Chapter Eight
December 21, 2029 Paris, Territory of France "Does it hurt when I press here?" Michelle asked, gently pressing Hammond's collarbone with two of her fingers. "Slightly yes," Hammond groaned. He glanced inquisitively at her. "Why aren't you helping Zeke?" Michelle brushed away a tear as she replied, "They wanted me to take a break since I have been feverishly working for thirty-nine hours with only fifteen minutes worth of breaks." "What about Zeke?" Hammond softly asked. "Is he alright?" "I don't know," Michelle shrugged, tears glistening in her eyes. "Dr. Janie Grahmn kept me in here and everywhere else for the past three hours and she barely even let me tend to you." "Three hours huh," Hammond whistled. "Is that how long I've been out?" "Roughly," Michelle answered. She softly touched Hammond's bruised face and informed him, "I suspect this bruise on your cheek bone has something to do with your long-term unconsciousness. How do you feel?" "I feel like I got kicked around like a football during Rugby," Hammond muttered. He told her, "I feel sortive light-headed and dizzy." He closed his eyes as he began to feel like the room was beginning to spin. "Well," Michelle told him, "We numbed your shoulder in order to remove the bullet and the lightheadedness and dizziness you feel came from that concussion to your head. And it seems as if you received some fractured ribs." She paused as she pondered Hammond's symptoms. Michelle placed her hand on his side and felt the hair-line fractures. She began to softly press upon the area, trying to get an image of what had happened to him. Upon hearing Hammond moan, Michelle eased up and ventured to the bruise on his face. She gently ran her fingers over the dark bruise and was taken aback by the similarities. "Charlie," Michelle inquired softly, "Did you guys wind up I hand to hand combat?" "No," Hammond sighed. He longed for information regarding Zeke's health. "Then how did you receive these massive blows?" Michelle questioned. "You were aggressively kicked weren't you?" "Yes." "By who?" "General Arkansas." "But why would he do that to you?" Michelle asked, starring at him concernedly. "Because he found out somehow, that I had a recording of him stating that he had conspired to assassinate Francois de Lumiere and President John Ragenbrough." Michelle gasped in surprise. "He's responsible for their deaths?" "'Fraid so," Hammond replied. He let a few seconds go by before whispering, "I'm sorry Michelle." "For what?" Michelle curiously asked him. "Arkansas demanded the tape and he took Zeke as his hostage. I told Arkansas where the tape was if he let Zeke go but he still shot him anyways." "You mean to tell me that that lying bastard shot my fiancé!" Michelle exclaimed. She steadied herself on the bed rail. She stood their gasping for a few seconds before announcing, "I'm going to find out how Zeke is doing now." Hastily rushing out of the room, Michelle ran towards the trauma room. She searched for the room in which Zeke was at. The halls were still bustling with patients coming in for medical help and doctors were scrambling about, trying to reach people with the worst conditions imaginable. Michelle raced past them and located Zeke's room and pushed open the door. A hand pulled the door close with a bang. Michelle turned and starred tearfully at Doctor Janie Grahmn. The doctor, roughly her age, glared at Michelle and sharply demanded, "Just where do you think you're going Ms. Kohl?" "Please," Michelle begged. "Please let me help the doctors with him! I must know how he's doing! Please let me help him!" "The answer is no Michelle," Janie hissed. "You can suffer your own consequences of letting him run off into battle! Sides, I am a qualified second year resident and," "I am a second year resident too!" Michelle screamed angrily. "I need to be in there, Janie and you know it!" Just then, the door opened and Doctor Clarke, a third-year, Algerian resident, peered out. He looked directly at Michelle and sighed, relieved, "Oh God, thank you. Michelle, Zeke's still out but he's moving around too much and won't settle down. He repeatedly calls for you and we can't operate on him till he stops moving." He held the door open and allowed Michelle to pass through. Betty ran by and as she flew by, called to Janie, "Dr. Grahmn, you're needed in the E.R. There's a man with half his arm missing and we need you." "But I'm working here," Janie protested. Behind her, the trauma door shut. Janie glared at the door. As Betty ran towards the trauma room, she yelled, "Well you just got reassigned girl! Get over here, now!" Sighing agitatedly, Janie reluctantly dashed off in Betty's direction.
