BREATHE
The next two hours as well as the trip by water ferry and then ambulance to the hospital seemed like one long blur to Bridger. He had remembered telling Lucas back on the beach that everything would be okay. How hollow those words were now to him. He could scarcely remember a time when he felt so afraid and the fear was so evident on his face at the moment, like an open book.
The ferry trip over the water had been the most disconcerting. Although they had two medics on board the vessel and they were doing their best to try and help the teenager, it wasn't a hospital that offered all the necessary equipment to cope with the situation.
For the majority of the time to the mainland, Lucas had remained lying on the bed with his eyes closed. The medics had taken his temperature and blood pressure as part of the routine. An oxygen mask had been secured over the youth's face and was connected to a small portable cylinder beside the bed.
Lucas didn't even have the strength at the moment to open his eyes. Every last ounce of energy he had to offer was used on the beach to battle his own body. Now that there was help close at hand, he didn't need to keep the battle on his own and quickly succumbed to overwhelming fatigue that plagued him.
Most of the senior crew that had attended the cook out on the beach were now sitting together in a group on seats across from Lucas and the Captain. Kristen was helping and assisting the medics as much as possible. They were all just too stunned for words about what they had seen take place.
"Do you think he is going to be okay?" Katie Hitchcock whispered to Tim O'Neill. The oxygen mask over Lucas's face only made his condition seem worse. He needed help just to do something so routine as breathing. Something all of them took for granted everyday of their lives. They were soon reminding themselves of how grateful you had to be when you were healthy.
"I hope so, we should be nearing the mainland very soon," Tim answered. "Doctor Westphalen has organized for an ambulance to be waiting for us."
"I thought he was just angry at something," Miguel commented, noting how one minute the teenager had been sitting seemingly peacefully on the sand watching the waves roll in. The next he was up on his feet shouting at everybody and looking less than well. After he had run away from them and collapsed.
"He was really pissed that we had all blabbed about his asthma," Commander Jonathan Ford now remarked. He had rarely seen Lucas so ticked off as he had been on the beach earlier. Angry was not a side of Lucas that you saw too often and after today, Ford hoped that they didn't see it again in a hurry. It certainly wasn't a pretty sight to behold.
"He's just got to be alright," Ben Krieg now said as he got up from his seat and walked towards one of the windows nearby to see how much farther they had to go. The guilt he was feeling was enormous. If he hadn't said anything to Miguel and the others then this might all have been avoided and Lucas wouldn't be hating him right now.
Everyone looked sympathetically towards Krieg's back. They all knew as much as this was affecting them all, Krieg was almost as worried out of his mind as Bridger and Westphalen. Lucas was like a little brother to the man and he went to great lengths on the SeaQuest to make sure the kid was well taken care of and protected at all times. But how could you protect someone when you couldn't see the enemy he asked himself silently.
Back over where Lucas was laying, the medics had done what little they could until Lucas reached the waiting ambulance and then the hospital. For now his breathing was a little better. Still quite laboured and very noisy due to the wheeziness. The mask on his face looked as though it would really get annoying after a time, but at the moment, Bridger doubted Lucas had the strength to pull it off or push it away even if he wanted to.
Bridger sat on a chair beside the teenager's makeshift bed and gentle stroked the boy's head in a calming gesture. He longed to see those pale blue eyes looking back at him and smiling but he knew that the best thing for Lucas right now was sleep and that's exactly what he did, letting his body take respite and try to begin healing itself.
"His blood pressure is a little low," Kristen now spoke as she stood beside the Captain with worry of her own showing. "I think that's what probably caused him to get so dizzy and collapse on the beach in addition to him having trouble taking a breathe," she explained.
"Is the mask helping at all?" Bridger asked, not really having any other topic of conversation to pass the time at the moment.
"Yes and no. He is mostly breathing on his own although it's very tough going at the moment. If he starts having an attack again before we get to the hospital, then at least he has got some back up pure oxygen to rely on until we get there," Kristen answered.
"You mean he could have another attack before we get him to the hospital?" Bridger asked with alarm in his voice, barely able to think how Lucas could cope with another onslaught. The rest of the crew had heard the question and answer as well and they too could scarcely believe that Lucas was at genuine risk of having another attack like that one on the beach.
"Yes, very much so," Kristen said grimly. She didn't want them to know all the horrific details, but she didn't see much point in sugar coating it for them either. "In fact his is at his most vulnerable at the moment as you can see. Because his lungs and respiratory system is already so weak there is every possibility that he could start having problems again. We just have to keep a very close eye on him the entire trip and I mean that," she warned with emphasis.
Another few minutes and they could feel the U.E.O. water ferry slowing down as it approached the foreshore. An ambulance was indeed waiting for them in the car park a few metres ahead. It's blue and red lights were flashing but the siren had been disabled.
The other members of the crew did what little they could by assisting the medics in carrying the sleeping Lucas on the stretcher to the waiting ambulance. As they made their way over the short distance, none of them could help but look down at the young man they were transporting and feel a lump arise in their throats. He looked so incredibly young and with some of the crease lines on his face erased during sleep, even more so.
It was only the harsh reality of the oxygen mask over his face and the sound of his still audibly wheezy and laboured breathing that reminded them that not all was right with their young friend right at the moment.
It was only Bridger and Kristen that travelled with Lucas in the back of the ambulance. The two medics from the U.E.O. water ferry didn't continue any further but were replaced by two other paramedics from the ambulance. They had been briefed on the boy's condition over the trip across the water. They again took his pulse, blood pressure and temperature, recording everything as they went for the hospital upon their arrival.
The rest of the crew got into another vehicle and were only a few metres behind the ambulance in pursuit.
Chaos was the order of things when they got to the hospital emergency arrival area. Two nurses came out upon the ambulance and immediately went to help the two paramedics to get Lucas and his stretcher out of the vehicle and wheel him into the Casualty Department. Kristen made sure she was with Lucas every step of the way to make sure all the necessary steps were being taken to ensure the best care possible.
Kristen had already introduced herself upon exiting the ambulance and the nurses were grateful for the extra help. The Casualty Department was normally overworked already and the fact that they had an emergency patient arrive that came with his own personal doctor and didn't need the nurses constant supervision was a blessing and very welcome.
The other crew members had arrived at the waiting area at the hospital reception but of course were told that they could not enter the emergency room. They were told they would have to take a seat and wait for news about their friend.
Back in the emergency room, Kristen and Bridger were still standing protectively beside Lucas's stretcher waiting for another doctor from the hospital to tell them what was going on. It was taking an enormous amount of time, but from the looks of other people in the room right now, Lucas seemed right down the list.
One patient they had seen rushed in from another ambulance a few seconds after them was covered in blood from a gunshot wound. They had overheard one of the doctor's announce him as DOA and place a sheet over his body and push him to one side of a cubicle, waiting for someone from the morgue to come and toe tag him.
For the time that they were waiting, Lucas remained quite still and sleeping. Bridger didn't know if it was something to be positive or not. The boy had scarcely moved since being loaded onto the ferry from the beach and he certainly hadn't said anything or attempted to open his eyes for quite some time now.
Kristen assured him that this was to be expected a little. His body had undergone a tremendous amount of stress and shock and his system's way of coping with the pain and lack of oxygen was to sleep as much as possible and allow itself time to heal.
"Hello, who do we have here then?" a woman doctor approached the trio with a pleasant tone of voice. She had already been informed about Kristen being Lucas's doctor and she looked at the red-head in directing her greeting.
