The Accident
© 1998 Mary Catherine Whitney
All Rights Reserved.
(A Nonspank Story)

This takes place on Sunday of Parent’s Weekend (the third weekend of October)

Sunday Morning—10:00 am
The Quad Sunday dawned cold and bright. The campus had a quiet, almost sleepy quality to it. Saint Francis was beautiful this time of year Andy thought as he walked across the Quad toward the Chapel. The Quad was covered in a multicolored blanket of maple leaves that crunched under his feet. It was cold though, and Andy pulled his coat shut quickening his pace as he hurried along. The temperature had dropped nearly 20 degrees overnight. It looked like Indian Summer was over and winter felt like it wasn’t far off. He could see his breath in the morning air. Rain was predicted for later in the day. At this rate, it was likely to start snowing before Thanksgiving.

Arriving at the Chapel, Andy pulled open the door and walked inside. As it was Parent’s Weekend, Chapel was optional this morning and few girls were in attendance, even for the second service. Mary Catherine, he was interested to note, was one of them. He saw her speaking to Sister Rose, then slipping into her seat as the bell began to chime 10:00 am. She definitely didn’t look happy to be there, and he could tell that she wasn’t following along with the service, but he was glad to see that she took his words to heart yesterday and at least turned up . . . even when she technically didn’t have to do so today.

At the end of Mass, Andy tried to make his way over to Mary Catherine, but Father Davis sidetracked him. By the time he managed to get free, she was long gone. “Oh well,” he thought, leaving the Chapel, “maybe I can catch up with her at riding team practice later.”

Actually, he decided as he entered his cottage, riding didn’t sound like a bad idea. It had been several weeks since he’d gotten a chance to ride. Upstairs, he quickly changed into jeans and boots and pulled a warm wool sweater over a tee shirt. Grabbing his chaps, hard hat and jacket from the hook by the door and he headed down toward the main arena. He’d watch a little, maybe catch up with Mary Catherine and try again to get to the bottom of things. After that he’d grab a horse from the barn and spend a couple of hours in the saddle.

Practice was in full swing when he got to the main arena just before 12:00 PM. The Varsity team was outside the ring taking a break while Jeffrey was working with the Junior Varsity girls. As Andy climbed up to take a seat on the rail he heard a collective groan from the Junior Varsity Team. He overheard numerous comments including, "The whole practice without stirrups?! No fair!!! Oh man, I’m gonna be sore for a week if we have to do that!"

"Enough complaining," said Jeffrey, smacking his boot with a riding crop. "Most of you girls looked terrible at the show yesterday. Riding is much more than getting over a jump or making your horse do what you want. You should look good while doing it too . . . and if I hear one more word I’ll get out the bars and make you work on your posture as well, that clear?" Andy nearly laughed as that threat got the girls to quickly cross their stirrups over the front of the saddle.

"Now," Jeffrey continued, "it can be done and done well." Looking over at the Varsity team he calls out "Mary Catherine, mount up and give the Junior Varsity Team a demo for me." Mary swings up onto her horse; a large, handsome Palomino named Amazing Journey (AJ) and trots into the ring in front of Jeffrey. "Can you give me a hand getting these off?" Mary asks as she brings her leg over the front of the saddle. Unlike the Junior Varsity girls who simply crossed their stirrups over the front of the saddle, Mary and Jeffrey unhook her stirrups completely from the saddle.

Once she’s ready she walks AJ to the rail. "Ok Mary, show them how it’s done." Mary Catherine spends the next 10 minutes going through the walk, trot and canter in each direction. From time to time, Jeffrey calls out instructions. "OK Mary, posting trot . . . canter . . ."

Finally Jeffrey calls her back over to him. "Take a minute while I reset the course." Jeffrey goes out and sets up a warm-up jump and an eight-fence course. "OK Mary, over and back on the warm-up jump. Trot it the first time and canter the second." Mary pops AJ over the warm-up jump a couple of times to Jeffrey’s satisfaction. “OK, now, once around, same course as yesterday’s hunter classes.” Mary does a quick verbal confirmation of the jump order . . . "OK, down the far line in six strides, then across the diagonal to the brush jump, around and over the roll-top at the end of the arena, next come up the coop on the near line in five to the in and out, one stride there, then turn coming off the rail and you should hit the wall in seven. End of course."

