LOST - PART 1
HELL WEEK
Chapter 13
Adam was right - during the following days he descended into his own personal hell. His withdrawal from the morphine started mildly enough, but soon the chills and fevers set in, alternating in torturing him while the nausea became a constant presence. He lay in his bed, tossing and turning in pain and throwing up almost everything Thea managed to get him to take in. As the days went by she thought she could actually SEE him becoming thinner by the hour and she searched desperately through her memory and her medical diaries to find something that would help. But nothing she tried did.
She very seldom left his side and her three friends were experiencing their own heartache in watching her become pale and significantly thinner herself. Glory constantly kept after her, urging her to eat and to rest until finally one day she lost her temper.
"Thea, you have to eat. You can't keep going on like this," she said impatiently standing next to the chair Thea had been huddled in for the past six days.
"Leave me alone."
"No, I'm not going to leave you alone..." Glory was saying when the other woman suddenly jumped up. She put her hands out to steady Thea when she swayed, but the shorter woman shook them off.
"You don't understand! I promised him I'd never let go and I'm NOT going to! Can't you get that through your thick head and LEAVE ME ALONE!" Thea shouted, looking at the other woman with what seemed like true hatred.
Glory took a step back and her face went white, stricken to the heart by Thea's furious words. Then her face flushed red and she reached out to slap her in the face. The two women stood there, staring at each other in shock until Thea's face crumpled and she burst into tears. She threw herself into Glory's arms, almost knocking the other woman down.
"Oh God! I'm so sorry!" Thea sobbed almost hysterically and Glory breathed a sigh of relief, glad she had taken the calculated risk. She hugged the shorter woman tightly while she began to calm down.
"I didn't mean it, Glory, I swear I didn't," Thea choked in a broken whisper.
"I know and I AM sorry I slapped you, but I had to," Glory said softly and began patting Thea on the back.
"Thank you," Thea said with a watery chuckle. "You know, I don't think I've ever thanked someone for hitting me before," she said and Glory let out a shaky laugh.
"You're welcome," she said and Thea chuckled again.
"Lord, I wish this was over with. And I KNOW it will be over eventually, but right now it feels like it's never going to end. I just can't stand to see him suffering like this." Her voice broke on the last words and she started to tremble.
Glory stepped back, but kept a firm grip on Thea's shoulders. "I know this is awful for you, but don't break down on us now." She used one hand to tip her friend's face up and almost flinched at how terrible she looked. "YOU are going to go take a bath while Abner sits with Adam and I make you something to eat."
Thea started to protest, but Glory gave her a small shake. "No back-talk from you young lady! After you're more yourself again we can talk about an idea I have that just might help." When she saw the other woman's gaze sharpen and she opened her mouth Glory turned her around and gave her a push toward the door.
"Go! I'm not going to discuss it with you until you get cleaned up and some food in you." To her surprise, Thea nodded and slowly left the room. Glory waited until she heard Thea in the bath down the hall to hurry out in search of Abner.
When Thea came into the kitchen some time later, Glory was very encouraged to see how much better her friend looked. She hurried to fill a bowl with soup and set it down on the table. Giving Thea a stern look she nodded toward the table and tried to not smile when the other woman slowly sat down. She hurried to collect a spoon, napkin, and a bowl of crackers.
She sat down opposite Thea who gave her a questioning look. "Oh no, not until you've actually eaten some of that." Sighing, Thea picked up the spoon and poised it over the bowl.
"I swear to you I will eat this whole bowl of soup if you will just tell me right now."
Thinking about that for a few moments, Glory nodded saying, "Fair enough." Giving her a grateful smile, Thea began to eat.
"I can't remember what country you were in, but I DO remember you telling me about a man who was having a terrible time going dry. His problem was alcohol, but the symptoms are very similar to what Adam is going through. Do you remember what you told me the local herbalist treated it with?"
Thea's brow furrowed and her eyes closed as she tried to dredge up that memory. When she did her eyes popped open and she dropped the spoon into the bowl of soup, splashing it on the table.
"Canabis?!" she gasped and looked at Glory, incredulous.
