Hospital life isn't all fun and games!

I would like to thank my dear friends,
Angel O’Hare, Karen Page, Joni W. and Holly Hart
for their kindness, help, support and input.

Raised In SLC
Chapter 14

By Penny Reed Cardon

The next morning I woke up early to find Mary Beth snuggled up next to me, with an arm around my waist. ‘I don't remember her getting into bed with me, but this is nice to wake up to. I wonder how long I will be able to lay here and enjoy the warmth and security of being in her arms.’

‘Darn! … not long enough.’ I tried thinking about other things, what my future will bring, could Mom talk Mary Beth's family into visiting, everything except the ever increasingly persistent call from Mother Nature. Eventually I started fidgeting, trying to maintain a little more control.

Of course, this woke, Mary Beth, "What's the matter?" she mumbled, still half asleep.

"Um, I need to ..." was all I got out.

Mary Beth immediately removed her arm and actually started pushing me out of bed. "Well if you need to go, then go, and be quick about it."

I giggled, grabbed my PDA and quickly went into the bathroom to commune with Mother Nature. 'I doubt anyone will be monitoring this early in the morning. Let's see, just for fun I think I'll try knocking on the front door.’ "Start, System, Connection, WLAN, Configuration ...” And a black screen. ‘Well, so much for the front door approach. Oh well, I'm not going to sit here for 30 minutes, waiting.'

I left the bathroom to discover that Mary Beth was still in bed. When she saw me emerge from the bathroom, she smiled as she lifted the blankets, "It's too early to be up. Get back into bed."

Who am I to argue with a command like that? With a smile on my face, I jumped back into bed. I was again enveloped by Mary Beth's loving arms, quickly falling asleep. I’m not sure how long it was before I woke, hearing … "Ahh, Hmm."

I slowly opened my eyes to see the face of a young lady smiling at me.

"You must be Matilda," she whispered. I smiled and slowly nodded. "And, of course, that's Mary Beth sleeping next to you. Starting early, aren't you?"

She read the question in my eyes and answered, "Sleeping in each others arms."

I moved my index finger to my lips, "Shh, she doesn't know," I whispered.

"Doesn't know what?" mumbled Mary Beth.

I rolled over so I could look into Mary Beth's sleeping face, "Know that it's time to get up, sleepy head," I said with a smile.

"What time is it?" Mary Beth moaned as her eyes started to flicker, attempting to open.

"It’s almost 8:00, Mary Beth," replied the unknown young lady. "When do you normally get up?"

Upon hearing her name and an unknown voice, Mary Beth was instantly awake. "Who are you?"

With a giggle and smile she answered, "Good Morning, I'm Suzanne, you may call me Suzy. Ellen asked me to come see how you’re doing. I've brought your clean clothes, as well as charging stations for your PDA's."

I smiled to myself. ‘Well, that answers one of my questions. I'm indeed being monitored any time my PDA is on. I wondered about this morning?’

"Oh, goodie! … another sponge bath," grumbled Mary Beth.

"Sorry about that, Mary Beth," Suzy apologized. "On the other hand, if you don't want one of the nurses helping you, I'd be happy to help you with your bath, or perhaps Matilda would be willing to assist you." When Suzy winked at me as she finished; I realized that I was to play along.

"That's OK, a nurse will be just fine," Mary Beth replied quickly.

"Mary Beth, I'm sure that Matilda would be happy to assist you, wouldn't you Matilda?"

"Of course, it would be an honor to help you, dear friend," I said as I reached for the button at the back of Mary Beth's nightgown.

"Matilda! Stop! What are you trying to do?"

“Mary Beth, I’m just going to help you take off your nightgown, so I can give you a sponge bath. Now hold still, so I can undo this button,” I teased.

“OH NO YOU’RE NOT!” she screeched, slapping my hands away.

I pulled my hand back quickly, as if I’d really been hurt, and put on my best sad face; I even tried to force a tear. “But, Mary Beth,” I said, trying to look like my best friend had stabbed me in the heart.

Mary Beth just as suddenly stopped protesting. “Oh Matilda, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said as she hugged me to apologize, “Ouch.” ‘There she goes again, every time she hugs me or I hug her, she cringes in pain.’

I hugged her back, very gently of course, before saying, “Mary Beth, … You didn’t hurt me, and I was just teasing about helping you with your bath. I know that it would embarrass you, and I wouldn’t do that.”

