Being discharged

A few hours had passed since nurse Cindy had come to see Steve and given him her stamp of approval to be discharged. Now they were waiting for a doctor to do the same, so that they could leave the hospital. Although Steve's stay had been as good of an experience as a hospital visit can be, they were ready for it to end and for them all to be a bel to return home. A place where there were no nightly wake up sessions, no beeping machines, no people walking through the halls all day and all night, and no mediocre food.

When the surgeon finally came, she entered the room with another young doctor by her side. From the look of things, it seemed as if she was some type of intern or student doctor. While the doctor who had performed his surgery looked at his chart and the results of his bloodwork, the young woman by her side, carefully lifted Steve's hospital gown to examine his wounds. Of course she did this after asking Steve permission, which he of course granted. Shortly after the young woman had looked at the wounds, the doctor came to join her and asked her what she thought after which she pointed out the things that she should take notice of.

Once she had explained everything to her pupil, she told the three of them that everything seemed good. His wounds didn't seem inflamed and they didn't appear to be too sensitive to touch. Then she repeated some of the questions Cindy the nurse had asked earlier. Steve told the surgeon the same as what he had told Cindy and she nodded as she said, "Well, it seems to me that you are fine to go home. Judging by your chart, you didn't have a fever all night and your temperature seemed fine when I measured it just now as well. You passed the tests for the concussion and as I said before, your wounds are looking good. So, if you want to continue your recovery at home, I am comfortable to discharge you. Is there anyone who can look after you at home?"

When Steve heard this question, he glanced over at Maria, hoping and silently asking her if she would be willing to be the one to nurse him back to health. When Steve couldn't get a clear sign or answer from Maria, in the short moment that he was waiting to give the doctor an answer, he got ready to tell the doctor that he didn't have anyone but he was stopped just in time by Maria herself. Because what Steve didn't realize was, that this was a question that he didn't even need to ask her.

Maria was by nature a very giving person and a very caring person. Even if they weren't in a relationship and they were just friends, she would have insisted helping out. But in her current role, she felt that it went without saying. So, without Steve having to ask her, Maria had already begun thinking about the 'how's and 'what's. She was figuring out what she would need do to be able to take care of Steve during this initial period. As soon as she heard the word 'discharge', her mind immediately started planning. So, she hadn't been quiet because she was rejecting to help him. Quite the contrary. Her mind was simply preoccupied with her thinking about how she would handle the matters with work, the number of days she had left for vacation time and what else she needed to take care of with regards to her own house, before she could stay by Steve's side to help him recover.

In her mind everything was taking place in slow-motion and although she could hear what was being said around her, it was like the words were from a conversation taking place at a distance. Fortunately she had everything sorted in her head just in time and she stepped in just before Steve could say anything to say, "Yes. I'll be looking after him." The surgeon didn't seem to have noticed the long silence as she had been busy writing a few things done but seemed to be content with the answer. She nodded and said, "Good. He shouldn't be alone for the next couple of days. He needs to rest and recover but he doesn't need to be stuck at the hospital for that. So, are you his sister, friend, girlfriend..?"

Maria smiled a bit awkwardly as she said, "Girlfriend." Again the doctor replied affirmatively as she said, "Good. That is great. Then you won't be shying away when it comes to cleaning his wounds and changing the bandages in a couple of days I assume?" But before Maria could say anything in response, the doctor already filled in an answer for her and said, "I'll be sure to leave a folder behind with instructions for you. In case it wasn't clear already, he can't overexert himself as that could cause the wounds to reopen. Therefore, for now, he needs to refrain from any night-time activities. If you get what I mean."

Maria's face became flushed as she was feeling a bit embarrassed. She scraped her throat and quickly said, "I understand. Don't worry." to move the conversation along from that awkward topic. The surgeon nodded again before she left the room to get the discharge process started. As soon as she left the room, Laila and Steve burst out laughing. They found the situation Maria had been in to be very amusing and her response ever more so. "Of all people, it had to be you that she made that comment to. You little vixen. She must have known you wouldn't keep your hands off of him otherwise, recovering patient or not". Maria scolded them for their teasing, saying that it wasn't funny as she hid her face from time to time when she remembered the surgeon's words.