"Yes Canabis."
Thea was still staring at the other woman with her mouth hanging open, but in a few seconds something clicked behind her eyes and she closed her mouth. Her eyes narrowed as she finally seemed to be thinking and then she smiled.
"Glory, I must have gone suddenly stupid to be shocked by your sensible suggestion," she said and her eyes began to sparkle. "Do you think Nate might be home?"
"Nate?"
"Yes, Nate. You and I can't go looking for it and we can't ask Abner either. Nate's the only one of us who can."
"Why do you think Nate would know where to find it?"
"I don't, but I'm betting he knows someone who DOES." She laughed. "So, do you think he's home?"
"I think so," Glory answered and stood.
"If he is, please tell him I need him, but that's all. I think I should be the one to ask him, not you."
Nodding, Glory started for the back door.
"Besides, I'd hate to see anything frighten off your boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend!" Glory protested automatically, but then smiled when Thea laughed. "I'll bring him right back," she said and hurried out the door.
As soon as she was gone Thea looked down at the now barely warm soup with distaste, but picked the spoon up again anyway. After all, a promise was something Thea always kept.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"WHAT!" Nate almost shouted when Thea made her request and she quickly shushed him, glancing at Adam who was having a rare period of quiet. The two were standing near the grouping of furniture in front of the fireplace when she saw him start to shake his head.
Grabbing him by the hand she dragged him over to the bed. "Look at him, damn it! I don't know how much more of this he can take!" she fiercely whispered then watched his expression carefully as he stared at the man in the bed. She held her breath.
"God, he looks awful," Nate said softly, his kind heart hurting for the man he knew little about, but already considered to be a friend.
"Please Nate," Thea whispered and her heart lifted when he briefly nodded. Without another word he left the room and a few seconds later Glory came in, a worried look on her face.
"Do you think he can do it?" Thea asked anxiously and the other woman nodded.
"I know he can, but I think you don't understand just how hard that decision was for him."
Tipping her head to the side, Thea waited for the explanation she knew was coming.
"Do you know why Nate continues to work at that men's club as a bartender? Even though there are so many other things he could be doing?"
Blinking at this unexpected question, Thea shook her head.
"It's because all the Pinkerton detectives spend a lot of their free time there. He figures working there might help him get in. He's wanted to be one of them for a long time now."
"No! You mean if he does this for me, he'll ruin his chances?"
"No, not ruin them, but it certainly won't help if anyone finds out and he gets a reputation."
"Damn it! I wish I'd known that. Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because I know you wouldn't have asked him then, and you'd have gone yourself." Glory sighed, "Nate's a very smart man and I don't have any doubts he'll get it for you. YOU might have ended up in jail or something."
"Oh Glory," Thea said softly, feeling both grateful and regretful at the same time.
"Besides, friends are chosen family and we care a great deal about you." She glanced at the man in the bed. "And we care about Adam now too."
"'Friends are chosen family'" Thea repeated the phrase and suddenly felt like crying again. Instead, she hurried to wrap the taller woman tightly in her arms.
Glory quickly hugged her back, but then pushed her away. "Now stop that or you'll have me crying, and you know how much I hate to." She turned away quickly, but not before Thea spotted one tear spilling down her cheek. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," she said with a tight throat and hurried out of the room.
Thea stood there staring after her friend as she blinked tears away, and then walked slowly toward the bed. Sitting down in the easy chair, she reached out to take Adam's hand. "Did you hear that Adam? Glory's right, friends ARE chosen family. Just remember that and know you're not alone. No matter what, you'll never be alone again."
She couldn't be sure, but she thought the deep lines of exhaustion and pain on his face eased somewhat. Smiling, she leaned forward and rested the side of her head on the back of his hand. When Nate returned a few hours later with another man she was still there, sound asleep.
"How long has he been like this?" Doctor Charles asked Nate in a low voice. He didn't want to wake Thea.
"For six days now."
"You weren't kidding, he looks like he's at death's door now."
"I know, that's why I went to you first. You're the only one at the hospital I dared talk to. Glory told me about you trying to stick up for Thea."
