"It doesn't look good brother," Tau Talbot said.
"True," agreed Leon Talbot, the werelion king of Moon Lake.
"We already knew the engine would have to be totally rebuilt, but we didn't expect to find so much damage to the wooden frame of this old Nash Woody*. It can all be repaired in time, but it delays our original restoration schedule and increases our costs."
"Dammit!" Leon growled. "It's bad enough that some of our parts orders have been delayed as it is, but I was hoping to work on something this weekend..."
"To take your mind off Peter and his lady while they check on her mother?" said Tau, completing the unfinished thought.
"Yes," admitted Leon. "Karen Yuletide may not yet be a werelioness, let alone Peter's wife, but in many ways I already consider her a part of our vastly extended family."
"I agree. As do the rest of our brothers, their wives, and children," said Tau. "Karen has made quite an impression upon all of us and will be a fine addition to our pride."
"But I do worry about how this might affect her and Peter. What she is going through would be a traumatic time for anybody."
Tau pointed out, "Karen Yuletide is a fine young woman and—"
Then he stopped for a moment before saying, "Speaking of young women brother..."
Both Talbots turned and saw a woman standing in the open garage door of Talbot Restorations.
"Your majesty," began Liz Brookshire, as she started to courtesy.
"Don't bow. We're in public and you know I prefer not to stand on formal ceremony when it's unnecessary to do so," complained Leon. Then he caught himself and said, "My apologies. I am not at my best today. How may I help you Miss Brookshire."
"I was wondering... have you heard from Peter, or anything concerning Karen and her mother?" asked the werelioness.
This surprised Leon, considering Liz Brookshire's past rivalry against the normal Yuletide woman in regards to his son's affections and who his future wife should be.
"Not since early this morning," revealed Leon. "Monica Yuletide is doing as well as can be expected at the moment, but she is still unconscious within the Intensive Care Unit of a local hospital in San Diego."
"How bad..." began Liz, uncertain how to phrase the question.
"Very," was all Leon would say.
"If... If there's anything I can do... to... help..."
Then Liz Brookshire turned and ran away.
The Talbot brothers stared at the empty space where she was for a bit, until Tau said, "Life is full of surprises, isn't it?"
"Yes," was all Leon would say.
AT SAN DIEGO GENERAL HOSPITAL...
"While our apartment is on the second floor, the building is three stories with an elevator," Joanne Howard said, answering Doctor Moria Alexander's question.(*2)
"Good," replied the physician. "We find that it helps the patient emotionally to stay in familiar surroundings whenever possible, but there are several good rehab facilities I could recommend if necessary."
"How long of a time table are we looking at overall in regards to my mother?" asked Karen Yuletide.
"Hard to say," admitted the doctor. "Once Monica regains consciousness either tomorrow or Monday, we will have to run some more tests to re-evaluate her condition. Provided there's no damage to her brain or spinal cord, she could be out of ICU before the end of next week," which made both Karen and Joanne smile.
"However," continued Alexander without missing a beat, "it will still be weeks after she's out of ICU before I even consider the notion of releasing Monica from the hospital entirely, provided the proper arrangements are made for her care outside of our facility."
"Karen, I—" began Joanne, not knowing what to say.
"One step at a time," Karen told her mother's fiance. Then she turned to face the doctor and asked, "What are we looking at, long term?"
"I'm not going to sugar coat this for you," began Dr. Alexander. "Monica is in for a long journey to recovery. It will be at least next Summer before she might be able to start lessening her dependency upon a wheel chair. Yet we'd still be looking at sometime around this point next year before Monica is somewhere between a walker and crutches."
"Why?" Joanne wanted to know, before she broke down and started crying.
Karen could do nothing more than hold the lady important to her mother that she just met last night in her arms and let her sob.
Yet it wasn't lost on the doctor when Karen turned to look at her fiance Peter Talbot, who had been silently standing behind the ladies the whole time.
Peter just moved a step closer and put a reassuring arm around Karen.
"I hate to sound like the villain in all of this, but you have to understand that Monica Yuletide has suffered some major injuries in what could have been a life ending auto accident," began Dr. Alexander. "Both arms and legs suffered multiple breaks. Depending upon the results of re-examining the brain and spine once she comes out of her medically induced coma, it will probably be toward the end of the winter holidays before Monica is anything like her old self, at least mentally.(*3)" Then the doctor paused before adding, "Everyone here is doing the best we can, but in the end it takes time. Bones need to knit. Wounds do eventually heal, at least physically. I already have the hospital's counselor on standby for when Monica can attempt to speak for herself."
"You don't think..." began Karen, staring at the doctor.
"Until Monica can answer questions for herself, I'm just guessing at best. In my profession, we always hope for the best but prepare for the worst, just in case."
Karen didn't have anything to say at that point, so remained silent.
Joanne however, having run out of tears for the moment, asked, "Can we see Monica?"
"As long as you stay outside the room, sure," replied Doctor Alexander, stepping aside so her patient's daughter and fiance could go look at the one they loved.
Together, the ladies walked over to the glass wall cubicle where Monica laid on her hospital bed, connected to several monitors.
Karen noted her mother was connected to an oxygen supply via plastic tubing running under her nose, but otherwise Monica Yuletide was breathing on her own.
MEANWHILE...
Doctor Moria Alexander noticed that Peter Talbot did not accompany the ladies to the other side of the ICU Ward to look in on her patient.
She studied the man for a moment, then said in a low voice that only he could hear, "So, considering I'm originally Moon Lake born and bred, can this humble weretigress be of any further assistance to the werelion prince?"
_____________________
*A Classic Car of the past where some of the body is actually wood instead of metal.
*2) In our previous episode "Complications?"
*3) Depending upon your perspective, at least Martin Luther King Junior Day in January, if not Valentine's Day or Presidents' Day in February.—tmw.