A/N: This story reflects something that is brought up in the bigger Mike/Connie fic that I have been working on rather than anything from an episode, but it does bring in someone from Mike's family that he mentioned in the episode Zero: His Uncle Charlie who had dementia and required crib notes like the Judge in the episode (Malcolm Reynolds). For those who may not remember which episode it was, it was the one involving a case about a couple who wanted to leave a Zero carbon footprint on the planet by eating local, not using a car, the wife gets killed and the Judge who picks up the case likely has dementia and as it turns out Mike is "friends" with the Judge's law clerk, Carly, who seems to be pulling the puppet strings. It was rerun on NBC Dec 18, 2009. (I didn't see it when it first aired in S19.) As for the bigger Mike/Connie fic, still no idea when I will start posting as I want to get to a certain point in the story before I do post so that I can end it if need be without leaving people dangling and it's taking way longer than originally anticipated. Again, not Beta'd, so any errors are my own.
Disclaimer: Not mine. All characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.
Young Mike Cutter - How Mike Breaks His Arm Sliding Into Second Base
Mike Cutter is nine years old. This is his fourth year at the summer leagues in Oregon and he still didn't know how to slide into second base. He'd been called out more often than he or his coach liked. His team mates had shown him how to do it feet first and head first, but all he could think of when it came time was his mother voice, I can't believe how you managed to get that shirt dirty and ripped. Why is it that you can't keep your clothes clean? Do you like to roll in the dirt like a pig? His mother was very picky when it came to clothes and keeping them clean.
All season long when it came time to slide into second base, his coach and his entire team would be calling out from the benches, "Slide, Mike, slide! Slide! Just do it, Mike." But inevitably he never did and gets tagged out.
It is mid-August now and the last few weeks of the season. His summer in Oregon with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins was soon over until the next year. He will be heading back to San Francisco soon for the school year with his mother and he wanted to be able to slide into second base before the end of the season.
It is the bottom of the fifth and his second at bat for the game. He had gotten a single on his first at bat. The first pitch is thrown and it's wide so he lets it go.
"Ball" calls the umpire.
The second pitch is thrown and it's a good one, so he swings, but misses because it curves at the last minute. He didn't know that Sam could throw a curve ball. He had been on the same team as Sam last year.
"Strike"
Mike looks at the umpire to signal for a time out and steps out of the batters box to beat the dirt out of his cleats to regroup.
Meanwhile his Aunt Faye and Uncle Charlie were in the stands cheering him on. His aunt and uncle had brought their son, Tom, and Mike to the game. Tom was on his team this year. His older cousin, Bill, was home with his younger brother Matt who was sick.
"You can hit it out of the park, Mike." His aunt yelled.
"Don't worry about Sam and his curve ball." Charlie shouted.
Mike looks shyly their way and smiles. They smile back at him and he's ready to get back to the task at hand.
Mike steps into the batters box. He taps the base with his bat once and swings twice to get a good feel. He had seen major leaguers do that on TV and when he tried that out, it felt right. Now he's ready and he gets into position.
Sam throws out his next pitch and it's a beauty. Straight and narrow fastball, but it's not fast enough against Mike and his bat. Mike swings, connects and the ball flies out into the outfield over the head of the left fielder. As soon as Mike feels the ball connect with the bat and he pulls through with his swing, he drops the bat and runs all out to first base. The people in the stands go crazy. As he nears first base, he sees that the left fielder had just gotten the ball and hadn't thrown it yet. This was going to be close for second base. This was his chance to try sliding into second base. Mike rounds first and heads to second. As he heads to second, Mike's thoughts are going head first or feet first. His body is forward so head first it is. Ten feet from the base, he leaps forward. As his body lands on the dirt, Mike can feel the air being pushed out of his lungs, dirt in his face and now it's forward momentum that's taking him to second base. The throw is high and the shortstop jumps to catch it. Mike slides through the base. The umpire yells "Safe."
Before Mike can feel elation from the safe call, the shortstop loses his balance from jumping so high to catch the ball and lands on Mike's right arm. Mike can feel a crack and pain shoots through his arm. "Ow!"
George scrambles up holding the ball high to show everyone he caught it and says, "Sorry, Mike. Are you OK?"
