Grammar mistakes, FTW!
Okay. Well, there isn't a song to go with this one, but I really love listening to mood music while I read, so if I had to give one… I'd say Times Like These by Jack Johnson. Just because this is a more laid-back chapter, with conversation and all that. That, and I think you should all invest in a CD or two by Jack Johnson. Best slow guitar happy-calm music ever. He's from Hawaii. And he loves the environment. Hot? I think so. Shame he's married. –sob-
Warning: I use a bit more explicit language in one of the parts in this chapter. If you're not okay with the 'F-Word', then… well, too bad, read it anyway.
For the record, the chapter is entitled 'Holes to Heaven' because there's a bit of a break through in this chapter where you start seeing some healing take place. Like, tensions are easing and all that. Holes to heaven. Get it? Eh? Eh? No. Didn't really think anyone would.
It, too, is a Jack Johnson song. One of my favorite. Listen to that one too.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Tala took a bite of the sub sandwich he was eating. Noticing a bit of mustard on his thumb, he promptly stuck the finger into his mouth and sucked it off. Though, thumbs aren't actually considered fingers. They're more like… helpful little appendages attached your hand near your fingers. He thought about this while he watched the people around him shuffle through files and make phone calls. As it was, Tala was leaning against the counter of one of the nurses stations, waiting for his life-long acquaintance to emerge from the hospital room across the hall. He refused to call Kai a friend, even though he was.
"Excuse me." One of the nurses behind the counter said dryly, tapping on a sign against the wall that clearly stated 'No Food Allowed', just below a crossed out picture of a stick figure consuming some black shape. Tala raised and eyebrow and looked down at the nurse dully.
"No hablo Ingles." He mumbled, lacking the accent required for him to be believable. The nurse pursed her lips in annoyance as he turned back to face the room Kai was in, taking another bite of his sandwich.
"I'm so sure. The cafeteria is down stairs to your left."
"Je ne parle pas anglais." Tala said with equal distaste, not turning to face the nurse.
"Et-what?" The woman blinked, not understanding.
"It's French for 'I don't speak English'." Tala murmured in a bored tone. The women blinked again, and then narrowed her eyes.
"You're a riot. Now go down stairs and eat in the cafeteria before I have to call hospital securi-"
"Hey Kai."
"Tala." Kai replied, stepping out of the room and nodding in acknowledgement. Tala pushed himself off the counter he was leaning on and moved toward his on and off again teammate, ignoring the glare from the nurse behind him as the two disappeared down the hallway.
"So how's your arm?"
Silence. Tala rose an eyebrow and studied the expression on Kai's face before frowning.
"Oh, you can not tell me you're pissed that I didn't come as backup."
"There were armed men, Tala, and I was the only one there with shooting experience. The help would have been nice."
Tala rolled his eyes and looked away, keeping up his pace.
"What about Kon? He knows how to use a gun, what with all the racism against his kind."
Kai snorted. "What?"
"Yin told me; they're taught how to use guns once they reach the age of thirteen, to protect themselves. No surprise, I'm sure they get a lot of hate mail."
"You're changing the subject."
"Indeed."
"Tala-"
"Oh shove it, Kai, just shove it. I had no idea what was going on anyway."
The two exchanged a side glare as they stopped and waited for the elevator.
"Right, because it's not like every news station in the country was covering it." Kai spat sarcastically. Tala sighed and stepped into the elevator, Kai right on his heels.
"What was I going to do? Walk up to the police line and say 'hey, I want to go into that building and shoot people for the hell of it'?"
"Yes." Kai said instantly. "That's exactly what you should have done. And then they'd make a big fuss of it like Americans do, and when they shoo you away you can sneak in the back."
"Because the back wasn't covered."
"Tala."
"What?"
Kai exhaled slowly through his nose and focused his look on the other.
"Don't be such an ass. I could have used your help in there, that's all I'm saying." He paused, and then continued after a moment of thought. "Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you were sitting in your hotel room the entire time, watching the whole thing on the news and eating popcorn."
"Close. I was eating Pringles."
"Tala!" Kai barked, anger spiking. His red-headed friend just laughed.
"Calm down, phoenix, you'll pop a blood vessel."