Michelle followed the kind doctor over to Zeke, letting Doctor Clarke explain to her in details of Zeke's condition. " . . . and he just recently started moving around," Doctor Clarke explicated to Michelle. "He suffered a shot to the cranium but luckily the bullet went straight through and not damaging any vital organs or tissues. He was also shot in the liver and in the right scapula. The bullet is still lodged in there and we can't remove it or repair and damaged organs until he stops moving." "I can handle that," Michelle told him, swooping down next to Zeke's bed. She slipped her hand into Zeke's, bent down next to him, and whispered, "I'm here baby. I'm here." "Michelle," Zeke moaned. His tossing lessened. He whispered, "I love you Michelle." Michelle smiled gently, letting the tears run freely off her face. She stroked his hair and gently kissed him on the cheek while softly whispering, "I love you too Zeke." Suddenly, a loud, steady whine startled the surgeons. Doctor Damon Stewart announced, "Flat line." The student doctor, Alona Leavitt retrieved the paddles and brought them over to the third year resident, Doctor Clarke. Taking the paddles, Doctor Clarke instructed, "Start at two! On my mark, clear!" Zeke's body jerked upwards as a hundred volts of electricity surged through his body. Michelle held tightly to his hand. The steady whine of the flat line continued. "Move it up to two-fifty!" Doctor Clarke instructed. "On my mark, clear!" Again, Zeke's body jolted upwards. A steady, systematic beep monitored Zeke's heart rate. Sighing in relief, the doctors relaxed a touch. They starred expectantly at the teary-eyed Michelle as she breathed more easily. She bent over, pressed her lips upon Zeke's hand, and continued on holding his hand. The doctors moved in; Doctor Stewart approached Michelle and told her, "Doctor Kohl, we're going to begin operation on the scapula now so if you'd," "I'll go," Michelle told him without hesitation. She announced to the doctors, "I want to thank you for letting me come in, see him, and be with him." The doctors nodded appreciatively. Doctor Stewart said, "You're welcome Michelle. Now, we need you to go and help the others out. Please take Alona with you. She needs the training." Michelle nodded and waited for Alona before exiting the room. With a long, wistful glance back at her love, Michelle departed from the room.
0900 hours Sleepily, Michelle awoke. She gazed about in the doctors' lounge in which she had fallen asleep. A pastel yellow, wool blanket had been placed on her. Michelle saw her best friend Tami Heller, another second year resident, sitting across from her on the hard, orange plastic chairs surrounding a small, round, gray table with her legs kicked up on top of the table. Unlike Michelle, Tami had been awake for some time and was glad to see Michelle finally waking up. "Heh-low," Tami greeted the sleepy Michelle. Tami's legs were flicked up on the table and the short, blond hair girl wearing pigtails greeted her best friend. "It's about time you woke up." "Thanks," Michelle mumbled. She glanced at her watch. Seeing that the time was nine o'clock, Michelle exclaimed, "Holy cow! I've been asleep for three hours! I only closed my eyes for a brief second!" Tami smirked, retrieving a granola bar off the table, "You were so cute when I saw you sleeping that I couldn't bring myself to waking you! Hungry?" "Yes," Michelle mumbled. Tami chucked the granola bar at Michelle. The bar flew through the air and smacked Michelle in the forehead before falling into her lap. Michelle ran her hand over her face. "Guess my reaction is off today," Michelle tried to explain. "Uh-huh," Tami replied unimpressed. "You didn't even try to catch it?" "Hmm?" Michelle questioned. Tami burst out laughing, "Maybe you need to sleep some more Michelle! You're a walking zombie!" "No, I am fine," Michelle told her. "If I'm planning on becoming a third year resident," "I need to practice not getting enough sleep and being able to make accurate decisions!" "Yeah, you'll need a quicker reaction time before I make a regular habit of throwing granola bars at you!" Tami laughed. Michelle returned the friendly laugh. Then she grew serious. "Sides, I want to check up on Zeke," Michelle told her. "What about Colonel Hammond?" Tami asked. "Aren't you going to check in on him?" Tami watched Michelle tiredly groan and offered, "If you want, I can go check up on him." "Would you?" Michelle asked hopefully. "What are friends for?" "Thanks," Michelle smiled gratefully. Standing up, Michelle told her rising friend, "I will take you to his room; it's on the way to Zeke's room." The two friends then exited the lounge and headed up to the recovery rooms.
