Recoveries... a KnightWATCH story

Chapter 6

         ”Hey, there,” Claudia said from the open door. ”Working on the next Great American Novel?”

         David looked up, tried his best to smile, and waved Claudia closer. He held out the clipboard he was writing on.

         ”An account of the accident, David? Why?” David wrote back on a different page about getting the info to Safety and Accident Prevention before they pounded him for it. Claudia began chuckling.

         ”David, relax. It’s not that bad. From everything I’ve seen and heard, you did nothing wrong. And I honestly think that if our ‘friends’ over in SAP tried to hose you, they’d be tied to cots and attacked with IV needles... very large, very painful IV needles.” Claudia’s smile turned evil as she said this, then went back to friendly. “So don’t worry about SAP reports; you’re supposed to be resting.

         “You probably know this, but a lot of folks are worried about you. Including your sister. ” David looked up sharply, then scribbled a question. ”Admin called her last night. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but she may fly in to see you.” David angrily scrawled out another note. ”Don’t worry her? Hell, David, she could have lost you yesterday!!” David wrote out another message, this time not quite as angrily. ”I’m sorry, I didn’t know about your parents and brother being killed in an airplane crash outside Pittsburgh. But that proves my point. Do you two have any other siblings?” David shook his head no. ”Then you’ve only got each other. She certainly deserves to know.” David wrote another question.

         ”Jim’s not that bad. He’s already in a private room at St. Vincent’s. Should be out in a few days.” David scrawled across his note pad again. ”It’ll probably be a few weeks before he’s back on the street, David. No, I don’t know who they will place him with, but you’re right that he deserves a good partner. Now, stop worrying about him. Heal thyself first, EMT. Speaking of which, any news on your rehab?” David wrote that he’d only been told about his injuries, their treatments and some vague timelines. He also commented that he was worried about his insurance coverage. ”Don’t worry about the insurance, David. I’ll see that Tom Vance in Human Resources makes sure it’s Workman’s Compensation.

         “And if I have anything to say,” Claudia commented, anticipating his next question, “I’ll make sure there’s always a place for you in Knightsbridge. After all, I’m still here after my skiing accident. You might say I have some special pull on that issue.” She lifted up her left arm as far as it would go to emphasize the point.

         David asked if the workman’s comp would cover his rehab as well as his hospital stay. ”I think it should, David. I’ll get Tom pounding away on that one. Why do you ask?” David wrote that he had no idea what was in store for him, if he was going to work out at home, or if he was going to be transferred to Carrolton’s inpatient rehab center. ”David, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. And speaking of that, I want you to start thinking about some of your goals for the next few months. Think about where you want to be, what you want to do, and how you want to do it.” Claudia then looked at her watch. ”Look, I need to go, and you need to rest. If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know. Meantime, get some rest and start healing.” David squeezed her hand, and Claudia left. David decided to try a little television, even though he was feeling rather drowsy. He flipped through the remote and found a very old rerun of ”Medical Center” with Chad Everett. Within ten minutes, David was asleep.

* * *

         ”Rise and shine, sleepy head,” Stephanie quietly whispered in Melinda’s ear. ”It’s nine o’clock in the morning. There’s some water and aspirin on the table if you need it. If you don’t shake a leg, your breakfast will get cold.”

         ”Unnhh... breakfast?”