Responsible Parents

Connie couldn't help but feel nervous as she sat in the passenger seat of her mom's car. She turned and looked at her mom, who was focused on the road, and then looked down at the bag of medical supplies in her lap. She was relieved that her mom was willing to drive to Beach City in order to help Steven, but couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. What if they weren't able to help Steven? He was half-gem, and Connie knew her mom didn't really understand what gems were. In fact, as far as Connie knew, her mother thought that Steven was a regular human. Connie looked down at the medical bag again, feeling even more anxious than before.

Sensing her daughter's distress, Dr. Maheswaran quickly turned her attention to Connie before returning her gaze to the road ahead.

"Connie," she said, not looking away from the road.

Connie looked at her mother, a look of concern plastered on her face.

"Yes, mother?"

Her mom took a breath before continuing her thought.

"I know how worried you are about your friend. I would be too. But you have to understand, we're doing the best we can for him. We should be at his house in about ten minutes. I promise, I'll do everything I can to help him. If what you told me about his condition is accurate, then we should be able to help remedy his conditon. I brought along all of my medical supplies, including a few rolls of gauze, some disinfectant, and some…"

Dr. Maheswaran stopped talking as Beach City began to come into view. The dim light of the morning gave the destroyed town an eerie glow. Dr. Maheswaran had known that the town was in disrepair, but her daughter's description of the damage had fallen utterly short of detailing the actual situation. Dr. Maheswaran didn't think she would have let Connie visit Steven if she had known the severity of the situation.

"You didn't tell me it was this bad," she said, a note of disappointment in her voice.

"I know," Connie replied. She knew that she had omitted some details when describing the situation to her mother. "I was afraid you wouldn't let me come back if you knew how bad it was."

Her mother frowned. "If I had known the whole city had been leveled, I probably wouldn't have. This isn't safe. When we get home, we're going to have a serious conversation about this."

"Okay, mother," Connie said, her gaze returning to the bag she was holding.

Dr. Maheswaran looked over at her daughter briefly.

"You know I only worry about you because I love you."

Connie looked at her mother and gave a half-hearted smile. "I know."

After driving for a couple minutes, the pair reached a point where the road was impassible by vehicle. Dr. Maheswaran noticed Greg's van parked on the side of the road, along with multiple other cars. She promptly stopped her car and set her parking brake. The pair emerged from the vehicle, Connie carrying the bag of medical supplies. Dr. Maheswaran looked around at the deserted group of cars. The situation was somewhat unnerving.

"Come on," Connie spoke up, "everyone's down at the waterfront. Follow me, I'll show you."

Connie began to quickly make her way to the beach, her mother following a few paces behind. As the pair made their way through the ruins, Dr. Maheswaran began to slowly become more concerned about how dangerous the situation was. She couldn't understand how this much damage could have been caused so quickly. If this much destruction had occurred, then it was a miracle that more people were not injured. Still, she found the whole situation very unsettling.

As the pair neared the settlement on the beach, they began to encounter residents who were working on repairing their stores and other buildings in town. Most of the residents looked disheveled and worn. However, they still managed to smile and wave at the pair as they passed by. The two continued to walk towards the beach until a voice suddenly caught their attention.

"Hello! Connie!"

The two turned to see Greg coming out of the remnants of his car wash, waving at them.

"Hello Gr…uh, I mean, Mr. Universe," Connie said, looking up at her mother nervously. "I brought my mother along with me today. You said that Steven needed some help, and my mother is a doctor, so I thought she could help him get better!"

"Hello, Greg," Dr. Maheswaran said cordially.

"Doctor!" Greg replied. He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for coming! I was so worried about getting Steven some help. I didn't think anyone would come all the way here to help him. Thank you so much for this!"

"It's no problem, Greg," Dr. Maheswaran replied. She gave him a small smile. "I just want to make sure that Steven is safe. We Maheswarans are all about safety."

Greg smiled back. "Let me take you to Steven. He's resting in my tent on the beach. It's not a far walk."

With that, Connie and her mother, now accompanied by Greg, continued their journey to the beach. As they walked, Greg recounted the events of the past few days, and explained as much as he knew about Steven's condition.

"…He didn't sleep well last night. He woke up in the middle of the night not feeling well, and couldn't get back to sleep for a while. I was worried that something was wrong. I'm not sure if it's because of his injuries, or from the cold he's starting to get, but he isn't doing well."

"It's probably a bit of both," Dr. Maheswaran responded, "I brought supplies to deal with both situations, though."

