Beth walked out into the waiting room to see a very pale and shaky Henry Spencer trying unsuccessfully to sit down without falling. "Here let me." Henry looked up at her as she grasped him by the elbow and help him sit in the chair.
"Thanks." His color was starting to get better and the shakiness was gone. "What happened?"
Beth should've known that Matt didn't have time to tell him. "Shawn's temperature spiked to over 106 and while you couldn't tell by looking at him he was having a pretty severe seizure. Dr. Morris decided that the blankets and chilled IV fluids wasn't enough so we are moving him."
"To?"
"Labor and delivery." Beth almost smiled at the mans shocked face. "They have tubs there that we can fill with ice water. I know it seems 1800 ish but it seems like the only choice we have at the moment, seeing as the fever hasn't responded to any medication." She stood and started to walk out of the waiting room. "I would call back his loved ones."
Henry closed his eyes and gathered himself; he had heard that sentence said before, like when his dad was dying. "I will. Thank you."
Beth left with a nod and Henry began dialing.
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Carlton was extremely sleep deprived but he had charges he had to take care of, in the form of his partner and Guster. He had just dropped off Juliet and was driving toward Gus' home when he heard a phone ringing. Gus was sleeping on the passenger side, cheek pressed against the window and drool making a trail. Carlton looked around for his phone and soon spotted the blackberry. Fumbling with the buttons he answered. "Lassiter."
"Carlton. I thought I called Gus."
Carlton recognized the voice on the end and peered at the little screen with read out 'Mr. Spencer' instead of his 'Henry' that he had on his phone. "You did."
"Then why did you answer?"
If Carlton could he would have glared. "Guster and I both have Blackberry's."
"Oh."
Then a pause.
"I want to talk to Gus."
Carlton made a left onto Gus' road. "He's sleeping as you should be. I can take a message for him."
There was a sigh on the other end. "It's important."
Carlton stopped in front of Gus' house and tried to keep calm. What on Earth is so important to wake a man who has been by his sick friend's side all day….Oh. Oh crap! "That bad?"
"Yeah."
Carlton started the car and pulled away from the little home. "We'll be there in twenty."
Henry hung up with a good-bye or thanks and that suited Carlton just fine as he was trying his damdest to stay awake as he drove back to the hospital. He looked at the man on the passenger side and considered waking him up but after a second thought he decided that the man needed twenty minutes of blissful sleep before he had to visit his dying friend.
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Finally after the second dose of Valium the seizure subsided. Matt had the nurses filling the tub and getting all the necessary things ready for immersing a patient with a vent. He sat down on the bed and rubbed at his temples taking note that these Labor and Delivery beds were nicer than the one he had at home. I wonder if it would look bad if I took a nap?
"Sorry doc no napping on the job."
He looked up and saw a very amused Beth smiling at him. "That obvious?"
"If you are anywhere near as tired as I am then, yeah. I almost want to ask to scoot over so we can share." Beth closed her mouth with a click and felt her face blush. The other nurses in the room were giving the two small glances and whispering as they prepared the tub and Shawn.
Matt wiggled his eyebrows at her causing Beth to blush even more. "So what other things have you for me besides that tempting offer?"
If looks could kill Matt would have certainly been in the morgue with a toe tag and a sheet over his body. She shoved some papers in his face. "This fax came in from the hospital that did the valve repair, it was the only past medical record we could pinpoint on him, apparently he liked to travel all over." Trying to ignore the whispers and looks of the other nurses she motioned for him to scoot over and sat next to him. "You won't believe why he needed the replacement."
Matt looked over the faxed documents and as he went on further he went from 'really?' to full disbelief. "You've have got to be kidding me!"
"Nope."
"Man this guy needs to stay outta the ocean." He handed the papers back to Beth. "You would think getting stung once from an Irukandji would be enough but twice!" He stood and paced a bit. "What I don't get is why he didn't know what was happening."
Beth stood and gave him one of her patented looks. "Matt, think about this. When he was stung before it was in Australia but here? Jellyfish are almost unheard of and especially this one." She smacked at his arm. "Now use your oversized brain inside that thick skull of yours and make sure that he survives this sting as well."
"Doctor? We're ready."
Matt helped finish preparing for the immersion. "Let's start with cool and then work our temp down, slowly."
