Chapter 5: The Long Way Home
A/N: I would like to thank every source that gave me an idea for this story. Movies, books, and doctahmillie for helping me with it too. But this isn't the end yet. I think the next part will be or if not, then the one after that.
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The days turned into weeks. Abby seemed to have little change to her condition. They had brought her fever down a degree, which was good. But Dave seemed to be getting worse every minute. Mark's prediction of Encephalitis was beginning to come true. Everyone at the hospital didn't say much. Dave and Abby were never left alone in a room. Luka never left Abby's side anymore. After a few more weeks, Abby's fever did die down to 99.5, which was very good. Dave wasn't doing as well. After about a month or so, he fell into a coma.
"What day... is it?" Abby asked Luka one day.
"June eighth. You have been sick for a very long time."
"Is... Dave..."
"Dave is... stable," was the best he could bring himself to tell her. It was strange, though, because Luka almost felt a bit jealous of Dave. Every time Abby was awake she would ask about him. But soon, Luka would shake off that feeling and remind himself that Abby and Dave were both sick and needed their help. Abby had stopped muttering about the jaguar she'd seen and she rarely went back into a state of delirium any more. It felt good that they were making progress with her, but when you felt that achievement, one walk by Dave's room was all you needed to take that feeling away. One look at his sallow, damp face could make you almost cry. This hospital and this crew had seen many cases like this but never had there been such a dense atmosphere of sorrow.
Almost never Carter reminded himself one day. That fateful February day, how could he forget? However, this was almost more. Maybe it was because they had had that momentous memory in their past or maybe it was because it was longer, but it almost seemed more. But Carter wouldn't let himself believe that. Nothing, in his mind, could be a sadder day. But maybe he was wrong. For no one at the hospital knew the fate of either of Dave or Abby anymore. Abby was in such a critical state that any moment her fever could peek again. But Dave was even more crucial. For him, any day could be the day his heart finally stopped beating after all those years of faithful service. But any day could also be the day he would wake from his long slumber. Everyone was edgy and jumped at anyone who spoke to them.
Carter sipped what must have been his fourth cup of coffee that day, standing outside Dave's room, just watching. The fever was still in his blood and so it was still not very safe for them to enter unless clad in the proper wear. Elizabeth appeared by his side, sipping a cup of coffee herself.
"Time doesn't heal *all* wounds, does it?" she said, "What's troubling you? I know it's not Dave or Abby. I mean, I can see you're worried about them both, but there's something else... What is it?"
"Well... I don't know. I just... I just feel that if I lose either one of them, I won't be able to take it. I've lost too much in my life already."
"I know you have. But you're not the only one who's had a hard life. We've all lost at least something at one time in our life or another. But we can get through this together. For one thing we have, at least now, is each other," Carter looked at his friend long and hard. He realized she was right. They would get through this together; they would all get through this helping each other. He knew that his friends would help him get through what ever problems he had and he would do his best to help them. Suicide, drugs... Those were all easy answers; they're the easy ways out. Carter decided to take the long way home. And his friends were coming with him.
Abby closed her eyes as she felt the warm liquid flow down her irritated throat. It hurt slightly, but she was happy to taste food again, even if it was just soup. It was another few weeks since Carter and Lizzy's discussion. Abby's recovery was speeding up, but not without taking it's toll. Abby had now lost almost all of her hearing and they didn't know how long it was for. She opened her eyes and looked at Luka Kovac, love easily visible in her smile and her eyes. Luka smiled back at her. He didn't care she'd lost her hearing. It could have been much worse. Much worse. Like Dave Luka thought silently.
"Dave?" Abby said and Luka looked at her as if she read his mind. Then, he realized she was asking about him. Not many people at the hospital knew sign language and neither did Abby and so it became difficult to talk to Abby sometimes, unless you had a pen and paper, which Luka always carried now. But he was already taking classes in sign language in case he would need them later.
"Um..." Luka said, fumbling for a pen. He scrawled a quick 'no change' and showed her. She sighed. When she was able to handle it, they had told her about Dave's coma.