When Mike doesn't get up but cradles his arm, trying really hard not to cry, everyone realizes that something is wrong. The umpire calls time out and Charlie jumps off from his position in the stands and runs out. Faye follows. His whole little league team including his coach comes out to second base.
His coach moves the other team out of his way to get to Mike. "Let me see, Mike."
"No, Coach. It hurts. Ow!" Mike doesn't want anyone to touch his throbbing arm.
"Mike, please let me have a look. I'll be gentle, OK?"
Mike reluctantly lets his coach take his arm so that he can have a look. There's dirt on his arm and a couple of scratches from the slide.
Charlie arrives quickly followed by Faye.
"What happened?" Charlie looks to the kids around.
The shortstop, George, speaks up and says, "I fell on him after I caught the throw, sir."
"Mike, sweetie, what's wrong?" His aunt is frantic.
After testing the arm with a few gentle touches and shouts of "Ow," and "That hurts!" from Mike, the coach says, "I think it's broken. You'll have to go to the hospital to get it set."
Charlie looks at Faye and Tom and says, "Faye, can you take Mike to the hospital? I have to go get the insurance papers that June sent with Mike. Tom, can you walk home after the game yourself?"
Tom was about to protest, when Mike speaks up and says, "Can Tom come to the hospital, too?"
Looking at the coach, who nods, Charlie says, "OK."
"Charlie, why don't you drive us to the hospital and then go get the insurance papers? Driving would be faster than walking home and then to the hospital."
"Sure, Faye." Charlie then picks Mike up and carries him off the field followed by Faye and Tom. The team on the field goes back to their positions. The next batter goes to get his bat. The coach asks Jim to run for Mike and gets the rest of the team back to the bench.
As Charlie is heading to the parking lot with Mike in his arms, Mike can hear one of the umpire say, "Play Ball."
The drive to the hospital is quick but painful for Mike. He tries to sit as still as possible but he still slides a little on the faux leather seat in the front and any unexpected movement causes pain, but Mike doesn't cry out. He only grits his teeth more to brace the pain.
Charlie carries Mike into the hospital emergency department followed by Faye and Tom. The nurse at the desk looks up and says, "Charlie, Faye, what brings you here?"
"Rita, Mike broke his arm sliding into second."
"Oh no, Mike. Were you safe?"
Mike manages a small smile and says, "Yes."
"Why don't you come this way to treatment room three? Dr. Miskall will be with you shortly. He's transferring a concussion to overnight observation right now." Rita leads them all to the treatment room.
When they get to the room, there is a bed and a couple of chairs. Faye gently touches Charlie's arm and says, "Why don't you put him down on the bed, Charlie, and go get the insurance papers from the house? You might want to call your parents or Millie when you're there."
Charlie gently lays Mike on the bed and says, "You'll be OK here with Mike and Tom?"
"We'll be fine."
"I'll be back soon."
Five minutes later, Dr. Miskall arrives.
"Faye, Tom, Mike."
"Bob." Faye says in greeting. It's then that Mike realizes that Dr. Miskall is a member of his Uncle Charlie's lawn bowling team.
Turning to Mike, the doctor says, "I hear that you slid into second safely. Way to go, buddy! "
Mike manages a wane smile and says, "But I broke my arm when George fell on it."
"Let's have a look."
Dr. Miskall gently examines Mike's arm for about a minute asking Mike whether it hurt when he does this or that and sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.
"Yup, looks like it's broken, but we'll need an X-ray to make sure before we put a cast on it. Sorry, Mike, it looks like your baseball season is over until next year."
Mike nods dejectedly.
"Nurse Rita will take you down to X-ray and when you come back up here, we'll put a cast on it."
Rita is waiting at the door with a wheelchair. After Dr. Miskall leaves, Rita comes in with the wheelchair and helps Mike get into it.
"Faye, you and Tom will have to wait here. Only patients can go down to X-ray. Maybe you want to fill in some paperwork while you wait?" says Rita as she's moving bits in the wheel chair to get it ready to go. "Here you go." Rita hands Faye a clipboard with some forms on it.
Faye takes the clipboard, nods and motions Tom to remain seated.
As he is wheeled to the elevator, Mike asks, "Will the X-ray hurt?"
"Nope. We're just taking special pictures of your arm so we know where it broke and how to fix it."
"OK."