"Lucas is a seventeen year old male. About two hours ago he had a massive asthma attack and was almost left in an unconscious state from not being able to draw in enough breath. His vital signs have been monitored every ten minutes on our way here. His pulse is a little racy and his blood pressure lower than I would like," Kristen began explaining.
"I haven't administered any kind of pain relief or sedative just yet because I was already too worried about how shallow his breathing sounded. I think he is well past the point of exhaustion anyway as you can plainly see. I don't think the sleep aid will be necessary," Kristen said as she gently caressed Lucas's forearm as she spoke. Lucas wasn't even aware of her concern or fussing over him at the moment.
"I am Doctor Sandra Moorecroft," the woman introduced herself. "I can see some oxygen has been administered. Let's take him out of this mess and to somewhere more quiet upstairs. I can arrange for an x-ray and for the young man to be set up on a steady course of antibiotics through an I.V.," she added.
"Thank you Dr Moorecroft," Kristen said knowing that the woman had a genuinely caring attitude towards her patients. Hence the suggestion of moving Lucas to somewhere a little quieter.
"I will keep him in at least over night and keep monitoring those vital signs and give time for those antibiotics to get through his system and give his immunity system a little boost," she informed the Captain and Kristen as she carefully listened to the sound of Lucas's breathing through a stethoscope.
"Is Lucas under anybody else's care at the moment and what medication has he been put on recently," Dr Moorecroft asked as she went through the normal routine set of questions.
"He is currently the patient of a chest specialist friend of mine Doctor John Kavanagh. Lucas was placed on 4 mls of Ventolin syrup three times a day and given a metered dose inhaler to carrying around him as a backup," Kristen answered.
"Seems like he has been taking the right amount of medicine anyway. I would have prescribed the exact same dosages myself as well as the inhaler," Dr Moorecroft said agreeing with the opinion of Doctor Kavanagh.
"Has he been under any extraordinary stress lately at home or at school?" Sandra asked, looking down at Lucas's young features and assuming him still to be in high school.
Bridger laughed briefly as did Kristen and then went on to explain about what Lucas actually did for a living and that he was the Chief Computer Analyst aboard the SeaQuest. The doctor was almost ready not to believe a word they were saying until she looked at their faces and sensed a truth behind what they were saying.
When it came to answering the question about stress lately, that was one they both baulked at for a minute and then sighed as they found themselves explaining the difficulties they had had over the last couple of months about Lucas learning about his new condition and his attempts to deal with it. As they explained, Lucas had wanted to keep everything from his friends until it got to the point were tempers were frayed, thus causing the outburst and ultimately the attack that had brought him here.
Doctor Moorecroft looked at the two with understanding. "Don't worry, it's not a story I haven't heard before," she said, trying to reassure them. "We have a lot of young people about Lucas's age who find out about a new condition or illness. Believe me some of them behave exactly the same. They try and hide it for as long as possible from their friends and family but somehow it always backfires. Sometimes it's just like in Lucas's case where friends and family find out the hard way when they are hospitalised."
"So how do we get them to open up to us and tell us when they are feeling poorly before something like this happens? Bridger asked searching for answers how to help Lucas deal with his problem once he left the hospital.
"I wouldn't be too worried about that you know," Moorecroft replied. "Most of them get a reality check right about now when they see themselves attached to a drip and being forced to stay here overnight or so."
"I sure hope your right," Bridger remarked.
"Now let's get him wheeled up to a private room and get that I.V. started with the antibiotics. I'll take another look at him after that and then I can talk to you a little more after I have seen the x-rays." Moorecroft suggested.
For the crew that had been sitting out in the waiting room, the time just seemed to stand still until the clock didn't look as though it was moving at all. None of them were prepared to leave their seats just yet though until they had heard about how Lucas was doing.
They didn't need to wait much longer though as a bed was now wheeled out of the Emergency Department on its way to an elevator and then upstairs to a private room for Lucas. Bridger had already told the doctors and hospital to spend whatever it cost to make him well again. He also asked for the private room for Lucas, knowing the teenager would hate to be in a ward with anybody else while he wasn't feeling too great.
Ben was first on his feet and stopped the orderly momentarily as he made his way to the elevator. Lucas had been transferred from the stretcher from the ambulance into a hospital bed. He still had the oxygen mask over his face attached to the oxygen canister laying beside his arm.
"Whoa guy, I am just taking him upstairs, doctor's orders," the orderly stated, not knowing who Ben was. It was obvious though that the man knew the young man laying on the bed.
Bridger and Kristen were quick to rescue the orderly from Ben's worry for Lucas. "It's okay Ben, the man here is just going to take Lucas to have some antibiotics and an x-ray of his chest area. After that he will be put into his own room and made a little more comfortable for the night. He is going to stay at least tonight and we will see how he is tomorrow," Kristen said as she put a hand on Krieg's shoulder.
"You just look after him there Mac," Ben said addressing the orderly but his eyes still focused on the still and slightly pale figure of his friend on the bed. "He's the best and he deserves the best when he is in here," he added.
"I promise to look after him," the orderly said, knowing that Ben was letting his emotions talk for him.
"After we have got him settled a little, I will talk to the doctor about letting you all in to see him for a few minutes," Kristen said as the rest of the crew gathered around the bed in the middle of the hall.
Bridger and the doctors left Krieg with the rest of the crew, knowing that they would make sure he was okay about Lucas. He would update them about the teenager as soon as he knew himself was the diagnosis was to be.
Ben stood in the middle of the hallway with his hands deep in his pockets as he watched the orderly wheel Lucas's hospital bed toward the elevator door. He kept watching until they had entered the lift and the doors had closed again.
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Bridger and Kristen stayed with Lucas the whole time they performed the various sets of tests on him. They doubted he knew where he was if he awoke all of a sudden and they wanted to prevent him becoming agitated again and making his breathing worse again.
Nathan had been fascinated by all of the equipment they used and Kristen was patient enough to explain each step for him in detail. At first they completed the chest x-rays. Both of them had to wear lead lined aprons during the procedure so they could aid in holding Lucas on the x-ray table. They had to wear the aprons to avoid themselves being harmed. A special lead lined mat was laid across Lucas's chest instead of trying to place an apron on his upper body.
It was only now that Bridger began to truly understand how tired and exhausted the teenager was from his attack. The boy hadn't budged an inch when they lifted him from the bed, completed the x-ray and placed him back on the bed again.
Now all they could do was wait for the report from the doctor and gone onto the next part of settling him into a private room. The room number was 32 on the floor. The room itself was quite spacious for a hospital. Lucas would have his own private bathroom facilities during his stay.
Lucas was laid on the bed in the room and the two nurses present began preparations for attaching the I.V. to the teenager. They rubbed a cream into the backs of both hands to act as a numbing agent for the intended small needle that would soon follow. They had to wait about an hour for the cream to take effect. They did both hands just in case they couldn't find a vein in one and they had to use the other.
While they waited for the cream to work, one of the nurses gently removed the oxygen mask from Lucas's face and replaced it with a tube attached to a control panel on the wall behind the bed. The control panel would monitor the intake of oxygen and Lucas's breathing patterns over the next few hours or however long the doctor's wanted to keep an eye on it.