For Abby, you didn't really need a mask or suit anymore. Her fever had returned to normal and she had been moved out of quarantine. The only traces of the disease were her continuous weakness, fatigue, and of course her hearing loss. The road to recovery was hard, almost painful for her, but she told herself every minute, every hour, every day that she was going to get through this. She hated being so tired and the feeling of helplessness always annoyed her. She could barely keep her head up but it was worth it to see the eyes of who ever was with her. She felt as if she hadn't seen any of them for years and was glad to see their faces, especially Luka's. But the faces didn't have the same smile or the same look in the eyes. Something was different. Something had hurt them and scared them; scarred them very hard and deep and left a wound that may never heal. She had seen this before. Once before. But that was a long time ago and the event was long past. But the residue of the accident still held in their eyes and their hearts, the memory of a close friend, lost long ago but never forgotten. Never forgotten. And she knew that this incident would never be forgotten either. Some things can effect the way people look at the world. They could even be as small as a single sentence whispered by a friend. That single sentence, that one little phrase, can change a person's life. Or it could be something that happened. Something like this. She knew that if Dave ever woke up, he would look at the world differently as will all the others in the hospital. As will she. An amicable hand on her shoulder drew Abby from her thoughts. She looked up and noticed it was Luka's hand, but now, someone else was with him. She recognized him as John Carter. She noticed him sigh, even though she couldn't hear it. He blinked and began speaking to Luka. It was strange because to Abby, it was as if they were speaking in another language. She looked on, curiously, trying to see if she could teach herself to lip read.
"She seems happy," Carter said to Luka.
"She does. She keeps asking about Dave..."
"Who isn't? Everyone's asking somebody about him. And that somebody isn't always the people you see and hear- oops, sorry- see, at least, every day," his eyes moved upwards with his head, gesturing at the ceiling. Luka understood.
"How many days has it been?" he knew Abby had been asking this.
"Uh... I lost count. What day is it today?" Luka smiled.
"June 26."
"I thin he went in the coma in April, didn't he?"
"Yeah..."
"Hmm... Around April 23, right? That'd be a little over two months, now..." Luka and Carter both turned to Abby who was watching them and concentrating hard and moving her lips quietly mouthing words. She stopped when she noticed they were looking at her and smiled a bit embarrassed. Carter and Luka chuckled a little, for the first time in two months. Luka wrote a quick note to her saying 'We were discussing Dave's condition. He's been in a coma for two months.' She read it and nodded sadly. A tear formed in her eye.
"Don't wanna be deaf!" she tried to say, "Wanna hear your voice." Luka dried the tear in her eye. Luka pulled her in and gave her a comforting hug.
"You will hear again, Abby, I promise..."
A/N: I would like to thank every source that gave me an idea for this story. Movies, books, and doctahmillie for helping me with it too. But this isn't the end yet. I think the next part will be or if not, then the one after that.
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The days turned into weeks. Abby seemed to have little change to her condition. They had brought her fever down a degree, which was good. But Dave seemed to be getting worse every minute. Mark's prediction of Encephalitis was beginning to come true. Everyone at the hospital didn't say much. Dave and Abby were never left alone in a room. Luka never left Abby's side anymore. After a few more weeks, Abby's fever did die down to 99.5, which was very good. Dave wasn't doing as well. After about a month or so, he fell into a coma.
"What day... is it?" Abby asked Luka one day.
"June eighth. You have been sick for a very long time."
"Is... Dave..."
"Dave is... stable," was the best he could bring himself to tell her. It was strange, though, because Luka almost felt a bit jealous of Dave. Every time Abby was awake she would ask about him. But soon, Luka would shake off that feeling and remind himself that Abby and Dave were both sick and needed their help. Abby had stopped muttering about the jaguar she'd seen and she rarely went back into a state of delirium any more. It felt good that they were making progress with her, but when you felt that achievement, one walk by Dave's room was all you needed to take that feeling away. One look at his sallow, damp face could make you almost cry. This hospital and this crew had seen many cases like this but never had there been such a dense atmosphere of sorrow.
Almost never Carter reminded himself one day. That fateful February day, how could he forget? However, this was almost more. Maybe it was because they had had that momentous memory in their past or maybe it was because it was longer, but it almost seemed more. But Carter wouldn't let himself believe that. Nothing, in his mind, could be a sadder day. But maybe he was wrong. For no one at the hospital knew the fate of either of Dave or Abby anymore. Abby was in such a critical state that any moment her fever could peek again. But Dave was even more crucial. For him, any day could be the day his heart finally stopped beating after all those years of faithful service. But any day could also be the day he would wake from his long slumber. Everyone was edgy and jumped at anyone who spoke to them.
Carter sipped what must have been his fourth cup of coffee that day, standing outside Dave's room, just watching. The fever was still in his blood and so it was still not very safe for them to enter unless clad in the proper wear. Elizabeth appeared by his side, sipping a cup of coffee herself.
