Well, I apologize for it taking me so long to post another chapter. The last couple of weeks I had semestral exams and the next couple of weeks I'll have family visiting from far away places, several family dinners, several dinners with friends, and withSkyrim coming out I'll be hard-pressed to have a stable upload rate. Or whatever you want to call it. Still, I hope you enjoy this chapter and if I am not able to post before Christmas, Merry Christmas.

-casquis

Chapter LXVI: Hospital Beds

March 17, 2542 (UNSC Calendar)/

UNSC Inconvenience, slipspace

It wasn't dramatic, like in the movies. I was actually aware of my situation a couple of minutes before I decided to go fully awake. It felt like one of those times when you are really exhausted in the morning and delay waking up for as long as possible. Eventually, I got bored of being half-asleep and opened my eyes very slowly, the white light actually hurting my retinas as my eyelids parted. I was resting on my side and not on my back, which meant that either I was having a colonoscopy done or that I had been sleeping instead of comatose. Since it didn't feel like the first, I took an educated guess and assumed it was the second.

I'd like to tell you that Pavel was pacing around with a worried look on his face and that Marina was playing the dutiful girlfriend, having fallen asleep on a chair while waiting for me to wake. That wasn't the case, since this is a military ship, it is crewed by members of the military with various tasks and jobs, it would actually be very weird if I had a welcome back party waiting for me to wake up. Discipline in this ship was lacking, but not that lacking.

"Doc," I wheezed. "Doc." The second time I said it, it was louder, but there was no one around to hear me other than a sleeping blonde next to me with her head bandaged. She looked somewhat familiar, but since this was a relatively small ship, everyone had a familiar look to them. "Hello?" I said, this time my voice didn't sound like a kindergartner suffering chronic shyness.

"Huh?"

"No, not you, go back to sleep," I said to the blonde girl.

"Whaa?"

"Shhh, go to sleep."

"Mhmmm," she muttered and then turned around after mumbling some nonsense about cherry soda and vintage cellular phones. I sighed with relief at not having woken someone up and blondie here suddenly decided to sit up abruptly, speaking some more nonsense about not wanting to lend her clothes to her younger cousin.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I thought that only happened in the movies," I said.

"What?"

"Being jolted awake by a nightmare. A nightmare about lending clothes at that," I explained with a smile.

"Ha-ha, very funny," she said with a frown. "How are you feeling?" Her frown instantly disappeared and suddenly she seemed to be really concerned for my health. With that caring expression she could've been the perfect pediatrician, calming kids with it.

"Like hell, thanks for asking," I said grinning slightly. "Should be out of here tomorrow."

"Yeah right, good luck with that, they say that I have to stay here for another two days..."

"For a small blow to the head?" I asked, surprised. "I take it we are safe and made it through the blockade."

"Yes, and it wasn't a small blow to the head, my skull actually cracked."

"That's what I just said," I told her, just for the kicks.

"Ok, first of all…" she went on to explain how a skull fracture was very serious and went into very specific detail about how she had been hurt and how a single micrometer more and her brain matter would've started leaking out of her skull and that in turn blah, blah, and then that she would've had to have the top of her skull removed so that blah, and blabbity, and something about permanent damage to her cognitive something, she then went on to explain how she was lucky that she hadn't hit herself half an inch in some other direction because of something about her skull and also that it was good that she didn't need plates or something, and then she started rambling about some other stuff. I actually got tired of it and interrupted her once she took a deep breath.

"I don't see why you're making a fuss about it," I said, internally smiling.

"What? I just fucking explained it to you, you ungrateful bastard!"

"What?" I said, startled. Then I realized where I knew this girl from. "Oh, you are that pretty corpsman that saved me," I explained, mostly to myself.

"Pretty?" she asked, her voice quiet and her cheeks as red as the pint and a half of blood that I had left back in Aztlan.

"Yes," I said. "So, what did I have done?" I asked. "Replacement kidney?"

"And lung," she said, slowly regaining her composure. She seemed to be one of those girls that tend to have drastic personality changes every now and then. Passive-aggressive, I think that's what they're called, either that or something in Japanese, but you get my point.

"Lung?" I was somewhat shocked, that would leave a scar.

"That's what I said."

And back to aggressive.

I pushed down the bedsheets and lifted my hospital gown slowly and carefully, trying not to wince. I half expected to find the uglies, most unsexy scar in existence, but instead I only saw my undamaged chest. Well, and the scars that were already there before Aztlan. I actually thought that blondie had been busting my balls in return for me doing the same thing when she kindly explained the situation to me.

"It's on your back dumbass, you didn't have a double lung transplant."

"What?" I asked, annoyed. "On my back? It already has enough scars as it is, can't I get scars in some other place?"

"Hey, don't look at me," she said. "Oh, I forgot, you also had a tree branch go through your armor."

"Seriously, a tree branch?"

"Pardon me, a piece of a tree."

Is everyone in the universe a snarking jerk half the time?

"Lemme guess, it was on my back."

"Jackpot."

"No wonder it hurts like shit."

"Go figure." She rolled her eyes at that.

I rolled and turned away from her. I parted the hospital gown's back so that it revealed my back. "How's it look?" I asked.

