So�This Is Montana� Ch. 15
�I guess it was a lucky thing that I landed in that loose dirt,� Joey said quietly to the two figures looking down at him.
�More than lucky, Joey�blessed is more like it,� Lance replied as he ran his hand over Joey�s head.
�The doctor said that you�ll be able to leave later this evening,� Chris added from his perch on the side of Joey�s bed. Joey nodded. �Dr. Granger is going to keep me well supplied with some pain killers for a few days and I�ll have to get these bandages changed everyday,� Joey said as he lifted up his bandaged arms.
�Dr. Parrish told us what we would need to do,� Lance answered. �It�ll be okay once we get you and the others out of here and back to the ranch.�
�Oh�Joey�you should have seen it�Lance talking to Dr. Shannon on the phone,� Chris said with a wide grin and quick chuckle.
With a groan, Joey shifted on his hospital bed. �Oh, man�I�m glad it was you and not me�bet that was a toughie,� Joey added with a small smile.
Lance rolled his eyes. �Yeah�old man over here,� he said, pointing at Chris, �was too chicken to talk to the doctor so I got the job. Some leader you make Chris.�
Chris proudly shook his head. �Yep�that�s me�chicken and proud of it. And as far as leadership capabilities go�good leaders know hot to delegate.� The remark caused even Lance to chuckle.
�Well�how did it go�are you a marked man�did he put out a price on your head?� Joey asked through his giggles as he carefully rubbed his chest as it ached dully.
�You okay, Joey?� Lance asked, seeing Joey massaging his chest.
�Yeah�I�m not feeling much of anything right now. Whatever they�ve pumped me up with is some potent stuff,� Joey said with a small smile, trying to reassure his friends that there was nothing to worry about as far as him being in the same kind of pain he had been experiencing when he had first awakened on the side of the road.
�Now�tell me what all the doctor had to say,� Joey replied with a grin on his ace. He couldn�t even begin to imagine what all was said between Lance and Dr. Shannon.
Lance shook his head and grinned at both of his friends. �At first, he was pretty upset�I had never heard Dr. Shannon say some of the things that he did.� Chris�s eyes widened at that tidbit. He had never know the doctor to lose his cool and he had seen the doctor deal with all sorts of situations where that could have happened but didn�t.
�He even mentioned the threat that he had made against Chris,� Lance added, wiggling his eyebrows at Chris who immediately blanched at the news.
Joey looked from Lance to Chris and watched Chris shudder while Lance grinned. Joey suddenly felt left out of the loop. Apparently he was in the dark about what was being said and he wanted to know what the secret was.
�What�what did he say he�d do, Chris?� Joey asked, his curiosity peaked by what was being said, or, rather, what was not being said.
Chris rolled his eyes and mumbled, �He said if he got a phone call from any of the doctors here about one of us getting hurt�he�d hang me up by my toenails from the ceiling.�
�Ooh�I would pay good money to see that,� Joey said as he broke out into a giggling fit. He was soon joined by Lance and finally by Chris.
�I�ll make sure if he does sell tickets, I get some of the proceeds,� Chris said through his laughter.
It was several minutes before their laughter died away and Lance could continue with what the doctor had said.
�The rest of the phone call went really well once I explained that it had been an accident and that I wasn�t the one at the wheel and neither were any of the rest of you.�
�That�s good,� Joey replied with a sigh of relief and another small giggle. He didn�t exactly want to be on Dr. Shannon�s bad list since his annual physical was coming up in a few weeks.
�He was tempted to ship you three home, but I was able to talk him out of it�with Dr. Parrish�s help.�
�That�s real good. By the way, how are Justin and JC doing?� Joey asked as he shifted on the stiff mattress trying to find a more comfortable position.
�At first, the doctors were afraid that Justin may have cracked a couple of ribs on his left side, but they ended up just being bruised. He also bruised his left shoulder,� Chris answered. �Dr. Granger wants him to keep his arm in a sling for 2 or 3 days. If he does that, then he won�t have to have his ribs wrapped up since his left arm will be out of commission.�
�That�s good to hear,� Joey said, knowing that Justin would be in pain, but bruised ribs were certainly better than cracked or broken ones.