Tami followed Michelle into Colonel Hammond's room and peered down at him. Tami immediately fell in love with colonel's short but soft, dark brown hair; his stubbed chin, and overall handsome face. Gazing at the sleeping patient, Tami whispered excitedly to Michelle, "Oh my gosh! He's SO cute!" Michelle chuckled, "Sshh, I think he might of heard you!" Colonel Hammond opened his eyes and fixed his eyes on the two doctors. He smiled faintly. "Good morning Charlie," Michelle greeted. "I'm sorry to leave you so soon, but I'm going to check on Zeke right now." Hammond nodded. Michelle continued, "I'm leaving Doctor Tami Heller in charge of you. Now Charlie, please no wandering off like you did at five-thirty this morning. Zeke's fine; he's just sleeping for now." "Thank you Michelle," Hammond smiled at her. "I'm sorry for taking off this morning. I was just trying to see Zeke." "I know," Michelle whispered. With a small wave, Michelle turned out the door, smiling upon Tami's excited, grinning face. As Michelle wandered off down the hall to where Zeke lay, Tami strolled up to Hammond, controlling her desire to kiss him, and asked, "So, Colonel Hammond, how are you feeling this morning? Does your clavicle still bother you?"
Michelle approached Zeke's bed. The student in training, Alona, hurried to Michelle. The worn out student whined, "I have never worked so hard in my life! I haven't had any sleep in the past eighteen hours and I," "If you ever want to work in the E.R., you're going to have to get used to working long shifts and hardly getting any time for breaks and food," Michelle told her as a matter-of-fact. Standing next to Zeke's bed, Michelle gazed down at her sleeping love and questioned the student, "Give me the status report on Sergeant Zeke Hansen, Alona." Alona glanced at her notes and then up at Michelle. She cleared her voice and began, "Right now Sergeant Zeke Hansen is in a medium coma and reacts only slightly to any sense of touch. He's been in a light coma for two hours before slipping into the medium coma about five hours ago. The trauma seems to have been caused from the bullet wound he received in the head late last night." Michelle sighed disappointedly at the student. Directing her attention to the bandage on the head and finding Alona's highlighted notes, Michelle told her, "It's pretty obvious why he's in a coma Alona." "Oh," Alona gulped, glancing at her notes and Zeke. She glanced up at Michelle and saw her instructor bending down to her fiancé. Alona asked, "Is there anything more I need to add, Doctor Kohl?" "No," Michelle whispered, starring into her lifeless companion's face and softly holding his hands in hers. "Your report was good enough for now." Alona shifted her weight to her other foot and waited for her instructor to go to another patient. A little while later, Tami came by and stole Alona away and showed her how to change bandages on wounds, using Colonel Hammond as an example; all the while Michelle stayed silently with her beloved sergeant.