“Oh Matilda!” she exclaimed while pushing me away. “What am I going to do with you?”

Suzy broke into laughter at seeing how I'd taken the lead she’d given me and run with it. Ellen had obviously briefed her.

“Well, being that you just hugged, me I won’t ask for a hug, but a good morning might be nice.”

“Oh, … Good morning. Now go get into the shower before I arrange for ‘you’ to get a sponge bath.”

I hopped off the bed. Suzy, who was still laughing, handed me a bag which I assumed contained the clean clothes Ellen had promised. Just before I closed the bathroom door I asked with a giggle, “Are you sure you don’t want me to help you with your bath, Mary Beth?”

“Matilda!” exclaimed Mary Beth. I giggled as I closed the door, stopping a pillow in mid-flight.

Quickly undressing, I and took a long, leisurely shower, taking more time than I had the day before, just to give the nurse and Mary Beth extra time.

Besides the necessary panties, there was a pair of simply beautiful purple silk panties with a matching camisole. Instead of a nightgown, there were some very nice purple pajamas with white edging all around. ‘There is something so familiar about them, I know I’ve seen them somewhere before, I just can’t put my finger on where. Oh, this is driving me crazy, first the nightgowns, now the pajamas. Oh, where have I seen them before?’ In the bottom of the bag was a note:

Matilda,
New message, check PDA.
Ellen.

What now? I can’t be in trouble, I haven’t tried anything creative ... at least not yet. It must be another assignment, another secret for me to keep from Mary Beth.

I opened the door a crack as I’d done the day before and called out, “Are you ready Mary Beth?”

“Ready,” she called out.

As I emerged, I noticed that once again, we were wearing matching nightwear. "Well, Mary Beth, what do you think of these pajamas? They're nice, aren't they?"

"They're okay I guess. They'd be better if you cut the legs off above the knees and if you took off the sleeves."

"You're sure hard to please, Mary Beth," I giggled.

Suzy whispered in my ear, "Watch out Matilda, it looks like your study partner has a thing for showing off."

"Just her legs," I whispered back, while giggling.

"All right, last minute instructions," said Suzy to both of us "Your PDA's are charging, they need to stay on the chargers for two hours. You can use them during that time, as long as they stay plugged in. Ellen will be here tomorrow morning, Mary Beth. She'll be taking you to the school, so I guess I'll see you at the ball on Sunday. Matilda, it was a pleasure to meet you. Good luck with your … future challenges."

"Suzy, what did you mean when you said you'd see me at the ball on Sunday?" asked Mary Beth.

"Oh, didn't Ellen tell you? Sunday is our annual Halloween ball. This year I'm going as Lady Godiva."

"You're going to the ball naked?" I asked in surprise.

"Of course not! I'm wearing a one-piece, flesh colored, leotard and a very long wig. It should give the illusion of being naked, if you don't look too close, that is," Suzy said with a smile.

"For a second, I was worried," exclaimed Mary Beth.

"Oh, there’s nothing to worry about. It's been made very clear as to what's acceptable. If Ellen, or any of the staff, thinks your costume is too revealing, they'll take you down to wardrobe and select a new costume for you."

"How often does that happen?" I asked.

"It's never happened, well, not while I've been there. Along with everything else, we're taught that modesty and self respect go hand in hand."

"What does Ellen think of your Lady Godiva costume?" I asked.

"I have an appointment with her this afternoon. If she says no, then I'll come up with something else. It just wouldn't be right for the leader of 'Year H' to set a poor example. Anyway, I have to run; if I hurry, I can be back in time for lunch. Be good, you two." With that, Suzy picked up the two bags and left.

"Well, it sounds like you will need a Halloween costume after all, Mary Beth. How about going as Princess Leia from Return of the Jedi. Remember, when she was chained to Jabba," I giggled.

"It's a good thing you won't be there Matilda. If you were, I'd talk to Ellen and arrange for you to be diapered, just because you're being so mean."

"But, Mary Beth, I'm not being mean, am I?"

"No, of course you're not. I'm just teasing again," she said with a reassuring smile, and her arms out. I quickly hopped onto her bed to receive and return a hug, ‘ouch.’

