The Virus | ST Mileven fanfiction

A Coma?

Nancy:
Nancy trailed closely behind her Mother. She was trying to calm her down, but no matter how hard she tried, her mother would not listen.
"Why does he need a CT? Michael is a healthy boy, he was fine this morning! How could he possibly need a CAT scan?"
"Ms. Wheeler, I understand you're upset," the nurse replied calmly. "But panicking will not help Michael at all. I need you to try and gather yourself, okay?"
"Do you even know what's wrong with him?" Karen squeaked.
The nurse continued her serious walk. She did not reply to the question.
"What is wrong with him?"
"Ms. Wheeler, we need your approval for a CAT scan. That is the only true way to see what is wrong with him. Do we have your approval?"
"Michael is-"
Nancy clenched her fists tightly against her sides. She came to a halt in the middle of the hallway and stamped her foot. Enough was enough. "Yes, you have our approval."
"Nancy-"
"Look, Mom. There is something wrong with Mike, and if you want him to get better, you're going to need the doctor's help. Now, the only way they can help him, is if they know what's wrong. And, if he doesn't get a CT, they'll never know!"
"But-"
"No buts, Mom. I give the approval. I'm almost 18, and if you can't be the adult in this situation, I'll do it for you. So, you can't say anything. I give the approval. Give Mike the CT, find out what is wrong with my brother."
The nurse nodded solemnly and pointed down the hall. "Room 804. I'll get the paperwork."
Nancy sniffed and dipped her head. She wiped her eyes and pat her Mother's shoulder gently.
"Alright, Mom, come on," she whispered. "Let's go see Mike,"
"Nancy-"
"Mom. Come on. The door is right up there."
Nancy raised an eyebrow, beginning to start down the hall. Her mother stood there for a moment longer before she followed the rest of the way down the hallway to room 804.
Sure enough, Mike was in there, connected to more machines than she could count. They were beeping and hissing and there were IVs, and masks, and tubes, oh so many tubes. The room was a mellow yellow color with a small window in the back corner. But, Nancy noticed that it only let in a small amount of light.
Her mother came to a stop behind her and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Mike..." the woman whispered.
"Oh! People!" A voice said from the other side of the bed. A moment later, a shorter woman popped up from the ground and smiled.
"Good afternoon! I'm Doctor Ambroise! How do you do?"
"How do I do? How do I do! My son is in that bed, dying, and you're asking how do you do?"
Dr. Ambroise hardly flinched. "You know, you really shouldn't yell around them. They're fragile creatures, children are. Sometimes when they're in comas, it seems like they can hear you. Besides, I like to keep a light, happy mood."
"A coma? You put him in a coma?"
Dr. Ambrosie shook her head and pushed a strand of golden hair out of her face. "No, we did not. It seems like your son has managed to get himself into a coma on his own... somehow. But, uh, we should know more with the CT. Did you approve?"
Nancy piped up before her mother could respond. "Yes. Yes, we did."
"Oh goodie!" Dr. Ambrosie exclaimed. "CT's are always fun. Right, Mike?" She turned to the bed with a grin and stared at the unconscious boy. She gave his foot a pat and practically skipped over to the door. "Well, if anything happens, just call out and someone will come find you, okay?" As she brushed past them, she stopped her humming and turned. "And remember, he can probably hear you!" Then, she turned back around again and bounced down the hallway.
"She was certainly cheery..." Nancy murmured, taking a step into the room.
Her mother agreed with a nod, and she reached for Nancy's hand.
"Hi, Mike," She squeaked out as she approached the bed cautiously. "How, um, are you comfortable?"
"Mom-"
"She said talk to him, hun," Karen snapped. "Don't make me feel like a fool."
"I was just going to suggest not asking him questions that involve him having to respond, you know? Since he can't really do that."
"Oh." Karen took a step back. "You talk to him then,"
Nancy gave her mother a weird look and stepped forwards. "Okay. Umm... Hi, Mike. Um... I hope the people here are treating you well," she reached down and grabbed Mike's hand in her own. "And, um, I'll see if we can get your bike back home for you. You know, so you can ride it again when you wake up. I'll have to ask your friends where you were though, I'm sure they know... and I think your bike is still there. I didn't hear anything about Steve taking all that mess in his car, so... the, uh, nurse said you got yourself into a coma, huh? How did you even manage that, Mike?" Nancy allowed a small smile to form on her face. "Is it because you still have to pay me back for all the money you stole from me? I knew it'd take you ages to pay me back that much. Was the arcade even worth it? Seems like a scam to me. I mean, yeah games are fun, but why waste money on an arcade game when you can make up your own, right?"
"M'am?"
Nancy jumped and turned around. She hadn't even noticed the group of nurses who had crowded into the room.
"It's time for his CT...."
Nancy wiped her eyes and took a step back. "Oh. Yes. Of c-course."
The group of nurses crowded around the bed, moved around a couple of things, and then wheeled Mike out of the room.
All the while, Nancy and her mother watched from afar, pressed tightly against each other. When everyone had finally left the room, Nancy turned to her mother. She made eye contact with the woman, and then buried her face in her mother's blouse and let the tears flow freely.
Her Mother stroked her hair softly, shushed her, and even rested her chin on her daughter's head.
"You talked wonderfully with Mike," she commented. "And you acted very grown up today as well, Nancy. I'm proud of you, Sweetheart. We're going to get through this, you hear me? We will get through this. Mike will get better, you'll see."
Nancy hugged her mother tighter and rested her head on her shoulder. "I love you, Mom." She whispered. "I'm sorry."
"I know, Sweetheart. I love you, too."

