Chapter 15

The morning passed in quiet companionship for the two men.  The news turned to other mundane television of talk shows and game shows.  The Price is Right started and Al decided to play along.  “Geez, Sam, if I was on there, I’d have won that car,” he observed.

“That’s nice,” Sam agreed.  He rolled over hiking the blankets up higher.  “I’m glad you won a car.”

Al looked appraisingly over at Sam and saw that he wasn’t really paying much attention to the TV or anything else.  That could account for his misunderstanding.  “Well, it would be nice.  I mean, a brand new car?  Not that I need one, but it might be nice to win one.”

Sam snuggled down into the blanket and let out a contented sigh.  “Maybe you’ll win another one...a red one.  Maybe you’ll win a red car.”

“Would you like a red car, Sam?” Al asked amused at the answers Sam was giving.  “It sounds as if you’d like one.  I mean...”  At that moment he stopped as someone walked into the room  “Good morning, Thelma,” he greeted the woman when he saw who it was.

“Good morning, Al.”  Thelma walked between the two beds and leaned over her son kissing him on the temple.  “Good morning, Sweetheart.”

“Hi, Mom,” Sam greeted her when he realized who was leaning over him.

Thelma brushed her hand down Sam’s cheek.  “I just can’t leave the two of you alone, can I?”

“Well, this one was caused by the weather,” Al tried to reason.

“I drove off the road, Mom.  I didn’t mean to but I couldn’t see ‘because the snow was blowing,” Sam volunteered.

“I’m sure you did your best Sweetie.”  Thelma laid her hand gently on her son’s forehead checking to see if he was running a fever.  She immediately noticed that he was a little warmer than normal but didn’t feel too hot.  She was quite sure the hospital would be monitoring Sam’s temperature but maternal instinct prompted her to check for herself.  “Is he ok?” she asked Al over her shoulder.

“He will be,” Al assured her.  “The doctor said he needs to get some rest and finish the course of antibiotics and he should be back to his old self in no time.”

Lisa came in the room then carrying a small plastic bag filled with a cloudy white fluid.  “Excuse me, Ma’am,” she said when she saw Thelma, “I just need to get over there for a few seconds and get this started.

Thelma moved back from Sam’s bed giving the nurse room to work.  “What’s that for?” She asked as she watched the woman add the bag to the IV fluids Sam was already receiving.

“It’s just an antibiotic,” Lisa explained.  “In a few days Sam should be well enough that he can take an oral form but for now he needs to get it intravenously.”  She finished what she was doing.  “There you go.  You’re all set now.”

“Mmmhmmm,” Sam answered barely aware of what Lisa had been doing.

Lisa smiled at the younger man in the room.  “You’re welcome, Sam.”  She turned to the woman in the room.  “Are you his mother or...” nodding to Al, “...his sister?”

“I’m Thelma Beckett.  Sam’s my son.”  Thelma looked over to her son and then back to the nurse.  “I hope he’s been behaving himself.”

“Moooom,” Sam complained.

“Don’t ‘Mom’ me,” Thelma gently scolded.  “I know you’re not always the most cooperative patient.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Beckett.  Sam and Al have been totally wonderful patients.  You wouldn’t even know he’s a doctor if it wasn’t on his chart,” She added, indicating Sam.

Al piped up.  “That’s just ‘cause he’s too exhausted to cause any trouble.”

“You’re both going to pick on me, aren’t you?” Sam asked, resignation in his voice.

Lisa laughed at the teasing between the three.  “I’ll leave you to your visit,” she said before exiting the room.

“Tag teaming has its advantages, kid,” Al quipped.

“All depends on what side of it you’re on.”  Sam looked to where Thelma was still standing by his bed.  “How was the trip, Mom?  I really wish you’d stayed in Maine.”

“I was not going to stay in Maine while you were in the hospital, Sam,” Thelma stated firmly.  She busied herself fixing the blanket over him.  “I wasn’t able to be with you earlier this year when you were in the hospital and I wasn’t going to do that again.”  She stopped her fussing and looked at him carefully.  “I’d worry about you more if I couldn’t be with you.”

Sam recognized the stubborn glint in his mother’s eyes and knew better than to challenge it.  He reached for her hand.  “I am glad you’re here, Mom.”

“I wouldn’t be any place else.”  Thelma caressed her son’s cheek again, all pretense of firmness falling away.  “Oh, Sammy, you have to stop worrying your Mama like this.  I’m getting too old.”

