Afterlight

Chapter 6. In My Place

"Excuse me? Excuse me! Miss?" A nurses voice tried to stop me. But I could barely hear her. I was so focused on my goal. Finding my parents. Eventually a taller more sturdy nurse stepped right in front of me.

"Hon' you're gonna be walking in circles if you keep wandering around."

"I can't stop, I have to find my Dad." I snapped. "Dad!" I called out. Eventually the nurse put her hand on my shoulder.

"You're gonna have to calm down. Who are you looking for?"

"George Snow. He was brought in an hour ago." She pursed her lips. Her eyes looked over my shoulder.

"You just walked passed him. He's in room 1." I scowled at her. And then turned and walked back to his room. I opened the door and there he was, with my Mom by his side wiping his face down with a white, but now turned bloody brown cloth.

"Dad!" I cried.

"Baby. Is that you?" He said wearily. I walked in slower this time. He was alive, that mattered most of all. Mom was very cryptic on the phone. I was shaking with adrenaline.

"Oh thank god." I said as I walked closer to his bed. He was lying down, his uniform trousers on, his white vest that he wore under his shirt was covered in dirt. The rest of his uniform was in a pile on the side table. Mom stayed seated caring for her injured husband. His shoulder was in a sling, he had a small cut on his cheek, and his ribs looked bruised under his white vest. "What happened?"

"Would you please tell your Mom I'm fine, I just wanna go home. Have a drink." I laughed in relief. He looked terrible but it was cosmetic, the blood and dirt would wash away. He was still my Dad.

"Mom?" I looked at her. But she was crying. Well, not crying, weepy.

"A damn bear or a cougar or something I don't know I was out in the field today, me and the chief and a couple of the boys. We were tracking a...uh...something that's not gonna make a difference to you if you know or not." Wow. Something pretty serious if my Dad wanted to keep it a secret from me. "So we were looking for something when all of a sudden this big thing came outta nowhere and knocked me into a tree. I dislocated my shoulder and I got a cracked rib." I smiled. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because I'm happy you're okay." I leaned over him and gave him a light hug, barely touching so I didn't hurt him. He winced a little. "Whoah what's wrong?" I jumped back.

"Ribs honey, relax I'm fine." He tried to sit up.

"I wouldn't be so quick to sit up right now George." A whimsical voice came into the room. I turned to see a man dressed in a white coat. Ah good, the doctor was here. I got up and moved round the bed to my Mom's side. "You've got a splintered rib, a fractured shoulder and perhaps a concussion. It's hard to tell when you wont stop talking." The kind man said with a warm smile. "What you need is rest, plenty of it. I've already told Chief Swan you'll be out of work for at least 6 weeks." My Dad winced. "But please relax, you'll still be paid the hours you are contracted to work."

"Oh, well that's great. Thanks Doc." He said shaking his hand. "This is my daughter Charlotte." I looked away from Dad and looked upon the face of the Doctor.

"Hello Charlotte." He said reaching out his hand across my Dads bed. I took it and gave it a small shake. He was...cold. Like. Ice cold. "I'm Dr Cullen." He said as our hands parted.

"Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for looking after my Dad. Does he have to stay in overnight? What can we do at home to help him?"

"Staying overnight wont be necessary, he can go home in an hour once he's been discharged. At home don't let him lift a finger. Sounds great doesn't it George? And having two beautiful ladies in the house to help you out can't hurt right?"