"I can see the top of your ass crack."

"Language young lady," I said jokingly. "I'm flattered that your eyes were instantly drawn there, but that's not what I asked. She flushed again and I had to repress laughter and snap my neck back because my stitches started hurting.

"Ok, your lung stitches will leave a scar, not an ugly one, but it'll be there, your kidney scar might just disappear in a year or two, the tree branch in your lower back will leave a big round scar."

"Oh well, at least I'll have a triangle down there."

"What?"

"Yeah, the tree scar and the two spiker scars, " I explained.

"Sure," she agreed, somewhat startled. "That's one way to look at it."

"I never got your name," I said as I rolled on my back and tried to fix the pillows so that I could sit upright without tearing my stitches. I was surprised that it didn't hurt more. I was probably up to my throat in painkillers.

"Hospital Corpsman Second Class Hanna Lockley," she introduced herself.

"What, not gonna shake my hand?" I asked.

"Um, uh, what?" she stuttered, confused and a little ashamed. She was easy to confuse, which the evil part of me enjoyed a lot.

"Relax," I said laughing. "Ouch, that hurt. I was just kidding. Staff Sergeant Francisco Castillo."

Lockley shook her head and turned her back on me, although I caught a glimpse of a smile on her lips right before I couldn't see her face.

"Francisco," a voice that I hadn't heard in a long time stated.

"Doc?" I asked, surprised. "It's been ages since I last saw you, where the hell have you been?"

"Busy, as usual," Doc Zhivago said. "You as well, that much is clear."

"What can I say?" I said with a satisfied grin on my face. "Someone's got to save the universe."

Zhivago rolled his eyes theatrically and grabbed a datapad from my bed. "You'll experience pains in your back for about two weeks, might pee blood, have some trouble breathing, those are expected to go within a month," he explained. "Ummm, yes, you're to be discharged in a week and a half." He eyed me over. "I'll sign the papers and you'll be out by tomorrow," he said.

"What?" Lockley exclaimed.

"Can I help you young lady?" Zhivago asked her with a face so stern that it probably brought back bad memories from her childhood. He almost looked like a father that was very disappointed in his daughter.

Sometimes I wish that I had a father. And that my mother wasn't in a coma.

"No, never mind doctor," Hannah said, blushing once more, it was the third time in less than five minutes.

"If that is all, then I will be leaving."

I tried to catch some sleep, but just as the morphine and meds were about to kick back in, another argument with Hospital Corpsman Second Class Hanna Lockley started once more. I can't even remember why it started, but soon enough it spun completely out of control and almost into epic proportions.

"Pluto hasn't been a planet since the twenty first century!" she voiced out loud.

"So? There are several planetoids that are a lot smaller and a couple of planets that are just a few extra miles in radius."

"Name two."

"Jericho XI and Cannal."

"I've never even heard of those!"

"Your ignorance is not my problem," I said, trying to shrug. "How many years have you been in service?" I asked suddenly.

"Why are you asking that?" she asked, her eyes narrowing and viewing me with suspicion.

"Just a question, jeez."

"I've been enlisted for two years," she said.

"And already Corpsman Second Class? What'd you do, sleep with all your superiors?" I teased.

"I did not you jerk! I earned this through merit and talent, I am not some who-"

"Relax, I didn't mean to offend," I said, raising my arms apologetically. "I was only kidding. Pluto's still a planet though."

"You're going to start with this again?" she almost yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Frank!"

"Pavel!"

"I see you've met Blondie," my smiling friend said. He looked pretty beat up too, if he was that bad I didn't even want to look in a mirror right now. "You look like shit."

"Thanks, and her name's-"

"Hanna Lockley," she interrupted.

"What she said. I think I like her," I smiled.

"Yeah, kinda feisty."

"Exactly what I was thinking my friend," I agreed.

"Frank?" a lovely voice came. "Frank!"

"Oh," I said with a tone that implied this was the last person I wanted to see. "It's you."

"You jerk," she said smiling.

"Are you crying?" I asked, smiling.

"What?" She tried to brush away a few tears. "No."

"You must've gotten something in your eye," I said. "Or maybe you just love me that much."

"Do not, I'm just with you for cause I pity you," she said. This time it was her who did the fake voice tone.

"Liar," I grinned.

Marina leaned her face in close to mine and gave me a long, romantic kiss. Just the right amount of tongue too. She was a good kisser, I hope that she had learned most of it while with me, same as her bedroom skills, but hey, who cares?

As she leaned in closer, her arm slipped from the bed and she ended up slamming against me. The two soft cushions on her chest did nothing to stop the brutal pain that seared across my back and I cried out.

"Shit, sorry, are you ok?" she asked, worried about me. "Hope I didn't tear any stitches."

"Love hurts," Pavel said wisely.

"Ouch," I said simply, it really hurt. "Being with your girlfriend is supposed to be nice, you only end up hurting me," I complained.

Marina rolled her eyes and carefully lifted herself back up. I got an incredible view of her cleavage before she managed to stand upright and give me a little slap for troubling myself to look. "Well, we've got some duties," she explained, "well, at least I do, but I'm sure Pavel's got better things to do, so I'll leave, might visit later bye." The last words had been said when she was already out of sight, she must've been in a hurry to leave me or she actually had some important things to do. I hoped it was the second.