“You’re not getting old, Mama,” Sam countered.  “I won’t let you.”

“Son, a genius you may be but I don’t think even you have found a way to stop time.”

Al watched as the two interacted and for not the first time considered how lucky Sam was to have a mother that cared so much.  He turned to the TV again to give the two what privacy he could.

Thelma turned from Sam’s bed and came over to Al’s.  “Now what about you, Al?  How are you doing?”  As she had done with Sam, she busied herself pulling the blankets into place.

“Oh me?  I’m fine.  I just broke my leg on the ski slope.”  He looked down.  “I guess I’m responsible for this fiasco, Thelma.  If we’d stayed put at the lodge we wouldn’t have gotten into trouble with the storm.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Sam called from his bed.  “It’s not his fault.  It’s not anyone’s fault.”

“He always been this way?” Al questioned.

Thelma looked between the two men.  “What do you mean?  Sam’s always been himself.”

“I mean, here I give him an out, and he just, well, doesn’t take it.”

“I don’t need an ‘out’,” Sam stated firmly.  “No one does.  It was just dumb luck what happened, nothing else.  Can’t you just accept that?”

Thelma could see that they were both gearing up to argue this point until it was dead and decided it was time to nip it in the bud now.  “Enough boys,” she said in a voice that brooked no argument.  “No one needs to take fault for anything that’s happened here.”  She looked from one to the other.  “I don’t want to hear anymore about this.  Am I understood?”

Thelma first looked to her son.  “Yes, Ma’am,” Sam quickly agreed knowing better than to defy his mother’s wishes.

“But...” Al started

“No buts,” Thelma quickly said whirling around to face her son’s best friend.  “I asked if you understood what I said.  I didn’t ask you to debate it with me.”

“You better just agree if you know what’s good for you,” Sam suggested.

Al nodded.  “Yes, Ma’am.”

“I’m so glad you agree,” Thelma said with a sweet smile.

Al, knowing when it was best to keep his mouth shut, just smiled.

Sam caught Al’s eyes.  He was trying his best to stifle the laugh that wanted to escape.  “Toe to toe, huh?” he asked.

“There’s this little thing about choosing your battles kid.  A P.T. boat should never go up against a Destroyer.”

Thelma looked between the two.  “I’m not even going to ask what that was all about.”  She slipped off her coat and, looking around the room, saw the closet door and went to hang the coat inside it.  When she opened the door, she saw the small pile of Christmas gifts there.  “What are all of these?”

“Oh, a good Samaritan brought our presents to us.  We haven’t had a chance to open them,” Al offered as explanation.

Thelma started to pull the gifts from the closet.  “Well, maybe the two of you should open them now.”  She sorted the gifts into two piles and brought one pile over to each of the men.

“Well, it’s still the Christmas season, I guess, even though the day itself has past.  If you wouldn’t mind bringing them to us, Thelma, I’m sure Sam and I wouldn’t mind opening them.”  Al looked over to Sam seeing an opportunity to tease his friend just a little.  “I’m surprised the big kid over there didn’t already get in there and rip them open.”

Sam didn’t rise to the bait of Al’s teasing, just rolled his eyes.

When Thelma finished sorting the gifts and piling them on the table near each bed, there were five packages each for Al and Sam.  “Who’s going to go first?”

“Why don’t you go first, Kid,” Al suggested.  “I know how eager you are to rip into them.”

“No, you go first,” Sam responded as he brought the head of the bed up.  He looked at the small pile of gifts next to Al.  Start with big one.”

“Nah, you go ahead, Kid.”

“Al, do me a favor and just go first,” Thelma asked with a put upon sigh.  “I don’t think I have enough time for the two of you to go back and forth.”

Al sighed.  “Fine.”  He started to open the rather large gift wrapped in shiny red paper with green Christmas trees.  He took his time, knowing that Sam really wanted to have him open it.  Al carefully undid the tape and slowly pulled back the wrapping.

Sam watched carefully as Al opened the gift.  He’d been sure of the gift when he bought it but now he was questioning his choice.

Finally, Al pulled the lid off the box and moved aside the tissue paper.  He didn’t say anything; he just looked at the gift.

“You don’t like it,” Sam said in disappointment when Al just looked and didn’t say anything.  “It’s ok if you don’t like it.  I can take it back.”

Al shook his head.  “No, Sam.  I just don’t know what to say.”  He finally lifted the leather coat out of its wrapping.  “This is wonderful.  Thank you,” he finally said as he ran his hand over the soft leather.

