Bell put the blinker on and pulled up to Ryan's house. Turning off
the engine, he
got out of the car and went over to the other side of the car. He reached in
the back to get the crutches out so that Ryan could make it into the house.
After retrieving those, he opened the door and coached Ryan out of
the car. "Here we go, put your arms on the crutches and your right foot out
of the car. Now, use your arms and legs to..."
Bell's sentence was cut short by Ryan's voice. "Yeah, I know how to
get out of a
car Bell...my brain isn't that fried from these meds." She knew he was only
trying to
help.
He put his arms up in defense, as if to keep the words from hitting
him like
daggers. "Okay, okay. I was only trying to help." This is going to be one
hell of a long three weeks.
Using the crutches to support herself, she felt an unbelievable rush
to her ankle.
"Oh my God!" The pain was unbearable. She had to sit back down.
"What's wrong?" Concern in Bell's voice.
"A blood rush. It's so painful. I need to sit for a minute and
rest. I'll try it again
in a minute." Kathleen was trying to be so brave so that he wasn't any more
worried. "It's different when it's me with the problem. I never knew how
much this could hurt. Now I pity anyone that we rescue." She tried to
laugh, making the atmosphere lighter, but a sharp pain in her chest stopped
her from doing so.
After the pain in her chest subsided and her foot wasn't hurting as
bad she tried
again. Only this time she took it much more slowly. It didn't matter
though. The pain was too great and she collapsed back into the leather seat
of the car. "I can't do this Michael. It hurts too much!"
He knew it was true by the color in her face, or the lack thereof.
"Okay, we'll just
have to improvise." Bell wracked his brain for an answer. Eureka!
Before she knew what had hit her, Michael had her up in his strong,
muscular
arms. "Well, if you can't walk I'll just carry you in. It shouldn't hurt
your ankle that
much." Ever so carefully he traversed the small yard.
Kathleen could feel the keys that were digging into her side. "Um, I
think you
forgot about these. She took the keys in her hand and when they reached the
door,
unlocked it. "My homecoming...what would the fellows think if they saw me
like this,
with a broken ankle, with severe bruises, and in your arms being carried
across the
threshold?"
She was soon going to find out...
****
She reached down and turned the knob. They stood there for a minute
before
walking into the house. When they were reached the couch, a loud "SURPRISE!"
was
yelled. People popped out of their hiding places around the room and the
adjoining
room.
Ryan, who was still in Bell's arms, turned ever so slightly so that
her mouth was
near his ear. "I'm never going to hear the end of this one. I'm going to
get you back for
this. As the saying goes, payback's a bitch." They both laughed and from
the expressions
on the other people, they knew what was said.
Captain Durfee was the first one to approach Ryan. "Hey Kid. How
are ya?"
Genuine concern was put into the question.
"I'm doing okay. It's going to take some getting used to though.
I've never had to
depend on anyone before." She threw a glance over to Michael who was talking
with
Wick and Carla. "Have you found someone to replace us while I recover?"
"Yeah, I'm going to take two people from the next station. They said
they could
spare them. Of course, they won't be as good, they're as cocky as can be.
It should be a
learning experience for Wick." The two laughed at the mental pictures that
flooded their
minds.
"Hey, what's so funny guys?" Wick came over to talk to his partner.
"Oh, nothing Wick. Just something that the Cap and I were talking
about. He'll
tell you when he wants you to know." That last comment was thrown in by
Kathleen to
get Wick's curiosity working overtime.
"Uh...okay whatever. So, how are you Ryan?"
"I'm doing okay. It's going to be a long three weeks though." She'd
have Bell
around all the time looking after her...it was definitely going to test them
both, how much
though they wouldn't know.
