I'm Right Here by Rose Haze
Disclaimer I do not own The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
Author's Note Oh my goodness… 300 reviews. That made me smile :D Thank you so, so much to everyone who reviewed! Anyways, Happy Friday! On to Chapter 17!
Author's Note part 2 Okay. Here's the deal. I typed this up Friday afternoon. I went to upload it, but the once I got on the internet, my computer kept freezing. So I gave up. On Saturday the computer wasn't freezing anymore, but every time I tried to upload this on the document manager I got a message saying either that there was a time out or that there was an error processing my request. The same thing was happening on Sunday and earlier today. I tried again a few minutes ago, and it finally worked. Yay. I am celebrating now:) So yeah, sorry about the wait, but for once it really wasn't my fault : )
Chapter 17
... And of Friendship
"It would probably be a waterfall" –River Phoenix
Kurt and Samantha braced themselves as they walked into Cody's room.
"We're back," Kurt announced.
David and Lydia stood up and scowled.
"Hello, David," he said nervously, "And Lydia, hello. It's uh, it's been awhile." He held his hand out for them to shake.
Both David and Lydia looked at his hand with disdain.
"Yes," David said sharply, it's been what, five—maybe six years now?"
"More like two," Kurt answered dryly.
"Oh, only two," David repeated, "Well that's definitely not as bad, is it?"
"Look, David, I know I've made some mistakes but—"
"But now that your son is in a coma you're trying to make up for them."
Carey stood up, "Dad, Kurt, stop," she pleaded.
"I can't do that, Carey," said David, "I'm not going to just stand by and let Kurt hurt you and the boys again."
"I don't want to hurt anyone. I never meant to hurt anyone," said Kurt.
Zack shook his head as he watched his dad and his grandfather go at it. His mom and grandma were meekly trying to get them to stop fighting, but it was not working. Nobody was paying attention to him and Cody, and he didn't mind. Not at all—but he really wished that they would just act like grownups.
Cody groaned in discomfort. Zack squeezed his hand and kissed his forehead. He ran his fingers through Cody's hair.
"Shh," he whispered soothingly, "Everything's okay, Cody."
Cody started mumbling incoherently. Zack tried not to get excited about it. Dr. Harrison told them that Cody might do that. But he could not make out any words. Whatever he said sounded like: "Em cant hood in. Emming her two muh. Eye luh vooze ack."
Nobody else heard Cody. They were too busy yelling.
Zack stroked Cody's hair and whispered, "It's alright," over and over again.
After a minute he looked up. His dad and grandfather were still shouting. His mom and grandma were still trying to get them to stop. Samantha was looking at Cody with a very worried expression on her face.
"Carey's the best thing that ever happened to you!" said David.
"Dad, please don't do this right now!"
"I screwed up, I'm admitting it!" Kurt shouted.
"Like hell you did!"
"David! Can you two please calm down?" Lydia interjected.
Samantha shook her head and stepped between the feuding adults.
"Listen," she said forcefully, "I know that you all aren't exactly fond of each other, but can you please lower your voices? All of the negativity you are projecting is bad for Cody."
Everyone stopped shouting and stared at Samantha. Everyone had a different look on their face. Carey looked appalled. Kurt looked proud. Lydia looked ashamed, and David looked confused.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked crassly.
"This is Samantha," Kurt said as he put his arm around her, "my girlfriend."
"Samantha's right," Carey said stubbornly, "If you're going to argue you're going to have to take it outside. You can only say positive things around Cody."
"Oh, they're finished fighting," Lydia said as if she were speaking about children.
"Good," said Carey, "Kurt, there are more chairs if you and Samantha want to sit with us." She returned to her chair without making eye contact with Samantha. She did not want to look at her. How dare that woman speak to her and her family like that? And about her own son too—it was very rude. However, it was very necessary… but Carey hated to admit that.
Lydia looked at Samantha. She did not like her—she made her feel stupid for joining in on the fuss. But despite her embarrassment and her loyalty to Carey, Lydia could not deny that the girl had spunk.
