Falling on Dead Ears

Ellie watched as Travis stumbled into the house, one arm slung around Andy’s shoulders. She frowned at the limp and lack of weight Travis seemed to be able to support on his left knee. Andy simply shook his head and glanced up at her.

“There go a handful of knee surgeries.” He chirped. With that Ellie was pulling out a chair and ushering them over.

Travis let his leg extend out as he sat down and gripped the side of the chair so he didn’t miss it. Ellie removed his helmet and ran a cool hand threw his damp hair. She looked down at him as he glanced up at her timidly.

What happened? Travis rubbed his face.

“Didn’t make the full rotation, bike landed on my leg and knee as I hit the dirt.” He stated nervously, flinching as his finished.

I thought you were still working in the foam pit. She rushed out as she glanced down at his knee. She could see blood oozing through his jeans already clotting and bright red.

“So did I. Derek moved me to dirt a few minutes ago.” Travis sighed, watching as she timidly reached out towards his knee.

“Even though you hadn’t landed more than ten of them in the pit today.” Andy snorted. Travis shrugged lightly.

Ellie licked her lips and gently touched Travis’s knee, pulling her hand back to look at the small red stains on her finger pads. Lifting her fingers to him he tipped his head back.

“Call an ambulance.” Travis groaned.

“A wam-bulance?” Derek teased as he walked in the house.

“Are you sure?” Andy asked nervously.

“I’m bleeding…from my knee.” Travis groaned. Derek rolled his eyes as Ellie tried to roll Travis’s pant leg up. He just had to wear jeans today though.

She frowned at the blood seeping down his calve as she only got it half way up. Her eyes kept flickering up to meet his face, wondering if she was hurting him or not. Travis watcher her nervously, he really didn’t want to see what his knee looked like just yet, but he had to know.

“It’s not that bad.” Derek stated. Travis glared over at him.

“Have you seen my leg?” Travis growled pointing at the blood running down his limb. Gasping he groaned as Ellie finally reached his knee. Gently as she could, she pushed his jeans over his swollen knee. Her hand stopped a few inches away from her mouth at the sight.

“That’s where the peg went.” Travis teased, trying to make a joke. Ellie glanced up at him nervously before at his split open, gushing blood, knee. Travis could see exactly where the foot peg had slammed into his knee and left a gaping wound with out getting stuck. “Awesome.”

“You’re not going to be able to walk for a while let alone compete any time soon.” Andy breathed seeing it. “There on their way.” Travis gave a thumbs-up as the others entered the kitchen.

Ellie whimpered and quickly grabbed towels and began applying pressure to his knee, leaving a few on the floor under his leg. To her, it’d be a miracle if he could walk again, to Travis it was just another day in painful paradise.

“Pastrana.” The EMT’s greeted as they walked into the kitchen thirty minutes later.

“Butch, Allen.” Travis greeted back at the two men. The two kneeled down next to him. “By the way boys,” He sighed. Both looked up at him. “This is Ellie,” He waved a hand at Ellie standing over him nervously, her hands gently holding his shoulders. “She’ll be enjoying our ride to the hospital today.” The two EMt’s rolled their eyes and crouched down to his knee.

“Who bandaged this?” Allen asked as Butch quickly left to go get the stretcher. Travis simply pointed up at Ellie. “Not bad.” He grumbled.

“I think I can stand.” Travis stated as Butch rolled the gurney in. Allen laughed.

“Don’t even try standing.” Both stated.

“Nah I think I,” Ellie pushed Travis back down at glared at the back of his head. He was listening to the EMT’s even if it killed her.

“What?” Travis asked over his shoulder. She simply shook her head.

“We’ll take this.” Butch stated as he and Allen both lifted Travis onto the gurney. Huffing Travis adjusted his hat and glanced over at Ellie’s worry stuck face. Reaching out he took her hand. “Let’s go.”

Ellie sat by the doors nervously as she watched them examine Travis’s knee. Her leg bounced as she chewed on her thumb nail nervously. She wanted to tell Travis he’d be fine, she wanted to hear what they were saying about his knee, and she wanted to hear Travis tell her that he’d be fine. She wanted to do a lot of thing in that moment but her heart was beating to fast and she couldn’t seem to get the world to slow down long enough for her to do the few she could.

