I'm Right Here by Rose Haze
Disclaimer: I do not own The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up!
Chapter Nine
The Next Morning
The greatest advantage of living in a large family is that early lesson of life's essential unfairness." –Nancy Mitford
Sunlight bled into the hospital room. In two identical hospital beds lay two identical twin boys. The smaller of the two boys was hooked up to a heart monitor, a respirator, and an IV, and a feeding tube. The bigger one was just waking up.
Zack Martin pulled the covers over his head and snuggled into his pillow. Something didn't seem right...Zack felt different—like he was facing a different direction than usual or something. It smelled weird too—like disinfectant. Why did his sheets seem thinner? Why was his pillow so flat? Why did his mattress feel so stiff? And why did it seem so bright through his closed eyelids? He wanted to yell at Cody for having the light on so early in the morning. That's when it hit him...Cody.
The memories from the night before came flooding back into his head. He remembered starting trouble back at the hotel which caused his mom to be late to pick up Cody from the library. Now Cody was in a coma... Zack shuddered. He remembered everything the doctors said about Cody's condition. And none of it was good.
Zack opened his eyes. The bright lights of the hospital room were like needles in his eyes. He shook his head and blinked. For a second he wondered how he ended up in the bed. He figured that his father—or someone—must have carried him over from the chair he had next to Cody's bed.
He rubbed his eyes and sat up. He looked around. Carey was sitting in the chair next to Cody's bed. She was holding his hand and speaking to him in a low, soothing voice.
Zack got out of bed and walked over to Carey and Cody.
"Mom."
Carey looked up at the sound of his voice.
"Morning, sweetheart," she said with a sort-of smile. She turned back to Cody, "Zack's here with me, Cody. He just woke up."
Zack shifted uncomfortably. He could tell that his mom wanted him to talk to Cody, but he didn't want to. He didn't like talking to Cody because he didn't think that Cody could hear him. But for his mother's sake, he quietly muttered, "Hey, Cody."
Carey stood up and went to the door. There was another chair up against the wall. On the chair there were two paper grocery bags. Carey picked one up and handed it to Zack.
Maddie brought some of our stuff over this morning," Carey told him, "I called her last night because I realized that I didn't need her to baby-sit since we'd be here. She asked if there was anything she could do, so after you fell asleep last night I asked her if she could bring some of our cloths and stuff over here to the hospital."
"M-Maddie was here?" Zack repeated huskily.
"Yeah, for a couple minutes," said Carey, "She had to go to school but she stopped in for a little. She was really upset about Cody. She said that she would come back again before she has to work this afternoon."
Zack was only vaguely listening to what his mother was saying. He was thinking about Maddie—the girl of his dreams. It was nice of her to help out like that. He couldn't help but feel a tiny bit excited that she would be coming to visit that afternoon.
"Why don't you get dressed and brush your teeth," suggested Carey, "than we can go get some breakfast downstairs."
Zack didn't want to leave Cody's room, but his stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day before. He reluctantly pulled a toothbrush and a change of clothes out of the brown paper bag. But when he saw the clothes he pulled out, he stopped dead.
In his hands he was holding his read sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, and boxers...his yellow boxers with the pink smiley faces all over him—the ones his friend gave to him for his birthday as a joke—the mosthumiliating ones he owned and never wore. A flaming blush crept across his cheeks as he pictured Maddie going through his and Cody's dresser drawers and picking out the most embarrassing underwear he owned. Shaking with frustration and misplaced anger he looked at his mom.
"How could you do this to me?" he asked in a low, accusing voice.
Carey frowned, "how could I do what to you?"
"This!" he shouted, flinging the stack of clothes at her, "Now Maddie probably thinks that I am the biggest loser ever, and it's all your fault!"
"Zack, what are you talking about?" she asked, "Why would Maddie—and how is it my fault?"
He grabbed the clothes out of Carey's hands, "You wouldn't understand," he said loudly, "but because of you, now Maddie must think I'm a total idiot. She probably thinks I'm a dork like...like Cody!"
As those final words escaped from his mouth, Zack's eyes grew wide and his heart skipped a beat.
'How could I have said that!' He wondered silently, 'What the hell is wrong with me?'
"What the hell is wrong with you!" yelled Carey, echoing his thoughts.
Cody groaned and began to mumble incoherently. Zack's heart leapt for a split second, but Cody's eyes remained closed. His eyebrows were knitted together, and although the respirator covered his mouth, Zack could see that the corners of his lips were turned down. Zack remembered the doctors saying that they were supposed to stay positive when they were with Cody.
Carey ran her fingers through Cody's—now clean—hair and rested her hand on his forehead.
"It's okay, sweetie," she whispered, "Everything's okay."