For four days Michelle off-and-on stayed loyally by Zeke's side, only allowing a separation a crisis arose. As each new day began and ending, Michelle lovingly comforted her fiancé, softly talking to him and gently stroking his hair and cheek. Christmas Eve came. While the other doctors and nurses celebrated the silent night and the blessing upon Paris (the power had been restored that night) Michelle softly sang Christmas carols, both in English and in French to the still unconscious Zeke. Tami wandered next to Michelle. "Hey Michelle," Tami greeted. Michelle smiled up at her. Tami asked, "How's Zeke doing?" "He's doing the same," Michelle softly cried. "He's just extremely quiet." "Do you want to come and join us in our Christmas present opening?" "I'd rather not," Michelle told her. "I don't want to leave him; ever." Gazing down at the sergeant, Tami softly stated to her friend, "It's not your fault that he's in here like this Michelle." Michelle started to cry, "But Janie said that it was all my fault! I wanted Zeke to become an officer like he always dreamed of becoming! I truly believed, and I still do, in his dream! But look where it has gotten him! I should of tried to convince him not to continue in his military career." Tami saw her friend in agony and crooned, "Oh no, don't cry. Don't cry. Ignore that trash who calls herself Janie." Tami placed her hand comfortingly on her shoulder and said, "Janie is just jealous because the two of you are going out and are so romantically involved. She has always had a crush on Zeke; I've even had a crush on him!" At that, Michelle laughed. Tami continued, "You know Zeke wanted to be a high ranking officer one day and you wanted him to be one because he wanted to be one. And he wants to be a high-ranking officer because you want him too. You see the love there? You see the bondage? This could of happened to anybody's G.I. And, when you two met, Zeke had already signed on four another four years of enlistment with his recruiter. There was nothing you could do about it then and especially now! I guess what's more upsetting is the fact that an officer, an American officer, went back on his word. That dirty rotten rat of a general! If I ever saw him I'd give him a piece of my mind! You know I would!" Michelle chuckled at her friend. She was glad that Tami was there to talk and to comfort her through Michelle and Zeke's moment of trial. Tami noticed Michelle's new ring on her finger. "Are you and Zeke getting married?" Tami inquired curiously. "Yes," Michelle smiled. "He asked me yesterday to marry him and I accepted." Smiling broadly, Tami exclaimed, "Congratulations Michelle! I'm so happy for you both!" "So am I," Michelle smiled. Just then, the two females noticed Colonel Hammond hesitantly coming their way. Tami grinned at Michelle; Michelle just simply smiled at her friend. Colonel Hammond asked, "Is it alright if I speak with Zeke alone." "Yes, of course Charlie," Michelle nodded. She stood up, bent over Zeke and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Deliberately, Michelle backed away from Zeke's bedside. Tami dragged Michelle away. Hammond knelt by Zeke and quietly sighed, "I am so sorry Zeke that this happened to you. I will avenge you. I am personally seeking Arkansas out. General Kohl has given me permission to lead a squad of highly trained Marines to find the bastard and bring him back to France." Silently, Michelle listened to Colonel Hammond from the doorway. Michelle leaned her head against the wood doorframe. Brushing Zeke's hair back, Hammond continued, "Please, do not follow me in my excursion in finding the general. You've already suffered enough from him. Sides, I don't want you to part from Michelle. You need to stay here and protect Paris. General Kohl has already reassigned you to station here in Paris so you can look after his little girl." A couple of tears worked their way down his face. Wiping them away, Hammond whispered, "Take care of yourself Zeke." Rising, Hammond took one more look at his godson before turning towards the door. He saw Michelle staring at Zeke with tear filled eyes. Michelle glanced up at the colonel as he approached the doorway. "Thank you," Michelle whispered, turning her face to Hammond. Hammond paused, placing his hand on her shoulder. Without another word, Hammond exited the room, grabbed his uniform, and headed out of the hospital.
December 25, 2029
Michelle slept with her arms folded next to Zeke's arm; Michelle's head rested on her arms. The weather outside had turned bitterly harsh. Water on the street had frozen during the night as another storm system emerged upon Paris. This time, a gentle, peaceful phenomenon was about to take place during the natural disturbance. Zeke began to stir. He moaned softly before his eyes fluttered open. He gazed about him; his eyes rested on the sleeping Michelle. Smiling to himself, Zeke slid into a sitting position and began to massage Michelle's hair. Sighing contentedly, Michelle aroused from her sleep, staring up into her fiancé's warm face. Joy spread through Michelle's body; her heart leapt and quickened at the same time. She cried out loud, throwing her arms around Zeke. "You're awake!" she cried. "Of course," Zeke smiled, kissing her forehead. "I wouldn't want to miss another minute of being able to gaze upon your beautiful face." "Oh Zeke," Michelle murmured. The two drew their faces together and held each other in their arms. Outside, tiny snowflakes began falling upon the ground.
