A Gift of Life
by Maria Cline
This story was a result of the 'Extraordinary people Ordinary situations' challenge. It shows the possible feelings of a hero doing something scary and simple that people do everyday on purpose.
All characters are property of Marvel
Comics and they didn't give me their blessing.
Sam sat nervously in the chair. He felt his heart pounding, his stomach mixing in a fine paste, and his hands turning into a pair of moist towelettes. He tried not to show it. After all, he's an X-Man. He had been through a great deal in his life. He had been possessed, injured, stayed in hell for a brief time literally, and he had even been dead for a brief time. That was just the tip of the iceberg. He looked around. He made a promise and he will keep it. He would keep that promise. But he just wished that he would talk to someone. But, he would look like a sissy. And that's the last thing he wanted to look like right now.
Dr. Reyes walked up and said, "Are you ready Mr. Gunthire?"
"Uh huh." He muttered.
Sam got up and answered all of the necessary questions. It was redundant. He knew she knew the answers to the questions but she asked anyway. Reyes took his temperature, his blood pressure and his pulse. She pricked his ear to see if the blood had enough iron in it. It did.
While the procedure was going on, Sam's hands became clammier. His heart pounded like a Congo drum being played by Colossus. **Why am I doing it?** He thought nervously, **Because it's the right thing to do.** He answered to himself.
Reyes looked up and saw the fear in his eyes. She asked, "Are you nervous?"
"No ma'am."
Finally, Reyes was done. She led Sam to one of the beds. He lay down and she covered an area of the mid-arm with an iodine solution. She put the blood pressure device on his upper arm and then she looked for the vein. Sam turned his head He felt a jab in his arm and let out a brief "Ow!"
He squeezed the small object to keep the blood pumping and to keep himself from getting bored to death. He waited for what seemed to be an eternity until finally Reyes said, "Ok, you're done." She pulled out the needle gently and told him, "Raise your arm and keep it over your head." He complied while the doctor got the blood and put away the precious contents.
She came back and put a Band-Aid on the insertion mark and wrapped the arm in a pretty blue wrap cloth Band-Aid. She gently helped Sam get off of the bed and escorted him to the canteen area where a vast assortment of sweets, chips, and juices awaited him.
Sam sat down and ate the goods. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He lost blood before but never on purpose. He felt a little light headed but he felt fine. And he certainly never ate sweets on purpose for his health. Reyes said, "Just try not to do any heavy exercise and battling for the next five hours. Double up on your fluids for the next 48 hours and if you experience anything unusual just contact me or Hank."
"No problem ma'am."
She looked at Sam curiously and asked, "How come you never donated blood before?"
The end