Chapter 2

Brian woke up groggily with a dry mouth, a splitting headache and a sore arm. He felt a tube stuck in his nose and something in his arm and groin. He opened his eyes to see where he was and found himself in a hospital bed hooked up to monitors. He tried to move his head but a sharp pain forced him to stop and just look around with his eyes. Everything was a bit blurry and still was after he used his hand to wipe his eyes.

He was alone in what looked like a private room and the bright sunshine from the window let him know it was probably morning. The door was closed but he could see people moving back and forth in the hallway through the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. He looked down on the bed to see if there was a call button or something to get someone's attention. There was a cord tied to the bed rail so he moved his hand over and started pushing buttons until he heard a beep and a voice come on and say "We'll be right there Mr. Trainer."

A few seconds later two nurses came in and asked him how he felt. Brian tried to speak but he just croaked out a sound.

"Let me get you some water before you try that Mr. Trainer" the cute blond one said as she held a straw up to his mouth.

He sipped a mouthful of ice water and swallowed slowly.

"That's better" Brian croaked. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital Mr. Trainer" replied the other brunette nurse. "How do you feel?"

"My head is just pounding and it hurts to move it at all. My arm hurts, for some reason everything is a bit blurry and I have a buzzing sound in my head. Just how much damage did that pipe do?" Brian asked.

"Well, a fair bit, but we'll let the doctor look you over and give you his report" replied the brunette. "The head nurse is on the phone getting him in here stat."

"How is Terry?" Brian inquired after taking another sip.

"Your friend that was in the carjacking with you?" she asked.

Brian nodded.

"He has a broken left arm and some cracked ribs but other than that he's fine" the brunette said.

"He's been here every day for the last week checking in on you" added the blonde.

"I was out for a week? That sounds damn serious" Brian whispered.

"It was a bit touch and go for the first day or two; they had to relieve some pressure off your brain so they had to drill some holes in your skull and puts some shunts in. They worked like a charm though and your vital signs and brain readings are back to normal now" the blonde told me.

"Next time they can take the damn car!" Brian said as the nurses giggled. "So what day is it anyway?"

"It's Tuesday April 28^th, 2009 10:45am" stated the blonde looking at her watch. "One week plus a day after you came in."

An older gentleman, dressed in the typical doctor garb, entered the room soon after and came over to talk to Brian.

"I see our patient with the hard head is finally awake. How do you feel Mr. Trainer?" he asked.

"I have a splitting headache, dry throat and a sore arm. I can't move my head without a sharp pain in my head and neck, my eyesight is a bit blurry, I have a weird buzzing sound in my head and last but not least, I'm starving" Brian repeated.

"Well, all of those are to be expected. You have a fracture in the back of your skull, where you landed on the cement as well as a fracture in the front of you skull where the guy hit you with the pipe. You have a major slash in your arm, another where the pipe hit and a third on the back of your head" the doctor informed Brian as he ticked things with his fingers. "The poor eyesight and the weird buzzing sound are both probably from some the hits bruising your brain and might correct themselves as your brain heals. The sharp pain is just your body's way of telling you to go gently."

"So I hear someone had to drill some holes to let some pressure out?" Brian asked.

"I'm afraid so, we had to relieve the pressure as the hits caused swelling and internal bleeding. You're lucky to be alive young man. So, let's take a look at you and see if we can take some tubes out and get you sitting up" the doctor said.

The doctor examined Brian, looked in his eyes, took off the bandages and checked his various gashes, bruises and surgical openings and shunts put into his head. He then reviewed all of the data coming from the various monitors and what the nurses had recorded on Brian's chart at the foot of the bed. After a few minutes he instructed the nurses to remove the air tube, and the catheter but keep the monitoring leads on and the intravenous tube in Brian's arm. The doctor wrote the instructions on the chart and then came back to the bed to talk to him.

"Ok, Mr. Trainer, all readings are looking positive. The nurses will get you sitting up and get some more liquids and soft food for you. I have prescribed a pain killer which will help with the headaches and the pain from head movements. I will visit you later this afternoon ok?" the doctor asked.

"How long will I be in here?" Brian asked.

"You will be in here for a few more days at least, maybe a week. Then two or more weeks under nurse care at home I should think Mr. Trainer" he replied.

"Ok, thanks Doctor, for everything" Brian said.

"You're welcome young man. Next time, let them have the car!" he said.

"Oh I would have, believe me. You'll have to ask my friend why he wouldn't give it up" Brian replied bitterly.

"Yes, young Mr. Simon I believe; I think I remember his father being quite angry with him on that point as well" the doctor chuckled as he left the room.

The nurses followed the doctor's instructions and got Brian sitting up even though he almost passed out again from the pain. The blonde left and came back with a couple pills and had him take them with some water and some pudding. He laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes after they both had left and must have dozed off for a while.

The next time he opened his eyes, he saw his mother sitting in one of the chairs at the foot of the bed.

"Hey Mom, how you doing?" Brian croaked out.

"Well, better than you Brian Michael Trainer. What possessed you to take on a guy with a knife and another one with a steel pipe? I thought I taught you better than that?" she said with a stern voice as she stood up and walked over to the side of the bed.

"I wasn't left with a choice after Terry refused to give them his car" he whispered.

Brian reached for the cup of water but his mother grabbed it and held it up for him and he sipped gratefully.

"I'm not happy with that young man Terry for that. I gave him a piece of my mind already, let me tell you" she informed him as she held the cup.

Brian winced and replied "Jeez Mom, he's my boss and his Dad owns half of the company I work at. I hope you didn't piss either of them off."

"I don't care if he's the King of England, he was reckless and irresponsible. You both could have easily gotten killed, and for what, a shiny little car that would have been replaced by insurance" she spat out in disgust.

"Listen, I agree ok, just tone it down please. One, I have a splitting headache and two, if I lose this job, I won't be finding one easily in this state the way this industry is" Brian asked.

"Fine, I'll cool it for now. So how are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm feeling pretty crappy. The pain killers don't seem to be working yet and my eyesight is still blurry. I can't move my head without a sharp pain and I'm hearing a weird sound inside my head. Other than the cuts on my arm and head, as well as the holes in it; everything else is peachy" Brian informed her.

"When did you have the pain killers last?" she asked.

"In the morning when I first woke up, around eleven o'clock" he responded.

"It's late afternoon so you might be due for another dose. The nurses wanted me to let them know when you woke up anyway so let me go get them" his mom said.