Closer 2

195.

She simply couldn't sleep any more. Everything felt weird, and she was worried to death. Poor auntie had been in so much ouchies, and it seemed like nothing would help. Not even Sharkie! Or maybe Sharkie. She didn't know, but she sure hoped so.

Elise sat up in bed, trying to look around to see how light it was out, but she couldn't really see much. She knew by now that meant that it was nighty time still. It didn't help her sleep, though, and the dark made it easier for her to worry. Something felt off, and she wanted to fix it.

...

"May?"
She wasn't sure if the voice was real this time either. It hadn't been the last time someone asked for her. She had opened her eyes and seen nothing. All black. Why would she allow the voice to lure her out of her drowzy state again when she had nothing to gain from it?

"You're still feeling sleepy, aren't you?" the voice asked, and May realized it was a female voice speaking this time. The last one had been a male voice. "It's okay, you can rest more if you want. I'm just here to refill your fluids."

She opened her mouth to mutter a 'thank you' but immediately gagged on something that seemed to have been shoved down her throat. The woman shushed her gently.

"It's okay, just a breathing tube. Once I'm done with the fluids I'll go check with the doctor if you can have it removed."

Right, she was in hospital. She had almost died. Stopped breathing - or, at least that's what she had heard. Didn't sound too good, honestly. Hopefully Ray hadn't worried too much.

Speaking of Ray, where was he? Was he still with the kids? What time was it even? Maybe it had only been a few minutes? She honestly had no idea. One minute she was fading away from what she now figured to be sedation and not some poison designed to euthanize her, and the next the voices began talking to her.

"I'll go find the doctor now, May. You just relax, okay?"

Relax. Yeah, she could do that. Relaxing was probably the only thing she could actively choose to do at the moment, actually. That and maybe open her eyes. Maybe she should try that?

She heard a door shut, so she figured she was alone now. This made her feel less self conscious about potentially not being able to.

The room was WAY too bright. She was pretty sure the sun had to be shining right in her face because it was so bright. It did look like just a regular hospital room, though, once her eyes adjusted. It did seem to actually be sunny out, which meant she was out for at least twelve hours, if not more. Why wasn't Ray here?

Her train of thought stopped there, though, as the door opened again.

"Good morning, mama," the doctor said with a smile, clearly speaking to her. It still made no sense, honestly. Was this some kind of joke on her name or something? In that case, she didn't get it.

"Let's get that tube out. You're clearly awake enough to breathe on your own now," the doctor smiled. May definitely didn't complain.  She had a bunch of questions she needed answered.