Kylie & Jack 1: Humble Beginnings

20. Home Sweet Home Pt. 4

Thursday, 6:34 AM

Kylie's eyes flittered open slowly and instantly felt dazed ... sick, sore and groggy. Her right arm felt heavy and stiff and as she tried to roll onto her side someone appeared by her side.

"Uh–ah, lie back now. You don't want to get your IV all twisted up – that's it." The voice was male, far too cheerful and close beside her. Kylie frowned, rolling her head to the side and saw a male nurse fussing over her. The moment he realised she was awake and watching him in the dim light of the ward, he beamed happily at her.

"Hiya! My name's Sam, I'll be looking after you today! So ... how are we feeling this morning?"

Kylie found his cheeriness disgusting at this hour, so all she did was raise her eyebrows, closed her eyes and rolled her head to the other side.

Sam just chuckled softly at her. "Yeah I know – it gets a bit like that, doesn't it? Now I'm just gonna have a little look – see here and – ah, ok you've been admitted with a UTI – nasty! Definitely no fun at all. Well – looks like ..." Sam frowned, checking her notes. "Huh, ok. Well the surgeon will be in soon to have a chat with you and then we'll have a look at getting some food into you! Sound good?"

His happy go–lucky bedside manner – though his job – was too much for Kylie at this hour. But she nodded at him all the same. Kylie was also aware of how cold she felt and instinctively hunched her shoulders tightly, making Sam do a double take.

"Bit chilly? Want another blanket?" he asked her brightly and as soon as Kylie gave him a small nod, he dashed to the corner cupboard and retrieved a heated, bright blue hospital blanket and laid it over her, careful to tuck her in as he went.

"How's that?" Kylie just nodded at him again.

"Anything else I can do for you, Kylie?" he asked her.

Kylie shook her head and tried to go back to sleep. It was difficult to say the least, to sleep on her back. She was so used to curling up on her side.

11:13 AM

Kylie opened her eyes to find the ward flooded with bright light and two people crowded around her bed: an average–everything, Indian surgeon in blue scrubs, a white coat and spotted yellow and green cap; and ...

"Loz?"

"Yeah mate. I went over to yours to drop your groceries off – bloody kids – I meant to get back to yours straight after getting your stuff, but Aide had to be sick in the car, didn't he? Anyways – did you know you left the house totally open?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, no dramas. Everything's still there. I packed you a bag though – and you left your phone behind too."

"How ... how'd you know where I was?"

Loz rolled her eyes and gave Kylie her best mum look. "You have, like, debilitating period pain so I figured it got worse since I saw you the other day and that you had checked yourself into the hospital."

"But ... and – like ... they told you?"

Loz smirked, looking at the surgeon who was waiting patiently.

"Ok so I may have pretended to be your sister ... but yeah. They told me." She added a 'what–was–I–supposed–to–do' shrug at the chuckling surgeon.

"Completely understandable, though I didn't say that." He said with a polite smile.

"Thanks ..." Kylie mumbled to the surgeon, who decided to take this as his cue and began to run through his diagnosis and then procedure with her.