Chapter 11: Starting Some Else's Hobby
“Could you explain why you want us to go see her, instead of yourself?” Shani asked.
I’d just explained to everyone what had happened at the hospital, and why I wanted Shani and Allison to visit the hospital to talk to the newest girl there, Jennifer.
“There’s a variety of reasons. After making such a spectacle of myself I’d like to keep a low profile, also, I don’t really want to do any more favors for the good doctor until he fulfills his part of the deal, but mostly because I’m afraid that if I messed up and she doesn’t do well, it’d be easier if I wasn’t personally connected to her.”
“Ahh, I kind of thought so. You’re a little afraid of her cancer, is that it?” Allison asked.
“Not just a little, quite a bit actually. But it’s more than that. I’d feel badly enough if I caused a complete stranger to suffer because of a heedless mistake. It’d be worse if I did it to a friend. I’d rather see what effect my ‘treatment’ had on her before I get any closer to her.”
“You know she already thinks the world of you, even without knowing anything about you. I don’t think you’re going to be able to avoid her just because she’s sick,” Cate observed as she gave me a reassuring hug.
“No, I’m not going to avoid her because she’s ill. I may be uncomfortable, but that’s not my thinking. I’m just way too uncomfortable doing medical things to people when I have no idea what I’m doing. I think it’s irresponsible, reckless and stupid, and I’d rather not be close to the recipient of my negligent actions when the decision to do something to her wasn’t really my choice.”
“So, are you blaming Brooke and Rebecca?” Shani asked.
“No,” I sighed. “Personally, I think their method of working our way into the hospital’s good graces was inspired. I just think the good Dr. Moore was taking advantage of us.”
“But he gave you free access to do whatever you wanted, he was willing to listen to a wild scheme, and he didn’t try to restrict what you were doing. Personally, I think he was more than accommodating,” my father said, stating his own perspective on the matter.
“That’s true, but as I said, while I was willing to do it in this one case, I don’t appreciate being pushed into doing something that I’m uncomfortable with. Dr. Moore just kept presenting one case after another, even when it was clear that what I was doing wasn’t having an effect.”
“But wasn’t the bet whether it was a miracle or not? He could have simply argued that what you’d done was due to a placebo effect, not actually changing the outcome of the case, but just making the patients feel better. He needed something that was definitive,” my father argued.
“That’s why I kept going, none of the cases was very clear, but still, it was nerve wracking, and I feel terrible for every experiment I conducted on those suffering people. I feel like Dr. Mengele,” I replied, trying to express just what my own perspective was.
“I don’t think anyone would compare you to someone like that,” Shani consoled me. “We all realize how important what you’re doing is, and I think most people realize that this is all new ground. It’s like when the first doctor discovered the concept of anatomy; that specific things happened in specific parts of the body. They had to experiment before they could figure out what worked and what didn’t.”
“Yeah, I understand all of that, but there’s a big difference between understanding it and doing it. Personally, I’d rather discover more of what’s involved before we start risking people’s lives trying to tinker with it.”
“Well, it seems to me that many of the cases he threw at you were the helpless cases,” my father suggested. “The people wouldn’t be much worse, even if you did screw up. However, they were also the most needful. If there was any way to improve their conditions, it’d be worth trying.”
“Yeah, but after everything is said and done, it’s easy for everyone else to decide to utilize my abilities, but I’m the one responsible for my actions.”
“As always, you have become wise beyond your young years, I think you should seek your own counsel on this. Everyone else simply wants you to consider the other options, but the choices are, as always, yours to make,” Anh concluded, providing the decisive end to the discussion.
The next day, much of the recent buzz over me at school had cooled a bit. I still attracted my share of looks and attitude, but it wasn’t as fresh or as obnoxious as it had been, so I felt it was manageable. I no longer had Mike, Jimmy or Kevin to concern myself with, so that actually made it a bit easier. It was easy to simply deal with those that needed me and just ignore those that were annoyed with me.
At lunch I decided to try yet another new table. This time I approached one of the jock tables. I say one, because the jocks actually took up a couple of tables. Usually the big teams, like Football, Basketball or Baseball would make up their own tables, consisting of whichever athletes fit into that group in any given season. The table I approached, with both Cate and Betty following along behind me, was what I considered the junior jocks table. It consisted of those who were heavily into the whole sports scene, but who weren’t on any of the major teams, the people like the track and field or the volleyball groups.
As I approached, I asked if I could join them, which lead to a wall of silence descending. Finally one young man responded to me.
“What, you think just because a couple girls finally noticed you that suddenly you can join whatever table you feel like? I think you need to consider that a little more carefully. We don’t have anything in common with you, now beat it, you’re bothering me, kid.”
I simply regarded him wordlessly then just shrugged. “That’s fine, it’s your option. Have a good day, anyway.”
Just then Cate nudged me in the side, indicating the nearby heavy hitters jock table, where some guy was sitting laughing at us. As he did so, Darrell, sitting beside him, leaned over and whispered something to him. I didn’t take it too seriously. I figured Darrell was a long term project. He’d either come around eventually, or he’d come after me again. It largely depended on how he and Kitty got along I guessed. Still, it didn’t particularly bother me. As I said, I wasn’t concerned with those that didn’t want my attention, since so many did.
