Authors Notes: My muse has finally returned from her trip to the Caribbean :) Thus, I have finally been able to write :) Many thanks to Mary, my wonderful editor, and my brother, Ryne, for giving up some of his computer time so I could work on this :)
Chapter 11
Jim and Trixie eventually arrived at Crabapple Farm. An amused Dan and Diana met them when they walked through the door.
"Took you long enough to wake him up, Trix," said Dan with a grin.
Trixie blushed to the roots of her sandy hair, but she looked Dan square in the face and said, "Well, it takes more to wake some people up." Then, with a wink at Jim, she went into the kitchen.
"Anybody want anything?" she hollered.
"I’ll take some coffee," said Jim. "Since you woke me up so early."
Trixie’s head popped around the kitchen door. "Early? It was 10:00!" She started to continue, but Jim quickly walked over and silenced her with a kiss.
Dan shook his head, "There’s no hope for those two."
Di smiled and swatted Dan on the shoulder. "Just wait until you’re in love, Daniel Timothy Mangan. Then let’s see how you act."
"Who, me?" asked Dan in mock surprise. "Never." Both he and Diana started laughing.
"Hey, you two hyenas," said Jim as he and Trixie entered the room, each carrying two travel mugs. "Are we going to sit around laughing, or are we going to go to the hospital?"
"I don’t know," said Dan, "It depends on if you two decide to go or to sit around kissing all day."
Trixie shrieked in indignation and started to chase after Dan; however, she was greatly slowed down by her added weight.
"Dan Mangan, come back here and face me like a man!" said Trixie.
"That’s just your excuse ‘cause you can’t run fast enough," taunted Dan with a grin from the other side of the couch. What he didn’t know, was that Jim was sneaking up behind him.
With a whoop, Jim pounced upon Dan, and mindful of his broken arm, brought him to the floor. "Get him, Trixie!" cried Jim. Trixie gladly complied. Racing around the couch, she started tickling Dan. Diana soon followed.
"Di!" exclaimed Dan between fits of laughter, "You’re supposed to be on my side!" After a couple more minutes, they finally released their prisoner, after he had assured him that he had learned his lesson.
Straightening their clothes and picking up their travel mugs, they finally headed out the door.
"But you know," said Dan as they got in the car, "if my arm wasn’t in a cast and sling, I could have taken you three on any day."
"Sure, Dan," said Trixie as the car headed towards Sleepyside, "Sure."
****
It was almost eleven when the quartet reached the hospital. Stopping at the nurse’s station, they received good news; Mart and Honey would be able to leave the hospital that afternoon.
"Yea!" said Trixie gleefully. "Let’s go tell them the good news! How are Brian and Julie though?"
The nurse tapped a few keys. She looked at the anxious faces in front of her sympathetically.
"Brian Belden is still in a coma," she said.
Trixie moaned and turning into the support of Jim's body. Jim wrapped his arms around her supportively.
Trixie turned to face the nurse, "How is Julie?"
"Julie will be in the hospital at least a week longer. They’ll want to keep her in here until her stitches come out. It’s just too easy for a baby to tear stitches out."
"Thank you," said Di, "May we please go see them?"
"Sure," said the nurse with a smile.
"Thanks," said Trixie as they started down the hall. She continued to lean on Jim, drawing strength from him.
Jim wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She fit so perfectly beside him. When did he get so lucky as to have her for a girlfriend? ‘And hopefully, one day my wife,’ he thought to himself. He was willing to wait though; they were both too young, but darn it, it was getting hard to wait!
The quartet continued down the hall in a companiable silence, each deep in his own thoughts. They reached the door to Mart’s room, and Dan knocked twice on the door with his good arm before they continued in.
Mart was sitting up in bed, a white bandage wrapped around his forehead. He was flipping through T.V. channels, but he stopped when he saw his friends enter.
"Hey!" he said, a bright smile filling his face. He turned off the T.V. and turned to face them. "About time you four showed up. Do you know that they’re letting me come home soon? And I hope that there’ll be a big a lunch waiting for me, ‘cause they’re not going to serve me lunch since I’ll be leaving so soon."
Trixie grinned and leaned over her brother. "Well, I’m glad to see that you haven’t changed. We’ll fix you a big lunch when we get home, you don’t have to worry." She grimaced when she started to unbend from Mart’s bed, quickly moving a hand to her abdomen and slowly starting back up.
"You okay, Sis?" asked Mart, concern filling his face.
"Fine," said Trixie. "Just a little bruise on my stomach is all."
"Little," Dan told Mart, "is an understatement. It’s as big around as a softball."
