St Lawrence Hospital
Lansing, Michigan
Immediately After Heritage 08

“Mr. Dewey? Mr. Dewey, can you hear me?”

A man in a white coat with a stethoscope wrapped around his neck pulled Eugene’s eyelids apart and shone the brightest light imaginable directly into his pupil. Eugene however didn’t react in the slightest.

“Eugene, can you hear me?” The doctor asked again.

He released his hold on the eyelids and Eugene’s eye fell closed. His head drooped forwards until his chin came to rest on his chest. Another pair of hands shot in from behind, placed themselves on either side of Eugene’s ginger afro and held his head back upright.

“Thank you, nurse.” Said the doctor with a smile and a nod, He clicked his fingers at the side of Eugene’s head and again got no response, “Ok, I think I’ve seen enough, we’re going to have to get this kid a CT scan and keep him in for observation overnight.”

Usually the mere mention of not being able to head home would provide the miracle cure for whatever was ailing Eugene. But after the beating he’d suffered at the hands, and feet, of Frank Dylan James, not even the prospect of an evening away from his Xbox 360 could help him recover. All Eugene could do was gingerly lay back on the gurney and try to get some rest.

~~~~~~~

Later That Night

“Eugene? Eugene? Mr. Dewey?”

While one would be forgiven for assuming Eugene Dewey was unfamiliar with being woken up by the voice of a female, it wasn’t actually that uncommon. Only on this day the dulcet tones emmanated from a rather attractive raven haired and pale skinned nurse.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dewey, but I just need to check that all of your faculties are working correctly.” She whispered.

Eugene was sure he’d heard something like that before, probably during his copy of Naughty Nurses 7.

“Are you able to stand for me, Mr. Dewey?” The nurse asked.

It took all of Eugene’s effort, but he managed to remain respectful and not reply with the comment swimming around his head. He’d already had one concussion in the last few hours, he didn’t need a slap causing another. “I think so.” He said as he slowly slid his legs out of bed and hung them over the side.

“Do you want me to help you up?” The nurse asked as she stepped in and placed her hands underneath Eugene’s shoulders.

“No.” Eugene replied bluntly as he pushed her hands away, he looked up and saw the slightly offended look in her eyes before hastedly adding, “No thankyou.”

Eugene pushed himself closer to the edge of the bed and up to his feet. He felt a little unsteady, and it probably showed, because the nurse jumped forwards and grabbed hold of him. She helped him lower himself back into bed and lifted his legs back in with him.

“That’s great, Mr. Dewey,” She whispered with a smile, “We’re all done, you can get your rest now.”

With that the nurse tucked Eugene in and headed for the door. He’d have watched her go, except he couldn’t keep his eyes open long enough to do so.

~~~~~~~

The Next Morning

Breakfast in bed, what a treat. Shame he’d had to get a concussion to enjoy it though. Mrs. Dewey never made breakfast in bed, she always made excuses like ‘I’ve got too much laundry to do’ or other cop outs along those lines.

Just as Eugene finished scooping the last fork full of powdered egg into his mouth, the nurse from a few hours earlier walked in. She looked just as happy as when she’d woken Eugene while at the same time she looked more tired. Whether that was the effect of a twelve hour shift or just the sun making her skin look even paler than before wasn’t clear, but still, she looked stunning.

“And how are we feeling this morning?” She asked cheerfully.

“Better.” Eugene spluttered after swallowing his eggs slightly too quickly. “Thanks.”

“That’s ok,” She giggled, “You know, I was so gutted I didn’t get to come to the show last night, I’m a huge fan of yours.”

Good job he’d swallowed those eggs otherwise he’d have been choking on them right now, “You are?” Eugene asked in shock. He’d been asked for a couple of autographs in his time, but he’d never had anyone proclaim to be a ‘huge fan’ before.

“But I couldn’t believe it when I saw your name down on the admissions list, what happened?” She asked, folding her arms and tilting her head to one side.

“Oh, uhhh...” Eugene replied, he wasn’t expecting an interview right now, “Well, I might have said something I shouldn’t have done last night and that might have led to Frank Dylan James getting a little... carried away... during our match.”

“Ugh!” The nurse exclaimed and stomped her foot, “I can’t stand that guy.”

“Yeah, I’m not too fond of him right now either,” Replied Eugene, “I’ll tell you who else I’m not a fan of, Cancer Jiles.”

“That jerk!” She shouted, “You know what he did to you, right?”

“I have an idea.” Eugene sighed, “But there’s nothing I can do about it now. I guess I knew it was too good to be true, you know, him being so nice to me and all that. I guess I just wanted someone there after Wayne quit.”

“Aww, I know how you must be feeling.” She said as she stepped in and rubbed him on the shoulder. “But I’ve got some good news for you, you’re going to be discharged later, the doctor is happy with your responses during the night and has said you can go home. You’re just going to have to take it easy for a week or two.”

“Oh, ok, cool.” Replied Eugene, not really knowing what to say.

“Ok, well, I’ll get rid of this for you.” She said picking up his tray, “And I’ll see if I can hurry that doctor up with your discharge forms. You must be itching to get home now.”

Eugene didn’t say anything, but he did laugh and nod slightly in agreement.

“Oh, one more thing.” The nurse said as she turned on her heels in the doorway of the room, “If you’re ever back in town or, like, in the area or whatever, you don’t have to go getting a concussion if you wanted to hang out.”

She bounced up on her tippy toes and looked purposefully at the table across Eugene’s bed before turning quickly and heading out the door. Eugene looked down at the wood effect plank in front of him to see a sheet of paper with a phone number on it.

Not meaning to sound crude, but Eugene’s sphincter had never clenched so tightly in his entire life.

~~~~~~~

Today
Bufallo, Wyoming

“Two weeks without video games... not my idea of relaxing.”

Eugene Dewey, who else would it be, stood in front of the camera. Only he wasn’t as happy as one might expect following that morning after story.

“I went out to that ring at the last Heritage show to prove a point.” He continued, “A point that I’ll admit I failed to make.”

Eugene shook his head in embarrassment.

“But maybe that’s because I was trying to make it against the wrong man.” Eugene mused, “Maybe I shouldn’t have gone after Frank Dylan James that way, maybe I should have directed all that anger towards the man deserving of it. Maybe I should have focused on getting even with Cancer Jiles.”

Eugene looked down at the floor.

“Well guess what I can do, Cancer.” Eugene said looking up with a devious smile, “If we don’t beat Penn and Sloan at WarGames, and unless Edward White does something completely impossible and eliminate everyone in the match, I come third in the league. And do you know what? I can’t do any better than that.”

“I haven’t made my mind up just yet.” Eugene continued, “But the way I see it, I’ve got two choices. I could take these feelings and bury them deep, deep down and work with you to do what we can in getting two Heritage guys in the final.”

“Or I could do what I’m leaning closer to, pray for a miracle with Edward White and make sure we lose the match.” He said, “Because then I’ll get you, one on one in the first round of the playoffs. I don’t want to wait to get my hands on you and I don’t want to go over the handlebars on anyone who doesn’t deserve it, Cancer.”

“Actually, there is a third option...” Eugene said slowly, “I could just feed you to Penn and Sloan.”

“But I don’t think they're capable of tearing you apart like I would."

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