Date: Wed, 08 Mar 2006 13:30:39 -0500 From: Miguel Sanchez Subject: What Happened to Neil Ch. 2 Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and that of love. Any resemblance to actual places, events, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. This story may contain erotic and/or sexually explicit behavior between consenting teens. If it is illegal for you to, or you find this sort of work offensive, don't download or read it! The people in this story do not use protection because diseases don't exist here. However, in our world they do so please use caution and protection. This story is protected by copyright. It may not be downloaded or copied for other than your private enjoyment and may not be changed in any way without the expressed written consent of the author. This story may not be put on any pay to view site. I reply to all emails, except flames. You may write me at miguel_sanchez55@hotmail.com I hope you enjoy this story. Miguel Sanchez What Happened to Neil Chapter 2 "Can Mike still stay with me?" he asked. "I'm not gonna leave you," I said ruffling his hair. Dr. French smiled and went out to write the orders. I sat down and rubbed his hand when another Doctor came in. I didn't know who he was when Dr. French came back in and said, "The transfer orders have been written. This is Dr. Paddock. He is a psychiatrist." The boy looked at him and said, "I don't know what we can talk about. Like I told Dr. French here, I don't remember anything before I woke up last night." "Well we can talk in private about that," he said. "Look Doc," the boy said. "I don't know you. From what I know about Mike, he's been here with me since I was brought in. For right now, I want Mike here." "I don't," he started when Dr. French put his hand on his shoulder. "Can I see you outside for a minute Doctor," he asked. The two doctors stepped outside and Dr. French said, "He just woke up after being in a coma for a week. He doesn't remember his name and Mike is like a life line to him right now. Mike is his legal guardian so he can ask you be replaced anytime. There's no sign of abuse but even if there was, he is the parent for all intents and purposes." "I just don't work like that," Dr. Paddock said. "You will with him or he's not your patient, since I am his attending," Dr. French said. "Have you ever had anything like this before?" "Well no," he said. "Then tread very lightly, Doctor," Dr. French said. "I do know this. It could take months for him to recover. Do I make myself quite clear?" "Alright Doctor," he said. "I'll do as the boy asks." They walked back in just as two nurses came to transfer the boy to another room. The nurses rolled him, bed and all, out of the unit and to the elevator. They got him into his hew room and I had them put the television for him. I wanted to get him back into the world and what better way than for him to see some television. The nurses got a report from the PICU team and they all knew that I would be with him for most of each day. The new nurses checked his vitals and showed him how to use the call bell and television. He still had his IV so Dr. French put him on a soft lunch to see how he tolerated food. If he kept it down without any problems, he could have a regular diet. Once it was just us again, I looked at him and said, "You know kiddo, we need to figure out a name for you. I can't keep calling you son or kiddo all the time." "I don't know Mike," he said starting to get upset. "I've tried to remember but I just can't." I sat on the side of his bed and said, "Shh now sport, don't cry. I wasn't meaning it like that. Is there a name you really like that we can use until we find out what your real name is?" He thought for a few minutes then said, "Well, there is a name I like." "OK," I said. "What is it?" "Neil," he said. "Don't ask me why though." "Alright then, Neil it is," I said. "We can just go with the flow for right now." Neil's lunch tray came in and he quickly dove into it devouring it in record time. The nurse came back in and said, "Well young man, looks like you really enjoyed that?" "Yeah," he said. "Can I get something else please?" "I'll see what I can find," she said. She brought him another tray and said, "Here you go my boy, enjoy." "Call me Neil," he said. "OK Neil," she said heading out the door. Neil ate his second tray when I said, "I'm going to get something to eat and bring it here. I'll be back in a few minutes." I went down to the cafeteria and got something to eat and went to bring it back to Neil's room. While I was gone he had a