Mike is quiet until they get to the door with the sign that says, X-ray.
Mike recognizes the X-ray technician as Mr. Lowry, his aunt and uncle's next-door neighbor. "Hi, Mr. Lowry."
"Hi Mike, I hear you broke your arm sliding into second. You finally did it. Were you safe?"
"Yes, sir." Mike had been telling Mr. Lowry all summer about how he wanted to learn to slide.
"That's great! Let's get this X-ray done and over with."
Mr. Lowry asks Mike to stand up against the table that they are going to put Mike's arm on. He then takes Mike's arm, puts it on the table and lays it out just so. He then puts a lead apron over Mike's body and tells him to hold still. With both Rita and Mr. Lowry behind the technician's screen, Mr. Lowry presses a button and says, "We're done."
"That's it?" asks Mike incredulously.
"Yup. We're just taking a special picture." Mr. Lowry then takes the apron from Mike. Rita helps Mike get back into the wheelchair.
"Bye, Mr. Lowry" says Mike when Rita starts to wheel him out of the X-ray room.
"See you later, Mike."
When they get back to the treatment room, Faye is just finishing up the paperwork. Charlie is there with Mike's grandparents and his Aunt Millie.
Mike's grandmother goes to him first and says, "How are you holding up, dear?"
"I'm OK, Granny. My arm hurts but I slid into second base and didn't get tagged out."
"That's wonderful, Mike. Dr. Miskall will help you get better."
Millie kneels in front of Mike and says, "Great job! You'll have to tell me all about the play later."
Just then, Dr. Miskall comes into the crowded room.
"Wow! Looks like the whole family is here. I just got the film from Alan and let's just take a look here." Dr. Miskall puts the film on the light box and turns it on.
Pointing to the line that is visible on the film, Dr Miskall says, "Looks like a single non-displaced fracture of the right radius. We won't have to reset the bone, but you'll need a cast, Mike."
"Oh."
"It's not all that bad, Mike. You can get people to sign it."
"How long, Doc?" asks Mike's grandfather.
"Six to eight weeks, most likely."
"Are there other precautions we'll have to take?" asks Mike's grandmother.
"He'll have to make sure the cast stays dry, so no swimming and no showering or bathing unless the cast is completely covered up in plastic." Seeing the worried faces, Dr. Miskall continues, "Don't worry, we'll send an instruction sheet home."
Turning to Rita, Dr. Miskall says, "Rita, can you get the kit for putting a cast on a child's arm. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask all but one of you to wait in the waiting room."
Looking at Mike, Dr Miskall asks, "Mike, which adult did you want to be with you when we put your cast on?"
Without hesitation, Mike says, "Aunt Millie."
As Mike's grandparents, his aunt and uncle and Tom file out of the treatment room, Rita says, "I'll get Margaret who's at the desk right now to give you a set of instructions on how to deal with a cast."
After everyone left, Dr. Miskall says, "Have a seat on the bed, Mike, while I get ready to put a cast on you."
Aunt Millie helps Mike out of the wheelchair and onto the bed.
"Will he need to undress, Doctor?" asks Aunt Millie.
"Yes, so that the plaster of Paris doesn't ruin his clothing, but we'll have to cut his uniform shirt off of him. Did you bring another shirt for him?"
"No, but I can ask my sister-in-law to get one."
"Do that as he will need something to go home in."
"Don't go, Aunt Millie." Mike pleads not only with his words but his eyes.
"I'll have Rita let Faye know for you."
"Thanks, doctor." Millie shushes Mike as she holds him and brushes his hair from his forehead with her fingers. "I'm right here, Mike."
When Rita returns with the kit, Dr. Miskall speaks to her in a low tone that Mike can't make out and she leaves again.
Dr. Miskall washes his hands, disinfects them and starts to lay the kit out.
Millie helps Mike out of his pants and unbuttons his shirt. When Rita returns, she cuts the shirt on the right side so that they can get it out of the way. Rita hands Millie a hospital gown and Millie helps Mike into it as best as she can, leaving the right arm undressed.
Rita takes a small basin of water and starts washing the rest of the dirt off of Mike's arm that was still on him from sliding into second. Millie takes a cloth and helps with wiping the dirt off Mike's face and his upper torso so that there's less bathing required later.
