What do you wear to go visit someone in the hospital? I was always clueless about those kinds of things, but the one thing I was certain of were the kind of gifts she liked. Anything black would suffice really; black gloves, black jackets, black boots, black lipsticks or you know, black lingeries.
With no hesitation at all, I instantly called Chief after seeing the messages about Lemon. He did not waste time answering the phone.
"Where have you been?" Were the first words he uttered.
"How is she?" I asked, ignoring the question.
"She's been asking for you," he replied. "The doctors say her vitals her steady but she won't be let out the hospital until she's had enough blood build up."
"That's the best news I've heard in days," I replied, placing the book the Keeper gave me on a nearby shelf.
"That's not the only thing," he replied. "Your report was confirmed, not that I ever doubted your word, by her. She gave the exact report you gave, your home arrest have been terminated. You should hurry to the hospital."
Figures. No apologies, no compensation and no consequences for the actions of those who had blamed me for her demise. But that wasn't my concern, I had nothing to gain from getting in their face and screaming 'I told you so', having haters had taught me a lot of things along my lifeline, and two of those things was that you can not control what others think about you and that being hated by another human being isn't detrimental to your life, but theirs.
I wore a suit. Felt like a situation where I had to. I had a stop at the flower store and bought some flowers, black roses, grown downtown by the Ameogites, agricultural aliens. It was a bunch, quite expensive too. If I had known it was gonna be that expensive, I'd have gotten a bouquet of Harlem flowers from the forest of enlightenment.
So let me recap. I got her some dark chocolates, a bouquet of black flowers, a black jacket and a beautiful diamond necklace. If you didn't know, you'd have thought I was going to see the mayor's daughter. Despite all these gifts in my hands, I couldn't help but have this reoccurring ominous feeling that I was the cause of her coma and that she wasn't going to want to see me. In summary I got the gitters.
How would she look? Good? Or did what that Drainiac do leave a permanent scar on her mentally and physically? Of course it did, what am I asking? I parked in the hover park of the hospital and got off the car, arranging my suit and looking up at the hospital. Hovering before the entrance were a few ambulances, and some doctors and nurses came in and out, some on foot, others on hoverboards. There were also some Trooper cars hovering next to the ambulances too.
I breath in and out, arranging the gifts I had in my hands.
"Let's do this," I said under my breath.
Then I walked towards the entrance, the door opened for me by a doctor coming out. I went directly to the receptionist and asked her where Lemon's room was. She was about to decline and give the usual excuse that it wasn't visiting hours but I showed her my Trooper's badge, and it was free pass all through. She was on the third floor, I had to push myself into the elevator with them flowers and chocolate boxes. Could not help but notice some of the nurses smiling at me as I walked down the hallway towards her room.
I immediately recalled what she had said some weeks ago about me being a lady's man. I gave a short smile as I reminisced how she grinned when I tried to put off the idea she was initiating.
Finally I got to the door.
There were two Troopers standing at the sides of the door, like the stone guards back at Xaion. When they caught sight of me, they were startled. See, a false rumour about me killing yet another of my partner had spread through the Yolo central trooper precinct and apparently these two had head about it. Now they were guarding the very one they said I had killed. Never believe a rumour, always find the facts.
They watched me silently as I slowly walked up to them with the gift. Then I warned them not to say a word, and dismissed them with a wave of my hand, they left immediately. Probably out of shame.
I tried to knock but couldn't. Was this how immensed guilt felt? How many times do I have to put my partners in harms way? Maybe I'm better off alone. I stood before the door for minutes, exhaling as my head rested close to the peephole. I was going to chicken out, leave the gifts at the door and go away. It was better off she didn't see me and be reminded of that awful day.
"Aren't you gonna come in?" Her voiced echoed from inside. "I could sense you the moment you got off the elevator. Still the ladies man huh?"
She warmed my heart. There was no hostility in her voice at all and words can not explain how much joy my heart felt when I heard her voice.
"Hmmhmm," I cleared my throat. "Can I come in?"
"Obviously!" She replied.
I pushed the door open and walked in.