# Car 54

####
© 2005 / revised 2014
K Pelle

### Chapter 3:
Quiet - Hospital Zone

At least my hand hadn't swollen much, so they could put a cast on it right away. The other nice thing was that the cast was made in a way that would leave my fingers and thumb free, which meant I'd still be able to write my finals at school. The cast for my foot was a different matter though, they told me that since the swelling would have to be reduced, it would be several days before they could put what they called a 'walking' cast on it. Even the temporary cast was going to have to wait for the morning and some reduction in the swelling. For the time being, they wrapped my lower leg and my foot in a protective bandage that held a form which would prevent me from moving my foot much, then they put me in a hospital bed for the night. I was put in a ward, but I was the only person in any of the beds and I was hardly lying down before Dad came in to sit at my bedside.

To my surprise he looked awkward and a bit upset with himself, which wasn't like Dad. The first thing he did was to apologise for suggesting that I rode the stud without having the time to 'steady him down' first.

"Dad, it might have been your suggestion, but from the look in her eyes when you said it, Beth was thinking the same thing," I grinned. "You left it up to me. If it had been her, she'd have made it a challenge and I do have an ego. Can you see me turning down a challenge made in front of Carissa and Corinna? I might be shy, but I am human, and I am a teenager. I'd have had to take the challenge, just to show off!"

He laughed, then his mood changed and he glanced over at me strangely. He took a deep breath and I knew something heavy was coming.

"Look, son, your Mom and I are both feeling a little out of our depth over this. I'm not exactly sure how John Coulter talked us into having his two daughters stay for the rest of the week. It seemed to make sense then, but now with you laid up like this, I'm not sure how it will work. You aren't going to be able to do much around the farm wearing a cast on one foot and another one on your hand."

"Dad, Beth is good with people, she'll help a lot. Besides, I think all you'll have to do is suggest that Tom and George could work with the twins, then they'll both figure out some way to do their own chores and help us out too," I grinned. "Those two guys are girl crazy, but the twins can handle anything the guys can throw at them."

He chuckled a bit and then looked at me with a slight frown. "You don't mind?"

"Dad, when it comes to those two girls, I feel like a window washer who's been given a bucket of water and a sponge, then told that the windows on the Empire State building are dirty. Only ... well, the twins are like dual Empire State buildings, which makes them twice as inimidating."

"You find them daunting, do you?" he smiled "They don't seem to think you should."

"Dad, they're two years older than I am, so they've been dating for who knows how many years and on top of that, they've already slapped me down once."

"They did?" he frowned. "I never heard about that."

"Oh, I didn't tell anyone. It happened when we were in about grade six or seven. They were just getting their figures and all that. I had developed a school boy crush on them, so on Valentine's day I bought them each a fancy valentine. They threw them in the trash bin, right in front of me."

"Oh my," he just shook his head and sighed deeply. "Are you hurting really badly, or could we talk for a few minutes?" he asked.

"I'm okay for a bit," I shrugged.

"Just about the time I think I have you figured out, you open my eyes again," he said softly. "You must have been crushed pretty badly by that Valentines' thing, just to remember it for so long, and yet today when someone set out to hurt them, you still dove in to help them out. Can I ask why?"

"Oh come on Dad! You and Mom taught me better than to let something petty like that get in the way of right and wrong," I was trying to think why I really had reacted like I did, and I didn't know how to say what I felt, but I tried to explain. "It just seemed so totally wrong. They hadn't really done anything to hurt me and then there was a picture being shown around that could have ruined their lives. I mean, as a guy, it didn't matter that there was a picture of me with a couple of nude girls. Actually, it was almost an ego boost, I guess. But for them ... Well, it was just wrong, they aren't that kind of girls."

Dad just smiled and shook his head. "Son, your sense of justice is so strong ... You may get into trouble because of it, but you're always going to have friends who will be willing to go out of their way to help you out when you do."

"Talking from experience, Dad?" I smiled at him.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he grinned back. "Now, let's let the pain killer the doctor gave you do its work. Either your mom or I will be in to see you as soon as the chores are done tomorrow."

After Dad left, in fact hardly after he'd gone out the door of the room a cute young nurse came in to check that I was all right for the night.

"Well, hello, Cowboy," she grinned at me and blushed. "I hear that this time the horse won."

