Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Have I lost everybody? Not a single review after my last chapter :-(
Chapter 13
Mia Dixon lay almost motionless in Bethesda's Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. It had been three long hours since her medical team had reduced the amount of sedation running through her small body and she had shown little in the way of waking.
Gibbs sat in the regulation plastic chair to the child's right, one leg crossed over the other, his gaze never straying from Mia. He had observed with an intense scrutiny as the nurses carried out their regular observations and checks, noting vitals, gauging pupil responses, and sometimes offering quietly spoken reassurances. Over the last hour, the agent had noticed an increase in the movement under Mia's closed eyelids as her brain fought through the thick fog of anaesthesia. He silently wondered if the rapid eye movement he could see was similar to that of normal sleep, or was it merely a side-effect of all the medication.
"Is she dreaming, Duck?" Gibbs asked, his voice cutting through the silence.
"It is very likely." Ducky replied. "The eye movement she has is comparable to that of natural sleep. It is, however, unlikely that she will remember this stage and, as you well know from your experience in the past, it is not an easy sleep to wake from."
The agent nodded his understanding, relieved in the knowledge that what he was witnessing was standard procedure. Dread filled his gut as he wondered exactly what she was dreaming of, but attempted to reassure himself in the reality that she wouldn't remember whatever visions she was seeing.
Another two hours, four calls from his agents, and three cups of hospital "coffee" later, Gibbs was drawn from his thoughts by the slight increase in tempo of the heart monitor diligently marking every beat with an audible beep. Ducky looked up from his newspaper, his medically-trained eyes immediately travelling to the child first, then to the monitor. A split-second after the Medical Examiner's eyes moved back to the print, movement from his colleague drew his attention back to Mia.
"Mia?" Gibbs asked, keeping his voice soft and non-threatening. He gently wrapped his hand around hers as she drew her eyebrows into a frown. The agent was aware of the M.E. rising from his chair, mirroring his position on the other side of the bed. "You with us?"
Her pale face seemed to relax again and just as the two men began to think about returning to their chairs and calling it a random reaction caused by the anaesthetic wearing off, the little girl suddenly regained her gag reflex, displayed by a distressed expression and the contraction of the muscles in her throat desperately trying to expel the foreign object from her windpipe.
"I shall call her doctor!" Ducky said, glancing at Gibbs as he moved quickly from the room towards the nurses' station.
"Mia, kiddo, try and relax," Gibbs murmured, catching the uncoordinated and weakly flailing hands as he attempted to calm the child. Her eyes were squeezed closed as the contractions in her throat continued, causing the heart monitor to sound another increase in pulse rate. "Doc's on his way and then we can take the tube out."
"Ready to get rid of this tube, I hear?" Dr. Wilks said as he strode into the room, rapidly followed by both Ducky and a nurse. There was no indication that Mia had understood, or had even heard, the doctor's comment. Her body continued to strain against the ventilator and rather than wait until some form of coherence was reached, the doctor made the decision to pull the tube. "Alright, sweetheart, let's take this nasty tube out."
With long-practiced skill, the medic waited for an exhalation before smoothly sliding the tube from Mia's throat and mouth, swiftly passing it to the nurse in exchange for an oxygen mask.
"You're ok, kiddo, just breathe." Gibbs soothed, retaining his gentle grasp of her hands and trying not to panic at the noisy wheezing and gurgling sounds coming from her lungs.
"Nice big breaths for me, Mia." Dr. Wilks instructed, resting the stethoscope against her chest. His eyes narrowed slightly as a few small, weak coughs shook her body. Once the coughing had subsided, the doctor listened for a few more breaths before pulling away and straightening up. "Marie, could you start a nebuliser please? Salbutamol 2.5mg."
"What's wrong, doc?" Gibbs asked as he turned towards the medic. Mia's body had relaxed after the bout of coughing had ended, but Gibbs was reluctant to let go of her hand.
"She has wheezing in both lungs, along with some crackles. The nebuliser will open her airways, then she won't have to struggle so much to take a breath." The doctor explained as the nurse left the room to collect the required medication.
"Much like when our dear Anthony has a chest infection, Jethro." Ducky expanded, trying to use a scenario the Marine could relate to, and getting an appreciative nod in response.
Marie soon returned with an adapter and a small ampoule of liquid in her hands. She made her way to the side of the bed, emptied the fluid into the adapter, and fixed it to Mia's oxygen mask. As soon as the oxygen flow hit the liquid, it vaporised, allowing the child to breathe the medication directly into her lungs.
"This is just a little bit of medicine to make your chest feel better, Mia." Marie said quietly as she worked.
"Mia, can you open your eyes for me?" Dr. Wilks asked, observing his patient closely.
Without realising it, Gibbs had held his breath as he watched the little girl's face for a reaction. Time ticked past with the only sound coming from the heart monitor at the side of the bed. Finally, the little eyelids flickered and opened, revealing a pair of unfocussed, glazed, blue eyes.
"Hey, there, kiddo." Gibbs murmured, his own breathing starting to even out.
Before anyone could make a move, her eyes closed and consciousness was gone.
"Alright, sweetheart, let's just give you a little more time to come round." The doctor said, smiling at Gibbs and Ducky before he picked up the folder lying at the end of the bed and headed for his office.