Work Text:
Slip & Fall
By Debbie S.
The late afternoon sun is shining down on the empty deck of the Vast Explorer on a lazy Saturday. Sounds of laughter can be heard from the living area below as Judson and Mac go about some much needed cleaning while slinging comments at each other about their cleaning techniques.
Meanwhile in the engine compartment Gabe is trying to finish an oil change and muttering to himself about the job as he works. After succeeding in getting the engine oil replaced he moves on to checking all the hoses making sure everything is connected and secured.
Suddenly from above Mac yells, "How long until your done down there? We want to get into town and get something to eat."
As Gabe turns to yell up his answer his right foot hits a spot of oil and shoots out from under him sending him crashing down to the deck. His right elbow connects with the deck first, sending a jolt of pain up his arm and into his shoulder, and then he lands on his hip. He is momentarily stunned by how fast the fall happened and completely forgets to answer Mac's question.
When she doesn't get an answer to her question Mac yells down again, "Hey what are you doing down there? I don't hear you working, you better not be taking a nap. Cause if you are, your gonna be doing the buying tonight."
Gabe slowly gets up off the deck and yells back, "I'm just finishing up and I'll be there in a minute keep your shorts on."
Mac grunts in response to comment and leaves to tell Judson.
Gabe carefully tries to move his arm and finds that it won't bend all the way or straighten completely but there really isn't much pain. He carefully climbs out of the engine compartment and closes the hatch using his left hand.
Since his shoe still has some oil residue on it's sole he carefully walks toward the stairs and begins to go down to the living quarters. Judson throws a pillow onto the couch and then plops down with a sigh. "Finally all done. Mac I thought you said Gabe was finished? Where is he? I'm starved!"
As Gabe comes into sight Mac smiles and says, "Here he is, the one and only Greaseman! What happened to you?... You're supposed to put the oil in the engine not roll around in it!"
Judson takes a quick glance at Gabe while chuckling softly at Mac's comment. But when Gabe doesn't reply with one of his typical smart come-backs Judson looks again at him and notices Gabe is holding his right arm snuggly against his side at a near 90 degree angle and says, "What's wrong with your arm? Are you alright?"
At this time Mac has also become concerned and says, "I'll get the first-aid kit!" and begins to head past him toward the infirmary.
Gabe then speaks up and says, "Guys it's nothing, really. I slipped on some oil and landed on my elbow, no big deal, at the most it's bruised. Give me about 20 minutes to get cleaned up and then we can go eat."
Both Mac and Judson follow him toward his cabin trying to get him to stop so they can take a better look at his arm. But Gabe is determined to continue with his plan and ignore the dull throb in his arm and his friends concern.
As Gabe is grabbing some clean clothes out of a drawer Mac grabs his left shoulder and forces him to turn around and face them. "Gabe just let us take a look at it, it might be more serious than that!"
"Yeah Gabe, dinner can wait a little longer."
"Guys really, no major damage done it's fine. I'm gonna shower and then we can go." Gabe begins to walk toward the cabin door and then turns and raises his right hand a little and says, "Guys if you don't mind I would like to take my shower alone!" Then he walks out the door and heads toward the bathroom.
Judson and Mac stand there and watch him go. Judson turns toward Mac and says, "He's a big boy and if he says he's fine. Let it be for now. If it doesn't seem to get any better or gets worse then we can always take him to the emergency room then."
Mac shrugs her shoulders and agrees with him, "Why do you guys always have to be so macho?"
Judson just grins at her, runs his hand through his hair and walks out of the room to leave her to ponder her own question.
*******
Meanwhile Gabe is in the bathroom finding out just how difficult it is to do almost anything while keeping the movements of his right arm to a minimum. What normally would have only taken him 20 minutes to do takes almost twice as long.
When he finally appears out in the main area Judson and Mac jump up off the couch and chair respectively, happy to finally see him standing there in clean clothes and ready to go.
*******
3 hrs later
The crew is back from town after having a quiet dinner and spending some time walking the streets. Mac and Judson are sitting on the lounge chairs nursing near empty beer bottles enjoying some leisure time on the deck.
Gabe steps out on the deck carrying 3 unopened bottles of beer and an ice pack.
Mac glances at the ice pack and as she reaches for one of the bottles inquiries, "What's the ice pack for? You said it had stopped hurting earlier!"
Gabe turns and gives Judson one of the other bottles and pretends to not hear her question.
