Accentuate the Positive

Pauline wrings her hands together as she walks to the opposite side of the waiting room. She reaches the other side and untangles her fingers. Her arms slip protectively around her abdomen. She slips into a chair, the tears starting to stream down her cheeks again.

Somebody rushes into the room and she glances up. With a cry of joy, she leaps out of the chair and rushes into his arms.

“Oh, Steven! You came!” She bursts out crying and buries her face in his neck. “It was ho-horr-rible.” She sobs out. Protectively, his arms close around her and he rests his head on hers.

“It’s okay, dear. You’re safe. You’re fine. I’m here.”

“But-but...what a-a-about them?” She pulls away and stares teary-eyed up at him.

“They’ll be fine. Trust me.” He reassures her softly.

With her hand locked in William’s, Susannah rushes into the waiting room.

“Oh, Pauline!” She yells. Both women let go of their men and rushes into each other’s arms. “Oh, my dear Pauline. I’m so sorry. So terribly sorry.” She whispers as she clings to her.

Steven and William nod into each other’s direction and then return their attention to their women. Susannah softly leads her sister-in-law to the chairs, and they sit down.

Peace falls over the room, though a soft whimpering still spills over Pauline's lips every now and then.

Detective Gill joins the group, making herself comfortable on one of the chairs. She calmly pages through her dossiers, stopping every now and then to fill her notebook with observations, questions, or relevant remarks.

The time ticks by in silence.

Richard Kane bursts into the room, his finger shakily pointed at Pauline. Slowly, Pauline rises.

"You...You! Couldn't you watch where you were going?!" He yells, his voice breaking. Steven shoots to his feet and grabs on to Richard's finger.

"Don't you dare point your finger at my wife! She's the most careful driver in this here town! If you want to find fault, look to your son and his friends! My wife could have been dead today!" He yells furiously. "Who was behind that wheel, huh? Your son, no doubt. That daredevil will one day throw all of us into terrible danger."

The fist finds its place on Steven's right eye. He staggers to the ground. The nurse that just entered the room screams and rushes out again. Susannah pulls Pauline away as Steven rushes to his feet and attacks Richard. Fists swing and magazines fly as the two charges at each other, at times falling over the furniture.

Calmly, Detective Gill looks up from her work. Her hand slips down to her holster. Richard jumps back, avoiding Steven's swing. Suddenly, a bullet whizzes over their heads and into the ceiling. Their eyes wide, they turn to look at the detective.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?!" Doctor Smith thunders as he enters the room, his accompanying nurse hiding behind his big frame. "Who's shooting?!"

"That would be me, Doctor." The detective replies calmly.

"Miss Gill, I suggest you put that gun away. And report for therapy. Only the insane will shoot in a hospital." She shrugs. "Don't you dare shrug at me, Martha. You have missed your last two sessions, and whether you like it or not, that 'accident' did affect your brain." He turns back to the others and sighs. "I'm so sorry about that...Now...why did I come in here again?"

Mrs. Goodwin glides her hand over her son's arm. Another tear trickles down the path on her cheeks. She lifts her eyes and stares at the other patient in the room. Mesmerized, she stares as his chest rises up and down.

"Hey, you okay?" Keaton Goodwin bends over and wraps his arms around his wife's middle.

"Fine..." She sniffs out, raising her one hand to place it on her husband's arm. "How's Katiya?"

"She's fine. Real fine." He lies smoothly. His wife turns and stares up at him.

"How is Rikkert doing? Did you check on him as well?" Keaton gulps and nods stiffly.

"I did check on him, yes...Darling...You gotta be strong...It's really not pretty, okay? And Richard Kane is such a difficult man..."

"Keaton?" She looks up at him alarmed. Suddenly, a shot rings out from the floor above them. They pull apart and he reaches for his gun.

"Stay here."

"That is the facts...I'm really sorry, Mr. Kane." The doctor looks to the crying Pauline. "I'm really sorry." He repeats.

Slowly, Richard sinks to the floor, burying his face into his hands. A bitter cry spills from his lips and his shoulders shake as he breaks down and cries like a child.

Martha Gill sighs and rises to her feet. She takes her long strides, and then drops to the ground next to him.

"Rikkert wasn't driving, Mr. Kane." She starts slowly. "I hope it's of some comfort to you..." She pauses, staring down at her hands. "Y'know, it's really not all that bad. I know, I know, this is terrible. Your son, that handsome, cheating, Casanova, stuck to a bed. Perhaps for life."

"Martha..." The doctor warns, stepping closer. She shoos him away.

"But, there are so many good things that can come from this. For one, the two of you can spend more time together. Two, your son will be able to get rid of all his bad friends." She ticks the items off of her fingers. "Three, Rikkert will get to know which of his 'friends' really are true friends. Four, he will be able to look at his life in retrospect. He might even finally decide what he really wants to do with his life."

Richard lifts his head, his red eyes staring accusingly into her clear gray ones.

"You think this is a good thing?!"

"No. No, it's not a 'good' thing. But it can be." She crosses her legs. "It's important to accentuate the positive, right?" She pins down Steven with her gaze. "You! What happened positively for you because of this?" He shuffles his feet and stands closer to his wife.

"Exactly! You and Pauline kissed and made up. Figuratively speaking, of course. I have yet to actually see you two kiss." Her gaze shifts to Keaton, who just entered the room. "And you!"

"What?" He asks confused, forgetting his question to his colleague. He glances to the other people, but they avoid his questioning look.

"We're accentuating the positive." She states matter-of-factly. "Because of this accident, you're coming to realize how important your family really is to you. I can almost bet that when they get out of here, you will be taking off more time from work, just so that you can spend it with them."

"I guess?" He quickly retreats out of the room. Yep, she shot. He shakes his head and quickly puts some distance between the waiting room and himself. That woman is one crazy person.

"See? We're accentuating the positive. And don't you just feel better already?"

"Amen. I know I do." Anthony slips around the corner and into the room. He smiles sympathetically at the others.

"Anthony? What are you doing here?" Steven asks confused.

"Staying positive. I'm coming to visit my grandfather." He smiles at Martha. "Thanks to my grandfather's coma, I'm getting plenty of exercise." He teases. The nurse gasps.

"Mr. Brown!" She glares at him accusingly.

"Oh, come on, Nurse. I'm joking."

"This is a place of seriousness, Mr. Brown. There will be no joking about such serious matters." She reprimands him sternly.

"In that case, I better get Gramps out of here. He hates people being more serious about a matter than being accepting of it." He replies, trying his best to wipe the smile from his face.

"So...We'll be able to have one less patient to worry about?" The doctor asks smiling, ignoring his nurse's gasp. "What? We are accentuating the positive, aren't we?" A giggling breaks out under the woman.

"Ah, I knew you could take a joke, Doc!" Martha replies happily, and rises back to her feet.

"Indeed...But, now I have to be serious again." He turns to Anthony. "Come, I'll accompany you to your grandfather."

"Do you know what?" Richard whispers softly. Martha glances over at him.

"What?"

"You are right...This is a terrible thing that happened. But, thankfully...Rikkert and I have another chance...We are not done yet. And we still have time to fix our problems." She smiles brightly back at home.

"Now you are getting into the spirit of things."

"Hmmph." He replies and she bursts out into laughter.

"Don't you worry, Richard Kane. Your son and his friends will be just fine."

"How do you know, Detective Gill?"

"Oh," she grins at him mysteriously, "I have a way of predicting things."