Knight

As Dalton takes her around the waist, Dani gives a laughing shriek. Flipped around with ease by the big man, she suddenly finds herself clinging to his back as he continues to run. Unable to help it, her laughter continues.

Dani hangs on for dear life with her arms and legs, and for a moment, she felt like a little kid again. It was a sensation she hadn't felt for a quite a while.

As Dalton slows down, reaching the trail, Dani is out of breath, just from hanging on. Still giggling, she just stays on his back for a moment, even though they're stopped. Resting her head on his shoulder, her cheek rests against hers. "So does this make you the knight in shining armor, or the knight's horse?"


Bret just gives a slight nod as Charlotte leaves, trying to wake up more. It doesn't take long before she's back with the doctor.

"Well Bret, welcome back."

Bret smiles weekly. "Hey, doc."

JT returns the smile and moves closer. "How are you feeling?"

"Um... tired."

"Mm-hmm... you've had a rough go of it." JT checks on Bret's vitals, shines a light in his eyes again, and pokes and prods a little.

"What's the worst of it?" Bret asks, enduring the inspection.

"Well, you got a nice bump on your head and you're going to be off of your ankle for a while. I'm sure you've felt the pain in your shoulder."

"Yeah, what'd I do to it?"

"A good job on it, I'll give you that." JT continues the examination. "Bottom line is, you broke it. Your neck got twisted around pretty well too." He moves to Bret's lower body, still poking around, pressing in on Bret's hip. "Does that hurt?"

Bret shakes his head.

"Can you feel this?"

Bret shakes his head again.

JT purses his lips grimly, working down Bret's right side, continuing to ask, but getting the same answer, even when asking him to move his leg or foot. After a few minutes, Bret's fear has risen. "Just give it to me straight, eh?"

JT straightens and sighs, folding his arms. He looks to Charlotte, then back down to Bret. "I'm not sure. Right now you're experiencing paralysis in your lower right side. It's not surprising, due to the trauma on your spinal cord, but I'm hoping it's temporary."

Bret stares up at the ceiling, a sinking feeling in his gut. "How do we know if it is?"

"Just give it time."

Though Bret wanted a more solid answer, he knew the doctor wouldn't have one. "Now what?"

"Rest." JT jots a few things down on his clipboard. "I want to keep you for a few days anyway, and we'll go from there." He offers another smile, trying to encourage both Bret and Charlotte. "If either of you need anything, let me or one of the nurses know."

Once JT has left, the room is quiet again. It's evident that a lot of things are running through Bret's mind - especially racing. A broken shoulder... paralysis. Driving wasn't even a possibility.

"Guess that's that then, huh." His hand fidgets with the bed sheet. "So much for this season." Not only did it upset him, but now they wouldn't have that income either.