"What?!"
"Don’t worry, Mart. It wasn’t that bad or they wouldn’t have let me come home this morning."
"You have only been out of the hospital for a few hours? You should be at home, resting," said Mart. He motioned to a chair beside his bed. "Sit."
Trixie sighed, but complied.
"What have you been up to?" asked Dan as he sat down in a chair on the other side of Mart’s bed.
"Being bored," said Mart. "There is absolutely nothing to do here!"
"Then it’s a good thing that you’re going home in a few hours, huh?" laughed Jim.
"Yes," said Mart emphatically.
"Well," said Dan, after they had conversed for a few minutes, "We’ll leave you alone to be with your girlfriend for a minute." He turned toward Di. "We’re going down the hall to see Honey. Meet us outside Brian’s door in about 15-20 minutes, ‘k?"
"Okay," said Di. She and Mart waved goodbye as Jim, Trixie, and Dan walked out the door.
Three doors down, they found Honey.
"Hey, Honey," said Trixie softly, as they entered the room.
"Hey, guys," said Honey. Upon their entering she raised herself up in bed.
"How are you doing?" Jim asked as he sat himself down by Honey’s bed.
"Good. Sore, and I have a headache, but I’m good. How's everyone else doing?"
"Well, Mart is being released today, as you are."
"That’s good," said Honey. "How are Brian and Julie?"
Trixie, Dan, and Jim shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Honey obviously hadn’t been informed about her friends’ conditions.
"Well," said Jim hesitantly, "Julie is in the pediatric ICU. All the glass, you know. It cut her up pretty good."
Honey stifled a cry.
"Maybe I should stop," said Jim uncertainly.
"No! No, please! I need to know," begged Honey.
"Okay," said Jim slowly. "Beside the cuts, though, Julie is doing well. They’re going to keep her here for awhile, because it’s too easy for a baby to accidentally break stitches open."
"How’s Brian doing?" asked Honey anxiously.
Jim shifted again. "Well, Brian’s in pretty serious condition, Honey."
Honey grabbed Jim’s arm. "Jim, I need to know."
"Okay, Honey, calm down, please," Jim tried to soothe his sister. He started hesitantly.
"Well, Brian’s leg is broken in two places from slamming on the breaks." Here Jim paused, looking at his sister to see how she was thus far taking the news. When he saw that she was okay, all things considered, he continued.
"He has some pretty bad gashes and cuts from the window breaking, and he’s in a coma."
Tears were streaming down Honey’s white face.
"Oh God," said Jim, running his hands through his copper hair. " I shouldn’t have told you."
Honey touched Jim’s arm. "No, I’m glad you told me," she said softly. "It’s better for me to know, than to sit here worrying myself sick, wondering."
Trixie leaned over and hugged Jim. "You did the right thing," she whispered encouragingly.
"Honey, we’re going to go check on Brian and Julie, but we’ll be back later."
"You’d better to be," said Honey with a small laugh, "Somebody has to take me home. Speaking of home, when are Mother and Daddy coming home?"
"They should be here sometime late this afternoon," said Jim. "I’ve already called them and told them to come straight to Manor House, instead of stopping here at the hospital.
"That’s good," said Honey, "I think I'll sit here and reflect for awhile, while you guys are gone."
"Okay," said Trixie, "I’ll be back in an hour to help you get ready."
"Okay," murmured Honey.
****
Trixie, Dan and Jim met up with Di outside Brian’s room.
Mentally, Trixie braced herself before she entered the room. She knew that her brother was in a pretty bad condition.
Jim saw Trixie hesitate before reaching out to turn the doorknob. He reached over and put his arm across her shoulder, pulling her close.
"You can do it," he whispered encouragingly.
She nodded her head, reaching out and turning the doorknob. Hesitatingly, she entered the room. For a minute a red-blond head obscured her view of Brian. The nurse moved, and Trixie gasped, getting her first good view of her brother.
She rushed to Brian’s side, sobbing. Brian’s dark hair contrasted sharply with his white face. There was a long gash on his forehead that was stitched, as well as a large bruise from hitting his head on the steering wheel when the jalopy came to its final stop in the ditch.
"Oh, Brian!" sobbed Trixie softly as she stroked his hair back.
Jim, Di and Dan came up and stood behind Trixie, all three of them looking on in grim horror.
The nurse came around the side of the bed where she was writing on a chart and asked hesitantly, "Are you all right, ma’m?"
Trixie looked at her in amazement. "Am I all right??? My brother’s laying there, half dead, and you ask me if I’m all right!?"
The nurse stepped back a little.
