Love at First Sight Ch. 03

Nancy had several images flash through her mind but she could not make sense of them or put a time or a place to them. At this moment, she could tell that she was lying in a bed and was about to wake up. She had a splitting headache, her ass hurt and there was a pinch in her one arm. Her one hand felt warm too, but it seemed like it was from someone holding it. Considering all the bad feelings she was experiencing; she was glad to have someone holding her hand.

Nancy's eyes fluttered open and she saw Maura staring at her with a look of concern. Nancy also couldn't help but notice the welt near Marua's left eye. This triggered a fight response in Nancy (there was no thought of flight). She said, "Maura, what's the matter? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks to you. Are you okay?"

"Well, my head hurts, my butt hurts and I have a pinch in my arm."

"Your head hurts because you smashed your head into your dresser and you probably have a concussion. Your butt hurts because you fell and landed on your butt first and then hit your head which probably caused the concussion to be less than if you had hit head first. And the pinch in your arm is an IV needle because they are giving you some pain medication and keeping you hydrated."

"An IV? Where am I?"

"You're at the hospital?"

"Why am I at the hospital?"

"Because you hit your head and got a concussion."

"Oh yeah, you mentioned that. Sorry. Are you holding my hand?"

"Yeah, sorry." Maura let go of Nancy's hand.

"No, that was fine. Would you hold it again, please. That was the only nice feeling I had when I woke up." Maura smiled and took Nancy's hand back into her own, intertwining their fingers.

"Okay, I know you had a bad shot to the head, but you need to remember this. I had to lie to the nurses to be able to get in here. I told them I was your step-sister. Now, I am not sure they really believed me, but if anyone asks, you have to tell them we're step-sisters."

"Would it have worked to get you in here if you had said we were lovers?"

The smile on Maura's face was as big as Nancy had ever seen it. But she gave nothing away in her words when she responded, "Well, maybe. But I went with step-sisters so if we tried lovers now, we might get some funny looks." Maura chuckled as she said this and gave Nancy's hand a squeeze.

Nancy started to laugh as well, but then winced in pain and brought her other hand up to her head. "Don't make me laugh." she said to Maura but she squeezed her hand back.

"Okay, one more thing. I promised them the second you woke up I would go get the nurse so pretend like you just got up." And with that, Maura gave Nancy's hand one more squeeze before she stood up and left the room.

Shortly a nurse came in followed by Maura. The nurse asked, "How are we feeling?"

Nancy replied, "I feel awful. So, if you're feeling okay, I guess we're somewhere in the middle." Nancy started to laugh, but that made her head hurt and she winced.

The nurse responded, "That's what you get if you're a smartass with your nurses. Your "step-sister" (the nurse did not use air quotes but the tone of her voice made it clear she knew the real story) says you have a headache and your posterior hurts?"

"Yes ma'am?" said Nancy, now trying to strike a more respectful tone.

"Well, it's not really time for you to get your next dose of pain meds. We don't want to give you too much. Are you going to be able to hold out a while longer?"

Maura jumped in, "Oh, she's badass, Ma'am. Just like Captain Marvel."

"Okay, good to know. Well Captain Marvel, we just got a call from the main desk. Your parents will be here in about ten minutes. And I am sure they are going to want to see their daughter... (and then she paused to make her point) and step-daughter as soon as they come up." The nurse turned to Maura and said. "She came in with that costume on. Maybe you should go back to her room and get her some regular clothes. She'll need them eventually."

"Wow, yeah good idea." Then turning to Nancy, she said, "I'll go back and get you some clothes. Say hi to mom and dad for me." Maura took two steps toward the door, turned, and walked back to Nancy and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "See ya later, sis." Nancy laughed for a second then winced again in pain. But by the time her parents got to her room, she was all smiles.

Nancy's parents did want to know what had happened, but she really couldn't tell them. About an hour after they had arrived, there was a call from the nurses' station that Nancy's roommate had shown up and brought some of Nancy's clothes and would it be alright if she came to the room. Nancy's parents gave the permission and Maura came in as if she were seeing Nancy for the first time.

Now that Maura was there, Nancy's parents asked her to tell them the story. They listened very closely and so did Nancy because at that point, she really had no memory of the day.

