By the time they reached the hospital basement, Elmer was sagging
between Lona and Hook, forcing them to practically carry him the rest of
the way to the sleep lab.
"Come on, Elmer. Just a few more steps, okay?" Hook said quietly as he looked at Elmer with growing concern due to his lack of real response to them. He still wasn't shivering and it seemed like he was drawing more and more into himself, deteriorating instead of improving as he should have once off the freezing roof.
Chris moved into the sleep lab ahead of them, getting the covers turned down on one of the beds before hurrying around the room, gathering more blankets. She watched with concern as Hook and Lona entered with Elmer between them, his body practically limp as they lowered him onto the bed and Lona pulled the covers up around him. The more that Chris saw of his condition, the more uncertain she was they shouldn't have taken Elmer right to the emergency room and she could tell that Hook was starting to think the same thing.
"It's okay, Elmer. We're going to get you nice and warm now.
You're going to be just fine," Lona whispered to him as she took the extra blankets from Chris and started to cover him with them, shaking her head slightly. He was just so, so cold. She leaned closer to him when he didn't react to her voice, seeing that his eyes had slipped closed in the time it had taken them to lay him down. She reached out and gently stroked his cheek as the called his name. "Elmer!" She bit her lip slightly trying to force down fears that she thought had vanished after rescuing Elmer from the roof. If something was wrong with him, if he was hurt or....
"Chris, go and get some heated blankets and an IV setup," Hook said quietly, reaching out to try to check Elmer a bit more. They hadn't seen any visible signs of injury when they got him off the roof and that hospital gown didn't really leave much to the imagination but Hook wanted to be cautious, especially with how Elmer was reacting.
"Elmer, it's okay," Lona whispered as the young man cringed at Hook's touch, his eyes slowly opening. "It's just Hook. He's just trying to help you. Let him take a look at you, okay?" She reached out a hand,
gently stroking his forehead to try and calm him.
"Lona, he's reacting better to you," Hook said as he looked over at her. "Can you see if you can check him? See if this is just from the cold or if...."
Lona nodded. The cold, it had to be just the cold that was making Elmer act like this but.... "Elmer, sweetie, it's okay. Can you tell me if you're hurting anywhere?" She could barely keep from sobbing when he looked up at her, obvious terror in his eyes.
"I didn't try to hurt myself," Elmer murmured as he looked at Lona. He wanted to plead with her, to beg her to believe that he would never do something like that but it was just so hard to get the words out.
He was so cold and his heart kept pounding like it would explode at any moment barely letting him breathe.
"We know you didn't, Elmer. We know you didn't." Lona whispered to him, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against his forehead.
"You're going to be just fine, alright? We're going to take good care of you. Can you tell me if you hurt anywhere, sweetie?" As she talked to him, she eased his hands free of the blankets for a moment, checking for any damage but miraculously there was none.
"Tell my dad I didn't try to...." It felt kind of nice having Lona there touching him so gently and he wanted to enjoy it but he found himself starting to slip back into unconsciousness again. He was just so cold and it was so hard to breathe now. "Wouldn't do it, not after Edgar...."
"Lona, we might need to get him up to the ER," Hook said softly as he looked at Elmer with concern. He ought to have been showing some sign of improvement once they got him somewhere warm but he just wasn't reacting at all.
"Not yet." Lona didn't want to risk Elmer's life but at the same time she knew exactly what would happen if they took him to the ER and people found out about his near fall from the roof. She could just imagine the rumors and gossip circulating forever and Elmer could just be so sensitive to things like that sometimes. No way would she put him through that if it could be avoided at all. She looked up as Chris came in, her arms full of supplies. Maybe something she had found would help.
"I got some chemical heading packs too," Chris said as she hurried across the room to them. "And I went ahead and warmed a bag of saline."
She looked down at Elmer with concern as she talked. How in the world had he ended up that cold? He would have had to have been on the roof almost the entire time that he had been missing.
"Okay," Hook nodded as he reached for Elmer's arm. "Elmer, we're just going to get an IV in to try to get you warm, okay?"
"Elmer, it's okay! I promise it's okay!" Lona called as Elmer flinched at the touch, trying to pull his arm out of Hook's grasp. Lona stopped what she was doing, covering Elmer with the heated blankets and reached out for his free hand. She could feel his pulse pounding, the beat starting to become slightly erratic as he tried to pull away from Hook.
"Lona...." Hook knew that they could hold Elmer still and make him cooperate if they had to but with the younger doctor's condition he didn't want to do that unless it was the absolute last resort. They needed to get him upstairs where they could sedate him or....
"No." Lona said as she looked from Hook back to Elmer. No, this could still be handled down here if.... Suddenly something occured to her and she kicked off her shoes before slidding into bed next to Elmer,
wrapping her arms around him and cuddling him close.
"Okay, Elmer." she whispered in his ear as she gently held him against her. She could feel his heart pounding and had to fight down a new wave of fear, had to remind herself that Elmer was young and healthy. They just needed to get him calm. "I'm right here. I'm going to stay right here with you and take care of you, okay? just let Dr. Hook get that IV hooked up so we can see about getting you warm. You trusted me to get you off the roof. Please trust me now." She spoke the last in a whisper that only Elmer could hear.
Hook signed slightly as Elmer relaxed a bit in Lona's embrace. He waited a moment to make sure he would remain calm before starting to go about getting the IV set up. Maybe they would be able to fix this without having to take Elmer to the ER after all.
