Chapter 36
Emily walked in to see Nikolas sleeping in Robin's bed with her. Shaking her head, she walked over and began checking Robin's vitals. "Damn it."
Nikolas woke up. "What is it Emily?"
"Can't you feel how hot she is? Robin has a fever, 101.5. She's developed an infection." Emily continued her exam while talking to Nikolas. "We need to get her to a hospital. They have access to medications we cannot get, tests I cannot run and doctors who specialize in this very situation. Nikolas, if we don't get this infection under control she could go into full blown AIDS."
Nikolas shook his head. "No Emily, she stays here. I will bring you whatever and whoever you need here to save her but Robin isn't going anywhere."
Emily put on her gloves and did a blood draw so she could try and get a handle on the battle raging in Robin's body. Emily wasn't sure she had the capabilities to figure out what exactly what bacteria was attacking her immune system but if she could at least figure out the general class, Emily could try several different broad-spectrum antibiotics.
Robin moaned weakly and Nikolas tightened his grip on her. "It's okay, I have you and I will never let you go."
Robin didn't respond, just fell back to sleep. Emily shook her head and she finished up the draw and gathered the tubes of blood she had collected. "Nikolas I need you to listen to reason. You can bring Robin back home after she is well but if we cannot get this infection under control she will die. Because she is HIV positive we don't have as much time as we would if she were HIV negative. Please Nikolas, think about what is best for Robin and the kids."
Nikolas stared at Emily for a moment and then answered her. "I promise to think about it. Now, if you are done, I would like some time alone with my fiancée."
Emily nodded and then headed out the door, straight into Jerry. "How is she?"
"Not that you care but she is not doing well. If we can't get this infection under control, she won't make it." Emily was frustrated. She was doing everything she could to help Robin but this may be beyond her abilities.
"Of course I care, the dear Dr. Scorpio-Drake and I share a long history together. What is the timeline?" Jerry was concerned that Robin would die before Patrick could produce a cure for him.
"A few more days maybe. She needs to be in a hospital but Nikolas is fighting that."
Jerry shook his head. "Of course he is. That boy isn't in his right mind, you know that?"
"He's in love – people aren't always rational when they are in love." Emily would always defend Nikolas, especially against Jerry.
"This isn't love – it's a bloody obsession. Be a doctor and think about your patient first, not Nikolas." Jerry glared at her and then walked away, upset that his only chance at a cure may be dying.
Emily looked back at Robin's room, shook her head and went back to the lab.
Patrick stared at the results, still trying to figure out the missing component. It was driving him crazy that after almost 2 days he couldn't figure it out. He stood up and walked around the lab, trying to stretch his legs and maybe clear his head.
This was Robin's area of expertise, everyone knew that. Patrick stared at her computer and walked over to it, typing in the password for what felt like the hundredth time - premsr08.
Patrick went through Robin's files, her various research projects one more time. "What would be close to what I am dealing with here?"
Patrick was deep in thought when he heard a knock on the lab door. John poked his head in. "Dr. Drake?"
Patrick waved him in without looking up from the computer. "Come in John. I assume Jason sent you here with food and to check up on me."
John held up the paper bag. "Yes he did. Any luck?"
"No and it's driving me crazy." Patrick stepped away from the computer and walked over to the table where John was setting up the food. "Eating with me?"
John shrugged. "I thought you could use the company and maybe someone to bounce ideas off of. I may not be a doctor but I could be a sounding board."
Patrick sat down at the table. "It couldn't hurt. I'm stuck, there is one component of this formula I cannot figure out. This is Robin's area of expertise not mine and I have been trying to channel her, going through old case files, and it is not working. I have hit a wall and I can't break through it."
John thought about it for a moment. "Instead of trying to think about what Robin would do, why don't you try to think like my dad for a moment?"
Patrick raised his eyebrows at him questioningly. "Why would I do that?"
"Because my dad is the one who had the poison developed. Maybe if you can figure out what he was thinking when he developed this poison, we may be able to come up with the missing piece."
Patrick closed his eyes and thought. John was right, he had to put himself in Nikolas's head. Nikolas would want Jerry to suffer, just like he did all those years ago when Jerry poisoned him. Patrick's head shot up. He jumped off the chair and ran over to the computer, typing in Nikolas's name and scanning his medical records. "Son of a bitch, it's right here."
"What is?"
Patrick smiled for the first time in days. "What I have been looking for."