"Hey Frank," Pavel said, his voice was suddenly quieter and dead serious. He came in closer towards me and looked over his shoulder a couple of times before he sat next to my bed on the side opposite Hanna. "I need some help," he explained.

Since he sounded serious about this I chose not to answer with a joke. "Sure, what's wrong?" I asked him.

"Nothing, I just want to know that you don't think what I was about to do before our last op wasn't a bad thing."

I hadn't given it a lot of thought, but when it came to it, Pavel wasn't the guy that would cheat on his girlfriend for a sexier woman, especially when his own girl was so attractive. "I assume you had a good reason," I shrugged. Pavel simply stared back at me and I knew all that I needed to know. "Very well then," I said, "you have my blessing to-" I looked at Hanna, who was reading a book. "-engage in intercourse with as many girls as you can before she breaks up with you."

"Thanks Frank, I'd knew you'd understand."

That confirmed it, Pavel's girlfriend was cheating on the poor bastard and my friend was out for blood. At least he left with a satisfied smile on his when he turned and left. Shouldn't be much of a problem to find willing girls, he was good-looking and an ODST on top, that's like catnip for Navy girls and most Army chicks. He'd stack up the count and would "win" the breakup, what consequences that would bring I couldn't yet say.

"Engage in intercourse with? Seriously?" Lockley asked without glancing up from her book. "You sounded like a sixteen year-old Mormon girl."

"What are you reading?" I asked.

She seemed surprised, but the question was innocent enough. "Life and Death in the Home Front, by Martin O'Donell."

"Good book," I said.

"Yes… what are you getting at?"

"Well, Dougie dies at the end in a surprise raid by the Otherworlders and so does his dog, Lin is taken prisoner and nothing is heard from her ever again. Jacques ends up hanging himself from the antenna."
Hanna looked at me and threw the datapad as hard as she possibly could at me, which in her current state, wasn't very hard, it hit me in the arm and she pressed her hands to her head while wincing in pain before pressing the button for painkillers. She took deep breaths before she glanced at me with a look that could've made Marina herself shit her pants and run for cover. It almost managed to wipe the smile from my face.

"Yeah," I said understandingly. "Don't mess with me."

"Ass," she said, "hole."

I smiled to myself. "I can live with that."

Marina didn't visit me that night and Lockley was giving me the silent treatment, and only talked to me when I said good night to her, and even then it was only a rough "-ight" on her side, but she'd get over it. She had saved my life and she deserved to be treated as a friend, it's just that my idea of friendship would probably take a little while for her to get used to.

Next morning I woke up to some light shaking on my shoulder. Doc Zhivago gave me a generously-sized bottle of pills with a warning not to take more than three a day, and helped me up. My back was killing me as the scars pulled my skin tightly. It was a sensation that I had experienced before, but I'd probably never get used to the feeling of missing some skin. It'd take a while before the scar actually cicatrized and then some more before the skin actually stretched enough for me to feel like I was moving normally. I'd still get some ugly marks to confirm my tales.

I'd better get a monument when this war is done, else I'll be really pissed.

I walked slowly while measuring my steps carefully, but the injuries weren't on my legs, and provided I didn't try to run or jump, I could move with relative ease through the ship. I'd have to wear a tighter shirt so that people could see the gauze strips covering my scars, else I was bound to get a friendly pat on the back that would make me either scream like a little girl or faint.

Wear a tighter shirt, you sound so straight right now Frankie.

While I was wondering why I called myself Frank and nor Francisco inside my own thoughts I arrived to my room. The door didn't open when I pressed the button and I managed to stop myself before I knocked. Instead, I pressed my ear against the wall and listened. The enhanced hearing was just enough to pick up the heavy breathing of a certain female. I didn't know who it was and I didn't care. The only thing I wanted right now was a place to or rest. Officer's club was a no-no, Darbinian had taken care of that as soon as he arrived. Nezarian would probably let me take a nap in his room, but we weren't that close. Marina was bound to be yelling at some poor mechanic for doing something to her ship that she disapproved of and wouldn't be in the mood to sneak me inside her room, which was technically against regulations.

"HEV bay it is," I said to myself as I did a one-eighty and headed back the way I came.

The HEV bay was pretty small considering that it was a vital room. Still, it was large enough to house twelve pods and another MOEIV that hadn't been used since the Inconvenience had been refitted to serve as a standard ship instead of a more exclusive type of craft. I was lucky that I had gotten here when they actually sold the armor pieces, still had some spares in my closet and also some weaponry and equipment that not even other ODSTs had access to. Lucky me.

I pulled on two levers and winced in pain as I tried to lower the pod door slowly to the floor, instead simply letting it drop loudly. I snuggled myself into a position that didn't put too much strain on my healing scars and then the shock absorbing foam knocked me completely out. It might've not been better than a hospital bed or even my own bed, but a man had his pride dammit, and if keeping it intact meant sleeping in a drop pod, then I'd sure as hell do it.