Featuring: Jimmy Thunder Date: 04/15/11 Event: WorldWide 148
The whaling sound of sirens is the first thing that Jimmy can hear when he slowly starts to come back into consciousness. He slowly opens his eyes and sees nothing from his blurred vision.
"It’s ok baby, I’m here, just try and relax." He heard Emma say to him as her hand rests on his bare chest.
Jimmy closes his eyes and falls back into unconsciousness as the ambulance speeds its way through the busy Baltimore traffic. Emma’s eyes well up with tears as she starts to fear for her husband’s well being. Within a minute or two of leaving the 1st Mariner Arena, the ambulance pulls up to the emergency section of Mercy Medical Center.
No sooner had the ambulance parked had the emergency team whisked Jimmy from the back of it into an awaiting room where Emma had no chance entering, leaving her helplessly outside in the waiting area with trepidation her only companion. Before she gets any time to gather her thoughts, Jimmy Junior and Chloe arrive at the hospital with Toad, head of GCW security. Toad manages to get a private room for Emma, Jimmy Junior and Chloe, away from the prying eyes of the media, who are merciless with their cameras.
It seems like an eternity has passed for the Thunder family before anyone decides to give them an update on Jimmy’s condition. With nothing but dead silence filling the room, Emma’s fears are alarmed when a doctor walks into the room, slowly and with a sullen face.
Emma takes a deep breath as she stands up and asks, "How is he?"
"Mrs Thunder, he’s fine." The doctor announced. "We took your husband for a CAT scan as a precautionary measure as a result from the server concussion he sustained. We found that he has some minor bruising on his brain." He explained.
"Oh my God!" Emma said while covering her mouth as he shock of the news runs through her body. "Will he be ok?" She asks nervously.
"He will need some rest." Said the doctor. "I will keep him here overnight to monitor his concussion and depending on how well he responds to treatment, he could be released as early as tomorrow morning." He said sporting a smile for the first time. "I will be getting in touch with Jimmy’s doctor in Boise tomorrow morning."
"Is he awake, can I go see him?" An anxious Emma asks.
The doctor smiles again and says "Sure, he’s awake and he’s doing fine but what he really needs now is sleep so try and make it as quick as possible." He asks.
Emma nods as she takes her daughter by the hand and starts to walk towards Jimmy’s room with Junior following closely behind her. She slowly opens the door as the squeaking hinges grabs Jimmy’s attention causing him to slowly turn his head. Emma smiles when she sees a beaming smile on Jimmy’s face. Even though he is laying in a bed with the room lights dimmed and has thin tubes feeding him oxygen into his nostrils, Jimmy’s face still lights up when he smiles at Emma.
"Hey baby." Said Jimmy while smiling at his wife.
Emma rushes over to her husband and gives him a hug as a tear filled with relief falls down her cheek.
"What’s the matter baby?" Asked Jimmy.
"You scared the hell out of me you ass!" She responded with a smile while trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.
Ignoring what Emma had just said to him, Jimmy reaches down and runs his hand across his young daughter’s smooth cheek. "Hey Pumpkin, how’s daddy’s favorite little girl?" Jimmy asked as his natural doting over his daughter comes through in his tone. He then looks up at Emma and says "Honey I’m just fine, don’t worry about me."
"Don’t worry about you?" Said Emma, "You were passed out in the back of an ambulance that was rushing to get you here, how could I not worry about you."
Jimmy closes his eyes then opens them again and smiles before saying, "Baby, just let it go now."
Emma gives her husband a smile as she looks at all the scratches and bruises covering his hulking upper body. Jimmy turns to his son and asks, "So, did I win?"
"No dad, you guys crashed off the stage and Mayhem fell on top of you, the referee had no choice but to give him the three count." Replied Junior.
Jimmy closes his eyes again for a second then tries to moisten inside his dry mouth by moving his tongue up and down. "I guess I’ll have to try and go for it again another time." He said.
"Errr, we’ll discus that another time." Emma quickly jumped in with. "How about we leave so you can get some rest." Suggested Emma.
Jimmy says his goodbyes and not long after they leave, he easily falls asleep. Meanwhile, back at their hotel, Emma lays in her bed with her eyes wide open. She looks at the clock next to her bed and the bright red lights shine one A.M. Her thoughts of her husband being unconscious and not knowing the severity of his injuries scared Emma so much that since she tried falling asleep at eleven P.M her eyes have been wide open like it was the middle of the day.
Even though her husband wasn’t as bad as her fears lead her to believe while in the back of the ambulance with him. The feeling she had at that time refused to leave her, even after she spent a few minutes with him and being reassured by Jimmy that he’s fine. Having her entire body over run with fear that Jimmy was seriously hurt was indeed as traumatic for her as it was for Jimmy falling off the stage while fighting Mayhem.
The next morning, Emma, Junior and Chloe arrive at the hospital in hope that they can leave Baltimore today and head back home to Boise. As she maneuvers their rental car around the hospital parking lot, Emma notices a large gathering at the front of the hospital. After finding a parking space, she takes her daughter’s small hand and follows Junior to where the crowd is. It isn’t too much longer that Emma realizes that the large crowd is a cacophony of media personnel.