"Come on, Elmer. Just a few more steps, okay?" Hook said quietly as he looked at Elmer with growing concern due to his lack of real response to them. He still wasn't shivering and it seemed like he was drawing more and more into himself, deteriorating instead of improving as he should have once off the freezing roof.
Chris moved into the sleep lab ahead of them, getting the covers turned down on one of the beds before hurrying around the room, gathering more blankets. She watched with concern as Hook and Lona entered with Elmer between them, his body practically limp as they lowered him onto the bed and Lona pulled the covers up around him. The more that Chris saw of his condition, the more uncertain she was they shouldn't have taken Elmer right to the emergency room and she could tell that Hook was starting to think the same thing.
"It's okay, Elmer. We're going to get you nice and warm now.
You're going to be just fine," Lona whispered to him as she took the extra blankets from Chris and started to cover him with them, shaking her head slightly. He was just so, so cold. She leaned closer to him when he didn't react to her voice, seeing that his eyes had slipped closed in the time it had taken them to lay him down. She reached out and gently stroked his cheek as the called his name. "Elmer!" She bit her lip slightly trying to force down fears that she thought had vanished after rescuing Elmer from the roof. If something was wrong with him, if he was hurt or....
"Chris, go and get some heated blankets and an IV setup," Hook said quietly, reaching out to try to check Elmer a bit more. They hadn't seen any visible signs of injury when they got him off the roof and that hospital gown didn't really leave much to the imagination but Hook wanted to be cautious, especially with how Elmer was reacting.
"Elmer, it's okay," Lona whispered as the young man cringed at Hook's touch, his eyes slowly opening. "It's just Hook. He's just trying to help you. Let him take a look at you, okay?" She reached out a hand,
gently stroking his forehead to try and calm him.
"Lona, he's reacting better to you," Hook said as he looked over at her. "Can you see if you can check him? See if this is just from the cold or if...."
Lona nodded. The cold, it had to be just the cold that was making Elmer act like this but.... "Elmer, sweetie, it's okay. Can you tell me if you're hurting anywhere?" She could barely keep from sobbing when he looked up at her, obvious terror in his eyes.
"I didn't try to hurt myself," Elmer murmured as he looked at Lona. He wanted to plead with her, to beg her to believe that he would never do something like that but it was just so hard to get the words out.
He was so cold and his heart kept pounding like it would explode at any moment barely letting him breathe.
"We know you didn't, Elmer. We know you didn't." Lona whispered to him, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against his forehead.
"You're going to be just fine, alright? We're going to take good care of you. Can you tell me if you hurt anywhere, sweetie?" As she talked to him, she eased his hands free of the blankets for a moment, checking for any damage but miraculously there was none.
"Tell my dad I didn't try to...." It felt kind of nice having Lona there touching him so gently and he wanted to enjoy it but he found himself starting to slip back into unconsciousness again. He was just so cold and it was so hard to breathe now. "Wouldn't do it, not after Edgar...."
"Lona, we might need to get him up to the ER," Hook said softly as he looked at Elmer with concern. He ought to have been showing some sign of improvement once they got him somewhere warm but he just wasn't reacting at all.
"Not yet." Lona didn't want to risk Elmer's life but at the same time she knew exactly what would happen if they took him to the ER and people found out about his near fall from the roof. She could just imagine the rumors and gossip circulating forever and Elmer could just be so sensitive to things like that sometimes. No way would she put him through that if it could be avoided at all. She looked up as Chris came in, her arms full of supplies. Maybe something she had found would help.
"I got some chemical heading packs too," Chris said as she hurried across the room to them. "And I went ahead and warmed a bag of saline."
She looked down at Elmer with concern as she talked. How in the world had he ended up that cold? He would have had to have been on the roof almost the entire time that he had been missing.
"Okay," Hook nodded as he reached for Elmer's arm. "Elmer, we're just going to get an IV in to try to get you warm, okay?"
"Elmer, it's okay! I promise it's okay!" Lona called as Elmer flinched at the touch, trying to pull his arm out of Hook's grasp. Lona stopped what she was doing, covering Elmer with the heated blankets and reached out for his free hand. She could feel his pulse pounding, the beat starting to become slightly erratic as he tried to pull away from Hook.
"Lona...." Hook knew that they could hold Elmer still and make him cooperate if they had to but with the younger doctor's condition he didn't want to do that unless it was the absolute last resort. They needed to get him upstairs where they could sedate him or....
"No." Lona said as she looked from Hook back to Elmer. No, this could still be handled down here if.... Suddenly something occured to her and she kicked off her shoes before slidding into bed next to Elmer,
wrapping her arms around him and cuddling him close.
"Okay, Elmer." she whispered in his ear as she gently held him against her. She could feel his heart pounding and had to fight down a new wave of fear, had to remind herself that Elmer was young and healthy. They just needed to get him calm. "I'm right here. I'm going to stay right here with you and take care of you, okay? just let Dr. Hook get that IV hooked up so we can see about getting you warm. You trusted me to get you off the roof. Please trust me now." She spoke the last in a whisper that only Elmer could hear.
Hook signed slightly as Elmer relaxed a bit in Lona's embrace. He waited a moment to make sure he would remain calm before starting to go about getting the IV set up. Maybe they would be able to fix this without having to take Elmer to the ER after all.