It wasn't the ideal situation, but it was better than nothing. Hayley sat in the hospital waiting room with her parents who were trying to fill out Kelly's forms while they waited for an update.
As soon as Kelly was unpinned, Hayley knew she would need help. Her leg was bruised and misshaped, indicating broken bones. The swelling had also been unbelievable. The whole time in the ambulance, Hayley was praying they had pulled Kelly out in time.
Once they arrived at the hospital, Hayley was assaulted by staff about an emergency contact for Kelly. They needed to contact her parents, since Kelly had already passed out from the pain and wouldn't be able to give consent herself. Hayley had to explain how Kelly had been kicked out of her house, and she likely wouldn't want her parents to show up now to help her. It wasn't easy convincing the nurse to call her parents instead, but Hayley had promised it would be better.
Only now that left the Fosters with the puzzle that was Kelly's medical history. Hell, even her date of birth was a difficult question. They had only just taken her into their home, and hadn't even begun the process of becoming her official guardians. They filled out what they could, which wasn't much, and handed the form back to the nurse. She looked to it in annoyance, and then told them to wait for an update.
The other Rangers joined shortly after. Levi was sporting some new bruises and bandages from his own injuries and Sarah's cuts and scraps had been cleaned off. Hayley's parents asked Sarah if she had some information on Kelly's medical history and Sarah figured she would take a shot filling out the form and took it back from the nurse. She at least knew Kelly's birthdate.
Calvin sat next to Hayley in the chairs and he put his hand on her leg. He squeezed gently. Hayley and Kelly's relationship hadn't gotten off to a great start, with Kelly outing Sarah to the whole school. However, since that was now in the past and since Kelly had now moved into her bedroom, Hayley was finding herself growing fond of Kelly. They were starting to become good friends and Calvin was sure, if the living arrangements didn't change, they would grow to be like sisters.
"We did it," he said. "We got her out of there. She'll be fine."
"I hope so," Hayley whispered.
"We lectured Sarah about her stupid plan. Figured I'd save you having to worry about that as well. Though, you must admit, there wasn't much else we could have done, and it worked."
"Barely," Hayley said, then turned to Calvin with a heavy sigh, "I hope you know, I never want you doing something stupid like that for me."
"Hayls…"
"I mean it," Hayley looked him right in the eyes and gave him that glare that meant she was serious. "If I'm in trouble, I don't want to have to worry about you too. What Sarah did needed to be done, but she risked both being crushed and both being in trouble.
"It was risky," Calvin admitted and he knew Hayley was right. He had mainly been the one to chew Sarah out for choosing to go into the hole with nothing more than a helmet and some padding. "But it needed to be done."
"I know," Hayley said. "I'm just saying, you can't do anything stupid like that."
"I'm getting you out of trouble," Calvin stated. He knew what Hayley meant. She didn't want him to hurt himself trying to save her. She didn't want him to risk his life recklessly. While it was needed in Kelly's case, and while it had worked out for the best, if anything had gone wrong, it was likely the Rangers would lose three friends, instead of two.
"Be smart about it," Hayley made him promise. Calvin nodded and kissed the side of her head.
Eventually, a doctor made his way out of the room and asked for Kelly's family. Mr. and Mrs. Foster stood up. Sarah was quick to make her way over as well. Mrs. Foster put her arms around the pink Ranger, comforting her as the doctor spoke. She hoped for good news, but she was ready for the worst-case scenario.
"Kelly was showing signs of compartment syndrome," the doctor explained. "We got to her in time, and we were able to save the leg, but we needed to perform a fasciotomy."
"A what?" Mr. Foster asked.
"A fasciotomy," the doctor explained, "We had to cut into her fascia, or the collagen, and remove some of it. It should relieve the pressure. We got the circulation back in her leg, so amputation will not be required."
"That's good news," Mrs. Foster said with a smile.
"Several of the bones in her leg and ankle were also broken. We have it set right now, but she will be in a cast for a minimum of six weeks, depending on recovery."
"Will she walk?" Mr. Foster asked.
"We will see how far her recovery takes us," the doctor replied. "Since we were able to save the leg, we're confident she will regain the ability to walk. However, we have to wait for the swelling to go down and we need to wait to see how her body recovers before we can be sure what her mobility will look like. She may require a mobility device."
"But she's okay?" Sarah asked and the doctor nodded his head.