December 21, 2029 Paris, Territory of France "Does it hurt when I press here?" Michelle asked, gently pressing Hammond's collarbone with two of her fingers. "Slightly yes," Hammond groaned. He glanced inquisitively at her. "Why aren't you helping Zeke?" Michelle brushed away a tear as she replied, "They wanted me to take a break since I have been feverishly working for thirty-nine hours with only fifteen minutes worth of breaks." "What about Zeke?" Hammond softly asked. "Is he alright?" "I don't know," Michelle shrugged, tears glistening in her eyes. "Dr. Janie Grahmn kept me in here and everywhere else for the past three hours and she barely even let me tend to you." "Three hours huh," Hammond whistled. "Is that how long I've been out?" "Roughly," Michelle answered. She softly touched Hammond's bruised face and informed him, "I suspect this bruise on your cheek bone has something to do with your long-term unconsciousness. How do you feel?" "I feel like I got kicked around like a football during Rugby," Hammond muttered. He told her, "I feel sortive light-headed and dizzy." He closed his eyes as he began to feel like the room was beginning to spin. "Well," Michelle told him, "We numbed your shoulder in order to remove the bullet and the lightheadedness and dizziness you feel came from that concussion to your head. And it seems as if you received some fractured ribs." She paused as she pondered Hammond's symptoms. Michelle placed her hand on his side and felt the hair-line fractures. She began to softly press upon the area, trying to get an image of what had happened to him. Upon hearing Hammond moan, Michelle eased up and ventured to the bruise on his face. She gently ran her fingers over the dark bruise and was taken aback by the similarities. "Charlie," Michelle inquired softly, "Did you guys wind up I hand to hand combat?" "No," Hammond sighed. He longed for information regarding Zeke's health. "Then how did you receive these massive blows?" Michelle questioned. "You were aggressively kicked weren't you?" "Yes." "By who?" "General Arkansas." "But why would he do that to you?" Michelle asked, starring at him concernedly. "Because he found out somehow, that I had a recording of him stating that he had conspired to assassinate Francois de Lumiere and President John Ragenbrough." Michelle gasped in surprise. "He's responsible for their deaths?" "'Fraid so," Hammond replied. He let a few seconds go by before whispering, "I'm sorry Michelle." "For what?" Michelle curiously asked him. "Arkansas demanded the tape and he took Zeke as his hostage. I told Arkansas where the tape was if he let Zeke go but he still shot him anyways." "You mean to tell me that that lying bastard shot my fiancé!" Michelle exclaimed. She steadied herself on the bed rail. She stood their gasping for a few seconds before announcing, "I'm going to find out how Zeke is doing now." Hastily rushing out of the room, Michelle ran towards the trauma room. She searched for the room in which Zeke was at. The halls were still bustling with patients coming in for medical help and doctors were scrambling about, trying to reach people with the worst conditions imaginable. Michelle raced past them and located Zeke's room and pushed open the door. A hand pulled the door close with a bang. Michelle turned and starred tearfully at Doctor Janie Grahmn. The doctor, roughly her age, glared at Michelle and sharply demanded, "Just where do you think you're going Ms. Kohl?" "Please," Michelle begged. "Please let me help the doctors with him! I must know how he's doing! Please let me help him!" "The answer is no Michelle," Janie hissed. "You can suffer your own consequences of letting him run off into battle! Sides, I am a qualified second year resident and," "I am a second year resident too!" Michelle screamed angrily. "I need to be in there, Janie and you know it!" Just then, the door opened and Doctor Clarke, a third-year, Algerian resident, peered out. He looked directly at Michelle and sighed, relieved, "Oh God, thank you. Michelle, Zeke's still out but he's moving around too much and won't settle down. He repeatedly calls for you and we can't operate on him till he stops moving." He held the door open and allowed Michelle to pass through. Betty ran by and as she flew by, called to Janie, "Dr. Grahmn, you're needed in the E.R. There's a man with half his arm missing and we need you." "But I'm working here," Janie protested. Behind her, the trauma door shut. Janie glared at the door. As Betty ran towards the trauma room, she yelled, "Well you just got reassigned girl! Get over here, now!" Sighing agitatedly, Janie reluctantly dashed off in Betty's direction.