Breakfast came and went; we continued discussing costume ideas until the charging lights on our PDA's went off. Then Mary Beth started in on her tests and I went back to the chair in the waiting area. After I'd turned on my PDA, I discovered a new symbol at the top of the screen, a closed envelope. I touched it and an E-mail inbox screen appeared, indicating one unread message. Of course, I touched on the message to open it.

Matilda;

As I told you, the school provides everything
you'll need. You therefore will not be able to
bring any of your books from home.

If I understand correctly, you arrived at the
hospital wearing your blue party dress, and
therefore you will be wearing it when you arrive
at the Manor. Being that you wore that dress
here before, I've arranged for you to keep it.

I'm sorry about your books. I'm sure that you
have quite a library.

See you later.

Ellen.

‘Well, that wasn't entirely unexpected, but on the other hand Ellen did arrange for me to keep my dress because it had been there before. I think a carefully worded reply is in order.’

Ellen;

Thank you for allowing me to keep my lovely
party dress. I'm sure that obtaining permission
to alter the rules isn't easy.

Being that you've been able to make an exception
for my dress because it has been at the Manor
before, I was hoping that the same consideration
would apply to two of my books. Of all the books
in my library, I would like to be able to keep the
two I was given when I was at the Manor before.
'The Christmas Box' that Miss Baker gave to me
as well as 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes' that I
received from Mr. Peterson.

I know that I'm asking a lot, but I have to ask.
The worst thing they can say is, no.

Thank you for everything you've done for me.
I'll see you Thursday.

Huggs
Matilda

With that sent, I began once again on the testing. Geography presented a few challenges as it dealt mostly with the small third world countries. Science was also challenging, and took more time than I'd expected. As I finished with the science portion and closed the file, I noticed that another test file had been added, Computer Science. As it was almost time for lunch, I thought I'd have a little fun with whoever was monitoring me this morning. I opened a new note screen,

Another test?
Don't I get a break?

After only a minute or so, my screen was blanked and a reply appeared.

What do you call sleeping all day Monday, Work?
What about yesterday afternoon? Your PDA was off
while Mary Beth was still working on her tests.
So come on girl, stop complaining and get busy.
Your lunch won't be there for about another hour.

Now I know that Mary Beth's PDA is being monitored, probably to make sure that I don't access its network configuration. Oh well, at least there was no mention of this mornings experiment. As far as they know, I’m playing nice and following the rules. Not as much fun as skirting around them, but for now I’ll let them think I'll be a good girl, at least for the most part. On the other hand, they can't call me lazy; a new message is called for.

For the record, yesterday afternoon I was working,
I was helping Mary Beth. We went over all of her
tests and I helped her where she'd made mistakes.
Look at her math test from before lunch and then
again after.

All right, I opened the file and started on computer science. I was confused by most of the questions. ‘I can usually work my way around code and get things to do what I want, but I didn't really know the proper names for the different types of hardware. Eventually, I’d had enough, and was ready to call it a morning.’ As I was about to shut down I noticed that the envelope icon had reappeared.

Matilda
Those two books might be considered an exception
to the rules. I'm not sure. I did pass your request
on. Only time will tell. It may be a few days
before a decision is made, as things are a little
hectic around here, what with the Halloween, ball
in four days and a field trip between Thanksgiving
and Christmas. I hope you and Mary Beth like to
sing.

Enjoy your time off; you'll be busy once you get
here.

Ellen

‘Well it looks like there will never be a dull moment at the Manor. I guess it's time to see how Mary Beth is doing with her geography.’ After lunch, we again went over Mary Beth's work. She'd actually done much better than she thought.

We played games and talked until Marie brought in dinner. She apologized again for not being more forceful about chasing everyone out of the room on Monday evening. I assured her that I wasn’t angry with her and that everything was fine. She had chased everyone out, and hadn't realized until it was too late, that the others had snuck back in.

Marie still felt bad about it and apologized yet again. She is really such a nice person. How could I be upset with her?

As the evening progressed and we had no visitors, I started to become sad and eventually even a little depressed. It was well past the time when Mom had come to visit the day before, but there wasn't any sign of them coming tonight. I wasn't sad for myself, because I knew I'd see Mom tomorrow, she'd be taking me to the Manor. I was sad for Mary Beth; I just couldn't tell her why I was sad. I knew it meant that Mom hadn’t been able to get any of her family to come see her. Mary Beth's mother must really have a problem with her being friends with me. I decided that someday I'd have to tell her why Mom didn't come tonight. I'll talk it over with Ellen first; just to see what she thinks.

