Routine check-up

A day had gone by and Steve was still in the hospital. Last night he was on a concussion watch, meaning that a nurse came and woke him up every 2 hours to ask questions to see if he was doing okay, to make sure that there was no brain damage or signs of a blood cloth. Laila, Maria and Jake had gone home for the day after they had dinner, with Laila and Maria making the promise that they would return first thing in the morning.

Although things had been fine with Jake, they weren't exactly close enough (yet) for him to be visiting everyday. He had seen Laila, he had gotten a token of acceptance from Steve and Maria, that was enough for now as there was plenty for him to deal with since sh*t had hit the fan for him as well because of Harold's doing. So, he didn't invite himself over for today and left the ball in Laila's court for now until she had the chance to speak to Noah about their proposed friendship.

Now that morning had arrived, the time to visit had come for Laila and Maria. When they came to see Steve, he was still sleeping, which wasn't a surprise considering his restless night. The two of them chuckled softly as they approached the bed and Maria ran her fingers through his messy hair. Seeing that he was still asleep, they decided not to disturb him. Instead Maria wrote a note on behalf of them both and left it on his bedside table. That way he would know that they had come to the hospital to see him, that they were waiting for him downstairs and he could let them know when he was ready to see them. After that they went to the cafeteria to get something to drink and a snack as they waited for him to wake up on his own, while hoping that it wouldn't take too long.

After another hour passed, Laila and Maria got a bit tired from waiting and made their way back up and into his room. When they walked inside, they saw that Steve was still as deeply asleep as he had been an hour before and they let out a soft sigh as they weren't sure what to do. Wondering if they should wait some more or just leave and do some shopping to kill the time. They were in the middle of solving this minor dilemma when a nurse came into the room, ready for her routine check-up on Steve's condition. She greeted the two of them before asking if they were friends or family of Steve. They confirmed to be his friends and the nurse smiled in response to their words before she stepped further into the room.

The nurse walked up to Steve's bed and woke him up by calling his name. "Mr. Branson. Good morning. My name is Cindy. I am here to check your vitals and your wounds." Before Steve had a chance to respond, Cindy already moved to the curtains and opened them up to let in the bright sunlight. Then she proceeded to do what she came here to do and while she did, she asked the mumbling, grumbling Steve some simple questions. Fortunately Steve had a room for him alone and thus the nurse's checks weren't disturbing anyone's rest. Another benefit of a private room was that it meant that there were no other patients that Steve. So, there was also no need to shield him with a curtain to protect his privacy or be mindful of the questions. As she took some blood samples from the line that had been put in his arm for the IV fluids, she asked, "How are we feeling today? Were you able to get some sleep last night?"

A bit confused from being woken from such a deep sleep, Steve was replying the best he could. "mm-mm, I'm okay. I'm tired." and "Not really". He was letting out these simple two word replies as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. This small action seemed to have brought him back to reality as he felt the line and the needle because of his movement, which in turn reminded him of where he was. He finally pulled himself up a bit and Cindy made it a bit easier for him by raising the upper part of the bed. This allowed him to somewhat sit up straight in the bed and now that his eyes were finally open, he noticed Maria and Laila standing by the wall. They waved at him and he greeted them as he waved back. He wanted to talk to them but Cindy proved that this was not the right time as she interrupted him before he could say a single word to either of them, to announce that she would be taking his blood pressure.