A Complicated Web

Chapter Seventy Three: Debriefing

After following Hiro and the others into the medical bay, Cass had been ushered off to one side where someone had set up a sort of waiting room for her. She wished they'd let her continue to follow Hiro around but was told that wasn't possible as they sent him for a CT-scan and MRI. She barely registered Baymax as he entered the area, who was then admitted into the back where Hiro had disappeared.

When she looked off to one side, she could see a smaller medical suit where a team of doctors and nurses seemed to be working on someone. From what she saw, she gathered they were performing some kind of surgery. The whole scene reminded her of a medical drama and part of her wondered if they'd have to do the same with her nephew.

More time passed and she began to pace. They were certainly taking their sweet time back there. Just how long did they need to make sure was all well? Okay, maybe that was a dumb question but she couldn't help but feel antsy. Finally, she settled down into the comfy chair they'd provided and dozed off.

"Miss Hamada?" some called out gently, causing Cass to startle from sleep. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Dr. Bosch. I've been looking after your nephew while he was... away." He resisted the urge to look down, seeing the grief and pain in this woman's eyes. Strictly speaking, he was only allowed to speak to her as a favor, since he'd been with her nephew for some long.

Cass nodded, swallowing back tears. There was just something about the facial expressions of this man that made her anxious for her nephew. "How is he?" A million questions swarmed in her head, wondering who this man was, why he was there now, if he was the one who'd told them where to find her nephew. She stood and took a few steps forward to be closer as he seemed a bit hesitant to approach her, possibly not sure of her reactions.

Dr. Bosch glanced quickly over at the small security detail assigned to keep an eye on him. But since he was the most familiar with Hiro's condition, and hadn't shown any signs of further betrayal, they'd allowed him to continue Hiro's care. For now. "Hiro suffered a lot of different kinds of trauma while he was imprisoned." Might as well call it was it was, he decided. "And while he'd improved over the last week, he's still malnourished and in a lot of pain. You see, a week ago, at least for him, he managed to severely injure himself during a panic attack where he broke both legs and his arm. He also sustained massive bruising to both legs and his torso. At the time, I had to correct some issues internally due to torn muscles and some internal bleeding. Some of those internal injuries were aggravated when he was removed from the facility and we had to go in and correct the damage."

Cass let out a gasp, reeling while someone moved the chair so she could sit down to hear the rest. Part of her wanted to hyperventilate but she schooled herself credibly.

"The good news," Dr. Bosch continued, "is that, despite all this, he's healing relatively well. I don't think it will be necessary to insert any pins or rods to correct the fractures to his legs, though he likely won't be able to walk for several weeks and will need to undergo extensive physical therapy once he's healed enough for that. And he'll need to go on a special diet to try and rebuild the muscle tissue he lost due to acute starvation."

Now she really did need the chair they'd brought over and sat down heavily on it. "They starved him?" Her eyes went wider than before as her stomach threatened to twist inside her.

Dr. Bosch sighed. "Not exactly. He was offered what would essentially be considered a nutritionally balanced substance but he refused to eat it. I can't say as I blame him though. That on top of his mental distress, he slipped into a sort of panicked survival mode that left him overexerted and undernourished. But, for now, he's resting quietly. I understand they plan on transferring him to a hospital in New York once we're sure he's completely stable. And once his friend is out of surgery." He nodded towards the small suite she'd noticed earlier. "For now, they have him heavily sedated to try and give his body a chance to rest."