When you leave the Menace at home with General Auntie

Hospital Rush

Dennis stood in shook for a few seconds as the pain started, then gave a huge wail of pain as the heat truly burnt his little hand, and he pulled it away, falling off his chair with the speed he used, which provoked another cry which shook his tears from his eyes, and he began to sob wildly.

Pru froze. The only thing she could think of was 'Sandra is going to kill me'. As if on cue, the noise of the key fighting its way into the door entered the house, and reached the sobbing boy's ears. With a wail of "Mummy!" Dennis flew towards the door.

Sandra and Den had heard the noise of crying before they opened the door. "Is-is that Dennis?" Den asked, his jaw hanging open. Sandra looked just as shocked. Dennis never cried. Never. And not like this, so wildly and painfully. Den snatched the key from his wife and forced them into the door, and flung it open. They threw themselves in, and Sandra immediatly went on her knees, as Dennis rushed into her arms.

"My baby! Oh, my little baby! Why, what's the matter, my little baby, huh?" Sandra asked, her worry overflowing from her words as she hugged him tightly. His little arms were tight around her neck, and he couldn't speak, only scream. Den stood by, concern visible on his expressive, round face. As he looked at Dennis clinging to Sandra's neck, he suddenly noticed the way Dennis held out his hand. Den looked closer, and gave a shout of horror.

"Oh, snap!" he cried. "Sandy! His hand!"

"His hand?" Sandra's eyes widened, and she pulled his arms from her neck, and screamed when she saw the burn across Dennis's soft palm. "Oh! Denny! My baby!" She pulled Dennis tight, gasping. Den turned to Pru, who had slunk over.

"What did you DO?" he shouted, his face turning red in anger. "We left called you to keep an eye on him! How could you let him get hurt like this?!"

"It's the blighter's own fault, I told him not to touch the iron," Pru replied haughtily.

"IDIOT!" Sandra screamed so loud that a bat fainted halfway across Beanotown. "DON'T YOU KNOW THAT TELLING HIM NOT TO MEANS HE WILL?! Oh, my baby!Den, his hand! We need to go to the hospital, Den," she stood up, "take him, I'll get the car!"

"Me?" Den asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes, you, are you deaf?" Sandra snapped. "We need the car and Denny needs someone to put ice on his hand, and you can't drive!"

"Alright, give him here," Den said, shakily. But Dennis wouldn't go. He clung harder to Sandra, and so she rushed to the kitchen, shouting at Den to grab some ice. A harried Den pulled open the freezer and snatched up the first cold thing that he could grab, which happened to be a red ice lolly. He threw it to Sandra, who had managed to deposit Dennis on the worktop, and she bade Dennis to hold it in his burnt hand to make the pain go away, and for the first time in his life, Dennis obeyed his mother without question, and he took the red lolly in his hand.

"Den, come here, I'm gonna get the car," Sandra ordered. Den nodded and put his hands on Dennis's shoulders as Sandra rushed to the car, not even bothering to talk to Pru, who wisely decided to make her escape before Den or Sandra could attack her. Dennis still wailed naturally, clutching the ice lolly in his burning hand, as Den rubbed his shoulders, repeating over and over, "It's alright, it's alright, son, you're a big boy, a big man, it's alright," while trying not to cry himself or even shake, and although he told himself to be brave for Dennis, it was more likely that he was just trying to not be weak while Sandra was so strong.

The sound of the car's horn sending out a fanfare made Den jump, and he hoisted Dennis into his arms and rushed to the car, jumping into the back, and Sandra started driving as Den put Dennis into his car-seat, using his phone as a bribe. Then suddenly, as they reached the end of Gasworks Road, Den gave a shout of "STOP!" and Sandra hit the brakes in a panic.

"Den! What the f-" she began, but Den strangely jumped out of the car and ran like a madman back to the house, as Sandra's eyes almost fell out of her head. Dennis was still sniffling, but he was too absorbed in the world of Youtube Kids to notice his pain as he had before. Then Den rushed back and chucked himself back in the back. "I forgot to shut the freezer door," he gasped. Sandra rolled her eyes, and restarted the car, but a second later Den again screamed, "STOP!" and she again stopped, and again he dashed back like a madman to the house, no, the door, then he flashed back. "Forgot to lock the door!" he gasped as he threw himself back inside. Sandra gave an frustated scream and restarted agian, speeding to the hospital, only just keeping the speed limit.

But to her utter rage, there was a traffic jam three roads from the hospital, and Dennis started to sob again. Immediately she reversed, did a u-turn on a no u-turn zone, narrowly avoided the police sergeant, Slipper (only because he was literally sleeping on the job), and quickly took another route, and as Dennis's screams grew louder, it was all the harrased driver could do to not crash or speed and risk being stopped in this crucial race.

As she grew closer, she found to her pure anger that again the road ahead was closed, and just next to the hospital, and this time it was because of a clear ice-cream spillage across the road. There were no other cars around.

So Sandra drove on.

Den gave a strangled, "What are you doing?!" but Sandra plowed on, knocking the helpless 'road closed' sign out of the way, and flew across the ice-cream so quickly it didn't have time to make her skid, before she ran the sign at the other end over, then jerked the car to the right, making it do a full 270 degree turn and then speeding into the hosiptal car-park, and skidding to a halt neatly in one of the parking zone.

They'd made it to the hospital. And somehow survived Sandra's wild driving.