Chapter Eight: Wakeup Call
Sandy
We took Gretchen back to our suite in a wheelchair and I tagged along to give her a more thorough examination of my own. We girls stripped her down in her bedroom. Given the already visible signs of bruising, it was obvious that Gretchen would be a sight in a few days. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be her usual beautiful one.
I sighed and shook my head. "I'm sorry, Gretchen, but there's going to be some bruising. You must have bounced all over the side of the ship because you have bruises everywhere. They aren't huge, but some of them look pretty deep. I hope black and blue are your colors. If not, there'll always be green and purple," I smirked.
Gretchen smiled weakly. "You have a terrible bedside manner, Sandy. Hearing about my bruises makes me feel so much better." Amazingly, she managed to sound tired and sarcastic at the same time. "I'm going to look like hell, and that ruins more than half of my clothing plans."
"Maybe," Jo said uncertainly. "We might be able to conceal some of it with makeup."
"There'll be time tomorrow to see about that," I said standing up. "We need to get you into a gown and then get you medicated. Sleep is the best thing for you right now."
Gretchen shook her head mulishly. "I'm not going to sleep until Hawk's back."
I considered pushing the issue but decided deception and misdirection would work better. "That's understandable, but there's no reason to be in all that pain, is there? At least take the pain medication."
At her nod, I opened the pill bottle and sent Trish off for a glass of water. When it arrived, Gretchen took the pills without complaint, and we got her into bed.
Trish sat on the floor with me while Jo took the chair. We talked in low tones about the events of the evening. It took a bit more than half an hour before I saw Gretchen's eyelids start to droop. I suppressed my smile and kept up the low conversation with the others while she slid slowly into the arms of Morpheus.
When she was asleep, we went into the living room. I closed the door quietly behind me. "That worked out well," I said smugly.
"Did you slip that poor woman a Mickey?" Jo asked with an evil twinkle in her eyes. "She's going to be vexed with you."
I shook my head. "Nope. I just talked to the ship's doc and made sure that the pain medication also had something in it to make her drowsy. In the state she was in, she needed the sleep."
"Tricksey little Hobbit!" Lisa said, standing up with a soft clapping of her hands. "Remind me to watch you more closely. I need a drink," she declared. "Name your poison! Drinks are on the house."
"I'll just take a coke, if you don't mind," I said. "I'll be keeping an eye on Gretchen tonight and I don't want to muddle my thinking."
"Make mine a scotch on the rocks," Jo said.
"I really haven't tried anything like this before," Trish admitted. "I only turned twenty-one a couple of months ago. What should I try?"
Lisa considered that. "I think something fruity." She marched off to the bar and started mixing drinks. "If you're going to keep an eye on Gretchen, you can take the bedroom nearest the master."
I nodded. "For tonight, I think that's best. When the boys wander back in, I'll tell Keven we're having a sleepover. With all that's happened, I think circling the wagons might be a good idea. There's safety in numbers."
Jo looked around the sumptuous living room and the moonlit deck. "I don't suppose there's room for Earl and me?"
Lisa brought us our drinks and Trish sipped on hers. "Ooooo. I like this," Trish said. "It tastes just like a fruit smoothie. Jo, I don't need a whole room to myself. I'll sleep on the couch and you and Earl can have the room right over there." Trish pointed to her room.
Jo smiled her gratitude. "Thank you." I smiled to myself. I'd always liked people who knew how to simply say 'thank you' without going through the whole 'are you sure?' routine.
Trish took a deep drink that told me she was in for a lesson tonight about alcohol. I made note to keep an eye on her. I caught Lisa's eye, held up three fingers and pointed at Trish. Lisa nodded her understanding. There would be a three-drink limit for the buxom young woman.
We sipped our drinks and watched Trish get tipsy with amusement. She was a cheerful drunk, I decided. Not that she was really that drunk. Lisa searched around and found some extra pillows and a blanket for Trish, then put them on the couch.
The boys came in while Trish was off undressing for bed and brushing her teeth. Well, the boys and Hawk. I knew the news wasn't good from the looks on their faces. I knew it really wasn't good when Hawk headed for the bar.
"Where do you think you're going," I asked as I cut her off.
"This has been the day from hell," Hawk complained. "I need something. Just a small one."
"I'm betting that Gretchen would pitch three kinds of fit if she saw you try," I said while crossing my arms.
"Well, she's not here right now," Hawk said, trying unsuccessfully to slip past me. "Someone tried to kill my wife, someone probably did kill that putz Skip, and my back is killing me. Cut me some slack."
"You want some slack, I'll give you some slack," I agreed. "No hard liquor, but you can have a glass of wine or a beer."
"I can?" Hawk blinked at me.
"Yes," I said with a grin. "While you shouldn't drink at all, a glass of wine or a beer this one time won't harm the twins. So, if you like, I'll get one and you can tell Gretchen about it tomorrow."
She scowled at me. "That's playing dirty." With a sigh, she lowered herself into a chair. "I'll just have something non-alcoholic. Surprise me."
I dug into the bar and found some cold diet drinks. While I was there I filled drink orders from the boys, and we listened to Ted as he filled us in on the details. Trish came out and lay down on the couch in a charming, if clingy, flannel nightshirt. That made her the center of attention, much to her embarrassment.
Lisa updated everyone on the sleeping plans. Earl and Keven went to get some clothes and bathroom gear. They got back just as I finished showering.
I pulled Keven into my arms and kissed him. "Go take a shower and I'll put this stuff away. Then we need to get some sleep because I'm going to be getting up every few hours to go check on Gretchen."