Quickly detouring to try and avoid being swarmed by them, Emma heads towards the Emergency Room entrance and sneaks in undetected by the awaiting press. She takes the long, detoured walk back to Jimmy’s ward. Her trek leads her to an elevator where she enters with her daughter and Junior and the trio make their way to Jimmy’s floor. As they exit the elevator they walk straight into Jimmy’s room where he sitting up in his bed with his feet hanging over the side and wearing a hospital gown.
Jimmy lifts his head and a huge smile comes to his face as he sees his family that he loves so much walking towards him. "I’m so glad you guys are here." He announces still sporting his smile.
Giving Jimmy a welcoming hug, Emma then kisses him before saying, "We’re hoping to take you home today."
"There seems to be a problem about me going home." Jimmy said with his voice suddenly turning to a sad tone.
"What’s wrong?" She asks as that feeling of panic runs through her body.
"Well." Jimmy says before his head drops. "I can’t leave here because….." He pauses for a moment while he looks to the ground. "I need to get some clothes before I can go." He ends with as he starts laughing. Both Chloe and Junior burst out laughing as Emma slaps him across the shoulder, more so as a sign of relief on her part instead of it being her way of showing he found what he said to be funny as well.
"I’ll go back to the car and see if I can find some clothes for him." Volunteered Junior.
"What did the Doctor say?" Asked Emma.
"He wants me to go and see Doc Brown when we get home but apart from that he’s happy about everything and he’s discharging me whenever I want to go." Jimmy explained.
"Why do you have to see Doc Brown?" Emma asked.
"Just a precautionary thing, there’s nothing to worry about." Replied Jimmy.
"Baby, when we get home, I want to start talking to you about when you’re planning on retiring for good this time." Said Emma.
"You want me to retire? Now?" Replied Jimmy with a shocked tone in his voice.
Both Emma and Jimmy remain quiet for a moment as Jimmy turns to her and says, "Baby, I feel great. Just because I got a little banged up against Mayhem is no cause for panic."
"No cause for panic?? If you had have seen the state you were in while you were in that ambulance then you’d understand my panic." Replied an angry Emma.
"This head injury is nothing, I’ve been through a hell of a lot worse than this. A hell of a lot worse" Said Jimmy who now has become just as angry.
At that moment a nurse walks in with some paperwork for Jimmy to sign before he is able to be released. While waiting for Junior to return, Jimmy plays with Chloe with Emma looking on, frustrated with the stubbornness her husband possesses. His unwillingness to discuss his future combined with his head strong personality, in Emma’s eyes, is a cocktail for a catastrophe.
It isn’t too long before Jimmy is able to get some civilian clothes on and is being wheeled in a wheel chair through the hospital. "We better go out a different way babe." Said Emma.
"Why’s that?" Jimmy asked.
"The media is right out the hospital front doors." She answered.
"Nothing wrong with a bit of free publicity." Jimmy said with a smile.
His wish soon became a reality. As soon as the media circus get a glimpse of Jimmy coming thorough the doors, they immediately swarm Jimmy.
"Jimmy how severe is your injury?" A reporter asked
"I’m doing great, just a few bumps and bruises, nothing worth worrying about.:" Replied Jimmy with his interview smile planted on his face.
Emma stands back and lets her husband transform himself into a showman for the media circus swarmed around him. He may put on a façade for the media, but deep down she can feel there’s more to what he’s letting on that what meets the eye.
The following day, both Emma and Jimmy are waiting at Doc Brown’s medical practice in Boise. The expected long wait to be called up was far from it. Within ten minutes of arriving Jimmy is called into Doc Brown’s office.
As he gets up he turns to Emma and before he gives her a kiss he says with a smile, "Don’t leave town or anything like that."
Emma smiles back as she says, "I’m going to get a coffee or something, call me when you’re done."
Jimmy follows Doc Brown into his office and takes a seat opposite to him at his desk. "Had a rough night at the office I see Jimmy." Said Doc Brown while he looked over the notes that was faxed to him by Doc Smith from Mercy Hospital in Baltimore.
"Nothing out of the ordinary Doc" Replied Jimmy.
"Says here that a CAT scan found bruising on your brain and you were severely concussed." Doc Brown added.
"I guess it’s a job hazard." Jimmy said with a cocky grin on his face.
"I’d like to do another CAT scan on your brain." Doc Brown suggested.
"I don’t mean to come across as an arrogant bastard but I think I‘m fine" Said Jimmy confidently.
"As your Doctor I have a responsibility to you and your family to make sure you’re in the best possible health." Doc Brown said.
"I understand where you’re coming from but take it from when I say I’m fine." Jimmy quickly responded with.
"If you’re fine then Jimmy, why did you discharge yourself from the hospital instead of waiting for them to release you?" Asked Doc Brown.
"Doc I don’t have the time to wait for them to cover their bureaucratic red tape. I know my body, I know when I’m feeling fine." Jimmy explained.
"Do you know your body well enough to know that one hit on your head could permanently hurt or kill you?" Asked Doc Brown
Jimmy stands to his feet and with an angry tone in his voice he says, "Doc, I think I’ve wasted enough of your time." With that, he leaves Doc Brown’s office and heads downstairs where he finds Emma drinking her coffee.
"What did Doc Brown say?" She curiously asked.
"He said I was fine and had nothing to worry about." He answered as he continued to walk past her towards their car.
Feeling like more and more that Jimmy is hiding something from her, Emma now faces the unenviable task of trying to find out exactly what it is he’s hiding.
The scene fades….