Instead the three of us set off in another direction and joined the stoner table, another one I hadn’t sat at before. They welcomed us, or at least they seemed to, since I wasn’t sure they were actually cognizant of the fact that we were there or not. Once we were seated, Cate whispered to me that Darrell had left the room, with several of his pals following him. Again, I had no idea what that could mean, or even how it would impact me, so I didn’t pay it any attention. Instead I tried to strike up a conversation with the people who wanted to speak to me.
I fended off the usual questions about girls who would follow someone without actually knowing them, but I worked it around to my knowledge of other topics, and soon we were talking about other things. Actually, I started talking about how my experiences in a fight, where time seems to slow way down, was like being in an altered state. This was a topic the inhabitants of the table were more than willing to discuss, so we actually had a very intelligent discussion.
Betty still didn’t say much, she was still too much in awe of me, so she mostly just stayed in the background despite my repeated attempts to involve her.
‘Hey Alex, this is Brooke,’ I heard as I was walking between classes a little later. ‘I hope I’m not disturbing you, but I just finished speaking with Dr. Moore. He’s anxious to speak with you. Whenever you feel like calling him should be fine. Personally, I think the longer you wait the more you’ll get from him. Anyway, I know you’re busy, or at least you’re supposed to be paying attention, so I’ll speak with you later.’
I’d been expecting to hear from Ryan, but was surprised it was so soon. I’d figured he’d want all of his i’s dotted and his t’s crossed before he’d concede we’d won, and that would require all the various tests to come back, which I knew would take several days. It would be interesting seeing what he wanted.
Later, near the end of the day, an announcement came over the PA. “Would Alex Jennings please report to the Principal’s office? He’s got an urgent phone call.”
I sat up immediately, worried about who it could be. If it was one of the girls they’d have contacted me telepathically. If it was my mother they’d do the same thing, and if it was Cate the school wouldn’t be getting a phone call, so it would have to be either my father or one of my sisters.
The teacher wrote me a hall pass and I quickly made my way to the office. When I entered, it looked like it usually does, everyone busy, but mostly busy doing nothing in particular. I asked about the phone call and the receptionist suddenly became much more focused.
“Oh, yes. It was quite important. The head of the Memorial Hospital himself called, saying it was urgent that you call him back. I’ll get him immediately, if he thought it was important, then...” I didn’t let her finish the sentence.
“Oh, I was expecting his call,” I responded, waving it off. “He thinks it’s urgent, however I don’t. If he calls back, tell him I’ll give him a call when I get home.”
The receptionist looked aghast. “But he’s... What if it’s....”
“It’s none of those things, Mrs. White. He simply wanted to know something, that’s all. It’ll wait for a little bit. I’ll give him a call later. Bye,” I called as I disappeared out the door, making sure I was unavailable to be called back again. I was a little perturbed that he’d search me out and expose what I’d asked him to deal with in confidence. In fact, the farther I walked, the angrier I got with him. Sure, we were asking for a big favor, but it wasn’t anything we couldn’t live without, and I wasn’t about to risk exposure over something this minor. I was of a mind to call him back and tell him to just fuck off!
The rest of the day, what was left of it, went off without any further disruptions. I hurried out, still a bit miffed but having finally managed to compose myself somewhat. When Cate and I got underway, I asked her to give him a call for me.
“Cate, call Dr. Moore for me, he’s been chomping at the bit to get me and I’m of a mind to tell him off.”
She looked like she was going to say something, but apparently reconsidered and simply dug her phone out. “Of course, Alex,” she answered simply, smiling at me.
I had to speak with Brooke again to get the actual phone number, but that was pretty quick, so I gave it to Cate and she began dialing. When she got the hospital she asked for Ryan, but they seemed to give her the run around until she mentioned me by name, then suddenly she was put right through.
“Pardon me, Dr. Moore, Alex is right here,” she responded as she passed the phone to me. One thing about our parents, they certainly drilled the basics, like phone manners, into us at a young age.
When I answered he was quick to get to the point.
“Alex, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. I tried calling your school, but...”
“I know you did. Where the hell do you get off doing that? I asked you to keep this information quiet, and now you’re calling the school I go to, trying to embarrass me? Did it ever occur to you we didn’t give you my phone number for a reason?”
“I, I...” he responded, seemingly at a loss to be called to task by a teenager.
“Listen, if we’re going to do anything, we’re going to have to come to an understanding. Frankly, it would be nice to get access to the machines we asked for, but it’s hardly essential. If you are going to treat us like this, we can simply forgo it all. Good bye, Dr. Moore,” and I hung up before he could respond.
Cate looked at me with an odd expression, but didn’t say anything.
“I needed to get his attention,” I told her, handing her the phone back. “I may very well have just kissed your valued tests away, but I’m guessing he’ll call back after he’s thought about it a little more.”