Suddenly, Trixie started. "Oh my god! I’m so sorry!" and she burst into a fresh wave of tears.
Jim gathered her in his arms and held her tight against his chest, letting her cry.
"It’s okay," said the nurse, "really, it is."
"No, it isn’t," said Trixie from against Jim’s shirt. "I just snapped at a complete stranger!" She turned her head from Jim’s chest and looked at the nurse for the first time, studying her. She was pretty tall, a little taller than Diana, who was 5’ 6". Her hair was red-gold, and her eyes a stunning blue-green.
"Let’s start over," said Trixie. "Hi, I’m Trixie."
"I’m Mary," said the nurse, shaking the offered hand. She smiled at Trixie. "Are you his sister?"
"Yes," said Trixie, turning and looking tenderly at her brother. "These people with me are my boyfriend, Jim Frayne, who is also Brian’s best friend, and our friends Dan Mangan and Diana Lynch."
"Pleased to meet you," said Mary.
"You’ll probably be seeing a lot of us," said Dan with a grin. "Trixie has two other brothers, and then there’s his girlfriend, Honey. She’s in the hospital too," he explained. "It was Brian, Honey, Mart, one of Trixie’s brothers I mentioned, and myself in the car."
Mary shook her head sympathetically. "That’s awful!"
"Yeah," said Jim, "out of the seven of us, five were in the hospital. Dan was let out last night, though, so I guess he doesn’t really count."
Mary looked confused. "Five of you, you say, but that’s only four, who’s the fifth?""Oh," said Trixie, "I was the fifth. I was swept into the rearview mirror while helping. They kept me in the hospital to make sure that I didn’t go into labor."
"Oh, I hope that you’re doing all right now," said Mary. "How far along are you?"
"Seven months," replied Trixie, "with triplets."
"Oh my," said Mary. She bustled around Brian, checking various tubes and pieces of machinery.
"Has he woken up yet?" asked Jim.
"No, I’m afraid he hasn’t" said Mary, a slight frown crossing her pretty features.
"Do the doctors have any idea when he might wake up?" asked Trixie.
"There’s really no way to tell," said Mary. "We can just hope that he wakes up soon."
****
In the end, Trixie wouldn’t leave Brian’s side, not even to go visit baby Julie.
"Bring me back a report," said Trixie. "I want to be here in case he wakes up."
"If you’re sure," said Jim. "We’ll be back in a few. In about an hour or so, though, we need to get ready to check Mart and Honey out."
"Okay," said Trixie. She had already turned back to Brian.
****
Diana and Dan helped Honey and Mart get ready to go. Jim went and finally pried Trixie from Brian’s side. Then, they went and brought the car around to meet Dan, Mart, Diana, and Honey.
They arrived at Crabapple Farm a scarce fifteen minutes later.
"I’ve got an idea," said Trixie. "Why try to take care of two sick people at two houses? You can all stay here, at least until our parents come home."
Honey smiled. "Like one big sick room. I like that idea."
Jim looked thoughtful, then said, "It does sound like a good idea, and this way, Trixie doesn’t have to try to take care of Mart all by herself."
"I’m game," said Dan. "I think Uncle Bill needs some privacy right now."
"Then it’s settled," said Trixie, clapping her hands gleefully.
She, Diana, and Jim helped Mart and Honey settle down in the living room, one on each side of the sectional couch. Dan was settled down in an arm chair.
"Now," said Trixie, "we’ll start making some lunch!"
"Hold on a sec," said Jim gently, "as I remember, you were in the hospital too. That means that you need to take a seat in that other arm chair."
"Nonsense, I’m perfectly fine," brushed off Trixie. "Now let’s go make some lunch."
She led the way into the kitchen, followed by Diana and Jim. Dan, Mart and Honey were left for the time being with the remote and T.V. Guide. Once in the kitchen, Trixie again took over.
"Di, please put on some eggs to boil , I think we need about 12-15. Jim, could you please go into the guest room closet and get the serving trays?"
"Geez, Trix," said Di, laughing, "It’s a good thing you guys own chickens!"
Trixie set to work making an apple cheesecake. Diana worked on grilled ham and egg sandwiches, and Jim went to work making coleslaw. 45 minutes later, the trio was done and serving up the delicious meal onto the trays.
Mart visibly brightened when they walked into the room.
"Ah, a beautiful repast is set before us!" He grinned when Trixie stuck her tongue out at him as she handed him his tray.
"You’re just the people we need," said Dan. "We can’t decide whether to watch Men in Black II or A Walk to Remember."
"Well, now that we’re all in here," said Jim, settling on the floor in front of the second recliner at Trixie’s feet. "We can have a vote. Honey, you may start."