Even as sleepy and as uncomfortable as I was, there was something about her that made me grin. She was cute, very cute. Her short hair was bright red and her perky, up-turned nose was covered with tiny freckles, while her uniform fit her exceptionally well, showing off a lot of curves.

"Well he didn't really win because I'll ride him another day, but I certainly lost this round," I answered. "I'm not exactly happy with how that ride turned out."

"Are you hurting badly right now?" she asked as she fussed with my covers. "By the way, my name is Sandy."

"No Sandy, suddenly everything is a lot better than it was."

I couldn't help looking at her as she bent over the bed her blouse opened at the neck, giving me a view of lightly freckled cleavage. I knew that lying on my back like I was, my body's automatic reaction was going to tent the blankets and no sooner had I thought about it than I could feel an erection growing. Luckily she'd moved up close so she was looking down into my face, so maybe she hadn't noticed.

"Did anyone check with you and make sure you were comfortable and that you knew about the emergency call button, just in case the pain gets too bad?" she smiled, her green eyes twinkling slightly in the low light of the room.

"Emergency call button?" I managed to mumble, almost a whisper.

"Right here," she reached out and touched a cylinder with a button on the end which hung on the end of a cord, dangling near my head. "If the pain gets too bad, or if you need a bedpan, all you have to do is press this button and a nurse will come help you."

"A bedpan?" I croaked, almost drowning in a sweet, wonderful odour that had to be her perfume.

"Yes, a bed pan," she smiled. "For tonight we'd prefer if you didn't try to get out of bed. I see someone has already brought you crutches, but I don't think they should have. If you need the bathroom, we can bring you a bedpan and help you use it, then you won't have to disturb your leg."

I couldn't help it, I stared into her face, then glanced down the bed at the tent in the blankets which made me blush bright red. When I looked back at her face, I realised she was blushing too, then she giggled for a second before fighting to force a more sober look on her face.

"Sorry. I'll bet you'd like an older nurse wouldn't you?" she managed to say, then she paused and bit her lip. "I shouldn't have said what I did, I'm still in training and sometimes I say things I shouldn't. Please, don't tell anyone."

"But, you're not a candy striper, are you?" I managed to say. "You're wearing a nurse's uniform."

"Actually I am a candy striper, and even for that, I'm not fully trained," she admitted. "I'm working alone and in a borrowed uniform tonight, but only because the hospital is short staffed and there are no really seriously ill patients in this wing. Most of the time I work along with other staff, so I'm usually only there as support."

"Oh," I grunted.

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I can look after you," she frowned. "I know what to do. I just don't have a lot of experience at working as a full-fledged night nurse."

"Well, I don't have much experience at being a patient, so we should get along fine," I grinned. "But, I really don't think I want you to bring me a bed pan."

She giggled then, blushing bright red and hesitated for a second before she spoke.

"Aren't you the guy whose picture was taken in bed with two girls?" she whispered. "Two of the other candy stripers."

"Oh God, did you see that? Damn it, those rotten son of a bitches," I sat upright. "A couple of idiots got the girls and I drunk at a party. We passed out, and I guess they posed us to make us look bad. We thought we destroyed all the pictures."

"Easy, easy," she said firmly, pressing me back with her hands on my chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you upset. Please calm down. I didn't see any pictures, in fact I don't personally know anyone who did, but there are rumours flying about them and ... well, they sounded quite graphic. It sounded like you weren't someone who should be shy about having a nurse help you with a bedpan."

"Well, they're totally untrue," I growled, flopping back in the bed. "I'm about as shy as you can get."

"Nope, that's me," she giggled. "In fact I was sort of hoping that you'd need a bed pan, I've never seen a guy's ... well, a guy's penis, except for babies, or in pictures, or old men who were unconscious, stuff like that," By the time she'd gotten done admitting that she was blushing bright red. Then she turned away from me.

"So if you need anything, buzz and someone will come," she said over her shoulder as she hurried from the room.

I was left to stare after her, all alone in the room and with an erection that was so hard it almost hurt. There was no way I could bring myself to even touch it, let alone try to jack off to get relief, I mean, what if she walked back into the room again ... what would I do then?

I lay there for quite a while trying to think of some way to get my mind off of her, and eventually I fell into a doze.