“It doesn’t matter. The information was to help you. You decide how to use it, or even if we need it,” she assured me. We drove on in silence, but just before we reached home Brooke called me again.
‘Hey, there, handsome, Dr. Moore called again. But he was quite apologetic this time. I’m guessing you had a few words with him. I get the impression he’s quite anxious at this point, so I think your access to the MRI equipment is pretty well assured. I think he’s pushing for something more at this point. Just watch that he doesn’t try to renege on what he promised you in order to get anything else out of you.’
‘Thanks, Brooke, I’ll take that into consideration. I don’t know what has his panties in a bunch, but I’m mostly concerned about his failure to keep our secrets. I’m guessing he’s been blabbing about it to everyone he knows. If that’s the case, I’ll just cut off all communications with him.’
‘Yeah, we understand, Alex. It’ll make our trying to find a job in the area a bit more difficult, but that’s secondary. What’s important is you getting what you need out of this. Remember that. Gotta go now, I don’t want you to get a ticket for telepathing while driving,’ she concluded, giggling as she left. Hearing a giggle echo around your skull is an interesting experience.
I didn’t bother to bring Cate up to date, figuring she’d learn as things developed. We soon arrived at home, and both grabbed our books and migrated into the house. It was only after the usual introductions, and after I’d grabbed a snack, that I sat down at the phone. By that time I had a room full of people listening to what I was preparing to say.
“Hello, Alex, is that you?” Dr. Moore asked when we were finally connected.
“It is, sir. I take it you’ve had a chance to think over what I said?”
“Yes, I have, and I’ll be the first to admit that I was getting a bit out of hand. However, let me just say that I thought I had a good reason for my concern. By the way, by this time I think we can dispense with the ‘Dr. Moore’ and sirs. Just call me Ryan. I have a feeling we’re going to be getting closer before everything is said and done.”
“So we’re still on, you still want to go along with it?”
“Me? I should be asking you that. I’m still waiting for the various results so I can evaluate the full effect of what you accomplished, but I’d already agree that what you accomplished yesterday was pretty miraculous.”
“Well, that’s nice, but if the tests aren’t back yet, what’s to make you think it’s not all just a placebo effect? That the people simply want to believe in miracles, and so they respond as if they’d had one.”
“Quite simply,” he responded, “it’s the extent of the improvements. If it was simply that, a psychological effect, I’d expect to see a small improvement, but that’s not what we’re seeing. Besides,” he said, smiling, “it’s hard to have a placebo effect on someone in a sustained coma.”
“So, can you tell me how they’re responding?”
“There’s a lot to tell, Alex, but I’ll try to be brief. The most important, and the reason I’ve been so anxious to contact you, even going so far as tracking down what school you went to, is the burn victim. Carlos Alvarez. I’ve had him under steady supervision, and the orderlies are anxious that I resume whatever ‘treatment’ was used on him. He’s had an amazing lack of scab formations. I think we need to get you back here to do some more of your magic on him, and maybe we can keep him from losing a lot of mobility that burn victims frequently suffer from.”
“That’s tempting, Ryan,” I said, testing out whether he was serious about his, ‘just call me Ryan’ response. “But I’m a bit concerned about time. The hospital isn’t real close by.”
“Don’t worry about it, Alex. I’ll make arrangements with your school to have you excused for the next couple of days and...”
“Yeah, I can just see that. What do you think everyone would think of such a request? They’d either think it was a scam, or wonder whether I was your secret drug connection. There’s be no reasonable explanation for the head of a hospital to consult with a high school student who doesn’t even volunteer at your hospital. No, I’ll stop by after school tomorrow. I may also bring my sister, my other sister that is, as she’s interested in this. Friday will be difficult though, as I already have a prior commitment. We should put off the MRI testing until Saturday, if you can arrange it that fast. That’ll give us much of the day to visit the patients I’ve already visited with as well as do that. How does that sound?”
“Well, personally I’d rather have you here, right now, but I’m willing to compromise. I’ll also let you know that virtually everyone you saw is very anxious to see you again. You’ve created quite a stir, young man.”
“Yeah, about that, let’s kept this a secret. If anyone asks, just tell them I’m an intern, or, if they ask, tell them I’m a psychic nut that you’re humoring at the behest of a contributor. That way they won’t take what I’m doing too seriously.”
“Alex, with the results my staff are seeing, they’re going to be curious no matter what I tell them. But I’ll go along with you. I’ll tell them all to be quiet and try to play it down as much as I can. That brings up another point, though, are you interested in a potential career here in the hospital?”
“Yeah, just how would you explain paying a kid without a high school degree for medical consultations? Besides, I really have no idea what I’m doing. What you’re seeing takes quite a bit of cooperation. It takes someone who can see what needs to be done. Luckily there are a few of those besides Brooke that I have access to. Next it takes the medical knowledge to know what to do and how to do it safely. Rebecca and Brooke have some of that knowledge, but not nearly enough. Then it takes someone who can actually do it. For that I think you’re stuck with me. Finally, we need people to do research, to figure out what’s causing all of this and what it means, and what I can do without hurting others or even myself. We don’t even know if this energy I’m using has any side effects.”