But Judson refuses to let it go unanswered, "Gabe is your arm still bothering you? Maybe we should go to the hospital and get a doctor to look at it."
Gabe sits down in the empty lounge chair across from him and gingerly places his elbow on the ice pack and says, "It's not that bad, it only hurts when I move it too much."
As he struggles to open the beer bottle without moving his right arm to much, Mac and Judson exchange glances. Just as Gabe is about to use his teeth to open the bottle Judson reaches out and grabs the bottle.
"What do you think you're doing? Do you want to break a tooth, I'll do it."
Gabe takes the opened bottle back from Judson and says, "Thanks. Look guys if it's still bothering me on Monday then I'll call the doctor and make an appointment, all right? Now can we just enjoy a peaceful night for once."
Mac glares at him and says, "There is no way you are gonna wait until Monday to get that looked at. If it is still bothering you tomorrow then we are taking you to the emergency room."
Gabe looks to Judson for some help but he just shrugs his shoulders and says, "Don't look at me I agree with her on this one."
Gabe shakes his head and then slumps back in the chair with a frustrated look on his face while thinking to himself, `Good thing I took those 3 Advil's when I was below or they'd be dragging me off to the hospital right now. A hospital ER on a Saturday night, we'd be there all night, no thanks. Besides it only hurts when I move it too much, if I keep it still for awhile it'll get better.' As the ice pack begins to numb his elbow he closes his eyes and begins to relax a little in the chair.
After a couple of hours quietly sitting on the deck and having a few beers the crew decides to turn in for the night. After a round of goodnights they all settle into their bunks for a good nights sleep. Unfortunately for Gabe deep sleep never seems to happen so he spends a long night lying on his back trying to find the right position for his arm to keep the pain at a tolerable level.
*******
At 8am Gabe decides he might as well get up, get his shower and change before the others wake up. If he hurries he might even be able to get breakfast and get started on one of the many chores around the ship thus preventing the inevitable discussion at the table with the others about going to get his arm checked at the hospital. After the long night with little sleep he really wasn't in the mood to be teased by Mac or Judson about a bruised elbow.
However forgetting to use his left hand and instinctively reaching to pull the drawer open with his right one sends a jolt of pain through his arm and up to his shoulder, putting an end to all the previous thoughts about the injury being no big deal. Now he begins to seriously rethink his plans for the morning and wish he could make the clock turn back so he could be done with the inevitable comments from both his friends. Not to mention the long visit at the hospital he knew he was gonna have to sit through.
After a very painful shower and change Gabe has now come to the realization that the elbow definitely is not bruised and has mentally kicked himself a dozen times for ignoring his friends. Now he only has to figure out how to get one of them to take him to the hospital without getting a tongue lashing from both of them. But when he walks toward the kitchen area he notices Mac and Judson are already seated at the table and a light breakfast of cereal is waiting for him.
Mac looks up from her breakfast and says, "Well it's about time you got out here."
Gabe just grunts in reply and carefully sits down at the table. This causes Judson to look closely at him and say, "Once you get done with your breakfast we are taking you to the hospital to get that arm looked at. I don't want to hear any complaints either so don't start."
Mac then speaks up and says, "You look like you didn't get any sleep so don't go telling us it isn't bothering you because there is no way we are going to believe it. You are going to the hospital the easy way, by walking to the car yourself; or the hard way, we carry you to it. It's your choice."
Gabe sighs and softly replies; "All right I'll walk."
Mac and Judson both look at him and then at each other with shocked expressions on their faces. They had expected to hear all kinds of excuses and complaints and each had come up with answers for all of them but now that they didn't need them they were speechless. Before they could recover Gabe was getting up from the table and taking his empty bowl into the kitchen to rinse and leave in the sink for washing later.
Judson and Mac get up and head toward the stairs and wait for Gabe to join them. Then the three of them quietly walk up the stairs and head toward the car. Judson pulls out his keys and gets behind the wheel while Mac climbs into the back seat leaving the passenger seat for Gabe much to his surprise since she prefers to ride shot gun.
Gabe sits down and once again instinctively goes to use his right hand to pull the door shut and gasps when a stabbing pain reminds him that he should have used his left.
Hearing the gasp Mac stands up and stretches out to pull the door closed for him while saying, "Sorry about that. Are you okay?"
Gabe nods his head and replies, "Yeah, just a twinge. I could have gotten it with my left hand but thanks."