Lucas's regular clothes had been changed to a hospital night shirt with normal t-shirt and shorts underneath at Kristen's request She was sure that Lucas would not like to wake up with only a thin piece of cotton hiding everything important to him. He was still a teenager after all and demanded some pride. She was certain the boy would thank her for her compassion later on.
Now they were ready to try to insert the I.V. They tried firstly on the left hand without success. The small needle point just wouldn't penetrate the skin enough, due to the numbing cream however, Lucas didn't feel a thing.
The second try on the right hand was somewhat different. They still couldn't find the vein enough for the small needle to be inserted, but Lucas actually moaned slightly at the sting he felt despite the cream. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. They would now have to try a third time in his arm somewhere to get the I.V. working properly.
After about half an hour, they had finally managed to get the I.V. working and the first dose of antibiotics was now dripping ever so slowly through the tube into his blood stream. The area was now splinted and bandaged and would remain like that until the doctor it okay to remove the drip and all of the antibiotics had been given to Lucas.
It was only that they had Lucas totally settled and hooked up to the necessary oxygen and drip that Kristen and Bridger were able to relax slightly and sit in chairs beside the teenager's bed, watching him sleep. They had only been sitting in the chairs for a few minutes when Doctor Sandra Moorecroft entered the room quietly.
"Oh I can see he's finally settled for a while," she said with a smile. She took a few seconds to inspect the I.V. and oxygen tubes to make sure they were working correctly. "You two look as though you could use a break yourselves," she added, gazing at two still very worried and tired looking people.
"I am staying here the night with Lucas," Bridger now said and from the determination and tone in his voice, the doctor and Kristen knew there would be no changing his mind now.
"Okay, I'll see what I can do about setting up a fold up bed in here for you tonight Captain," Dr Moorecroft said in compromise. If the man was going to stay for the night at least he could get some sleep at the same time as his young charge.
"Thank you, I will organise with the rest of my crew for them to rent a hotel room for the night," Bridger said, grateful that the doctor understood a little bit about how important it was for him to be with the boy when he needed him. There wasn't much he could do medically, but he would at least be there when the boy awoke.
"Well I guess you want to here what my diagnosis is," the doctor now said in a more serious voice. "Actually it's not as bad as you think. Despite how pale he looked and how much of a pounding his lungs have taken over the last few hours, they are basically okay. There is very little scarring evident from the attack, which is both promising and relieving. It means that Doctor Kavanagh's opinion that the condition was only temporary might be beginning to shows signs of being correct."
Bridger couldn't help but let out the breath he was holding in a loud sigh of relief at the doctor's positive words. He now took Lucas's hand in his own whilst continuing to listen to what the doctor had to say.
"I still want those antibiotics to work through his system for the rest of the night. I will take a look again at him mid-morning tomorrow and then make a more firm decision. But I can safely say that I am pleased that he is doing much better even now from when you first brought him in this evening," Moorecroft commented. "I'll go and make those arrangements Captain," the doctor now announced. "Looks like you are going to have somebody to talk to in a minute anyway," she added, noting the frequent movement of Lucas's eyelids which signalled he might awaken at any minute.
"I will go and let the crew know the good news," Kristen said as she couldn't help but smile at Lucas's prognosis. "I think he will want to see you first anyway and I you two have a lot to talk about," she now said, hinting at the bond that needed to be mended between the two over Lucas's secret being revealed.
"Can Lucas have a visitor tonight doctor," Bridger now asked, knowing that there was a certain someone who needed to have a heart to heart talk with the teenager almost as badly as him. That someone was Ben.
"As long as it's only for a brief time and Lucas feels he is up to it," Moorecroft answered.
Doctor Moorecroft and Kristen now left Lucas's hospital room to go and talk to the SeaQuest crew still waiting downstairs.
******************************************************
With the room now empty except for the two of them, Bridger waited patiently to see if Lucas was indeed showing signs of waking up. His patience was rewarded with two pale, tired looking blue eyes opening a few seconds later and staring back at him.
At first those eyes held very little realisation of what had happened to him. Then as the fog began to clear slightly and recognition set in of who was sitting beside him, a faint smile appeared on his thin lips.
"Hi," Lucas said in a voice barely able to be heard. He waited a few seconds before saying anything further. His mind was trying to take in stock of what was actually wrong with him. He noticed the florescent lights overhead and the medical equipment beside him. Something in the back of his head told him that he was laying in a hospital. It took a few more seconds of thought for him to remember why exactly he came to be there in the first place.
"Hi yourself," Bridger replied, forcing himself not to rush Lucas. He would let the kid get used to his new surroundings first before asking too many questions or giving any explanations.
Lucas now attempted to left his arm up to rub at the irritation to his nose. It was now that he became aware that his arm was bandaged and had a tube attached to it. There was also a tube coming from his nose he noted as he felt the piece of tubing travelling across his cheeks and over his ears.
"Try not to move your arm around too much Lucas, there is a needle and drip there giving your body some medicine at the moment," Bridger explained as he gently laid Lucas's arm back on top of the covers, checking to see that there was no sign of blood in the I.V. tubing.
Lucas was now laying back against the pillows, but his eyes were open and he seemed a little more alert if not coherent in what was being said to him.
"You really had me worried you know," Bridger said with a smile to the teenager, but his words were genuine enough and heart felt.
"I really messed up this time didn't I?" Lucas commented in a voice that held no emotion.
"If you are talking about some people being worried about you then I would have to say yes Lucas, but other than that I don't think there is too much you need to worry about at the moment," Bridger said trying to give the boy some badly lacking self-confidence.
"I didn't mean it when I shouted at Tim and Ben like that," Lucas admitted as his own guilt seemed to engulf him and the memories from the beach came flooding back at a rapid pace.
"I know you didn't Lucas and I think they do too," Bridger said as he spoke on their behalf. Seeing the worried faces of the crew on the ferry and in the waiting room downstairs, it was pretty safe to say that the others wouldn't hold anything against him.
Bridger could see that Lucas was tiring a little and refrained from asking the questions in too much of a rush at once. He would only ask one or two more and then leave the boy to get some rest.
"I bet they are all thinking I am a great big idiot right now," Lucas said as he scolded himself for the actions he took that caused him to be in a hospital.
"No they don't Lucas," Bridger said in the crew's defence. They were just concerned for you that's all. You're the youngest aboard the ship and they think it's kinda part of their job to look after and protect you when I am not around. Is that part of the reason why you didn't want to tell them about your asthma?" Bridger asked, curious to know.
"Partly, but mostly it's because of just how they acted down there on the beach and back on the boat the other day. As soon as anyone knew I had something wrong with me all they wanted to do was be watching over my shoulder all the time to see if I looked sick. Even Ben did the same thing and in the end he was the worst offender. They stopped being my friends and wanted to be my nurse all the time, whether I wanted it or not," Lucas said in admission.
Bridger now understood a little about how cramped and crowded Lucas had been feeling once the crew knew about his illness. And although he couldn't fault them for looking out for Lucas, he could see how such protectiveness would invade someone like Lucas's space after a while.
Lucas was a very private person at the best of times and strongly independent despite his young age. It was these qualities that he prided himself in and when they were threatened like they had been lately, then he didn't know how else to defend himself other than to build more and more barriers between him and them.
There was a knock at the door to interrupt the flow of conversation. Bridger got up and answered it to find a hospital orderly with a fold up bed in hand.
"I got told to bring this to this room Sir," the man stated. "I will leave this just inside the door and bring back the linen and blankets and a couple of spare pillows."
