A Cheerful Giver
Part 6
Foggy opened his eyes to what was unmistakeably a hospital room. Someone stirred next to him, and he turned his head to see his mother sitting in one chair and his father in another one.
“Foggy?” his father asked. “Are you awake?”
“I’m alive,” Foggy realized. “I’m still alive.”
“Oh, Foggy!” His mother got up and leaned over for a hug. “Yes, you’re alive. Does it hurt anywhere? What happened to you?”
“I’m – uh – I’m not hurt,” Foggy realized. “I’m okay.”
“Well, if the strength of Matt’s prayers have anything to do with it, you’re not only alive, but you should be completely healed, too,” Foggy’s father joked.
“Matt? Where is he, is he okay?” Foggy asked before he realized he was thinking of the other Matt. His parents looked vaguely surprised at his concern.
“He’s fine, he was just here a while ago. He said he wanted to go to the hospital chapel for a while,” his mother said.
“More prayers,” his father added. “But the question is, are you okay? You were missing for two days before somebody found you collapsed on the street!”
“I’m fine,” Foggy said. “No, really, I’m fine. I think I was just sleeping after some heavy healing. Dad, quick, what do you know about passing the healing gift on? Does it automatically kill you if you do? Or did Grandma just die of old age after she gave it to me?”
His father looked at him in stunned silence for a moment, then finally admitted, “I have no idea, Foggy. Everyone I’ve ever heard of who had the gift passed it on right before they died, and as far as we know, they were all old at the time.”
“Well, that doesn’t help me at all,” Foggy said, flopping back down onto the pillow.
“Are you telling us you gave the healing gift away?” his mother asked.
“Yeah,” Foggy replied. “And I’ll tell you all about it when Matt’s here. And after I’ve had something to eat. I’m starving!”
“I’ll get Matt,” his mother volunteered. “And I’ll tell the nurses you’re awake.”
“Tell them I’ll be leaving soon, because I can’t afford any of this!” Foggy called after her.
The nurses came before Matt did, and Foggy didn’t get to see his friend until after the nurses had examined him and went off to tell the doctor. Finally, Matt was allowed in, and Foggy was pleased to see that he was sporting his usual length of stubble instead of a full three days’ worth of unshaven cheeks, and looking only slightly bruised around his chin and one eye.
“Foggy?” Matt asked, after Foggy had stared at him a little too long.
“Matt, I’m just glad to see you’re all right,” Foggy said, and Matt smiled his quick smile of polite confusion.
“Shouldn’t I be saying that?” he asked.
“Yeah, buddy, yeah, you should,” Foggy told him, nodding. “Just wait until I tell you why.”
There was another patient on the other side of the room, however, and then the doctor came to see Foggy for himself. Foggy and his father explained about the healing gift, and Foggy made up a quick story about how he’d tried to help somebody, only to be left sleeping in the street for his pains. Fortunately, one of the nurses was acquainted with the Nelson clan, and put in a good word for his story, too, so that the doctor said there was no reason for Foggy to stay in the hospital. The nurse even brought an extra lunch for Foggy to eat while they were waiting, and at last, they were ready to leave.
They went to Foggy’s parents’ apartment, and once his mother had put out some cookies and everybody was seated comfortably, Foggy told them almost everything about it, from meeting Francis and the alternate universe, to how they’d asked him to heal a vigilante again and again, and how Foggy had finally escaped. There were only a few Matt-related things that he didn’t mention, and he was sure that Matt was picking up on the omissions.
“I’m in the right universe again, right?” Foggy asked. “The universe where Frankie is dead, and I’m not?”
“You’re in the right universe,” his father assured him. “You’re back where you belong.”
“We were so worried about you!” his mother put in, for at least the fifth time.
“I was worried that someone had kidnapped you to get to me,” Matt said slowly. “Us, I mean. The practice. But not getting a ransom note or a demand was almost worse.”
“And don’t worry about losing the healing gift,” his father put in. “Not getting you back at all would have been much worse.”
“I’m sure you won’t drop dead just because you gave it away,” his mother added. “Your grandmother was old and not as well as she liked to pretend.”
“Well, if I do drop dead, at least you’ll know why,” Foggy said, though he was starting to believe he wouldn’t.
“I don’t think you had the gift long enough for it to have such an effect on you,” Matt mused. “I mean, it hasn’t even been a week. Your grandmother had it for many years.”
That sounded very good to Foggy, and he decided to cling to the theory as though to a life buoy.
“Yeah,” his father agreed. “So don’t worry. You’ll be fine, Foggy.”