Jeffrey nods in agreement and Mary swings into a canter toward the first jump. Andy watches as she begins a flawless round. One by one the jumps go by precisely as she described them. By the time she gets to the in and out, everyone is watching, even the Varsity Team. Neat and clean in the air over each jump, she looks just like she does riding with stirrups, the sign of a very good rider. Mary landed over the in and out, and cantered up along the rail and began to make the final turn on course . . .

Sunday Afternoon—12:00 pm, The Main Arena
Andy watched the events play out in slow motion . . . Mary Catherine was turning the corner after the in and out, making her way to the final jump on course—the wall. In the background, he could hear Jeffrey explaining to the Junior Varsity team how to take the proper line after the turn to get to the wall in seven strides. The Varsity team members were outside the ring, remounting after a break, marveling that Mary rode just as well without stirrups, even over fences.

Mary was approaching the wall now, her ponytail flying under her hard hat, her eyes sparkling. She looked as happy and excited as she did that day she jumped on Patrick’s horse and Andy had to chase her down. Two strides from the jump, AJ took a misstep, stumbled perhaps . . . Andy wasn’t sure. What he was sure about was that AJ suddenly lost his balance and tripped, went to his knees and crashed into the wall, scattering it into half a dozen pieces. He felt his heart stop as he saw Mary Catherine go flying over AJ’s head. The speed and force of her unseating caused her to rip the bridle right off AJ as she went over his ears.

Andy watched as Mary pulled her body into a ball, tucking her head to her chest the way she’d been taught to avoid head and neck injuries. Then, with a crashing jolt, Mary hit the ground, bouncing on her right side, rolling and tumbling to a stop. Behind her, AJ was already getting to his feet, shaking himself, breathing hard. Against his light coat Andy could see a couple of raw pink spots where he’d scraped his knees on the tanbark covering the ground in the ring. Jeffrey ducked under the arena’s fence and quickly slipped a spare halter and leadline on AJ and walked him to the far side of the ring so he wouldn’t get spooked and accidentally trample Mary.

"Mary!!!" Even as Andy jumped off the fence and began to run toward her, Mary Catherine was uncurling herself from the tight ball. He saw her roll over and struggle to her knees. Her left hand went up briefly signaling she was OK, and she unhooked the chin strap of her hard had and yanked it off.

Andy saw she was struggling, though . . . something wasn’t right . . . it was apparent in the way she was moving, and as he came up beside her he saw what was wrong. Mary was holding her right arm against her body in a way Andy knew all too well from his hockey days at Saint Sebastian’s. As he dropped to his knees next to her, he could see the shock begin to flood into her eyes. He felt as though his heart was being ripped out as the first anguishing moan escaped her lips. "Ohhhhhh . . . Ohhh NNNOOOOOOOOOO!"

"It’s OK Mary. No, don’t try to get up . . . I want you to lie here a moment." Andy pulled off his jacket and sweater, not even noticing the chill air slice through his tee shirt. Rolling up his sweater to use as a pillow, he helped Mary lie back down and put his jacket over her to keep her warm. As he spoke quietly to her, reassuring her, he thought about a course of action. He was torn between calling for an ambulance and having Mary lie there for an hour or more, or picking her up and driving the 35 miles to the hospital himself.

Brushing her hair away from her cheek, Andy asked, "Mary . . . can you tell me what hurts?" "Aaaaarrrm, ssshhh shhouulder." "Anything else Sport? What about your back or neck?" "Nooo," she replied. Andy held up three fingers. "How many Sport?" Focusing on his hand she answered, "Three" . . . "Do you know where you are Mary?" "Saint Francis . . .". Andy asked her a few more questions, breathing a sigh of relief . . . the hard hat appeared to have done its job, and except for her arm, Mary didn’t seem to have trouble moving anything, though she winced stiffly every time she tried.