---
At seven o'clock, Zack, Carey, and the grandparents went down to the cafeteria for dinner. Samantha and Kurt ate while they were out, so they stayed with Cody. Mrs. Lloyd was already down there with a tray of lasagna and garlic bread. She was not alone. Max and Tapeworm were sitting silently as she unpacked the food.
"Hello," Mrs. Lloyd said warmly as the group approached her, "How's Cody doing?"
"No changes," Carey replied as she and everyone else sat down.
Mrs. Lloyd sighed, "That's too bad. I hope you don't mind that I brought these two," she said, motioning to Max and Tapeworm, "Christopher has been begging me to bring him to visit Cody. And I know that Maxine really wanted to see him too."
Zack did a double take. Then he realized that 'Christopher' was Tapeworm and 'Maxine' was Max.
'It's good that I know the names of my own friends,' he thought sarcastically.
"I don't mind at all," said Carey, "It would be good for Cody to have more visitors. It'll give him more of a reason to wake up. But they can't go in without an immediate family member, so we'll have to wait until after supper."
"I can take them to see Cody right now," Zack offered.
"I want you to eat something first," Carey said sternly, "you skipped breakfast this morning and you hardly touched your lunch."
Zack reluctantly sat down and accepted the plate of food that Mrs. Lloyd handed him. He mumbled a small thank you, and forced himself to eat.
Carey introduced Mrs. Lloyd to her parents, and the adults talked as they ate. After the scene they caused in Cody's room, it amazed Zack how civilized they were acting now that Kurt was out of the picture.
"Are you okay?"
Zack looked up. Max and Tapeworm were sitting across from him, looking worried.
"Are you okay?" Max repeated.
"Yeah," Zack lied, "I'm fine."
He absently scooped some lasagna onto his fork.
"We're really sorry about Cody." She said.
Zack froze with his fork halfway in his mouth, "Why are you sorry?" he asked irritably, pulling it out, "It's not like he's dead. And it's not like he's going to die. There's nothing to be sorry about."
"I know!" Max said quickly, "I didn't mean it like that."
"Whatever," Zack replied. He shoved the fork into his mouth.
Neither Max nor Tapeworm tried to talk to him again until he finished his dinner.
When he did get finished he was feeling a little bit better. His mom had been right about him needing to eat. Zack didn't mean to snap at Max. It just happened.
They said goodbye to the adults then went upstairs.
When they got in the elevator Tapeworm asked, "Does Cody look better than—you know… how he looked after the accident?"
"What do you mean?" Zack asked.
"Mrs. King told us that his face was all covered with blood after the car hit him. Does he have, like, scars?"
"He has a lot of cuts on his face," Zack said, "And some bruises—there are bruises under his eyes. He has this huge gash in his cheek, but they have him stitches. And he has a scar towards the back of his head, but his bandage covers it."
The elevator stopped and they got out. As they walked down the hall, Zack told them how to behave around Cody.
"The doctors said that Cody might be able to hear us, so we can't say anything bad or sad. We can only say positive things."
"How can he hear us if he's unconscious?" Max asked.
"He's not unconscious," said Zack, "he's in a coma. He's mostly unresponsive but he knows when people are with him."
Max stared at Zack. She was impressed. Usually he was silly and immature. But he was taking this very seriously. He even knew what he was talking about as he explained the whole coma thing.
'He must really love Cody a lot,' Max thought to herself.
Zack stopped in front of a door, "This is Cody's room," he said, "are you guys ready?"
Max and Tapeworm nodded solemnly, and then followed him inside.
---
After Carey left with her parents and Zack, it was only Kurt, Samantha, and of course, Cody.
"Thanks for getting us to shut up," Kurt said, "I don't know what got into me."
Samantha smiled, "I don't think Carey was too happy with me."
"She doesn't like to be showed up," Kurt said, "But somebody had to stop us," he lowered his voice, "I can't believe I let things get so out of hand."