Mac smiles at him and says, "Not a problem. Judson what are you waiting for lets get going."
Judson glares at Mac's reflection in his rear view mirror but starts the car and slowly pulls out of the parking spot while saying, "Next stop on our tour today people is the beautiful Beau Harbor ER. Keep your hands in the car and your seat belts buckled or you might land up an unlucky guest for awhile."
Mac whacks him in the back of the head and Gabe laughs at his two friends antics knowing they are horsing around to keep his mind off of his arm and the possible long wait ahead of them.
Part 2
20 minutes later the three of them are looking for seats in the crowded ER. After finding some seats in the back of the waiting room they sit down and Gabe tries to fill out the forms he was given when he went to the check in window. Judson notices the difficulty he is having and offers to help but of course Gabe insist on doing it himself. After watching him for 10 minutes Mac just reaches over and grabs the clipboard out of his left hand and holds her free hand out for the pen. Seeing the look on her face Gabe smartly hands her the pen and says nothing. In 5 minutes and a couple of short questions Mac has completed the form and stands to take it back to the window.
Gabe glares at her retreating back and Judson just chuckles at him then says, "Get used to it kid. This might be the way it is for a while."
Gabe turns to look at him and says, "No way. It's only a bad bruise. If it were broken it would hurt a lot more. All my friends would say that it hurt like *&^% when they broke anything. This hardly hurts at all." (*&^%= pick your own cuss word)
Mac has returned at this point and says, "Yeah right. So why can you hardly write or close the car door with your right hand?"
Gabe turns and glares at her then slouches in the chair and grumbles. All three set in for a long wait. After an hour a nurse yells out "Gabriel Patterson!"
Gabe gets up and walks toward the nurse and follows her into a small room and takes the seat she points to. The nurse has him verify all the information on the standard form. She then checks his blood pressure and temperature then has him explain exactly how he hurt his arm, why he waited before seeking medical help and asks if he has ever felt threatened at home.
The last question causes Gabe to say, "Hey I slipped on some oil, there is nothing wrong at my home."
The nurse assures him that it is a standard question that they must ask all their patients. After putting a sling over his head and helping him put his arm in it properly she inquires if he needs an ice pack. Gabe assures her he doesn't and that it only hurts if he moves it and he has no plans on doing that. The nurse then hands him a piece of paper and asks him to sign it for her. She doesn't seem to care that he is right handed and his writing is very limited due to the injury and urges him to sign it. She then gives him another paper and says that it is his copy of what he just signed then informs him that there aren't any empty beds at the moment in the ER. If he'll take a seat out in the waiting room they will call him as soon as they can. Gabe once again gets up and goes out to take his vacant seat between Mac and Judson.
When Mac sees the sling she raises her eyebrow and Gabe glares at her then sits down and slumps in the chair.
Judson asks, "So what did she say?"
Gabe replies quietly, "She asked some more questions, one really dumb one, then told me they didn't have any empty beds back there. Told me to take a seat out here and they would call my name when I could go back." Gabe then glances down at the paper and reads it. After a few seconds he realizes he has basically absolved the hospital of any liability if anything goes wrong when they treat his arm. That pretty much explains why she rushed him to sign it, with out giving him a chance to read it first.
*******
20 minutes later the nurse comes out with 2 ice packs she offers one to someone else sitting not far from the group then comes by and offers Gabe the other. Once again Gabe refuses it and when Mac asks how much longer they are assured it won't be long.
40 minutes go by before a nurse comes out and calls Gabe's name. After listening to Mac and Judson making small talk Gabe is happy to finally be going back to see a doctor. After explaining to the doctor exactly what happened and then getting some x-rays taken Gabe is then left to lounge on the hospital gurney in a small room and listen to the many other patients being taken care of and impatiently wait for the doctor to come back.
Finally the doctor comes back and says, "Well I've got some good new and some bad news for you. Which do you want first?"
Gabe just rolls his eyes and says, "Give me the good news first, it's been a lousy day so far I could sure use some."
Dr. Fuller chuckles and says, "Well it's not broken... But it is a very bad fracture. It's right in the middle of your elbow joint and goes diagonally through your Ulna but luckily it stops about a quarter inch from the edge of the bone."
Gabe looks at the x-ray on the lighted board amazed that he can actually pick out the fracture without the doctor pointing to it and can't believe that it is so bad. He looks at the doctor and says, "If that's the good news what's the bad?"