“I wish Francis would drop dead, not that convenient things like that ever happen,” Foggy said. “Because they don’t deserve to have a healing gift in that universe if that’s what they’re going to do with it.”
“I can’t imagine young Frankie getting mixed up with people like that,” his mother said, shaking her head. “He was such a nice boy, or at least that’s what his mother always said.”
“He said it was a different universe over there,” Foggy rememebered. “Hey, he even said that the other me was going to study business management instead of law!”
“Now that’s definitely a different universe,” Matt said with a smile.
“Sorry, Mom, that I’m not a butcher over there, either,” Foggy teased. “No free ham.”
His mother laughed a little, then said, “Well, speaking of ham, that’s exactly what I have in the fridge for supper. You’re staying of course, Matt.”
“Of course, Anna,” Matt said. “Do you need any help?”
“No, well — yes, now that you mention it. You and Foggy can both peel potatoes.”
Foggy glared as hard as he could at the back of Matt’s head, willing him to sense his displeasure as he got up and followed them into the kitchen. Without even looking, his mother said, “And take that look off your face, Foggy.”
After supper, Matt offered to walk Foggy home to his own apartment. Foggy hated to admit that he was glad of the company, or that he was secretly pleased because Matt’s blindness gave him an excuse to stick out one arm for Matt to hold onto.
“Did Francis say anything about Fisk?” Matt asked as they walked.
“Nope,” Foggy replied. “He never said who he was working for. It was always ‘the boss.’ It could have been anybody.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes before Matt said, “You’re limping and you’re starting to breathe funny. Did you get hurt over there?”
The question caught Foggy by surprise and he caught his breath, missed a step, and gave Matt a brief but intense stare before he realized what he was doing. Finally, when he thought he could speak normally, he said, “Yeah … yeah, I got hurt. It healed a little bit, while I still had the gift, but, uh, it’s not completely healed. Might take a while now. Damn, it’s not fair. You can still sense whenever there’s something wrong with me, but I’ve lost my Murdockmeter completely. For all I know, you feel as bad as I do, probably even worse.”
“I’m —“
“Don’t you dare say ‘I’m fine,’” Foggy threatened him. “We both know you’re lying every time you say that.”
“It’s not lying,” Matt protested. “’Fine’ is a relative term.”
Foggy groaned. Eventually, they came to his building and he heaved himself slowly up the stairs. His leg ached, and his breastbone made every breath an exercise in agony.
Part 7
“Foggy?” his father asked. “Are you awake?”
“I’m alive,” Foggy realized. “I’m still alive.”
“Oh, Foggy!” His mother got up and leaned over for a hug. “Yes, you’re alive. Does it hurt anywhere? What happened to you?”
“I’m – uh – I’m not hurt,” Foggy realized. “I’m okay.”
“Well, if the strength of Matt’s prayers have anything to do with it, you’re not only alive, but you should be completely healed, too,” Foggy’s father joked.
“Matt? Where is he, is he okay?” Foggy asked before he realized he was thinking of the other Matt. His parents looked vaguely surprised at his concern.
“He’s fine, he was just here a while ago. He said he wanted to go to the hospital chapel for a while,” his mother said.
“More prayers,” his father added. “But the question is, are you okay? You were missing for two days before somebody found you collapsed on the street!”
“I’m fine,” Foggy said. “No, really, I’m fine. I think I was just sleeping after some heavy healing. Dad, quick, what do you know about passing the healing gift on? Does it automatically kill you if you do? Or did Grandma just die of old age after she gave it to me?”
His father looked at him in stunned silence for a moment, then finally admitted, “I have no idea, Foggy. Everyone I’ve ever heard of who had the gift passed it on right before they died, and as far as we know, they were all old at the time.”
“Well, that doesn’t help me at all,” Foggy said, flopping back down onto the pillow.
“Are you telling us you gave the healing gift away?” his mother asked.
“Yeah,” Foggy replied. “And I’ll tell you all about it when Matt’s here. And after I’ve had something to eat. I’m starving!”
“I’ll get Matt,” his mother volunteered. “And I’ll tell the nurses you’re awake.”
“Tell them I’ll be leaving soon, because I can’t afford any of this!” Foggy called after her.
The nurses came before Matt did, and Foggy didn’t get to see his friend until after the nurses had examined him and went off to tell the doctor. Finally, Matt was allowed in, and Foggy was pleased to see that he was sporting his usual length of stubble instead of a full three days’ worth of unshaven cheeks, and looking only slightly bruised around his chin and one eye.
“Foggy?” Matt asked, after Foggy had stared at him a little too long.