The waiting room was worse than the ambulance. No one would tell her anything, and no one would listen to her, or could listen to the pleading words leaking off her hands. She wasn’t family so they refused to tell her anything. All she knew was Travis was rushed straight into surgery. They’d come through those doors and some nurse was slapping mask full of oxygen over his face while another put an IV full of god-knows-what into his arm to knock him out. They hadn’t even made it to the front desk by the time Travis’s eyes were drooping and his head was rolling back.

Wringing her hands nervously she glanced around the room. People were coughing up lungs and sneezing into Kleenex, some were cradling limbs to their chest or clutching the lower ones, but none seemed to be sitting around worried half to death like she was and not a single face was familiar. There was no one there to tell her things like this happened all the time and he’d be fine. There was no one to drill those two facts into her brain so the ‘what if’s’ would stop plaguing her like a bad sitcom re-run mid afternoon.

Licking her lips she glanced down at the dingy linoleum floor the fluorescent lights were reflecting off. Pushing her knees closer together and her toes into the floor more she tried to keep one knee from bouncing and the rest of her body shaking with worry.

Tears welled in her eyes after the first thirty minutes and small sniffles came from her as her eyes darted around the room. She knew it’d take a while for everyone to show up, but did it really take as long as it was.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she jumped out of her skin, spinning in the hard plastic blue chair. Andy smiled down at her sadly and nodded his head over to where everyone had collected chairs in the corner.

Standing she walked around the small family waiting to get their small child looked at and over to the large group.

“Do you know anything?” She shook her head at Jolene’s words. “Debbie’s going to find out.” Ellie followed the direction Jolene’s finger was pointed in to Debbie and Robert standing at the desk. “We’ll know soon.” She whispered. Nodding Ellie sat down in the middle of the group, still feeling oddly alone.

The poke to her side made her jump as she glanced over at Jim.

“What happened?” Ellie sighed.

The second they got him through the doors they had an oxygen mask on him and were putting IVs in him. He was passed out cold before they hit the desk. Jim nodded slowly.

“He’s going to be okay.” Jim stated hugging her into his side. Not even he believed that at this point. Sure Travis would live, but it was a matter of if he’d walk again. He was usually the one riding in the ambulance and taking note of what happened the second Travis was wheeled through the front door. Not once had they treated Travis in a fashion that Ellie had just described, not unless they thought he was about to die.

She nodded weakly at the thought and waited as Debbie and Robert walked over slowly. Debbie was relatively pale compared to normal. Ellie stood and bit her lip nervously.

“He’ll be fine.” Robert nodded. Debbie glanced over at him slightly horrified. “He might not walk but he’ll live.” He clarified.

“They said it doesn’t look good but he’s in surgery.”

“He’s is going to end up like Bilko.” The group groaned at the thought of Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams and all his knee troubles. “If not worse.” They all groaned.

“Okay.” The doctor chirped. “You,” he pointed at Ellie. “Are a new face.” She glared at him. “anyway, when he comes he’ll need to be informed that every two months he’ll have to have the fluid and blood drained from behind his brand new metal parts.” Ellie didn’t like this man, he was far too chipper on the subject. “after the first year or so, if he hasn’t hurt it again, which I highly doubt,” He sighed as the group snorted and rolled their eyes at Travis not hurting himself. “we might be able to expand that window. For now, he’s not allowed to ride for the next six or so months. So try to keep him away as tough as it might be.” He smiled. “That’s it. Here ya go mom.” He handed Debbie a few papers before leaving.

Ellie was still glaring at his back. Turning to Jim she pointed at the closed door.

“Yeah we know. But he’s the best in town.” She rolled her eyes at the idea.

Sighing she turned looking at Travis’s snoring, drooling form. They’d really knocked him out and it was understandable, a fourteen hour surgery needed the best drugs on the market. Sucking in a deep breath she grabbed a Kleenex and removed the drool that was slowly rolling down his chin.