"You get a roommate for the night unless you mind?" Bridger now said to Lucas who was curiously looking at the spare bed.
"No I don't mind," Lucas replied honestly. With the way he was feeling right now he was happy to have some company for a while. "Where is everybody else staying the night?" he enquired after Bridger informed him that some of the senior crew were waiting downstairs.
"I asked Jonathan to arrange a hotel room for the night for them all. If it's okay with you, I might go downstairs and tell them to call it a night. It's getting late and you need some rest." Bridger said.
"What about the return to duty tomorrow?" Lucas now asked, knowing that the SeaQuest was due to head out late the following day. Bridger had already told them while heading to the beach that almost all of the repairs had been completed. Those that weren't completed could be done during their two months at sea.
"I think there is somebody else that would like to come and visit you tonight as well," Bridger now said, hoping the boy would be receptive.
"Are you sure he's still talking to me?" Lucas asked with downcast eyes as his the harsh words he had shouted at his friend Ben echoed in his head.
"He's was really scared for you on the beach Lucas," Bridger said, trying to show the teenager just how much Ben did care, harsh words or not. The minute Ben saw the pain on Lucas's face and heard his struggles to breath, the yelling and shouting were quickly forgotten about.
"You wait right here and I will go and get him for you," Bridger said, getting up from his chair.
"Can you do something for me before you go?" Lucas now asked in a voice that was betraying his fatigue.
"Anything," Bridger responded to Lucas's yet to be answered question.
"It's getting a little cold in here, can you pull the blanket up over the bed for me?" Lucas asked, the soft voice making him seem incredibly young at the moment.
Bridger felt a lump rise in his throat at the feelings that he felt towards this young man. He couldn't help but give a warm smile in return, but he didn't say anything as Lucas's eyes drifted closed and didn't reopen.
"Sure pal," Bridger whispered and now draped the blue woollen material up over the sheets on the bed to Lucas's shoulders and tucking it in at the sides a little.
Bridger didn't know whether or not the teenager would be awake enough for Ben to talk. He made a mental note to tell Krieg when he went downstairs to quiet. If Lucas was asleep when he came to visit, the talk they needed to have could wait until tomorrow morning.
**************************************************************
"He was pretty much asleep again Ben when I left," Bridger said, hoping he wouldn't need to explain to the Lieutenant about the need to keeping it down when he entered Lucas's hospital room.
"Thanks Captain, I really appreciate you letting me visit him before we leave for the hotel," Ben said honestly. He now went towards one of the elevators and waited for the doors to open.
"Do you want me to contact Admiral Noyce Captain?" Jonathan Ford now asked after Bridger had spoken to the crew.
"Yes Commander, but keep it pretty much an open issue at the moment. Depending on what Lucas's doctor's say tomorrow as to whether or not we leave on time tomorrow afternoon or leave it another day or so. It's totally up to Lucas and the doctors but either way we are not leaving here without him," he added, hoping that Jonathan would already know where he stood on the matter.
The crew except for Ben, Kristen and Bridger now left the hospital bound for their hotel room and the phone call to Noyce that Ford was due to make. Kristen promised to keep them updated on Lucas's progress and contact them during the night at the hotel if it was absolutely necessary. All said they would return in the morning anyway in hope that Lucas would be somewhat better and able to have a few more visitors to his room.
With Ben on his way to Lucas's room, that only left Bridger and Kristen together in the waiting room. Bridger could feel his own tiredness from the day beginning to take its tole and he ran a hand down his face, trying to wipe away some of the crease lines from worry.
"Shout a lady to a cup of coffee Captain," Kristen now asked, noting that Nathan wouldn't be too far away from sleeping himself.
"You lead the way," Bridger said with a sly smile on his face. A hot cup of straight black coffee sounded awfully good right about now he said to himself.
Upstairs, Ben was just exiting the elevator on the floor were Lucas was. He had the room number tattooed mentally in his head and began looking at the door numbers along the corridor as he walked.
When he got outside the room numbered 32, he paused for a few seconds for going in. The shutters where slightly open and Ben used the opportunity and tried peering in without Lucas realising he was there just yet.
The light inside Lucas's room was dull and it much darker to see into. Nonetheless, Ben could see the bed and his friend laying on it. Lucas was as still now as he had been when he arrived. It didn't look as though much had changed over the last couple of hours that way.
Ben finally sighed and knew there was no way getting around it and opened the door as quietly as he could to go in. Lucas didn't seem to hear anybody entering the room. The teenager's eyes were still closed.
Ben made himself walk over to the bed, but upon looking down at his friend and all the gadgetry he was attached to, found himself trembling slightly and reaching out to grab onto the safety rail with shaky hands.
"Oh Lucas, what have you done to yourself?" Ben said barely above a whisper. "Was I part of all of causing this? Did I make this happen? he asked, not thinking that his friend would be listening to his words.
"No you didn't do anything Ben," came the soft reply. It took a couple of seconds for Ben to realise that his questions had been answered at first.
"Lucas are you awake buddy?" Ben asked, a little surprised. "Are you alright? Do you need anything? Do I need to go an get anybody for you? Ben kept asking in a rush.
"No you just need to listen to my pathetic apology," Lucas replied. His eyes still remained closed and he was not far away from falling back asleep again.
"You don't need to apologize for anything Lucas. It should be apologizing for betraying your trust like that and making you runaway on the beach like you did," Ben said.
"Yes I do Ben. I have been a jerk. I shouldn't have tried to hide my asthma from the rest of the crew. It was stupid and look where it has got me now," Lucas replied.
"Are you going to be okay?" Ben now said lamely, knowing that Bridger had already given them a positive report about Lucas's progress. At the moment he couldn't think of much else to say to his friend.
"I'll let you know in the morning," came the last reply from the teenager before sleep stole him away one more time for the night.
"You just get better for me you hear?" Ben now said to Lucas, knowing the kid wouldn't be waking again for a few hours at least. "I need my number one partner if we are going back on this boat sometime during the next couple of days. I won't make it through the insanity without you there to break up the monotony.
Ben gave the kid a comforting pat on his arm before leaving the room and briefly glanced at all the equipment around the bed. A pang of guilt still sat in the pit of his stomach that he had had some role at least in all of this suffering. He promised himself and his sleeping friend that he would be there in future for him no matter what.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Hi everyone - next chapter is done. I thought I was going have trouble with the length but somehow I put too many words in like always.
I was going to have Mr Murphy come back at the end of this chapter but decided to leave it until the next part. Hopefully only two more to go and finished.
The part about the Ventolin syrup comes from my own experience with a son with Asthma. The parts about the I.V. come from when my 5 year old daughter was in hospital over Easter. And the low blood pressure idea is mine because I suffer from it at times.
Nothing exciting happened in this part like I was going to put in. I just kinda wanted to smooth things over between the crew and Lucas about what happened on the beach. I promise much more action at the beginning to the next chapter - and you know me - when I say action - I mean more hurt and angst Lucas of course !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for all the really great reviews so far - please keep letting me know if you are liking this story - I really look forward to receiving them.
And on a personal note to Shadows of Pain - There are no sheep here to be found !!!!!!!!!! (Just Kidding - a private joke between us Aussies and Kiwis) I expect a harsh Kiwi joke about Aussies will soon be on it's way. (I couldn't help but say it when you said you were Kiwi - just comes natural to us over here).
