The Adventure Continues

[abrightboy]

For thatsfascinating.



The villa Malcolm rented was in the Languedoc, not far from Marseilles, south of Avignon. It was a very historic region, though Malcolm was particularly not interested in visiting Marseilles again. There was a charming village nearby the villa and if they were going to go to an historic city for a day, he'd rather make the trip over to Montpellier, where he'd never been at all, much less with Dr Whitly.

The villa had six bedrooms. As the driver brought their luggage inside the bright and spacious main room, Malcolm handed him some folded Euros and thanked him and shut the door behind him.

"First choice of a room is yours," he told Edrisa with a smile. "But you might want to explore first."

Comments

[abrightboy]

"...Oh. Like. If my brain swells and they have to cut a hole in my head?" he asked uncertainly. Could that still happen?

[thatsfascinating]

She nodded. "It's unlikely," she said softly. "Really unlikely. But still possible. Or what happens if they can't wake you up? They'd want me to be there in case there are decisions that need to be made."

She hoped to god that wouldn't happen, but if it did?

"I need to be here."

[abrightboy]

He looked at her a moment, trying to swallow fear.

"W-why wouldn't I be able to wake up?"

[thatsfascinating]

She frowned, confused by his reaction...then her eyes widened.

"Oh! No, it's not the same as being sedated. It happens sometimes with a serious concussion. It's a sign that intervention is needed. Not necessarily surgery!" She wrung her hands. "I'm not being comforting, am I?"

[abrightboy]

"I just want to know what to expect; I thought I was doing well."

He thought it wouldn't be a big deal if she was gone for a couple of hours. He was restrained and he knew she'd come back. But he was scared again.

[thatsfascinating]

"You are," she assured him. "I don't expect this to happen. I just...need to be here, just in case it does.

She took his hand in both of hers.

"It's going to be okay."

[abrightboy]

"Can I still get permanent brain damage?"

It seemed like a fate worse than death to him; he had enough types of damage - he didn't need that.

[thatsfascinating]

it was possible. She couldn't claim otherwise.

She squeezed his hand.

"It is extremely unlikely," she said. "I promise."

[abrightboy]

An orderly came in with a tray and set it down for him.

Malcolm closed his eyes and turned his face away from it.

"Please take it; I don't want it."

[thatsfascinating]

The orderly looked from Malcolm to Edrisa. She thought for a moment, then pointed toward the table on the other side of the room. The orderly shrugged, brought the tray across the room and set it down, then left.

"Can I get in bed with you?" she asked, almost timidly.

[abrightboy]

He nodded, shifting back over, though he still looked a little distraught.

"But you haven't eaten. You didn't get to clean up... " He looked a bit miserable. "Other people's biting condemnation would be easier to dismiss if it were less... tangible." But he reached for her. He wanted to hold her.

[thatsfascinating]

She climbed onto the bed again and buried herself in his arms, hugging him tightly.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder but still audibly miserable. "I made everything worse."

[abrightboy]

"No," he told her. "It's not... worse. I just didn't want you to be overlooked and I really thought I was doing better than that."

[thatsfascinating]

She lifted her face. "I'm fine. Really. And you're fine. I mean, you have a concussion. And there's a small chance of complications. But it's still really, really likely that you'll be fine and we'll be out of here in the morning. And then...we can take a bath together, and snuggle in front of the fire, and talk about our wedding."

[abrightboy]

He considered that.

"Tomorrow?" he confirmed with faint hope.

[thatsfascinating]

She nodded. "Tomorrrow," she confirmed confidently.

[abrightboy]

He considered that.

He gestured over her shoulder.

"Is there any jello on that tray?" he asked quietly.

[thatsfascinating]

She smiled with a small sigh of relief. "I'll go see." She gave him a quick kiss, then climbed out of the bed and went over to the tray.

"No jello,' she said over her shoulder. "But there's some soup."

[abrightboy]

He huffed a small sigh of disappointment, but nodded, gesturing for her to bring it.

"You can have everything else."

He knew she didn't want to leave the room, probably even to go to the cafeteria. She had to eat something.

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa picked up the tray and carried it over to his table.

"Are you sure you don't want more of this? It looks delicious. There's a salmon salad and a baguette and pie." She looked up. "Is there anything about French hospitals that isn't awesome?"

[abrightboy]

He closed his eyes and shook his head faintly. "This is enough for me," he told her. "Please have it."

[thatsfascinating]

He was upset, and Edrisa was pretty sure she knew why.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to pressure you to eat more. I was just saying how good it all looked.

She set the tray down with the soup closest to him, then went back to pull the other table over so she could use it.

[abrightboy]

He looked up at her response, realizing how he'd sounded and immediately relenting.

"No, Edrisa... that's not..." He sighed. "My head just hurts and sitting up makes me dizzy. I didn't m... You didn't say anything wrong."

[thatsfascinating]

She left the other table by the chair and came to his bedside, focusing on the fact that he felt dizzy.

"Do you think you can manage some soup?"

[abrightboy]

He nodded faintly. "Yeah. I-I'd like to try."