Ch 23: A Familiar Face

“Nine points! Come on, just one more settlement and it’ll be my third win!” Between six games, three wins was pretty good for me.
“Not if I can help it,” Blackhawk said. “Watch out for the robber!”
“B, that stopped working a while ago. Just stop,” Stripes laughed. “Unless a miracle happens, he’s gonna be champ.”
“Champ?” Blackhawk asked.
“Champ,” Stripes responded.
The two of them turned to me and started speaking in unison.

“Champ?”
“Champ?”

“Guys, what’s your deal? You’re buggin’ me out a little,” I said. Suddenly, the table started floating away from me. “Hey! Where are you guys—”

---

“Champ? Hey, Champ!”

I groaned and opened my eyes.
 
“Well, it’s about time! Morning, Champ! You must have been having one heck of a dream.” Dad was standing over me, his hoof moving away from my shoulder.

I rubbed my eyes as I recalled the dream I had just come out of. I sighed and said, “Yeah, I was…”

Mom came up to the bed and kissed me on my forehead. “Morning, Sweetie. Do you remember what’s happening today?”
I yawned and rubbed the grit out of my eyes. “…Not really.”
“They’re doing another round of chemo today.”
I sighed. “Oh, fun. Did they ask you to wake me up right before they started it again?”
“Well, no, but you do need to get up. The heart doctors came in earlier; they want to do an x-ray to see if everything’s alright on their end. They need you to go downstairs first before your chemo starts.”
“Oh… alright.” X-rays aren’t so bad. The most annoying part of it is the waiting. They take forever to get everything in order. I still don’t know why.

“Well, looks like you’re going to have to do a little more walking around,” Dad said. “Probably good for you not to stay in bed all the time.” He gave me a small poke in the ribs. I laughed and poked him back. “They’re going to set your IV up on the pole again, and High Flyer is going to escort you down to Radiology. You want us to come with you?”
I stretched my legs and yawned again. “Nah, s’okay. I think I can manage with High Flyer.”
“Sounds good to me.” Dad nodded to Mom, who returned the gesture.

Right at that moment, High Flyer opened the door, then came into the room. He tilted his head with a flourish and slowly lifted his hoof into the air as he said, “Ah, I see our patient has arisen.” Mom and Dad chuckled, and he quickly dropped the drama act before asking, “Did he have anything to eat?”
Mom sighed. “No, he just woke up. The nutritionists brought his breakfast about two hours ago, so it’s probably cold by now. Sweetie, do you want some…” She lifted a lid from a tray on the table and turned to me. “…asparagus?”
I stuck my tongue out. “Eww, no way. I’ll wait until lunch. Asparagus is horrible when it’s cold.”
Dad laughed. “Haha, my thoughts exactly.”  
High Flyer chuckled. “Alright, but you need to eat something before you start your chemo later, alright? You’re not going to feel very good if you don’t.”
I waved a hoof at him. “I know, I know. Let’s just go downstairs.”

High Flyer hooked my IV up to the pole and helped me out of bed. My legs wobbled as I hit the floor.
“Need a hoof, Crimson?” High Flyer asked.
“Nah, I’m okay.” I held up a hoof as I steadied myself. “Just gotta wake up.”
“Alright. We’ll walk slowly, okay?”
“Okay.” I turned and waved to Mom and Dad. “See you guys in a bit.” As I walked out the door with High Flyer, he pushed my pole along beside me.

As we walked down the hallway towards the elevator, we passed an empty room. I saw that the nametag was still on the door, along with a picture of the Power Ponies. Other nurses were making the bed and putting on clean sheets. I tried to keep moving, but I stopped short and let out a deep sigh.

When High Flyer realized I had stopped, he turned around and found me with my head low. “Crimson, are you alright?” When my legs started wobbling again, he held me up by one of my hooves as I tried to steady myself again.
I looked over at the door for a few seconds and sniffled before I said, “Yeah, I guess.”
High Flyer followed my gaze, then gave a sigh of his own and nodded. “I gotcha. I’m sorry, Crimson. It’s always upsetting when it happens, but it does happen. There’s only so much that we can do.”
“…I know.”

---

”One, two, three, four! Four fruit bats! Ah ah ahhh!”
“You say fruit? Me LOVE fruit! OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!”

I glared at the screen across the room. Those little kid shows are always on the TVs in the x-ray waiting area. They never show anything else. I wish they’d put on some Doctor Whooves or something.
I’d been waiting for over half an hour; like I said, the waiting is the worst part. I just sat there, glaring at the annoying vampony and… creature on the TV. That was, until a small, dark blue pegasus stumbled over my hoof.

I started, “Oh! Sorry, I didn’t see y— Hey, is that you, Inkwell?”
The little colt looked at me for a split second before he smiled and exclaimed, “Crimmy!” He threw his hooves up to give me a hug, which I happily returned.
I looked at High Flyer, who gave his approval with a smile and nod. “You know this colt?”
I smiled back at High Flyer and said, “Yep.” I turned to the pegasus and ruffled his mane. “Little guy was my roommate a few years ago.”

“Well, that’s one way to find you!” I turned to my right and saw the violet pegasus mare who was following the little colt.
“Hey, Joy.” I nodded at the mare. “You guys here for a clinic?”
“Yes, we are. This is our last stop, but we were going to come and drop in on you when we were done. Your mom’s been in touch with me. Are you doing alright?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I guess. I have chemo when I’m done here, so I may not be the best company.”
“Alright. We won’t stay that long if you don’t—”

“Crimmy, you look funny wid no hair,” the colt chimed in.
“Inkwell! That’s not nice!” Joy glared at her son.
I laughed. “Haha, it’s okay. I agree. Besides, it’ll grow back… eventually.”

“Crimson Star!”

Finally. “That’s me. I guess I’ll see you guys in a bit. I’m in room 522— fifth floor.”
“Alright. See you later, Crimson!”
“Bye, Crimmy!” The little colt waved to me as I walked through the waiting room to the back hall.

High Flyer smiled at me as we walked to the x-ray room. “What did you mean, he was your roommate, Crimson?”
I responded, “When I had my transplant a few years ago, he needed one, too. We shared a room here on the Heart floor. He had just been born.”
“Wow. How’s he doing?”
“Pretty good, as far as I know. I’ll probably find out later when they come upstairs.” I shrugged.

High Flyer nodded to a door an attendant was standing in front of. “Okay, I’ll stay out here. They’ll tell you what to do.”
“Right. Be out in a sec.” I followed the attendant inside as she rolled my pole around, then covered me with a heavy gown.

“I’m moving this over here, out of the way of the machine. Stand here, and grab this board, please.”
I nodded at her. “Got it.”