At the comment, both took a moment to reflect on how a mentor had once gotten so worked up that a minor artery in his neck had strained and torn. They must have been but eight or nine years old, and both smiled faintly at the nostalgic moment. That is, until Kai snapped out of it and smacked Tala upside the head.
"Hey!" The Blitzkrieg boy cried, reaching up to hold the back of his skull. Kai snorted and stormed off the elevator.
-x-x-x-
"Hilary?" Kenny asked, wrapping his knuckles against the doorframe gently. Sitting in a chair beside a bed was the addressed female, deep in thought, with dried tears on her cheeks. When she didn't turn, he began to approach her slowly.
"You gunna be alright, Hil?"
"Yeah." She replied, perhaps just a little too quickly. Kenny let his shoulders sink about half an inch, his facial expression falling with them. He knew she had been shaken horribly by what had happened, but he couldn't help but feel the urge to comfort her.
"Um… Well, Gary is going to be fine." He said after a moment. What else was there to say that Hilary hadn't already heard a thousand times? That they all hadn't been told by every member of the hospital staff they passed by? Still, it wasn't enough.
"And… I think Kevin will be okay too." He added awkwardly.
Hilary turned, sniffling. "Really? That's not what I heard."
"Wh-… What?" Kenny asked. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. He hadn't actually heard anything about Kevin's condition. He didn't know if anyone else had been shot, or if he had been shot again, or what. He was just trying to lighten the mood. But Hilary didn't seem at ease with his mention of the White Tiger.
"I over heard some nurses talking. He crashed on the operating table, and they just barely brought him back. How is that okay?"
Kenny blinked, letting the information sink is slowly. A shiver raced down his spine. Really? He crashed?
"Well? How?"
"I don't… Um…"
"It's not! He died Kenny. That's not okay. We all could have died."
"Yeah, but… He's alive now, right?"
Silence. Hilary turned away again, not wanting Kenny to see the fresh tears in her eyes. He stood motionless behind her, totally confused, without the slightest idea of what had just happened.
"I could have helped. But I was just dead weight the whole damn time." She said bitterly, her voice wavering. Kenny perked up.
"That's not tru-"
"Oh save it. I don't need to hear that right now, Kenny. I just need…"
"… What?"
Hilary turned to face him, eyes watering and lip quivering. "A hug."
Kenny blinked. Before he could even brace himself, Hilary was out of the chair with her arms wrapped around him tightly, crying into his shoulder. The younger boy just stood there, eyes wide, cheeks flushed. He swallowed hard, clenching his teeth. He could feel her breasts press against his upper chest. He hadn't even gotten to second base with someone, and her breasts were pressing against him. He shivered, trying to shake off the horribly timed feeling as it crept on. Thankfully, Hilary pulled away just in time to wipe her eyes and dash out of the room, blurting something of a goodbye. Kenny didn't hear it. He just stood there, stiff as a board, totally lost it whatever euphoria he had just experienced.
-x-x-x-
"Ow! Ggaah-ha, stop!"
"Hold still, Kevin, please, I know it hurts, just hold still for one more minute."
"N-no, I mean- Ow! Shit, woman, stop do-hooing that!" Kevin gagged, struggling to keep still as the nurse continued to poke the needle into him.
"Well if you'd stop squirming I could take the sample faster, now couldn't I?"
Kevin didn't reply. It had been a few hours since the surgery, and they had yet to finish the job. Doctor Murphy, boring blue eyes and all, stood beside the bed Kevin was squirming in, trying to take a blood sample from various spots around his leg to get an average white blood cell count. It was not a common procedure, but since they couldn't operate on him or even get a CT scan, it was one of the few options they had left.
"Gaahh! Fuck!" Kevin barked as she jabbed his leg one final time with the syringe, finishing the job. The boy's head fell back on the pillow, sweat matting his forehead as he panted, jaw tight from the pain. The doctor sighed, sorting the blood samples into vials and placing them in a try, pushing it out of the way before turning back to Kevin.
"Looks like your fever has gone down. That's a good thing."
"Oh sure." Kevin breathed, looking towards her bleakly. "Change the subject. Don't think I won't forget that you just stabbed me six times."