Michelle followed the kind doctor over to Zeke, letting Doctor Clarke explain to her in details of Zeke's condition. " . . . and he just recently started moving around," Doctor Clarke explicated to Michelle. "He suffered a shot to the cranium but luckily the bullet went straight through and not damaging any vital organs or tissues. He was also shot in the liver and in the right scapula. The bullet is still lodged in there and we can't remove it or repair and damaged organs until he stops moving." "I can handle that," Michelle told him, swooping down next to Zeke's bed. She slipped her hand into Zeke's, bent down next to him, and whispered, "I'm here baby. I'm here." "Michelle," Zeke moaned. His tossing lessened. He whispered, "I love you Michelle." Michelle smiled gently, letting the tears run freely off her face. She stroked his hair and gently kissed him on the cheek while softly whispering, "I love you too Zeke." Suddenly, a loud, steady whine startled the surgeons. Doctor Damon Stewart announced, "Flat line." The student doctor, Alona Leavitt retrieved the paddles and brought them over to the third year resident, Doctor Clarke. Taking the paddles, Doctor Clarke instructed, "Start at two! On my mark, clear!" Zeke's body jerked upwards as a hundred volts of electricity surged through his body. Michelle held tightly to his hand. The steady whine of the flat line continued. "Move it up to two-fifty!" Doctor Clarke instructed. "On my mark, clear!" Again, Zeke's body jolted upwards. A steady, systematic beep monitored Zeke's heart rate. Sighing in relief, the doctors relaxed a touch. They starred expectantly at the teary-eyed Michelle as she breathed more easily. She bent over, pressed her lips upon Zeke's hand, and continued on holding his hand. The doctors moved in; Doctor Stewart approached Michelle and told her, "Doctor Kohl, we're going to begin operation on the scapula now so if you'd," "I'll go," Michelle told him without hesitation. She announced to the doctors, "I want to thank you for letting me come in, see him, and be with him." The doctors nodded appreciatively. Doctor Stewart said, "You're welcome Michelle. Now, we need you to go and help the others out. Please take Alona with you. She needs the training." Michelle nodded and waited for Alona before exiting the room. With a long, wistful glance back at her love, Michelle departed from the room.
0900 hours Sleepily, Michelle awoke. She gazed about in the doctors' lounge in which she had fallen asleep. A pastel yellow, wool blanket had been placed on her. Michelle saw her best friend Tami Heller, another second year resident, sitting across from her on the hard, orange plastic chairs surrounding a small, round, gray table with her legs kicked up on top of the table. Unlike Michelle, Tami had been awake for some time and was glad to see Michelle finally waking up. "Heh-low," Tami greeted the sleepy Michelle. Tami's legs were flicked up on the table and the short, blond hair girl wearing pigtails greeted her best friend. "It's about time you woke up." "Thanks," Michelle mumbled. She glanced at her watch. Seeing that the time was nine o'clock, Michelle exclaimed, "Holy cow! I've been asleep for three hours! I only closed my eyes for a brief second!" Tami smirked, retrieving a granola bar off the table, "You were so cute when I saw you sleeping that I couldn't bring myself to waking you! Hungry?" "Yes," Michelle mumbled. Tami chucked the granola bar at Michelle. The bar flew through the air and smacked Michelle in the forehead before falling into her lap. Michelle ran her hand over her face. "Guess my reaction is off today," Michelle tried to explain. "Uh-huh," Tami replied unimpressed. "You didn't even try to catch it?" "Hmm?" Michelle questioned. Tami burst out laughing, "Maybe you need to sleep some more Michelle! You're a walking zombie!" "No, I am fine," Michelle told her. "If I'm planning on becoming a third year resident," "I need to practice not getting enough sleep and being able to make accurate decisions!" "Yeah, you'll need a quicker reaction time before I make a regular habit of throwing granola bars at you!" Tami laughed. Michelle returned the friendly laugh. Then she grew serious. "Sides, I want to check up on Zeke," Michelle told her. "What about Colonel Hammond?" Tami asked. "Aren't you going to check in on him?" Tami watched Michelle tiredly groan and offered, "If you want, I can go check up on him." "Would you?" Michelle asked hopefully. "What are friends for?" "Thanks," Michelle smiled gratefully. Standing up, Michelle told her rising friend, "I will take you to his room; it's on the way to Zeke's room." The two friends then exited the lounge and headed up to the recovery rooms.