I fell asleep, but awoke to feel a severe pain in my left foot. I wasn't only hurting, but for several moments I felt quite disoriented. I didn't know where I was since it was dark, but I knew I was in a strange place that I couldn't recall seeing before. When I did remember that I was in the hospital for the first time in my life, I reached for the button that Sandy had told me I could use if I needed help. Without thinking, I used the wrong hand to try to ring it and of course I bumped it against something. Even in a cast, it felt as if I'd just hit it with a sledge hammer. I squawked loudly, then had to try to cut off the noise so I didn't disturb anyone else, but now both my foot and my hand hurt. Thankfully it was only a moment before my little red headed nurse popped into the room.

"Is there something I can do?" she asked instantly, coming over to stand beside me, then she grinned and blushed. "Bedpan perhaps?"

"No," I wasn't in the mood to joke around with her or anyone else. "I hurt."

"Pill time and then I think you can sleep some more," she said almost instantly, helping me to sit up.

"I dunno if I should sit up, I'm feeling a bit light headed and woozy right now."

"But you're hurting, right? I think this pill will help with that," she held out a pill and a glass of water.

"Oh, I guess," I took the pill in the fingers of my right hand, but I had to use my left hand to hold the little glass of water.

After I'd swallowed the pill with the water and handed her the glass, she helped me ease back on the bed, then tucked me in again.

"There, that should help," she smiled.

"I forget your name," I said drowsily, not really feeling at all like myself, somehow I found I was holding her hand.

"I'm Sandy," she smiled, not trying to pull her hand away.

"I really like you. You're pretty," I managed to slur, watching her face waver in my eyes, wondering to myself what was wrong with me.

"Thank you. Now it's time for you to rest. We can talk more later," she whispered as she managed to slip her hand out of my grasp, then I watched as she slipped out the door.

I lay there and thought about what had happened and was really puzzled. I think I was trying to make sense of it all when the pill really kicked in and I fell asleep once more.

When I woke up again, it had to be really late and I needed the can badly. I suppose I wasn't thinking straight, but after a moment or two I did realise that I was in the hospital. I slowly got out of bed and grabbed my crutches, then hobbled across the ward to the can. It was strange, but I felt light headed and actually had to sit down instead of standing like I normally would. When I was done, I sat there for a few minutes wondering if there was more wrong with me than a couple of broken bones. It just didn't seem right that I should feel so dizzy even when I was sitting down.

Finally I got up, flushed the toilet and headed back to bed. I'd hardly slipped under the covers when Sandy stuck her nose around the corner.

"I heard you flush, so I know you're awake," she greeted me almost crossly. "You weren't supposed to get out of bed, you know. I'd gladly have brought that bedpan."

At that moment, my stomach was rolling and I looked at her like she was some kind of nut.

"Something's wrong, I feel really sick to my stomach," I managed to say, hardly able to talk, as if my tongue was swollen. "I think I'm gonna barf ..."

"Oh shit!" she snapped, then she was gone. It seemed as if she had simply disappeared instead of moved.

She was back in just a few seconds with a small pan to set beside my head and she rested a hand on my forehead for a second.

"I'll be back with help in a minute," she said then, almost running as she went out the door.

I think I might have passed out for a moment, when I awoke an older nurse was checking my pulse and I could see Sandy standing behind her.

"What's the matter, Chris?" the older nurse asked.

I managed to croak that I seemed to be sick to my stomach and that I thought I might have a fever. Her hand rested on my forehead ... then she was talking, but I wasn't really hearing what she said. Then the whole world seemed to fade away.

I woke up in a different hospital bed, it was dark and I had an IV in my left arm. As soon as I moved, I heard someone shift in a chair, and although the light was dim, I was able to look up into Mom's face, but she was crying.

"Hey Mom," I managed to croak, but my voice sounded funny, as if I had a frog in my throat.

"Sh, don't talk, I've buzzed for the nurse," she whispered, then she bent and kissed my forehead. "I'm so glad I was here when you woke up."

"Huh?" I grunted.

"Will you be quiet?" she whispered again. "You've been out for hours and they had to try to pump your stomach, so your throat is going to be sore. It seems you're extremely allergic to some of the pills they gave you. It's lucky you got up to go to the bathroom. They don't know what would have happened if you had slept through. As it is, you passed out on them and they were worried you weren't going to make it."