I was getting tired and ready to go to bed when Dr. Harris came in, "Good evening, ladies. How are you today?"

"I'm doing pretty good, I guess, except for this tape," answered Mary Beth. "It doesn't itch anymore, now it hurts all around. And Matilda has been depressed and gloomy all evening."

"Really? Well, we'll take a look and see why it hurts in just a minute, Matilda, what seems to be the problem?" Dr Harris asked.

"Oh, I'm just sad because my Mother wasn't able to come in tonight," I lied. ‘Well, it isn't really a lie. After all, I can't tell Dr. Harris the whole truth. I don’t think he would understand. I also can't let Mary Beth know the truth, at least not yet. Keeping secrets can sure be a pain, I'll be glad when we get to the Manor and there won't be any more secrets between Mary Beth and me.’

"You're sure that's all? Nothing else troubling you?" he asked. I could tell that he really cared. I think he suspected I wasn't being one hundred percent honest.

"Yes, I'm sure," forcing a smile.

"Well, if you say so. Just the same, I think I'll ask the nurses to keep a closer watch tonight, just to be on the safe side."

"That won't be necessary, Dr. Harris," giggled Mary Beth. "I'll keep an eye on Matilda, just like I did last night. Matilda isn't going to do anything she shouldn't, at least as long as I am with her."

I couldn't help myself, as I giggled. 'If you only knew how long that's going to be, dear friend,’ "Is that what you were doing? Keeping an eye on me? It was more like keeping an arm on me, wasn't it?"

"Well, maybe it was, but there was no way you could have done anything without me knowing about it. Believe me, Dr. Harris, Matilda WILL, behave herself."

Dr Harris looked at the two of us strangely, as if we were trying to sell him the Brooklyn Bridge. We both laughed at the look he was giving us, until we told him about last night, as well as the night before.

"Well, I can see that you two are obviously good friends. It also explains the note in both your files."

"What note?" I asked.

"Well, normally the nursing staff here wouldn't allow the two of you to sleep in the same bed. There was a note placed in your files, when you were admitted. As I remember it, it says something about being permitted to sleep together, if needed as comfort for homesickness. It's signed, Ellen Hansen. So I guess that Matilda will be in good hands, or at least … in good arms."

After we stopped laughing at Dr. Harris's joke, I started to remove my pajama top.

"Oh, that's all right Matilda, you don't need to undress. I don't need to look at your abdomen tonight. In fact, I'm not here to check on you at all. Physically you're doing just fine. I'm just here to check on Mary Beth's ribs one last time before she leaves in the morning."

I hopped off my bed as I re-buttoned my pajama top. "I guess that means it's time for me to do some flirting with the nurses." I giggled as I headed for the door.

"Matilda!" Mary Beth called softly.

"Yes, Mary Beth?"

"Um, you don't have to leave."

"Mary Beth, are you sure?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes," she said timidly. "I've seen you without clothes so many times, because of Bart. It does seem silly for me to be nervous about you seeing my back, being that it's wrapped in tape."

"Well, … if you say so." I wasn't sure she really meant it, knowing that she had always been embarrassed to undressed with me around. I decided on what I thought to be an appropriate course of action. I got back onto my bed as Mary Beth was taking off her top. "I'll stay, but that doesn't mean I have to look in your direction. I'll just play with my PDA."

Oh yes, I kept myself busy. 'I'll try this again,’ "Power on, Start, System, Connection, WLAN, Wireless power - Off." ‘OK I still have a display. With the wireless power off, they won't be able to monitor what I'm doing. All right now,’ "Configuration" and ... A black screen. Now I knew that the shutdown wasn't being triggered remotely; they must have added code to the operating system. ‘Wait a second, if it's off, how can it be timing? It must still be on, only with a blank screen. The timer must run for thirty minutes and then the system will shut itself off, so I can turn it on again. If I turn it, off and then back on ... Nothing! If I take out the battery, that should stop any program that's running and do a hard reboot when it goes back in. Bingo! Back up with only a few minutes lost.’ That answered several questions but not all of them. As I was experimenting with my PDA, I couldn't help but overhear what was going on in the next bed.