“I just thought it was something you’d like.  I’m glad you do.”

“You’ll look quite handsome in that, Al,” Thelma commented.  “You did a wonderful job picking it out, Sweetheart.”

Al turned to Sam.  “Your turn.”

Which one should I start with or does it matter?

“You choose.”

Sam looked carefully at the packages and took a medium sized one.  It was wrapped in paper with Santa’s on it.  He carefully started to pull the wrapping from it, which was quite unlike his usual norm of ripping the wrapping off.  He finally pulled the wrapping paper off the box completely and put it to the side.  “These are great, Al.  It’s the same pair I was looking at.”  He handed the box containing the binoculars to his mother to see.  “How did you know?”

“You kept borrowing mine, so I figured you’d probably like your own.”

Sam accepted the box back from his mother.  “I do.  Thanks.”  He gestured to the gifts Al still hadn’t opened.  “It’s your turn again.”

While Al selected his next gift, Thelma got the chair that was against the wall and brought it over to put between the two beds where she could sit and see both her son and Al.  They both opened two more gifts but she noticed that Sam seemed to be losing his enthusiasm for it.  “Are you ok, Honey,” she asked.

“I’m ok, Mom,” Sam hastened to reassure her.  “I’m just getting tired, that’s all.”  He looked across to Al.  “Do you mind if we finish this later.  I’d really like to just rest for a while right now.”

“No problem, Sam.  It’s not like we have to open them all at once.”  Al was still concerned with Sam’s exhaustion.  All he wanted was the kid to get better.

“Let me get these out of your way,” Thelma said as she got up.  She took the unwrapped gifts from where Sam had put them on the bed and put them on the windowsill.  In addition to the binoculars, there were also two jazz CD’s.  She put the two wrapped gifts with them as well.

Once the gifts were out of the way, Sam put the bed back down, rolling over to curl up on his side.  “I’ll just take a little nap,” he said, “and then we can finish.”

Thelma pulled the blanket up over his shoulders and tucked it in, being careful not to tangle the IV tubing.  “You just rest now, Honey so you can feel better.”

It didn’t take long before Sam’s deep, even breathing signaled that he’d fallen asleep.  Thelma stood by the bed brushing her fingers through his hair.  “He looks so sick,” she said softly.  She hadn’t wanted to say anything about the way he looked while he was awake but now that he was sleeping, she felt free to express her worry.

Al nodded his head.  “I’m sorry, Ma’am.  I guess I didn’t do a very good job of keeping him safe.”

“Stop it, Albert,” Thelma said turning around.  “This isn’t your fault and I don’t want to hear anymore of that.  I’m sure you did everything you could.  You keep forgetting, you’re not responsible for everything bad that happens to my son.  I thought we’d decided that when you were in Hawaii.  Sometimes bad things happen and there’s no one to blame.”

“I guess I just feel I should be there for him.  I know things happen, but he’s my friend.  I guess I just take it to heart when something does go wrong.”

“I understand, Al.  Lord knows I understand.  I often feel the same way but it doesn’t do any good.  There are just some things in this world that we can’t control.”  She thought about her husband’s and eldest son’s deaths.  “No matter how much we want to change them or control them, we just have to accept it.”  She caught sight of the stuffed bear that was on the bedside table and picked it up.  “I didn’t think he’d start traveling with Bear when I sent it to him.”

“He didn’t.  I brought him with us to give him on Christmas morning as a surprise.  Bear means a lot to him.”

Thelma sat down still holding onto the stuffed bear..  “You’ve noticed.  He took it with him everywhere when he was little.  I used to dread when I had to take it from him to wash it.  He’d sit down in front of the wash machine and wouldn’t move until I took Bear out and then I’d have to argue with him that he couldn’t have it back until it was dry.”  She looked at her son fondly.  “Right from the day John gave it to him it was his security.”

“I didn’t know his father gave him Bear.  He just said he was his best friend growing up.”

“Oh, Bear was definitely his best friend.  John bought it for Sam’s first birthday.”  She picked up the stuffed bear again looking down at it remembering when it was new.  “You should have heard my Sammy when he saw this.  He just kept repeating ‘my bear’ over and over.”  She looked over at Al, “Sam started to talk very early.”

Al smiled.  “In any case, I gave it to him Christmas Eve instead.  He was having a hard time with where we were.”  At her look of confusion, he explained.  “The cabin, I mean.  He said it didn’t feel like Christmas.  Then I gave him Bear.”