"Well Nancy and I were going to go to the Halloween party..."

Something finally coalesced inside Nancy's brain and she blurted out, "Yeah, I was there and you weren't. Where were you?" Nancy seemed a little upset.

"Well, I had made a date for the party before we had decided to go together and I had forgotten to cancel with him. So, I sent Nancy ahead so I could let him know about the change of plans."

Again, as more memories began to gel, Nancy spoke out, "You knew this guy was going to be a problem. You sent me out to protect me." This brought very puzzled expressions to the faces of Nancy's parents because they could not understand why, if Maura had done something to protect Nancy, how come Nancy was the one in the hospital bed.

"No, I had no idea there would be any kind of problem. I just knew he could be a bit of a jerk and I didn't want you to have to listen to him or for him to be a jerk to you." Maura was looking at Nancy trying to make sure she understood that Maura had done this to be helpful.

"When he got there, everyone else was gone. I told him that I didn't want to go on the date. That you and I were going to hang out at the party. He could go if he wanted, but we were not going to spend any time with him. And then he started yelling. When I told him to leave her wouldn't. When I tried to get out past him, he pushed me back into the room. He tore off the blouse from my costume and when I tried to fight back, he hit me."

Maura pushed out the left side of her face so that Nancy's parents could see the welt more clearly, as if she wanted to prove she was telling the truth. "He threw me down and was pulling my skirt off. I tried to fight him off, but then he slapped me again. And that's when you came in Nancy. If you hadn't, I don't know what would have happened."

"Oh my God!" This came from Nancy and everyone turned to her. Nancy's face was registering pain, but a different kind of pain. "You were terrified Maura. I saw it in your eyes."

Maura now turned to Nancy's parents. She had to make them understand this wasn't her fault. "I told her to go get the R.A." Nancy could sense the guilt Maura felt for Nancy's injury and she wanted to make sure her parents, and Maura, all understood it was not Maura who had put her in harm's way.

"I heard you say that, and I know that's what you wanted me to do. But I saw him bringing up his hand and he was going to hit you again. And that look of terror in your eyes was just too much for me to bear. I had to stop him. I think I bit his hand when I jumped on him?"

Maura smiled at that and said, "the nurses told me he needed three stiches on the back of his hand. He was down in the ER, but he's out of here now."

After a bit, a doctor came into the room. He asked Nancy how she was doing. He leaned over her and shone a small flashlight in her eyes, having the beam go quickly in and out of her line of sight. After he did that to both eyes, he had her watch his finger without moving her head. She had to follow it with her eyes as he moved his finger around. Then he asked her a few questions.

"Do you remember everything you did for the last forty-eight hours?"

"Yes doctor, mostly. There are some things I still don't recall but most of it is coming back." Nancy snuck a quick glance at Maura and then looked back up at the doctor.

"Do you remember actually hitting your head?"

"No doctor. I definitely remember falling down to the floor and my butt hitting the ground and then falling back. But the next thing I remember was waking up here. I did have some flashes of things between falling and waking up but I can't remember exactly what they were."

The doctor now looked at Nancy's parents and said, "She has a concussion and she did lose consciousness for a brief period. Her CT scan was fine. There is very minor swelling, but nothing to worry about. She says her memory is intact. We'll hold her here for observations until tomorrow just to be sure.

"If you would want to take her home you can, but this is not the first concussion we've had here, and we have a protocol already set up with the school. She could be discharged to her dorm room Monday on bed rest. We send a note that goes to all her teachers excusing her from classes and assignments. The R.A. where she's staying is informed and they'll get someone to bring her meals up from the cafeteria. She'd be looked at again on Friday and if everything is all good, she can be released from bed rest and begin normal activities."

"Do I get a say in all this?" Nancy asked?

"With it being a head injury, I'm inclined to listen to your parents." the doctor said.

Nancy looked over at her parents and said, "Mom, Dad, I want to stay. Let's go with the bed rest at the dorm plan."

Her mother was still shaken by all this and said, "I'm just scared honey and I'd rather you be home."

"Mom, you and Dad were great parents. And you did an excellent job of raising me to be a mature responsible person. Have a little faith in your handiwork."