"She's okay. Overall, this was our expected outcome," he looked back to the Fosters, "We would like to keep her until the swelling goes down. Since a skin graft may be required and we would like to monitor the recovery for signs of infection. The sooner she receives treatment, the better. You are able to visit her right now, if you wish."
"I think she'll be happy to see you," Mrs. Foster said and let Sarah go with the doctor while she and her husband returned to update the rest of the Rangers.
-Ninja-Steel-
"Do you think we should offer to help?" Jenny asked her brother, looking to him from the stove as she prepared dinner.
"Sorry. What do you need help with?"
"Nothing," Jenny shook her head. "I meant the Fosters and Kelly. I don't know what kind of insurance Kelly is going to have, and I feel kind of back sticking all her medical bills on them."
"She's not our kid," Shane shrugged.
"I know, but she's Sarah's girlfriend. I really feel like we should be doing more. The Fosters have already taken her into their home. Having to cover all her medical bills, I think, is asking way too much of them."
"I guess that's the risk you take when you take in a kid," Shane said. "If anyone should feel guilty about this, though, it should be Kelly's parents. I don't care what you believe in. If your kid needs you, you need to be there for them."
"I don't think the Saunders would agree with you there. I doubt you can expect them to pay anything for Kelly, considering they think who she is is unforgivable."
"I know, I know."
"Should we offer to cover half?" Jenny asked. "I mean, I'd like to pay for all of it, but I hear she may need another surgery, and she'll be in the hospital a while and… I barely think I can afford half anyways."
"Why don't you leave that to me," Shane said. "Sarah mentioned this happened as part of a Ranger fight?"
"The earthquakes were caused by a monster targeting the school," Jenny nodded.
"Leave it up to me, then," Shane promised her. "I'll take care of it, financially."
"Wow. Does being a sensei for a secret academy really pay that well?"
"It doesn't, but it does give me some options," Shane said. "Is Sarah going to be home tonight?"
"She's staying at the hospital," Jenny shook her head. "Kelly was there when Sarah woke up from that poison. She wants to do the same."
"Cute," Shane smiled.
-Ninja-Steel-
Sarah tossed and turned in her hospital chair. They really needed to be more comfortable for the overnight guests. She had been offered a guest room, but Sarah couldn't imagine Kelly waking up in the middle of the night, in pain and alone.
She had a blanket to cover her, but it wasn't enough. And the chair was too hard for her to feel remotely comfortable for more than a minute. At best, Sarah imagined she got fifteen minutes of sleep, despite how tired she felt.
"Stupid hospitals," she grumbled. She was no stranger to hospitals, but usually, she was in the bed, which admittedly, wasn't all that comfortable either. She had always been a risk-taker. She liked getting her adrenaline pumping, so she was always climbing trees or participating in sports. When she was old enough to start working on inventions and experiments in the garage, she had a few accidents that required stitches and some that led to infections, (at least until she learned how to properly clean her equipment). She would probably need two hands to count the number of nights she stayed in the hospital.
This was her first time not being in the bed, though. Whenever she had been in the hospital, she always imagined it was better to be in the chair. If you were in the chair, you weren't sick, hurt or dying. All you had to do was watch over the person who was sick, hurt, or dying, and occasionally call for a nurse for them.
However, in the chair now, Sarah wished she was the one in the best. She wished it was her who was sick, hurt, or dying. She couldn't imagine Kelly's pain and there was nothing she could do about it. Sitting in the chair was all she could do. That upset her more than being sick, hurt, or dying.
Just as Sarah felt sleep starting to come to her, she heard a pained groan. Her eyes shot open and she stood up from the chair. She leaned over the bed and smiled as Kelly. She put a button in her hand.
"They gave you the good stuff," she told her girlfriend. "You've got morphine if you need it."
"I need it," Kelly said and pushed the button. Relief instantly washed over her.
"I guess it'd be a stupid question to ask if it hurts," Sarah said and Kelly nodded her head.
"You'd win the stupid award if you asked it," Kelly said. "It's still there, though, right?"
"They saved it, yeah," Sarah smiled. "I wouldn't look at it right now, but it is there."
"I trust you. Will I still be able to use it?"
"For the most part. I might, you might not be running marathons any time soon."
"That's more your thing anyways," Kelly chuckled. "I'm more of a… not marathon runner."
"You should get some rest," Sarah said. "I'll be here if you need anything."
"Sounds good," Kelly nodded and closed her eyes. Sleep came to her easily. Sarah wished she could be so lucky as she sat back down in the chair.