“Sam’s always had some definite ideas about Christmas.  I’d imagine he wasn’t at all pleased with the way things were going.”

“He was really bummed most of the time.  When I gave him Bear, though, he decided it was just an inconvenient Christmas.”

Thelma laughed lightly at Al’s words.  “That was what John would always tell him if things weren’t going just the way he wanted.  It was just inconvenient and we had to make do the best we could.  I’m glad to hear he’s finally accepted that.”  She put the bear back on the table and got up to stand over Sam’s bed looking down at him for a moment before resuming her seat.  “He’s always been a stubborn one.  Inconvenient wasn’t good enough for him.  Things had to go according to plan and that was that.”  She looked back to Al.  “I’m glad to hear he’s starting to become flexible.  I’ve got a feeling you have something to do with that.”

“Oh, he’s still a stubborn cuss, trust me on that.  It sometimes worries me that he’ll someday decide to do something that will really get him in hot water.”  He sighed.  “I’ve seen how obsessed he can get with his work.”

“He can be rather single-minded sometimes.”  Thelma looked down to where her hands were in her lap and then back to Al.  “I know we didn’t exactly get off on the right foot.”  When Al started to protest, she held up a hand to stop him.  “No, don’t disagree with me.  We both know I wasn’t pleased that Sam had struck up a friendship with you.  I would have been quite happy if he’d decided to have nothing to do with you.”  She paused for a moment gathering her thoughts.  “I’m glad my son chose you as a friend.  You make him a better person.  You bring him out of his shell and you care about him as a human being, not just because he’s a genius.  I thank God that you came into Sam’s life.”

“It goes both ways, Thelma.”  Al leaned over the bed taking her hands in his.  “You have to know how bad things were before Sam decided to take a chance on me.  I was making a beeline to self-destruction and your son really helped me turn my life around.  He is one of the most wonderful human beings I’ve ever met.”

“I know Sam thinks the world of you.  He’s told me often enough.  Sometimes...when he’s talking about you - about something you’ve done - it’s almost the way he would talk about his brother.”

“I think of Sam as my family.  I don’t really have any blood kin left.  I never had any children, but I’d like to think if I had, they’d be like Sam.”  He added, looking in her eyes, “You and your husband did a fine job of raising your children.”

“Thank you,” Thelma answered softly.  “Thank you for being here for my son.”  She quickly got up from the chair and moved to embrace Al.

Al was a little surprised but returned the hug.  He felt truly blessed to have been brought into this family through his best friend.  “Thank you for your son.”

“Why are you hugging my mother?” a sleepy voice asked from the next bed.  “And don’t tell me it’s ‘cause you’re going to be my step-father.”

Sam’s unexpected question broke the mood.  Thelma stepped back from Al lightly laughing.  “I thought you were sleeping, young man,” she mock scolded.

“I was,” Sam answered simply.  “Now I’m awake.  I wanna go back to sleep but how come Al was hugging you?”

Al looked at Thelma, deciding to tease the kid a little but not sure how she’d take it.  “Why would you be surprised for me to become your step-father?  Your mother would be quite a catch.”

Sam was at first shocked by Al’s words but soon remembered a similar ruse the two had played on him.  “You’re not going to trick me this time.  Besides, Mom’s got good taste.”

Al feigned offense.  “You saying I wouldn’t be a good catch, Sam?”

“You’re more catch and release, Al.”  Sam tried to stifle a yawn but wasn’t very successful.  “I wish we could get out of here.  I sleep better in any bed that’s not in a hospital.”

Al grinned.  “Yeah, well, I guess I can’t argue with you there.”  He turned to Thelma.  “Speaking of beds, where are you staying?”

Thelma pulled a paper out of her purse.  “The travel agent in Maine we were able to reach booked me into the Antler’s.  They said it was a nice hotel relatively close to the hospital.”

Al looked surprised.  “How did you get a travel agent on Christmas day?”

“You haven’t been to your hotel yet?” Sam asked in surprise overriding Al’s question.  “Where’s your luggage?  Why didn’t you go there and rest first?”

She smiled and caressed his cheek.  “You think I could rest before seeing you?  My luggage is in the trunk of the car I rented.”  She turned to Al.  “Jim’s parents knew someone.  They live in a small town and they called.  I’m grateful they were willing to get things set up for me.”

“There are good people in the world,” Al observed.  “You might want to go check in now though.”

Thelma shook her head.  “No.  I needed to see you first and know how you were.  Katie convinced me I couldn’t do anything yesterday, but today is another matter.”

