Hi! I'm back, thanks to everyone who's reviewed, favourite and followed so far and let's crack on.
There is mention of medical procedures in this chapter which I have researched on the internet. I am not a qualified anything and therefore this information may be slightly inaccurate. If it is – blame the internet.
BTW: I nearly cried towards the end of the chapter. Just warning you.
See chapter 1 for the disclaimer.
When Scrooge and Launchpad went back into the kitchen it was to see that Gyro was shaking Mrs Beakley's shoulders and saying loudly. "Bentina. Can you hear me?"
He waited a couple of seconds then after getting no response tutted slightly and got a stethoscope out his little medical bag and proceeded to listen to her heartbeat.
Scrooge looked round the kitchen, checking where everyone was. Launchpad was still standing next to him, the kids where sitting at the table, watching intently, and Donald was on one of the kitchen stools alternating between looking out the window and at Mrs B.
"Her heartbeats' rapid." Gyro announced, putting the stethoscope away. "She's definitely unconscious. Can one of you get me a pillow? Like stat, would be good."
As Launchpad all but ran out the room Gyro loosened Bentina's collar a bit and also undid the first button of her blouse.
"What are you doing?" Dewey asked from his chair, curiously.
"I'm following first aid guide which is to loosen any restrictive clothing and/or belts so the person can breathe better. When Launchpad comes back with – ah, there he is." Gyro snatched the pillow out his hands and put it under Beakley's les, thereby lifting them off the ground. "Thanks." He added, clearly as an afterthought.
"What are you-?" Dewey knelt on his chair to get a better view. "Why are you lifting her legs? What does that-?"
"Be quiet. I need to time this." Gyro said, bluntly looking at his watch.
Up until this point Huey had been reading the JWG, now that he had an appropriate opportunity he read out loud. "The reason you lift the victim's leg is to help improve blood flow to the brain and other vital organs."
"Wait." Louie said, flapping his arms to get his brothers attention. "I though you weren't meant to move someone if they might have a spine injury? Isn't that where we were?"
All heads turned to Gyro, who held up a hand. After a couple of seconds he looked at Bentina and said. "Still not woke up. Great." He stood up, dusting himself down. "There's no other way about it, Mr McDuck, you're going to have to call an ambulance."
"Why didn't we just start with that?" Webby burst out, making everyone in the room jump.
As Scrooge disappeared from the room to call the ambulance, Donald tried to explain. "It's all happened very suddenly Webby. You guys only got back forty-five minutes ago. Lena only left twenty-five minutes ago…"
"I told you she had a subway car fall on her! Louie's right – what about spinal injury?"
"Of course if I thought she had a spinal injury then I wouldn't have moved her at all and would have instructed Mr McDuck to call an ambulance straight away. However it's not possible that she could have a spinal injury..."
"How do you know!?"
"Because she walked in the house, Webbigail." Gyro stated, calmly. Webby stopped dead at that, staring into space.
Looking straight at her, Gyro said. "If she had a spinal injury she would not have had been able to walk. She'd have been paralysed. That's what a spinal injury entails. You're little friend Lara-"
"Lena." Webby corrected automatically.
"Lena, would have to had come running through the underground system to find you if that had happened. Do you understand now?"
Scrooge came back into the room, just in time to hear that last sentence and was just in the process of smacking himself in the face when Webby burst out laughing.
"Of course! I'm an idiot! Oh – dang it, Lena! She's the one who got it into my head…"
"She probably felt obliged to mention it." Huey offered, making the final touches to his get-well card.
"I'm surprised your precious JWG didn't point that out." Louie snarked, holding his own card up and admiring it.
Just as Huey was about to leap to the guidebooks defence, Donald spoke in a low melancholy voice. "It's not the books fault. It's not your fault. None of us thought of that. If anything it's Scrooges and myself's faults. We're the adults; we should have realised it didn't add up."
There was an awquad pause, which was broken by Scrooge saying lightly. "It looks like ah may hav' ta put off makin' a second of that guidebook for now."
It wasn't a particularly hilarious sentence but everyone started laughing and when they started the couldn't stop and carried on for about thirty seconds.
It was Launchpad who drew them all back to reality. "Are those sirens?"
"The ambulance!" Webby squealed and for the second time that day, ran to the door.
"About time." Scrooge said, trying to regain his stern composure.
Gyro checked his watch. "In all fairness, Mr McDuck two minutes isn't bad-"
The room fell silent as the paramedics walked in. "Where's the patient?" One of them asked.
"Where do you think?" Scrooge snapped. "It's the only person lying unconscious on the floor, lass."
"Any idea what happened?" The other one asked, as the first one got to work.
After a nod from Scrooge, Gyro concisely outlined everything that had happened.
"You have medical experience, do you sir?" The first paramedic asked, as she finished checking Bentina's vital signs.
"A little." Gyro said, surprisingly modestly. "I work more in the field of engineering."
"Ah. So, any theories about what's wrong with her that you think we should know."
"I personally think she might have some fractured or cracked ribs." The scientist said, surprising everyone. "I know she wasn't complaining of pain, but she wouldn't. She ridiculously tough, you see."
The second paramedic nodded as between them they lifted Bentina up on a stretcher. "Very well. We'll tell the doctors. Now try not to worry everyone, by the sound of her, I'm sure Bentina here will be fine." With that the two of them carefully walked out of house and loaded her in the ambulance.
Webby watched from the window-sill, feeling a pit of despair in her stomach. She couldn't lose her granny, she couldn't.
She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned round to see Scrooge smiling sadly down at her. "C'mon lass." He said softly, squeezing her shoulder. "The paramedics said she should be fine, didn't they?"
"Should be." Webby muttered, putting hand against the glass.
Scrooge sighed. "There's nothing more we cahn do now, darling'. Now, I know you're worried but it is half past six and we all need some food-"
"-I'm not hungry."
For the third time the old man sighed, before kneeling down next to her. "Webbigail, starving' yourself isn't going to help your granny. She'll feel much better knowing you've been looked after and had some food and drink. I know you don't want to eat much, so Donald said he'd make you some cheese on toast. Just a couple of bites, with a brew? Sound good?"
Webby stared into the distance. The ambulance had long gone. She gave a little sigh and nodded, before proceeding to burst into tears.
"I know darlin'." Scrooge said, truthfully as he rubbed her back is little circles. "There we go. Let it all out." Despite his last sentence, he was not expecting her to throw her arms around him as she did and sob. "I know. It's been a long day, hasn't it? Now, c'mon we'll go to the kitchen." Seeing she was in no position to walk herself he found himself picking her up and carrying her to the kitchen, mentally hoping that Bentina would be alright.