Chapter 8: Recovery and Reflection

I’m stuck at the hospital until the weekend, fortunately the school is giving me my homework so I don’t fall behind. Danny bought me a laptop for use at the hospital. I only took it on the condition I pay him for it, it is an expensive machine too, light and powerful and surprisingly I didn’t have one for myself already. Despite my recent bad luck, I still consider myself to be on the good side of luck, because of Danny being in my life now.

We’ve been friends since school started. Learned about each other’s lives, both lives. Grown our powers and abilities together. We’re even a couple now, and in love with each other. The last 8 months have been a roller coaster ride of good and then plunging into darkness and bad incidents of late. Danny has become my light, my knight, while I’m no damsel in distress and can hold my own, with him watching my back I think we could take on the world together or die trying.

Danny too was reflecting on the last 8 months of his new life. His own powers matching Paula’s but differing slightly. Feeling like he’s supposed to defend Paula, he’d do that anyway it’s how he is and his abilities are emerging towards that stance. He thought back to before his first death, his kids, and him being Kristen. Then his thoughts turned towards the end of his first life, the covid virus ravaging thru the world, it was like a real-life version of Plague Inc. Once they figured one aspect out, it would mutate into something different. Many of the world leaders’ responses were too slow, the US though was quick, and harsh at times, but it was starting to end, number of cases were going down steadily over a months’ time. The day before she caught it there were only 50 new cases, then her family caught it, it was one of the fast killing strains of the virus, and the most brutal.

Danny shook his head and then looked over to Paula, knowing he will protect her with his life if need be. Soulmates, across the universes. He too was thinking that the two of them would take on the world together, and they will win.

He smiled to himself as he watched her work in her hospital bed. It was only Wednesday, but he would stay with her until she was let go. Paula’s CT scan after that fiasco Monday showed her brain to be normal, means our abilities were hidden for now.

“I hate this!” I flopped back in bed. I finished my schoolwork for today and the homework. “I’m perfectly fine, I don’t need to be here.” I sighed frustrated.

“They are just being overly cautious. And I do agree, you should be home. I miss being able to hold you close to me.” Said as he took my hand, giving a little squeeze.

“Me too.” I said smiling to him. “Well my work is done,” I looked to the clock “and it’s about time for my favorite streamer to start. I went to the FaceTube site and went to clicked on ‘KevlarKevin’.

“KevlarKevin? Is that who I think it is?”

“Yup, this Earth’s Luke Masterson. Wondering why Kevin? Well it just happened to be a name I thought of that had started with the same letter as Kevlar.” I laughed and turned up the stream and scooted over so Danny could share the small bed to watch.

The stream started up and KevlarKevin came on the screen doing his intro and I typed out my hello to him.

“Hey there Peachy-P! Long time, no see! Where ya been? When you didn’t stream Saturday and with no warning your fans got a bit worried.”

“Let’s just say I had a bad Monday and wound up in the hospital for the week, and still am until Friday. Fortunately, my boyfriend got me a laptop, so I won’t be so bored and be able to do schoolwork on. But I’m paying him for it when I get back to streaming.” I typed into his chat which was filling up fast.

“Well that’s great you’ll be out soon, and sorry about your hospitalization. Can’t wait to watch your stream again. But don’t push yourself, you get well ok?”

I acknowledged him and continued to watch his stream of a city building game, chatting here and there with everyone in the chat. Other chatters were wanting him to turn his face cam on for the stream and he finally did. He took a few moments to set it up before coming into the shot, Danny finally got a look at who I use to be.

“Damn, he is handsome.” Danny commented.

“So you are saying I was handsome as well, I looked exactly like that.”

“Yes, you were handsome, and you are beautiful now.” He leaned in and kissed me on the nose, and I giggled and smiled to him.

After a while I left the stream and just leaned against Danny. Just talking about how our lives have changed so far. This time last year I was streaming when the pandemic hit, the tips were good at first everyone at home, giving a spare $5 here a buck there. Then when the pandemic kept going, people not following the advice of the top health officials and everything staying closed the tips started to dry up and I had to take a ‘front line but not counted as one’ job. Then got sick about 2 weeks after I started, guess I was infected on day one and dead 2 days after symptoms were showing. Apparently, Freya was there the whole time as my nurse for the end, I wasn’t exactly coherent to remember.

