Because some very nice people have seen fit to get down on their knees and beg for clarification, I have given in to the use of quote marks. (Can I please get down off this plank now? And stop eating all the chocolate.)
The Chibi Problem Part 25
I woke up, sort of, but the lights were way too bright. A nice voice told me to go on back to sleep; they'd let me know when it was time to wake up. That sounded like a good idea, so I did.
When next I awoke, BabyDoll was curled against my neck, thrumming gently. No bright lights this time, but I had a huge headache and everything was sort of... wobbly.
"You're awake," came a familiar voice sounding obviously relieved.
I turned my head just enough to wake BabyDoll and to catch a glimpse of Mike sitting next to the bed.
"Am I?"
"Well, your eyes are open and this time they're focused," he said with a smile.
"Feel like crap," I managed to croak out.
He offered a glass with a straw, and I sucked down about a pint of water.
"Not surprised," he said when I finished. "You've got a concussion along with the other stuff."
"Other stuff?"
BabyDoll chirruped at me and I tried to lift my hand to pet him. Arm refused to move. He crept down to meet my hand instead, rubbing against me like a cat.
"Other stuff?" I said more firmly.
Mike had a funny look on his face; a weird mix of embarrassed and angry.
"That sonuvabitch managed to give you a concussion and dislocate your shoulder, as well as tear the ligaments in your knee. And there's a cracked rib in there too. The shoulder is strapped. Your IV is in the other one."
"Well, fuck," I muttered.
I managed to scratch BabyDoll's head with my fingers and he thrummed at minimum volume.
"Listen," Mike said running his hand over his regulation haircut. "I'm glad you're awake. I didn't want to leave until I talked to you. It's almost two. I have the Staff Duty today; I have to be in at 0600."
"Crap. Mike, I'm sorry -"
He held up his hand. "Nope, I'm not listening to that. No sorries allowed. They're gonna keep you until tomorrow, just to make sure. I'll drop the car at the hobby shop at lunch, and have Rowdy give it a look."
"It's the alternator," I interrupted.
"Okay, I'll tell him. I'll take the other Chibis with me and drop them at your place, okay? They'll be all right?"
"Yeah, they should be. Hey, thanks Mike..."
I hesitated and he looked at me curiously.
"Just ask," he offered.
"Well... When you get to my place, could you call here, so BabyDoll can talk to his mates? They're probably worried."
Mike blinked at me. Then he started to laugh.
"You mean the way he talked to me?"
"Oh, you liked that?"
"Damnedest thing I've ever done," he snickered. "Talking to a Chibi over the phone. And I even understood the little guy."
BabyDoll stood up and chirped at him.
"Shiiiiniiii...!"
Mike laughed. "If you say so, BabyDoll..."
He gathered his jacket to leave.
"Oh, here's your cell phone. I checked it out and you get a good signal here. I'll have the boys give you a call. They won't try calling Botswana or someplace on their own, will they?"
"Nah... They're pretty well mannered. Hey, you drive careful. And thanks, Mike..."
"No prob."
He patted BabyDoll on the head and went out.
I stared at the ceiling for a while, until a nurse came in. She said the doctor would be along in a while. He was currently explaining my injuries to a couple of cops.
"What happened to the guy who jumped me?" I asked.
"He's upstairs, handcuffed to a bed," she smirked. "The guy is beat all to hell and gone. Kind of looks like he tried to wrestle a flaming alligator."
After she had gone out again, I looked at BabyDoll.
"A flaming alligator...? What did you guys do to him?"
My Chibi inspected his tiny hands.
"Shinigaaamiii... Moi loiiii... Scyyyythe... Gek! Chikan! Warui! Oiiiii...!"
I blinked.
Well.
I know my Chibi loves me, but having it demonstrated to such purpose was just a little... I sniffed. I started to cry. BabyDoll looked alarmed and scurried up to pat my cheek anxiously.
I managed to cuddle him with my other arm, in spite of the IV. I bawled for a good ten minutes before I could get it stopped. When I let go of BabyDoll, he fluttered to the table to grab an armload of tissues from the box there.
"You are such a good little guy," I whimpered, wiping my eyes and my nose.
He crouched on my good shoulder, his lovely little face scrunched with anxiety. I offered him a tissue; he took it.
"Moiiiii!" He sprawled himself half across my face, his head on my cheekbone. "Moiiiii loiiiii...! Soiiiii..."
"It's not your fault, sweetie." I stroked his back and his braid. Whatever they'd been pumping through my IV was definitely not friendly. Some anesthetics and most heavy-duty painkillers tend to mess with my emotional equilibrium; hence, the crying. I'm not usually that teary, I swear.
