He felt his eyelid grow heavy to anesthesia.
"Alright, Mr. Plankton, you're gonna start
feeling sleepy," the doctor's voice echoed.
The world around him grew fuzzy, sounds
becoming muffled and indistinct. His head
lolled, body slack. The nurse's grew blurry,
darkness before not even nothingness.
Karen, his wife, sat by him.
Finally, the doctor stepped back, turned and
gave her a thumbs up.
The nurse began to clean Plankton's face,
wiping away the excess saliva and bleeding
with gentle touch.
Karen follows as they wheel him out.
His bed was pushed into a small cubicle, his
breathing slow and even.
In stumbled SpongeBob.
Karen smiles. "The surgery went well, he's
just sleeping it off," she assured.
SpongeBob's taking in the beeping monitors.
"What's all this for?" he asks, curiosity
piqued.
"To make sure he's ok while he's asleep,"
Karen explained. "The doctor said he'd be
out for a little while."
The yellow sponge nodded, his gaze
lingering on the small wads of gauze
peeking out from the sides of Plankton's
mouth. "What's that?" he asks.
"It's to help absorb.."
Sponge Bob took in the sight of Plankton,
who had begun to drool slightly onto the
pillow beneath his head. The saliva pooled.
"Oh no, Plankton. You're drooling!"
Sponge Bob watched as drool continued to
form like a thin string connecting Plankton's
mouth to the pillow.
Karen chuckled softly. "It's normal, Sponge
Bob. He won't feel it as he's asleep."
SpongeBob nodded, but curiosity remained.
"Can I... I mean, should I... wipe it up?" he
asks.
Karen laughs. "It's ok, they'd take care of it.
Just let him rest."
"I promise to be super gentle"
Karen nodded, a small smile playing.
"Alright. Just be careful."
His movements were deliberate, eyes never
leaving Plankton's mouth as he approached.
The drool strand grew longer, a tiny bridge
between his friend and the pillow.
The droplet fell away, landing on the pillow
with a soft splat. Plankton stirred slightly but
didn't wake.
"It's fine. He's going to be a bit out of it when
he wakes up anyway. Why don't you try
talking to him while we wait for him to wake?
It might help him feel more at ease."
"Hey it's Sponge Bob. You're ok, just having
a little nap. No Krabby Patties to steal right
now," he added with a chuckle.
Plankton's eye began to flutter, a sure sign
that he was slowly coming back to
consciousness. His body twitched, the
anesthesia wearing off. "Looks like he's
waking up," she said.
Karen leaned closer, her hand reaching out
to gently squeeze his. "Honey, it's me," she
whispered. "You're ok."
Plankton's unfocused and glazed.
"Where... what... happened?" he mumbled.
"You had wisdom teeth removed. You're in
recovery," she said, voice soothing.
Plankton blinked. "Wis...wis...what?"
"You had a little...uh...dental appointment,"
SpongeBob said.
"Teeth...gone?" he mumbled, still groggy.
"You're fine," she assured.
"I feel... funny," he giggled, voice silly.
"Just relax, Plankton," Karen said.
"But...but I wanna...see!" Plankton protested,
arms flailing weakly.
"Plankton, you need rest."
"But I'm not tired!" he exclaimed, as his head
lolled back onto the pillow.
"I... I want to dance," he said, voice still
slurred, which only resulted in more drool
escaping.
"First, you gotta get better," she said, voice
earnest.
Plankton's giggles grew, his eye half-closed.
"But I'm already the best... at... at... at... " he
mumbled, trailing off.
"It's anesthesia," the nurse chimed in. "It can
make people say some funny things. You're
just feeling a bit loopy, Plankton. You'll be
back to your usual self soon."
Plankton's giggles grew softer, his eye
struggling to stay open. "But... but... I'm not
tired," he protested weakly, his voice a mere
whisper. His eyelid began to droop once
more.
Sponge Bob leaned in. "You just had
surgery, Plankton. You need to rest," he said
firmly.
Plankton's giggles turned into snores, his
tiny body giving in despite his protests.
"He's going to be out for a while," the nurse
said. "Anesthesia can take time to wear off
completely."