"A Walk to Remember," said Honey immediately.
"A Walk to Remember," said Di.
"Men in Black!" whooped Dan.
"A Walk to Remember," said Mart.
Dan guffawed loudly. "Don’t tell me you actually want to watch a chick flick!" he exclaimed.
"Nah," Mart joked, "I’ve just got the hots for Mandy Moore!"
"I see where I stand," said Di, hitting Mart playfully on the shoulder.
By this time Trixie was laughing so hard she was crying.
"Hey! Be careful!" said Jim, leaning up to pat her on the back, "You’ll get choked!" Which only made Trixie laugh harder.
"It’s your turn," she choked out when she could finally breath.
"Men in Black," said Jim.
Everyone turned towards Trixie, her vote would decide whether on not there would be a tie breaker.
"Men in Black," said Trixie, " and since I’m the pregnant lady, I get what I want," she grinned. "We can watch A Walk to Remember later."
"Yes!" whooped Dan as he put the movie in the VCR.
"Oh well," sighed Honey to Di, "One of these days, hopefully sometime far into the future though, one of us will be the pregnant lady, and then we get choose!"
Chapter 12
It was about five in the afternoon when it started to storm. Big gusts of wind rocked the house. Rain pelted down like bullets, and lightning flashed through the sky.
Dan called his uncle to tell him that he wouldn’t be able to make it up to Manor House anytime soon. Regan said that that was fine, if needed, Dan had his permission to stay all night. He also had another piece of news.
"The Wheelers called. They said that because of horrible weather conditions up in Canada, that all flights were canceled until probably sometime tomorrow afternoon."
"That’s okay, Uncle Bill, we’re just all going to bunk down here tonight."
"Okay, I’m going to have to go, the connection is breaking," Regan’s voice was filled with static. "Bye Dan." The connection broke and the telephone was filled with nothing but static.
"I think a line’s down," offered Dan as he hung up the phone.
"What are we going to have for supper?" asked Mart, making everyone laugh.
"Hmmm, I don’t know," teased Trixie, "I haven’t really thought about it."
Mart put his hand to his chest as if wounded. "Not think about food?"
"I don’t quite know what we’re going to make," said Trixie, "Not a spread as big as Moms’, but we’ll come up with something though."
"I don’t know," said Jim with a grin. "Mrs. Belden makes all of that just by herself. Surely with three of us, we can make quite a feast." Trixie snorted.
Two hours later, quite a feast was laid out on the table. There was Parmesan Chicken, Caesar salad, onion-roasted potatoes, honey glazed carrots, ranch macaroni and cheese, and fresh green beans, along with crescent rolls.
Mart whistled when he came in and saw it all. "A sight for sore eyes," he said, looking hungrily at the large amount of food before him.
"Yeah," said a red-faced Trixie as she sat at her place at the table. "Just don’t ever expect it again!" she said, making a face.
The effort they had made on the food though, was worth it. Not a bite was left on the table.
"Oh woe!" said Trixie when they were done. "There’s a mound of dishes to be done!"
"You sit," said Diana as she and Jim started gathering dishes. "You did more than enough work cooking; Jim and I will do the dishes. You go and rest in the living room."
Trixie grinned and meekly followed Honey, Mart and Dan out of the kitchen.
The quartet laughed and joked while Jim and Di washed the dishes. An hour and a half passed before they finally emerged from the kitchen, red-faced and exhausted.
"Tomorrow night," Jim said, "we’re going to cook half as much."
"Why?" asked Trixie with a grin, "I’ve rather enjoyed this."
Di stuck her tongue out at her. "Just put the movie in, Trix."
Trixie heaved herself out of her chair and put A Walk to Remember in the VCR. Then, she settled back down in her chair. Mart and Di were sharing the other chair, while Dan, Jim and Honey sat on the large couch.
It was about an hour into the movie, when a flash of lightning lit up the room, followed by a large crack of thunder, right before the lights went out.
Chapter Thirteen
Trixie shrieked as the next flash of lightning lit up the sky. From her vantage point by the window, she had seen someone dart into the preserve.
"Jim!" she called out, peering through the pitch black, trying to locate the familiar form of her boyfriend.
"I’m right here Trixie," soothed Jim, as he scooted her over in the recliner to sit down beside of her, drawing her into a hug. Every since Trixie had been raped seven months earlier, she was somewhat prone to panic attacks and nightmares on occasion, especially when she was startled or scared.
"Do you guys know where some candles and flashlights are?" asked Jim.