“Good points all, and it shows what a good mind you have, Alex. What if I can arrange a medical scholarship for you? That way you’d be able to gather the knowledge you need while you are actively helping people?”
“Sorry, but with everything that’s been happening in my life lately, I think my dreams of college have been washed away. There’s just too much I have to accomplish. If you want someone to consider for a scholarship, though, I’ll introduce you to my sister Cate tomorrow. She’s a real whiz, and she’s already dedicated herself to trying to learn everything she can about how I can do what it is that I’m doing.”
“I’ll be glad to meet her, then. You’ll also have to stay over for a little while. I’d like to discuss the nature of this ‘energy’ you keep talking about. Maybe I’d be able to judge what effect it may have on the patients.”
“It gets complicated,” I assured him, “there’s a lot we don’t know, and a lot of side tangents as well.”
“I’m sure there are, you strike me as having a lot of intelligent people around you, as well as being quite smart yourself. I’ll see you tomorrow evening, as soon as you can arrange it. I’ll also plan for dinner for all of us. It’ll be a working dinner, so if your parents are anxious to meet me, tell them they can on Saturday. Otherwise I guess we’re done.”
“Yeah, that covers just about everything, and don’t worry about the parents. They’ve raised me well enough to trust me to keep my head about me. We’ll see you tomorrow evening, probably about 4:30 or 5.”
We finished up the discussion and I turned to relay the information to the assembled ensemble. We discussed it, of course, but they all decided I’d handled it well. I told them I’d take Cate along and asked Shani and Allison to meet me there, since I’d need someone to replace Brooke, and I’d prefer another set of eyes, since we weren’t quite as knowledgeable concerning what we saw. They quickly agreed and the discussion soon turned to their encounter with Jennifer today.
Before they could get too into details I held them off.
“I’m not sure I want any information right now,” I warned them. “I think I’d rather learn the details from her so I can take it all in at once, rather than start with a whole set of assumptions.”
They agreed that sounded reasonable, so they complied willingly, although they told me she was doing well and the small treatments I had done seemed to be doing well. They said she also seemed positive, both from the treatment and in regards to the changes I’d triggered in her. That made me feel better, I could look forward to meeting her anew once I was sure she was better.
The next day passed quickly. On the spur of the moment I tracked down both Kitty and Chalise, and invited them to accompany us to the hospital, telling them I was doing some volunteer work there. I had no idea how I’d explain what I was doing there, but I thought it would be good to see them in an unusual setting. I knew I’d get to see more of what they were really like by seeing them in a setting like that, not one where they’d be on their best behavior. Plus, I could watch the interplay between them, seeing how they got on in a variety of conditions. I thought I could possibly observe any potential problems that way.
When school let out I got out to the car early, so I could warn Cate that we’d be having company. She took it well, simply nodding when I told her. I guess what she’d told me about accepting my decisions had been true. She didn’t make any teasing comments or question whether it was a good idea.
Kitty and Chalise joined us shortly after that. As we got into the car I advised them to call their mothers, as they’d want to know where they were.
Chalise giggled. “I think she’d prefer to hear from you, she’s quite taken with you.” So I ended up on the phone with Caroline.
“Hello, Cutie,” I teased her when she answered the phone. “Don’t tell anyone, but I kidnapped your daughter so we could be together. All I need is to think of a place to stash her.”
“Hey there, Alex,” she answered with a laugh, immediately guessing who I was. “I can think of a couple of places to stash her, although I think she’d prefer in your arms.”
“Well, actually, I was thinking more like the hospital. We’re headed that way now. I’m going to take both girls along as I make a tour of the facilities and do a little charity work.”
“Hmm, I’m impressed, suave, sophisticated and caring to boot. Do you know where I can get any of those for my boys? They seem to be lacking in each of them.”
“I’ll see if I can pick up any in the Pharmacy while I’m there, although I’d have to question the ‘suave and sophisticated’ part. I’m not sure either applies to a naïve young man who confesses to having numerous other interests. Honest, yes; sophisticated, not by a long shot. Oh, is it OK if we’re gone for a while, the head of the hospital invited us out to dinner?”
“The head of the hospital invited you out to dinner? Tell me, why am I not surprised to hear that?”
“Well, it wasn’t just me, Ryan asked Kitty, your daughter, Cate, Shani and Allison as well.”
“Yeah, but I think I know you enough to know that you somehow arranged it all.”
“I’m not completely to blame, Broo... uh, someone else arranged my meeting with him.”
“And you don’t want to say who? Let me guess, it’s yet another ‘close friend’ of yours?”
“You got me there. Sorry, but I just have a hard time keeping track of them all.”
“Sure, I won’t give you too hard of a time. Stay out as long as you need, but give me a call so I’ll know when to expect her. And don’t stay out too late, I hear she’s got this really hot date tomorrow night.”
“Hey, we can’t have her missing that, now can we?” I laughed as we ended the call.