Zack looked worriedly at his brother. His grimace was slowly fading away as Carey comforted him.
"Zack," Carey said in a calm, almost patronizing tone of voice, "Do you want to tell me what's wrong without raising your voice?"
"What do you think is wrong?" he whispered through gritted teeth, "Cody's in a coma, Maddie thinks I'm a baby, and...and"
He stepped closer to Cody's bed. Seeing him like that still made him want to cry...but he was not going to cry.
He tried not to think about it. He searched his brain for something happy to think of...something like Maddie...but he didn't want to think about her at the moment.
"Everything's ruined," he muttered.
Carey watched him as he walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth and change his clothes. She sighed, he wasn't handling the situation very well. But she couldn't blame him. This was extremely hard for him. Like her, Zack loved Cody very much.
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At around noon, Mrs. King returned to the hospital with a few dishes of food. It took awhile, but Carey managed to coax Zack out of Cody's room. After breakfast that morning, Zack returned to the chair next to Cody's bed. He didn't say a single word during the hours that he sat there. He just held Cody's hand and gently stroke it with his thumb. When Carey finally talked Zack into leaving to eat lunch, they went outside to eat in the courtyard.
Samantha carried the food that Mrs. King left them outside and Kurt, Carey, and Zack soon joined her.
"Is Cody doing better today?" Samantha asked as they sat down at a picnic table by a small pond. She hadn't seen Cody at all yet because the night before they only allowed members of the immediate family in to see him.
"No," Carey said coldly, "There haven't been any changes."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Mmhmm," murmured Carey as she began to uncover the dishes.
Mrs. King went all out. She made chicken salad and croissants and a cherry pie. There was a large covered pitcher of pink lemonade and she even included napkins, paper plates, forks, and cups.
Zack, who discovered the over used cliché that hospital food tasted terrible was very true, was grateful that Mrs. King was such a good cook.
After lunch I'm going to take Sam up to see Cody," Kurt announced as he scooped some of the chicken salad onto his croissant, "She would like to see him."
Carey took a huge bite so that she didn't have to say anything.
Kurt and Samantha exchanged knowing glances.
"I was talking to Dr. Harrison earlier this morning," said Kurt, trying to break the silence, "He said that they could do another surgery to repair the damages to his lungs. It could get him off the respirator."
"I know all this," said Carey, "Dr. Harrison told me we could discuss the possibilities of another operation later today."
Zack looked up, surprised, "Why didn't you tell me that?"
"Because I haven't decided if I want him to have the surgery right away."
"Why not? Don't you want Cody to get better?"
"Zack, of course I want him to get better," said Carey, "But I don't think it would be a good idea for him to have two surgeries in two days."
"Well what did Dr. Harrison say? He wouldn't suggest it if it were a bad idea, right?" asked Zack.
"I'll be talking to Cody's doctors later today," Kurt said, "I want to hear his opinion. I trust him enough—"
"Why do you keep saying 'I'?" Carey cut in, "It's my decision."
"Carey, he's my son too."
"Well I have custody," she retorted.
"And how exactly do you expect to pay all the hospital bills?"
Zack shook his head. He watched as his parents' fight progressed. It was like going back in time. Back when they were married, all they ever did was fight. Zack and Cody had considered it to be a good night if their mother wasn't reduced to tears, and their father was not sleeping on the couch.
He glanced across the picnic table and saw that Samantha looked extremely uncomfortable. But he didn't care.
His parents continued to fire insults back and fourth.
'They need to grow up,' he thought to himself.
He stifled a sigh and picked up his paper plate. He threw it away in a nearby trash can, than went back into the hospital to be with Cody.
To Be Continued...
Many thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Pikke Wood: We'll see about that ;)
Mrs. Ginny Weasley-Potter: It's thirty chapters all together, but I have been making some revisions to the final few chapters, so it might end up being more than that. So I guess I'll be keeping you on the edge of your seat for awhile, lol. Thanks for the review.
Ice Angel Kouro: I'm glad you found my story : ) And I am glad that you like it! No, this isn't a slash. I like reading slash, I just didn't think it would be appropriate for this story. Maybe next time : ) Thanks so much for the review!
Kal's Gal: Of course : )
Cassie: I'm glad you liked it! Everything you said in the review was very nice, and made me extremely happy! I am so happy that you think that it is realistic, because that is the way I wanted it to be! Thank you!
OptimisticGirl94: I'm glad that you liked Cody's P.O.V. There will be another one or two of them, but that's all I'm saying XD Thanks for reviewing!
MaohPrincess: I'll try to tone the angst down, but it'll be hard because angst is what I love : ) Drama!Tears!Hugs! is/are what I live for, lol. Thanks for the review!
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Once again, I am sorry it took so long to get this chapter posted. Please review!