Karen nodded, watching his chest rise and
fall with each snore. Sponge Bob reached
out and lightly patted Plankton's arm.
Plankton's snores grew quieter and stirred,
eye cracking.
"Wha... SpongeBob?" he mumbled, groggy.
Sponge Bob's heart swelled at the sight of
his confused expression. "Just keeping you
company as you wake."
Plankton's eye rolled to the side. "Wha...
what are you doing?" he slurred, his voice
barely above a whisper. He tried to lift his
hand to his mouth, but it flopped back down
onto the bed with a limp thud. "Drool? I...I
can't stop," he mumbled, his drool pooling
around the fresh gauze.
Sponge Bob chuckles. "It's ok, Plankton," he
said.
Plankton's eye narrows. "Not funny," he
mumbled, words barely intelligible. Yet as he
said it, another string of drool began to form,
stretching from his mouth to the pillow.
Sponge Bob's chuckles grew. "I know, I
know. It's just... you're so... so... " he couldn't
find words, laughter took over.
Plankton's unable to control his drool. "I'm
so...so...so..." he tried to form a coherent
thought.
"So what, Plankton?"
"I'm...I'm not...not...drooling," he managed to
say, words barely coherent.
But even as he spoke, a new droplet formed
at the corner of his mouth. "You sure?"
"St...stop," Plankton managed to mumble,
his mouth open and drooling again.
"It's...it's...embarrassing."
Sponge Bob smiled. "I know, you're ok. The
surgery went well," he said. "Alright, we can
get him ready to go home now," says nurse.
They carefully lift Plankton from the bed,
body still limp from the anesthesia.
"You ok?"
"Mm-hmm," Plankton mumbled, head lolling
to one side. He struggled to keep his eye
open, but the medication was too strong.
Plankton's eye drooped shut once more, his
snores echoing through the hall. "Whoa,
there he goes again…"
"He's still pretty out of it," she said.
Plankton's head lolled to the side, his mouth
hanging open. "Whoa, Plankton, wake up,"
Sponge Bob said, gently shaking his
shoulder.
"Mmph," Plankton mumbled, his eye
cracking open. "Where...are we?"
"Almost to the car," Karen said. "Just a bit
longer."
But Plankton's eyelid grew heavier.
The nurse disappeared through the doors,
leaving Karen and Sponge Bob to maneuver
Plankton into a more upright position. His
head kept flopping to one side, his snores
grew louder. "Come on, Plankton, stay with
us," Karen urged.
Sponge Bob leaned close. "You ok?" he
asked, patting Plankton's shoulder.
Plankton's head lolled to the side, eye half-
open. "Mmph...tired," he mumbled.
Karen managed to get him in, his body
collapsing into the seat like a ragdoll. She
buckled him in. "You're gonna be ok," she
whispered.
Sponge Bob climbed into the backseat.
Karen started the engine. "Let's get him
home."
The car ride was a blur of Plankton's snores
and occasional mumble. Sponge Bob sat in
the back, his hand on Plankton's shoulder,
keeping his friend from lolling too far to the
side.
Each time Plankton nodded off, his mouth
would droop, and gauze would slip out.
"Plankton, gotta keep it in."
Plankton mumbled something incoherent,
his mouth still open and drooling.
Sponge Bob leaned in closer, his hand ready
to catch the gauze if it fell out again.
Plankton's eye fluttered open, looking
around the car. "Just stay with us, ok?"
Sponge Bob nodded, hand on Plankton's
shoulder. He watched as Plankton's eye
drooped, the gauze slipping again. He
leaned over and gently pushed it back.
"We're almost there."
Karen chuckled from the driver's seat.
Sponge Bob’s grip on Plankton's shoulder
tightening slightly. "Want to play a game?"
"Mmph...game?" he mumbled.
"I spy with my little eye, something..."
But Plankton's head had already dropped
back, snores echoing. Karen glanced in the
mirror. "I think he's out for the count," she
said.
Sponge Bob was still vigilant, making sure
Plankton didn't tumble out of the car. With
Karen's help, they managed to get him to the
couch. Sponge Bob helped prop Plankton
up, careful not to jostle him too much.
Everything’s just fine.