“See, I told you she likes you,” Chalise told me.
“Do mine next,” Kitty asked anxiously, ready for me to tease her mother as well.
I called her as well, and made similar arrangements, although with a bit less obvious teasing. Not because she didn’t seem ready for it, just because I felt nervous teasing someone I hadn’t met yet. I then proceeded to give them a very brief rundown of what we’d be doing.
“I’m going to visit various patients in different areas of the hospital, just as a goodwill gesture and to help brighten their day. There are quite a few people, mostly in fairly bad condition. There’s a burn victim, a woman with bone cancer, and someone who just woke up from a coma.” I didn’t think I wanted to explain about visiting a MRSA patient.
“And you managed to get the head of the entire hospital to assist you in doing this?” Kitty asked me, arching her eyebrow questioningly at me.
“Hey, he likes volunteers, what can I say?”
“Strange, I don’t recall him asking anyone from our school to volunteer before,” she replied.
“That’s why he’s interested in seeing our responses, to determine whether he wants more of us included in the future,” I lied. Needless to say, I don’t think they believed a word of it, but they didn’t argue with me so I briefly described the various people to them. They each seemed fascinated, so I took that as a good sign.
When we entered the lobby, Ryan was standing in his lab coat with a different assistant by his side this time. Both Allison and Shani had met us just before we’d entered. Another benefit of telepathy, scheduling!
Ryan was very gracious and courteous to each of the girls. We immediately set off to the ‘clean’ area. They’d moved our burn victim there. I used the excuse of the clean room to suggest it wouldn’t be a good idea to have too many people in the room at once. They looked at me askance but accepted my obvious tale, despite the fact that it didn’t seem to apply to Shani or Allison either.
When entering, I made sure to keep the glass wall behind me so the girls wouldn’t be able to see what I was doing. The man was awake, but was heavily drugged. However, he still recognized me.
“I... remember... you. You hurt... but help.”
“Well, I’m afraid I may do it again, Mr. Alvarez. Hopefully the medicines will help, but I can’t promise anything.”
There was a male attendant standing there, who didn’t seem surprised at all to see me there.
“We did some testing,” he said, “since there was some question whether you’d regenerated some of the...”
I quickly cleared my throat, making a quick slicing motion across my throat hoping to silence him. He looked at me oddly, so I nodded over my shoulder and he finally seemed to get it. I didn’t know if they could hear me through the glass wall, but I wanted to try to minimize it.
“Well, there was a belief that somehow some nerve tissue was regenerated,” he said, a little louder this time. I didn’t think this was any subtler, but I didn’t object any more. Some medical people just don’t get people skills. “However, our tests showed there wasn’t any feeling in the areas with the third degree burns, but we suspect something was done to the 2nd degree burn areas.”
I simply nodded and looked over the man, Carlos’s, skin. It seemed neater, pinker, like there was more blood flow to it. I noticed a little light scabbing, but not much.
“Can you show me the limits of the 2nd and 3rd degree burns?” I asked. Allison nodded her head. Instantly I had an image of his legs, showing what they saw, so I could clearly distinguish the difference. The attendant didn’t see our silent communication and started to answer me, moving his hands to show the area, so I let him while I concentrated on what I had to do.
“You’d better ready yourself,” I told the burn victim, when he finished. “This will probably hurt like hell.” I could see him stiffen in anticipation. I didn’t know if that would interfere with blood flow, but I thought it better for him to be prepared.
I slowly moved my hands up each leg simultaneously, applying a gentle, shallow wave of energy across what I hoped was the length of my hands. Of course, I had no idea if I was doing what I’d planned. The man stiffened, groaned, then relaxed once I got to the more severe burns, but when I hit the connecting 2nd degree burns again he let out a short scream, however I kept going. Doing his arms was similar, but he didn’t try to stifle his moans as much this time. When I finished he had a real sweat going, so I knew it had to hurt.
“Try to up his pain meds next time,” Ryan told his assistant. “Either that or put him out. This is not something he should have to suffer through.”
“No,” the man moaned. “I... wanted to... see it... this time. Thanks,” he got out.
“Sorry I had to subject you to that. I have no idea if it will get any easier as it heals or not. I hope so. At least you’ll have another day off. I’ll be back on Saturday to try it again.” He simply nodded.
We all exited the room.
“Well, I can see why you didn’t want us in there with you,” Kitty observed.
“Did you really have to hurt him so badly?” Chalise asked. Her concern didn’t bother me. It let me know she was caring. I hoped she could understand the necessary implementation of pain however.
“There wasn’t anything we could do to avoid it,” Ryan answered her. “He asked to be awake during the pro..., uh, he wanted to be awake,” he finished awkwardly. They both nodded in resignation.
“Will it be any better?” Chalise asked.
“Oh, he’s doing very well,” Ryan informed them. “We haven’t seen such rapid improvement before. There’s very little scar formation. This new treatment we’ve been trying has been very successful so far.” I didn’t think anyone was really fooled by his cover, but it at least allowed them to pretend.