She was cold, and getting colder though, that was clear from the way she was trembling. Andy thought about the possibility of shock. He quickly made up his mind. "Mandy, Kristin, get someone to hold your mounts . . ." They jumped off their horses, handed over the reins and raced over to the Dean. Both girls were in tears. "Kristin, you have your license, right?" Kristin nodded, "Yes Dean."

"Good, here take my keys and get my Jeep. Drive it as close to the gate as you can. Mandy, go with her and pack an overnight bag for Mary Catherine . . . toothbrush, extra clothes, that sort of thing. Be sure to pack a cardigan, not a pullover." Looking at Mary shivering on the ground he added, "Oh, and grab a blanket and a pillow. We’ll pick everything up as we drive past Benning Hall. Is there anything you want her to get Sport?"

"Simon, and mmmmyyy lap . . . laptop and assignment folder." Andy frowned briefly, wanting to argue with her about the computer. He knows she’s still worried about the hacker and saving Mandy even after the information they discovered on Jenny’s disk Friday night, but he figures this isn’t the time . . . "Simon?" he asks questioningly. "Her teddy bear Dean", Mandy explains. "Oh, OK, run . . . be out front in ten minutes."

Kristin and Mandy race off. Jeffrey calls for the other riders to dismount and lead their horses back to the barn. They start to go quietly, most of them too stunned to speak. They’re all used to falls, but rarely this bad. Most spills result in little more than a bruise.

Kneeling back down, Andy asks, "Doing all right Sport?" Mary closes her eyes tight, "Yes". It takes all her effort not to cry out again, her arm hurts so bad. "AJ?" she asks questioningly in a small voice. Andy looks up and sees Jeffrey leading him toward the barn, limping slightly, but putting full weight on all four legs. "He’s OK Sport, don’t worry."

They’re alone now, waiting for Kristin to come back with the car. The right side of Mary’s face has a couple of scrapes from where she hit the tanbark, and an ugly bruise was starting to form on her right cheek. Just as Kristin pulls up, Mary whispers, "I’m scared Andy." He doesn’t even notice her slip, the seriousness of her words hitting him. Andy knows she must be hurting pretty badly if she’s admitting she’s afraid. "Don’t worry Em (using Patrick’s pet name for her now) "I’m going to get you to the hospital and they’ll fix you right up. Trust me?" "Yes," she answers; looking at him wide eyed.

"Good, now I’ve got to get you in the car. Andy helps Mary slowly sit up. "Can you put your arm around my neck Mary?" With great effort, Mary Catherine brings her left arm around his neck. As gently as he can, Andy picks her up and walks over to the Cherokee, careful not to jostle her right arm which is hanging limply. Kristin has the passenger door open wide, and Andy carefully sits her down. The seat belt proves difficult and a high, thin scream of pain escapes from Mary’s lips as he has to thread her right arm through it in order to get her buckled in safely.

Closing the door carefully, he races to the driver’s side and starts the car. Turning around, he begins to drive slowly down the gravel road, making his way toward Benning Hall. He glances over and sees Mary gritting her teeth. Andy reaches over and takes her left hand. "I know it hurts Em, just squeeze my hand. Once we’re off campus, the road will be smoother." Mary’s knuckles quickly begin to turn white; she’s squeezing Andy’s hand so hard. After what seems like an eternity, though it’s just a couple of minutes, he pulls up beside Benning Hall.

Mandy comes racing out the door and down the steps. Andy gets out to grab the bag, blanket and pillow. "Can I go to the hospital with you Dean?" Mandy pleads. He looks at her, gives her a quick reassuring hug and gently replies, "No Mandy. I know you’re worried, but it’s better you wait here. I’ll call as soon as the doctor sees her." Andy puts the bag in the back and brings the blanket and pillow to Mary’s side of the car. He reaches down and tucks the blanket around her legs, and carefully slides the pillow onto her lap. As gently as he can, he lifts her arm up so the pillow supports it. A fresh flood of tears begins to fall and Andy brings his hand to Mary’s cheek to brush them away. His heart nearly breaks at having to hurt her so. "I’m sorry Em. I know it hurts. Shhhhhh . . . no, don’t fight against it, just let your arm rest there. The pillow will help give it support during the drive."