Rita then disinfects the area where the cast will be going. Mike flinches when she hits the small scrapes resulting from the slide.
As the preparation is being done, the doctor gets the plaster of paris ready and laying out the bandages that he was going to wrap on Mike's arm.
"Are we ready?" asks Dr. Miskall.
"Yes, doctor," says Rita.
"Now, Mike, I'm going need you to hold your arm out as best you can. Rita is going to help you hold your arm up and I'm going to put these bandages around your arm. Let me know if anything hurts." Dr. Miskall rolls the prep tray over with all that he needs.
As Rita is helping Mike hold his arm out, Dr. Miskall wraps Mike's arm in several layers of soft cotton bandage. Then he takes the plaster of paris bandages and soaks them in water. Once it's soaked up the water, the doctor wraps the first set of bandages up in the plaster of paris bandages. Within minutes, the plaster of paris hardens enough for Mike to put his arm down. The doctor then asks Rita to put his arm in a sling. Throughout this whole ordeal, Mike is quiet and holding onto Millie's hand with his good left hand, gripping it as necessary.
"All done, Mike. How do you feel?"
"Still hurts, doctor."
"I'll give your aunt a prescription for some painkillers that you'll have to take for a few days." Dr. Miskall has his prescription pad out and is writing the prescription as he speaks. "You'll probably feel drowsy on them, but sleeping will help it heal. In six weeks, you can come back and we'll have a look at it and decide the course of action then."
"I won't be here in six weeks." Mike says sadly.
Aunt Millie speaks up. "He'll be back with my sister in San Francisco when school starts in a few weeks." Dr. Miskall gives Millie the prescription.
"Well then, have her take him to his family doctor when he's back in San Francisco and they will assess the situation there."
"Can we get his medical report so that they will know what happened?"
"You or someone else in the family can come by tomorrow morning and have the report copied."
"Thank you, doctor."
Dr. Miskall holds out his hand for Mike to shake and then realizes that it's Mike's right hand that's in the cast and sling, so he switches it to hold it up for a high-five.
"High five, Mike."
Mike gives the doctor a weak high five with his good hand.
"Take care, Mike." Doctor Miskall leaves the treatment room.
"Bye, Dr. Miskall."
Faye enters the room shortly there after with a new shirt for Mike.
Rita starts to clean up the treatment room. Faye and Millie help Mike get dressed. Millie takes Mike's cut up uniform. When they have everything, they head out of the treatment room to the waiting room where the family had been waiting.
When Mike gets out to the waiting room, Mike's grandfather is collecting the bill for the treatment and everyone approaches Mike. Mike's grandmother kneels down to Mike's level and says, "You'll be staying at Granny and Grandpa's the next two weeks, where I can spoil you. OK?"
"OK." Mike nods.
"Did someone call June yet?" asks Aunt Millie.
"We'll do that when we get home, so that Mike can talk to her." Mike's grandmother gives Millie the look.
"OK. Mother, can you and Dad get a ride from Charlie and Faye? Mike has a prescription for painkillers. I can take the prescription to George to get it filled and bring it over. I'll grab Mike's stuff from Faye and Charlie's on the way, pick up Wanda at the same time and bring the stuff over." Mike's grandmother nods and Millie heads off.
Mike's grandfather is finally done and approaches the group. "Where did Millie go?"
"She has to get Mike's prescription filled, get Mike's stuff and bring Wanda back. Let's get going, it's past Mike and Tom's bedtime."
When they arrive at Mike's grandparent's home, Mike's grandmother helps Mike change into his pajamas and Mike's grandfather tries to reach Mike's mother on the phone with no luck.
"Got the answering machine, again. Where the heck is she? Sorry, Mike. If your mother calls back, we'll wake you up to talk to her."
Millie arrives with Mike's prescription, her roommate Wanda and Mike's suitcase that was at Charlie and Faye's.
"Mom, George says that these will knock Mike out until the morning and to use them judiciously." Millie hands the prescription bottle to Mike's grandmother. Turning to Mike, Millie says, "Your Uncle George and Aunt Sarah will come by with Janice tomorrow to see you. Alright?"
Mike's grandmother hands Mike a pill and a glass of water. Mike swallows it and says goodnight.
"Let us take him upstairs, Mom."
"Alright, Millie. He's staying in the guest room."