visitor. "Well, hello there son," Dr. Paddock said looking around the room. "Uh hi," Neil said. "What do you want?" "Just want to talk with you," the doctor said. "Uh well Mike's not here so I'll wait for him," Neil said. "Now, now," the doctor said. "You're a big boy. You don't need him. Now tell me, what happened to you?" "I, I don't remember," he said. "Now come on," the doctor said. "A bright boy like you can't remember? I know you remember what happened. Were you out doing something you shouldn't have and that's why you're pretending you don't remember?" "I don't know," Neil said getting visibly upset. "Yes you do," the man said. "I know you do. Just tell me and this will all be over." Tears were streaming down Neil's face as he shouted, "Stop it, I told you I don't remember." I was just outside his room when I heard Neil yelling. I opened the door and saw Dr. Paddock standing over him saying, "You're lying to me." "JUST WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" I screamed dropping my lunch on the floor. "Mike, he thinks I'm lying to him," Neil said crying. "You were told not to be here without me being present," I said hurrying over to Neil's side. A nurse heard all the commotion and came into the room. I saw her and said, "Get Dr. French here right away." Dr. French was on the floor and quickly came in and saw Dr. Paddock with Neil in tears. "What happened?" Neil said, "He thinks I'm lying Dr. French. He doesn't believe me when I said I don't remember." Dr. French picked up the phone and punched a few buttons then said, "Page Dr. Chase to room 351 STAT." I looked at the so called doctor and said, "Just what do you have to say for yourself?" "I was just talking with him in general," Paddock said. "I wasn't making any accusations." "Bull shit," Neil said. "You said I was doing something I knew was wrong so that's why I was making this up." I never said that," he said. "I don't think the boy would lie," Dr. French said. "He's a kid," the doctor said. "They lie all the time." "That line again?" A voice said. "What have I told you about brow beating patients?" I looked over at the voice and said, "And who are you?" "I'm Dr. William Chase," he said. "I'm head of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services." Dr. French stepped over and said, "I told him NOT to talk with the boy unless Mike was here. This was what the child wanted." "Is this true?" Dr. Chase asked. "Uh well," he started. "That's good enough for me," Chase said. "I've told you one more incident and I was suspending you. Well guess what, this is that incident and you're suspended." I had sat down beside Neil and said, "Thank you, Dr. Chase. He wants to be called Neil." "You remembered your name?" Dr. French asked. "Not exactly," Neil said. "It's a name I like so when Mike said to come up with a name I liked, that's what I did." "It was getting a little stale calling him either son or kiddo so that's what I did," I said. "Not a bad idea," Dr. Chase said walking over to Neil. "How would you like to talk with me sometime?" "I guess," Neil said. "I still want Mike here." "Not a problem Neil," Dr. Chase said. "You relax now and we'll talk later. I heard you had a pretty nasty blow to your head so it's not surprising your memory is a little scrambled." Neil's injuries were healing well and I was able to get him in a wheelchair and wheel him around the floor and even go down to the gift shop and cafeteria. He had been in his room for about 10 days when I saw Sgt. O'Farrell. I had just come back from the cafeteria when he said, "Ah hi Mike and how's the lad doing?" "He's doing really well now," I said opening the door and going inside. "His memory hasn't returned but his injuries are continuing to healing nicely." Sgt. O'Farrell walked over to Neil and said, "How are you feeling lad? You gave me a good scare last week." "Do you know me Sir?" Neil asked. "No lad, I don't," the officer said. "I was the officer on duty when you were brought in." "Oh," Neil said. "I'm not feeling too bad. Mike is able to get me out of the room for a while but I'm gonna have these casts on for another couple of weeks." "I hope you get well soon," the cop said. I walked out with the officer and when the door closed he said to me, "Mike, I think we now know who his is." "Really," I said beaming. "Who is he and how do you know this?" "His parents are talking with Dr. French and another doctor," Sgt. O'Farrell said. "Let me get Neil watching some television so I can meet with them," I said. I went inside and told Neil I needed to talk with Dr. French