Dr. Fuller turns off the lighted board and says, "Well you'll all I can do for you now is put a temporary immobilizer on it. You'll have to come back tomorrow and see the orthopedist and have him take a look at the x-rays. He might need to do surgery since it involves the joint you really need the pieces to line up perfectly or you could risk loss of movement. I'll go get the things I'll need and have the nurse set up an appointment for you. Be back in a few minutes."
Gabe sits down on the gurney again and shakes his head in disgust. 'Great spend all this time here today and now I'll have to come back again tomorrow. Judson and Mac are not going to be happy.'
As if on cue Mac and Judson show up in the doorway with concerned looks on their faces.
Mac says, "Man we were beginning to think they lost you. How much longer?"
Gabe shrugs his left shoulder then gets up and turns on the x-ray board for them and as he points to the fracture says, "It's not broken clean through but they're concerned because it involves the joint. The doctor went to get the supplies for a temporary immobilizer and I'll have to come back and see a specialist tomorrow. He might need to do surgery."
"Surgery that sounds pretty serious. Do you want us to stay with you or should we go back out to the waiting room?" asks Judson.
Gabe leans back on the gurney and says, "I'm fine guys this could take a while why don't you go get some lunch. You can come back and pick me up when you're done, I'll just hang out in the waiting room if they get done before you get back."
Mac shakes her head and says, "We are not just going to leave you here. We'll go get lunch when your done. Come on Judson before he starts to argue with us." She grabs Judson's arm and pulls him out of the room before either of the men can say anything.
20 minutes later the doctor finally comes back into the room with his supplies. He has Gabe put his arm on a pillow at a near 90 degree angle and measures the length. Then he takes a strip of cast like material and begins to run it under the faucet in the small sink. After a few minutes he then molds the material to the bottom portion of Gabe's arm and corrects the angle a few times before he is satisfied with the position.
The doctor then opens 2 packs of wide ace bandages and begins to wrap one around the lower half of Gabe's arm securing the cast like material firmly against the skin. The doctor then uses the second bandage to secure the remainder of the temporary immobilizer to the arm. "Okay Gabe this needs to harden for a few minutes so sit quietly right here and I will go get your paperwork taken care of then you can go. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Gabe just glares after the retreating doctor's back knowing full well, he will be gone for more than a few minutes. Amazingly after only 5 minutes a nurse comes in with some papers, but they only turn out to be some instructions for him about how to care for the arm until he sees the specialist. She instructs him to read them and says it shouldn't be much longer.
As Gabe begins to read the papers he has become aware of a slight numbing sensation in his entire arm. He looks down at his fingers and notices that they are turning a nice shade of light blue. When a nurse walks by the door and looks in at him he signals her to come in and when she does Gabe says, "Uh my fingers are turning blue here I think this thing is too tight."
The nurse looks at his finger and says she will go find the doctor and get him to come back and take a look at it. Amazingly enough it is only 3 minutes before Dr. Fuller comes back. After a quick glance at the fingers he begins to remove the bandages and explains that Gabe might have to do this himself a couple of times before the right combinations of tension is found. 2 minutes later the bandages are back on and the color has returned too normal.
The doctor is putting the sling on for him when a nurse walks in with some more forms. After a quick look at them he says, "Okay Gabe you're all set. Here's the information you will need for your appointment tomorrow. Follow those instructions the nurse gave you, wear the sling at all times except when you go to sleep and you shouldn't have any problems. But if you have any questions just give us a call."
Gabe happily takes all of his papers and hops of the gurney. He quickly leaves before anything else can come up having long since reached the end of his limit on patience and by now is starving, all he wants is to get out of there and get some lunch.
*******
As Gabe walks out the double doors of the ER he notices there are a lot more people in the waiting room than when we went back so it takes some time to locate his friends in the crowd. By this time Mac and Judson have risen from their seats and the three of them meet up by the exit. Mac makes a grab for the papers in his hands and Judson holds the door open for him. Having reached the point of total frustration Gabe just glares at both of them and quietly walks towards the parked car without saying a word.
After arriving at the car and quietly getting in Gabe softly asks if they can just return to the ship and eat since he really isn't in the mood for much of anything else. His two friends agree and the drive back to the Vast Explorer is accomplished in complete silence except for the music from the radio.
Once they arrive at the ship Gabe immediately heads to the refrigerator for a beer. But then realizes once he has it in his left hand that there is no way he can open it since he has almost no use of his right hand and can't hold it and twist the cap off with just his left.