"I'm glad you did." He looked down at her, noting how exhausted she looked. "Do you think you can carry her over to the couch without waking her up?"
Nate smiled. "Look at her! The cavalry could troop through here and it wouldn't even make her stir." He carefully picked her up, carried her over to the sofa, and gently laid her down. Then he came back to the bed after covering her with an afghan.
"Well, let's get started," Doctor Charles said briskly. "The sooner we ease his suffering and get some food into him the better."
"You'll have to tell me what to do, I have no idea how to do this."
The other man laughed quietly. "I'm sure you know how this works normally."
"Sure, but how are we going to get the smoke into him?"
David Charles was having a hard time controlling his sense of humor. "Think about it Nate. He obviously is not capable of smoking it himself."
"But then..." Nate started to say and the answer suddenly occurred to him. "You don't mean." he stared at the young doctor, shocked.
"Uh huh. Someone has to breathe the smoke into his lungs for him, and quite frankly, you know him better than I do."
"You have GOT to be kidding!" Nate was staring at him now as though he had gone insane.
"I guess we can ask Glory to do it," David said, knowing what Nate's reaction would be.
"No, not Glory!"
"Then we can wake Thea, I'm sure she'd do it in a heartbeat." He tried his best to keep from laughing at Nate's horrified expression.
"No, Glory would bite my head off if I woke her up."
"Alright, then who?"
"You're the doctor, isn't this sort of thing covered by that oath you took?"
David shook his head. "Not for Hippocrates himself," he answered, bluffing and hoping Nate would be naïve enough to believe him.
"All right!" Nate said in a furious whisper as his face turned bright red. "But only on one condition. You have to swear you'll never tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE!"
Practically choking on suppressed laughter, the other man merely nodded as he pulled a pipe and a paper bag out of his pocket and held them out to Nate.
Giving the other man a furious but resigned look Nate reluctantly took them. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Tell me what to do, damn it!"
Firmly tamping down his amusement, David smiled and began to instruct Nate on what to do.
HELL WEEK
Chapter 13
Adam was right - during the following days he descended into his own personal hell. His withdrawal from the morphine started mildly enough, but soon the chills and fevers set in, alternating in torturing him while the nausea became a constant presence. He lay in his bed, tossing and turning in pain and throwing up almost everything Thea managed to get him to take in. As the days went by she thought she could actually SEE him becoming thinner by the hour and she searched desperately through her memory and her medical diaries to find something that would help. But nothing she tried did.
She very seldom left his side and her three friends were experiencing their own heartache in watching her become pale and significantly thinner herself. Glory constantly kept after her, urging her to eat and to rest until finally one day she lost her temper.
"Thea, you have to eat. You can't keep going on like this," she said impatiently standing next to the chair Thea had been huddled in for the past six days.
"Leave me alone."
"No, I'm not going to leave you alone..." Glory was saying when the other woman suddenly jumped up. She put her hands out to steady Thea when she swayed, but the shorter woman shook them off.
"You don't understand! I promised him I'd never let go and I'm NOT going to! Can't you get that through your thick head and LEAVE ME ALONE!" Thea shouted, looking at the other woman with what seemed like true hatred.
Glory took a step back and her face went white, stricken to the heart by Thea's furious words. Then her face flushed red and she reached out to slap her in the face. The two women stood there, staring at each other in shock until Thea's face crumpled and she burst into tears. She threw herself into Glory's arms, almost knocking the other woman down.
"Oh God! I'm so sorry!" Thea sobbed almost hysterically and Glory breathed a sigh of relief, glad she had taken the calculated risk. She hugged the shorter woman tightly while she began to calm down.
"I didn't mean it, Glory, I swear I didn't," Thea choked in a broken whisper.
"I know and I AM sorry I slapped you, but I had to," Glory said softly and began patting Thea on the back.
"Thank you," Thea said with a watery chuckle. "You know, I don't think I've ever thanked someone for hitting me before," she said and Glory let out a shaky laugh.
"You're welcome," she said and Thea chuckled again.