“Do me a favor, Mom.  Go to your hotel now and get some rest.  I know you.  You probably didn’t get any sleep last night.”  Sam held onto his mother’s hand and looked earnestly in her eyes.  “You’ve got to take care of yourself, Mom.  I need you too much.”

Thelma smiled.  “Don’t worry, Sam.  I’m going to be around for a long time.”  She rubbed her eyes.  “But you’re right.  Now that I know you’re ok, I think I will check in.”  She looked at him lovingly.  “But I’ll be back later.”

“You don’t have to, Mom.  I’ll be fine…we’ll be fine here.”  Sam couldn’t help noticing how tired Thelma looked.  He knew he wasn’t wrong when he guessed that she hadn’t had any sleep the night before and she hadn’t denied it.  “Take a nap and get something to eat.  Just relax, Mom.”

“I’ll relax and I’ll get something to eat, but I will be back.  Don’t try to stop me from doing what I need to do for my own peace of mind.  I’ve spent enough time worrying and now I just want to spend time with you.”  She looked over to Al.  “And I’ll certainly enjoy your company as well, Admiral.  I’m equally glad you’re on the mend.”

Al smiled.  “Thanks.  We’ll be happy to have you back again, but Sam’s right.  Get some rest.”

Sam tugged on his mother’s hand which he still held pulling her down so that he could hug her.  “I love you, Mom.”

“I guess this is that other side of tag teaming you were talking about, Sam,” she teased as he hugged her.  “Ok, I know when I’m out numbered.  I love you too, honey.”  They broke apart after a long healing hug.  Thelma again straightened his blankets.  “Now you take your own advice and get some rest.  I’ll see you tonight.”

“Don’t worry, Thelma.  I’ll make sure he rests.  We’ll see you tonight.”

“See you tonight, Mom.”

“Goodbye until later then.  She retrieved her coat and headed toward the door, smiling at both men before she left.

Al turned toward Sam.  “I really like your mother.  She’s truly a fine lady.”

Sam stared at the door his mother had gone through.  He didn’t seem to hear Al’s words.

“What’s on your mind, Kid?” asked Al, a bit concerned at the lack of response.

“Did she look tired to you, Al?” Sam asked staring at the door.  He finally looked over to his friend.  “She looked tired to me.  Maybe I should have told her to stay.  Maybe she shouldn’t be driving right now.”  He threw the blankets off and started to get out of bed.  “I should be able to catch her before she gets in the elevator.”

“She did look tired, but not any more than I’ve seen her before,” Al said recalling their vigils with Sam.  “Let it go, Sam.  Your mother will rest better in the hotel than here.”

Sam dropped back down to sit on the bed.  “Maybe you’re right,” he grudgingly agreed.  “I just worry about her so much.”

“It seems like a family trait.”

“Maybe.”  Sam pointed to the still wrapped Christmas gifts that Thelma had put on the windowsill.  “You want to finish opening those.”  He looked over to the clock on the wall opposite the beds.  “We should have a little time before lunch gets here.”  His nose wrinkled in disgust when he said the word ‘lunch’.

“Sure we can do that.  I’m looking forward to seeing what we’ll get.”

Sam slipped from the bed again and, pushing the IV pole along, went over to the window.  He first picked up the two packages for Al and brought them over to him before going back and getting his.  When he went back to his bed, he sat with his legs dangling over the edge.  “So, which one are you going to open first?”

“Is there one I should open first?”

“No, it really doesn’t matter.  Whichever one you want.”

“Ok.  I’ll open the lighter one first.”  Al stripped off the wrapping and opened the mostly flat rectangular box, figuring there was a tie in it.  When he lifted the lid and moved the tissue paper, he laughed.  “Where did you find these, Sam?”

“I was doing some Christmas shopping in the mall and walked by Spencer Gifts and saw them in the window.  They just looked like something you’d like.”

“I do.  They’re great.  Thanks!” Al said, admiring the cheetah print suspenders.

“Good.  I just figured they were so far from something I’d ever wear that you’d love them.”

“Well, that’s one way to shop.  Now it’s your turn,” Al said indicating the final two packages in Sam’s lap.

Sam held up the two packages.  They were both the same size.  “So, should I open one before the other?”

“It really doesn’t matter, Kid.”

“Ok.”  Sam put one of the brightly wrapped packages down and started to pull off the paper from the other.  Inside the wrapping was a VHS cassette.  “Oh wow.  I wanted to see this when it came out but never got a chance.  Thanks.”  Sam put down the video, Hook, and gestured to Al.  “Ok, your turn again.”