Another nurse came in then and Mom moved back out of her way. I had my pulse checked, my temperature taken, then she insisted I drink some water and she gave me a shot. I felt a bit groggy in seconds and it couldn't have been very long before I fell asleep again.

I woke to hear quiet voices, and when I turned my head, Beth and Corinna were sitting in chairs off to one side.

"Hi," I whispered, then had to grin because both of them jumped as if they had been shot.

"Well hello," Beth was first to recover. "So you're back in the land of the living huh? How's your throat?"

"Sore," I rasped, "I guess I'm okay though, but I'm hungry and thirsty."

"Well since all you've had down your throat in about thirty-six hours is a piece of hose, that shouldn't be too surprising. Now, don't talk much okay?" Corinna bent over and kissed me lightly on my cheek. "I'll go see if I can find you some ice cream, or jello or something."

"Steak ... and potatoes," I managed to growl weakly at her disappearing back.

"I don't think so, not for a while," Beth laughed. "The doctor said you were to start out on light foods at first. You did have your stomach pumped, for cripes sake."

"Thirsty," I managed, my throat was sore and my mouth felt like the Sahara desert.

She had a glass of cold water and a bendy straw up to my mouth in seconds, so as I sipped, it felt wonderful.

"Now, you aren't to talk much," she smiled as I lay back and grinned at her. "It seems you're allergic to Codeine, very bloody allergic. Did you know that a student nurse named Sandy was ready to give you mouth to mouth resuscitation at one point? You'd passed out so deeply she thought you were a goner."

"Just an excuse," I grinned. "She likes me."

"Bullshit. No girl just likes you. Girls either don't know you exist or they love you. There ain't no in between," she grinned. "I'll have to phone her and let her know you're going to be okay. She felt so bad because she was the one who gave you the pill that seemed to trigger your alergic reaction."

"Why didn't the first pill do that?" I croaked.

"Shhh," she held a finger to my lips. "I'm sure the doctor will explain that to you, but basically, I understand that it takes a while for your body to absorb some drugs, then decide that it doesn't like them."

Just then Corinna came back with a small bowl of jello in each hand and a nurse at her elbow.

The nurse insisted on shooing the girls out, then pulling the curtains around the bed and checking me over, which took several moments.

"Well, there's one benefit to you being out of it for a while," she smiled at me as she checked my leg. "The swelling in your foot has gone down to the point where I think we could apply a temporary cast. On top of that I think you're reacting relatively normal again. We'll have the doctor come and check you over though, just to be sure."

Suddenly she got all business like and she looked at me seriously.

"You realise you can't get out of bed yet," she frowned at me. "I'll be back in a few moments and we'll see about freeing you."

"Can't I get out of bed?"

"Well, you have an IV hooked to your arm and that arm is strapped down to the bed, so no, you can't move very far!" she smiled. "I'm going to check for clearance to remove the IV and the restraint. From what I see, you look fine now, but I have to get an okay before I can go ahead. For now, why don't you just relax and eat the jello your friend brought you."

Saying that, she swung a tray across the bed and set the jello and a spoon on it, then she smiled and left. I heard her talk to the girls for a moment and they both slipped inside the curtains, telling me that they'd be back in a while, each of them giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before they slipped away once more.

It seemed like they'd hardly left when my doctor came in with the same nurse as before.

"Well Chris, and how are we this morning?" he smiled, taking my left hand to check my pulse

"Okay," I shrugged.

"Good, good," he muttered as he put his stethoscope to his ears, still holding my wrist.

I felt the cold end of the stethoscope on my chest and shifted slightly. As I was looking at him, the nurse had gone around to my right side and I felt her pick up that arm. Then I felt a pulling sensation and felt her swab my arm with something cold.

The doctor was asking questions and I had to concentrate on him, so I wasn't really paying attention to the nurse. The doctor's hand was touching my chin and he had a tongue depressor in my mouth, looking down my throat when I felt the nurses hands on my broken foot. The doctor glanced at the nurse and they seemed to smile at each other for an instant, then the doctor turned to me.

"Well Chris, you seem to be fully recovered from the reaction to the drugs you were given. We're going to have to do some tests later, but for the moment, I'm going to go with the assumption that you are allergic to some drugs in the Codeine group. Are you in any pain at the moment?"