Andy watches Mary’s eyes close as she struggles against the pain. Shutting the door he gets back in and drives out the front gate of St. Francis and gets on the highway. Every minute seems like forever. Andy has a tight grip on Mary’s hand, only letting go to turn from one road to the next. The forecasted rain starts to fall, causing him to watch the road more carefully. He never stops talking though, letting Mary know that everything is going to be fine, how they’ll be at the hospital soon.

Through the pain, Mary’s mind is in a state of confusion. She’s felt so unsettled ever since he’d caught her with Doug in the hayloft. First she was sure he hated her. He could barely bring himself to look at her or even speak to her for nearly a week after it happened. He hadn’t even punished her for her behavior. Instead he’d become distant. Then Friday he had done a complete turnaround. He hadn’t done anything more than shake his head over catching her wearing Doug’s tie and give her a lecture on following the rules and the responsibility of being a role model to her girls. Then there was that incident in her room Friday night when he gave her the ski passes to Stowe. That had come as a complete shock; he had seemed so determined to outbid her for them. And of course the incident in town and in his cottage Saturday night. They seemed to flow between an extremely tense and totally relaxed interaction with one another, with no middle ground. She wondered what was going on between them.

The only time he’d come close to his old self, and she knew precisely where she stood with him was when he had spanked her as a result of the food fight with her freshmen. As much as it surprised her, she missed his attention. She missed him taking care of her, looking out for her, even when she was fighting with all her might against him treating her like a little girl.

As they pulled up to the emergency room entrance, a nurse came out with a wheelchair. Someone at Saint Francis must have called ahead to let the hospital know they were coming. Just as she got to the door, Mary quietly said to Andy, "I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment. I hope you don’t hate me."

Before he could answer, the nurse had the door open and extricated Mary Catherine from the seat belt. She helped Mary gingerly out of the car and into the chair, wheeling her inside.

Sunday Afternoon—2:30 PM, The Hospital
Andy tried to rush after Mary Catherine as she was wheeled down the hall toward an examining room. He wasn’t sure if Mary had made that comment out of pain or confusion. He realized his detached manner toward her since the mixer must be confusing to her. Even that incident in the locker room with her freshmen was unusual. If he hadn’t told himself over and over that she was just a bratty little girl who needed to be taken in hand and taught a lesson, he wouldn’t have been able to go through with the spanking he gave her that day.

Then Friday, he couldn’t figure out what to do with her. She’d been so out of sorts, off in her own world it seemed. He saw she was hurting, both physically and mentally—he really should have done something about catching her in the clearing at St. Sebastian’s. He knew she was with Doug, though by the looks of things he managed to interrupt them again before things went too far. The look of surprise and embarrassment on her face when he replaced her tie though was punishment enough probably. Their conversation in her room later that night confirmed it. Plus, as much as he wanted to discipline her for that incident, he did remember when nearly the same thing happened during his years at St. Sebastian’s and he couldn’t help but remember how he felt when he got caught.

And the ski passes, Andy still wasn’t sure what surprised him more, his overwhelming need to outbid Mary for them, or how he felt afterward when he saw the crushed look on her face and how she ran out of the dining hall with tears in her eyes. Well, he thought, at least I pulled a smile out of her when I let her outbid me for them later that night. He could still see her standing there in her plaid pj’s in front of the mirror smiling slowly at first, then broadly until it lit up her whole face. She had given him the biggest hug, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment. That hug and the look on her face when she realized he was serious was worth it. It surprised him to realize that he almost never saw her smile like that. She acted upbeat most of the time, but it was rare that she seemed truly happy. Why wouldn’t she confide in him?

He had tried again Saturday, both in his Jeep as they drove into town for the pizza and movies, as well as in his office while the other girls watched the movie. He had felt she was close to opening up to him on Saturday night when she began to cry, yet at the last moment she pulled away again and shut her feelings up inside of her. She was very good at evading his questions he had to admit. Well, Andy thought, he was going to find a way to put an end to that, and soon.