and I would be back in a few minutes. He didn't have a problem with it so I followed the officer to the conference room. I went inside and there with Dr. French were a young man and woman. Dr. French stood and said, "Mike these are Neil's parent's Adam and Barbara Jefferies. And yes, his first name is Neil." I was stunned at that point. Some how Neil chose his real name when I asked him to pick one. I shook their hands then said, "Hi, I'm Mike Marshall. I'm Neil's foster parent." "Foster parent?" His Mother asked. "When Neil was brought in, no one knew who he was so Social Services were called," I said. "I've handled about a dozen troubled and special teens." "Well we will be taking him home when he gets out of here," Mr. Jefferies said. "I don't think so," I said looking at them. "Is one of you prepared to be with him 24 hours a day? And what about him, I doubt he will know who you are. "We both work," Mrs. Jefferies said. "Then I think it would be best if he stay with me in foster care until his casts come off and he starts physical therapy," I said. "Now I'm not saying you're not needed here. He needs to know who you are and be in his life but with both of you working, he will need someone with him at all times." Dr. Chase said, "We're getting ahead of ourselves here." "I have one question," I said. "How come it took two weeks for you to realize Neil was missing?" "School trip," Mr. Jefferies said. "He was supposed to be on a school trip. He was to be home today and when the school said he didn't go, we knew something was wrong." "Why didn't the school call?" I asked. "They thought he was home sick," Mrs. Jefferies said. I was about to say something when a voice said, "Dr. French room 351 STAT." I was out the door like a shot running to Neil's room. I hit the door and went over to him saying, "Calm down son, it's ok." He wrapped his arm around me and put his head on my shoulder. He was shaking and said, "I, I had a b- bad dream," "Shh son," I said soothingly. "It's OK. Take in some slow deep breaths. I'm here now." Sgt. O'Farrell kept the parents out of the room but they saw how their son interacted with me. He asked the parents, "Did he go to school that day?" "Yeah he did," Mr. Jefferies said. "Well," he started. "When were they supposed to leave on the trip?" "They left about 30 minutes before school started," he said. "The school thought he was sick, that's why he wasn't there when they left and we thought he was on the field trip." "Then someone had to know he was going on that trip," the officer said. "All his friends at school did," Mrs. Jefferies said. "A lot of his friends went." "Who has his property," Mr. Jefferies asked. "What property?" the officer asked. "He didn't have anything on him." "That's odd," Mrs. Jefferies said. "He always has his wallet with him." "Nope," the sergeant said. "All they found was a scrap of paper with a name on it." "What was the name?" Mr. Jefferies asked. "Um," the sergeant thought. "Andrew, I think." "Oh," Mrs. Jefferies said. "That's his best friend Andrew Walker. They were both going on the trip. I think they were supposed to room together." "How does Neil get to school?" Sgt. O'Farrell asked. "He rides their bus," Mr. Jefferies said. "Alright," he said. "This gives us some things to go on now." I finally had Neil calm and he was talking to me. Dr. French and Dr. Chase were at the foot of the bed as I asked, "Can you remember anything son?" "Not really," he said. "All I remember was being chased and running." "Could you see who was chasing you?" Dr. Chase asked. "No I couldn't," he said. "Just that I was being chased." "Are you OK now son?" I asked. "Yeah Mike," Neil said. "Thanks for being here." "He's really good," Mr. Jefferies said. "He's been with Neil since he came out of surgery," Dr. French said. "Neil trusts him. Right now, I don't think he's mentally stable to be away from him." "But he's our son," Mrs. Jefferies said. "That's true," Dr. Chase said. "But right now, I don't think he would recognize you. I would like to introduce you two to him. If he doesn't know who you are, I do want to tell him." I was talking with Neil when Dr. Chase came in with his parents. He looked up and said, "Hi." Dr Chase came in with Mr. and Mrs. Jefferies then looked at Neil and said, "Do you know these people?" He stared at them and said, "No Dr. Chase." I put my arm around him and said, "I can tell you why you like the name Neil." "Oh," Neil said. "Why is that?" "Can you think of a reason you might?" I asked. "Is that my name?" he asked. "Un huh," I said. "Now, can you