Tami followed Michelle into Colonel Hammond's room and peered down at him. Tami immediately fell in love with colonel's short but soft, dark brown hair; his stubbed chin, and overall handsome face. Gazing at the sleeping patient, Tami whispered excitedly to Michelle, "Oh my gosh! He's SO cute!" Michelle chuckled, "Sshh, I think he might of heard you!" Colonel Hammond opened his eyes and fixed his eyes on the two doctors. He smiled faintly. "Good morning Charlie," Michelle greeted. "I'm sorry to leave you so soon, but I'm going to check on Zeke right now." Hammond nodded. Michelle continued, "I'm leaving Doctor Tami Heller in charge of you. Now Charlie, please no wandering off like you did at five-thirty this morning. Zeke's fine; he's just sleeping for now." "Thank you Michelle," Hammond smiled at her. "I'm sorry for taking off this morning. I was just trying to see Zeke." "I know," Michelle whispered. With a small wave, Michelle turned out the door, smiling upon Tami's excited, grinning face. As Michelle wandered off down the hall to where Zeke lay, Tami strolled up to Hammond, controlling her desire to kiss him, and asked, "So, Colonel Hammond, how are you feeling this morning? Does your clavicle still bother you?"
Michelle approached Zeke's bed. The student in training, Alona, hurried to Michelle. The worn out student whined, "I have never worked so hard in my life! I haven't had any sleep in the past eighteen hours and I," "If you ever want to work in the E.R., you're going to have to get used to working long shifts and hardly getting any time for breaks and food," Michelle told her as a matter-of-fact. Standing next to Zeke's bed, Michelle gazed down at her sleeping love and questioned the student, "Give me the status report on Sergeant Zeke Hansen, Alona." Alona glanced at her notes and then up at Michelle. She cleared her voice and began, "Right now Sergeant Zeke Hansen is in a medium coma and reacts only slightly to any sense of touch. He's been in a light coma for two hours before slipping into the medium coma about five hours ago. The trauma seems to have been caused from the bullet wound he received in the head late last night." Michelle sighed disappointedly at the student. Directing her attention to the bandage on the head and finding Alona's highlighted notes, Michelle told her, "It's pretty obvious why he's in a coma Alona." "Oh," Alona gulped, glancing at her notes and Zeke. She glanced up at Michelle and saw her instructor bending down to her fiancé. Alona asked, "Is there anything more I need to add, Doctor Kohl?" "No," Michelle whispered, starring into her lifeless companion's face and softly holding his hands in hers. "Your report was good enough for now." Alona shifted her weight to her other foot and waited for her instructor to go to another patient. A little while later, Tami came by and stole Alona away and showed her how to change bandages on wounds, using Colonel Hammond as an example; all the while Michelle stayed silently with her beloved sergeant.