"I think she's got us there, hon." Nancy's father said smiling.

"Doctor, can I have a moment alone with my daughter?"

"Sure. You don't have to decide this right now. Someone will be doing rounds tomorrow evening and you can just let them know. They can do the paperwork then. But if you want to bring her home, we do need to know the name of her family doctor so we can send her records from here." He looked around Nancy's mother and said, "Take care Ms. Reed. If you start to have any nausea or any double-vision, make sure you ring the nurse right away. Good night, everyone."

Nancy's father and Maura followed the doctor out of the room to go get a snack at the vending machine down the hall. After everyone left, Nancy's mother turned toward her. "That was a slick little move you pulled. Now if I bring you home, I am saying I don't trust you or that I wasn't a good mother."

"You are an excellent mother and I just wanted you to see my brain is still working fine."

"And what's all this with Maura. I thought you were not getting along and you were going to switch rooms next semester?"

"Yeah, we've kind of patched things up a bit."

"What was she doing with a boy in your room?"

"Look mom, she had no idea he was going to hurt her. She was breaking off her date so she could hang out with me. It would have been the first time we had gone to a party together since that first week of school. We are friends again and I want to stay here with her."

Nancy's father came back in the room and announced, "They made Maura go back to the dorm. She will come back tomorrow during visiting hours. Nancy, Maura said good night and she wanted you to know how sorry she was about all this. She made a point of telling me she hadn't wanted anything to happen to you and she did not ask you to intervene."

"That's true, dad. She told me to go get the R.A. But if you could have seen how scared she was...I couldn't just leave her even if it was to get better help. I had to do something."

"Well, hon, I'm proud of you. And maybe I wasn't such a bad dad after all."

"Oh c'mon. You were wonderful. You both were, are, excellent parents. But I'm an adult now. I made an adult decision. And knowing what I know now, I'd make the same decision again."

"Not the same decision." her mother said. "If that ever happens again, don't jump on his back, kick him in the balls. And don't kick at them, kick through them."

"Wow mom. Okay, I'll remember that. Good tip."

"Like you said, I might be done raising you, but I am never going to stop worrying about you. So, any helpful advice I can pass along I will."

Eventually, the nurse came in and told everyone that Nancy needed sleep and the parents needed to go home. They had planned to stay at a hotel and promised to come right at 9:00 o'clock tomorrow morning when visiting hours began.

When the returned the following morning, Maura was already in the lobby. "They wouldn't let me go up without you since I'm not family."

Nancy's father smiled and said, "They wouldn't let my step-daughter go up?"

"Oh, so you heard about that?"

Nancy's mother cut in at this point, "Yes, Maura. We heard. Nancy was very happy that she wasn't alone when she woke up. So, thank you for that. And I must say, very creative." Maura smiled and walked with them to the elevators to head up to Nancy's room.

When the doctor came around to give Nancy a final check before discharge everyone was laughing and having fun. The events of the last few days had been kept out of the conversation, although they continued to linger in the background as Nancy and Maura were sitting together in the hospital room.

The decision was that Nancy would go back to her dorm room. It was fortunate that Maura was there because she would have to help Nancy out with a lot of her day-to-day stuff under this plan. She paid very close attention and was able to repeat all the tasks she had to do. The doctor was very pleased with her attentiveness and let Nancy's parents know that this would make everything go smoother.

Part of the protocol was that Nancy had to be brought back to the dorm by ambulance and only one person could ride back with her. Nancy's mother had her dad ride back in the ambulance and she would drive Maura back. Maura gave a look to Nancy as if to say, "Should I be nervous?"

The look Nancy gave back didn't exactly answer the question as it said, "Good luck." And with that, Nancy was wheeled out to the ambulance.

As they started to head back there was silence in the car for almost a minute before Nancy's mother started the conversation. "Thank you for taking care of Nancy this week. I was paying attention and you had everything down okay."

"Oh, yeah, sure. No problem."

"You know earlier in the semester Nancy had mentioned that she was looking to move to another room at the end of this term. I am thinking that is a probably a good idea."

"Oh, I hope she changes her mind."

"Why?"

"I don't want her to leave."