As he approached the door, a nurse with a no nonsense attitude and a firm grip locked onto him and led him away from the examining room and toward admittance. He filled out the paperwork and the clerk pulled Mary’s files from the Saint Francis folder. After checking the consent form that verified he was able to authorize treatment in her parent’s absence, they pointed him to the waiting room. An hour became two and Andy paced nervously, drinking too much bad coffee from the machine in the hall. As he paced he took the handcuff key from around his neck and twisted and untwisted the ribbon on his finger.

God, he hated this place. This was the same hospital he’d come to when he broke his collarbone while playing hockey as a junior at Saint Sebastian’s. The waiting room was the same one he’d sat in the day the Headmaster took him to visit Patrick when he first got sick, before he was moved to the hospital in New York where he ended up spending the last months of his life. The only time he’d been here since that day was when Mary Catherine when she had her tonsils removed as a sophomore. She'd barely even known he had been there. He snuck in to check on her while she was asleep, leaving peppermint ice cream for when she woke up. Normally he made a point of sending another faculty member in his place when one of the girls was sick or hurt. That’s how much this place got to him . . . but he couldn’t leave Mary Catherine here alone. "Please, please let her be all right. I promised I’d look out for her . . .," he thinks.

"Dean?" Andy turns toward the sound of the voice, the key tightening in his hand. "Hi, I’m Dr. Reardon . . . Andy, is that you?" He looks and recognizes that Dr. Reardon is Scott Reardon. Scott had been a couple of years ahead of him and Patrick at Saint Sebastian’s. "Hey Scott," he says shaking hands, "I didn’t know you joined the staff here." "Yeah, I just finished my residency a few months ago and decided I wanted to move back to the area. I meant to look you up, I heard that you were the Dean of Students at Saint Francis. I guess that makes you responsible for that little terror in there," Scott gestures over toward the room where Mary had been wheeled.

Andy laughs briefly at that, feeling some of the tension lift for the first time since he saw Mary fly over AJ’s head. If Mary Catherine was up to giving Scott a hard time, it must mean she was going to be OK "She’s fine then Scott?" "Sure," he says, seeing the relief flood over Andy. "There’s nothing wrong that time, bed rest, and if you want my honest opinion, a good spanking wouldn’t cure. That last opinion is a personal, not a professional one, mind you. My God Andy, do you let them run wild out there these days? Are they all like her? I’ve never seen a girl so determined to get her own way."

"Determined", Andy thinks, "Well that’s Mary Catherine all over", he replies. "What did she do Scott?" "What didn’t she do, or try to do?" Scott replies rolling his eyes as they walk down the hall toward his office. Opening the door, Scott shows Andy inside and turns on a lightbox, clipping Mary Catherine’s X-rays to it. "I’ll get to what she did in a minute. First off, the damage . . . Two breaks of the right arm, here and here," Scott says pointing to a spot just above the wrist and another about six inches higher. The collarbone X-rays came back negative, but I think she dislocated her right shoulder when she hit the ground. It must have popped itself back into place at some point. I want to watch that real carefully to make sure she didn’t pull or tear any muscles or ligaments. I won’t be able to tell for a week or two on that though. There’s a lot of swelling and bruising right now. The scrapes and bruises on her face and over the rest of her body are superficial. She didn’t need any stitches. There’s no apparent head trauma, no sign of concussion. Overall she was very lucky. It could have been much, much worse. She’s going to be real sore for a while though Andy, between all of the bruises from the fall, and that broken arm."

Growing even more serious, Scott adds, "There was one other thing I noticed during my exam. This definitely didn’t happen in the fall . . . she has some good-sized welts on her bottom and her upper thighs. There were also a lot of bruises on her wrists and forearms. From the looks of it, I’d say she was held down and given a half a dozen good licks with a heavy strap of some sort. I asked her about them, but she clammed up. Until that point I couldn’t get her to shut up, but when I mentioned that, I couldn’t get another word out of her. Do you know what’s up?"

Andy reddened with anger . . . "Veronica", he thought. He was sure she was behind it and he finally knew what Mary had been trying to hide these past few days. "I’ve got a pretty good idea . . . there’s been rumors going around that one of the Senior Advisors has been using her floor paddle, among other things with increasing force and frequency. From what I can tell it’s not just her own freshmen, but other girls as well. Mary Catherine emailed me about it, apparently at least one girl confided in her that she had been disciplined with a leather strap. I saw the results a couple of days back, but the girl was too scared to talk to me . . . she wouldn’t tell me who was responsible . . . there was nothing I could do without her giving me more details.”

