Outside

Chapter 11: Back Home

Stacy hated hospitals, and doctors, and anything related to them. She hated them so much that, when Granny Linda was dying, she wrote her letters rather than visit her. But, as she grew older, she thought the fear would fade, especially when she'd need to be there herself.The fear hadn't faded. Not one bit.

But, at least, Stacy knew enough not to show she was afraid when Scout or Will were there. When they were around it was easier to ignore what the doctor had said about the stitches, and about what those stitches had done to her arm.

As it turned out, having a twice used puppet covered in dried blood sewn to your arm could cause really bad infections. Who knew?

It had been numb and cold all the way up to the elbow, and then started burning, spreading out from the scars circling her arm. It also turned an agressive, angry red color, and had started swelling. The doctors had drawn a line, but the infection had quickly spread past it and, well...

Now she had a stump, cut off right below the elbow. The end was bandaged, and, though it was numbed, sometimes she felt a throbbing from it in time with a heart beat. But that wasn't what bothered her about it.

When Will first brought Scout in after the amputation, the poor Puppet had cried out at the sight, refusing to get close to Stacy. Instead she hid in his bag during the entire visit, refusing to come out at all. And, when Will came the next day, he mentioned she had hidden from him when it was time to leave the house. It made Stacy a bit sad, but she decided to ignore it for now, sure that Scout would come around after some time alone.

(Much later, she would wish she had pushed for answer, or for Scout to come see her more. Either one might have helped in the long run.)

Instead Stacy would talk to Will, who had finally convinced her, about moving in with him. She hadn't wanted to move in before graduating, but considering the hospital trip, and how many classes she'd missed, she would be working through the summer to catch up. Plus, he wanted a safer place for her to finish healing at and, while he didn't live in the best neighborhood, it was certainly safer to stay together for this.

So Stacy made due with the visits Will made alone and, when the time came, the visits ARI made for talks of her prosthetic. They couldn't do anything yet, her stump had to heal first, but eventually she'd be able to go get fitted for one. Until then, though, she'd have to go home with only one-and-a-half arms.

It was Will, obviously, who came to pick her up, though to Stacy's disappointment he hadn't brought Scout with him."She didn't want to come." Was all he said when she questioned him about it. "Maybe she's making a card for you or something?"

"Maybe..." She agreed, as Will wheeled her down the hall. Her hand clenched the edge of her t-shirt, eyes focused down on the pamphlets in her lap about living as an amputee or whatever. She hadn't really read them yet. "Hey, does this mean I can park in the disabled spots at Walmart?"

"Probably, if you can get one of those things for your car." He said as they made it out of the hospital. He wheeled her over to his car, grabbing her bag to put in the bag while she climbed into the front passenger seat. She played with the window while he went around to the driver's side.

"So, how's Scout been. She hasn't been around since..." She trailed off, watching as they pulled out of the lot.

"Since your arm was chopped?" Will finished for her. "She's fine as far as I can tell. Mostly just watches the movies I put on for her." He grimaced. "Last night was Venom, though, so now she wants a pile of heads I think."

"We can get her some Barbies to take apart." Stacy said. "Do you think she'd like that? The she could have her pile of heads and a pile of bodies."