“Matt, I’m just glad to see you’re all right,” Foggy said, and Matt smiled his quick smile of polite confusion.
“Shouldn’t I be saying that?” he asked.
“Yeah, buddy, yeah, you should,” Foggy told him, nodding. “Just wait until I tell you why.”
There was another patient on the other side of the room, however, and then the doctor came to see Foggy for himself. Foggy and his father explained about the healing gift, and Foggy made up a quick story about how he’d tried to help somebody, only to be left sleeping in the street for his pains. Fortunately, one of the nurses was acquainted with the Nelson clan, and put in a good word for his story, too, so that the doctor said there was no reason for Foggy to stay in the hospital. The nurse even brought an extra lunch for Foggy to eat while they were waiting, and at last, they were ready to leave.
They went to Foggy’s parents’ apartment, and once his mother had put out some cookies and everybody was seated comfortably, Foggy told them almost everything about it, from meeting Francis and the alternate universe, to how they’d asked him to heal a vigilante again and again, and how Foggy had finally escaped. There were only a few Matt-related things that he didn’t mention, and he was sure that Matt was picking up on the omissions.
“I’m in the right universe again, right?” Foggy asked. “The universe where Frankie is dead, and I’m not?”
“You’re in the right universe,” his father assured him. “You’re back where you belong.”
“We were so worried about you!” his mother put in, for at least the fifth time.
“I was worried that someone had kidnapped you to get to me,” Matt said slowly. “Us, I mean. The practice. But not getting a ransom note or a demand was almost worse.”
“And don’t worry about losing the healing gift,” his father put in. “Not getting you back at all would have been much worse.”
“I’m sure you won’t drop dead just because you gave it away,” his mother added. “Your grandmother was old and not as well as she liked to pretend.”
“Well, if I do drop dead, at least you’ll know why,” Foggy said, though he was starting to believe he wouldn’t.
“I don’t think you had the gift long enough for it to have such an effect on you,” Matt mused. “I mean, it hasn’t even been a week. Your grandmother had it for many years.”
That sounded very good to Foggy, and he decided to cling to the theory as though to a life buoy.
“Yeah,” his father agreed. “So don’t worry. You’ll be fine, Foggy.”
“I wish Francis would drop dead, not that convenient things like that ever happen,” Foggy said. “Because they don’t deserve to have a healing gift in that universe if that’s what they’re going to do with it.”
“I can’t imagine young Frankie getting mixed up with people like that,” his mother said, shaking her head. “He was such a nice boy, or at least that’s what his mother always said.”
“He said it was a different universe over there,” Foggy rememebered. “Hey, he even said that the other me was going to study business management instead of law!”
“Now that’s definitely a different universe,” Matt said with a smile.
“Sorry, Mom, that I’m not a butcher over there, either,” Foggy teased. “No free ham.”
His mother laughed a little, then said, “Well, speaking of ham, that’s exactly what I have in the fridge for supper. You’re staying of course, Matt.”
“Of course, Anna,” Matt said. “Do you need any help?”
“No, well — yes, now that you mention it. You and Foggy can both peel potatoes.”
Foggy glared as hard as he could at the back of Matt’s head, willing him to sense his displeasure as he got up and followed them into the kitchen. Without even looking, his mother said, “And take that look off your face, Foggy.”
After supper, Matt offered to walk Foggy home to his own apartment. Foggy hated to admit that he was glad of the company, or that he was secretly pleased because Matt’s blindness gave him an excuse to stick out one arm for Matt to hold onto.
“Did Francis say anything about Fisk?” Matt asked as they walked.
“Nope,” Foggy replied. “He never said who he was working for. It was always ‘the boss.’ It could have been anybody.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes before Matt said, “You’re limping and you’re starting to breathe funny. Did you get hurt over there?”
The question caught Foggy by surprise and he caught his breath, missed a step, and gave Matt a brief but intense stare before he realized what he was doing. Finally, when he thought he could speak normally, he said, “Yeah … yeah, I got hurt. It healed a little bit, while I still had the gift, but, uh, it’s not completely healed. Might take a while now. Damn, it’s not fair. You can still sense whenever there’s something wrong with me, but I’ve lost my Murdockmeter completely. For all I know, you feel as bad as I do, probably even worse.”
“I’m —“
“Don’t you dare say ‘I’m fine,’” Foggy threatened him. “We both know you’re lying every time you say that.”
“It’s not lying,” Matt protested. “’Fine’ is a relative term.”
Foggy groaned. Eventually, they came to his building and he heaved himself slowly up the stairs. His leg ached, and his breastbone made every breath an exercise in agony.
Part 7