He pauses a moment, remembering the marks on Susan. If they were anything like that Mary Catherine must've been terribly sore. Shaking his head he adds, “I talked to Mary; since the girl had felt comfortable enough to confide in her, and asked Mary Catherine if she thought it could be handled without faculty interference, you know, just between the advisors. I told Mary I needed proof in order to remove the girl as an advisor. If I got proof I had actually planned to talk to the Board about suspending, even possibly expelling the girl, but Mary didn’t know that." Andy sighs, "I guess she went looking for proof on her own and ended up getting more than either of us bargained for. How bad are they?"

"Bad enough," Scott replies. "No skin broken, but the marks are pretty ugly. Most of them crisscross back and forth over each other. That’s why I’m not sure exactly how many times she had that strap laid into her. From the color and the fact that they’re so prominently raised, I’d have to say they were applied to her bare skin though. They also tell me that whoever did it was really proficient at using that strap. The strokes were all laid on just hard enough to be their most painful without causing the skin to break, and the placement is such that they cross over onto each other where it will hurt the most both during and after their application. Yes, Andy, I’d say you had enough proof if you can get her to talk. In all honesty, I’m not sure how she’s been able to sit at all, let alone ride."

Andy reflects on that statement obviously her strapping was every bit as bad as Susan’s, if not worse, remembering all those times over the past few days Mary Catherine had avoided sitting or stiffening when she did. Now he knew why. He just didn’t understand why she felt she couldn’t tell him about it. Was she too embarrassed to tell him what had happened, or had Veronica threatened her is some way. He had asked her point blank at least twice if she had been paddled and each time she had said "No, I definitely have not been paddled." Andy had heard the sound of truth in that, but at the same time he knew she wasn’t being up front with him. A strapping explains that, because in her mind she felt that a paddling and a strapping were two different things.

"Now," Scott says as they walk out of his office and toward the stairs toward the second floor, "as for the rest of it. Maybe you can talk some sense into her, I know I couldn’t." They’re making their way to the room Mary’s been put in after she was done in the ER and having her arm set in orthopedics.

"You said she was giving you a hard time," said Andy. "How so?" "You name it . . . she refused all painkillers . . . asked about a million questions during the exam, that part actually was OK, I like seeing a bright girl who’s interested in learning and it helped distract her from the pain for a little while . . . then she tried to talk me out of a rigid cast . . . broken in two places and she actually thinks she can talk me into giving her a removable brace. Let’s see, then she attempted to convince me to sign a waiver so she could keep riding! I know they say it’s best to get right back on after a fall, but as eager as she is to ride, losing her nerve is NOT going to be a problem. From what I can tell, the little terror is nearly fearless. Then she asked for her laptop, she said something about an important assignment she couldn’t miss . . . it was right about then that I discovered the strap marks, which like I said, shut her up but good."

Laying Down the Law
As they get to Mary Catherine’s door, Scott turns to Andy and says, "Maybe you can convince her to take the painkillers. I’d really like to give her that and a mild sedative to help her sleep. From what I can tell, she’s going to be a handful, so I’d like to keep her overnight for observation at least. After that, she’s YOUR responsibility. When we go in there, I plan to cover everything fully with her. That way you can back up the Doctor’s orders and let her know just who’s in charge during her recovery. Deal?"

"Of course", Andy replies. "I don’t want anything else to happen to her. She’s going to obey for once. It’s for her own good and no matter what I have to do, I’m going to make sure of she understands that." Thinking briefly of the lift tickets for over Christmas break, Andy asks, "how long will the cast be on her arm?" "Probably only a month, they were both clean breaks and should heal fairly quickly as long as she follows orders." Andy gives a mental smile . . . she should have it off shortly before Christmas. After everything, he would have hated to take that trip back away from her, but he was going to have to watch her very carefully and make sure she took it easy on the slopes. The trick with Mary was to make sure she didn’t feel like he was watching over her.

