The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2448 by Angharad Copyright© 2014 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

When I woke, Simon had gone. Sitting next to me was Sammi. “What are you doing here?”

“Came to see you to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye?”

“Yeah, I’m going.”

“Going where?”

“Wherever it is good girls go.”

This wasn’t making much sense to me, but then I was painkillers and drips and things, so why wasn’t she? “How’s the wound?”

“Stopped hurting now.”

“How’s that?”

“Dunno, do I?”

“Great painkiller, death.”

“Yeah.”

“Right, young woman, you are not dead—so get back in that body and start fighting for your life—NOW.”

“It’s too late.”

“Is it now? Well, I don’t care, just do as I say or I’ll never forgive you or myself.”

“Why? It’s...”

“Cut the chat and go back to your body.” Somehow I managed to pull down some of the blue stuff and threw it at her. She gasped, yelled in pain and disappeared. Not quite in a flash but almost. I lay back exhausted.

A little later I felt a hand shoved in mine. I opened my eyes and sitting beside me was Trish. “Hello, sweetheart.”

“Hi, Mummy, thought I’d come and give you a boost.”

“I think Sammi needs it more than I do.”

“Nah, she’s okay now. She had us worried for a bit, flat lined, you know but nothing I couldn’t handle.” Trish beamed at me. There’s nothing like the confidence of youth.

“So she’s out of danger?”

“Yeah, only got one drip now. If they hadn’t kicked me out, I’d have had her home by lunch.”

“I’m sure you would, sweetheart. Now, how did you get here?”

“Daddy brought me, he’s up talking to the doctor about Sam. I told him I could cover for her at the bank. We discuss computer stuff all the time, her an’ me.”

“Talking of computers, where’s my iPad?” I’d had it with me at the hotel.

“Um, they don’t bounce too well, Mummy. You dropped it when you got shot.”

“Did I? I don’t remember that.”

“They brought it round to us, it still had blood on it. I cleaned it up, but even I couldn’t get it to go. Daddy did ask about repairs but it’s better to buy a new one.”

Things were getting better by the moment, not. I honestly couldn’t remember having it with me at the shooting, perhaps I did. I must have done or Sammi could have I suppose. Oh well, too late now.

I pushed myself into a sitting position and had a burning sensation in my side. I eased down and realised I was sweating with the pain and effort. “You all right, Mummy?”

“Yeah, just a bit sore. Got a feeling I shouldn’t have done that.”

Trish pulled away the gown and looked at my wound. “It’s bleeding again, wait there I’ll get a nurse.” She disappeared before I could stop her.

I drew down some more light and pushed it into the wound. There was like a very cold sensation and then pain, then it stopped. I expressed my thanks and thought I heard a distant chuckle. Trish came flying in with a nurse.

“I’m okay.” I tried to stop her looking at my wound.

“Sure ye are,” said a lovely Irish brogue. “Now lay back and let your Auntie Brigid see to it.” I felt a pulling sensation as she removed the dressing. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” she said leaning over me to look at my other side. “Would ya believe dat? Where’s the hole gone?”

“I’m usually a quick healer, perhaps you could discharge me?”

“Not until da doctor’s seen it.”

“I have a few things I need to do.”

“Doncha move, or you’ll answer to me, so ya will.”

“See, I healed it up for you, Mummy. I’m as good as you now.”

“Oh probably better, sweetheart. Now, can you see my clothes?”

“Daddy’s got a bag of stuff for you, shall I go and find him?”

“Call him first, see where he is, ask him to come down to me.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“This the lady, Mr Nicholls.”

“Why, Lady Cameron, you sampling hospital food again?”

“You know each other?”

“Oh we go back some way, isn’t that right, Cathy?”

“Yes, Ken. Now if you could just discharge me...”

“I heard it was a gunshot injury this time.”

“You know how they exaggerate these things, just a scratch I expect.”

He looked at his notes and then at my side. “I thought it didn’t work on you yourself?”

“Changed its mind I expect, you know, feminine energy and all that.”

He pressed here and there asking if it hurt and my answer was always negative. Then he checked my blood pressure. “There appears to be bugger all wrong with you, you can go home.”

“I did try to say...”

“Cathy, these photos don’t lie.” He showed me the file.

“Okay, so I heal quickly.”

“No normal person heals that quickly.”

“But I’m not normal, am I?”

“In what way? Oh the angel thing—perhaps you aren’t.”

“I can’t be, I’m an aristocrat, don’t ya know.”

He roared with laughter, “I’ll try and find Simon, tell him to get you out from under my feet.”

As he spoke so Simon appeared. “Hi, Babes, Ken.”

“Get this woman out of here, she’s blocking beds that sick people need.”

“I can take her home?”

“Yes, she’s doing me out of a bloody job.” We all laughed and Simon handed me a bag with jeans and a top, plus some casual shoes. I sighed with relief when I saw he’d included a bra and pair of knickers.

“Trish did a good job, then?”

“She thinks she did, bless her.”

“Oh, I left her up talking to Sammi.”

“She won’t do any harm and might do some good."

"She saved Sammi’s life earlier.”

“I’m sure she helped but I had Sammi down here.”

“In here—this room, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry, babes, it’s not possible—she couldn’t go anywhere.”

“She wasn’t in a body, her spirit or soul or whatever you want to call it, came in to say goodbye. I suspect she’d just died.”

Simon stood there open mouthed. “She’d just died?”

“Yeah, I’ve dealt with it before.”

“But, she’d just died you said.”

“Yes, I sent her back to her body and told her she had to stay in it.”

“She was in it just now. She’s quite poorly, but improving.”

“Good, it nearly killed me to do it, then healing this thing—I need to get up to see her.”

We chatted while I dressed. A different nurse arrived with my discharge note which Simon took.

I thanked the nurses, Ken had been called to theatre, and we chatted as we walked up to Sammi’s ward. “Sorry about the iPad.”

“Yeah, so am I,” he offered.

“I’ll pay for a new one.”

“Why?”

“Because I broke it when I got shot. Sorry, but it was a bit unavoidable.”

He blushed. “Um, you didn’t drop it, babes.”

“So how did it get broken?”

“Um, I’m afraid I dropped it when I saw you both lying on the ground.”

“You dropped it? What were you doing with it?”

“I had it for the projector slide show, remember?”

“Oh...”

“I ordered a new one for you.”

“Thank you, darling.” I stopped him and kissed him in the hospital corridor.

“Get a room,” said someone walking past.

“Oh, I intend to, but not here,” I called back.