The medical professional chuckled. "You're over-reacting. The shots hurt so much because the muscles along your leg have been stiff and ruptured from the damage, and tight from the pain. It's natural."
"Bullshit." The teen exhaled. He may have recovered from his fever partially, but he was still winded. "If that was natural, then Michael Jackson was born white."
Murphy smiled despite herself. It wasn't like her to get too attached to a patient, but perhaps she could make an exception for this one. He seemed rude enough, he couldn't be that different from her.
"You know, with that attitude, global warming must be a big issue with you."
"You're still changing the subject."
"I'm a doctor. It's an important skill to have. Now about the melting ice caps-"
"Global warming is a bunch of hot air. When are they going to fix my leg so I can get better and go home?"
Murphy sighed. Yeah, he was similar to her. Shame, really, she never seemed to get along with people that she felt resembled her.
"We need to wait for your fever to dissipate. Once it does we'll have you in and out of surgery in the quickest, most professional time frame we can manage."
"Great." Kevin murmured, eyes closing. "Can I sleep after that?"
A smile, warmer then before. "Better. You can sleep through it."
"Now?"
The doctor shook her head. "No, not now. You've already crashed once, I won't risk that again."
A pause. He was obviously falling out. "What difference does it make? I promise I won't die." He mumbled, his voice slurring as sleep began to take hold. Murphy reached over and held his nose closed, covering his mouth with her other hand. He gagged, snorted, coughed, and woke back up.
"What the hell?"
Murphy laughed. "It worked, right?"
Her patient grunted. "Medical professional my ass." He mumbled, rolling his head away from the doctor, who rolled her eyes and shook her head.
-x-x-x-
Tyson examined the selection of snacks in the vending machine. Baring in mind the last time he had tried to stick his arm up the machine, he refrained from stealing and was left to finger a five dollar bill. Max came up behind him, shivering.
"Why are hospitals so cold?" He was mumbling to no one in particular. Tyson ignored the question.
"I can't decide; Mike&Ikes, Skittles, Butterfinger, Pay Day, or gummy worms."
"Not Pay Day."
"Why?"
"I hate nuts."
"Well this isn't your candy bar."
Max narrowed his eyes and looked at Tyson. "I'm hungry too, you know."
His best friend sighed. "Alright, alright. I think I'll get Skittles. What do you want?"
"Starbursts."
"They have Starbursts?" Tyson asked, surprised. His attention fell back to the machine, wide eyed. Max rolled his eyes and turned away. Now that another option had been added, it would take Tyson at least another twenty minutes to figure out what he wanted. No way Max was going to stand around the whole time. As the world champion pressed his face against the glass of the machine to get a better look at the selection, the American Bladebreaker began to wander down the hallway in search of something to do.
He found Tala and Kai. They were locked in an argument that sounded like it was about back up plans, fire escapes, stocks, and pineapples. Max wrinkled his nose, not having the slightest idea of how any of it was relevant, but didn't bother to ask. Instead, he interjected and happily found that they were both eager to drop whatever subject they were on.
"What." They said at the same time, shooting the other a glare as if to blame them for stealing the other's word. Max swallowed.
"Um… Are you okay Kai?"
"Yes."
Awkward. The two Russian bladers continued to stare at him, as if demanding conversation. Unfortunately, Max could only deliver small talk.
"So um. How about those Yankees?" He asked, repeating one of the most worn out ice breakers he could think of. The two before him raised their eyebrows. Max felt like an idiot until Tyson called out to him from down the hallway;
"Hey buddy, check out what I can do if I stick my mouth against the glass!"
At least, Max thought, not everyone was totally shaken by everything that had happened.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
xChewy; You know, I think this is the first time I've used the word 'fuck' in this story…
Kevin; Oh my God, I'm a person again.
xChewy; And Tala has feelings now.
Tala; Hey- … Oh, it's not worth it.
xChewy; -hug-
Tala; -shudder-
Kevin; Heyhey, focus back on me. I'm like, the most important character in this story.
xChewy; Not for long.
Kevin; What? But I'm adorable!
xChewy; You're also a bit of an attention whore. So this will be good for you.
Kevin; But… but… no! –whimperpuppydogpout-
xChewy; !!! –squeel-
Tala; Um… Awkward.