Marisol's POV- October 2018

I looked away from my laptop as I heard a light knock on the door.

"Ready to go home?"

"Yeah" I replied.

Leo chuckled as he set a duffle bag on the floor.

"Uncle Danny awkwardly packed up a set of clothes for you"

I found myself scrunching my nose because that meant one thing, and one thing only.

"He found your thongs, Mari"

Well, it's a good thing I won't see him until tomorrow.

"It's time he accepts that you're not a little girl anymore"

I laughed.

"So does Cody still not know you're in the hospital?"

I smiled and ate a spoonful of jello.

"Do you plan on telling him?"

I said nothing, which led to Leo frowning at me.

"Mari"

"His mom already hates me, I don't need her to despise me for throwing off her son's groove" I stated.

He rolled his eyes.

"I'll tell him when the season is over," I said.

I was going to tell him tonight but I wanted to fuck with Leo right now.

"Pretty sure he's going to want to see you tonight"

Leo was right, Cody had texted me asking if he could come over tonight after he (and his team) got in from Boston.

"And he will," I told him.

"He's going to want to know how your hospital visit went?"

"Leo, you're overthinking this" I stated.

As far as Cody knew, I had been given antibiotics to fight off an infection. If he pushed with more questions then I'd disclose that the infection was pneumonia. Yeah, I got a (partial) iced shower bath (that Matt Kemp gave me) after the Dodgers clinched the NL Pennant but honestly, I was already sick. If anything, I think it helped me cool down since I'm pretty sure I had been running a fever.

"I hope you're fucking with me"

I winked at him as I finished up my jello.

"Homework?"

My professors were considerate about this whole situation, but I still had classwork to turn in. Since I was missing lectures/seminars I had to submit short summaries on the class readings as well as discussion questions. The world did not pause when you were sick, and I was kind of thankful. I had been bedridden (only being allowed to go to the bathroom) for the past few days, and well this was a great distraction.

"Yup" I answered as I closed my laptop.

"Want me to go get a nurse to start the process of signing you out?"

I nodded.

"Yes, please," I told him.

"I'll close the door so you can change?"

"I can't change," I said gesturing at the IV on my hand.

"Right"

He still closed the door on his way out. I couldn't text Cody at the moment because he thought I was busy with school. He'd suspect something was up if I replied, so I had to ignore his texts.

The nurse came in with Leo a couple of minutes later and removed the IV from my hand. After that, Leo gave me some privacy to change. There was a knock on the door just as I sat down on the bed to slip on my shoes.

"Who's ready to go home?"

I smiled.

"So ready" I admitted.

After signing a couple of documents I was on my way home. I convinced Leo to stop to get fries because I really wanted fries. Once I got home, I changed once again into something more comfortable. We ended up taking a nap and woke up to the doorbell (and Bugs' barking) ringing. It was Manny who had dropped by to check up on me and bring some soup. As he heated up the soup, I turned on the TV. The game was on and the Dodgers were not looking so hot.

We ate our food and then watched the game in silence. During the 6th inning, Leo went to my room (we were in the living room) to retrieve his phone. He rushed down a couple of minutes later, and Manny and I watched as he failed to try to put on his sweater.

"Something happened to Desi, she's in the hospital"

Are you fucking serious?

"Go, I got Mari"

Leo nodded.

"Please drive safe" I called out.

He was finally able to put on his sweater and rushed out after.

"What do you think happened?" I asked after a bit.

Manny looked at me.

"Maybe she got bitten by a dog?"

Turns out, Oliver, Desi's co-worker (and family friend) got bit by an anxious dog. She got knocked around by the dog, which doesn't seem so bad, right?

"She's got to be okay, Leo would have had crazy eyes if it was really serious"

"He could hardly put his sweater on" I pointed out.

The Dodgers lost game 2, and I had to ignore Cody's phone call because Leo called to tell us what exactly had happened.

Turns out Desi was pretty banged up and had to get stitches on her forehead and her skull stapled.

"Chris is going to freak out" I noted.

Especially after that argument he and Desi had last night (Cody mentioned it last night through text).

"She kinda can't hide her condition from him"

I rolled my eyes as he looked at me.

"Are you really going to not tell Cody you have pneumonia?"

"I kinda have to, he's going to wonder why I can't make it to the home games" I replied.

"And he's your boyfriend"

"That too" I added.

Manny just chuckled and shook his head.

"So did you ask the nurse for a copy of your chart?"

"Yes, it's in my room," I told him.

"Then let's go on up"

I fell asleep shortly after he finished looking at the chart, and woke up like at 3 AM to my phone ringing.

"Hello" I mumbled as I answered the call.

"Can you open the door?"

I was not allowed to go down the stairs on my own.

"Yeah, give me a second," I said.

"Okay, bye"

Once I ended the call, I made my way over to the guestroom where Manny had settled himself for the night.

"Can you answer the door?" I asked him once I had shaken him awake.

He nodded and sat up. I went back to my room and waited for Cody to peak in. He did after a minute or two and immediately began to take off his clothes once he shut the door closed.

"How are you feeling?"

"A bit icky" I admitted.

He climbed up on the bed and kissed my forehead.

"I'll tell you more about it in the morning," I told him.

He hummed.

"Is class canceled?"

"Something like that" I responded.

He nodded and settled next to me.

"I missed you"

"I missed you too" I replied as I scooted closer to him and pressed my nose against his shoulder.

I closed my eyes.

"Can we sleep in?"

"Yes," I answered.

You don't really sleep much when you're a patient in a hospital because they wake you up every 2-3 hours to check on you.

He fell asleep soon after, and I laid there awake for a bit trying to think of a way to tell him what had happened without him freaking out. In the end, I just decided it was better to tell him straight up.