Easy As Falling Off A Bike
by Angharad.
part 218.

We sat around for several hours, talking to reassure Stella and yet were unsure she could hear us. We knew she was alive, the machines were monitoring her vitals. Simon nodded off a couple of times, and once or twice he had to go out and walk around as he found the tension unbearable.

I stayed at my post, my vigil of watching and waiting, and sometimes talking to my silent companion. There was a bit of a kerfuffle when an alarm went off at a cubicle across the way. It was a false alarm but boy those nurses can run when they want to.

I think it was about eight in the morning when Stella opened her eyes and then closed them again. A moment or two later she opened them again.

"Hello sleepyhead," I said to her.

"Where am I?"

"ICU."

"Why?"

"You had a bleed in the liver apparently."

"I feel awful."

"Sorry, but to do that you have to be alive."

"I couldn't feel this bad if I were dead."

"Can't comment on that, never been dead, as far as I know. I think one of my examiners at Sussex asked if I was brain dead."

"Can I have a drink,"

"I shall check with the nurse, don't go away."

I did and she could. So I gave her some iced water.

"Simon will be back in a moment, he went off to the toilet. He was also going to phone Henry."

She groaned, "He'll say, not again."

"Perhaps, but he'll also come to see you as soon as he can."

"Yeah, I suppose he will. A softy really."

"Could have fooled about half the earth's population who think he's a stoney hearted monster."

"He's a softy to me."

"I know, ah here comes Simon."

He'd brought me a cup of tea from the cafeteria. His eyes lit up when he saw Stella was awake. He practically dropped the cup in my lap, then bent down to kiss her. He was crying when he told her how pleased he was she was recovering.

"Anyone would think I was at death's door." Stella asked for more water.

"You'd stepped over the threshold girl, that's how close it was. Mr Campion sorted you out."

"Oh God, you didn't let that cowboy play with my liver did you?"

"Yeah, but he had some indians assisting," I suggested.

"Ha bloody ha, ooh, it hurts to laugh."

"Well stop doing it then."

Our conversation lasted about ten minutes and I could see she was very tired, so when she drifted off to sleep, I made Simon come away and go home with me. He was reluctant, but his bloodshot eyes tended to agree with me.

"Come on, she's hopefully on the road back now, so lets go home and allow her to rest. I suspect we could do with some ourselves. I need to check on the dormice, so do you mind if we pop in the lab on the way?"

"Yeah okay," he was practically out on his feet.

When I came back to the car from the lab, he was fast asleep inside it. He looked so peaceful, that I almost felt like leaving him there, except I felt pretty tired myself and only my bed would solve the problem.

Tom was delighted with our news and made a cuppa to celebrate. I drank it, had a few rich tea biscuits and went off to bed. Simon came up a short time later and we slept for about four hours. He then went off to see Stella with Tom, and I went to do some last minute shopping. Then I started the evening meal, a steak and kidney stew in the slow cooker. Kiki apparently had most of the liver and bacon casserole!

Being a sunday, the shops weren't open too long anyway, so it was just as well that I had most of what I wanted. It had been a bit of a rush, by the time I had packed some nightgowns and undies for Stella and sorted out any other toiletries she might need for the boys to take with them, I had about two hours to flit around the shops.

I did some ironing while I waited for things to cook and the boys to come back for their dinner. Kiki kept me company, sniffing around for any fallen particles of food, despite the fact that she was stuffed full of my casserole. Spaniels give greed another dimension!

Henry had apparently arrived just before the two men were about to leave, so Tom invited him back when visiting time was over. Fortunately, I had made enough food for an extra portion.

Simon was quite subdued all evening, I suppose dealing with the trauma of the past twenty four hours. I was quiet because I was knackered and Tom was quiet because he was busy working in his study.

Henry arrived at nearly ten. Personally, I'd have thought it was too late to eat a cooked meal, but he was hungry and glad for the meal. Tom opened a bottle of Chilean red, and even I had a glass.

"Did you cook this Cathy?"

"Yes Henry, why isn't it okay?"

"It's delicious, does my son realise you can cook?"

"Well he's eaten food I've prepared often enough."

"Why hasn't he married you already?"