JULES
The next two hours as well as the trip by water ferry and then ambulance to the hospital seemed like one long blur to Bridger. He had remembered telling Lucas back on the beach that everything would be okay. How hollow those words were now to him. He could scarcely remember a time when he felt so afraid and the fear was so evident on his face at the moment, like an open book.
The ferry trip over the water had been the most disconcerting. Although they had two medics on board the vessel and they were doing their best to try and help the teenager, it wasn't a hospital that offered all the necessary equipment to cope with the situation.
For the majority of the time to the mainland, Lucas had remained lying on the bed with his eyes closed. The medics had taken his temperature and blood pressure as part of the routine. An oxygen mask had been secured over the youth's face and was connected to a small portable cylinder beside the bed.
Lucas didn't even have the strength at the moment to open his eyes. Every last ounce of energy he had to offer was used on the beach to battle his own body. Now that there was help close at hand, he didn't need to keep the battle on his own and quickly succumbed to overwhelming fatigue that plagued him.
Most of the senior crew that had attended the cook out on the beach were now sitting together in a group on seats across from Lucas and the Captain. Kristen was helping and assisting the medics as much as possible. They were all just too stunned for words about what they had seen take place.
"Do you think he is going to be okay?" Katie Hitchcock whispered to Tim O'Neill. The oxygen mask over Lucas's face only made his condition seem worse. He needed help just to do something so routine as breathing. Something all of them took for granted everyday of their lives. They were soon reminding themselves of how grateful you had to be when you were healthy.
"I hope so, we should be nearing the mainland very soon," Tim answered. "Doctor Westphalen has organized for an ambulance to be waiting for us."
"I thought he was just angry at something," Miguel commented, noting how one minute the teenager had been sitting seemingly peacefully on the sand watching the waves roll in. The next he was up on his feet shouting at everybody and looking less than well. After he had run away from them and collapsed.
"He was really pissed that we had all blabbed about his asthma," Commander Jonathan Ford now remarked. He had rarely seen Lucas so ticked off as he had been on the beach earlier. Angry was not a side of Lucas that you saw too often and after today, Ford hoped that they didn't see it again in a hurry. It certainly wasn't a pretty sight to behold.
"He's just got to be alright," Ben Krieg now said as he got up from his seat and walked towards one of the windows nearby to see how much farther they had to go. The guilt he was feeling was enormous. If he hadn't said anything to Miguel and the others then this might all have been avoided and Lucas wouldn't be hating him right now.
Everyone looked sympathetically towards Krieg's back. They all knew as much as this was affecting them all, Krieg was almost as worried out of his mind as Bridger and Westphalen. Lucas was like a little brother to the man and he went to great lengths on the SeaQuest to make sure the kid was well taken care of and protected at all times. But how could you protect someone when you couldn't see the enemy he asked himself silently.
Back over where Lucas was laying, the medics had done what little they could until Lucas reached the waiting ambulance and then the hospital. For now his breathing was a little better. Still quite laboured and very noisy due to the wheeziness. The mask on his face looked as though it would really get annoying after a time, but at the moment, Bridger doubted Lucas had the strength to pull it off or push it away even if he wanted to.
Bridger sat on a chair beside the teenager's makeshift bed and gentle stroked the boy's head in a calming gesture. He longed to see those pale blue eyes looking back at him and smiling but he knew that the best thing for Lucas right now was sleep and that's exactly what he did, letting his body take respite and try to begin healing itself.
"His blood pressure is a little low," Kristen now spoke as she stood beside the Captain with worry of her own showing. "I think that's what probably caused him to get so dizzy and collapse on the beach in addition to him having trouble taking a breathe," she explained.
"Is the mask helping at all?" Bridger asked, not really having any other topic of conversation to pass the time at the moment.
"Yes and no. He is mostly breathing on his own although it's very tough going at the moment. If he starts having an attack again before we get to the hospital, then at least he has got some back up pure oxygen to rely on until we get there," Kristen answered.
"You mean he could have another attack before we get him to the hospital?" Bridger asked with alarm in his voice, barely able to think how Lucas could cope with another onslaught. The rest of the crew had heard the question and answer as well and they too could scarcely believe that Lucas was at genuine risk of having another attack like that one on the beach.
"Yes, very much so," Kristen said grimly. She didn't want them to know all the horrific details, but she didn't see much point in sugar coating it for them either. "In fact his is at his most vulnerable at the moment as you can see. Because his lungs and respiratory system is already so weak there is every possibility that he could start having problems again. We just have to keep a very close eye on him the entire trip and I mean that," she warned with emphasis.
Another few minutes and they could feel the U.E.O. water ferry slowing down as it approached the foreshore. An ambulance was indeed waiting for them in the car park a few metres ahead. It's blue and red lights were flashing but the siren had been disabled.
The other members of the crew did what little they could by assisting the medics in carrying the sleeping Lucas on the stretcher to the waiting ambulance. As they made their way over the short distance, none of them could help but look down at the young man they were transporting and feel a lump arise in their throats. He looked so incredibly young and with some of the crease lines on his face erased during sleep, even more so.
It was only the harsh reality of the oxygen mask over his face and the sound of his still audibly wheezy and laboured breathing that reminded them that not all was right with their young friend right at the moment.
It was only Bridger and Kristen that travelled with Lucas in the back of the ambulance. The two medics from the U.E.O. water ferry didn't continue any further but were replaced by two other paramedics from the ambulance. They had been briefed on the boy's condition over the trip across the water. They again took his pulse, blood pressure and temperature, recording everything as they went for the hospital upon their arrival.
The rest of the crew got into another vehicle and were only a few metres behind the ambulance in pursuit.
Chaos was the order of things when they got to the hospital emergency arrival area. Two nurses came out upon the ambulance and immediately went to help the two paramedics to get Lucas and his stretcher out of the vehicle and wheel him into the Casualty Department. Kristen made sure she was with Lucas every step of the way to make sure all the necessary steps were being taken to ensure the best care possible.
Kristen had already introduced herself upon exiting the ambulance and the nurses were grateful for the extra help. The Casualty Department was normally overworked already and the fact that they had an emergency patient arrive that came with his own personal doctor and didn't need the nurses constant supervision was a blessing and very welcome.
The other crew members had arrived at the waiting area at the hospital reception but of course were told that they could not enter the emergency room. They were told they would have to take a seat and wait for news about their friend.
Back in the emergency room, Kristen and Bridger were still standing protectively beside Lucas's stretcher waiting for another doctor from the hospital to tell them what was going on. It was taking an enormous amount of time, but from the looks of other people in the room right now, Lucas seemed right down the list.
One patient they had seen rushed in from another ambulance a few seconds after them was covered in blood from a gunshot wound. They had overheard one of the doctor's announce him as DOA and place a sheet over his body and push him to one side of a cubicle, waiting for someone from the morgue to come and toe tag him.
For the time that they were waiting, Lucas remained quite still and sleeping. Bridger didn't know if it was something to be positive or not. The boy had scarcely moved since being loaded onto the ferry from the beach and he certainly hadn't said anything or attempted to open his eyes for quite some time now.
Kristen assured him that this was to be expected a little. His body had undergone a tremendous amount of stress and shock and his system's way of coping with the pain and lack of oxygen was to sleep as much as possible and allow itself time to heal.
"Hello, who do we have here then?" a woman doctor approached the trio with a pleasant tone of voice. She had already been informed about Kristen being Lucas's doctor and she looked at the red-head in directing her greeting.