"OK Mary Beth, we'll do this the same as yesterday. You put your hands on your head. I'll put one hand on your back to hold you stable, and then I’ll press gently on your ribs with my other hand. You tell me where it hurts."

"Ouch. Oh, that hurts."

"Mary Beth, I know that your back was tender yesterday. Are you telling me that it hurts worse today?"

"Yes," Mary Beth whimpered. "It hurts anywhere you touch."

"Does this hurt?"

"No."

"How about if I apply pressure here?"

"No."

"What about here?"

"AAWW"

"I'll take that as a yes. What about here?"

"OUCH!"

"Try to hold still please, I want to have a look under the tape."

"Ouch. Ohh. Aaww." It was plain to me that Mary Beth was in a lot of pain. It took a lot for me to keep my word and not look at my friend, who was now crying.

"Mary Beth, it appears that you're having an allergic reaction to the adhesive on this tape. Matilda, would you press the nurse call button for me please?" I quickly did as he asked.

A few moments later Marie came in, "Is there a problem in here?" she asked.

"Yes, Marie, yes, we need to get this tape off Mary Beth. She appears to be allergic to the adhesive. We'll need some Benadryl cream, two 'Tylenol 3 with Codeine' and about six, long, elastic bandages."

"Certainly, Doctor, I'll be right back." Marie left quickly. Moments later I heard Dr. Harris start to remove the tape from Mary Beth.

"I have to apologize for not noticing this yesterday. You said that it itched, I just assumed that it was the normal itching that occurs with having tape on for an extended time."

"Well, I have two questions Dr. Harris. First, is this going to ‘Aaww’ stop me from leaving in the morning? Second, right now you're removing the third layer of tape, which 'OUCH' only hurts a little. How much is this going to hurt when you take the tape off of, ‘OUCH’ me?"

"Well, to answer your first question, once we get the cream, on you, the irritation should stop very soon. The inflammation should be significantly reduced by morning. If that's the case, I see no reason to keep you here any longer. As for your second question, Matilda, would you come here please?"

"What?" I choked.

"Matilda, I want you to come and kneel on the bed, about a foot or two, behind Mary Beth. Then bend at your waist, leaning over and put your arms around her shoulders, hugging her. Mary Beth, will you please reach up and hold onto Matilda’s arms."

"Oh dear, this is going to hurt a lot," cried Mary Beth. Seconds later, I was on her bed with my arms wrapped around her.

"Well, there will be some discomfort. How much, I'm not sure. I just thought that having Matilda hugging you during the process, would help you feel better."

"Mary Beth," I whispered in her ear, "I'm here with you. It will be all right. Think of it this way, with the tape replaced with elastic bandages, no more sponge baths"

"Hey, that's right! Rip away doc!"

Just then, Marie and another nurse came in, I didn't notice her nametag before she started yelling at Dr. Harris. "Dr. Harris, what's that child doing kneeling on that bed?"

"She's doing what I asked her to do, Betty. Now are you going to assist me, or stand around and complain that I’m breaking hospital rules again?"

"But it's a violation of hospital rules for one patient to assist with the treatment of another, also to be kneeling on the beds."

"For the record Betty, Matilda isn't assisting with the treatment of Mary Beth. She is providing comfort and support, and she's kneeling on the bed so she can do as I've asked, while allowing US to take care of Mary Beth. Now if you are incapable of following my instructions when it comes to the treatment of a patient, then I suggest that you go back to making out schedules and finding things to complain about."

‘Man alive, I've never heard a doctor talk to a nurse like that.’ Betty was so mad she almost fell over as she spun around to leave.

"I'm very sorry about that, ladies," Dr. Harris apologized. "I just don't have any tolerance for people that believe the rules are more important than the patient. Marie, shall we begin removing the final layer of tape?'

"Certainly Dr. Harris. How would you like to proceed?"

"As I gently remove the tape, I'd like you to apply the cream. That should reduce the discomfort. Matilda, all I want you to do is hold onto Mary Beth. Mary Beth, there isn't any other way to do this, I'm very sorry. If you need to cry out, we will understand. Before we begin, though, I want you to take the Tylenol."

After Mary Beth took the pills, they started removing the tape. Mary Beth tried to be brave and not cry, but the pain must have been terrible. It took about half an hour to get all the tape off her. They tried to be gentle as they eased the tape off, coating her in a white cream as they went. While they were removing the tape, I whispered in her ear. I reminded her of all the fun times we’d shared, the long walks in the park, laying on our backs watching the clouds float by, sitting on the grass and talking for hours, the joint projects at school and her birthday party, with all the funny things that happened.