Al smiled.  “I know.  You never get out.  You really do need to relax more.”  He picked up the last gift and opened it, finding a hardbound copy of The Three Musketeers.  He’d enjoyed reading it again earlier in the year when Sam had been so ill.  Rubbing his hand across the leather covered book he gazed at it.  “Thanks Sam.  This is really nice.  I’ll definitely treasure it.”

“I just wanted to...” Sam looked down at his lap suddenly shy.  “I guess I just wanted to say thank you again.  It just...it just seemed right.”

Al just smiled.  “It was right.  Thanks.”

“I’m glad you like it.”  Sam started to tear off the wrapping on the last gift.  When he finished, he started to laugh as he held up the copy of Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.  “All that’s missing is some microwave popcorn.  I guess I know what I’ll be doing New Year’s Eve...well, providing we’re out of here and back home.”

“God, I hope we’re out of here by then.  I can’t even imagine spending New Year’s Eve in a hospital.”

“It can’t be any worse than spending Christmas in the hospital and I’ve done that twice now.  Besides,” Sam added with a smile, “we’d be together right?”

“Yeah.”  Al turned thoughtful.  “You know, Sam, this week may have been the pits in a lot of ways, but if I have to spend ‘inconvenient’ time, I’m glad it was with you.”

“Same here,” Sam agreed.  “Next time, I’d just prefer it there was no inconvenient time.”

Al nodded.  The nurse came in.  “You ready for your sponge bath, Admiral?”

Sam’s eyes got wide at the question directed at Al thinking he’d be next.  “I can just take a shower,” he quickly told the nurse.

“Yes, Dr. Beckett, you can,” she said smiling.

Al grinned.  “I sure am ready.”

Lisa nodded.  “I’ll just go get the water and such.”

As she left the room Al looked over at Sam.  “Looks like I get a bath.”

Sam looked at Al and slowly shook his head.  “You’re going to enjoy this, aren’t you?”

“Well, I find if you look at things with a positive outlook, life is much better.”

“I tried that.  I didn’t find much positive about a sponge bath.  There are things I much prefer to do for myself.”

“Yeah, but it’s a lot of fun if you just go with the flow.  They’re so gentle.”

“I never said they weren’t gentle.  I just prefer to take care of myself.”  Sam quickly cut off whatever else he was going to say when Lisa came back into the room with a basin of water, towels, and soap.  “Can I just go ahead,” he asked her pointing to the bathroom.

“I’ll have to remove your IV first.”

“Ok.”  Sam looked up to the two bags of fluid feeding into the IV.  The smaller bag containing the antibiotic wasn’t quite empty.  “Do you have to wait for that to finish before you stop it?”

“It would be better.  You think you can wait until I’m finished with the Admiral?”

“Yeah, no problem.”  Sam started to slip from the bed.  “Maybe I’ll just go take a walk while you do that.”  He didn’t get very far before he realized that there was a distinct draft on his backside and quickly sat back down.  “On second thought, maybe that’s not such a good idea.”

Lisa looked over at Sam.  “A shy doctor?  Now I’ve seen everything.”  She looked over to Al.  “Let’s wait five minutes to let the rest of the antibiotic end and then I’ll give you your sponge bath while Dr. Beckett takes his shower.”

“I’m not shy,” Sam quickly said.  “I just thought I’d give Al some privacy.”  He realized what he said could be misconstrued.  “I mean, he probably doesn’t want an audience while you...”  Realizing that what he was saying wasn’t getting much better, he trailed off.  “Never mind.  I’ll,” he grabbed the remote to the TV, “just watch TV.”

Lisa laughed as Sam’s face took on a light shade of pink.  “It’s ok.  I’m sure the Admiral will appreciate his privacy.”  She left the room with the water, planning to bring in new, warm water when she could bathe him.

“Well, I guess I really stuck my foot in my mouth,” Sam commented after Lisa had left.

Al laughed.  “Not anymore than you usually do.”

“Al, do me a favor?  Just shut up.”  There was no heat in Sam’s words.

Al ran his fingers across his lips in a zip fashion.

When the door opened again, Sam thought it would be Lisa coming back to disconnect his IV and give Al his sponge bath.  Instead, it was a woman from the kitchen bringing in their lunch trays.  She put one down on Al’s table, went back out, and came back in with another that she put near Sam.

