The clerk clicks a few keys on her keyboard and smiles up at her. “He is on the fourth floor, room 412.” Anya rushes to the elevator and waits impatiently for the next one. Inside the elevator, every beep the panel makes causes her heart to flutter. When they finally open, Anya hurries down the brightly lit hall and follows the arrows pointing on the wall.
The scent of sanitizer is almost overpowering, as she walks past the busy curved nursing station where they monitor the patients. A multitude of computer screens blinks with green lights and pulsing lines. She wonders if her Da is on one of those screens and her feet pick up speed.
At the end of the hall, she finds his door. It is cracked and she knocks, pushing it open. The T.V. screen is on, tuned to some obscure game show, the hospital bed is ruffled and empty. “Da?” She whispers and drops her suitcase on the floor.
“What’s a man got to do, to get some peace around here?” The sound of his rough voice causes Anya’s green eyes to fill with tears and she spins to greet him. A nurse rolls him in a wheelchair and laughs.
“You will back in your bed in no time, Mr. Callahan. The doctor ordered the x-rays.” The blonde nurse smiles at Anya and stops the chair, locking the wheels in place.
“Da?” She asks louder this time. Anya drinks in the sight of her father, from his long silver wavy hair to his beautiful blue wrinkled eyes. His left arm is in a sling and his face is bruised a bit. On one foot, he is wearing a black boot like contraption. His tan skin is a bit pale for her liking.
“Come on and give us a hug then,” he says, rising slowly with the nurse’s help. Anya rushes into his arms and lets her tears flow. She drinks in the feel of his barrel chest and whispers a prayer of thanks for his safety. Keane stares down at his daughter and groans when she squeezes a bit too hard.
Anya leaps back, “I’m sorry, Da. Did I hurt you?” The nurse smiles and asks Anya to move the wheelchair back.
“A waif like you, hurt me? You wound me, daughter.” Keane settles back into his bed and the two women cover him while adjusting his pillows. Anya holds onto his hand, finding she is unable to stop touching him.
“What are the x-rays for? Is your arm broken? What about your ribs and your leg?” Anya’s questions pour out, the nurse looks at Keane and back at her.
“Easy now love, I’m okay. Let the pretty nurse finish up and I will tell you everything. Now sit down before you fall over.” Keane watches Anya collapse into a chair.
“My name is Blake. I’m on duty until midnight. The doctor will make his rounds in the next hour, hopefully. He will be able to answer all of your questions then. For now, I’m going to administer his pain medication, and take his blood pressure.”
Anya smiles at the two of them as he teases Blake and she captures the readings she needs and types them into her rolling computer. She promises some tea for Keane and coffee for Anya, then leaves rolling her cart from the small room.
“I told you not to come back, Anya. I’m fine.” Keane grumbles.
“What happened, Da? Who did this to you, and why?” Anya asks, sitting on the edge of his bed. She thought seeing him would alleviate her anxiety, but all it did was shift her terror to rage. For a moment her hands grow warm and the sound in the room dims. Anya stands on quaky legs and pours a glass of water from the pitcher on his stand. She sips it and breathes, deep, and slow, to calm her heart down. The sound of her father’s voice helps soothe her and jerks her back to the present.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see them. I was giving a tour of St. Michans and while the group was taking a break, I went outside for a smoke. They hit me from behind. I held my own, I did, but the bastards got away with my wallet.” Keane leans back and closes his wrinkled eyes as his medicine begins to work. His yawn is mighty and Anya sighs, knowing her questions will have to wait.
“Alright, you sleep, Da. I will be here when you wake up. I want to talk to the doctor myself.” He nods and she watches him sleep and sips on her coffee that the nurse gives her.
Anya sends Katie a quick text to let her know she has arrived and moves her suitcase over to the small recliner. After freshening up in the small bathroom, she sits to wait. Anya stares at the bruised and swollen hands that she loves and has to fight back tears. She is standing next to the window when the doctor enters an hour later. He is tall, blonde and handsome. He seems surprised to find Anya in the room.
“Dr. Goodall at your service, Miss?” He asks softly, staring at the beautiful young woman.
“Anya Callahan, his daughter.” He looks the chart over and smiles as he approaches his patient.
“Excellent. I need to examine your father, if you’d like to stay, feel free, or you can step outside.”
“I will be right outside, but I do have some questions,” Anya replies.
“Oh, she’ll have more than a few questions,” Keane sits up coughing. He grasps his ribs and the doctor walks over to listen with his stethoscope.
Anya ducks outside the door and paces while she waits. Ten minutes, later the doctor joins her as he writes in a chart. “Miss Callahan, from what I understand, your father was assaulted by four assailants and took a