"Lucas is a seventeen year old male. About two hours ago he had a massive asthma attack and was almost left in an unconscious state from not being able to draw in enough breath. His vital signs have been monitored every ten minutes on our way here. His pulse is a little racy and his blood pressure lower than I would like," Kristen began explaining.
"I haven't administered any kind of pain relief or sedative just yet because I was already too worried about how shallow his breathing sounded. I think he is well past the point of exhaustion anyway as you can plainly see. I don't think the sleep aid will be necessary," Kristen said as she gently caressed Lucas's forearm as she spoke. Lucas wasn't even aware of her concern or fussing over him at the moment.
"I am Doctor Sandra Moorecroft," the woman introduced herself. "I can see some oxygen has been administered. Let's take him out of this mess and to somewhere more quiet upstairs. I can arrange for an x-ray and for the young man to be set up on a steady course of antibiotics through an I.V.," she added.
"Thank you Dr Moorecroft," Kristen said knowing that the woman had a genuinely caring attitude towards her patients. Hence the suggestion of moving Lucas to somewhere a little quieter.
"I will keep him in at least over night and keep monitoring those vital signs and give time for those antibiotics to get through his system and give his immunity system a little boost," she informed the Captain and Kristen as she carefully listened to the sound of Lucas's breathing through a stethoscope.
"Is Lucas under anybody else's care at the moment and what medication has he been put on recently," Dr Moorecroft asked as she went through the normal routine set of questions.
"He is currently the patient of a chest specialist friend of mine Doctor John Kavanagh. Lucas was placed on 4 mls of Ventolin syrup three times a day and given a metered dose inhaler to carrying around him as a backup," Kristen answered.
"Seems like he has been taking the right amount of medicine anyway. I would have prescribed the exact same dosages myself as well as the inhaler," Dr Moorecroft said agreeing with the opinion of Doctor Kavanagh.
"Has he been under any extraordinary stress lately at home or at school?" Sandra asked, looking down at Lucas's young features and assuming him still to be in high school.
Bridger laughed briefly as did Kristen and then went on to explain about what Lucas actually did for a living and that he was the Chief Computer Analyst aboard the SeaQuest. The doctor was almost ready not to believe a word they were saying until she looked at their faces and sensed a truth behind what they were saying.
When it came to answering the question about stress lately, that was one they both baulked at for a minute and then sighed as they found themselves explaining the difficulties they had had over the last couple of months about Lucas learning about his new condition and his attempts to deal with it. As they explained, Lucas had wanted to keep everything from his friends until it got to the point were tempers were frayed, thus causing the outburst and ultimately the attack that had brought him here.
Doctor Moorecroft looked at the two with understanding. "Don't worry, it's not a story I haven't heard before," she said, trying to reassure them. "We have a lot of young people about Lucas's age who find out about a new condition or illness. Believe me some of them behave exactly the same. They try and hide it for as long as possible from their friends and family but somehow it always backfires. Sometimes it's just like in Lucas's case where friends and family find out the hard way when they are hospitalised."
"So how do we get them to open up to us and tell us when they are feeling poorly before something like this happens? Bridger asked searching for answers how to help Lucas deal with his problem once he left the hospital.
"I wouldn't be too worried about that you know," Moorecroft replied. "Most of them get a reality check right about now when they see themselves attached to a drip and being forced to stay here overnight or so."
"I sure hope your right," Bridger remarked.
"Now let's get him wheeled up to a private room and get that I.V. started with the antibiotics. I'll take another look at him after that and then I can talk to you a little more after I have seen the x-rays." Moorecroft suggested.
For the crew that had been sitting out in the waiting room, the time just seemed to stand still until the clock didn't look as though it was moving at all. None of them were prepared to leave their seats just yet though until they had heard about how Lucas was doing.
They didn't need to wait much longer though as a bed was now wheeled out of the Emergency Department on its way to an elevator and then upstairs to a private room for Lucas. Bridger had already told the doctors and hospital to spend whatever it cost to make him well again. He also asked for the private room for Lucas, knowing the teenager would hate to be in a ward with anybody else while he wasn't feeling too great.
Ben was first on his feet and stopped the orderly momentarily as he made his way to the elevator. Lucas had been transferred from the stretcher from the ambulance into a hospital bed. He still had the oxygen mask over his face attached to the oxygen canister laying beside his arm.
"Whoa guy, I am just taking him upstairs, doctor's orders," the orderly stated, not knowing who Ben was. It was obvious though that the man knew the young man laying on the bed.
Bridger and Kristen were quick to rescue the orderly from Ben's worry for Lucas. "It's okay Ben, the man here is just going to take Lucas to have some antibiotics and an x-ray of his chest area. After that he will be put into his own room and made a little more comfortable for the night. He is going to stay at least tonight and we will see how he is tomorrow," Kristen said as she put a hand on Krieg's shoulder.
"You just look after him there Mac," Ben said addressing the orderly but his eyes still focused on the still and slightly pale figure of his friend on the bed. "He's the best and he deserves the best when he is in here," he added.
"I promise to look after him," the orderly said, knowing that Ben was letting his emotions talk for him.
"After we have got him settled a little, I will talk to the doctor about letting you all in to see him for a few minutes," Kristen said as the rest of the crew gathered around the bed in the middle of the hall.
Bridger and the doctors left Krieg with the rest of the crew, knowing that they would make sure he was okay about Lucas. He would update them about the teenager as soon as he knew himself was the diagnosis was to be.
Ben stood in the middle of the hallway with his hands deep in his pockets as he watched the orderly wheel Lucas's hospital bed toward the elevator door. He kept watching until they had entered the lift and the doors had closed again.
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Bridger and Kristen stayed with Lucas the whole time they performed the various sets of tests on him. They doubted he knew where he was if he awoke all of a sudden and they wanted to prevent him becoming agitated again and making his breathing worse again.
Nathan had been fascinated by all of the equipment they used and Kristen was patient enough to explain each step for him in detail. At first they completed the chest x-rays. Both of them had to wear lead lined aprons during the procedure so they could aid in holding Lucas on the x-ray table. They had to wear the aprons to avoid themselves being harmed. A special lead lined mat was laid across Lucas's chest instead of trying to place an apron on his upper body.
It was only now that Bridger began to truly understand how tired and exhausted the teenager was from his attack. The boy hadn't budged an inch when they lifted him from the bed, completed the x-ray and placed him back on the bed again.
Now all they could do was wait for the report from the doctor and gone onto the next part of settling him into a private room. The room number was 32 on the floor. The room itself was quite spacious for a hospital. Lucas would have his own private bathroom facilities during his stay.
Lucas was laid on the bed in the room and the two nurses present began preparations for attaching the I.V. to the teenager. They rubbed a cream into the backs of both hands to act as a numbing agent for the intended small needle that would soon follow. They had to wait about an hour for the cream to take effect. They did both hands just in case they couldn't find a vein in one and they had to use the other.
While they waited for the cream to work, one of the nurses gently removed the oxygen mask from Lucas's face and replaced it with a tube attached to a control panel on the wall behind the bed. The control panel would monitor the intake of oxygen and Lucas's breathing patterns over the next few hours or however long the doctor's wanted to keep an eye on it.
