A Bridge to Sight and Sound by Sammi M.Grey eyes drifted towards the door. "It's about time you guys showed up. I was almost afraid you were going to leave me here."
"Of course not, Snip. What kind of heartless creatures do you think we are?"
Schuyler eyed her "brothers" and raised one eyebrow, "You thought about it, though, but Mom *made* you guys come and get me." She rolled her eyes. "Look, I said I was sorry for sticking my neck out for you. In the future, I promise to just let you get blown away without any interference from me. Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Jim Ellison chuckled as he walked over and kissed the young woman's forehead. "Cute, Sandburg #2. Real cute. I'm just dying here from all the cuteness." Looking around and nodding toward the small overnight case. "Is this all you have?"
"That's it. Really didn't have any reason to drag out the formal considering this was all so short notice. I don't think the doctors minded though – they're really into those non-descript cloth thingies." She watched as Blair ushered a nurse in with a wheelchair. "Ugh. I hate those things. Do I have to use it?"
Blair winked at the nurse and grinned most evilly. "You do if you want to leave here. Since I'm still indisposed, Jim has graciously offered to push your transport. So, the faster you accept being wheeled out of here, the faster you can be. Any questions?"
She shook her head and both men helped her into the chair. Jim placed the case in her lap and maneuvered the whole group out of the room and towards the waiting elevator. In no time, they were at the checkout station and Schuy was filling out a myriad of forms. The older man looked at his watch and then at the stack of papers, "Do we know how much longer this is going to take? I left my truck in a ten-minute spot and it's been almost thirty."
The accounting agent looked up from her papers and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Well, the doctor still hasn't brought down her take-home meds or prescriptions, so we're probably looking at another ten-fifteen minutes. If you like, you can move your truck down to the pick-up area and wait for her there. That way you won't be fined or anything."
"I think I'll do that." He nodded at the younger man. "You think you can handle things, Chief, until I get back?"
"Not a problem, man. I don't think there's much trouble we can get into. Just meet us back here once you've moved the truck and we'll be waiting."
"Yeah, right." He turned to leave and ran into a familiar face outside the door. "Hey, Telly. I was wondering where you were; we almost left without seeing you." He eyed her pale complexion, red eyes and drained expression. "Are you okay?"
Telly offered him a wan smile, "I'm fine. Just trying to kick a bad cold. You leaving?"
"Uh no, I'm going to move the truck so I don't get a ticket. Can you do me favour?"
"Sure. Name it."
"Can you watch them while I'm gone. Neither of them is in the best shape and I really don't feel right leaving them without adult supervision." He grinned. "I figured with you being a doctor and somebody they know, you would be almost as good as Naomi or me."
She cocked an eyebrow, "Almost?"
Jim chuckled as he enjoyed the view. Red was his favourite colour after all. "I'll catch you later, I promise. I gotta get out there, though. Simon'll kill me if I get another hospital ticket."
As he continued heading to his vehicle, he stumbled a bit when he heard her mumble under her breath, "I'm sure you will catch me, Detective, but by then it'll be too late." For just a moment, his senses screamed at him in warning, but he shrugged it off and returned to his original intent when the young woman just stood there waving and smiling at him.
Telly stood inside the doors and watched him until he was out of sight. She tried to work the kinks out of her body and relax. She knew it wouldn't do to agitate Schuyler or Blair – more work that way and she really was tired. She entered the checkout station and headed to the desk where her group still sat. "Aren't you guys done yet?"
Blair rolled his eyes and offered the woman a welcoming smile. "At the beginning of the week, Schuy agreed to an endowment to the hospital. She's filling out the forms Richard left now."
"Sheesh. Will she ever learn to tell the masses she gave at the office? I swear, Richard gets so ticked when she does this without advising him first. He keeps threatening to put himself back in control of her money, but she doesn't believe him."
"She has him wrapped around her little finger, of course she's not going to fear anything he tosses out. She's more afraid of that geriatric volunteer who brought the flowers and reading material around."
The accountant glared at them as they started laughing and Telly caught the look. "We better behave before they toss *us* out." She controlled her laughter and looked at Schuy's case and around Blair's seat. "Umm, did you guys forget something?"
The anthropologist sobered quickly and shot her a puzzled look. "I don't think so. Like what?"
"Like the Get-Well-Soon gift from the guys at Symmonds."
"Oh, that." Blair's eyes darted to and fro as if he were mentally backtracking to where he last saw it. "Jim had the nurses keep it at their desk so Snip wouldn't find it before she got home. I forgot to grab it when we left the floor. Damn!" Drawing another look from the accountant. "The guys, Jim and Naomi will kill me if I don't have it."
"I'll tell you what. Why don't I go get it and none of them will be the wiser. You can stay and watch Schuyler and if Jim beats me back, just hold him here until I return and I'll make the hand-off as discreetly as possible."
"Sounds good, but I don't think the nurses would just hand it over to you." Resolved. "No, I'm gonna have to go get it." He stood. "If Jim makes it back before I do, … just tell him I … had to go." He walked the short way to his sister and bent over to whisper something into her ear. Schuy looked up from the forms for a moment and waved at her seated friend.
As the doctor watched Blair leave, a small smile touched her lips and a look passed over her eyes. She turned back to watch Schuy and waited.
After several more long minutes, the young woman was wheeled over to Telly. "Finally. If I'd known it was going to be that much paperwork, I would told them to bring it to me yesterday." She smiled at her friend. "I really appreciate you coming down here; you didn't have to considering how sick you've been."
"I wasn't all that sick. Something nasty happened in my private life and it kind of threw me."
"I'm sorry; I didn't know. Is there something I can do?"
"Oh, you've done plenty already." She started pushing the girl out of the room and down the hall. "I just decided I was going to give a little bit back. Let you know how much I appreciated how much you'd done."
Schuyler nervously chuckled. "I haven't done anything above what I would have done for a friend. If you were hurting, you should have stayed home and worked it out. You didn't treat me this time, so you really didn't need to be here."
They continued further down the hallway until most of the people sounds were quiet behind them. "But, I did need to be here. Who else would see you were taken care of?"
The nervousness faded. "You really are a great friend; you always watch out for me." Noticing where they were. "Umm, I think we might have gotten a little turned around. You might want to head back in the direction we came."
"No, we're headed in the right direction. Remember, Jim had to move the truck to the pick-up area. That's just a little bit further ahead."
The doors on either side of the walking pair seemed to get larger and mechanical sounds could be heard behind them. As they walked underneath a sign that said 'Authorized Personnel Only', Schuyler felt the uneasiness return. "I think we missed our a turn or something. I don't think they'd put a patient exit in a restricted area. Let's go back."
Telly stepped away from the wheelchair and looked around. "You know, you're right. I don't think the exit is down here, but that's okay. You and I have a lot to talk about and this is as good a place as any." She reached in her purse and hid something in her hand. "Whadya say? Are you up to a little chat?"
"Uh, not right now. Maybe after we meet back up with Jim and Blair, we can talk. They're probably really worried and we should b…"
Her words were cut off as the small black club came down hard on the back of her head. As Schuyler slumped to the ground, Telly smirked and returned her weapon back to her purse. "Oh, Jim and Blair will be joining us for our little chat. In fact, Jim's going to a play a key role in our little exercise." She reached over to grab the fallen figure. "Now, all we have to do is set the stage and let our little drama play out. And then, Carl and I will finally be happy."
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