Beth watched in awe as Matt first settled himself into the cool water and opened his arms wide to receive his patient as the other nurses lifted and then lowered the man into the tub. When Shawn first hit the water he arched a little but Matt was prepared for it and he held him close as if he was a child. Beth came to the side of the tub and whispered into the unconscious man's ear, telling him everything from the weather to the episode of Grey's she watched last night. Shawn seemed to relax at her words and when she started to stroke his hair he relaxed even more. Slowly the nurses began letting out water and added bins of ice.
Matt started shivering a bit. "We…we must be a sight." Beth just smiled and continued her murmuring in Shawn's ear. "I hope th…this works because I'm free….freezing."
One of the nurses took Shawn's temperature. "One-oh-one and dropping doctor."
"Despite how silly we look, Matt, this was a good idea."
Matt gave her a shaky thumbs up and smiled at her. Despite the shivering, the patient, and other occupants in the room Beth felt like her and Matt were the only ones there and before she could stop herself she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
"Way to ke..keep me warm, nurse."
This time when the whisperings started Beth could've cared less.
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Henry was still sitting in the waiting room when Gus and Carlton walking in. "Mr. Spencer?"
Henry's eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion and his caffeine jitters were so bad it looked as though the man was having seizures in his limbs. "It's not good Gus." Gus sat next to him and Carlton paced about the room casting them glances and listening in on the conversation. "His fever spiked to one-oh-six and he had a pretty bad seizure, they took him into the back of the hospital where a tub was to try and lower his temp with an ice bath."
"And?"
Henry ran a hand down his face and sighed. "And nothing they disappeared almost a half hour ago and I haven't heard a word. The nurse told me to call his loved ones."
Gus shut his eyes and sighed. "I can handle the rest of the phone calls if need be."
Henry gave his arm a squeeze. "Gus you are his closest friend, hell, his best friend. I called Maddie but she didn't answer, it may be days before I can get ahold of her and possibly even longer till she comes here. As of right now, Gus, we are his loved ones."
Gus nodded and sat back in his chair to prepare for the long wait ahead of them, Henry mimicked his posture and closed his eyes to try and get some rest before the doctor came and told them the fate of his son. Carlton stopped his pacing and stepped outside the waiting room because despite what Henry said, Carlton knew that they weren't the only loved ones that Shawn had.
Holding the phone to his ear he heard the sleepy 'hello' on the other end. "Chief, Spencer's taken a change for the worse….."
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Beth walked through the maze of the hospital hallways and was soon in the ICU waiting room, which was filled to capacity. "Ummmmm…..I need to talk to Henry Spencer."
The man in question stood up and the crowd parted as he walked toward her. "How's Shawn, Nurse?"
Beth smiled because for the first time since Shawn's arrival there was a reason too. "The ice bath worked better than we expected. His temp is down below one hundred, his heart rate has slowed significantly, also. We are preparing him to bring him back to his room. Hopefully, since we have the temp lowered it will be easier to keep it low with the cooling blankets." She sighed because there was some bad to go with all this good. "That said, Shawn is still in danger. His heart is holding out and if he continues to get better like this it will hold out. He will still need to have it replaced."
"What about the seizures? He's had two bad ones since he got here."
Beth nodded. "We won't know the full extent of the damage till he wakes up but there is some we can see on the EEG, whether or not it's long term." She shook her head. "That is almost impossible to predict." She gave him a sympathetic look. "Right now I suggest you all get some rest because we have a long road ahead of us." He eyes flicked around the room. "Are all these people here for him."
Henry gave a small laugh as he nodded. "Damn kid knows how to make friends."
Beth matched his smile. "That's good because he is going to need all this help during his recovery. Well I'll leave you to it." She turned and walked away to help transport Shawn.
For the first time in over twelve hours Henry breathed a sigh of relief. Thank you. He didn't know who he was thanking but he did this every time Shawn was in the hospital, surly some being was watching over him. Mutely in the background he could hear the news being relayed to the officers that had shown up and he could almost feel the worry wash away from that room. He stepped out of the waiting room and found the nearest window to stare out at the stars.
"Shawn's a fighter. He'll win this fight too." Henry turned and saw a genuine smile on the woman's face.
"He does have so much to fight for." He gave her arm a squeeze and walked away. "Especially friends like you." He smiled as he walked away. "Well particularly you, detective."
Juliet was stunned frozen in front of the window, somewhere in her sleep deprived mind she thought she heard Henry admit how important she was to Shawn. Win this one Shawn so I can say yes the next time you ask me out. Please win this one.