"Yeah," said Mart. "There’s the spot light on top of the fridge. Let’s see, Moms keeps emergency candles and matches in the kitchen, the drawer immediately left of the sink. There’s also two flashlights in the hall closet, beside a first aid kit.
"I’ll go get them," said Dan quickly, seeing that Trixie didn’t want Jim to leave her. The crew followed Dan’s progress through the house by thumps, bumps and muffled curses.
"I’m back," he called as the arc of a flashlight swept through the room. I could only get the flashlights this time. I’ll take this other one with me and I’ll go back and get the candles."
Not too long after that, he came back with an armful of candles and a box of matches.
"Here you go," he said, dumping them on the couch beside Honey before sitting down himself. "Is there a battery operated radio here? So we can listen to the weather?"
"Yeah," said Trixie, "There’s one in my closet." She stood up uncertainly. "I’ll go get it."
"I can go with you," offered Jim. Trixie smiled at him gratefully.
Hand in hand, they followed their flashlight beam through the house and up the stairs. Once on the second floor, they could hear that the wind was much stronger than they had originally thought.
It took Trixie several minutes to dig through the mess of her closet to find the radio. As soon as she found the radio, she and Jim hurried down stairs.
They sat the radio on the coffee table. Trixie turned it on, and tuned it to the local station, 98.1.
"I repeat, a tornado and flash flood warning is in effect for the Sleepyside/White Plains area. Please go to a suitable shelter, and stay tuned for up and coming weather." Just then, a faint roaring filled the air.
"I suggest," said Jim slowly, "That we go somewhere safe. Now!"
Very quickly, the all moved to the bathroom, bringing couch cushions and blankets, plus their flashlights with them. They forgot the radio, leaving it on the coffee table.
"This may sound stupid," said Honey as they hurried along, "But why are we going to the bathroom to hide?"
"Well," said Mart, "For one, we don’t have a storm cellar or basement, and two, the bathroom walls are reinforced by all the piping making that room stronger then any other room in the house."
"Okay," said Honey, "Thanks."
They hurried into the bathroom and locked the door. Jim settled Trixie into the bathtub with a pillow and blanket and sat down beside her, while everyone else settled down on the tile floor.
Mart gathered Di in his arms as the wind picked up speed, howling around them in the pitch black.
Honey whimpered as something crashed outside. Dan scooted closer to her and wrapped his good arm around her shoulder, drawing her in.
There was another crash, followed by the slight shake of the house, and the sound of glass breaking.
"Jim," whimpered Trixie. Jim carefully scooted Trixie forward in the tub, and settled in behind her, his arms wrapping around her comfortingly.
"It’s okay," he soothed, "It’ll be over in a few minutes."
Trixie nodded and laid her head against his chest, trying to will herself to relax.
Large thumps started sounding on the house that Trixie soon identified as hail. All of a sudden, the window on the wall opposite of the bathtub broke, shattering glass throughout the room. A particularly large hail ball, roughly the size of a softball, had broken the window.
Startled, Trixie, Honey and Di shrieked. Then a cry of pain rang out. Although she was mostly protected by Dan, a few good sized pieces of glass had struck Honey in the back. It was hard for Dan to tell how hurt she was though, because the light emitted from the flashlight was growing dimmer and dimmer.
****
At 11 o’clock that night, according to Jim’s watch, one of their two flashlights went out. It was nearly midnight before the worst of the storm passed. Even then, a strong, steady rain pounded on the roof, though the six adults found it comforting.
Dan and Mart had thoroughly looked over Honey’s back, and couldn’t find any shards of glass in it, and none of the cuts were too deep. After they had finished ministering to Honey’s back, Mart got her two aspirin out of the medicine cabinet.
Finally at about one in the morning, they started drifting off. Di and Mart curled up in one corner, huddled together in a ball, holding each other. Honey fell asleep in the middle of the room, stretched out on her stomach, as to not hurt her back. Dan lay not far away.
Trixie threw an afghan over herself and Jim, then snuggled against him. Though warm and as comfortable as one could be, cramped in the bathtub, she found sleep hard to attain. She and Jim sat and whispered, reminisced and teased.
"You know, Trix, this is starting to become a bad habit," said Jim.
"What?" asked Trixie.
"Our sleeping together," a mischievous grin filled Jim’s face.
For a minute, Trixie looked shocked. Then she started laughing.
"Thanks, Jim," said Trixie once she had calmed down.
"For what?"
"Making me laugh when there haven’t been many things to laugh about lately."
"You’re welcome," said Jim, snuggling her more tightly. Eventually, they fell asleep, listening to the rain patter softly on the roof.
To Be Continued