A Doll of Hope

Chapter 25

The next morning, Christie and Matt were both evaluated. Their friends anxiously sat around the room as the doctor checked them out. He carefully removed the old bandages from Matt's back. Sandra and Greta had shivers run down their backs as they could see patches of dead skin hanging down. Wiping all the old medicine away, he got a good look at his burns.

"Well, giving its appearance, it seems to be healing quite nicely. New skin has already begun to grow and your old burnt down skin is falling off on its own. I believe it would be a good idea to let it get some air. So I'm going to leave the bandages off and let it dry out. When you take a shower for the next few days, be sure to greatly reduce the pressure. Forcing too much force on it will make it difficult to heal quickly." Matt nodded his head.

"I understand. Thank you for your help, doctor."

"I guess that means you can't treat him like a punching bag anymore, Sandra." RJ teased.

"Darn, and here I was hoping to try some new moves out on him." Matt gave her an annoyed look.

"What moves? The only move you know is a straight slap to the gut." Sandra grinned.

"Uh-ah, remember brother dear. Never underestimate your big sister." Matt just rolled his eyes. Just then, Greta walked up to him.

"Here Matt, I brought you your extra set of glasses. Just in case you wanted them. Your old ones were ruined from the fire." Matt looked at her hands. She was holding his spare pair of glasses. Matt smiled and shook his head.

"Thanks, but I don't need them as much anymore." Greta looked at him surprised. Christie just smiled as she could tell Matt wasn't afraid to hide behind them anymore. After the doctor finished checking Matt out, he turned his attention to Christie.

"And how are you feeling this morning, my dear?" Christie smiled.

"A little on the numb side, sir. But the pain has gone way down." The doctor smiled as he pulled the covers off her legs.

"That's good to hear. Let's see what we've got going on." Reaching for his tools on the tray his assistant was holding, he carefully opened Christie's bandages. Opening them up, he gently lifted them out into the open. Bethany couldn't help but look away. Her legs were all red and the bandages had traces of black dried up skin and blood on them. The doctor carefully wiped the dried blood off her legs.

"It looks like you still have a few tender spots that could start bleeding again. So I'm going to put some fresh wrapping on them and leave on it for a couple more days. I would also suggest you put as little weight as possible on them. So not too much walking around for a while. If you start to feel pain again, you be sure to let us know." Christie smiled and nodded.

"I understand. Thank you for everything, sir." The doctor smiled as he carefully wrapped her legs back up. At the foot of her bed, Sandra was sitting in a chair fixing Maria up.

"How's Maria doing, Sandra?" Sandra smiled.

"She's gonna be just fine. I'm replacing her parched up fur with some fresh fake fur and stitching up a few tears here and there. She'll be as good as new in no time." Christie smiled.

"That's a relief." Benjiro bent down and watched her work on Maria's paw.

"Your hands are quite skilled at this sort of thing, Sandra. I must say. I'm very impressed." Sandra smiled proudly as she tried to hide the fact she was blushing.

"What can I say? When you've got a talent, you should use it." The doctor quickly finished bandaging Christie's legs.

"There, that should do it for now. If anything changes, you be sure to let us know right away." He said with a smile.