The doctor's arrival was almost anticlimactic. He repeated what Mike had already told me about my injuries, and that I'd be staying for another day, just for observation.
He had the fresh, eager look of a resident, rather than a full-fledged doctor, in spite of a slightly haggard appearance. I couldn't seem to stop my mouth.
"You look like you could use a nap," I smirked.
He blinked, then grinned. "Well, I was supposed to be off-shift about six hours ago, but... Heh; this was too good to miss."
"'This'?"
He actually blushed a bit. "These pets of yours, and the slob upstairs."
I glanced at BabyDoll. Why did I feel there was another story that Mike didn't tell me?
"Oh, yeah?"
The doctor actually chuckled. "You were in Trauma when they brought that guy in. This one -" He indicated BabyDoll. "- Flew at him, and the jerk tried to get off the gurney and run, but he was strapped down. He managed to overturn the gurney on top of himself. While they were getting him sorted out, another flock of these guys came storming in and got past the paramedics to start kicking the sh- crap out of him!"
I looked at BabyDoll. "You little devil, you!"
My Chibi fluttered his long dark lashes over those brilliant violet eyes and grinned at me. "Moooiiiii...!" He wrapped himself around my arm, patting gently. "Shiiiii... Moooiiiii Shiiiii...! Loooiiiii..."
The doctor laughed. "They were pretty entertaining, all right! The cops will be around shortly to talk to you, if you feel up to it." He stuck a faint question mark at the end of it.
I shrugged. Well, I tried to shrug. Didn't come off so well, but he got the idea.
"If you'd rather not yet, I can ask them to hold off until morning."
"No, might as well get it over," I sighed. And get over it before Mike called, I thought but didn't say.
"Okay, then." He grinned at me and at BabyDoll, and my little flirt cooed at him. "This one is a real charmer, all right. I'll ask them to keep it short, so you can get some rest."
And he was gone, without even a squeaky shoe.
Huh, I thought, a nice guy. Almost enough to make me like doctors.
The Sheriff's detectives were pretty decent too. Guess it was just my night, or maybe the planets had decided to take pity on me.
BabyDoll parked himself on my good shoulder and thrummed softly. They asked the usual questions; why was I out there, why did Bubba stop, what set him off, how did he get injured?
I just recited what happened, feeling stupid that I'd let myself get sucked into the snare, but I also had to explain that I wasn't entirely sure how Bubba got his injuries. I was pretty much in another dimension at the time.
BabyDoll entered the conversation at that point, chattering, chirping, hooting and shrilling "Shinigaaamiii!" a number of times. His tone left no doubt in anyone's mind - whether they actually understood him or not - that he knew exactly how Bubba got his injuries, and he would have a great deal more injuries, if BabyDoll had his way.
The cops looked at each other, then at me. I shrugged.
"Well," said Cop #1, "I guess we've been told."
Cop #2 snickered. BabyDoll glared at him. He stopped snickering. "That's a good little defender you've got there. Must be as good as having a dog."
BabyDoll's eyes opened wide; my Chibi does indignant better than most humans.
"Better than," I interjected before he could shift into affronted, insulted and offensive. "These guys are better than dogs, any which way you look at it," I sighed, rubbing BabyDoll's back. He tossed the cops a haughty smirk and cuddled against my neck.
They had all my information from Mike, and promised that someone would be contacting me in a couple of days for a more formal statement. They left then, with Cop #1 saying lightly, "You know, if everyone had a pet like that, we might be out of the assault business."
Yeah, I thought, you probably would be. But the lawyers would have a field day pursuing all the "dangerous animal" cases.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if Bubba tried to sue me for the damage the guys did to him. Hey, it's the way of the world nowadays. But that's why I have a nice rabid-Pitbull-on-crack lawyer of my own.
I drowsed for a while then; not quite able to sleep until I knew for sure that Mike wouldn't be late for formation and that the gundam hadn't destroyed the neighborhood in their anxiety over us. When the phone rang, I had it opened and on almost before that first ring finished.
Everything was fine at home, according to Mike. No bomb craters, no bloody mangled bodies anywhere. Even the kitchen was fairly clean. The juveniles were excited to be home, and had an awestruck audience for their tale of the Battle of the Bubba. The cats were in hiding in their catpole. Killer and Angel nearly wrenched the phone away from Mike, so anxious were they to talk to BabyDoll. Mike said he would just leave them to it, if I thought it would be okay.
I thanked him again, but he waved it away. He would have the next day off, he said, so he would come down and pick me up. I told him he didn't need to; I could find a way home, but he went all Marine Macho and growled that he would pick me up, and that was that. I've worked around Marines for a long time; I just said thanks, then shut up, and handed the phone to BabyDoll.
Sometimes you just have to let the Alphas do their thing.
TBC...
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