�Well�JC needed 10 stitches to close up that gash on his forehead. He woke about an hour ago and now he�s sleeping,� Lance answered.
�Yeah�and Dr. Parrish wanted to keep him here overnight, but changed his mind when he realized that all of us would have stayed then,� Chris added.
�Well�he�s right,� Joey replied. �That would have tied up 5 beds.�
�That�s what Dr. Granger said, so we get to take him home with us, but on the condition that one of us wakes him up at least 3 times during the night to check on his �cognitive awareness,� as the doctor puts it,� Lance said, making rabbit ears for quotation marks in the air.
�Man�waking JC up�sounds like another job I need to delegate to you, Lance,� Chris said with a grin as he wiggled his eyebrows at Lance.
�Nuh uh�no way Chris,� Lance protested. �I talked to Dr. Shannon so you can wake up Jace.�
Joey sat back and laughed at the exchange between Lance and Chris until he felt a stab of pain in his chest. He took in a sharp breath as he grabbed at his chest. Instantly, Lance and Chris stopped their bantering.
�You okay, Joey?� Chris asked as he took Joey�s face in his hand, lifting it so that he could look his friend in the eye, watching tears of laughter and pain flowing freely, down his face, as he shook his head no.
�Muscle spasms,� Joey gasped as he continued to rub his chest. He then let out a low moan. That moan set the boys into motion.
�I�ll go get the doctor,� Lance said quickly, as he trotted out the door while Chris tightly grasped Joey�s hands, preventing him from rubbing his chest and further injuring his tender ribs. It wasn�t long before Dr. Parrish jogged into the room with Lance close behind him. He pulled Joey�s sheets and gown down exposing the multitude of bruises and raw scrapes on his chest that he had sustained in his fall from the back of the truck.
Chris sucked in a deep breath at the sight while Lance winced.
Minutes later, Dr. Parrish had given Joey a small dosage of muscle relaxants through the IV port in his left hand and he was soon floating somewhere between wakefulness and sleep as the doctor motioned to Lance and Chris that he wanted to speak to them.
Lance and Chris followed the doctor to the far corner of the room where they watched Joey slowly blinking as he moved sluggishly about his bed.
�I�m pretty tempted to keep him here over night, boys,� the doctor said as he gazed across the room to see Joey�s head loll to the side as sleep claimed him.
�How long would he need to stay here for you to feel good about sending him home with us tonight?� Chris asked, trying hard to find some possible way that all five of them would be allowed to leave the clinic together.
The doctor looked at his watch to see that it was now 4:30 in the afternoon and saw that the boys mimicked his motions by looking at their own watches.
�It�s 4:30�I would need to keep him here for at least another 8 to 10 hours,� he answered carefully as he watched Chris and Lance�s reactions. �Um�excuse us for a minute,� Chris said as he and Lance stepped away from the corner to talk things over.
Lance looked at Chris. �Waiting that long doesn�t sound too bad. You and I could go back in the waiting are and get some more sleep,� Lance said, his eyebrows raised as he completely ignored the fact that the doctor was still standing their just a few feet away, listening to their discussion.
Chris nodded. �Yeah�sounds like a plan. There was that snack machine and coke machine in there�� Chris began as he dug his hands into his pant pockets and pulled out a couple dollars worth of quarters. ��and it looks like I�ve got enough change to spring for supper.� Lance looked down at the collection of coins that Chris was holding in his hands. �Okay�sounds like we�re ready to wait then.� Both young men stepped back into the corner to let the doctor know about their decision.
�Okay, doc�12 or 1:00 sounds fin,� Lance said. �Umm�I guess I need to call the ranch, Chris and see if someone can drop off a vehicle up here for us to use when it�s time to leave.�
�Yeah�you better,� Chris replied before looking at the doctor. �Can we use your phone, doc?� Chris asked. Dr. Parrish stood there, speechless. The entire discussion had not taken a minute and it had gone so smoothly. These boys knew how to think quickly on their feet.