Lucas's regular clothes had been changed to a hospital night shirt with normal t-shirt and shorts underneath at Kristen's request She was sure that Lucas would not like to wake up with only a thin piece of cotton hiding everything important to him. He was still a teenager after all and demanded some pride. She was certain the boy would thank her for her compassion later on.
Now they were ready to try to insert the I.V. They tried firstly on the left hand without success. The small needle point just wouldn't penetrate the skin enough, due to the numbing cream however, Lucas didn't feel a thing.
The second try on the right hand was somewhat different. They still couldn't find the vein enough for the small needle to be inserted, but Lucas actually moaned slightly at the sting he felt despite the cream. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. They would now have to try a third time in his arm somewhere to get the I.V. working properly.
After about half an hour, they had finally managed to get the I.V. working and the first dose of antibiotics was now dripping ever so slowly through the tube into his blood stream. The area was now splinted and bandaged and would remain like that until the doctor it okay to remove the drip and all of the antibiotics had been given to Lucas.
It was only that they had Lucas totally settled and hooked up to the necessary oxygen and drip that Kristen and Bridger were able to relax slightly and sit in chairs beside the teenager's bed, watching him sleep. They had only been sitting in the chairs for a few minutes when Doctor Sandra Moorecroft entered the room quietly.
"Oh I can see he's finally settled for a while," she said with a smile. She took a few seconds to inspect the I.V. and oxygen tubes to make sure they were working correctly. "You two look as though you could use a break yourselves," she added, gazing at two still very worried and tired looking people.
"I am staying here the night with Lucas," Bridger now said and from the determination and tone in his voice, the doctor and Kristen knew there would be no changing his mind now.
"Okay, I'll see what I can do about setting up a fold up bed in here for you tonight Captain," Dr Moorecroft said in compromise. If the man was going to stay for the night at least he could get some sleep at the same time as his young charge.
"Thank you, I will organise with the rest of my crew for them to rent a hotel room for the night," Bridger said, grateful that the doctor understood a little bit about how important it was for him to be with the boy when he needed him. There wasn't much he could do medically, but he would at least be there when the boy awoke.
"Well I guess you want to here what my diagnosis is," the doctor now said in a more serious voice. "Actually it's not as bad as you think. Despite how pale he looked and how much of a pounding his lungs have taken over the last few hours, they are basically okay. There is very little scarring evident from the attack, which is both promising and relieving. It means that Doctor Kavanagh's opinion that the condition was only temporary might be beginning to shows signs of being correct."
Bridger couldn't help but let out the breath he was holding in a loud sigh of relief at the doctor's positive words. He now took Lucas's hand in his own whilst continuing to listen to what the doctor had to say.
"I still want those antibiotics to work through his system for the rest of the night. I will take a look again at him mid-morning tomorrow and then make a more firm decision. But I can safely say that I am pleased that he is doing much better even now from when you first brought him in this evening," Moorecroft commented. "I'll go and make those arrangements Captain," the doctor now announced. "Looks like you are going to have somebody to talk to in a minute anyway," she added, noting the frequent movement of Lucas's eyelids which signalled he might awaken at any minute.
"I will go and let the crew know the good news," Kristen said as she couldn't help but smile at Lucas's prognosis. "I think he will want to see you first anyway and I you two have a lot to talk about," she now said, hinting at the bond that needed to be mended between the two over Lucas's secret being revealed.
"Can Lucas have a visitor tonight doctor," Bridger now asked, knowing that there was a certain someone who needed to have a heart to heart talk with the teenager almost as badly as him. That someone was Ben.
"As long as it's only for a brief time and Lucas feels he is up to it," Moorecroft answered.
Doctor Moorecroft and Kristen now left Lucas's hospital room to go and talk to the SeaQuest crew still waiting downstairs.
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With the room now empty except for the two of them, Bridger waited patiently to see if Lucas was indeed showing signs of waking up. His patience was rewarded with two pale, tired looking blue eyes opening a few seconds later and staring back at him.
At first those eyes held very little realisation of what had happened to him. Then as the fog began to clear slightly and recognition set in of who was sitting beside him, a faint smile appeared on his thin lips.
"Hi," Lucas said in a voice barely able to be heard. He waited a few seconds before saying anything further. His mind was trying to take in stock of what was actually wrong with him. He noticed the florescent lights overhead and the medical equipment beside him. Something in the back of his head told him that he was laying in a hospital. It took a few more seconds of thought for him to remember why exactly he came to be there in the first place.
"Hi yourself," Bridger replied, forcing himself not to rush Lucas. He would let the kid get used to his new surroundings first before asking too many questions or giving any explanations.
Lucas now attempted to left his arm up to rub at the irritation to his nose. It was now that he became aware that his arm was bandaged and had a tube attached to it. There was also a tube coming from his nose he noted as he felt the piece of tubing travelling across his cheeks and over his ears.
"Try not to move your arm around too much Lucas, there is a needle and drip there giving your body some medicine at the moment," Bridger explained as he gently laid Lucas's arm back on top of the covers, checking to see that there was no sign of blood in the I.V. tubing.
Lucas was now laying back against the pillows, but his eyes were open and he seemed a little more alert if not coherent in what was being said to him.
"You really had me worried you know," Bridger said with a smile to the teenager, but his words were genuine enough and heart felt.
"I really messed up this time didn't I?" Lucas commented in a voice that held no emotion.
"If you are talking about some people being worried about you then I would have to say yes Lucas, but other than that I don't think there is too much you need to worry about at the moment," Bridger said trying to give the boy some badly lacking self-confidence.
"I didn't mean it when I shouted at Tim and Ben like that," Lucas admitted as his own guilt seemed to engulf him and the memories from the beach came flooding back at a rapid pace.
"I know you didn't Lucas and I think they do too," Bridger said as he spoke on their behalf. Seeing the worried faces of the crew on the ferry and in the waiting room downstairs, it was pretty safe to say that the others wouldn't hold anything against him.
Bridger could see that Lucas was tiring a little and refrained from asking the questions in too much of a rush at once. He would only ask one or two more and then leave the boy to get some rest.
"I bet they are all thinking I am a great big idiot right now," Lucas said as he scolded himself for the actions he took that caused him to be in a hospital.
"No they don't Lucas," Bridger said in the crew's defence. They were just concerned for you that's all. You're the youngest aboard the ship and they think it's kinda part of their job to look after and protect you when I am not around. Is that part of the reason why you didn't want to tell them about your asthma?" Bridger asked, curious to know.
"Partly, but mostly it's because of just how they acted down there on the beach and back on the boat the other day. As soon as anyone knew I had something wrong with me all they wanted to do was be watching over my shoulder all the time to see if I looked sick. Even Ben did the same thing and in the end he was the worst offender. They stopped being my friends and wanted to be my nurse all the time, whether I wanted it or not," Lucas said in admission.
Bridger now understood a little about how cramped and crowded Lucas had been feeling once the crew knew about his illness. And although he couldn't fault them for looking out for Lucas, he could see how such protectiveness would invade someone like Lucas's space after a while.
Lucas was a very private person at the best of times and strongly independent despite his young age. It was these qualities that he prided himself in and when they were threatened like they had been lately, then he didn't know how else to defend himself other than to build more and more barriers between him and them.
There was a knock at the door to interrupt the flow of conversation. Bridger got up and answered it to find a hospital orderly with a fold up bed in hand.
"I got told to bring this to this room Sir," the man stated. "I will leave this just inside the door and bring back the linen and blankets and a couple of spare pillows."