"Why not?" The question seemed almost accusatory and it flustered Maura.

"I l..." At that point, Maura stopped. She knew what she was about to say. Was that really true? Even if it was true, was this something she should be discussing with Nancy's mother? Who knows how that would be received, especially as they were driving to the dorm room behind an ambulance carrying her daughter after she had been injured protecting Maura? And was this just because Nancy had saved her? "No!" Of all the questions spinning in Maura's head, she was certain as to the answer to that one.

"What was that, Maura?" Nancy's mother was looking at her with a strange look on her face. Although she had thought so many things it had only been about two seconds of silence, but she had left the question hanging. Plus she wasn't sure if Nancy's mother had guessed at what she had been about to say.

Maura knew she had to come up with something quick. "I mean I don't want her to have to leave particularly if it was because of something that was my fault."

"So will you be leaving at the end of the term?" It seemed pretty clear that Mrs. Reed was working very hard to make sure that Nancy and Maura were separated as soon as possible.

"I don't want to. I want to stay with Nancy."

Mrs. Reed stared at her for a long time considering she was driving. Then she looked forward again but asked, "This isn't because she got hurt helping you and you feel you owe her something is it?" For the first time in their conversation, there was not the same feeling of mistrust and dislike in Mrs. Reed's voice when she asked this question. But it was still clear to Maura that Nancy's mother was concerned for her daughter.

Maura responded strongly because at that moment, the one thing she was sure of was how she felt about Nancy. And those feelings really went all the way back to that first day. "No Mrs. Reed. Nance and I had a great time the whole day before that happened. Or at least I did. I know we had problems earlier in the year and I had asked to move out too. But I felt like somehow, we'd patched things up. I hope so.

"The thing is, Nancy is such a special, wonderful person that I think she would have done what she did for anyone. But I'd be lying if I said it didn't make a part of me feel good the other night when she said she did what she did for me.

"But I guess, to answer your other question, if Nancy doesn't want me to stay, I will move to another room at the end of the term. I want her to be happy. I just hope that she wants to be happy with me as her roommate."

Nothing more was said and they were soon at the dorm. By the time Maura and Mrs. Reed were able to walk from the parking lot to the room, Nancy had already been dropped off and was in her bed with her father sitting on the end. Maura went and sat on her bed and they all continued to visit for a while.

Finally, Nancy's father stood up and said, "Well dear, we've got a long drive ahead of us and it will be getting dark soon." He leaned over and gave Nancy a kiss good-bye. When he turned toward Maura she stood up and gave him a handshake while Nancy's mother gave Nancy a hug and kiss.

When Nancy's mother turned toward her, Maura again extended her hand. But Nancy's mother took her hand and pulled Maura into a tight hug. Maura looked over her shoulder at Nancy but her look registered the same shock and surprise that Maura felt. When she released the hug Nancy's mother pulled back but kept her hands on Maura's and said, "Take good care of her."

"Yes ma'am. Always."

At that, Nancy's mother smiled at Maura. Then she leaned around and blew Nancy a kiss before she left. After the parents had left, Maura sat down at the foot of Nancy's bed where her father had been sitting. She looked at Nancy and said, "I hope this isn't a problem for you, but I am not sure if your mother likes me. I'd said for sue she didn't like me, but that hug before she left has me not sure at the moment."

"I hope this isn't a problem for you, but she didn't like you. But something changed and that's why you got that hug. You must have said something in the car ride over that changed her mind."

"I didn't say anything really."

"Well then, maybe it was something you didn't say?"

For the rest of that night and all during that week, Maura waited on Nancy hand and foot. Maura brought up all her meals from the cafeteria along with Nancy's so the two of them could eat together; she went to all of Nancy's professors and got the class assignments (Nancy was excused from doing any assignments, but she would need to know what she missed so she could catch up later); she helped Nancy to the shower and the bathroom (more just being there in case she felt weak. A few times Nancy did ask Maura to help and she let Nancy put an arm around her waist and Maura wrapped her arm around Nancy's shoulders to steady her) and on that Friday, she went with Nancy to the campus clinic for her final check-up. When Nancy was given the final okay, they went to the cafeteria for dinner and then up to their room.