Going Home (Completed)

Chapter 21

Miri just stood for a moment staring at the unconscious Tul. She was at the edge of panic. Mama and Daddy never got back up. They just laid there. Shaking them didn't help. Crying for them didn't help.

Her breath was coming in quick pants when she could suddenly hear him. "Miri. I'm hurt and I need you to help me, okay?" Her breathing began to slow.

'I can help Tul.' He showed her yesterday. She just needed to get everything.

Miri had watched and learned over the time she had been with Tul. He made her feel better. He fed her and cuddled her. He smiled and hugged her. She could do that.  She would make Tul feel better.

She went back to the door. The bike was half in and half out. She couldn't move the bike but she could get the door open. Maybe.

It took effort but she did it. Once the door was open, she crawled on to the bike seat freezing when it shifted. She waited, scared to move but it felt solid again. Miri slowly stood up and started throwing the contents of the bag into the small reception area. Soon water bottles, clothes, food, and blankets were randomly scattered in the room. The only thing she didn't throw was the first aid kit.

She crawled down and fought with the door. Tul wasn't the only one who had been tired when the accident happened. She finally managed to squeeze herself through and let the auto closing door smack into the motorcycle.

She ran back to Tul. He hadn't moved. It scared her but she could fix it. She opened the first aid kit and got to work.

~~~~~

Tul never knew how long he laid on the surgery room floor.  He knew he hurt. Everything hurt. It took a bit for him to open his eyes. Settled in the middle of his chest was Unicorn, the three fairy dolls and a small stuffed penguin he hadn't seen before. They were neatly laid on top of the blanket he was covered with. He teared up. To his right was Miri. Snuggled up tight against him. Dark circles lay under her eyes but she was okay. She was okay. 

Tul just laid there a moment. He had no doubt he had passed out after stapling the tear in his thigh. Between the exhaustion, blood loss, pain and shock, it had been too much. It was entirely possible Miri had saved his life by covering him and giving him her body heat. Not to mention Miri sharing her panacea, Unicorn. He smiled and kissed her head.

He tucked Unicorn and his pals under the blanket and gently moved her so he could sit up. He didn't want to see it but he had to look. His memory was sketchy at best. He had to know what he was dealing with.

A deep breath. Flipping the blanket edge back, he looked with fearful eyes that suddenly clouded with tears. There were bandaids haphazardly covering the wound. No new blood. Bandaids. No doubt they had been kissed. He slowly laid back down, held his daughter close and silently let the tears flow as he slipped back into sleep.

~~~~~

Tul sniffed and rubbed his face. A stretch without shifting his leg. It hurt but he was pretty positive that leg was going to hurt like hell when he did start moving it.

As he opened his eyes, he realized Miri was no longer beside him. As panic grabbed his chest, Miri came trotting into the room. Her jeans were soaked from the knees down and in her hands was one of their larger empty water bottles. It was half full.

"Miri?"

A huge smile was plastered on her face as she handed Tul the water. She was helping.

"Where did you get this, sweetheart?" Miri pointed back down the hall way. "Did you find a hot water heater?" She nodded with the smile firmly in place. "That's my girl! Taking such good care of me." He held her tight. "Love you, Miri." She held his neck tighter and laid her cheek on his.

~~~~~

Tul was extremely thirsty and hungry. The thirst was probably due to blood loss. As for the hunger, he had no idea how long he had been on the floor. " Are you hungry, baby?" A nod. He let her go and drank most of the water she had brought him. "Delicious! Thank you, Miri." She was all smiles.

"Since we're hungry, guess that means I have to get up." Glancing around the room, he realized he could maybe use the cabinet to help get him to his feet. Too much pressure on his left leg could cause it to bleed. He'd already lost enough blood. 'Don't have any extra left.' he thought to himself wryly.

"Okay, here we go." Tul was grateful for a lot of things in his life. Max. Miri. Being alive. Currently, he was grateful for arm strength as he pulled himself upward while pushing with his right leg. It took a bit and he was sweating but he was up right. He was also tired. Mental note: no reserves.

"So far so good. Now to find something to use as a cane." Miri nodded and smiled. She had done it. She had helped Tul.

~~~~~

Eventually, Tul had just used the wall as he headed to the front door. He was hoping the bat would be tall enough if nothing else came to hand. "I'll unload what we need and then heat up some food. Might take me a bit." he paused leaning heavily against the wall. Miri just grinned.

Turning the corner, Tul gaped. All the supplies were in piles on the floor. Miri had unloaded the bike. He almost scooped her up. Almost. Instead he sat down and hugged her smug little self.

"I was right. You are brave and wonderful." He just held her. The accident could have gone so differently. So horribly wrong. "What would I do without you?" A gentle hand brushed her tangled hair back. "Let's eat, huh?"

~~~~~

Between Tul and Miri, they managed to consume an impressive amount of food. Tul did notice everything easy to open was gone including the few remaining Twinkies. How long had he been out?

He was comfortably full and, while thirsty, he wasn't parched. "Miri, can you get more water, please?" A quick nod and she trotted back down the hall.

Alone, he looked at his leg. It was time to move it. "Okay, I can do this." Slowly, he bent his leg. It hurt. Badly. But in comparison to the blood clot powder and staples? Yeah, it was manageable. Three sets of five bends and he was done. Amazing how much a person could sweat from pain. A quick check - no blood. A sigh of relief.

Miri had watched the last set of five then offered Tul the water. He gratefully gulped it and sighed. "Thanks, sweetheart." as he handed it to her. She grinned.

~~~~~

It was still early afternoon so there was time to look at the vet's office. Maybe there was a sofa somewhere so they didn't have to sleep on the floor. It took a bit to find the bat. It had rolled under a shelving unit full of dog food and toys. A grin. He knew where the penguin came from now.

It was a bit short but it was better than nothing so Tul hobbled along with one hand holding the bat as a cane and the other on the wall. He didn't find a sofa but he found a mountain of towels. They would lay out nicely and be better than the floor anyways. Miri helped haul several dozen towels to the veterinarian's actual office. It seemed to be the only room with carpeting. Every little bit helped.

By the time he had laid out the towels as a make shift bed and hauled the blankets and his backpack into the small office, Tul was exhausted. No more walking. He just couldn't. "Miri, I'm sorry but I gotta sit for a little while." He eased into the vet's rolling desk chair and - rolling chair! "I am an idiot." he groaned to himself.

~~~~~

Over the next few days, Tul rolled around scavenging the office, checking their supplies, and carefully exercising his leg. He had to take Miri's bandaids off to clean the wound and check for infection but it looked good. Well, good might not be the best word since he was probably going to have a gnarly scar but it wasn't infected. That was good enough for him. Plus Miri was more than pleased to put on more bandaids for him.

They had about two days food left and the water heater was heading on empty. They needed to leave soon. He looked at the bike in trepidation. Could he ride? He wasn't sure the leg would do it. "Do we have a choice?" he murmured.