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

[thatsfascinating]

"I know. But we need to get your head imaged. If there's intracranial bleeding, they might need to aspirate." She frowned and pulled back. "They do have a hospital around here, right?"

[abrightboy]

"Yeah... yeah there's a big hospital in Marseilles."

He pushed himself to his feet. "We need to call a car."

He wandered out of the bathroom and through the next two rooms, then paused. "What was I doing?"

[thatsfascinating]

She followed him, and stopped when he stopped, drawing in a short breath.

Crap. This was bad.

"You were going to call a car. Would you like me to do it?" She frowned. "Do they speak English?"

[abrightboy]

"Oh! I speak French!" he volunteered.

[thatsfascinating]

She took a breath. Held it for a beat.

"Yes," she said, pointing at him. "Yes you do. Tell you what...how about I call them, and if they only speak French I have you talk to them?"

[abrightboy]

"Yeah. I think that's a good idea. I'm dizzy; I'm not feeling so well," he confessed.

[thatsfascinating]

She stepped close and gently caressed his face. "I know," she said. "It's going to be okay. I'm going to take care of you. Here..."

She took his hands and led him again to the couch, helping him sit down.

"Who do I call? What's the number?"

[abrightboy]

"Oh..." He reached over to the end table and scratched a number on a notepad and handed it to her.

[thatsfascinating]

She nodded and took the number. "Thanks."

She sat and took out her phone, dialed the number he gave her, and waited. She didn't know exactly who the number was for, but she figured she'd work it out.

Assuming he gave her the right number.

[abrightboy]

It was a car service in a nearby town. They spoke English; they catered to wealthy tourists.

Malcolm was humming to himself, looking out the window.

[thatsfascinating]

Oh thank god.

Edrisa gave them their address, said they needed to get to the nearest hospital, and fast. They asked why she didn't call an ambulance which...was a good question. She answered that as long as they could be fast, it was probably better to go by car. They promised to be there as soon as possible.

She hung up and turned to Malcolm. "Hey. They're sending a car."

[abrightboy]

He looked over, smiling faintly.

"I'm not a burden yet, am I?" he asked.

[thatsfascinating]

She shook her head, and reached out to pull him closer to her, wrapping him up in her arms.

"You're never a burden," she murmured. "If I was the one with the concussion, you'd be doing this for me."

[abrightboy]

"I'd carry you there," he said into her shoulder. "Across the countryside."

[thatsfascinating]

She smiled sadly at that, rubbing his back.

"I know you would," she said. "I could try...I don't think I'd get very far..."

[abrightboy]

"No, that's a bad idea; they'll send a car," he pointed out.

"We're going to a hospital again. What if they make me stay? We won't have my medicine with us. What if they restrain me?" he asked, suddenly afraid.

[thatsfascinating]

She hadn't thought about that. It was enough to make her second guess bringing him to the hospital in the first place. As concerned as she was about his concussion, it was entirely possible that the hospital would be worse.

"Do you want me to keep you here?" she asked softly.

[abrightboy]

"Could I die if they don't check it?"

He promised her he wouldn't be that careless.

[thatsfascinating]

That's really what it came down to. She swallowed and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him.

"Yes," she answered softly. "If you have intracranial bleeding, you could die."

[abrightboy]

He put a hand to his head for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut. He needed his brain to function for a moment. He needed to think.

"Can you get me a bag?" he asked. "With my medication and my restraints. And pyjamas. I can't deal with hospital gowns. They don't cover anything if you start kicking and screaming."

[thatsfascinating]

"Yes," she said, pulling back. "I can do that."

She gave him a quick kiss, then hurried to his bedroom. She had to move quickly, because the car would be there any minute, but she also needed to make sure she got everything.

She was just tugging the restraints free of the bed when she heard a car horn. "Be right there," she yelled as she stuffed the restraints into the bag, then grabbed a tshirt and sweatpants, cramming them into the bag as she ran out to the living room.

[abrightboy]

He stood up, a little unsteadily, when he heard her returning, reaching for her hand. His eyes fell to her torn dress again and lingered there.

"We didn't take care of you at all," he noted quietly.

He swallowed hard; the headache was getting worse.

"We have to do that too. Next. Please."

He knew if his life was in danger, she'd never pause because of a dress, but he wanted her to remember how important she was.

[thatsfascinating]

She took his hand and nodded. She knew that he loved her, was concerned about her, would have taken care of her had he been able.

"We will," she assured him. "Once we know you're not in danger, we'll come back here, and I promise I will let you take care of me as much as possible."

The car honked again, and she wrapped her arm around his waist. "Let's get you to the hospital."

[abrightboy]

He let her take him and when they got to the hospital, they were able to explain the situation enough that they immediately took him in for tests, leaving Edrisa in the waiting room with his bag.

[thatsfascinating]

She had wanted to protest, to tell them she should be with him, that she would be happy to change into scrubs if it meant she could be there to hold his hand, or his foot, while he was in the CT scan or the MRI.

But instead she told him she'd be right there, waiting for him. That she loved him. And she held his hand for as long as she could, until his fingers slipped from hers.

Then she sat down with his bag, feeling helpless.