figure out who these people might be?" "Umm, are they my parents?" He asked. "That's right," I said. "But I don't know them Mike," he said starting to get upset. "That's alright Neil," I said softly. "Your memory will come back. It's just gonna take time." "Alright Mike," Neil said. "Dr. French, I hurt." "Alright son," he said. "I'll have the nurse bring you in your medicine." The nurse came in and I stayed with him until he nodded off to sleep. I went back to the conference room as Dr. Chase said, "I'm not sure if the nightmare he had has anything to do with his memory coming back or a result of the harassment he took from Dr. Paddock this afternoon. I'm leaning to the latter." "I saw how he responds to you," Mrs. Jefferies said. "I'm not trying to take him from you," I said. "We know that," Mr. Jefferies said. "Right now he needs someone and that someone is you. Will he be here until the casts come off?" "Probably not," Dr. French said. "He won't be able to put weight on his bad leg for at least another few weeks. I will redo the x-rays to see how the bones are healing." "We have a big house and Neil's room is on the first floor," Mrs. Jefferies said. "What about the doors?" Dr. French asked. "He's going to need to be in a wheelchair." "That's not a problem," he father said. "We had wide doors put on all the rooms." I listened to conversation then said, "I don't know about him going home without some kind of support system." "We have two other bedrooms," Mr. Jefferies said. "We want you to come and stay with him during the day." "OK," I said. "But he needs to get out a little and see his surroundings." "In time Mike," Dr. Chase said. "He needs time to get acclimated to his new surroundings." "Alright," I said. "We can worry about that later then." Dr. Chase and Dr. French and to leave to see other patients and I needed to check on Neil. I looked at the Jefferies and said, "I would like to talk with you both if that's alright?" "We can do that," Mr. Jefferies said. "Let me check on Neil then we can go down to the cafeteria and talk," I said. I went and looked in on Neil then let the nurse's station know where I would be in case he woke up and I wasn't there. The Jefferies and I went downstairs and I got them coffee. I told them about myself and about some of the kids I'd fostered. I did leave out the part that I was gay because I didn't need any hassles when it came to Neil getting better. I looked at the parents and said, "What can you tell me about Neil? I would like to know everything about him." They looked at each other then said, "Neil is a very personable boy and he has a lot of friends. His best friend is a boy Neil's age." "How old is Neil," I asked "He's almost 15," Mrs. Jefferies said. "Although he doesn't really look his age," Mr. Jefferies said. "He started growing rather late and his body hasn't finished yet." "I sorta noticed that," I said. "I gave his a bed bath today and he does have some more maturing left. Does or did he have a girl friend?" "He had friends that were girls," Mr. Jefferies said. "But as for dating a girl, no he didn't." "Who is this boy you refer to as his best friend?" I asked. "That would be Andrew Walker," Mrs. Jefferies answered. "How long have they known each other?" I asked. They looked at each other then Mrs. Jefferies said, "Since they were about 9 or 10, I think." "Was he into sports or any after school activities?" I asked. "I sense there is more to Neil you're not telling me." They looked at each other then Mr. Jefferies said, "What do you mean?" "Well," he said as if he was carefully choosing his words. "I don't think Neil is like other boys his age." "Now Adam," Mrs. Jefferies said. "You know what I mean, dear," he said to his wife before continuing. "What I mean is I just don't see him with girls like other boys." I wanted to find out more about what he was saying. If Neil is gay, he will need his parents love and support now, more than ever. I looked at them and said, "Are you saying Neil might be homosexual?" "The current term is gay," Mr. Jefferies said. "And this is exactly what I mean. That don't matter to us but I hope it doesn't matter to you either." "Well no," I said. "It doesn't matter to me. You see, I'm gay too. I know the all the terms and some I really hate." "That should help him," Mrs. Jefferies said. "It will when he remembers that too," I said. "Not even amnesia will take that away from who his is. He may have to re-come to grips with it but he is still gay. Has Neil talked with you about this?" "No," Mrs. Jefferies said. "We're waiting for