Millie and Wanda go upstairs with Mike. Wanda folds down the blankets on the bed, while Millie helps him with the night time routine since it will be difficult for him to use the bathroom on his own until the cast completely dries. They then tuck him in and stay with him until he's asleep.
The last thing Mike hears before the painkillers take effect is Aunt Wanda saying, "Such a beautiful boy. It's a shame that his parents don't want to spend time with him much."
The next morning, Mike wakes up and he hears his grandfather shouting at someone on the phone. "—I don't care when you came home last night, June. You should have called to find out about your son. It's not some stranger you'd be calling. It's your parents." The person on the other side, presumably his mother, says something that he can't make out and his grandfather shouts again, "Maybe you didn't care to find out but maybe the boy's father would have wanted to know?"
"Walter, lower your voice. Mike is sleeping." Mike hears his grandmother say.
Mike takes the opportunity to get up and open the door to the bedroom. "I'm not sleeping anymore, Granny."
Mike's grandmother makes a lower the volume gesture to Mike's grandfather, who is still talking to Mike's mother. "Mike, how are you feeling this morning?"
"A little sleepy still, but I need to use the bathroom and I need help."
"Of course, Mike." His grandmother steers him to the bathroom.
When they are done in the bathroom and comes out, Mike's grandfather hands the phone to his grandmother, who takes it. "June, dear. How nice to hear from you. Mike just woke up. He's still a little sleepy and he needs some help with various everyday things, but he seems OK. Did you want to talk to him?" His mother says something on the other side of the line. "Here you go, Mike. Your mother."
Mike takes the phone with his left hand and says, "Hi Mom."
"I hear you broke your arm."
"Yes. I slid into second base and George fell on it when he tried to catch the throw."
"Of course, dear. Are you being a good boy to Granny and Grandpa? I hear you'll be staying with them for the next few weeks."
"Yes, Mom."
"I'll see you in a few weeks."
"OK."
"Bye, Michael."
"Bye, Mom."
Mike hands the phone back to his grandmother, who speaks a few words with Mike's mother before she hangs the phone up.
The rest of Mike's summer is more subdue than before he broke his arm, but is no less exciting. Bathroom activities are difficult at first while the cast dries, with Mike requiring help every time he went. Eating required that his grandmother cut his food for him like a little baby and having to use his left hand to hold his fork. Bathing became a once every three-day activity, as wrapping that arm up was more difficult than originally anticipated until Aunt Wanda devised a plastic sleeve for him. After that, Mike still needed help with bathing but at least it could be done daily now.
Uncle George, Aunt Sarah and Janice came by the first day to see how he was. Tom came over every morning to tell him about the goings on in town. Aunt Millie was by daily after work. Various people he knew also came by that first week when he was to be careful.
After the first week, he went with his Uncle Charlie and Tom to the teams games in the evening. His baseball team showed up the day before he was to head back to San Francisco to show him the trophy they won after they won the game wherein Mike broke his arm and clinched a playoff berth. Everyone signed his cast.
When it came time to leave for the train station, Mike was really sad. With his cast, he couldn't hug everyone like he wanted to. He was happy that Aunt Millie and Aunt Wanda were coming on the train with him to San Francisco. They were going to San Diego for a week's vacation and offered to stop in San Francisco to take him to his mother's.
When they got to his mother's, Aunt Millie and Aunt Wanda stayed for dinner before heading back to the train station. After they left, his mother groused about the fact that his school uniform will never fit over the cast. At school, all his friends and even a few teachers signed the cast. A week later, when his Dad got home, Mike was surprised to learn that he didn't even know that Mike had broken his arm. His Dad almost always called after Mike went to bed, so he didn't get a chance to tell him personally. Mike heard words between his parents that night about his Mom not telling his Dad about the broken arm.
Finally, June took him to his doctor six weeks after the cast was put on and they changed it to a removable cast that he could take off so that he could bath and shower, which brought great relief to Mike as his mother never liked to help him bath and made it into more of a chore than it should have been. Two weeks after that he didn't need the removable cast anymore either. Mike kept both casts proudly displayed in his room until his mother moved them to Connecticut one summer without letting him know. He couldn't find the casts after that and his mother said that it must have been the movers who lost them. Funny thing though, none of his other treasures were missing.