"Time doesn't heal *all* wounds, does it?" she said, "What's troubling you? I know it's not Dave or Abby. I mean, I can see you're worried about them both, but there's something else... What is it?"
"Well... I don't know. I just... I just feel that if I lose either one of them, I won't be able to take it. I've lost too much in my life already."
"I know you have. But you're not the only one who's had a hard life. We've all lost at least something at one time in our life or another. But we can get through this together. For one thing we have, at least now, is each other," Carter looked at his friend long and hard. He realized she was right. They would get through this together; they would all get through this helping each other. He knew that his friends would help him get through what ever problems he had and he would do his best to help them. Suicide, drugs... Those were all easy answers; they're the easy ways out. Carter decided to take the long way home. And his friends were coming with him.
Abby closed her eyes as she felt the warm liquid flow down her irritated throat. It hurt slightly, but she was happy to taste food again, even if it was just soup. It was another few weeks since Carter and Lizzy's discussion. Abby's recovery was speeding up, but not without taking it's toll. Abby had now lost almost all of her hearing and they didn't know how long it was for. She opened her eyes and looked at Luka Kovac, love easily visible in her smile and her eyes. Luka smiled back at her. He didn't care she'd lost her hearing. It could have been much worse. Much worse. Like Dave Luka thought silently.
"Dave?" Abby said and Luka looked at her as if she read his mind. Then, he realized she was asking about him. Not many people at the hospital knew sign language and neither did Abby and so it became difficult to talk to Abby sometimes, unless you had a pen and paper, which Luka always carried now. But he was already taking classes in sign language in case he would need them later.
"Um..." Luka said, fumbling for a pen. He scrawled a quick 'no change' and showed her. She sighed. When she was able to handle it, they had told her about Dave's coma.
For Abby, you didn't really need a mask or suit anymore. Her fever had returned to normal and she had been moved out of quarantine. The only traces of the disease were her continuous weakness, fatigue, and of course her hearing loss. The road to recovery was hard, almost painful for her, but she told herself every minute, every hour, every day that she was going to get through this. She hated being so tired and the feeling of helplessness always annoyed her. She could barely keep her head up but it was worth it to see the eyes of who ever was with her. She felt as if she hadn't seen any of them for years and was glad to see their faces, especially Luka's. But the faces didn't have the same smile or the same look in the eyes. Something was different. Something had hurt them and scared them; scarred them very hard and deep and left a wound that may never heal. She had seen this before. Once before. But that was a long time ago and the event was long past. But the residue of the accident still held in their eyes and their hearts, the memory of a close friend, lost long ago but never forgotten. Never forgotten. And she knew that this incident would never be forgotten either. Some things can effect the way people look at the world. They could even be as small as a single sentence whispered by a friend. That single sentence, that one little phrase, can change a person's life. Or it could be something that happened. Something like this. She knew that if Dave ever woke up, he would look at the world differently as will all the others in the hospital. As will she. An amicable hand on her shoulder drew Abby from her thoughts. She looked up and noticed it was Luka's hand, but now, someone else was with him. She recognized him as John Carter. She noticed him sigh, even though she couldn't hear it. He blinked and began speaking to Luka. It was strange because to Abby, it was as if they were speaking in another language. She looked on, curiously, trying to see if she could teach herself to lip read.
"She seems happy," Carter said to Luka.
"She does. She keeps asking about Dave..."
"Who isn't? Everyone's asking somebody about him. And that somebody isn't always the people you see and hear- oops, sorry- see, at least, every day," his eyes moved upwards with his head, gesturing at the ceiling. Luka understood.
"How many days has it been?" he knew Abby had been asking this.
"Uh... I lost count. What day is it today?" Luka smiled.
"June 26."
"I thin he went in the coma in April, didn't he?"
"Yeah..."
"Hmm... Around April 23, right? That'd be a little over two months, now..." Luka and Carter both turned to Abby who was watching them and concentrating hard and moving her lips quietly mouthing words. She stopped when she noticed they were looking at her and smiled a bit embarrassed. Carter and Luka chuckled a little, for the first time in two months. Luka wrote a quick note to her saying 'We were discussing Dave's condition. He's been in a coma for two months.' She read it and nodded sadly. A tear formed in her eye.
"Don't wanna be deaf!" she tried to say, "Wanna hear your voice." Luka dried the tear in her eye. Luka pulled her in and gave her a comforting hug.
"You will hear again, Abby, I promise..."