I thought about it for a few seconds and it wasn't until I tried to wiggle my fingers or toes that I felt any discomfort. "Not until I move my fingers or toes," I said quietly.

"Then don't move them and they won't hurt," he smiled at me. "I hear you think you're allergic to bed pans as well as Codeine?"

I just stared at him as his face twisted into a grin.

"Our nurses, even the young ones, give us a full report. Didn't your nurse, Sandy, make it plain to you that you were to remain in bed?"

"I think so, but my memory doesn't seem to work so well," I muttered, feeling shy about telling him why. "I think I was drugged or something."

"Oh, very good," he chuckled as he made a note on his pad. "Well, I'd say that you're recovering from that little drug mishap and I'd say that we can schedule you for a fitting of a temporary cast just as soon as possible, that way we can overcome the problems created by your unhealthy fear of bedpans."

I wanted to tell him that it wasn't the bed pan, it was the idea of a young nurse helping me to use it that bothered me, but I was fairly sure he already knew that, so I just smiled.

It was only minutes later that he and the nurse left and then only a few minutes more before an orderly came in pushing a wheelchair. I knew the guy. I'd met him and a friend out fishing in the foothills one time, so he grinned at me.

"Hello Chris, I'm here to give you an all-inclusive trip to our plaster shop. That way we can fit you with our patented, latest model plaster of Paris anchor for your left foot. Unfortunately, the administration insists that I have to push you there and back in this old fashioned human propelled chariot."

"Hi Ted," I grinned back. "If it means I can get out of bed on my own afterward, I'm all for it. You can push me to the moon if you want to, just so long as when I come back here, I can use a bathroom and not a bedpan."

"Hey, I heard about that," he snickered. "I'll tell you though, if Sandy had offered to help me use a bedpan, I'd definitely have been a willing victim, except I think my wife would probably have given me two broken legs afterward. By the way, you aren't to talk so much."

I just rolled my eyes and sat up to get out of bed.

"Now wait a minute, you go easy," he ordered, suddenly becoming businesslike. "Lets have your arm and I'll be able to steady you while I help you into the chair."

After helping me into the chair, he wheeled me down the hall, then helped another guy fit a plaster cast on my foot. The only time that caused me any discomfort was when they shifted my foot slightly as they took off the gauze and padding that had been on it, but that hurt enough to make me gasp. They did call in my doctor to check my foot before they started the fitting and he brought on twinges of minor pain as he ran his hands over the tender area.

"I don't think anything we can do will line it up any better than it is," he smiled at me. "It doesn't hurt when you're just relaxing your foot like this does it."

"Only if I try to move my toes or something of that sort," I admitted.

"Once the cast is on that will improve," he said. "Now, you're not to put any weight on this cast. This one is only meant to prevent you from moving your foot enough to hurt yourself, all right? Once all of the swelling has gone down, we can fit a walking cast, but until then, you'll have to use crutches."

I nodded and he went on to explain what I could and couldn't do, I think he was actually doing his best to keep my attention while the two other guys slapped plaster of Paris on my foot and lower leg. It wasn't until I felt my foot getting warm that I realised they were almost done.

Not much later, I was back in bed, then inside of minutes, Mom came in to see me. The minute I saw her, I knew that she wasn't happy! After she gave me a hug, she sat down in a chair near my bedside and let out an explosive sigh,

"Is something wrong Mom?" I asked

"Yes!" she looked at me and then couldn't help grinning. "Oh my, you look so worried. It's nothing major, I'm just worn to a frazzle and now they want to keep you in here for one more night. I was planning on taking you home today."

"Didn't you phone and ask?" I grinned. "Why are you worn out? What's going on? And where are the girls? Beth and Corinna were here and said they were coming back."

"Beth and Corinna are grounded. Did you know they 'borrowed' your car in order to come see you? That's one reason I came to town, to find them," she sighed deeply. "At least Corinna has her license and I'm glad that I'm the one telling you about it, but please don't get too angry, I intend to think of a way to discipline them both."

"They took my car? Without even asking? You're right; I'm not happy," I growled. "Hey, why can't I go home?"

