Chapter Six
Hoshi had been hooked up to IVs and various machines. His skin was almost completely pale. James watched his brother from a window outside of his room. "what happened to him?" he asked looking at his mom. "he collapsed at work. Ben found him unresponsive in the break room." James looked back at his brother. "they won't let us into the room until he's woken up." Bronwyn brought her hands up to her chest. "my poor baby." She sniffed. "did they say the cause?" Bronwyn wiped a tear away from her eye. "he had overworked himself. He wasn't't taking care of himself enough." James sighed. Penny put a hand on Bronwyn's shoulder. "me and James can watch him for you if you want to go home." She suggested. Bronwyn hesitated. She did't want to leave Hoshi. "he'll be in good hands." Comforted Penny. "we'll let you know if anything changes." Bronwyn looked at Hoshi again before walking away from them. Penny put her arm around James gently. James stayed quiet for a long time. A nurse walked up to them. "excuse me, are you guys related to Mr. Gekko?" Penny pointed to James. "he's his brother and I'm one of their family friends." The nurse nodded. "I was told to inform you that visiting hours have sadly end. However, we do have a room available if you guys still wanted to stay with him overnight." James nodded. "if we could please." The nurse lead them to a separate hallway. She showed them a room that had a queen-sized bed in the middle of the room, a couple of armchairs off to the side in front of a window, and a Tv that sat on a dresser. The nurse motioned to the dresser. "in the bottom drawers, there's some sheets and some blankets. In one of the middle drawers, there are some pillows." The nurse then let them be. "you take the bed, Penny." Said James. Penny looked at him. "you sure?" he nodded. "yeah, I'll be okay sleeping in a chair. Before long the both of them settled down for the night. James leaned back in the chair. It wasn't very comfortable but it would do for now. He soon drifted off to sleep.
The alarm went off at five am that morning. James got up from the chair. He turned the alarm off. He heard Penny stir from her sleep. "go back to sleep Penny." He whispered. She yawned at him before drifting off again. James decided to check on his brother. Hoshi hadn't changed much since being admitted. He was still unconscious. James put his hand on the window. He felt bad for his brother. "dad, please watch over Hoshi. He took over once you passed away. It's not fair for him to be this sick." He stood there for a while. A doctor walked in to take Hoshi's vitals. He saw the concerned look on the doctor's face as he scribbled down something on Hoshi's chart. The alarm on Hoshi's heart monitor sounded. Hoshi's heart rate had picked up. Hoshi's eyes fluttered open. He had some trouble trying to breathe. He put a hand over his throat. James watched the nurses quickly rush in. They put an oxygen mask over Hoshi's mouth gently. The doctor managed to hold Hoshi down while the head nurse injected Hoshi with a medication to calm down. Hoshi took in ragged breaths. He saw his brother. He gave his brother a desperate look of "Help me" James darted into the room. "Hoshi it's okay." He took his brother's hand. "you're going to be okay." Hoshi finally calmed. "you wanna tell me how the fuck I ended up here?" James laughed softly under his breath. "you collapsed at work. Ben called the hospital and had them bring you here." Hoshi let out a groan. "great another expense that I'll have to worry about." Hoshi pulled out of James' grasp. He pulled the blanket up past his shoulders.
James stayed with his brother for a few hours. "so when are you and Penny going to hook up?" teased Hoshi. James blushed madly. "you can't hide the fact that you have a gigantic crush on her from me. You've been fawning over her for weeks." James looked down. "I don't know. I am kind of young." Hoshi rolled his eyes. "dude, your thirty. You can do whatever the hell you want to. If you want to date a girl who's older then you, you can. There's no law that says you can't." James shifted uncomfortably. Hoshi yawned. "now if you don't mind your big brother has to get some rest." He closed his eyes drifting off. James left his brother to rest in peace. Penny was down in the cafeteria. She had her phone in her hand. She heard James walk in. "so, how is he?" she asked. James smiled. "he just woke up, after having had a huge panic attack, but other than that he's doing okay." She sighed in relief. "did you already eat?" she motioned to the empty foam plate. "you tell me." He sat down next to her. "you may want to get something. We'll need to head off to work once you do."
James and Penny arrived at the station. Sam closed one of Jupiter's lockers. "good morning you two." Penny smiled. "morning Sam." Sam looked at his clipboard. "James, you have your first night shift with Elvis and Arnold." James dipped his head at his Uncle. "I'll have to leave early though. My brother is in the hospital." Sam lowered the clipboard. "Bronwyn came by to tell me that earlier this morning. I'm sorry he's in the hospital. I hope he does get better." Sam coughed in his hand. "right well you guys still have jobs to do." Penny tended to Venus. James tapped her shoulder. "Oh Penny, I have something that I want to ask you." She raised an eyebrow at him gesturing for him to continue. "I was wondering if you would like to go out one evening. Just you and me." Penny sensed how uncomfortable James was about asking her this. His body language spoke a lot about it. She smiled slightly. "I don't see why not. It's been awhile since I've had a nice evening. Pick me up on Saturday at 7." James leaned back against Jupiter. His heart was racing.
James went to see his mom when he had his break. "I'm glad he's finally woken up. I was about ready to go and see him anyway." She commented as she was getting her bag together. "oh, and Mom, I have a date with Penny on Saturday." Added James. She grinned at him. "that's good. Penny is a nice lady. I'm sure she'll be happy with you taking her out for the evening." James let out a mental sigh of relief. His mother was usually tolerate of a lot of things. "did you want me to fix you some lunch?" she asked. James snapped out of his thoughts. "sure, if you want. I have some time before I head back to the station anyway. Oh, and that reminds me, I won't be home tonight. I've got my first night shift with Elvis and Arnold." Bronwyn chuckled. "oh boy, those two are always a riot when their together. I hope tonight is a quiet night for you. PontyPandy seems to be watching itself a lot lately." James ate lunch before leaving his mom's café. He tucked his hands into his pockets. The weather was reasonably fair. He went down to the beach. He spotted a blonde-haired man sitting on one of the rocks. "Winter?" Winter jumped hearing his name being called. "I wasn't aware that you were in town." Winter crowed. "I wanted me arriving back from my travels to be a surprise. You are about the first person to see me." James scratched behind his head. "Word on the street tells me you're a fireman now." Commented Winter as James put the kettle on for them. James nods. "yep. I have been for a month now. I really like my job." Winter chuckled. "just like your Uncle. I can see your wanting to be just like him." James put Winter's cup down in front of him. Winter took a sip of his tea. "it's always nice to have more heroes around here." Winter and James talked for about an hour. "I've got to get back. It was nice talking to you Winter." Winter nods. "always good to share a conversation with a friend."
James made sure his mother's café was locked up while she was gone. He strolled into the fire station. The roof above him was vibrating from Elvis' radio. Arnold's voice piped up in protest. He heard Elvis lower the volume of his music. James just shook his head. He helped Penny finish cleaning Venus.
I really hope you guys have been enjoying this story so far. I know there isn't much of a plot but I figured it was a nice break from what I normally write. I do appreciate feedback but please do not PM me about character motives. As a writer I can't give away the aces I have hidden in my sleeves. Plus it spoils the surprise. If you wish to ask a question you may but please do not proceed to spam my pm with five subjects in one sitting. It's rather unnerving and unorganized.
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Adieu
Melonsworth