Having noticed his predicament Judson holds out his right hand and says, "Here I'll get it. Mac do you want one?" Knowing the answer he immediately reaches in and pulls 2 more bottles out and walks over to the table.
As Mac is rummaging around in the other frig looking for some stuff for sandwiches she yells, "What do you think? All right I got the stuff for the sandwiches, Gabe why don't you give me a hand with this. Judson you set the table."
Gabe reaches out with his left hand and grabs some of the bags of lunchmeat and walks over to the counter and tosses them down. With a little ingenuity he manages to figure out how to open the bags while using the elbow of his right arm to hold the edge of the bag. This is not easy task because the angle of his immobilized arm and the sling make just about anything awkward.
Mac joins him and softly chuckles at him but instead of making him mad it makes him grin back at her and say, "Might as well make the best of it, since it seems like I'll be wearing one of these for a while. At least now I won't have to go around looking for a hammer if I need one. Any one want some crushed ice?"
Judson walks up to him and puts a hand on his shoulder and says, "If I see you using that to crush or hit anything you're gonna need another visit to the ER and it won't have anything to do with your arm, understood. Now go sit down while we get lunch ready."
Gabe shakes his head and says, "I was just joking. What did you guys do loose your sense of humor on the way back or what?"
Mac and Judson just smile at each other and continue to prepare the sandwiches.
*******
An hour later after having finished their late lunch the crew settles down in the living quarters and relaxes. Mac and Judson are playing cards and occasionally glancing in Gabe's direction.
Gabe sitting on the couch trying to figure out just how to work on his computer with the contraption on his right arm and sling around his neck. After about 10 minutes he gives up and moves to floor figuring if he sits cross legged he can put his right arm in his lap and use his left hand with a little more success.
Judson points in his direction and grins at Mac. She in turns shrugs and says, "Gabe that can't be very comfortable. Whatever you're working on can wait, why don't you lay on the couch and read a book or something?"
Gabe just grunts and continues what he is doing.
Judson chuckles and says, "Mac's got a point, shouldn't you be elevating that and relaxing. That stuff can wait."
Gabe shut the notebook and says, "Look guys I'm frustrated and uncomfortable with this contraption on my arm and even if I don't need surgery than I definitely am going to have to wear a cast for at least a month. So no this can't wait and I might as well start getting used to doing this stuff with just one hand any way that I can. I'm going for a walk and no I don't want any company."
Mac looks like she is about to comment but Judson throws his cards at her and says, "All right but don't over do it. Mac deal again." Mac glares back at him but doesn't say and word as she shuffles the cards.
Part 3
2 1/2 hrs later
Mac is pacing the deck of the Vast Explorer as Judson leans against the railing alternating between watching her and staring out at the nearly deserted dock. She stops pacing and glares at him while saying, "Where could he be? You told him not to over due it and it's after 5 o'clock."
"Mac would you please calm down. You're gonna wear a hole in the deck if you keep that up. Gabe can take care of himself, he might have run into a friend and lost track of time. Why don't we go below and start making dinner." Judson calmly replies.
"How can you be thinking of food? He's been gone for almost 3 hours; he should be taking it easy not wandering all over the place. If he's not back here in 10 minutes I'm gonna go look for him." She is now standing directly in front of Judson and glaring straight into his eyes daring him to say anything else.
The 2 of them had been looking at each other so intently that they hadn't seen Gabe as he slowly walked up to the ship and start across the gangplank. So they are both shocked to hear him say, "Hi guys. When and what are we having for dinner? I'm starved!"
Mac spins around and demands, "Where have you been? You disappear for almost 3 hours and the only thing you have to say is when's dinner."
Judson reaches out and puts his hand on her shoulder and calmly says, "Calm down Mac. Look he's fine, no harm done. Why don't we just go below and get started on dinner. You," he points at Gabe, "set the table and then sit down and put that arm up."
Mac glares at Gabe as he shrugs his shoulders and then makes a hasty retreat practically jogging to the stairs to get away from the obviously ticked off women. Judson puts his arm around her shoulder and slowly guides her toward the stairs.
"Mac just calm down, he's back in one piece..." She turns and is about to say something when he continues, "All right, wrong choice of words. Let's just try to have a quiet dinner and get through the night. We'll talk to the specialist tomorrow and then we will know just how bad this is."