"They want to keep you in here for observation for one more night, just to be sure you don't react to the new pain killers they're giving you."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," I sighed. "At least I can get out of bed now, but I'm supposed to limit it to trips to the bathroom, so I sure hope I can go home tomorrow."

"I hope so too," she smiled, and then it changed to a grin. "If you come home tomorrow, you can help your dad and me think of ways to slow down those two wild women."

"Pardon?"

"It's been a circus around the farm today," she sighed. "Carissa and Corinna are like wind up dolls running at full throttle and they've got Beth, Tom, and George acting like damn fools too. I woke up to find breakfast made, and almost all the chores done. The twins had woken up early, then had gotten Beth out of bed somehow and did that without waking your dad and me. Tom and George had come over early and I guess the girls dug in like troopers. Anyway, they did all the chores, but the milking, came in, cleaned up and made breakfast, all before your father and I got out of bed."

"That doesn't sound so bad," I grinned. "It actually sounds to me like they've been a lot of help."

"They're too damn helpful," she was trying to frown, but didn't really manage.

"Huh? That doesn't make sense," I grunted.

"Well, I suppose I should explain," she sighed. "When your dad brought you to the hospital the other night, all three of the girls were feeling guilty about you getting hurt and we sat around talking, with me trying to make them feel better. Beth was probably blaming herself more than the twins were, but not by much. When your dad came home and said you were going to be okay, that it wasn't anything major, it was like a weight lifted off of their shoulders. They went to bed and went to sleep. When the hospital phoned back to say you were being rushed into intensive care at four in the morning, I rushed in to be here. Your dad had to explain things to them in the morning because I wasn't there."

"I guess that first morning was a real circus! Everyone was upset and even though I'd phoned home to say that you were going to be okay, they were all worried. The school had called early yesterday to tell Beth she could come back to class, but since she only had study classes and reviews all day, she stayed home because she was upset. Now you know Beth, she has to be busy if she's upset. She and the twins helped your dad with the chores, cleaned the house from top to bottom, weeded the garden and even painted part of the trim on the porch. After I talked to you last night and the nurses literally kicked me out to go home and get some sleep, I hardly recognised the place."

"Then to wake up this morning to find almost everything done and a phone call from the hospital telling me that you were recovering ..." she sighed deeply. "That was such a relief that I decided to lie down for a while just to rest, but I fell asleep again. When I woke up, your dad was out in one of the fields and the only person around was Carissa. She tried to cover for the other two, but finally admitted that Beth and Corinna had 'borrowed' your car to come in to see how you were doing for themselves. I suppose they just wanted to make sure you were okay, because there's no way they could do anything. For some reason they didn't dare 'borrow' your dad's pickup, but instead they took your car. As soon as I found out, I sent Carissa to tell your dad where I was going, then I hopped into the pickup to come to town."

"I found Beth as soon as I came into the hospital and gave her a tongue lashing, then when Corinna came along, I told her that they were to go home and I'd talk to them later. I think I was as angry as I've ever been, more because they took your car without asking than because they slipped off without telling your dad or I."

"I think it's my call for what they should do as a punishment for swiping my car without asking permission," I frowned. "You can kick their butts for taking off without telling you though."

"Now wait a minute, what do you have in mind," Mom frowned.

"Well, I've been thinking. What is the worst job I have to do every spring?" I grinned. "The one I hate the absolute most."

"Cleaning under the roosts in the chicken coop?" she suddenly grinned.

"You got it," I grinned back at her. "I don't think there's a worse stink in the world and every darn year I get covered in lice, no matter how much we dust the chickens. It's a hot, sweaty, stinky job and one that I certainly can't do while I'm using crutches and have a cast on my leg."

"Oh my, that might almost be a bit too much," she chortled. "I think perhaps we should ask your father first, but in a way that sounds fitting."

"Dad will love the idea," I grinned. "Now what are you going to do to them for not telling you that they were sneaking off?"

"What if I insist that as a punishment they don't ride the horses for the weekend?"

"That would be awful rough on Beth. Isn't she trying to get ready for a horse show in a couple of weeks?"

"True, do you have any other suggestions?"

"Not really," I grinned. "All I can suggest is to make it something that they wouldn't enjoy."

Mom couldn't make up her mind what she was going to do and it wasn't long before she had to leave to be home for the evening chores and supper, so I was left alone for a while. I was alone and bored so I tried to sleep, but I wasn't having any luck, then I heard a slight noise at my door. I opened my eyes to see Sandy, the cute little nurse literally peeking around the door jam.