"Lord, I wish this was over with. And I KNOW it will be over eventually, but right now it feels like it's never going to end. I just can't stand to see him suffering like this." Her voice broke on the last words and she started to tremble.
Glory stepped back, but kept a firm grip on Thea's shoulders. "I know this is awful for you, but don't break down on us now." She used one hand to tip her friend's face up and almost flinched at how terrible she looked. "YOU are going to go take a bath while Abner sits with Adam and I make you something to eat."
Thea started to protest, but Glory gave her a small shake. "No back-talk from you young lady! After you're more yourself again we can talk about an idea I have that just might help." When she saw the other woman's gaze sharpen and she opened her mouth Glory turned her around and gave her a push toward the door.
"Go! I'm not going to discuss it with you until you get cleaned up and some food in you." To her surprise, Thea nodded and slowly left the room. Glory waited until she heard Thea in the bath down the hall to hurry out in search of Abner.
When Thea came into the kitchen some time later, Glory was very encouraged to see how much better her friend looked. She hurried to fill a bowl with soup and set it down on the table. Giving Thea a stern look she nodded toward the table and tried to not smile when the other woman slowly sat down. She hurried to collect a spoon, napkin, and a bowl of crackers.
She sat down opposite Thea who gave her a questioning look. "Oh no, not until you've actually eaten some of that." Sighing, Thea picked up the spoon and poised it over the bowl.
"I swear to you I will eat this whole bowl of soup if you will just tell me right now."
Thinking about that for a few moments, Glory nodded saying, "Fair enough." Giving her a grateful smile, Thea began to eat.
"I can't remember what country you were in, but I DO remember you telling me about a man who was having a terrible time going dry. His problem was alcohol, but the symptoms are very similar to what Adam is going through. Do you remember what you told me the local herbalist treated it with?"
Thea's brow furrowed and her eyes closed as she tried to dredge up that memory. When she did her eyes popped open and she dropped the spoon into the bowl of soup, splashing it on the table.
"Canabis?!" she gasped and looked at Glory, incredulous.
"Yes Canabis."
Thea was still staring at the other woman with her mouth hanging open, but in a few seconds something clicked behind her eyes and she closed her mouth. Her eyes narrowed as she finally seemed to be thinking and then she smiled.
"Glory, I must have gone suddenly stupid to be shocked by your sensible suggestion," she said and her eyes began to sparkle. "Do you think Nate might be home?"
"Nate?"
"Yes, Nate. You and I can't go looking for it and we can't ask Abner either. Nate's the only one of us who can."
"Why do you think Nate would know where to find it?"
"I don't, but I'm betting he knows someone who DOES." She laughed. "So, do you think he's home?"
"I think so," Glory answered and stood.
"If he is, please tell him I need him, but that's all. I think I should be the one to ask him, not you."
Nodding, Glory started for the back door.
"Besides, I'd hate to see anything frighten off your boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend!" Glory protested automatically, but then smiled when Thea laughed. "I'll bring him right back," she said and hurried out the door.
As soon as she was gone Thea looked down at the now barely warm soup with distaste, but picked the spoon up again anyway. After all, a promise was something Thea always kept.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"WHAT!" Nate almost shouted when Thea made her request and she quickly shushed him, glancing at Adam who was having a rare period of quiet. The two were standing near the grouping of furniture in front of the fireplace when she saw him start to shake his head.
Grabbing him by the hand she dragged him over to the bed. "Look at him, damn it! I don't know how much more of this he can take!" she fiercely whispered then watched his expression carefully as he stared at the man in the bed. She held her breath.
"God, he looks awful," Nate said softly, his kind heart hurting for the man he knew little about, but already considered to be a friend.
"Please Nate," Thea whispered and her heart lifted when he briefly nodded. Without another word he left the room and a few seconds later Glory came in, a worried look on her face.
"Do you think he can do it?" Thea asked anxiously and the other woman nodded.
"I know he can, but I think you don't understand just how hard that decision was for him."
Tipping her head to the side, Thea waited for the explanation she knew was coming.