“I guess this means your sponge bath is going to have to wait until after lunch,” Sam said as the woman left.  He took the cover off the plate and put it aside.  Picking up his fork, he poked tentatively at the food on the plate.  “It doesn’t look too bad.”  He put a small bite of the open-face turkey sandwich in his mouth and chewed.  “It doesn’t taste too bad either.”

Al looked at his plate.  “I got tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.”  He took a big bite of the sandwich.  “Well, I’ve had better, but all in all, not horrible.”

Sam looked over at Al’s food and back to his own.  “I’m glad you got that and not me.”

Al nodded.  “Yeah...I know you’re not fond of them.  Tastes ok to me though.”  He took a bite of his soup.  “I think it’s homemade.”

“Homemade tomato soup in a hospital?  Maybe they need to taper off the pain meds you’ve been getting.”  Sam tried some of the mashed potatoes that accompanied the sandwich and made a face.  “Ok, the turkey’s not bad but these potatoes...I don’t think they’d be edible if they were swimming in gravy.”  Despite what he said, Sam tried another bite of the potatoes.  “They kind of taste like paste.”

“You know, for a junk food kind a guy, you sure are picky.”

“I’m not picky.  I just know what I like.  Trust me, these things taste just like the paste they gave us to use in kindergarten except they’re more lumpy.”

“Whatever, kid.  I’m sure they’re better than the stuff we got in the orphanage.  Definitely better than dumpster diving.  Tons better than the rice in the POW camp.”

Sam was quiet at Al’s reminder of how he’d had it bad in the past.  Instead, he concentrated on the food in front of him eating all of it despite the taste.  He couldn’t, however, bring himself to eat the cup of green Jell-O.  There were just some things he couldn’t compromise on.  “I didn’t mean to complain,” he finally said softly.

Al nodded.  “I know.  It’s just, well, I guess this time has sort of made me realize just how lucky we are, how things could have been worse.  Like…”  He paused gathering his thoughts.  “What would have happened if those cabins hadn’t been that close?”

Sam shrugged one shoulder.  “I’ve tried not to think of that.  Someone was really looking out for us.”  He pushed the table from over his lap and started to play with the edge of the blanket.  “You really kept me sane through all that.  I know I was...difficult.  I seem to recall wanting to walk home the second night we were there.”  He looked over to Al.  “I want to make it up to you when we get back home.  I’m going to cook you that dinner I said I was going to.  If it can’t be Christmas Eve dinner, maybe it can be New Year’s Eve dinner.  Of course, I’ll probably have to fight Mom to use my own kitchen.”

“You think your Mom will come back with us?”

Sam started to chuckle.  “C’mon, Al.  Do you really think she’s not going to come with us?  You’re still going to be on crutches and no matter what the doctor says, she’s going to still be treating me with kid gloves.”

Al nodded realizing the logic of Sam’s statement.  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Look at it this way,” Sam said with a small laugh.  “At least there’s no time for you to help me clean my house first.”

Al grinned.  “Yeah.  I just hope you pulled out those things in the back of the refrigerator before you left.”

The mirth quickly faded from Sam’s face.  “Ooops.”  He thought about the rolls of wrapping paper that were still on the living room floor and the laundry that was waiting to be done in the bathroom.  “Guess you’re gonna get to see just what ‘the look’ is.”

Al smiled at Sam’s sudden discomfort.  “Well...it had to happen some day.”

“I guess.”

Lisa came back into the room then.  “If you gentlemen are finished with your lunch, I can get started on the Admiral’s sponge bath and you can take your shower, Dr. Beckett.”  She went over to Sam’s IV and removed the bag that was now finished.  She capped off the needle.  “Now, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to be careful.”

“No, Ma’am.”  He started to get up from the bed to go the bathroom but stopped.  “Um, are there towels and stuff in there?”

She pointed to the sink.  “You’ll find towels and washcloths there.  The soap is on the wall.  It can be used as both a body wash and shampoo.”

“Thanks.” Sam made his way to the bathroom.  It was going to feel good to take a shower.  The last time he’d had the opportunity was before they checked out of the lodge in Leadville.

He started the water running, adjusting the temperature.  He stripped off the hospital gown and stepped into the shower and under the warm spray.  When he did, he was sure he’d just discovered Heaven or a reasonable facsimile of it.

After he stood for a while and just let the warm water cascade over his back and shoulders, he reached for the washcloth and bottle of soap.  He hadn’t realized how grimy he felt until he started to wash himself.

