, it's okay, Jewel," Blu reassured her as he spoke calmly to her. "Tulio's gonna fix you up, and you're gonna be flying again in no time."
Jewel managed to put on a smile for Blu, but it did not last when Tulio had returned from his office, wearing his usual lab coat, green shirt, blue jeans.
Tulio then picked up Blu into his hands and began taking him back out of the room so he did not have any distractions for the surgery he would soon have to perform.
Blu looked at Tulio and was about to fly back over to Jewel until Tulio spoke before he had the chance to move. "Sorry, Blu, but if I wanna help Jewel, I need to be alone. Okay?"
Blu knew that he loved Jewel and would do anything to protect her, so he obeyed and nodded in response before he flew out of Tulio's hands and out of the room to save Tulio the trouble of doing it himself.
Blu flew back into a private room where Linda was resting and were Fernando was sleeping. Blu flew over to Linda, who was sitting on a nice cozy chair, and perched himself down onto her arm.
Linda looked at Blu and saw he had a very worried and concerned face because of Jewel being under surgery.
Blu could not help but imagine bad things of what would happen if things went wrong. Bad things continued to race around Blu's mind like he was going crazy. "What is Jewel's wing doesn't recover? What if she will never fly again? WHAT IF THEY HAVE TO CUT IF OFF!?"
Linda looked at her faithful companion and could tell by his face he was worried for Jewel, due to her living with him for 15-years.
To comfort him, Linda placed Blu in her arms and pulled him into a hug while she spoke softly to him. "It's okay, Blu. Jewel's gonna be just fine. Everything is going to turn out just fine. I promise."
Blu now felt a little calmer and replied to Linda, though to her, all she could hear was a squawk. "Thank you, Linda."
Now that Jewel was under surgery by Tulio and Blu was not allowed inside, all Blu could do now is wait.
Hours had passed since the operation for Jewel's wing had began. In the private room Tulio had gave access to Linda to, Linda was still sitting in the same chair with Blu laid down in his arms like he was a newborn baby.
Linda had only moved once from where she was sitting, and that was to get back into her regular vacation clothes: light blue shirt, tan pants, white socks and black shoes.
Linda and Blu turned their attention to the door entrance/exit to the room when Tulio had finally returned from the operation room to give some news.
"How is she?" Linda inquired while she set Blu down onto the table beside her.
"I've managed to fix all the broken bones and fix her wing back into place." Tulio declared, giving a sigh of relief to Blu and Linda. "I put her back into the artificial jungle. It was take a couple of weeks until he wing fully recovers."
"Oh, thank God for that." Blu exhaled in relief as he fell down onto his back on the table with his wings spread out.
Now that Jewel was safe and no longer had to worry about being flightless for the rest of her life, it was now safe for Blu to visit her to keep her company.
Tulio picked Blu up into his hands with a smile on his face. "Blu, would you like to go and see Jewel? She could do with someone to keep her company."
"Oh, boy, would I." Blu replied with a sense of happiness in his voice, though it was still just a squawk for Tulio to hear.
"Then, let's go." Tulio smiled, understanding Blu's squawk that he wanted to see Jewel as soon as possible.
Before Tulio left the room, he turned back to Linda who looked at Blu with a little concerned face. Last time she and Tulio left Blu and Jewel alone, they were kidnapped and almost smuggled out of Rio.
Tulio smiled at Linda and gave her a look that everything would be fine this time. "Don't worry, Linda. I'll keep a close eye on him."
Linda nodded in response but just to make sure he was safe, she got up and followed Tulio to the artificial jungle.
When they got there, Tulio placed Blu by the small door for him to get inside (the same door he went through when Tulio tried to make him look "in resistable.").
Tulio and Linda sat inside the surveillance room to the artificial jungle and watched Blu inside the room looking around for Jewel.
"Jewel. Jeweeeeeel." Blu called out for Jewel to find her location while he kept his wings to his sides and decided to walk around instead. "Are you here, Jewel?"
"Blu...?"
Blu followed the sound of the voice which came from one of the artificial tree hollows. Blu extended his wings out and slowly ascended back into the air and took it easy due to him still being new at this whole thing.
Blu finally got to the top of the tree hollow where he finally was reunited with Jewel, who was laying on her right side with her good wing wrapped around her body.
Blu examined Jewel and could see a bandage wrapped around her left wing. Blu sighed quietly to himself and decided to do what Tulio had said: 'keep Jewel company'. "Jewel, is it okay if I come in?"
Jewel leaned up in the artificial nest before she answered Blu's question. For a bird that had just had an operation on her wing and loved nothing but to be free, she had a smile on her beak.
"Of course you can, Blu. Anything for the bird who saved my life." Jewel answered smiling while she tapped the bottom of the nest with her good wing. "Come and sit."
Blu was surprised about Jewel's sweet attitude all of a sudden. Last time he saw her, Jewel was feisty and aggressive.
Still surprised, Blu sat down in the nest beside Jewel just like when they were both chained-to-each-other-birds and were sitting on a trolley car.
"How are you feeling, Jewel?" Blu inquired as he tried to make himself comfy since he has never sat in a nest before.
"I'm doing okay." Jewel answered Blu's question while she looked at her bad wing. "Just feels a bit silly."
As the two last blue macaws sat together, there was something that Blu really, really had to know and now: what if Jewel did not love him too? What if that kiss that they shared was just a quick heat-of-the-moment thing?
Blu knew he had to find out the truth now before he would jump to any conclusions. "Jewel, do you like me?"
Jewel did not know why Blu would ask that question and cocked her head to the side. "Of course I like you, Blu. Why do you ask?"
Blu was completely speechless and tried his best to get his words out while he rubbed the back of his feathery neck with his wing. "Umm, I...Uh, well, uh...Uh, Jewel...I uh..."
Though they had not been together long, Jewel knew that Blu loved her and was trying his best to say that to her. Jewel admitted she loved Blu too. After he had saved her life, she expressed her feelings with a kiss.
Jewel wouldn't help but smile in amazement, and placed the tip of her good wing on top of Blu's beak to stop him from talking further. "Blu, are you trying to say, "I love you"?"
Blu now knew he had no way out of this one and nodded in response while praying Jewel would not kick his butt again.
"Well, guess what, Blu? I love you, too." Jewel replied as she took her wing from the top of Blu's beak and then hugged him with her good wing. "Did you think I just kissed you because I panicked?"
"Yeah," Blu replied as he too returned the hug to her with both his wings wrapped around her back. "I thought you just kissed me because we were falling, and-"
"Nope." Jewel cut Blu off from his sentence and leaned up a little so they were face to face. "I did it because I love you too, Blu. I was so mean to you, and you jumped out of that silver-bird-thingy to save me, made me realize I love you, too."
Blu could not believe Jewel love him too, and could not help but feel a lot of happiness inside of him and felt like he needed to scream it out for the entire world to hear.
Blu continued to hold her in his dark blue feathered wings and finally said those special words: "I love you, Jewel."
"I love you too, Blu." Jewel cooed as she closed her eyes and rested her head on the top of Blu's chest.
Well, now Blu's worries were now over. Jewel will be able to fly again once she recovers, and she loves him too.
Today might be the happiest day of Blu's life, despite the part about them being almost smuggled out of Rio.
And there you have it, people. Blu and Jewel are in love and hopefully will take care of each other for the rest of their lives.
Stay tuned for chapter 4. I will work as fast as possible.