Opening the door, Scott and Andy go inside. A nurse is plumping up the pillows behind Mary Catherine. She’s wearing her own pj’s Andy notices, the same warm flannel ones he saw her in Friday night. She’s still pretty pale, but at least has some of her color back. A frown crosses his face though as he sees her wince in pain as the nurse repositions her arm in its freshly set cast. He looks at Scott and gives him a little nod. Time to lay down the law with Mary Catherine for her own good.

"Hey Sport," Andy says. "Feeling better?" Mary nods, gritting her teeth slightly as she feels a stab of pain rush through her shoulder, thinking "Oohhhh, I’ve got to remember not to move too much." "Much better, Dean," she says, slightly tightlipped. "Hmmm . . . well Dr. Reardon told me that you’re not too excited about following his orders. Why don’t we have him go over them for both of us Mary? That way I can make sure they’re followed to the letter." Mary Catherine’s eyes widen and Andy smiles slightly as he hears her groan of frustration. He knows it’s hard for her to sit still and be taken care of and for once that’s precisely what’s going to happen. Andy decides that she’s going to have no choice in the matter, and it’s best she realizes that now.

"OK Mary," Scott says opening her chart, "we’re going to keep you here overnight for observation. The Dean can take you back to St. Francis tomorrow afternoon. I want you to get lots of bed rest for the next week or so, give those muscles a chance to heal after you bounced them around so much today. I talked to the Dean. I know you’re worried about missing a week of class so close to finals and falling behind on your assignments, but he’s going to make sure you stay caught up." Andy’s surprised about that, but doesn’t let it show, thinking a week in bed so he doesn’t spend all of his time trying to hunt her down around campus getting her out of trouble doesn’t sound half bad.

"Next, I want you to be wearing that sling when you’re up and around like we talked about while I was setting your arm. That way you won’t go banging your cast around, and it will help keep your shoulder in a comfortable position. I won’t know for sure for a week or two if you pulled or tore anything in the fall, so I want you to give your shoulder a proper chance to heal."

He sees the look of displeasure on Mary’s face. "It will be far worse if I have to go back in and operate Mary, just remember that." Mary’s face takes on a look of resolve and she nods. "Now, no horseback riding, no other sports until the cast comes off. We’ll do some physical therapy on your arm for a week or so after the cast is removed to get you back up to speed. Finally, you WILL take those shots right now young lady and the painkillers and sedatives that I give the Dean for you to take orally after you’re discharged. I don’t want to hear any nonsense about you not wanting to get addicted to drugs again . . . these are very mild, just to take the edge off the pain, and to help you get some sleep. You won’t be on either of them long enough to suffer any long-term effects.

Mary looks at the needles and the bottles on the tray in front of Dr. Reardon. "Nooooo . . . I told you I didn’t want them! I’m fine . . . I don’t want you to give me anything." Andy sees she’s getting agitated, her face screwing up with pain again as she shifts in bed. "Mary," he says in that calm, but serious voice that tells her he’s not going to stand for any nonsense. You WILL follow Dr. Reardon’s orders and I mean you will follow them NOW and to the letter. That clear Sport?" Mary sees his eyebrow raise, and she quickly answers, "Yes Sir, Dean." Mary looks at Scott, "Dr. Reardon, could you let me take them orally? I mean, you said that I’d be getting them that way once I got home anyway . . ." Mary’s voice trails off. A light goes on in Andy’s head, "Is that what the fuss is all about, Mary Catherine? Are you afraid to get the shots?"

Mary blushes furiously . . . "No, of course not . . ." she answers a little too quickly. "That is, well, I’d rather NOT get a shot, if you know what I mean Dean." "Doc," Andy asks, amused that she’s been so brave, yet totally undone by a couple of pricks of the needle, "can she take the painkiller and the sedative orally?" Scott shakes his head. "I’d really prefer she didn’t, not for today at least. We’ll start her on them orally tomorrow for a week or ten days, but the shots are going to ease her pain and help her sleep much more quickly today—that’s the most important thing right now."