When they reach the top of the stairs Mac turns to look at him and whispers, "Judson, he's right handed what if he needs surgery and something goes wrong? He may never have the full use of that arm again, then what?"
Judson stares right into her eyes and softly says, "Don't go thinking of the worst, think positively. No surgery, a cast for a couple of weeks and then everything is back to normal. Now come on, Gabe is already frustrated enough and I'm sure he has already been think the same things. We need to keep his mind occupied so he doesn't dwell on it."
Mac nods her head and they head down the stairs toward the kitchen. Gabe has already finished setting the table and has settled on the floor with his laptop and seems to be working on something while balancing his arm precariously on the edge of the coffee table.
While Judson and Mac start pulling stuff out of the refrigerator they occasionally glance in his direction every once in awhile in amazement at his almost non-chalet attitude. Mac prepares the salad as Judson gets the spaghetti and sauce going on the stove.
20 minutes later the crew is sitting at the table eating their dinner and discussing anything and everything except what happened in the last 2 days. After dinner Judson offers to wash the dishes if Mac will dry, Gabe tells them he is gonna go to his cabin and read for awhile.
*******
Once Gabe gets to his cabin he puts his laptop on the small desk, grabs a book off one of the shelves and then lays down on his bunk. But after trying several positions and getting completely frustrated because he is unable to find a way to balance the book hold it open and turn the pages with only his left hand. He tosses the book onto his desk and grabs the laptop once again.
The only position that works seems to be sitting cross-legged on the floor and using the chair to prop his arm up. After a couple of hours surfing the net and taking care of some e-mails that have accumulated his eyes are tired so he decides to call it a night. Deciding that going out to say goodnight to his two friends might cause them to start asking questions, or even start an argument about his disappearing this afternoon he just turns out the lights and lies down on his bunk.
*******
While Judson starts washing the dishes Mac leans against the counter and says, "So what are we gonna do tomorrow? He might not like it if we both insist on taking him to the appointment."
Before Judson can answer his cell phone starts to ring. Since his hands are still in the water Mac reaches over and pulls it out of his front breast pocket. "Hello Judson Cross's answering service. Can I help you please?" Judson glares at her while he dries his hands and as she says, "Hold on one minute please and I'll see if he's free."
He reaches out and snatches the phone while saying, "Give me that." He covers the mouthpiece and says, "Just for that you can do the dishes all by yourself." He begins to walk away as he says into the phone, "This is Judson Cross can I help you?"
As he walks away from the sink listening to the other person on the phone Mac sticks her hands into the water and with an annoyed look on her face begins to do the dishes. After about 10 minutes Judson returns and leans against the counter with a grin on his face.
Mac glances at him and says, "Why do you look so happy? And it better not be because I'm doing the dishes or you're gonna get it?
Judson smiles at her and says, "Well that's part of it, but the main reason is we've just been hired by a Mr. Branson to locate his yacht that went down in a storm last month and retrieve as much of his personal items as we can."
Mac raises her eyebrows at him and asks, "Were did the ship go down? When do we start? What about Gabe's arm, if he needs surgery how are we gonna be able to take the job and take care of him? Judson there is no way we can do this now, we can't take the job."
"Mac calm down. I explained the situation to Mr. Branson, as we know it right now. I'll go meet with him tomorrow and get all the specifics on the job and you can take Gabe to his doctor's appointment. Once we know all the specifics we can sit down and figure it out then, all right?" He grins at her and then begins to dry some of the dishes.
Mac shakes her head at him but doesn't say anything and continues with the dishes. Once they are done with the dishes they go out to the sitting area to relax. Judson lays down on the couch and starts to read a magazine while Mac sits down at the table and takes out her gun and cleaning supplies. She calmly begins to clean the weapon and occasionally glances at Judson and down the hall toward Gabe's cabin.
After she has cleaned the weapon and put everything away she begins to play a game of solitaire. A half-hour later Judson looks up and says, "I don't know about you but I'm beat. I'm gonna turn in now, see you in the morning."
Mac looks up and says, "Goodnight, I'm just gonna finish this game and then secure the boat. Do you want to check in on Gabe or should I?"
Judson raises an eyebrow at her and replies, "I'll do it, I'm less likely to threaten him than you are, if he's not taking it easy." He grins at her then slowly walks toward Gabe's cabin.
*******
Gabe's cabin door quietly opens and Judson peeks in. He sees Gabe lying on his bunk with his eyes closed and his right arm resting on a pillow against the side of his chest.