Finally, they were finished. "Marie, would you get a hospital gown for her," Dr. Harris asked. "She's been through enough for right now, and I don't want to subject her to more discomfort tonight by applying the elastic bandages. We'll let her sleep tonight and I'll come back in the morning to put on some more cream and the elastic bandages."

"Certainly, doctor, I'll be right back," and Marie was gone.

I tried to move away, but Mary Beth wouldn't let go of me, "Mary Beth, I'm not going anywhere, I just need to straighten up for a minute, my back hurts."

"Not as bad as mine does," she whimpered. I didn't say anything, I also didn't move.

"Dr. Harris," Marie said when she came back into the room, making sure the door closed. "Betty is waiting for you to come out. She has Mr. Peabody with her."

"Well Marie, that's not unexpected. I guess we'd better put the elastic bandages on Mary Beth tonight; I may not be with the hospital in the morning. Mary Beth, I'm sorry about this, but I'm going to have to ask you to be brave a little longer. We'll wrap the bandages as loosely as possible, so it shouldn’t hurt too much."

"Dat's o'tay Dr. Haywus, white now I feeling pitty goodie," mumbled Mary Beth, half sleeping, half giggling.

"Yes, I can see that you're feeling pretty good," chuckled Dr. Harris. "That's the Tylenol taking effect. Matilda, keep a good hold on her please. She may fall asleep before we're finished."

"No problem, I'll keep her up until you're finished," I assured him.

I kept Mary Beth up while Dr. Harris and Marie gently wrapped the bandages around her. Mary Beth wasn't exactly awake the whole time, but she wasn't in any pain either. After the bandages were in place, they put the hospital gown on her and gently laid her down. I got off the bed as Marie pulled up the blankets, gently tucking them in around Mary Beth.

"Marie, before I go out to face the music, I need to make a phone call. Also could you bring me the charts on both of the girls?"

"Of course, Dr. I'll be right back."

Dr. Harris picked up the room phone and dialed. "Hello Ellen, this is Peter Harris." "Yes there is a little problem here. Mary Beth had an allergic reaction to the adhesive." "Yes, the tape has been removed, the rash has been treated and elastic bandages loosely applied." "I'd like to look at it in the morning, but I may not be employed here in the morning." "Oh, it was nothing really. I had Matilda kneeling on the bed behind Mary Beth hugging her for comfort while I removed the tape. Betty came in spouting rules again." "Yes, I told her off, again."

Marie came in with what I assumed to be the charts. Dr. Harris signed several places on each one and handed them back. "She and Mr. Peabody are waiting for me now." "No, it shouldn't affect the girls being discharged." "I've already signed the paperwork, so there shouldn't be a problem, but to be on the safe side I think you should be here early tomorrow." "Certainly Ellen, I'll let you know how it turns out." "Of course! She's right here.” “Matilda, Ellen would like to speak to you," he handed the phone to me as he and Marie left the room.

"Hello, Ellen."

"Matilda, I understand you've had a little excitement this evening."

"You could say that again. Not exactly your normal evening’s entertainment."

"Matilda, I know what Peter said about Mary Beth. Knowing your observation skills as I do, what's your impression of her condition?"

"Well, right now she's sleeping, but her breathing isn't normal, they gave her something for the pain that really knocked her out. Before she fell asleep, she was acting kind of goofy, so I'm a little bit worried about her. Her skin looks like she's been sunburned very badly, but only where the tape was. Dr. Harris says she should be able to leave in the morning, but from what I've overheard, that may depend on what someone else thinks. As for how Mary Beth will feel, I won't guess that until she wakes up."

"Very well, thank you for your observations. Your Mother and I were planning to arrive about 8:00, but with these latest developments, I think I'll come in earlier. Matilda, if Mary Beth has to stay longer, would you want to stay with her?"

"Of course I'll stay with her. That's a silly question, though I'm sure that will probably raise some questions I'm not sure I want to answer."

"I agree. We'll just have to make sure that Mary Beth is discharged tomorrow as planned. I'll see you in the morning then. Goodnight Matilda."

