"We removed Plankton's wisdom teeth. He's still asleep, you can stay with him." Said the oral surgeon to Karen. They've just finished and lead Karen into the room. Plankton is lying in the hospital bed, his face a mask of peace, the only signs of the recent surgery being the gauze in his mouth and the drool seeping out the side. His cheeks are slightly swollen, and she wonders when he'll wake up. The doctor said it could take a while. The IV line snakes up his arm. Karen pulls a chair up beside the bed. She takes his hand and holds it gently, feeling the warmth of his skin contrast with the coolness of her own palm. The room is sterile, the air conditioning humming steadily in the background. The faint smell of disinfectant fills the space. She looks around the room, noticing the monitors beeping in rhythm with Plankton's breathing and heart rate. The nurse comes in and checks the machines, making a few quiet notes on a clipboard. She smiles at Karen, "He's doing well. Just let him sleep. It's the best thing right now." Karen nods, squeezing Plankton's hand slightly, willing him to feel her presence. She wonders what dreams he's having, if any, behind his closed lid. Time seems to crawl as Karen watches him sleep. She tries to read a book, but the words blur together. Her thoughts drift to their lives before this moment, their shared laughter, their arguments, the quiet moments of understanding. Her gaze lingers on his swollen cheeks, his chest rising and falling with each breath. A soft groan escapes his lips and his eye begins to flutter open. Slowly, Plankton comes to, his vision blurred by the anesthesia's last hangover. He blinks, trying to focus on Karen's face. She sets aside her book and smiles at him, her screen welcoming him back to the world of the conscious. "Hi," she says softly. "How are you feeling?" Plankton makes a sound that's somewhere between a whine and a grunt. His eye wanders the room before finally settling on hers. "What...what happened?" he slurs, the words barely audible through the gauze. Karen's smile widens a bit. "You had your wisdom teeth removed, remember?" He nods slightly. The nurse reappears, checking his vitals again with a gentle touch. "Time to go home," she says, removing the gauze. They make their way out of the hospital, Karen supporting Plankton gently as he stumbles, his legs still wobbly from the anesthesia. The sun is setting, casting long shadows across the parking lot. Karen helps Plankton into the car, buckling him in and adjusting the seat so he can lean back and rest. He nods off almost immediately, his breathing evening out as the car starts and they pull away from the hospital. The drive home is quiet, Plankton's snores punctuating the hum of the engine. Karen keeps glancing over, checking on him, her concern etched into every line on her screen. The pain medication is strong, keeping him in a half-awake state. Each time he wakes, he looks around, disoriented, before his eye finds hers and his expression relaxes. Once they arrive, Karen guides him to the couch, his body feeling heavier than ever before. He slumps into the cushions and she grabs the ice pack from the cooler. "Hold this to your cheeks," she instructs, placing the cold compress against his skin. He nods obediently, his eye already glazing over with the promise of sleep. The TV flickers on, its blue light washing over the room. Karen finds a sitcom they both enjoy, hoping the familiar laughter will ease his pain and keep them both company. But Plankton's snores soon overpower the TV's audio, his head lolling to the side. She smiles, knowing he's in a deep slumber, and covers him with a blanket. The house is eerily quiet except for the steady tick of the clock on the wall. Karen moves around the kitchen, preparing a soft meal for when he wakes, her mind racing with thoughts of what the next few days will be like. Plankton's recovery will be slow, but she's ready to take care of him. She's his rock, his support, and she'll do anything to help him feel better.

KAREN AND THE TEETHIES iv The nurse finishes up and turns to Karen with a gentle smile. "He'll be waking up soon," she says. "Why don't you talk to him? Sometimes hearing a familiar voice can help bring them around better." Karen nods, leaning in. "You did so good," she says, her voice filled with love. "It's almost over." Plankton's snores remain consistent, his mouth slightly open as he drools onto the chair. She reaches over and carefully wipes it away with a tissue. The room is quiet except for the soft beeps of the monitors and the sound of Plankton's deep, even breaths. The assistant begins to remove the I.V. from Plankton's arm, his hand steady despite the tiny vein he's working with. The nurse stands by, ready with a cup of water and a comfortable chair for him to sit in when he wakes. Karen's eyes follow her every move, eager for the moment she can take him home. The minutes tick by, the only sound in the room the soft hum of the surgical lights and the occasional snore from Plankton. His drool forms a tiny puddle on the chair, and Karen dabs it away with a tissue. His breathing is deep and steady, the anesthesia keeping him in a peaceful slumber. Dr. Finnegan checks the monitors one last time before nodding to the nurse. "Due to the numbing medication we administered into his mouth, Karen, Plankton probably won't immediately feel his mouth or talk fluently, not to mention the normal confusion from anesthesia." The nurse starts to lower the chair into a more upright position. Plankton's snores become less snuffly, more like a soft purr. "Okay, Karen," Dr. Finnegan says, "You can start talking to him now. It'll help him come around." Karen nods, leaning in closer. "Plankton," she whispers, her voice filled with warmth, "it's almost over. You did so well." Plankton's snoring morphs into a gentle snuffle as his head lolls on the chair. His drool forms a tiny stream down his chin, and Karen wipes it away with a tissue, trying not to laugh at the sight. The nurse smiles at her, patting his hand. "He's just about ready." The chair slowly reclines back, and Plankton's snores change pitch again, his mouth opening slightly more, revealing