As Judson turns to leave Gabe softly says, "Is Mac still pissed at me for taking off?"
Judson turns and says, "I didn't mean to wake you. Just thought I'd check on you before I turned in." He walks toward the bed and says, "She was, but I talked to her and I think you're out of the woods for awhile. Just don't do it again cause I can't guarantee that I'll be able to stop her from tying you to the nearest chair if you do."
Gabe grins and says, "Thanks Judson. I didn't mean to worry you guys I just needed to clear my head. Don't worry I won't do it again and I really wasn't asleep yet."
"No problem kid, try to get some sleep. If you need anything give a yell." Judson heads toward the door and just as he begins to close it.
Gabe calls out, "Judson, thanks and goodnight, I'll see ya in the morning.
Judson nods his head and shuts the door behind him.
*******
Monday morning begins pretty much like Sunday, Mac and Judson have breakfast waiting once again by the time Gabe gets to the table. He sits down and says, "Morning guys."
Mac raises an eyebrow at him and says, "Morning, I want you to eat your breakfast than go sit down and take it easy. I'll drive you to the hospital for your appointment."
Before Gabe can say anything Judson says, "And I have an appointment with a possible client. I'm gonna get the specifics from him and once we know what the doctor wants to do then we will decide if we can take it."
Gabe puts his fork down and says, "Look guys I can drive myself to the hospital and as far as the arm goes, if the doctors wants to operate I can always stay at the hotel near by. It's not a problem, tell the client you'll take the job."
Judson glares at him and says, "You will not stay in a hotel and go through surgery alone so I don't want to hear you mention that again. I explained the situation to Mr. Branson on the phone and told him I would need to talk to him to get some information. I also explained that our taking the job depends on what your doctor's says this afternoon and that I would give him a definite answer before tonight. He didn't seem to mind."
"I don't want my stupid accident preventing you from taking a job and doing it right that's all and I can take care of myself just fine. Tell Mr. Branson you'll take the job when you see him." With that Gabe gets up from the table and heads toward the stairs.
Mac jumps up from her chair, jogs over to him and grabs him by the shoulder. She firmly says, "You might be able to take care of yourself but we're your friends and we are not gonna let you go through this alone. Whether you like it or not you're gonna do what we say for now. You got it?"
He silently nods his head and goes up the stairs with his head down. Mac watches him go and then turns to look at Judson.
He shakes his head at her and says, "Mac he's frustrated and probably more worried than either of us. Give him some time to cool off. I'm sure we can get him to come around before it's time to go." He grins at her and says, "If not you have my permission to drag him to the car and tie him to the seat if you want."
Mac smiles and then helps him clean up the table. After they've finished cleaning up they head up to the main deck. There they find Gabe sitting on a lounge chair staring out at the calm water and an occasionally boater.
Mac walks over to him and ruffles his hair. Judson leans against the rail and smiles at her obvious attempt to get him to lighten up. Gabe turns his head and gives her a dirty look. This causes both of his friends to start laughing.
Gabe smiles at them and says, "Sorry about earlier guys. I didn't sleep too good last night, so I guess I'm a little touchy this morning. No hard feelings?"
Judson and Mac both smile back at him, and Mac says, "Not a problem. But just so you know it, Judson gave me permission to drag you to the car and tie you to the seat, if you don't co-operate when it's time to leave."
Gabe raises his left hand in the air in mock surrender and says, "Okay I give up. You can drive me to the hospital. But I really don't want you to turn down the job just because of me."
Judson looks him right in the eye and says, "Look let's wait and see what the doctor says before we go deciding anything okay?"
*******
2 hours later
Gabe and Mac are once again at the hospital, this time they are sitting in an upstairs waiting room. Gabe is getting impatient because they have been there for almost an hour and the time of his appointment has come and past but they are still waiting.
Mac is calmly sitting next to him reading a magazine, suddenly her hand shoots out and lands on his bouncing knee, "Would you please stop that it's getting annoying."
Gabe looks her and is about to respond when a nurse yells out his name. The two of them rise and follow her back to an exam room. Before Gabe can sit down the doctor rushes in and turns on the panel illuminating his x-ray.
Dr. Taylor looks at them for a few minutes and says, "It's a bad fracture but thankfully it doesn't look like anything is displaced in the joint so you won't need surgery. A couple of weeks in a cast and you should be good to go. Let's go to the casting room and get you all fixed up."