Next we went to the MRSA woman, Mary Taylor, who was nearby. This time, when he described what she was suffering from, the girls didn’t make any motions like they wanted to enter the room, but Ryan told them it should be OK if they went in a few at a time. I let them visit for a few moments, then I entered with Allison.
“I’m glad to see you again,” she said as I neared her. “I’ve felt so much better since you were here last. They’ve tried additional treatments. Normally it’d make me quite sick, but I’ve been able to resist it with the strength you’ve given me.”
“We just hope we can find something that will combat it,” Ryan told us. “It’s nice you’ve given us this assistance, but this is the last drug we have available to help.”
“Well, I’m glad I’m in better shape to undergo it at least. I understand the odds aren’t very good,” she told me. I did the same thing I’d done before.
“I’m not sure I understand how this is working,” I told Ryan. “All I’m doing is giving the kidneys and liver a boost, but if they’re completely blocked and overloaded, it shouldn’t really make a difference.”
“Her kidneys seem to be working better,” he explained, pointing out a nearby catheter bag. We haven’t tested the liver, but we think it’s doing the same thing. It seems to be working more efficiently.”
Allison took this opportunity, since we were standing in relative isolation, to speak directly to Ryan.
“You know, you suggested a scholarship deal to Alex, and he explained how it takes a multipronged approach to do this,” she began. Ryan turned and considered her, intrigued by what she may suggest.
“Yes, and you have an idea?” he asked.
“We just moved up here from New Orleans,” she explained. “Alex convinced me that my previous line of work, while it allowed me to help others, was slowly getting to me. He’s convinced me to go to school to learn how to help people.” Ryan nodded at her, encouraging her to continue.
“I’ve decided to pursue a medical degree in Psychiatry, so I can combine my ability to see both a patient’s medical status plus their emotional state. I was thinking I might be able to provide you with part of what you are looking for, in that I could consult, as a student intern, on various cases, giving you the opportunity to use my, um, unique abilities, without any awkward questions about my qualifications. It would also give me a strong, real world education in both medical and psychiatric conditions that patients might suffer from.”
“And in return...” Ryan prompted, knowing there was more to this offer.
“Well, although I’ve been very busy working for the years since I’ve graduated college, I, uh, haven’t exactly been working in the type of field you can easily list on a resume,” she explained.
“Ah, so you’d like a letter of recommendation and maybe some introductions?” he asked, immediately understanding the problem.
“Exactly. I won’t need a scholarship, as my previous employment provided a very healthy remuneration, but I could use the assistance and experience you could provide for me.
“Besides,” she went on. “If I was working here, helping you see things you can’t now, and saw a situation that Alex could help with, I could always casually mention it in passing. Then I could possibly bring him with me to ‘observe’ me as I do my studies,” she said, smiling sweetly.
“I think that’s an excellent suggestion. I’ll have to think it through in order to see what we can come up with, but from what I’ve seen, I think we could use someone with your, uh, vision, in our operation,” he replied, smiling himself.
“You know,” Shani said, jumping into the discussion, “I’ve also recently relocated to the area as well, and although I don’t have any medical affiliation, I have a lot of experience in Human Resources. It may not sound exciting, but it would be something you could easily explain to an accountant or your stockholders. Plus, I’d have to tour the hospital with paperwork, or visit patients to evaluate their care by the various doctors and nurses. I could even ask them to show me their injuries so I could evaluate how well their treatments are coming along.”
“You know, now that you mention it,” Ryan replied, “I just may need someone in Human Resources. It just occurred to me that I might have an opening that’s suddenly become available. If you could get me a copy of your resume, we can all discuss it either tonight or on Saturday. This is sounding better and better all the time. It’s not the same as hiring Alex himself, but it’s a step in the right direction that would be easier to justify. We’re not much of a research facility, but I’ve always felt a bit limited in our ability to do cutting edge medicine here. If we were to, say, try a revolutionary new treatment protocol, we may need to hire a few young students to document our efforts.”
The attempt to be subtle was spoiled when Allison broke out in giggles.
“Dr. Moore, you certainly know how to scheme to get what you want,” Mary observed, enjoying our little interplay.
"Speaking of getting what I want," he said, continuing, "I assume your sister is still interested in a possible scholarship?"
"Yeah," I replied. "She'd appreciate it. My family doesn't have a lot of extra cash, so we'd both been planning on taking out a mess of loans to make it through."
"Well, all these new hires are going to stretch my finances, but I'll assume my new accountant can help me justify the new expenses. But scholarships are generally drawn out of a separate pile, so the one shouldn't impact the other. Besides, I know a couple of people at SIU that may be able to help as well."
We soon left to rejoin the other women, who hadn't heard the whole discussion, but knew we'd been talking quite a bit.
“So, what did you do for her?” Chalise asked.
“What? Why nothing more than simply discuss how she was feeling. In fact, I’m sure that simple talk left her feeling much more energized, so that she’ll be better able to handle the rigorous treatments she needs to get better,” I explained, beginning to appreciate this little style of subterfuge.