Mary looks at Andy miserably, her eyes wide, "No Dean, please don’t make me," she whispers. "I’m sorry Sport, I promised I’d get you to follow Doctor’s orders for your own good. I know you can do it." He turns her head away from Scott and holds her hand. "Just look at me, and listen to my voice, OK? It will only hurt for a second." Scott sees that Mary’s really upset by the prospect of getting the shots.

"Hold on a second." He turns and whispers something to the nurse. She walks out briefly and returns with a small can, handing it to Scott. "Here we go, this should help." Scott quickly sprays a topical painkiller on Mary’s arm where he needs to give her the injections. "This will put your arm to sleep for just a minute, long enough to get the shots." Andy tosses Scott a grateful look. Mary’s arm begins to tingle, then she feels nothing.

Scott quickly gives her the painkiller and the sedative, rubbing the spots to take the sting out a bit before feeling returns in her arm. "Good girl. Now, I want you to lie back and relax, try and get some sleep, OK?" He looks over at Andy, "That goes for you too. She’s in good hands. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?" Andy shakes his head; "I’m not going anywhere until she does." He draws up the visitor’s chair close to Mary’s bed and takes her left hand. "I’m going to keep a close eye on you from now on Em."

Mary Catherine settled back as Andy took a seat in the visitor’s chair. There was so much he wanted to ask her, not to mention set straight between them, but this wasn’t the time. Already, Mary was starting to get a dreamy look in her eyes as the medication began to kick in. "Anything you need Em?" he asked as she worked to get comfortable. "Oh, yes . . . yawn . . . could I have my . . . yawn . . . laptop and assignment folder?" Mary was struggling to keep her eyes open. Looking at her, Andy knew she wasn’t going to last more than another 10 minutes or so before she fell asleep. Instead of getting into an argument, he tried a diversionary tactic.

"Sure, but how about we give you a few minutes to settle in and get comfortable though? In the meantime, why don’t I read to you?" Andy rummaged into the overnight bag. He had noticed a few books peeking out the top of the bag when Mandy handed it to him. Hopefully there would be something in there he could read aloud. Unfortunately he knew the reading taste of most of the girls at St. Francis far too well. His office closet was filled with cheap romance and adventure novels that had been confiscated by the teachers who caught girls reading them in class. Mary was a smart girl though, and when she wasn’t getting into trouble, her nose was often buried in a book—and not the mindless variety that most of the girls preferred. He felt fairly sure at least one of the three books he pulled out would be acceptable.

On top was a dog-eared, well-highlighted copy of The Brothers Karamozov. That was the book he had caught her "reading" in the meadow. He remembered her saying that she had a paper due next week on it. From the notes in the margin, it appeared she had been writing the paper as she went along, and only had about a hundred pages left. Remembering reading it at St. Sebastian’s he knew that this wouldn’t just put her to sleep, but knock her out. The next book was obviously for her political science course . . . Rousseau . . . well that certainly wouldn’t do. A Post-It note reminder on the book cover said she had to read 2 chapters for a test on Tuesday.

As Andy put it aside Mary Catherine yawned again, louder and more lingering this time. He turned over the third book and got a smile on his face . . . "How about this one?" Mary looked at it and nodded . . . "Uh huh, that’s one of my favorites. Remember though, only for a few . . . yawn . . . minutes then you . . . yawn . . . promised me my . . . yawn . . . laptop."

Andy opened the beautiful illustrated hardbound copy of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. As he passed the flyleaf, he was surprised to find an inscription that read . . . "For Em on her seventh birthday. You’re the only girl I know who has more adventures than Alice. Love, Patrick" For a moment, Andy’s throat closed. Mary Catherine must have received it on her last birthday before Patrick died. No wonder she loved it so much. Turning to the first page though he found something really unusual. He opened his mouth to begin and quickly shut it.

He flipped though the pages for a minute and looked at Mary Catherine. Her eyes were almost closed. He smiled as he began to read what was obviously a very special, very personal copy of the story . . . "Chapter One—Down the Rabbit Hole. Mary Catherine was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister by the bank . . . By the time he got to page 3 Mary was fast asleep. Settling in for the night, Andy looked at Mary Catherine now sleeping peacefully, wondering what her, no their, next adventure would be.

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