For four days Michelle off-and-on stayed loyally by Zeke's side, only allowing a separation a crisis arose. As each new day began and ending, Michelle lovingly comforted her fiancé, softly talking to him and gently stroking his hair and cheek. Christmas Eve came. While the other doctors and nurses celebrated the silent night and the blessing upon Paris (the power had been restored that night) Michelle softly sang Christmas carols, both in English and in French to the still unconscious Zeke. Tami wandered next to Michelle. "Hey Michelle," Tami greeted. Michelle smiled up at her. Tami asked, "How's Zeke doing?" "He's doing the same," Michelle softly cried. "He's just extremely quiet." "Do you want to come and join us in our Christmas present opening?" "I'd rather not," Michelle told her. "I don't want to leave him; ever." Gazing down at the sergeant, Tami softly stated to her friend, "It's not your fault that he's in here like this Michelle." Michelle started to cry, "But Janie said that it was all my fault! I wanted Zeke to become an officer like he always dreamed of becoming! I truly believed, and I still do, in his dream! But look where it has gotten him! I should of tried to convince him not to continue in his military career." Tami saw her friend in agony and crooned, "Oh no, don't cry. Don't cry. Ignore that trash who calls herself Janie." Tami placed her hand comfortingly on her shoulder and said, "Janie is just jealous because the two of you are going out and are so romantically involved. She has always had a crush on Zeke; I've even had a crush on him!" At that, Michelle laughed. Tami continued, "You know Zeke wanted to be a high ranking officer one day and you wanted him to be one because he wanted to be one. And he wants to be a high-ranking officer because you want him too. You see the love there? You see the bondage? This could of happened to anybody's G.I. And, when you two met, Zeke had already signed on four another four years of enlistment with his recruiter. There was nothing you could do about it then and especially now! I guess what's more upsetting is the fact that an officer, an American officer, went back on his word. That dirty rotten rat of a general! If I ever saw him I'd give him a piece of my mind! You know I would!" Michelle chuckled at her friend. She was glad that Tami was there to talk and to comfort her through Michelle and Zeke's moment of trial. Tami noticed Michelle's new ring on her finger. "Are you and Zeke getting married?" Tami inquired curiously. "Yes," Michelle smiled. "He asked me yesterday to marry him and I accepted." Smiling broadly, Tami exclaimed, "Congratulations Michelle! I'm so happy for you both!" "So am I," Michelle smiled. Just then, the two females noticed Colonel Hammond hesitantly coming their way. Tami grinned at Michelle; Michelle just simply smiled at her friend. Colonel Hammond asked, "Is it alright if I speak with Zeke alone." "Yes, of course Charlie," Michelle nodded. She stood up, bent over Zeke and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Deliberately, Michelle backed away from Zeke's bedside. Tami dragged Michelle away. Hammond knelt by Zeke and quietly sighed, "I am so sorry Zeke that this happened to you. I will avenge you. I am personally seeking Arkansas out. General Kohl has given me permission to lead a squad of highly trained Marines to find the bastard and bring him back to France." Silently, Michelle listened to Colonel Hammond from the doorway. Michelle leaned her head against the wood doorframe. Brushing Zeke's hair back, Hammond continued, "Please, do not follow me in my excursion in finding the general. You've already suffered enough from him. Sides, I don't want you to part from Michelle. You need to stay here and protect Paris. General Kohl has already reassigned you to station here in Paris so you can look after his little girl." A couple of tears worked their way down his face. Wiping them away, Hammond whispered, "Take care of yourself Zeke." Rising, Hammond took one more look at his godson before turning towards the door. He saw Michelle staring at Zeke with tear filled eyes. Michelle glanced up at the colonel as he approached the doorway. "Thank you," Michelle whispered, turning her face to Hammond. Hammond paused, placing his hand on her shoulder. Without another word, Hammond exited the room, grabbed his uniform, and headed out of the hospital.
December 25, 2029
Michelle slept with her arms folded next to Zeke's arm; Michelle's head rested on her arms. The weather outside had turned bitterly harsh. Water on the street had frozen during the night as another storm system emerged upon Paris. This time, a gentle, peaceful phenomenon was about to take place during the natural disturbance. Zeke began to stir. He moaned softly before his eyes fluttered open. He gazed about him; his eyes rested on the sleeping Michelle. Smiling to himself, Zeke slid into a sitting position and began to massage Michelle's hair. Sighing contentedly, Michelle aroused from her sleep, staring up into her fiancé's warm face. Joy spread through Michelle's body; her heart leapt and quickened at the same time. She cried out loud, throwing her arms around Zeke. "You're awake!" she cried. "Of course," Zeke smiled, kissing her forehead. "I wouldn't want to miss another minute of being able to gaze upon your beautiful face." "Oh Zeke," Michelle murmured. The two drew their faces together and held each other in their arms. Outside, tiny snowflakes began falling upon the ground.