�Uh�doc?� Chris asked, placing his hand on the doctor�s arm. �May I use your phone�I left my cell back at the ranch and I really want to hang onto these quarters.� Chris patted his leg where the coins were concealed in this pockets. The touch on his arm brought the doctor out of his thoughts. �Yes�you can use my phone and as far as eating you meal from the machines, I had already asked my wife, Maye to bring enough food up here at supper time for the five of you. Now�there are two empty cots in the doctor�s lounge that you two can get some rest on. After you�ve made your phone calls, I�ll show you where they are.�
�Thanks, Dr. Parrish,� Lance said as he and Chris followed the older man down the hall to his office.
�Hey�I want to thank you two for coming up to get us so late at night or early in the morning,� Lance said quietly to ranch hand, Troy Gardner, who was helping him get a drowsy Joey into the ranch house.
�It was not problem at all, Mr. Bass,� the young man replied with a smile as they steadied Joey when he slightly stumbled climbing the front porch steps.
�If you�ll just help us get them inside, we can take it from there,� Chris said, holding JC by the elbow, while ranch hand, Mitch Warden lightly gripped one of Justin�s elbows.
The group safely made it inside the house and Justin, JC, and Joey were guided through the entryway and into the living room where they were allowed to sit down on a couch.
�Thanks again, Mitch�Troy,� Lance said as he and Chris shook their hands.
�Yeah�thanks,� Justin said wearily with a small wave over the back of the couch. There wasn�t a sound from Joey and JC. They had already fallen back asleep just as soon as they had settled themselves on the couch.
�No problem,� Mitch answered. �I�m just glad that you and the others are alright.� The four men walked back out the front door and stood on the front porch.
�Will you want to ride around the ranch tomorrow, Mr. Bass?�
�Sure Troy, but let�s make it after 10 in the morning�and�pleas call me Lance. My dad is Mr. Bass.�
The two ranch hands laughed at the remark and nodded their heads in agreement.
�Call all of us by our first names,� Chris added.
�Alright, we will, Chris,� Troy answered. See you in the morning then.�
The two ranch hands got back into the vehicle and drove it toward the ranch hand�s building on the other side of the barn.
�You know�they�re a couple of good guys,� Chris said quietly as he and Lance walked back into the house.
�Yeah�I�m looking forward to tomorrow�s ride,� Lance replied. He had not been on a horse in quite some time and was eager to get back on a horse. �Want to join us, Chris?� Lance asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
�No way�won�t ride one of those things unless I absolutely have to,� Chris said with a shake of his head. �Besides, someone will have to watch the others�and�since you talked to Dr. Shannon, I�ll cover for you tomorrow.� Chris put his arm around Lance�s shoulders as they quietly laughed. The pair entered the living room and barely saw the back of three heads over the back of the couch.
�Well�let�s get everybody off to bed,� Chris said, as he walked to the front of the couch, followed by Lance. With a yawn, he looked down at the sight before him. JC, Justin, and Joey were all seated on a long, leather couch, fast asleep. JC sat at one end of the couch, his right elbow resting on the armrest with his head in his hand, while Joey mimicked the same position, but at the other end of the couch. Justin was seated at the middle of the couch with his chin resting on his chest.
Lance shook his head as he and Chris began to work together in waking up the three sleeping figures.
Minutes later, after a little coordination on Chris and Lances part, they were finally able to get JC, Justin, and Joey settled into two separate bedrooms. Lance would stay with Justin and Joey while Chris would stay with JC in order to awaken him several times throughout the night.
It was well after midnight when all five members of the group were fast asleep.
They never heard the front door opening or the footsteps right outside their bedrooms. Two figures quietly stole into the rooms in search for specific items. Once the items had been located, the two figures signaled to each other and they left the bedrooms and entered into the darkened living room.
�Found them,� one of the men said, opening his hand to reveal several different pills.
�Put them in here,� the other said, handing over a small Ziploc plastic bag. �These will come in real handy.�
�Yeah�put a few of these in a canteen of water and he won�t know what hit him,� the other said with a snicker.
�Sh�let�s get out of here, before somebody hears us.�
The pair silently stole out of the house without anyone ever being aware of their presence.