"I think you know of my little erm, medical problem. That's being sorted in a week's time. But I want to finish my degree before I marry him."

"I thought you had two degrees already."

"My doctoral one, besides a girl can't have too many degrees!"

He laughed, "I thought that was usually shoes."

"Well those too."

"She's sleeping soundly." Simon had obviously phoned the ICU.

"Oh good," I offered, "she'll pull through, she's a fighter."

"Yeah, I expect so."

"Simon, come on lighten up, she's going to be okay."

"Dad, you weren't called out of bed in the wee sma' 'oors."

"I appreciate that, but Cathy was with you."

He put his arm around me, "Without Cathy, I'd have fallen apart." He kissed me on the neck. "Thank you, Babes."

"Without you, life would have been tougher for me in many ways, we're partners, play for each other and of course our star centre forward, Stella."

"I'd have thought she was more of a goal keeper, as nothing much gets past her," offered Henry.

"Wrong blessed game, Henry, wrong shaped ball." Tom's opinion of soccer was not very high, he was a rugger man.

"In which case, she'll make a splendid fullback, with Simon as the forwards and Cathy as our stand off half, orchestrating the game."

"Could be," agreed Tom.

"Do we know how she got the ruptured blood vessel?"

"Yes," my head dropped a little and I felt myself blush, "fighting."

"Fighting! With whom, for God's sake?"

"We weren't introduced Henry. They were two thugs who were accosting this woman. Before I could stop her Stella ran over, decked the one but was a bit slow with the other. He caught her in the abdomen."

"What happened to him?"

"He met an enraged dormouse wrestler," said Tom snorting at his own joke.

"He what?" Henry looked perplexed. Then he obviously went through what Tom had said word for word. "You fought with him?" he said to me.

"I was lucky, or I caught him with a lucky blow."

"That isn't what Stella said," offered Simon beaming with pride. "She said you jumped over the car bonnet and took him out with a straight one two."

I rubbed my elbow, then shrugged, "Does it matter, I can't actually remember it was all over so fast. The police came and that was that. The woman was an eastern European who had been trafficked over here. I hope she's okay."

"You're worried about an illegal immigrant?" asked Henry.

"Of course, she's in a foreign country, probably doesn't speak much English and has been run as a prostitute by a gang of thugs, so yes, I am worried for her."

"Do we have an incident number?" he asked.

"I do up stairs somewhere."

"If you give it to me before I go, I'll speak to my contact in the immigration office and see if I can glean anything."

"Thank you Henry, could you find out if I can send her a small Christmas present?"

"Geez girl, you nearly get yourself killed rescuing her, haven't you done enough?"

"Look, if I were in her position, I'd be grateful for any support I could get."

"What do you want to send her?"

"Some toiletries and a soft toy."

"Give them to me before I go, I'll do my best to see she gets them."

I jumped up and kissed him on the cheek, "Henry, you are a star!"

He actually blushed. "Be careful girl, or I could get the wrong impression," he winked and Simon laughed.

"I need to get back to Southsea," he picked up his mobile and issued an instruction for them to send their limo to come and get him. I ran upstairs, made a note of the incident number the police had given me and popped the prezzies for the Russian girl into a carrier bag.

We all hugged Henry, and I kissed him again.

"You are all to come to the hotel at Southsea on Boxing Day for dinner as my guests."

"What are you doing down here at Christmas, you usually go up home?"
Asked Simon.

"I have some business to deal with on the thursday, we're meeting at the hotel."

"I have that funeral on the thursday."

"Funeral?" queried Henry.

"Yes one of my students died from a chest infection and complications."

"What a youngster?"

"Yeah, nineteen I think."

"Geez that is sad."

"I promised to read the lesson."

"I hope it goes well, but I shall see you before then. Twelve for one?"

"Yes, okay. I'll make sure these two are ready."

"I'll send the car over for you for half eleven."

"Oh good," said Simon and Tom almost in unison.

"I could have brought them, I don't drink much anyway, so it doesn't worry me."

"Dear lady, please enjoy my hospitality and stop being so reasonable. I pay the driver whether or not he's busy, so he might as well earn his keep for once."

"Fine," I said and busied myself with the dirty dishes. I still wasn't comfortable with the idea of servants and things.