Chapter 1

He woke on his second day to the gentle shaking of a nurse he hadn't yet encountered. He noticed that the same monitoring device was slowly beeping as it had been doing on the previous day.

"So, Don (beep) - are you awake?" (beep)

"Uh, yeah (beep) - I think so." (beep)

He tried to tune out the beep of the damned monitor. How did I sleep with that damned thing going beep all night long?

"Well, that's a good sign. I'm Maggie Wilson. I'm going to help you get prepared for your meeting with the Psychiatrist and Psychologist that Dr. Wilkins has scheduled to work with you."

"Oh, OK. What's for breakfast? I'm starved!"

Nurse Maggie smiled. "I think you'll be having some creme of wheat and apple sauce for breakfast."

"WHAT!?! I'm starving this very moment! I need a T-Bone steak, ham, hash-browned taters, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage, GRITS, toast, BLACKBERRY jelly, OJ, and COFFEE! I've gotta have some real food! I'm starving!"

Nurse Maggie good-naturedly laughed. "Well, young man - you aren't supposed to have any real solid food for another day or two."

Dan decided to be insistent.

"Screw any orders! I AM hungry! I want some real food. Do I have to start screaming about being starved to death?"

The nurse suddenly looked very serious. "Are you really that hungry?"

"I'm starved! I'm probably mal-nourished! I need some solid food. Else, when the shrinks get here I'm going to be unable to answer any of their questions."

Nurse Maggie Wilson laughed. "OK, I'll check with our food service to see if we can get you some real food. I'll tell them you've awakened with a starvin' cravin' for some real food. But, don't be surprised at what shows up! About all that I can guarantee is some orange juice and coffee.

Apparently, Nurse Maggie's suggestions carried some weight with the hospital's food service. While he didn't get a T-Bone steak or any sausage or hash-browns, Dan did enjoy some ham, bacon, eggs, grits, and toast (with some pasteurized grape jelly - oh how he wanted some real, home-made blackberry jelly). The coffee came from the nurses' station and it was decent. Fortunately, the orange juice was real.

After his breakfast, he was feeling almost replete, satisfied, and perhaps even alert when two women walked into his room. One was a thirty-something brunette whose carriage just shouted authority-figure and shrink. The other was a twenty-something Oriental woman with a whole lot less of an apparent attitude.

"Hi, you must be Dr. Pralinski and you must be Dr. Chen." This Dan said looking back and forth between the two women.

The Caucasian brunette allowed a slight frown to appear. The Oriental-looking young woman smiled.

The older brunette spoke first. "I understood that we were here to aid a mentally handicapped young man. You don't seem to be all that handicapped."

The younger woman looked sharply at other woman. "Dr. Pralinski, we were told that the patient has problems with recalling memories. Nothing was said about his present abilities."

Dr. Pralinski seemed slightly annoyed.

Dan quickly spoke. "Yeah, I can't remember anything about my family or where I grew up. But, I seem to have retained a really good set of memories about general topics. Well, that is - except for when my memories seem to be a bit different from other folks' memories of topics. I mean, I seem to be able to think fairly clearly - but I'm not so sure about all of the memories that I believe that I recall. I guess you might say that some of the memories I have just might be a bit suspect.

Dan was saved from a more embarrassing exchange of questions by the arrival of Dr. Wilkins.

"Well, Don - how are you doing this morning?"

"Hi, Dr. Wilkins. I'm feeling pretty good. I convinced Nurse Wilson that I needed some real, solid food. Ham, eggs, grits, and some real coffee have me feeling closer to being alive than I've felt since I first woke up."

"Oh, I thought that you were on a diet of simple foods."

"I told Nurse Wilson that I was starving for nourishment and that I'd start screaming if all I got to eat was cream of wheat and apple sauce. Seems like she took me seriously."

Dr. Pralinski was looking upset, again. Dr. Chen had that small smile back and was almost grinning.

"So much for my orders. Young man, you need to remember that we're trying to carefully bring you back to a recovery from your injuries. Solid food just might be too much for you at this stage of your recovery."

"Dr. Wilkins, I feel far better after that breakfast than I did at any point since I woke up! For lunch I want a T-Bone steak, a baked potato, corn on the cob, and just about anything else that I can shovel down my gullet. I need some real food. Otherwise, I'm going to starve to death!"

Dr. Wilkins grinned. "Alright, it seems that the physical recovery of your stomach is progressing quite nicely. I'll see about having your next meal changed over to a regular diet."

"No, Dr. Wilkins. I know about hospital food. Someone needs to get me a take-out lunch from a local steakhouse."

Pralinski's frown was even more pronounced. Dr. Chen's grin had grown wider.