"Hey, hello," I managed to say before I caught myself.

"Hi," she spoke softly, coming inside the door.

To my surprise, she wasn't dressed in a nurse's uniform, instead she was wearing a tight sweater and a short skirt, as well she was wearing a bit of makeup and looked even better than I remembered.

"Wow," I sighed. "You look great."

"Thank you," she smiled and the smile lit up her face. "I came in early and thought I'd just stop by to see for myself that you were okay."

"I'm fine now and it wasn't your fault that I was allergic," I said quickly

"I know that," she dropped her eyes toward the floor. "But if I hadn't teased you a bit about the bedpan, you wouldn't have gotten out of bed and ..."

"And you wouldn't have known I was sick," I interrupted.

"Oh, we would have," she argued. "I should have brought an older nurse ..."

"Look, if anyone was to help me with a bedpan, I would have liked it to be you," I blushed and then realised that my body agreed with me and was tenting the blanket again.

"Not one of the twins?" she giggled, blushing as much or more than I did.

"Definitely not one of the twins," I managed to grin, deciding that I should just relax, there was something about her that I found to be so wonderful that I wanted to get to know her better.

"I thought for sure they had the inside track," she giggled again, then she frowned. "I met one of the girls who saw some of the pictures and she said nobody could fake some of them."

"She doesn't know what she's talking about," I said sharply. "I saw the negatives."

"Huh, she said one showed you getting a blow job."

"Sandy, the closest to that was a picture of one twin holding my ... well, holding me and the other twin leaning over looking. Well, she did have her mouth open, but she wasn't touching me. She wasn't that close and I wasn't even har ... um ..." I was really blushing now and hard as a rock. "... I mean, my body wasn't cooperating."

"Well, that's more cooperation than I got, you wouldn't even let me help you with a bedpan," she grinned in a complete change of attitude.

"Well, I don't think my body would have cooperated then either," I grinned back.

"Pardon."

"Uh ..." I was thinking hard, trying to think of a way to say what I meant and not embarrass either her or myself. "... Look, when a guy gets excited, there are valves and stuff inside, sometimes you just can't go ... I mean if something excites you, that is ... it just becomes almost impossible," I finally managed to blurt out.

She just stared at me for a minute, as if she couldn't understand. Both of us were blushing. I didn't want to say anything else for fear of offending her and she didn't seem to know what to say.

"You mean if I had tried, you would have ... I mean if I had touched you, it would have ..." she whispered at last "But ... I mean, they were nude and everything ..."

"And I was passed out," I said quietly.

"But I was wearing a uniform and you're in a hospital and ..."

"So, a different girl, a different reaction," I snapped and then blushed again, realising that I might have said more than she wanted to hear.

"Oh my," she gasped and she stared at me. "You mean you ... I mean I ..."

"Yeah, you do," I admitted deciding that the truth was probably best.

"Oh, my," she said quickly and then to my surprise she sat down in the chair and looked at me strangely.

"Did I offend you?" I asked. "If I did, I'm sorry, I sure didn't mean to."

"Oh no," she answered, biting her bottom lip. "I just ... Well, you surprised me is all."

"You aren't being fair," I grinned, teasing her a bit.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm supposed to be the shy one," I grinned. "At least I am with all the other people I know. I'm the one who is supposed to be astounded when someone likes me or anything like that."

"Sorry," she giggled.

We didn't get a chance to say much more since we were disturbed by my evening meal being delivered and she slipped out, promising to drop back and see me later.

I guess hospitals serve food meant for sick people and not for healthy young guys with broken legs. All I remember about that meal is that there was nowhere near enough of it and what I was served was almost tasteless mush. I couldn't even tell what it was, so when the nurse came in to check on me shortly after the dishes were picked up, I asked her if I could possibly have something more to eat, telling her that I was starving.

Half an hour later, Sandy came in with some ice cream for me, four of the tiny servings they normally sent out to patients.

"Shh," she whispered as she set them on the table beside the bed. "I was only supposed to bring you one, but ..."

"I owe you," I grinned.

"No, you don't, call it repayment for teasing you about the bedpan. Just keep the extra bowls out of sight huh?" she giggled, then slipped out the door again.