him to come to us." "Wise decision," I said. "What about any of his friends. Might they know?" They looked at each other then Mr. Jefferies said, "I don't know. Andrew might but I just don't think Neil would tell even him." "Agreed," I said. "When we're in the closet, we don't want anyone to know for fear of rejection. The hardest thing for a gay person to do is tell someone. Many a person has lost friends or even had them turn on them and told others. So you're probably right that he hasn't said anything to anyone." "Mike, I'm glad you're here with him," Mrs. Jefferies said. "We wouldn't begin to know how to deal with this." "Well ma'am," I said. "I'm not an expert here either. I'm not pushing his memory but I did have him come up with a name that he liked so I wasn't constantly calling him son, sport or kiddo." "Did he come up with Neil on his own?" Mr. Jefferies asked. "Yep," I said. "Now, he understands you're his parents but he has no memory of you. It's going to take some time for him to get used to having you around him but don't ignore him. Let him get used to you before you go and want to constantly hug him. Did he like to cuddle or be held?" "Yes," Mrs. Jefferies said. "We see that with him now. He's leaning against you wanting contact. That's how he is." "Alright," I said. "When he gets home, just be his friend to start. Ruffle his hair, pat him on the shoulder. I know you'll want to tell him you love him and that's good but I don't know how he's gonna react to it so don't be surprised if he doesn't return your, I love you son." We finished our coffee and headed back to Neil's room. When we arrived, he was just waking up from his nap. "How ya feelin kiddo," I asked cheerfully. "Groggy," he replied. "That stuff works but it takes a while to get the cobwebs out of my head when I wake up." "That's the medication," I said. "It's still in your system helping to keep the pain down." He looked up at his parents and said, "Oh hi, sorry I didn't acknowledge you." "That's ok son," Mr. Jefferies said. "Sir," he said. "I understand you're my parents but I don't know who you are. I know I should love you but." He stopped and started getting upset with himself. Mr. Jefferies put his hand on his shoulder and said, "It's alright Neil. You don't have to worry about that right now. You can call us Adam and Barbara for right now. And yes Neil, we do love you." He looked up at his father then leaned over and buried his face in my shoulder. "What's happening to me Mike? I feel like I'm going crazy." "No you're not son," I said rubbing his hair. "You've been through a lot and you're getting a lot of new things to try and comprehend. Let's just take it easy now and try to relax." The Jefferies and I walked outside while Neil finished calming down. "I didn't know that would upset him like that?" Mr. Jefferies said. "It wasn't what you said that upset him," I said. "It was the fact that he was trying to remember you as his parents but couldn't. I think he understands that you love him but he just doesn't know you so he can feel it. Give it time. I've been with him for two weeks and he hasn't told me how he feels towards me yet." "OK," Mr. Jefferies said. "It's getting late. Thanks for being here with him. We'll let him rest and see him later." They left and I went back in and stayed with Neil. I sat on the edge of the bed and said, "Don't try to force things to come back son. That only leads to frustration. "What's gonna happen to me Mike?" He asked. "Well Neil," I said. "When you are ready to leave here, you will go home to your parent's house?" "YOU'RE GONNA LEAVE ME!" he shouted. "NO son," I said. "Let me finish. The have two extra rooms and I'll be staying there too. Both of them work and you will need someone to help you." "Oh," he said softly. "Sorry I shouted at you. It's just that ever since I've woke up, you've been here for me and well, I don't know what I'd do without you." I drew him into a gentle hug then said, "I've grown quite fond of you too kiddo." "Really?" he said surprised. "Yeah," I said. "I love all my foster children." "I love you too Mike," he said. "What will happen after I get my memory back?" "I'll keep in touch," I said. "I still do that with some of my boys." "I'd like that," Neil said. Neil's dinner tray was brought in and I went to get myself something to eat. I stayed with him until about 9 then his arm started bothering him. I gave him a hug just before the medication kicked in then headed home. I went through my mail and paid some bills then took a shower and went to bed. To be continued