into the night [cazzie]

ten

CASEY WAS SICK OF DOCTORS. She was done with the MRIs, the X-Rays, the CT scans, the surgeries, whatever the doctors had done to her. She had been lucid for three days now, and it seemed like she never got a moment of peace. Casey was put into another surgery on the second day, the purpose of which was still unbeknownst to her. She definitely didn't think her condition wasn't that serious, but the hospital resident assigned to her room obviously thought differently.

"Good morning, Casey. Trouble sleeping?" Dr. Broker asked, coming into her room for the first time that day.

"A little bit," she admitted, "and the headache that's been going on."

"Nausea? Still feeling dizzy?"

"Same as yesterday. Feeling a little gross, but no puking."

Casey watched as the doctor furiously wrote on his papers, wondering what he was writing. She hadn't said anything to cause suspicion, right? She was victim to a TBI, a very minor one at that, so everything she was saying was normal, right? All Casey wanted to was to be free of the hospital, even though she knew the chance of that was unlikely in the moment. Still, she had hope, and she looked up at Dr. Broker, watching as his eyes peered at her above the clipboard. Then, he continued to take notes as he bit his lip.

"Hey, Doc... Doctor Broker?"

"Yes, Casey?" Dr. Broker looked back up from his clipboard, adjusting his glasses slightly.

"Will all of the nausea and migraines go away? Preferably soon?"

The doctor cracked a smile, but Casey hadn't been joking. She stared at Dr. Broker with a serious expression on her face.

"Well, since we performed all we can surgically," the doctor explained, "the most we can do are prescription medication. They'll go away as your condition improves, and if they don't, you can come back whenever. You'll probably have to have some sort of checkup once in awhile."

"Can I go now, then?"

"You're real eager to go, aren't you?"

Casey smiled sheepishly. "The pale walls of the hospitals aren't the best company sometimes."

"Well, we still have to do some more post-op things, so we'll have to keep you around for awhile. Ideally, you'll be out by the end of the week. I hope that's alright."

What else could she say? "Of course," Casey mustered a smile.

After taking another once-over of the room, Dr. Broker decided that he was satisfied and left the room with a brief goodbye to Casey and a sharp nod. Casey's parents filed in shortly afterwards. Doug and Elsa sat in the two bedside chairs that had already been set up. They had been spending a lot of time in the hospital room, so the chairs were already there for them. Sam had also come, so he pulled up a chair.

The family made small talk, which was always straining for Casey, but it was better than being alone in the sterile hospital room. They didn't have to socialize for long, though, since Casey had more visitors. The door swung open, and Casey's heart skipped a beat when she saw the arrival.

"Izzie," the brunette recognized unnecessarily, as everyone already knew who she was.

"Hi Case," she smiled warmly, before turning to the rest of the room. "Hey Sam."

"Hello," Sam turned to look at Izzie.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Gardner."

"Izzie," Mr. Gardner chided, "how many times do I have to tell you? Calling us Doug and Elsa is fine."

The raven-haired girl shrugged, grabbing a seat and pulling it close to Casey's bed, opposite of the Gardners. Elsa watched as the two teenagers made conversation, slightly awestruck. Although they were just shooting the breeze, it was like seeing a whole new Casey talk. Casey never liked opening up, but the way she interacted with Izzie was free and expressive. Elsa's daughter was amicable, grinning more than she had in a long time. Elsa felt her lips twitch into a small smile, glad that her daughter had found someone who understood her.