There was a rap on the door and in filed Michael, Dwight, Karen, Andy, Meredith, Stanley, Kelly, Angela, Phyllis, Kevin, and Oscar. Michael started to shut the door, but it bounced off of Toby, who had been bringing up the rear.
“Sorry,” Michael said to Jim, ignoring Toby who was rubbing his newly bruised shoulder.
“I told him he’d only make you sicker, but he decided to come anyway,” Michael scoffed.
“I wanted to see how Jim was holding up,” Toby sighed. “And I just didn’t think it would be responsible to let Michael go to the hospital by himself when there is dangerous medical equipment around…”
“Sure, I like hospitals,” Creed said. “I especially like the morphine shots they leave in the medical waste bins.”
Angela’s face was pulled into a slight frown. “Do I have a problem with being here? No. I happen to like hospitals. They’re clean.
“I have only been two the hospital twice. Once when Mose accidentally cut his pinky toe off when we were messing around a beet field, and when I had a concussion. I have never been sick,” Dwight asserted. “Only weaklings suffer from viruses and epidemics. A third of the population in the Renaissance were pathetic. I wouldn’t have succumbed to the Black Plague because I know the only way to avoid it is to cover yourself in pigs’ intestines.”
“Michael,” Dwight said, tapping him on the shoulder.
“What?” Michael asked.
“I did the head count and we came up short. We lost Creed.” Sure enough, Dwight was standing with his clipboard and only thirteen checks and a large, very official looking, question mark next to Creed’s name.
Michael exhaled loudly, blowing out his lips.
Jim craned his neck and looked out the small window looking into the hallway. He found half of Creed, the other half was searching for something in the medical waste bin, but Jim thought it would be wiser not to say anything.
“Oh well, he’s old, about to die anyway. Might as well croak in a hospital,” Michael reasoned. Everyone else fell silent.
Jim cleared his throat. “It’s great to see you guys.” Everyone murmured their greetings back and then looked around; the room was big enough to house Jim, his bed, and the medical equipment around it, but not much else, so the extra thirteen people, including Pam, were pretty much packed in elbow to elbow.
“Would someone like my chair?” Pam asked, getting up from her seat. “Angela?”
“No,” Angela said disdainfully as if the chair had done her some sort of harm. “They’re lopsided.”
“That’s what she said,” Michael blurted out.
“Strangely enough, I missed that.” Jim laughed, but instantly he winced as a sharp pain shot up through his cracked ribs.
“Oh, Jim!” Kelly squeaked. “You must be feeling awful! You know, Haley Joel Osmond got in a car crash, and he broke his leg, too--”
“I didn’t get in a car crash, though,” Jim said. He looked over at Pam who had a small smile on her face.
“Oh, I just assumed…” Kelly trailed off.
“Then what happened?” Karen piped up from the back of the room. Her arms were crossed and she was visibly upset. “You look pretty beat up.”
“Am I mad at him?” Karen repeated. “Well, it’s kind of hard to be mad at him since he’s laying in pain in a hospital bed, yeah, I’m upset. He’s been missing at work for two weeks and I knew he was in the hospital for one of those weeks, and he told Pam, but he never called me. Just because he’s my ex-boyfriend doesn’t mean that I don’t care about him.” Karen paused. “I still care about him a lot, actually.” Her eyes widened when she realized what she let slip. “Because he’s my friend,” she said hastily. “Because we’re still friends.”
Jim got quiet for a dramatic effect. He scanned his eyes around the room, making eye contact with everyone, ending and lingering on Dwight.
“My powers…” Jim paused, waiting for the inevitable--
“What powers?” Dwight breathed with reverence.
Angela pursed her lips and summoned a look of disapproval, Stanley rolled his eyes, and Karen gave a weak half-smile.
“Do you remember when I made that coat rack move?” Jim asked Dwight.
“Your telekinetic powers?” Dwight whispered.
“That’s it. I’m leaving,” Angela said. She grabbed her purse, headed for the door, and shot a fleeting glance at Dwight.
“Make a full recovery, Jim.”
Dwight leaped up from his chair. “I’ll escort you out,” he announced loudly, an both of them exited the room.
“There’s still an open chair if anyone wants it,” Pam offered. There were still too many people in the room.
“Hey, why don’t the girls go up to that cafeteria they have on the fourth floor and have something to drink. Then we’ll switch and it won’t be so crowded,” Karen suggested. Everyone agreed that that sounded like a good idea.
The women started to head out of the door. “Are you coming, Pam?” Phyllis asked.
“I think I’ll meet up with you in a bit.”
Karen turned her head sharply, and her stomach clenched when she saw Pam’s hand wrapped around Jim’s. She briskly followed the other women out.
As soon as the door closed, Kevin grinned and turned towards Jim. “So, do you have any hot nurses?”
“I’m sure their husbands think so, but they’re all about forty,” Jim responded.
Kevin looked crest-fallen, but then he brightened up. “Well if they were hot, you could hook up and have sex.”
Jim raised his eyebrows. “Okay, then. Thanks for that, Kev.”
“You know, Gill and I met in a hospital,” Oscar added.
“That’s neat--” Pam started, but she was cut off by Michael.
“Really? Were you both here to get an HIV test?”
Oscar stared at Michael. Everyone fell silent, and then slowly but surely, Kevin’s high pitched laugh grew louder, and louder, and more irritating.
"I think it would have been better if I went with the girls,” Pam said.
