Linda's Story

Concussion Watch

"Man, I hope Linda's getting on well with her Dad," Brie told the stupid rabbit who only munched on a grass blade. "I personally think it was a terrible idea to try to smooth things over with him."

Brie put her hand in the rabbit's cage and started to pet her. "He's never gonna like Danny, that's a fact she should except." She looked over her shoulder when the phone rang. "'Scuse me."

She answered the telephone, "hello?"

"Brie, it's Danny. Listen, Linda's got a concussion."

"What?!"

"Tony hit her with a night stick. Look, I'll explain all of it later. Will you be home? She needs to be monitored. I'd do it, but I got a wedding to pay for."

"Absolutely. I'll meet you at the elevators. Danny? Want me to beat Tony with a shovel?"

He sighed, "no. Might come down to that, though. I'll let you know." He hung up.

"Trudy," Brie turned to Linda's rabbit. "I'm gonna kill Tony O'Shea. Don't say anything."

*********

Brie was waiting for Danny and Linda at the elevator on the first floor. Danny had called, making sure she'd be home, told her the bare minimum details. She wanted to kick Tony's ass! She saw her friends, "Linda! Are you okay?" She held out her hand, and Linda put her free hand in it.

"I'll be okay."

They walked into the elevator together, and Danny handed Brie the instructions. "Here are the instructions. Linda knows what to do, but the Doc gave this to me to give to whoever ended up watching her."

Brie nodded, "I've had concussions before- I know what to do."

The rest of the ride was quiet, and once Brie and Danny had made sure Linda was situated in her room, he pulled Brie aside.

"Look, I know that it's just a concussion, but..." he sighed, shrugging. "I don't want to be a widower before I even get married."

Brie smiled sympathetically, "you won't be, Danny. She'll be totally fine- physically, I mean. I don't think she'll ever heal from this emotionally."

"Yeah," he scratched the back of his neck, and was surprised when Brie's arms circle him.

"Don't worry, Danny. Linda will follow all the instructions, and then she'll be all ready to marry you."

He nodded, realizing he was being ridiculous. "Take care of her?"

"Always." She nodded, then turned him towards the door and almost had to push him out. She closed the door and walked into Linda's room. "Linda? Honey, you okay? Can I get you anything?"

"Water maybe? And- and crackers?"

"What kind of crackers?"

"The mini saltines, please."

Brie nodded and went to retrieve the desired items. Oh, she wanted to kick Tony's ass! How could she do it without suffering the consequences?

She decided to think about that later when Linda was sleeping. Right now, her roommate needed her crackers.

Brie walked into Linda's room, handed her the ice water and the crackers.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She surveyed the room, "is it two bright for you in here?"

"Yeah, a little."

She quickly closed the heavy curtains before sitting on Linda's bed to read the instructions. She may have had concussions before, but she needed to follow the instructions correctly this time.

"Okay, Linda, it says I gotta check you every two hours."

She gave her friend a small smile, then looked down at the bowl of tiny crackers. "Do you think Danny's mad at me?"

"No. Why would he be?"

"Well, because of my Dad. And me getting a concussion."

"He's mad at Tony, not at you. And you didn't ask for one, or go out of your way to get one." Brie grabbed Linda's hand, "he loves you, Linda. He was scared of becoming a widower before he even got married. He told me himself."

That made Linda grin and chuckle. "He's adorable."

"He really is. Now, you're gonna get some sleep. I'll be back."

"Thanks, Brie. You really are the best."

"I know, darling, I know," Brie said in a fake posh accent, tossing her hair away from her face.

She laughed again, "get outta here."

She shook her head, laughing herself, and exited the room. She hoped Linda would be alright.

********

Brie was organizing her notes for the internship she was planning on doing in a few weeks when Linda walked out into the main area. "Hey," she smiled, "look who's up! How you feeling?"

"I still got a headache." She sat down next to her, "what're you doing?"

"Getting organized." She turned to her, "but I gotta check your concussion."

Linda followed Brie into the kitchen where they kept the flashlight. She followed Brie's instructions, "I'm feeling better actually. I'm not so nauseous anymore."

"Good! So are you hungry?"

"I'm starving."

Brie smiled, "what do you want to eat?"

"I could really go for a burger and fries right now."

"Let's go then."

********

"So I think I've found the perfect wedding gift for you and Danny," Brie teased as she ate some fries.

"Really?"

"Mhmm. You're gonna love it. I know so."

"Any chance you can give me some clues?"

"No way."

"You can't tease me like that."

"I can, I will, and I have."

"That's very annoying," Linda frowned before taking a bite of her cheeseburger. "I've been craving this for a while now."

"Linda, are you going to invite your family to the wedding?" Brie knew that was a loaded question.

Her face fell, "probably not. They don't want to come. They don't want to see me marry a man they disapprove of."

"They're assholes! Oh, uh, sorry."

"No, I agree. I just don't understand why they can't at least pretend to be happy for me. I mean, I pretend to be happy when my dad moved in with Courtney."

"Who's Courtney?"

"A ditz who is still inexplicably alive. You know how I told you about my boss asking me how I got to work?"

"Your answer was 'in my car'."

Linda bowed her head in embarrassment, "she's worse than that."

"Oh my word."

"Yeah, exactly."

"Are you considering... breaking off the engagement?"

"Hell no! My parents may be awful, but they did teach me one very important lesson."

"Which is?"

"The kind of marriage I don't want. The kind I'm going to avoid at all costs. It helps to have a partner who agrees with me."

"I'd say. And Danny is absolutely perfect  for you. Part of my homework is to observe different couples and see how they interreact with each other. You and Danny have an almost perfect score."

Linda smiled, "I want to marry him more than anything. I know I'm doing the right thing. Parents be damned."