I'd barely finished the last bowl and hidden it in my drawer when Dad came in. He had a grin almost a mile wide on his face.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hello, Chris," he greeted me. "Your mother tells me you are a very mean, but fair young man."

"Huh?" I grunted. "What are you talking about?"

"Your idea of punishment for the girls," he grinned. "Your Mom and I decided they could start tomorrow morning after doing the chores and having breakfast. We think you'll be home before they finish the job. Especially since Tom and George won't be there to help them."

"You mean I can get out of here tomorrow?"

"The doctor told us if you didn't have any complications tonight, we should be able to take you home around ten in the morning," he announced.

I don't think my grin could have been much wider. Dad grinned back at me and was about to say something when Sandy appeared at the door, now in her candy striper's uniform.

"Oh," she said in surprise as she blushed. "I didn't realise you had a visitor."

"He's not a visitor. This is my Dad," I grinned at her. "Dad, meet Sandy, she's the young lady that saved my bacon the other night."

Dad got to his feet and held out his hand, greeting her and thanking her for being so attentive. Sandy hardly said anything, mostly she blushed while protesting that she hadn't done anything more than anyone else would have done. I rolled my eyes at that, expecting Dad to give his speech that a thank you was still deserved even though the job done was a regular part of someone's duties, but he didn't. Instead, he really surprised me by simply thanking her once more. Then excusing himself to me and to her, he astounded me by leaving, saying he'd see me again the next day.

"Did I do something to scare him away?" Sandy asked almost plaintively.

"Hah, I don't think so, not Dad," I grinned at her. "I think he already likes you more than the twins though. He knows I like you, and I think he left so I could talk to you."

"Pardon?"

"I think he can read me pretty well, so he realised I like you," I grinned. "On top of that my family talks to one another. My sister knew who you were and likes you enough that she said she was going to call you to let you know I was okay. Mom is bound to have checked on who did what last night. Besides, we have the twins staying at our place right now and they're being a bit of a handful."

"So ... you mean because you like me and your sister likes me, then your Dad automatically likes me?" she frowned.

"Nope," I grinned. "It just means that Dad won't start out disliking you. If he likes you now, it's because you do your job well and the fact that you think that was all the thanks you needed."

"Pardon?"

"Okay, I'll try to explain," I smiled. "Dad likes to see people do a good job and he says thank you, even if people just do a good job because they want to do things well. He says those are the people who deserve the biggest thanks. So since you caught on that I shouldn't be sick when I was and had the good sense to get help, he likes you! Okay?"

She just grinned and nodded, blushing slightly. Neither of us spoke for a moment and the silence began to become awkward.

Finally I just had to say something.

"Maybe Dad should have stayed," I grinned. "At least he might have been able to keep a conversation going."

"Yeah," she giggled. "We don't seem to have much to talk about do we."

"Oh, I don't know about that," I laughed. "It's just that I have so much I want to know about you that I don't know where to start asking."

"Well, officially I start work in five minutes and tonight I'm working as a candy stripper, so I actually won't be seeing you alone when I come back later, I'll be with a nurse."

"Nuts!" I complained. "What time do you work tomorrow?"

"Why do you care? You're going home tomorrow morning," she said in surprise.

"I want to know when you're working so I know when you won't be here," I almost whispered. "I was thinking I should ask you to go somewhere so we could just talk."

"Like a date?" she blushed.

"I guess, sorta. I do want to know more about you."

"Well, tomorrow I have only half a day of school and I don't work here until seven, so if I get home by five thirty or so ... I guess my afternoon is free, but you're in casts and you can't drive."

"Hah, watch me," I grinned. "I mean Corinna and Beth stole my car, I'll have to take it out for a drive to make sure they didn't mess it up."

"I heard about that. Your mom was MAD! She chewed both of them out just outside the hospital door, so everyone heard her," she giggled.

"Okay, so where do we meet tomorrow afternoon?" I asked, refusing to be sidetracked.

We arranged that I would try to pick her up at noon in front of the school, but exchanged phone numbers just in case. Then she had to go to work. After she had left to go on duty, I felt almost lost and I was bored. I guess the last few days had been a bit tough on me though, since I quickly grew tired and fell asleep.

### Chapter 4