He stepped back under the spray to rinse the soap from his body and again just stood there enjoying the warm water.  Eventually he turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel to dry off with.  Once he was dry, he picked up the clean, folded hospital gown.  He held it up looking at it and sighed.  It wasn’t exactly what he’d called his preferred attire but until he was released, he really didn’t have a choice in what he wore.  He slipped it on and tied it in place in the back.  Grabbing the towel again, he started to towel dry his hair as he walked out of the bathroom.

While Sam took his shower, Lisa pulled the curtain and undid the gown on Admiral Calavicci.  Professionally, she started to perform her duty.  Finding multiple scars on the man, she took a sharp breath in.  Trying to maintain her composure and his dignity, she apologized.  “I’m sorry.  I just have never...um...”  She trailed off.

He shook his head.  “Don’t worry.  These happened a long time ago.  They don’t hurt anymore.”  The physical part was true.  The mental, he wouldn’t talk about.

The nurse nodded and continued to do her job professionally, taking great care with this man who’d obviously been through so much.  When she was finished, her voice held emotion.  “Let me get you your clean gown.”

She reached under the cart and retrieved the gown.  When she came up, Al gave her a smile.  “Thank you.”  He stated.

She smiled back.  “You’re welcome.”  Quickly gathering the bathing items, she left the room.

Al took a deep breath.  He was sad she’d had to deal with her emotions about his scars but was glad that she’d been professional about it.

“All done?” Sam asked as he came back in the room.  He went over to his bed and sat down as he finished toweling his hair off.  When he was done, he dropped the towel down on the bed beside him and finger-combed his hair.

“Yeah.  She was quite good at what she does,” Al commented.  “I feel great now.”

“I can relate to that.  I didn’t know how much I needed a shower until I got in it.  Now if I could just get something to wear that’s a little less breezy on the backside, things would get great.”  Sam looked at the IV bag hanging on the pole.  “I guess I should buzz so that can be restarted.  Much as I hate having it, I guess I need it for now.”

Al nodded.

When Lisa came back in, she brought clean sheets with her.  “If you could give me a minute, Dr. Beckett, I’ll freshen your bed before I get you started on your IV again.

Sam nodded and picked up the towel to take back to the bathroom.  When he came back into the room, he sat in the chair Thelma had used earlier that was back up against the wall.

When Lisa was done putting the clean sheets on his bed, she called him over so she could restart the IV.

“Any idea how much longer the doctor’s going to keep me hooked up to this?”

“Well, that’s up to Dr. Zelden.  He should be here soon for afternoon rounds.”  Lisa finished restarting the IV, taping the tubing down.  “I’m sure he’ll be able to give you an idea then.”

She quickly finished fixing Sam’s bed and then efficiently changed Al’s, a skill that was poetry in motion to behold.  Once they were done, she left the room.

“I think I might need a cardiologist, Sam,” Al said completely straight-faced.

Sam jumped up and hurried over to  Al.  “Why?  What’s wrong?  Are you having chest pains or something?”

Al started to laugh at Sam’s reaction.  “Calm down, Kid.  It’s nothing so dramatic.  I was just shocked that you put your towel back in the bathroom and didn’t just leave it on the bed.”

“Is that all?”  Sam wasn’t feeling quite so inclined to see the humor that Al apparently saw.  “That’s not funny.  I thought something was wrong.”

Al saw the effect his words had on his friend.  He felt bad that he’d scared him the way he had and stopped laughing.  “You’re right.  This probably wasn’t the best time for that.”  He took a deep breath.  “Hey Kid, you mind if I take a nap.  I’m feeling pretty good right now, clean body, and clean sheets.”

“Not a problem.” Sam agreed.  His momentary anger was quickly forgotten.  “I was thinking about doing the same thing even if I did take one this morning.”  He got into the freshly made bed and pulled the blankets over his body.  “Who knows, by the time I wake up maybe Dr. Zelden will be here and he’ll tell me I don’t need that anymore.  Nothing against this place but I think I’ve had my fill of hospitals for the year.”

Turning off the TV, both men quickly drifted into dreamland, their bodies telling them what was needed to get healthy again.

The two men slept through the afternoon.  Dr. Zelden arrived about four p.m. and let Sam know if everything continued along the same path, he’d be able to leave the next day.  Al would likely have to wait at least another day.

Dinner came and went with the same results.  Sam was picky and Al just glad for what he got.  Thelma arrived a little after seven, rested.  She watched TV with the two and left a little after nine.  The rest of the evening was uneventful and Sam and Al eventually reentered sleep again.

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