"It's okay," said Samantha, "I'm sure it didn't cause any lasting damage."
Kurt looked at Cody, "I hope not."
Samantha stood up, "I'm going to go outside. I want to call the office and tell them that I might be away for a few extra days. And I need to tell Nicole so she knows to get our mail and all that fun stuff." She kissed him, "I'll be back."
Kurt watched her go. He could tell that she chose that moment to leave so that he could be alone with Cody, and for that he was grateful. He knew that he was sort of late, but he wanted to be able to have a relationship with both of his sons. He could not get Zack alone so they could talk father to son, because Zack would not leave Cody unless Carey forced him to. But now he was alone with Cody, and Cody was not going anywhere.
"Hi, Cody," Kurt said, "It's your dad again. It's just you and me right now. Zack and your mom are downstairs, but they'll be back soon. So will your grandparents and Samantha."
He groaned and buried his face in his hands. Every time he talked to Cody he could not find anything of substance to say. He would say "Hi, Cody," then tell him who it was—that was pretty much how everyone started talking to him. But Kurt did not want to just make small talk. There were some things he wanted to tell Cody. Although he could not be sure Cody could hear him, it was important to him that he tell him what he and Zack meant to him.
Kurt slid his hand next to Cody's and let their fingers intertwine, then he took a deep breath.
"Okay, Cody, I know I haven't been there for you and Zack. It's just—your mom. It's not her fault though. The two of us just don't get along anymore. But I still," he coughed, "I still love you and Zack. I—I wish I could have been a bigger part of your lives. I promise, we'll figure something out. I'll visit you guys and you and Zack can come to Michigan sometimes. If you want to, that is. I'm not going to disappear again."
He gave Cody a kiss on the cheek, 'Things will get better."
After that he did not say anything else. He just sat there and held Cody's hand, hoping that there would be a miracle—that Cody would wake up without any memory loss or brain damage. He silently prayed that he would still have a chance to get to know both of his sons.
A little while later the door opened. Kurt looked up, expecting to see Samantha. But instead he saw Zack and two other kids who he had never seen before.
Zack looked at him, "This is my father," he told his friends, "Dad, this is Max and Tapeworm."
'Max and Tapeworm?' Kurt thought incredulously, 'what kind of a nickname is Tapeworm? Especially for a girl?'
"Hi," he said, trying to hide a smile.
Zack went to the head of Cody's bed and touched his face, "Hey, Cody," he said softly. He moved his thumb up and down, massaging Cody's cheek, "Max and Tapeworm are here to see you."
Max and Tapeworm exchanged nervous glances, then walked closer to the bed.
"Hi, Cody," Tapeworm said quietly.
Zack looked at Max expectantly, waiting for her to say something. But she wasn't even looking at Cody. She was starring at the floor, breathing heavily.
"Max?" Tapeworm asked gently, "Are you okay?"
She looked up, here eyes wide, "yeah… I-uh…" her voice trailed off and she let her gaze travel to Cody's face.
"Max?"
She didn't answer him. Her hands began to shake.
Tapeworm placed his hand on her shoulder, "Max?" he asked urgently, "Max!"
Zack and Kurt went to her.
"Have her sit down," Kurt instructed, "Zack, get her some water."
He spoke in a calm voice to keep the boys from panicking. He tried to keep the surprise that the girl was named Max out of his voice.
'At least that's better than Tapeworm,' he thought.
Before Zack had a chance to get the water, Max snapped out of her trance.
"You should sit down," said Tapeworm.
Max took a step back, "No. I'm fine, I just… I just…"
She turned around and bolted for the door, leaving Zack, Tapeworm, and Kurt starring in shock.
To Be Continued
A/N If anyone could figure out what Cody said while the adults were fighting, you get a prize… but you won't find out until chapter nineteen. Anyways, thanks so much for all the reviews! Please let me know what you thought about chapter seventeen!
Up Next: Chapter 18 Precious Moments