As the doctor ushers them out of the room and down the hallway Gabe says, "You know it really didn't hurt that much only when I tried to straighten it or bend it too much, but since they put that immobilizer on it has been a real big pain.
As the doctor waves them into another room he says, "Yeah I know sometimes immobilizing it like that can make it more annoying. But now that I've seen the x-ray I don't have any choice."
Gabe sits on the indicated table and says, "You mean it would have healed fine without all this fuss?"
Right before the doctor leaves he says, "Yes I'm afraid it would but now that I've seen you I have to make sure you get it casted and keep it immobilized until the fracture is no longer visible on an x-ray. My assistant will be right in to get you taken care of."
Gabe glares at Mac until the assistant come in and says, "What color cast do you want?" When Gabe inquires what they have he says, "We have blue, pink, lime green, black or camouflage."
Gabe picks the camouflage and within 15 minutes his right arm from the shoulder down to his whole hand is encased in a tightly wrapped cast bent at a not quite 90 degree angle, with the wrist turned slightly so his hand is held sideways.
As they walk down the hallway headed back to the desk Mac says, "Nice choice of colors but the pink really would have made it easier to find you in the dark, man it sure was bright."
Gabe whacks her in the back of the head just as they get to the desk and the doctor says, "Okay Mr. Patterson I need to see you in 2 weeks. We'll just do a cast change then and again in another 2 weeks to remove that cast. We'll get an evaluation x-ray but it probably will still need to be casted again for another 2 weeks. Oh and I didn't ask you before, How did this happen?"
Gabe tells him, "I slipped on some oil and landed on it when I fell. Look doc my boss is at a meeting with a client right now discussing a job. We need to go out of town for awhile can we make the first cast change in 3 weeks?"
The doctor agrees to the change so once the appointment is made Mac and Gabe leave the office and head back to the car.
*******
20 minutes later they get back to the Vast Explorer and find Judson waiting impatiently on the deck. As soon as they get on board he says, "Nice cast there Gabe. Does this mean you don't need surgery?"
Gabe grins and says, "Yep, the doctor says it should heal fine but I need to go back in three weeks to get the cast changed. How did it go with Mr. Branson?"
Judson grins and says, "Perfect, not a problem the yacht sunk about 2 days journey from here. He got the coordinates from the coast guard for the area they were in when they were rescued so we shouldn't have to look too much before we find the ship. I told him I'd call tonight and let him know if we can take the job."
Gabe replies, "Why don't you call him now and tell him we can do it."
Mac smiles and says, "Boy, somebody sure is impatient to get to work."
Gabe looks at her and lifts his right arm a little and says, "Watch it Mac, I have the perfect weapon at my side and I'm not afraid to use it."
Judson walks over to his two friend's gets between them, drapes his arms over their shoulder and says, "Now, now kids no fighting. It's gonna be a long couple of weeks at sea and I don't want to be constantly separating you 2." He starts to laugh when they start making faces at each other then says, "You guys make me feel like a parent when you act like this."
The 3 of them walk toward the stairs laughing and joking around now that the fear of surgery has disappeared
*******
7 1/2 weeks later
The 3 friends are sitting on the deck of the Vast Explorer celebrating the removal of Gabe's 3rd and final cast, plus the completion of a successful salvage job and a very happy client.
Gabe raises his beer and says, "Okay guys now that my arm is once again free and in one piece, who wants to arm wrestle me?"
Mac glares at him and says, "What are you nuts? You've only just gotten the all clear from the doctor. After listening to you complain every day while that thing was in a cast you don't want to tempt me. I just might take you up on it and I can guarantee you if I do, you definitely will be going to the ER tonight with a broken arm."
Gabe smiles and says, "Boy somebody sure lost her sense of humor."
Judson grins at the two of them and says, "Keep it up guys and I'll tie the 2 of you too your chairs and leave you there all night. You can entertain each other but at least I will have some piece and quiet. Lord knows the last few weeks haven't been!!"
Mac and Gabe look at each other then started making faces at him until he starts to laugh at their antics. Before they know it their all laughing so hard they have tears in their eyes.
The End
Well I hope you guys liked it and yes it did take 7 1/2 weeks in a cast before the doctor said it was healed but it did happen in Dec so the holiday week they had off added time to it. I wasn't too sure how to end it but having them laughing and carrying on seemed as good a way as any.