"Ellen, I'm going to stay up and keep an eye on Mary Beth for a while, so I may be a little tired in the morning."

"I understand, and approve. Goodnight, Matilda."

"Goodnight Ellen."

After I hung-up the phone, I pushed a chair next to Mary Beth's bed. I got my PDA, sat down and turned it on. Opening a new note I entered;

Hello
Is there an on-line library that I can access?
I'd like something to read while I'm sitting up
with Mary Beth.
Matilda

Sitting there, I took one of her hands in mine. It was several minutes before there was a reply to my question.

Matilda,
Permission granted.
Access Programs, Restricted, Internet. Enter
the following address into the web address field,
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ebooks/
You may download anything you wish from that
Library using the MSReader format. Save into
the folder 'Stories.' Then access Programs,
Microsoft Reader. You will then be able to read
the stories that you've download.

Don't stay up too late.
See you tomorrow.

Ellen

Well, that wasn't what I expected. I thought there would be something on the school system that I could read. I hadn't expected to be given Internet access.

‘Wow! This is a neat website, the University of Virginia library. They have over two-thousand e-books to choose from. Let's see … search by author, D, scroll down, YES, he's there, 'Doyle, Arthur Conan'. Gee, he wrote a lot more than just the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. What's this? ‘The Lost World?’ I think I'll try that. I wonder if … yes, there's Lewis Carroll … Mark Twain … Jules Verne … and Charles Dickens. Gee wiz, there are so many others; I don't think I could ever read them all.’

Sitting by Mary Beth's bed, I propped my PDA up against her pillow. That way I could read it and change screens with one hand, while holding Mary Beth's hand with my other. I'd been reading for about half an hour when Marie came in to check on Mary Beth.

"Matilda, shouldn't you be going to sleep?"

"I guess I should, but I'm worried about Mary Beth. She was acting funny before she went to sleep, and her breathing doesn't seem right to me."

"Well, let me take a look at her. Do you mind if I borrow her hand?" giggled Marie. She quickly went about her work and recorded Mary Beth's vital signs. There were several hmm's, along with one surprise with a raised eyebrow.

As Marie was leaving, I couldn't help myself, "Marie, how is she?"

"Matilda, I'm sorry but I really can't discuss her condition with you."

"Well, if it’s that bad you'd better get hold of Dr. Harris."

"What do you mean?"

"When I asked you 'how is she,' I expected one of three answers. One, ‘she's doing just fine,’ which means she is doing fine. Two, ‘she's fine,’ which means that she's not fine but not bad enough to worry about. Or three, ‘I can't discuss it,’ which means there is a reason to be worried and you need to get in touch with a doctor."

Marie shook her head and left the room. I put away my PDA. I'd lost interest in reading for the moment. I sat and watched Mary Beth, holding her hand.

Marie came back a little later. "Matilda, you really should go to sleep."

"I'll go to sleep when you tell me that Mary Beth is all right."

Marie put a sensor clip on one of Mary Beth's fingers. Then she plugged an extender cable into the instruments on the wall behind my bed, being that they were the only instruments in the room, before plugging the two cables together. One of the monitors came to life, displaying Mary Beth's pulse and oxygen level.

"Well now, Matilda, with Mary Beth hooked up to the monitor we'll know if there's any thing to worry about. All right Matilda, now why don't you get some sleep? Um, it might be better if you sleep in your own bed tonight.”

"Why?"

"Well, if we do need to come in to help Mary Beth, we don't want to disturb you."

"I see. Well, I think I'll sit up with her a little longer."

"That's fine, but not too much longer. You do need to get some sleep. You don't want to be too tired to go home tomorrow. You wouldn't want to have to stay another day, would you?"

"No, I don't think I want to stay another day. Wait, they wouldn't make me stay another day just because I'm tired, would they?"

"No! Of course, they wouldn't. You still need to get some sleep, little one. Goodnight, Matilda."

"Goodnight, Marie." 'I do wish that people would stop calling me "little one." I may be small for my age, but I'm not ‘that’ small. Maybe I should get some elevator shoes, although, that would look funny with pajamas ... Then again, some fuzzy pink elevator slippers. Oh well, enough about my problems. Mary Beth's condition hasn't changed; I think I'll sit with her a little longer before going to bed.'

“Matilda, … Matilda, … Wake up, Matilda.”

* * * To Be Continued * * *

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