More worried about a croc

After fending off paramedics on the way to the hospital, arguing with doctors and nurses, fighting with doctors in the ER and finally being sewn up and put in a room, Ryder's spirits were less than joyful. His leg hurt more than he'd admit - and no wonder. He'd almost lost some of his leg from the deep bite - if the crocodile had torn instead of letting go, he'd be in much worse shape. As it was, the doctor was able to to repair what he could and put the stitches in place. Nerves and muscle had been damaged though, foretelling of a not-so-pleasant recovery.

Fighting to stay awake, despite the drugs, Ryder lifts an eyebrow as he sees Thirteen. Someone had called her. He's about to say something, when he received the whack to the back of his head, and he shoots her an annoyed look. "Ow! What was that for?"

Hearing her words of worry, he sighs, though still isn't happy. He can't help but give her hand a returning squeeze though. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he replies, a little disgusted. "They're making a big deal out of nothing. I've gotten bit before, and she wasn't trying to attack me - I just startled her. Hardy will be cheesed off when he hears about it and I'll get an earbashing but that's about the worst of it." He sighs again, ignoring the dull throb that went through his whole right leg.

"Well, Mr. Billings. Glad to see you're in your same chipper spirits."

Ryder turns to see Dr. Timble and his eyes narrow. "Tell me I'm going home today."

"Sorry." JT shakes his head and goes to poke a little around Ryder's leg to check the bandaging. "I put a lot of work into you today - I don't want to let it out of my sight yet."

"Aw, cods wallup. I've had worse."

JT smirks and looks to Thirteen, giving her a smile. "You have quite the personable fellow here."

Ryder growls in disgust. "I want to go home."

"Nope. Sorry." JT stands his ground. "You'll be lucky if I let you out on crutches in three days."

"That's a bunch of waffle," Ryder hisses. "I can leave whenever I want."

JT ignores him and continues to grin at Thirteen. "His accent gets stronger when he gets mad, doesn't it?"

Ryder takes a pillow and throws it at the doctor. "I want out!"

JT turns around, now finally annoyed. Nearing the bed, he leans down, his forearm pinning Ryder on the chest. He gets right down in his face, unafraid. "You want the zoo to cover this? Hmm? I could let you go and wait for you to come back in a week with an infection that will cause me to take your leg off from the knee down and send you the bills directly or - you can do it my way, get pampered for a while and not have to pay for it the rest of your life."

Ryder glares at him, but has no more to say. He knew he needed to follow the rules, lest he end up getting slapped with the bill because of some legal loophole. "Fine. One day."

"I'll check on it again tomorrow." JT straightens. "In the meantime, stay in bed and calm yourself before I give you a sedative." Turning to leave, he winks at Thirteen before heading out the door.

Ryder looks down at the blankets, misery written all over his face. "I need to call Dean," he mutters. "Find out how Sheba is. I don't know where I got her with the knife but I don't want them putting her down."


"Oh yeah, the lake's great." Phil nods. "I mean, it's not like one of the Great Lakes or anything... you can see the other side and all, but it's the biggest we got around here. Got a little man-made sandy beach on one side and a bunch of rocks that are nice to explore or just sit on. There's a lot of nooks and crannies around the water and there's a little ice cream place right by the parking lot too."

He grins and gives Rayne a sidelong glance. "We could go sometime. I could... show you around?"


"Hey... welcome back." Chance perks up a little and grins at Destiny, scooting his chair a little closer. "No bus... just a speeding bullet. You're gonna be okay though."

He takes her hand and gives it a squeeze of reassurance. "Rick did a good job... you'll be back to normal in no time."