Vote: Scout will have on-going struggles, but who do you think should be the one to get through to her with regards to letting go of V-Town and her bathroom?
Drew
Sam
Willow
Danny
Alexis
Other
Chapter 22- A Stupid Game
"No, Scout," Willow said looking down at the chess board between her and Scout. "The knight moves in an 'L' shape. Like this."
Danny sighed as he paced back and forth in Willow and Scout's chamber.
"Like this?" Scout asked and Danny looked over as she moved the knight in a giant 'L' shape across the board.
"No," Willow said. "You can move it two squares horizontally and one square vertically."
Scout lifted the edge of the board and threw it over her head, all the pieces crashing to the floor. "This is a stupid game!"
Willow frowned. "It's only your first time playing it. It takes a little time to learn."
"Stupid! Stupid!" Scout jumped off Willow's bed and climbed onto her own, burying her face in the pillow.
"Scout…" Danny walked over to her. "It's just a game."
"It's a stupid dumb old game and I don't want to play it!"
"We don't have to play it," Willow said. "It's just one of my favourites, I thought you might like it."
"I want my bathroom!" Scout cried.
Danny locked eyes with Willow.
Willow scooted off her bed and plopped down beside Scout. "That bathroom kept us safe and gave us a place to talk to each other without being seen, but we don't need it anymore. This island is a bigger version of your bathroom. We're not being watched, and we have each other."
"No!" Scout shouted. "The Almighty V is watching us, and Mommy and Daddy are gonna leave me again!"
"That's not true," Danny said. "We're moving into a new house with them."
"I don't wanna new house!" Scout punched the mattress. "I want my bathroom!"
"We don't want to go back to your old bathroom," Willow said. "Because we'd have to go through V-Town to get there."
"I don't care!" Scout whined. "I wanna go back!"
"How about I go find Dad?" Danny suggested. "Maybe he'll make you feel better."
"Daddy's too busy and so is Mommy."
"Well, Mom's helping Grandma and Grandpa right now," Danny said. "But I'm sure if you want her, she'll come."
"Grandma and Grandpa are really sick right now," Willow said. "Mommy's going to help them feel better. You want them to feel better right Scout?"
"I want my bathroom!" Scout repeated.
"Okay, I'm going to get Dad," Danny said. "Just stay with Willow. Everything's going to be okay."
When Danny reached the hallway, the door to Nikolas and Ava's room was open. Nikolas was at Ava's bedside as Monica checked her and Nikky over. Their faces were red and swollen.
Next, he passed TJ, Molly, and Lexie sleeping soundly in their bed and Lexie was connected to a blood IV as Stella and Curtis hovered around. He passed his mom's room where Dante sat with a sweaty Kristina as she lay sleeping. Then he peeked into his own where Leo slept soundly with Annabelle the Second at his feet as Lucas checked him over.
"How's Leo?" Danny asked, walking in.
"He seems to have it to a lesser degree than everyone else, but he still needs to build some strength," Lucas said.
"He seems to have what?"
Lucas sighed. "Patrick wants to finish examining Dad and Lex before we name it."
Danny reached out to pet Annabelle the Second and his heart sank. She was lying really still. "Annabelle? Annabelle?"
She jolted awake and looked up at him with very droopy eyes.
Danny sighed in relief and rubbed her ears. "You scared me, girl."
"Dad and Lexie seem to be in the worse shape," Lucas said. "Patrick was with Kevin and Lucy when he was alerted."
Danny made his way to his grandparents' chamber and pushed the door open.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know if Julian is going to wake up," Patrick said.
Drew had his arms wrapped around Sam as she cried into his chest. Alexis and Julian were both lying in their bed, eyes closed, with machines around them.
"What is wrong with them?" Drew asked.
"Arsenic poisoning," Patrick said.
Sam gaped at him. "Are you saying they were poisoned in the sewer?"
"That's my only guess," Patrick said. "I'm assuming it was inhaled and not consumed since it has taken longer to act. Julian and Lexie must have inhaled more of it. We'll have to ask one of them for details when they wake up."
"Arsen… that's like with Willow," Sam said. "It was those Marchesis. It had to be! That's what their business is. They import and export illegal toxins."
Danny balled his hands into fists.
"While Helena left behind some medical equipment here, we are still limited. I've already started Lexie on blood transfusions from Stella and Curtis. Ideally all of them should be receiving transfusions, but for now we can only do Julian and Lexie since they're the most critical. I'm just hoping it won't be too late. We're hoping the rest will recover on their own."
"Lucas and I can give blood," Sam said.
"So can I," Danny said and Sam turned to him.
Patrick nodded. "Good. We'll get started right away."
"Dad?" Danny said.
"Yes, son?" Drew asked.
"Scout needs you right now."
"Is she okay?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, don't worry," Danny said.
"Can you send Lucas on your way?" Patrick asked.
"Of course." Drew kissed Sam, then patted Danny's back. "I'll come check on you in a bit."
He headed out.
"What's wrong with Scout?" Sam asked.
"She just got a little upset, but we need to focus on Grandpa."
"Ju… Julian…" Alexis stirred a little.
"Mom?" Sam squeezed her hand, but her eyes closed again.
"All right, I'm here." Lucas rushed in.
"Okay, we need to start the transfusions right away," Patrick said.
GHGHGH
Sam held Alexis' hand while Lucas held Julian's and Danny sat at the end of the bed.
"Why aren't they waking up?" Sam asked.
Lucas sighed. "I don't know. Dad's not responding to the transfusions."
Danny's heart sank.
"Okay, good news." Patrick walked back into the room. "Lexie is awake and seems to be responding to the transfusions. I'm going to start Kristina next since she seems to be the next critical. I have some of your blood leftover Danny, but we're going to need some more. Elizabeth's drawing some from Dante, Nikolas and Spencer. I'm hoping Dante's will be enough for Kristina. I'm going to start Nikky's next since he's the smallest. But this has taken a toll on a lot of your family. We'll need Willow to give blood too."
"I can give more," Sam said.
Patrick shook his head. "In normal cases you can only give one unit of blood every three months. The blood volume can be recovered within 24 hours and the haemoglobin count returns to normal within two weeks."
"We don't have two weeks," Lucas said.
Danny swallowed hard.
"I know," Patrick said. "We'll have to start getting blood donations outside the family." He rushed out of the room.
Sam turned to Alexis. "Come on, Mom. Fight this. Prove you're stronger than this and don't need a transfusion."
"Please, Grandma," Danny said. "We need you."
