A/N: Heylo! So sorry this one is short. I promise... two chapters tonight. After all... it is Friday! I appreciate the reviews and I get really excited when I get them. Please keep reviewing!! I need the help!
Disclaimer: No.
My beeper went off at one o'clock in the morning and I looked up from the medical journal I was reading, purely confused. I had asked only to be contacted if something monumental was going on. I was sure that the nurses of Princeton-Plainsboro understood what that meant.
I reached over and grabbed the beeper off the bedside table. It didn't say much, just two words.
Wilson sick.
I figured Greg had sent it, but I could have been wrong. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and stood up. I wasn't sleeping anyway; I might as well go over to the hospital and check it out. Changing my clothes and putting on some shoes, I hurried out the door and to my rental car. I made a mental note to call the rental company after the sun rose. The car was due tomorrow and if Wilson really was getting sick, I'd need to extend the rental. I'd have to extend my stay at the hotel too. I silently prayed that I could afford to stay in the hotel another week. I didn't think I could.
Finally reaching the hospital, I went straight for Wilson's room. I was only mildly concerned. He'd probably just picked up an infection or something. He'd gotten a cold a week ago and now it was coming full force since his immune system was so busy.
Greg was standing outside the window, looking in with a deeply concerned look on his face. I walked up next to him and looked in the room. I was shocked at the amount of people inside. There were three nurses, fully suited, and Drs. Chase and Foreman were all standing in full biohazard gear in Dr. Wilson's room. Wilson was laying on the bed, relatively still. He was conscious, I could tell, but only barely. A nurse was carrying bloody sheets over to a biohazard bag and another was disposing of, what I had to assume was, bloody vomit. I couldn't see his monitors very well but I knew it couldn't be good.
Greg didn't say anything to me so I moved to go suit up and go into the room. He grabbed my arm before I could go, "I thought you said he was going to be fine."
I paused and turned back around, surveying the situation, "I'm sure this is nothing to worry about. We'll figure it out. I'll get some samples and run an ELISA and a RT-PCR if I have to."
He let go but never turned to look at me, "You do that."
I sighed but didn't say anything, choosing to go suit up and do my job instead. I went through the chamber as fast as I could, taking all the precautions. If his Lassa was flaring up I didn't want to be around to catch it. I put on the three layers of gloves required and taped them to my protective gown.
I almost ran into the room once I was done dressing, "What's going on? When did this start?"
Dr. Chase looked up at me from the blood he was drawing and then back down, "About two hours ago. The nurses have changed his sheets twice now. Foreman and I were paged the first time and we started testing. We thought you'd already gotten the Lassa. Clearly, we were wrong."
I shook my head and looked at his monitors. He had a temperature of 102 and nearly everything was elevated. I went over and stood over Wilson, putting my hand on his forehead and brushing the hair back. He was sweating and every couple of minutes he would squirm and moan. I concluded that he was suffering from abdominal pain and a mild headache.
"We did get the Lassa. There has never been a recorded case of Lassa that didn't respond to the Ribovirin treatment. Either this isn't Lassa and the tests were wrong, or this is a Lassa mutation." I looked over to Foreman, "Run an ELISA on Wilson's blood and just to be safe, do a RT-PCR too. Let's hope this isn't Lassa, because if it's a mutation I can almost guarantee he's going to die before we can help him."
A loud bang behind me made me jump and I whirled around in time to see Greg storming away. Foreman and Chase both sighed and Chase finished drawing the blood. The nurses left the room and I was left with the two younger doctors and a sleeping Wilson.
Foreman and Chase started to leave, "Oh, guys! Take every precaution. If this is a mutation, I don't need you guys getting it too. Everything in the room is biohazard. We have to double gown and double glove, especially when handling the blood. I want only a select few able to enter the room. Two nurses, you guys, Cameron, Greg, and myself. No one else is allowed entry until I say so, alright?"
The two doctors nodded and left the room. I turned, once again, to Wilson and was struck with a sudden feeling of panic. Six hours ago I had been in this room, chatting with Wilson about trivial things. I'd noted that he seemed better, and then suddenly he was worse. It didn't make any sense.
There was a small stool on wheels in the corner. I grabbed it and pulled it over to his bedside, sitting down and gazing at his heart monitor again. I sighed and tried to remember everything I'd ever learned about the Lassa virus. I was tired and I couldn't think.
Wilson moaned and turned over onto his side, facing me. I looked over him and felt an extreme sense of concern. I reached out and put my hand over his, trying to lend some sort of comfort. His heart monitor beeped slightly faster. That was odd; then again, my heart was beating faster too. I was genuinely scared for him.