"Cate, we were also discussing the idea of a possible scholarship for you. Alex tells me that you plan on studying how Alex is able to do what he seems to be able to do. I think I'd like to help you do that. Let's talk about that as we head on to the next appointment.
As we headed to the elevator, I interrupted their discussion to broach the other two cases we wouldn't be seeing today. "Any word on those other cases, either the stabbing victim or the broken arm?"
“Sadly, no. I gave the guy with the broken arm a referral to an orthopod I trust, but whether he sees him or someone else is anyone’s guess. I actually suggested that we were anxious to see if a new approach we tried would yield quicker results, and that if he came back to us, we might be able to remove his cast sooner than anyone else, but there’s no guarantee he will.
“In the case of the stabbing victim, we discharged him. He was in satisfactory condition, but he’d lost a lot of blood. Any more blood loss and he would have been in more serious condition, so I’m glad that didn’t happen,” he replied, leaving the message oblique, but clear to us that knew the context.
We entered the cancer ward, and you could see the girls both perk up a bit. This was something they could understand a bit more, quiet suffering as opposed to a highly risky, sterile environment. I noticed a couple of nurses note our arrival and begin talking amongst themselves as we walked by, whispering quietly behind their hands.
As I entered the room, Jennifer saw us and smiled, calling out, “Alex! You came back. I’m so glad to see you.”
Her expression really was quite happy. I quickly stepped up and carefully enveloped her in a hug, again a little afraid of handling her so roughly in her condition.
“Hey, Allison, Shani. Your friends came by yesterday and explained some of what I could expect,” she explained. “I can’t believe you’d do this for me, it’s all so, so unbelievable!”
“Alex, you didn’t?” Kitty asked, archly, her voice rising in pitch as she did. When I turned to look at her she continued. “You did, didn’t you? You found another? I thought when you said someone else might show up you meant in the distant future, not a week later. And Alex, you’re not going to abuse this poor, weak woman are you?”
“No, of course not,” I told her in exasperation. “I don’t pick these women, they all seem to find me. I don’t go looking for someone to abuse, it’s just something that happens.”
Ryan’s eyes traveled back and forth between us, taking this all in. A couple of nurses started drifting in as we were talking.
“She’s been ever so anxious to talk all about you,” said one, in a slight English accent. “Says you gave her the vision and all, though the rest of us can’t quite figure out what that means.”
I winced a little at hearing that, but knew it was understandable.
“It just means she sees the world a little differently now that she has hope, that’s all. Don’t try to read any more into it than that. Jennifer, you know you shouldn’t be giving people any wild ideas by saying outrageous things,” I quietly chastised her. She had the good grace to look down and quietly apologize. However, I raised her face, causing her to squint her eyes, and kissed her nose gently.
“Don’t worry, though, I know how excited one can get when they finally see lights at the end of the tunnel.”
The girls all greeted her warmly, telling her they were glad to have her join my clan, and did she realize what she was getting into. As they were talking, my girls and I examined her, or rather they examined her, while they conveyed what they found to me. The dark mass I had worked on seemed to be a bit smaller, so as the girls continued to converse I quickly worked on the points Allison had marked.
“She’s doing quite well,” Ryan told us. “We took a quick biopsy from her shoulder, where we suspected another tumor might be. That’s in the lab right now. We didn’t want to do any others, though, until we saw how she’d respond first, but I’m encouraged by her marked improvements.”
Jennifer giggled slightly over our carefully worded exchanges, since she knew what we were actually saying. She also observed her own arm as I worked, so I conversed with her as I did so, introducing her to our telepathy, also showing her the image as I remembered it from the other day.
“Yeah,” she observed out loud, “It does seem to be quite a bit smaller.”
Suddenly the light seemed to go on in Ryan’s head.
“You know, Jennifer, until I can find something for these two friends of Alex’s, maybe I could get you a bit more involved in some other activities. Would you be interested in visiting some of the other patients on this floor, to see if we could maybe see a little more of what’s ailing them? Maybe we can help them as much as we’ve helped you?”
She giggled again at such subtle subterfuge, and readily agreed, glad to be able to test out her new abilities.
“I’m not sure I can help you very much, as this is all new to me. I haven’t been able to see the world in this new light for very long, so I’m not used to interpreting things in a positive manner yet,” she replied, getting into the spirit herself, which caused her to giggle a bit more, making everyone glance at her oddly. I noticed that Cate was about to split a gut herself. She seemed to find this all quite amusing. But then again, this was all right up her alley. She’d long practiced such things in teasing me over the years.
“I suspect that you’ll probably want to take a reading on those other potential tumors while they’re still there, if you want to record them,” I suggested. “Otherwise, her positive spirit might just overshadow them. Also, I think you should measure that one tumor again. I have a feeling you’ll like the results. I don’t think it’ll be perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
“You hear that, Jennifer, you’re new hero is suggesting I give you some more painful tests,” Ryan teased. “Think you’ll still want to thank him?”
“Oh, yes, you’d better believe it. If I could, I’d rock his little world,” she happily replied.