Max:
Max paced restlessly back and forth across the waiting room.
Numerous people had told her to stop, because she was making them angsty, but she didn't listen to them. She had a lot on her mind, they were the least of her worries.
Had she caused what had happened to Mike? Was it her fault he was the way he was right now? If she had just left them alone like usual, would Eleven still be a mess? Would Mike still be in the hospital?
It was a little over 2 and a half hours that they had been waiting when Ms. Sinclair spoke:
"Lucas, don't you think it's time we head home? We can have your friends update us if anything happens?"
"Mom, Mike's one of my best friends. I can't just leave him here!"
"But, Lucas, he's got plenty of other people here for him-"
"I said no, Mom!" Lucas snapped, then sighed quietly. "I just want to see if he's going to be alright, then we can head home."
Ms. Sinclair didn't seemed thrilled about the whole idea, but a look of pity crossed her face and she sat back in her chair. "Alright, Lucas. We can wait until news about Mike comes in, then we will head home, okay?"
Lucas nodded, the conversation was over. The silence soon settled back into its usual place.
It had been almost six hours that Max had been pacing for, and that many they'd been in here for almost 7 hours of the day. Dustin and Will had both gone, which left only her, Steve, Lucas, Ms. Sinclair, The Chief, and Eleven.
Max wanted to go home as well, but her skateboard was still at the field and her brother wasn't picking up the phone. She had decided to maybe ask Ms. Sinclair for a ride when she and Lucas wanted to go home.
The silence was driving her mad. She had heard every sound the water jug had made. She had trained her feet to smack the ground as soon as the clock ticked. She had heard every question or statement everyone had made.
"Why are they taking so long?" Eleven had asked Hopper at one point.
Hopper had responded with: "I don't know. Maybe they had to get something done..."
When the Byers left, Joyce had asked Will if he wanted to go home and Will had said yes. The group was out of the room in less than thirty seconds. They were such a nice family, Max envied them sometimes. Even if Will didn't have a father, his brother and mother loved him a lot more than Max's family seemed to.
Almost 9 solid hours had passed until a nurse finally came out.
"Are you the friends of Mike Wheeler?"
A jumbled mix of 'yes's and 'yeah's filled the room, and the nurse nodded.
"You may see him if you'd like now. His CT's seem to be perfectly normal, except for his brain which is going through a lot of activity..... I, along with many others, still have our concerns, because....."
Steve stood up. "Because...?"
"We still don't know why he is in a coma."
Max had stopped pacing now, and she looked around at the faces of everyone in the room, including the nurse. "A coma?" She asked. "How is he in a coma? Did you guys induce it?"
The nurse shrugged and then shook her head. "We don't know why he's in this coma, and we did not send him into it. It is a very strange phenomenon... but, if it helps, you may see him now."
"Mom-"
"No, Lucas. I know you want to see him, but you said we would stay if we got the news. We have the news, it's time to go home and eat."
"But Mom-"
"No buts, Lucas! Did you hear what she said? He's in a coma. He's not going anywhere, noting interesting is happening overnight. We can come back first thing in the morning, okay? We are going home now, you hear? It's time to eat."
Lucas hung his head low and glared at the ground. "Fine." He huffed. He turned to Max and held his hand up, waving goodbye. He gave her a small smile before his mother called to him again. He rolled his eyes once, and followed her out of the doors.
Max watched them go with a frown. Well, there went her ride...
"Would you three like to see him?" The nurse asked.
El nodded vigorously and pushed herself up off the chair. "Yes, please." She said.
Max made an uncertain eye-contact with Chief Hopper, she looked at El, then back at him.
The man nodded, his face remaining serious, and she turned her attention back to the nurse. "Y-Yes please."
"Sir?"
Chief Hopper shook his head slowly. "No thanks, I think I might go have a smoke outside, you know?"
The man nodded understanding and turned his attention to the girls. "Alright, you lovely young ladies, if you'll follow me, I will take you right to his room."