A Broken Crew

Chapter 13

They continued watching TV until his mother came home. She took one look at everyone and then at August. "August, honey, what are all these people doing here? I expected Dakota and November, but everyone else?" August patted his mom's hand. "I know, I'm sorry. But this is Grey, one of my friends. He's really badly hurt, I think his wings are broken. Can you take a look at him, and test him for a concussion?" His mom looked surprised. "Yes, I can. If his wings are broken we need to look into right away. She flicked on the light. "Hello, dear, can I take a look at you?"

Grey nods. "Yeah." He glances at August in thanks. He looks at the littles. "Could we maybe do it in another room..? Just in case they wake up?"

His mom nodded. "Sure. Can you get up on your own?" Dakota came back in from the kitchen. "I'll help him, I don't think he's strong enough." August's mother Maggie immediately grabbed Dakota's arm and pulled him closer, smelling his face. "You were drinking again." she said disapprovingly. "And a lot, by the looks of you. What about our promise?" Dakota sighed loudly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry." "Why?" Dakota looked down. "Can't say." he replied. "Just felt like it I guess." "That's a lie if I've ever heard one. But I will let it go for right now." Dakota pulled away, hiding a small smile. As gently as he could, he lifted Grey up. Slowly, they made there way into another room.

Grey bites his lip, refusing to let them know how much pain he's in as he's moved, but his face goes pain with the pain. He tries to focus on something else but fails this time. His wings, leg, head.. His entire body throbs with pain.

"Hey... honey..." Maggie gently waved a hand in front of his face. "Try to stay with me, okay? You're right August, he might really have a concussion, and add that to the pain he must be in right now..." She gently unfolded the wing splint. "Oh my goodness..." She gently reached out a hand out. "Your wings... oh, honey..." she studied them carefully. "His right wing has a double break." she said. "And the left one only has one. His back..." She seemed at a loss for words. "I can take care of his wings..." she finally said. "But he really ought to be in a hospital. And with some cops." It didn't take much for her to put two and two together. She already had her suspicions. She already knew about Dakota. "No." Dakota repeated. "You know how they are. They'll bring the case to court, issue some kind of stupid warning, make up some mumbo-jumbo about there not being enough proof or some other nonsense, and ship him right back home. You've already tried the cops before. They did nothing for me." Maggie frowned. "I... know." she said softly. "There isn't anything we can do to help?" Dakota sat down and patted her hand. "There is." he said. "Taking care of Grey." Maggie smiled. "Yes. That I can do. I brought home some anesthesia. I'll set his wings. Does he need to go home by a certain time?" Dakota slapped his forehead.

"Quizznack, I forgot all about that. We should have until tomorrow late morning, at least. I really don't feel like social drinking again..." "You better not!" she said. Dakota looked off to the side. "I mean it mister!" she said. "You need to stop drinking. On top of it being unhealthy and causing you grief, you're underage!" Dakota didn't respond. Maggie turned back to Grey. "I'm going to give you some anesthesia." she said. "It will only make you a little out of it, not full unconscious, since I still need to test for a concussion. I'm going to set your wings back into place and cast them. It might still hurt a little, but the anesthesia will help. This needs to be done before your wings start the healing process. The longer we wait, the more painful it gets." She looked at his wings again. "Your left one looks like it was already broken several years ago." She gently touched it. "That's not good. I won't be able to set the wing properly while it's healed so crooked." She glanced at him, looking apprehensive. "How long has your wing been crooked like this, honey?"

"Ummm..." Grey frowns, trying to focus through the pain. "I broke back when I was..... Six?" Years are a bit fuzzy for him, but that he remembers clearly because of the fall. "I fell from a tree trying to fly. Sooooooooo.... Thirteen years? Mayyyyybe?" Grey is completely unsure exactly how long.

"13 years?" Maggie is aghast. "You've had this wing in this state for 13 years? You never saw a doctor? How- well, I guess I can understand." She had an idea of what was going on. "I can't imagine how painful this is. I..." She stopped for a moment, then turned to him, deadly serious. "I need to fix this." she said. "Your left wing will be even more messed up if I try to set it while it's crooked. I... I'll need to re-break the bone and set it properly." She looks grave. "That's the only way your wing can heal correctly. And I don't want to get your hopes up, but it may even give you the chance to fly again." She looked even more sad. "Although, the longer a wing stays crooked, the less likely that will be. But there's a fairly good chance that after it heals, you'll be able to fly. This should have been done much sooner, but I guess it can't be helped." She paused. "I know it can sound a little scary, honey, but I don't want to set the wing to have it heal more crooked than before. Are you ready for anesthesia?"

Grey nods, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. Do what you need to do." His face is set and it's clear he won't back down from this.

Maggie injects the anesthesia. "We'll wait 5 minutes to make sure it takes full effect." she says. "You might start to feel like you're floating or dizzy, but just take deep breaths and try to focus on something nice. You might start to act a little off but everything will be fine." They waited for 5 minutes. "Are you feeling anything, honey?"

Grey blinks and nods. "Yeah..." His voice sounds unsteady. It's easy to tell he is highly amused by the way he feels right now.

"Alright." Maggie begins with the right wing, pulling it effortlessly into place. She carefully casts it so it's folded against his body the way it naturally would. "First one done." she says. "Are you still feeling alright, sweetheart?"

"The room is WoBbLy!" Grey is pretty much out of it, which, at this point, is good.

"Alright, well, I'm going to do your left wing, and then we're all done with that." Carefully, she grabbed the broken part, knowing that this was going to be more painful. She counted to three, then pulled it. There was a loud popping sound, and the wing was broken. "A clean break." she said. "Thank goodness." She started setting the wing. "All done." she said. "All that's left is to test for a concussion." August hugged his mom. "Thank you so much mom." His mom smiled. "You know I'll always take care of people." she said. "It's my job. We have to wait for the anesthesia to wear off to test his head, and we also need to be prepared with painkillers. He's going to be in a ton of pain when he snaps out of it." She grabbed Grey's hand. "We're going to wait for you to feel all the way better, and then test for a concussion, okay?"

"YaYyY!" Grey is still loopy from both the pain and the anesthesia. His expression was hilarious right now

They waited another 10 minutes or so. "It should have worn off by now." she said. "How are you feeling Grey?"

Grey looks at her. "Like death drove over me with a dump truck." He is definitely not smiling anymore, but rather biting the inside of his cheek, hands clenched.

"I know, I'm sorry honey... I have some aspirin but that's all I have..." She rubs his hand in soothing circles. "We need to test you for a concussion, and then we'll let you rest. Can you touch your nose with your left hand for me?"