“Believe me,” Allison told her, “It’s really not such a little world, it’s just the little head that he uses to consider it with.” They all laughed at their cleverness as we made our exit, promising to visit again on Saturday.
“Tell me how the dates go tomorrow night?” she asked.
“Oh, there’s only one, mine isn’t until Saturday night,” Kitty answered, a little surprised this frail woman, laid up in the hospital, should know so much about her personal life. However, I didn’t supply her with any information on the subject. She already knew more than was good for her.
“Taking it slow, huh?” Jennifer asked.
“You’d better believe it,” I proudly told her. “With two beautiful, intelligent girls like these, you don’t make any assumptions. Instead you treat them like the beautiful treasures they are.” I didn’t know if they believed anything I said on the subject, but I really did believe it, even if I was putting it on a bit heavily for effect.
Finally we made it to the next floor down, instead of the basement. When I looked questioningly at Ryan, he simply told me, “Since he woke up, he’s here amongst the living and not shuffled away like an inanimate object. I think you’ll be encouraged by the difference.”
As we entered a new private room we surprised a few people there, standing beside the man. When the women saw Ryan, she looked a question at him, indicating me. When he simply nodded she threw herself into my arms.
“Oh, thank you, thank you ever so much for returning my poor husband to me. We’d all but given up hope of ever knowing him again. I don’t know what you did, but the director said you were the one responsible for it.”
“Now, now,” I told her. “I was just lucky enough to be there when he regained consciousness. After all, what could a simple kid do that a whole hospital couldn’t?”
I regarded her and those with her. She was about the same age as the man, though she looked a bit more harried, as if she’d aged a bit over the time he’d been indisposed. His kids were gathered at his sides, happy to see their father back amongst them once again.
“Tina, Jackson, don’t be rude. Say hello to the nice young man who helped your father so much,” she instructed her two kids. The older boy looked at me.
“He’s not that old, he’s only a few years older than I am. How could he do what you say he did?”
“Jackson, you should be ashamed of yourself. We’ve been given a miracle, and all you can think of is to tell the angel that delivered it that it was a mistake? Apologize, this instant!”
He quickly mumbled something unintelligible, but the younger daughter seemed to be quite pleased, as she quickly gave me a big hug and thanked me profusely.
“You have no idea what this means to us all,” she told me, giving me a quick kiss on my shoulder blade, which was about as high as she could reach.
“So, how’s he doing? I was never officially introduced the other day. Since he was so surprised to find himself in a hospital, the last thing he wanted to do was talk to some kid who just happened to be checking his wallet,” I teased.
“He’s doing quite well,” Ryan replied, playing up his role as doctor. “His name is Tim Reynolds and this is his wife, Tracy. He’s going to need substantial physical therapy to get over such a long period of complete inactivity, of course. He’s also showing some minor signs of mental impairment, such as recalling certain things or responding to questions.”
“Honestly,” he answered. “I feel amazing. I was just having a simple little procedure done and suddenly I wake up a year and a half later. I’m still a bit shell shocked.”
“Tim, Tracy and Tina, huh? What happened, was Jackson adopted or something?” I laughed.
“Actually his first name is Tray, but he likes to use his middle name instead,” Tim answered, joining me in a quick shared laugh.
I walked up to him, accompanied by Shani and Allison, and moved over behind him. As they wordlessly coached me, I had Ryan ask him a few routine questions designed to test several significant features, as I gently touched his head in several places.
“Wow, what the hell was that?” he asked, suddenly sounding much more alert and coherent. “It’s like someone pulled a cover off of my head.”
“I’m sure you’re just responding naturally after having had a chance to adjust to your new surroundings,” I assured him. “After all, it wouldn’t be anything I’m doing. That wouldn’t make any sense at all.” His wife quickly came around the bed again, but was held off by Shani until I finished what I was doing. When Shani nodded to her she threw herself against me once again.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have no idea what it is you did, and I won’t say anything if that’s what you want, but I just want you to know you’ll always be in our prayers from now on.” I thanked her, blushing profusely. After talking a bit more with the man, mostly just reassuring him that he hadn’t missed much, only the advent of a couple of silly reality TV shows, we made our exit, since I wasn’t overly fond of such an exuberant response.
“Well, that seems to have covered everyone. You wouldn’t be interested in seeing anyone else would you?” Ryan asked, in all sincerity.
“No thanks, Ryan, as we’ve said, I’ve got a big day planned tomorrow, as I’m taking one of my two favorite girls out. But if we could have that dinner you promised, I think we’d all appreciate it,” I replied.
So we all went out and had a very fine dinner, while Ryan and my girls had a drink. He told some interesting stories about how he had such great plans, but had lost a lot of his drive after he settled into a quiet little hospital where not much really happened, and how he felt invigorated by a new approach he saw developing there, and how he saw a few new hires as helping to make the small regional hospital more of an important resource. I’m not sure how my two dates saw it, but I was pleased, mostly because he couldn’t openly question me about anything.
We left shortly afterward, each looking forward to the activities of the day to come.