his swollen gums and the freshly stitched sockets. Karen's heart swells with love and concern. This is her husband, her rock, currently a ragdoll in the hands of anesthesia. The nurse puts down her tools and gently shakes Plankton's shoulder. "Mr. Plankton, it's time to wake up," she says in a soothing voice. Karen squeezes his hand and whispers, "You can do it, babe. It's almost over." Plankton's snores begin to soften, turning into small moans as he stirs in the chair. Karen's voice grows slightly louder, "Plankton, wake up, you're okay." The nurse nods, her hand still on his shoulder. "Come on, Mr. Plankton," she says, her voice gentle. "Time to wake up now." Plankton's snores taper off into quiet, shallow breaths, his mouth still slightly open. A string of saliva stretches between his bottom lip and the chair, and Karen quickly wipes it away with the tissue. His eyelid flutters open, his gaze unfocused and glazed. He blinks slowly, looking around the room as if trying to piece together where he is. Karen's eyes are on him, a mixture of love and concern, as she smiles down at him, and he looks at her with a confused expression. "Welcome back," she says softly. His mouth moves, but a sound comes out, being a slightly slurred mumble that sounds like "Mmph?" The nurse laughs gently. "It's normal for the mouth to be numb. You just had your wisdom teeth out." Plankton's eye widens a little, and he tries to speak again, "Wheah...?" The nurse chuckles. "Your mouth is still numb, don't worry." Karen takes the cue and reassures him, "You're at the dentist, honey. You just had your wisdom teeth removed." Plankton blinks again, his eye slowly focusing on her face. He then looks at the nurse with confused suspicion. His eye widens a bit more, looking at his arm where the I.V. had been, now just a small bandage. The nurse nods. "Yes, you're all done. We're just waiting for you to wake up fully before we let you go ho-" Plankton interrupts with a slurred, "Huh?" His tongue doesn't quite cooperate, and he ends up drooling a bit more. Karen laughs, the tension in the room dissipating. "You heard her, you're okay," she says, patting his hand. But Plankton's not quite convinced. His eye narrows as his mind fights the fog of the anesthesia. "Wha... wha... youw nee thoo do my teethies! Youw shupposht to taketh them out!" The nurse laughs lightly, a kindness in her eyes. "Don't worry, Mr. Plankton, we did. You're all done. Dr. Finnegan took them out." Plankton's gaze shifts to Dr. Finnegan with curiosity. "Who's 'Dr. Finny-gwan'?" he slurs, his voice thick with confusion. Karen laughs softly, "It's Dr. Finnegan, sweetie. He's the dentist. He's the one who just took your teeth out." Plankton's unfocused eye swivels towards Dr. Finnegan, his expression one of disbelief. "Y-you're not... 'Dr. Finny-gwan'?" he stammers, the words sliding out of his mouth like molasses. The dentist chuckles, his face appearing over Karen's shoulder. "It's okay, Plankton," he says, his voice calm. "I'm right here, see?" Plankton blinks heavily, his eye darting between the nurse and Dr. Finnegan, trying to make sense of the situation. "bu’... my teethies," he mumbles, his hand rising to tentatively touch his swollen cheeks. The nurse's smile never fades as she says, "Yes, Dr. Finnegan performed the surgery. You're all set." But Plankton's not so sure. He looks at her hand on his shoulder, the same one that was so gentle when he was unconscious. "You... youwre not... a... nentis," he asks, his words thick with drowsiness. The nurse laughs gently, her patience unwavering. "No, Mr. Plankton, I'm not. I'm just here to help you wake up. Dr. Finnegan is the one who did the surgery." She gestures to the dentist, who smiles back at Plankton. But Plankton's mind is still swimming in anesthesia. "Thent... then wha... who dat?" he slurs, pointing a shaky finger at the figure behind the surgical mask. The nurse laughs gently, not offended by his confusion. "I'm just here to assist Dr. Finnegan," she explains, her voice soft and soothing. "I didn't do the surgery. He did." Plankton's eye squints suspiciously at her, his hand still hovering over his cheek. "Buth... youw... you haz... hands..." he mumbles. The nurse's smile doesn't falter. "Yes, I do. But I promise you, it was Dr. Finnegan who performed the surgery." Plankton's gaze swings to Dr. Finnegan again, his expression a mix of confusion and accusation. "Den... den who... who ish... ish..." his voice trails off as he tries to form coherent words, but his mouth isn't cooperating. The dentist laughs, a deep, hearty sound that fills the room. "It's okay, Plankton. You're just a little out of it right now." He reaches out to give Plankton's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Let's get you into the recovery chair." Karen helps to lift him up, his body feeling like a rag doll in her arms. He leans heavily on her, his legs shaky and unsteady. The nurse supports his other side as they guide him to the chair. "Whathish ish...?" he mumbles, his eye glazed and unfocused, his hand feeling along the chair as if trying to understand what it is. "It's your chair, Plankton," Karen says with a smile, helping him to sit upright. Plankton's gaze travels slowly to the chair. "Chair?" he slurs, his voice barely a whisper. He looks back at Karen, then at the nurse, his eye wide with bewilderment. "Whath... whath do I do wiff thish... chair?" The nurse and Karen both chuckle, the tension of the surgery lifting slightly. "You just sit down, sweetie," Karen says, her voice soothing. "Let's get you comfortable." Plankton looks at the chair with a mix of suspicion and exhaustion. "Buth... I don't know how to siht," he slurs, his mouth barely moving. His hand grips the armrest as if it's a life preserver. Karen laughs softly, supporting him as he sits. "You've got this," she says, adjusting his posture. "Just let yourself lean back." Plankton's eyelid flaps weakly. "Buth... buth how do youw siht?" he repeats, his words slurring into each other. His head lolls back, and Karen and the nurse share a look of amusement. The nurse gently pushes his head back. "Just and relax, Mr. Plankton," she instructs. "We've got you."