Soon one of the nurses came in and broke our self-reflections to take my vitals, some blood and the normal stuff that needs to be done when in the hospital. They say hospitals are there for you to rest and recover. But how can you rest when every 2 hours they come in and disturb you to take your vitals. After the nurse took my vitals, I checked my email and saw an offline donation from Luke. My jaw dropped as I saw the amount, $2000.

“Oh my gods ... Danny look at this!” He came over and looked at the donation email.

“Wow! How did he manage that?”

“I don’t know. Let’s see.” I looked thru the email for the donation note and it read. ‘Told my viewers about you and that the donations from this stream would go to you for medical bills and paying your boyfriend back for the laptop. They just rolled right in for the rest of the stream. Feel better soon.’ “Wow. I can’t believe he did that.”

“I know. Guess helpless gamer girls in hospitals are a worthy cause.” Danny retorted and I laughed.

“Watch it, I’m not so helpless.” said with a menacing glare and laugh. I did some work and transferred the money into my custodial account that my mom and I have because I’m still a minor in many ways. 2 grand for the medical bills and laptop repayment. I decided to get out of this bed and sit on Danny’s lap as he went and sat in the chair.

“So my handsome Danny, why did you pick out the laptop that you did for me?” I asked.

“Well it’s because here, Razer got bought out by Dell, and the razer brand got trashed. Alienware stayed its own company and is the top brand for laptops of this quality and genre.”

“Must have cost a small fortune.”

“Not really just $1000. I know, cheap for such power, but that’s how it is on this earth.”

Satisfied with that I just stayed in his lap and leaned against him. Thinking of when mom gets here, I’ll argue about getting out of here early. Slowly Danny started to rub my sides up and down over my gown and eliciting a soft moan and sigh. Closing my eyes I let my mind wander a bit as Danny kept running his hands along my side and back. I could once again fall asleep against him I felt so safe with him. Soon mom arrived after work to see me and had Jake who wanted to see me as well.

“Hi mom, can I please go home? Can you check me out of here?! I’m fine, I’m tired of being poked and prodded and squeezed in places I didn’t even know I had.”

“Alright I’ll talk with the doctor and see what he says. Sounds like you are eager to get home.”

“Yeah I am. Hey there Jake, missing your big sister?”

“Ha, hardly, I’m enjoying using your computer.” Jake laughed “But seriously, do miss hanging around with ya.”

“Same here Jake.”

“Well you three catch up and I will go find the doctor, see about breaking you out of here.” Mom said as she headed out the door to find a nurse to get my doctor.

We all talked a bit, Jake was in the home accounting portion of Home EC. I told him about KevlarKevins donation to my channel and was just as excited as we were about it. Soon mom did return with a doctor to check on me to see if I could go home yet.

“So Miss McDowell, you want to go home early I hear. Hop up here and we’ll take hopefully one last look. Any headaches? Nausea? Vomiting? Discharge of any kind?” He rattled off questions as he checked my throat, back, lungs everything else before coming to his conclusion. “Well I see and hear nothing wrong. But If you have a headache for any reason no matter how slight in the next week come back and we’ll run a CT on you again. But I do want another CT Friday. We’ll move it to after school ... say 4PM?”

“Actually, can it be in the morning time?” Mom interjected. “The time I get off work varies from day to day, and with my luck it would be one of those all-nighters that usually happen on Friday.

“Alright how does 8AM sound?” the doctor counter offered.

“Sounds perfect to me, and with luck might just get you back to the school in time for lunch.”

The doctor pulled the privacy curtain so I can quickly change into my regular clothes. I noticed a slit in the curtains and an eye peeking in as I was changing, I turned my back as I reached out ... Jake? Well that’s a first I’ve noticed of him eying me, he is of that age, I guess. I finished dressing and came out and recruited Danny to help carry some of my stuff, like the laptop and charger.