"Don, that would violate hospital rules."

"Screw rules. I want real food. I'm actually still hungry even after the breakfast I just had. I'm probably losing muscles due to near starvation. I've got to have food. If I don't get it, then I'm going to get out of this damned bed and walk out the front door of this place."

Dr. Chen openly laughed. Her laugh sounded wonderful to Dan.

She turned to Drs. Wilkins and Pralinski. "Let's step out into the hall for a moment."

The three doctors stepped away from his bed and for several minutes there was a discussion out in the hallway. It was just beyond his ability to hear what was being said. The damned monitor was still beeping and purring and the IV pump was whirring and he couldn't quite make out what was being said about him.

Dan was wondering if he had overdone things when Shirley Waters walked into his room.

"Hey Don, how are you doni'?"

"Hi, Shirley - I'm OK, for the moment..."

Shirley's flipped her head towards the hallway. "You do something to get the head-patrol worried and upset?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I told 'em I was hungry an' starvin' an' wanted a T-Bone steak and fixins from a steakhouse. I said that if I didn't get some real food for lunch then I'd get up and walk outa this place."

Shirley Waters broke out into laughter. She laughed so hard Dan could see tears on her cheeks.

She wiped away at the moisture on her face and smiled at him. "Oh Don, good for you! Do you want me to get a lunch for you?"

"Can you do that? I mean, wouldn't that threaten your job?"

"Oh, no - not if I'm careful about things. Staff regularly get take-out meals. I can certainly slip you a meal if you want it."

They were interrupted by a cough from the doorway. Both looked up and saw the Psychologist Dr. Chen smiling.

"Hi Shirley. What are you doing here this morning? Don't you usually work the afternoons and evenings?"

Shirley smiled. "Hi Debbie. Don's sisters are coming in to visit him later this morning. I spoke with his step-mother Gwen last night and we decided that he needed someone here to run interference for him when those four girls come in here!"

Debbie Chen grinned and looked at a mildly perplexed Dan. "Don, I just spoke with Drs. Wilkins and Pralinski and we agreed that you should be able to eat whatever you wanted." She turned to Shirley. "I heard you mention an offer to get Don lunch. Go ahead and do that. I want him happy and satisfied rather than annoyed and starving. I've got to administer some tests and I don't want him distracted."

Shirley laughed and reached over to hug Dr. Chen. "Debbie, you're good at helping people. I think we can wait until Don's sisters get here before we order his lunch. Maybe they'll want to eat with him. That would be a great family experience for Don."

Dr. Chen promised Dan that she would be back to see him this afternoon so that she could ask him some questions - once he had perhaps satisfied his terrible hunger. She smiled again at her small joke.

Shirley walked out the door with Dr. Chen and it was several minutes before she returned. She had something wrapped up in some tin foil when she got back to Dan. "Can you use your right hand with the IV in it, Don?"

"Oh, yeah. I've scratched my face and rubbed my eyes."

"Good, then you can eat these oatmeal cookies without me hand-feeding you."

"Awe, Shirley. You don't want to feed me? Are you willin' to let me starve?"

Shirley spread some paper towels under Dan's chin and down on his chest. "Be good, Don. We're goin' to be cleanin' you up in awhile. You don't want me annoyed with you while I'm shavin' your baby tender face."

Dan reached up and rubbed his chin with the back of his hand. Yep, there was some beard there. Well, maybe I do need to tone it down a bit.

"Sorry, Shirley. Consider that a brain-damaged attempt at a joke."

Shirley looked at him sharply.

"Oops! Make that a second swing and a strike at a joke.

Shirley smiled tightly. "Don, eat your cookies."

Dan wolfed down the cookies, enjoying them completely.

"Hey, those were really good! Where'd you get them?"

"I made them."

"Really?

Shirley smiled. "Really."

"Can I go home with you?"

Shirley laughed.

"Oh Don, you are sweet!"

"Probably not as sweet as you, Shirley."

"And you're a flirt, too!"

"Yeah, well - I'm just tryin'. I've gotta make up for those two lame-brained jokes."

"OK, forget that. Now - we've got to get you cleaned up for your meeting with your sisters. I'm going to get some help and we're going to get you washed and shaved and all spiffed up for the girls."

"You're going to wash me?"

"Yeah, Don. You don't want to be smelly and feeling grimy when your sisters come in, do you?"

"Uh, right."

The next 45 minutes were interesting. Another nurse assisted Shirley with getting Dan into a wheelchair and they wheeled him into a shower fitted with a seat and handrails. Shirley introduced Wendy as a nursing student working as a nurse's assistant.