Burdens - Chapter 123: Charging
#123 of Burdens
Eventually.
Chapter 123: Charging
The next morning came quickly enough. The night was quiet once he turned the television off and rested his eyes. He was not actually tired, but did not have anything else to do.
The next day looked like it was going to be exactly the same, though a bit louder. The hospital seemed to be a lot more active than on a Sunday.
By the time breakfast came around, the shifts had changed. It was now the gecko from before tending to his needs instead of the weasel. It was a bit to Roger's dislike, as the gecko was not quite as friendly.
The breakfast was even more bland than the previous day. The pills were the same, though. He would have pinched his nose if he thought he needed to.
Ever since the surgery the constant headaches had gone, though he still felt weak.
The clarity he once had was still there. He thought that it would disappear, but luckily, it had not. That worked in his favor. It was as if the tumor had jarred something, but he knew that was just a silly idea. It was at least an explanation, though.
He had gotten used to getting out of bed to use the bathroom, in spite of the staff's wishes. Any chance of him falling was to be avoided, but he figured they were just being paranoid or overly cautious.
Lunch came around without incident. The gecko looked just as bored. Roger did not blame him, as he had been feeling the same way.
He stared at his food, idly playing with it with his fork. It was a bit of corn and some assorted vegetables next to a sandwich. There was a parfait off to the side as a sort of dessert. At least the parfait tasted decent, but it was also pretty difficult to mess that up.
The food had come, the food had gone. He was counting down the minutes and hours before Hunter would be at practice, and then when he would arrive. Time seemed to go by so slowly when he had nothing to do. Hopefully, once he got his charger everything would go by a little quicker.
He got up to use the bathroom again. The food did not make him feel all that well.
It was a relief that he was able to relieve himself on his own. He did not want to request for help for something so embarrassing. A flush and he washed his paws in the sink, inspected himself in the mirror once more. He did not look as frightening as he did yesterday.
He closed the door behind him and turned to get back into bed. He then wondered why the world was falling away.
As he fell, he thought to himself, "Well, shit."
He braced for impact, but it never came. He opened an eye and looked up to see a pair of violet eyes.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" the cat told him.
"Ah, yeah. I was just using the bathroom. How did you get in here? I didn't hear the door at all," Roger responded.
The cat ignored his question and helped him get back to bed. When he was secured in bed, the cat sat down on the chair next to the bedside.
"Thank you," Roger said, which the cat responded to with a nod. "So... what are you doing here?"
Max said, "I was asked to check how you were recovering. It's a good thing, otherwise you'd be dead on the floor there, and then Greg's efforts would have been wasted. Lots of crying from everyone around you. Name in the news, maybe. I'm sure the medical staff would be in trouble, too."
Roger furrowed his brows. He had not really considered all of those things. He figured he would be a bit more careful. Maybe he would just crawl.
"Anyway," Max said with a bored look, "You seem to be recovering well. I only have the time to come check on you now because of what you've done. Now I have a secretary to take care of all my messages, and it's wonderful, but he said he could not contact you. Is your phone on?"
Roger looked at his phone and said, "It's dead. My charger is back home; Hunter is going to bring it later today."
The cat shrugged. "You mean that one?" He pointed to a phone charger that had been sitting on the table, next to the lamp.
"Y-yeah. Has it always been there?" Roger asked, surprised. He did not recall it being there, and if it had, he did not know why no one else had pointed it out.
"No," Max responded. "Well, since you're fine, I'll be off. Very busy, you know. We're preparing for our next big project and I need to oversee the preparations. Take care of yourself, and don't slip. I might not be able to save you next time."
Before Roger could respond, the cat was gone. It was so sudden that he wondered if he had even been there at all.
He grabbed the phone charger and plugged it into the convenient spot on the lamp, and then to his phone. It buzzed, indicating that it was charging, though the battery symbol was completely empty.
It was nice of him, Roger thought, to wonder how he was doing. He would have to thank Greg the first chance he got for everything he had done.
There came a knock on the door, and then it opened. Roger expected to see a gecko, but instead he saw an older hyena. It was his surgeon.
"Hello," the doctor said. "I came to stop by before I departed to see how you're doing. Has the staff been treating you well?"
Roger nodded. "The night shift is especially friendly. Day shift, not so much."
"I see. And how do you feel? Any issues?" the hyena asked. He pulled out a flashlight and began to check the fox's eyes. He stuck a thermometer in the fox's mouth.
"Er..." Roger began, finding it uncomfortable to speak with something stuck under his tongue. "I'm alright, I guess."
A few more checks and the hyena looked pleased. "You're recovering very nicely. You'll still need to stay for the full two weeks, but only as a precaution. You are a little dehydrated, though. I'll have a nurse bring you some water. Other than that...." The hyena pulled out a card from his pocket. "My number is on this card. I know they'll call me if there are any complications, but if you feel something is wrong, feel free to give me a ring. Until you're fully recovered, you're my patient as far as I'm concerned."
Roger thanked him, and the hyena left with a smile.
Like clockwork, a nurse hurriedly went into his room with a cup of water. It was still the gecko, but he looked a lot more enthusiastic than before. Maybe a little scared. Had the surgeon said something?
Roger sipped on it and waited. What he really wanted was a shower. He was beginning to feel a bit dirty, and he hated the feeling. They probably would not let him do it by himself, though. He figured he would wait for Hunter to get there.
The fox smiled at the prospect, and the wait did not seem so bad.