"You get a roommate for the night unless you mind?" Bridger now said to Lucas who was curiously looking at the spare bed.
"No I don't mind," Lucas replied honestly. With the way he was feeling right now he was happy to have some company for a while. "Where is everybody else staying the night?" he enquired after Bridger informed him that some of the senior crew were waiting downstairs.
"I asked Jonathan to arrange a hotel room for the night for them all. If it's okay with you, I might go downstairs and tell them to call it a night. It's getting late and you need some rest." Bridger said.
"What about the return to duty tomorrow?" Lucas now asked, knowing that the SeaQuest was due to head out late the following day. Bridger had already told them while heading to the beach that almost all of the repairs had been completed. Those that weren't completed could be done during their two months at sea.
"I think there is somebody else that would like to come and visit you tonight as well," Bridger now said, hoping the boy would be receptive.
"Are you sure he's still talking to me?" Lucas asked with downcast eyes as his the harsh words he had shouted at his friend Ben echoed in his head.
"He's was really scared for you on the beach Lucas," Bridger said, trying to show the teenager just how much Ben did care, harsh words or not. The minute Ben saw the pain on Lucas's face and heard his struggles to breath, the yelling and shouting were quickly forgotten about.
"You wait right here and I will go and get him for you," Bridger said, getting up from his chair.
"Can you do something for me before you go?" Lucas now asked in a voice that was betraying his fatigue.
"Anything," Bridger responded to Lucas's yet to be answered question.
"It's getting a little cold in here, can you pull the blanket up over the bed for me?" Lucas asked, the soft voice making him seem incredibly young at the moment.
Bridger felt a lump rise in his throat at the feelings that he felt towards this young man. He couldn't help but give a warm smile in return, but he didn't say anything as Lucas's eyes drifted closed and didn't reopen.
"Sure pal," Bridger whispered and now draped the blue woollen material up over the sheets on the bed to Lucas's shoulders and tucking it in at the sides a little.
Bridger didn't know whether or not the teenager would be awake enough for Ben to talk. He made a mental note to tell Krieg when he went downstairs to quiet. If Lucas was asleep when he came to visit, the talk they needed to have could wait until tomorrow morning.
**************************************************************
"He was pretty much asleep again Ben when I left," Bridger said, hoping he wouldn't need to explain to the Lieutenant about the need to keeping it down when he entered Lucas's hospital room.
"Thanks Captain, I really appreciate you letting me visit him before we leave for the hotel," Ben said honestly. He now went towards one of the elevators and waited for the doors to open.
"Do you want me to contact Admiral Noyce Captain?" Jonathan Ford now asked after Bridger had spoken to the crew.
"Yes Commander, but keep it pretty much an open issue at the moment. Depending on what Lucas's doctor's say tomorrow as to whether or not we leave on time tomorrow afternoon or leave it another day or so. It's totally up to Lucas and the doctors but either way we are not leaving here without him," he added, hoping that Jonathan would already know where he stood on the matter.
The crew except for Ben, Kristen and Bridger now left the hospital bound for their hotel room and the phone call to Noyce that Ford was due to make. Kristen promised to keep them updated on Lucas's progress and contact them during the night at the hotel if it was absolutely necessary. All said they would return in the morning anyway in hope that Lucas would be somewhat better and able to have a few more visitors to his room.
With Ben on his way to Lucas's room, that only left Bridger and Kristen together in the waiting room. Bridger could feel his own tiredness from the day beginning to take its tole and he ran a hand down his face, trying to wipe away some of the crease lines from worry.
"Shout a lady to a cup of coffee Captain," Kristen now asked, noting that Nathan wouldn't be too far away from sleeping himself.
"You lead the way," Bridger said with a sly smile on his face. A hot cup of straight black coffee sounded awfully good right about now he said to himself.
Upstairs, Ben was just exiting the elevator on the floor were Lucas was. He had the room number tattooed mentally in his head and began looking at the door numbers along the corridor as he walked.
When he got outside the room numbered 32, he paused for a few seconds for going in. The shutters where slightly open and Ben used the opportunity and tried peering in without Lucas realising he was there just yet.
The light inside Lucas's room was dull and it much darker to see into. Nonetheless, Ben could see the bed and his friend laying on it. Lucas was as still now as he had been when he arrived. It didn't look as though much had changed over the last couple of hours that way.
Ben finally sighed and knew there was no way getting around it and opened the door as quietly as he could to go in. Lucas didn't seem to hear anybody entering the room. The teenager's eyes were still closed.
Ben made himself walk over to the bed, but upon looking down at his friend and all the gadgetry he was attached to, found himself trembling slightly and reaching out to grab onto the safety rail with shaky hands.
"Oh Lucas, what have you done to yourself?" Ben said barely above a whisper. "Was I part of all of causing this? Did I make this happen? he asked, not thinking that his friend would be listening to his words.
"No you didn't do anything Ben," came the soft reply. It took a couple of seconds for Ben to realise that his questions had been answered at first.
"Lucas are you awake buddy?" Ben asked, a little surprised. "Are you alright? Do you need anything? Do I need to go an get anybody for you? Ben kept asking in a rush.
"No you just need to listen to my pathetic apology," Lucas replied. His eyes still remained closed and he was not far away from falling back asleep again.
"You don't need to apologize for anything Lucas. It should be apologizing for betraying your trust like that and making you runaway on the beach like you did," Ben said.
"Yes I do Ben. I have been a jerk. I shouldn't have tried to hide my asthma from the rest of the crew. It was stupid and look where it has got me now," Lucas replied.
"Are you going to be okay?" Ben now said lamely, knowing that Bridger had already given them a positive report about Lucas's progress. At the moment he couldn't think of much else to say to his friend.
"I'll let you know in the morning," came the last reply from the teenager before sleep stole him away one more time for the night.
"You just get better for me you hear?" Ben now said to Lucas, knowing the kid wouldn't be waking again for a few hours at least. "I need my number one partner if we are going back on this boat sometime during the next couple of days. I won't make it through the insanity without you there to break up the monotony.
Ben gave the kid a comforting pat on his arm before leaving the room and briefly glanced at all the equipment around the bed. A pang of guilt still sat in the pit of his stomach that he had had some role at least in all of this suffering. He promised himself and his sleeping friend that he would be there in future for him no matter what.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Hi everyone - next chapter is done. I thought I was going have trouble with the length but somehow I put too many words in like always.
I was going to have Mr Murphy come back at the end of this chapter but decided to leave it until the next part. Hopefully only two more to go and finished.
The part about the Ventolin syrup comes from my own experience with a son with Asthma. The parts about the I.V. come from when my 5 year old daughter was in hospital over Easter. And the low blood pressure idea is mine because I suffer from it at times.
Nothing exciting happened in this part like I was going to put in. I just kinda wanted to smooth things over between the crew and Lucas about what happened on the beach. I promise much more action at the beginning to the next chapter - and you know me - when I say action - I mean more hurt and angst Lucas of course !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for all the really great reviews so far - please keep letting me know if you are liking this story - I really look forward to receiving them.
And on a personal note to Shadows of Pain - There are no sheep here to be found !!!!!!!!!! (Just Kidding - a private joke between us Aussies and Kiwis) I expect a harsh Kiwi joke about Aussies will soon be on it's way. (I couldn't help but say it when you said you were Kiwi - just comes natural to us over here).
JULES