"Do you know why Nate continues to work at that men's club as a bartender? Even though there are so many other things he could be doing?"
Blinking at this unexpected question, Thea shook her head.
"It's because all the Pinkerton detectives spend a lot of their free time there. He figures working there might help him get in. He's wanted to be one of them for a long time now."
"No! You mean if he does this for me, he'll ruin his chances?"
"No, not ruin them, but it certainly won't help if anyone finds out and he gets a reputation."
"Damn it! I wish I'd known that. Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because I know you wouldn't have asked him then, and you'd have gone yourself." Glory sighed, "Nate's a very smart man and I don't have any doubts he'll get it for you. YOU might have ended up in jail or something."
"Oh Glory," Thea said softly, feeling both grateful and regretful at the same time.
"Besides, friends are chosen family and we care a great deal about you." She glanced at the man in the bed. "And we care about Adam now too."
"'Friends are chosen family'" Thea repeated the phrase and suddenly felt like crying again. Instead, she hurried to wrap the taller woman tightly in her arms.
Glory quickly hugged her back, but then pushed her away. "Now stop that or you'll have me crying, and you know how much I hate to." She turned away quickly, but not before Thea spotted one tear spilling down her cheek. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," she said with a tight throat and hurried out of the room.
Thea stood there staring after her friend as she blinked tears away, and then walked slowly toward the bed. Sitting down in the easy chair, she reached out to take Adam's hand. "Did you hear that Adam? Glory's right, friends ARE chosen family. Just remember that and know you're not alone. No matter what, you'll never be alone again."
She couldn't be sure, but she thought the deep lines of exhaustion and pain on his face eased somewhat. Smiling, she leaned forward and rested the side of her head on the back of his hand. When Nate returned a few hours later with another man she was still there, sound asleep.
"How long has he been like this?" Doctor Charles asked Nate in a low voice. He didn't want to wake Thea.
"For six days now."
"You weren't kidding, he looks like he's at death's door now."
"I know, that's why I went to you first. You're the only one at the hospital I dared talk to. Glory told me about you trying to stick up for Thea."
"I'm glad you did." He looked down at her, noting how exhausted she looked. "Do you think you can carry her over to the couch without waking her up?"
Nate smiled. "Look at her! The cavalry could troop through here and it wouldn't even make her stir." He carefully picked her up, carried her over to the sofa, and gently laid her down. Then he came back to the bed after covering her with an afghan.
"Well, let's get started," Doctor Charles said briskly. "The sooner we ease his suffering and get some food into him the better."
"You'll have to tell me what to do, I have no idea how to do this."
The other man laughed quietly. "I'm sure you know how this works normally."
"Sure, but how are we going to get the smoke into him?"
David Charles was having a hard time controlling his sense of humor. "Think about it Nate. He obviously is not capable of smoking it himself."
"But then..." Nate started to say and the answer suddenly occurred to him. "You don't mean." he stared at the young doctor, shocked.
"Uh huh. Someone has to breathe the smoke into his lungs for him, and quite frankly, you know him better than I do."
"You have GOT to be kidding!" Nate was staring at him now as though he had gone insane.
"I guess we can ask Glory to do it," David said, knowing what Nate's reaction would be.
"No, not Glory!"
"Then we can wake Thea, I'm sure she'd do it in a heartbeat." He tried his best to keep from laughing at Nate's horrified expression.
"No, Glory would bite my head off if I woke her up."
"Alright, then who?"
"You're the doctor, isn't this sort of thing covered by that oath you took?"
David shook his head. "Not for Hippocrates himself," he answered, bluffing and hoping Nate would be naïve enough to believe him.
"All right!" Nate said in a furious whisper as his face turned bright red. "But only on one condition. You have to swear you'll never tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE!"
Practically choking on suppressed laughter, the other man merely nodded as he pulled a pipe and a paper bag out of his pocket and held them out to Nate.
Giving the other man a furious but resigned look Nate reluctantly took them. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Tell me what to do, damn it!"
Firmly tamping down his amusement, David smiled and began to instruct Nate on what to do.