The group arrived at the beach, and stopped for a minute to catch their breath. Dr. Maheswaran looked out over the tents constructed on the beach, and couldn't help but feel for the people of Beach City. She knew this was a difficult situation, and that repair efforts would likely be slow. After a minute, the trio began to walk through the temporary town towards Greg's tent. The tents were mostly empty; everyone was currently in the ruins making repairs. The small settlement was quiet, but the voices of the residents could be heard from the beach. Connie noted that it was a sharp contrast from a few days ago, when the entire town had been uncomfortably quiet.

When the group reached the tent, Greg quickly and quietly ushered the group inside. When Connie and her mom entered the tent, they were both worried by Steven's appearance. He was mostly covered by the blanket so that only his arms and head were visible. He looked somewhat pale, and was sleeping fitfully. The burn on his right arm looked terrible, and his eye was still swollen shut. Many of the cuts he had received had also worsened overnight. He was in worse shape than he had been the day before.

Dr. Maheswaran knew immediately that Steven was not well. She could tell that his arm was badly broken just by looking at it, and guessed that many of his injuries had gone untreated for several days. Knowing that his condition was likely worsening by the minute, Dr. Maheswaran quickly grabbed her bag from Connie, set it down, and pulled out a pair of gloves and a stethoscope.

"Connie, I might need your help handing me things while I give him medical attention. Okay?"

Without hesitating, Connie kneeled down next to the bag, a determined look in her eyes.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Greg asked. Dr. Maheswaran quickly looked up at him before returning her focus to Steven.

"I just need some room to work. This will probably take about half an hour."

Greg understood that he would likely get in the way. He noticed the gemstones lying beside Steven, and quickly stooped to pick them up before moving to the entrance of the tent.

"I'm going to go put these in the van, and help Yellowtail and Lars clear the rubble off the road," Greg said.

Dr. Maheswaran acknowledged him with a curt nod. She was focused on checking Steven's pulse and giving his right arm attention. She quickly moved the blanket out of her way, and proceeded to create a splint for Steven's arm. Over the next twenty minutes she bandaged Steven's eye, checked his temperature, and treated the burn on his shoulder. Connie worked quickly to hand her mother supplies that she needed and put them away when she was done. After Steven's major injuries were taken care of, Dr. Maheswaran started disinfecting and patching up the numerous scrapes and cuts he had suffered.

As she was finishing bandaging the last of Steven's wounds, Greg entered the tent, looking noticeably worn out.

"Whew," he exclaimed, "that was a workout. We cleared away enough rubble to make the road usable again. That should help us get supplies to fix up the town." Greg looked down at his son, who vaguely resembled a mummy.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Dr. Maheswaran took off her gloves, rolled them up, and put them into her bag. She turned around to face Greg before responding.

"He should be alright after a few days. Just make sure you keep an eye on him, and have him drink lots of water. Also, check his temperature periodically. He's running fever right now, but it should go down in a few days. If anything seems wrong, call me."

Dr. Maheswaran watched as Greg carefully pulled the blanket over his injured son, a look of worry and unease on his face. She felt sorry for him; in a matter of days, his business had been destroyed and his son had gotten badly injured.

"Greg," Dr. Maheswaran started. Greg turned to her, concern still present in his features.

"I know how hard this must be for you. If this happened to Connie, I don't know what I would do. Just know that I don't think any less of you as a responsible parent. If you need anything, don't hesitate to contact us."

Greg looked at her for a few seconds before giving a half-hearted smile. "Thanks," he replied. Greg felt as if a weight had been taken off his chest, now that someone had patched up Steven.

"Well, we should probably start heading home," Dr. Maheswaran said, grabbing her bag and looking over at her daughter. At this, Connie spoke up.

"Actually, would it be okay if…I stayed here with Steven tonight?"

Her mother's first reaction was to absolutely forbid her from staying, but after thinking for a few seconds, she reconsidered.

"Alright, you can stay, as long as you promise to call me first thing in the morning."

Connie's eyes lit up. "Oh my gosh! Thank you so much…" Connie stopped and quickly regained her composure. "…mother. I promise I will call in the morning."

Her mother shook Greg's hand before exiting the tent and starting the walk back to her car. Connie looked down at Steven, who had shifted his position slightly, and then up at Greg. He made eye contact with her, and then looked around the tent.

"I think Steven left his sleeping bag in my van. Let's see if we can fit it in here."