Elmer didn't even look up when he heard the door open again. Hook
had told him to hold Lona's hand to try to talk to her and keep her calm
and that was the only thing that he was going to let himself worry about
right now. He reached out, gently brushing a stray lock of hair off of her
forehead. She was still so hot. Why weren't the cooling blankets working
and bringing the fever down? She had to be miserable with a temperature
like that.
"Hook...." Elmer started to say and he turned his head for a moment only to stop in puzzlement when he saw the nurse drawing a sample of blood from Hook now. Now why would they be doing that? Not that he objected to them finding someone else to poke, of course. Lona had been used for a pin cushion more than enough!
"Roll up your sleeve, Elmer." Hook said as he took the pills that another nurse handed and tossed them back with a glass of water. They're going to need blood from you too."
"What, why?" Elmer asked as he obeyed the order. "Did Lona run out of blood for them to take?" That wouldn't surprise him with the amount of blood that he had seen them removing. Really, what could they possibly need that much blood for? They better not be doing an impromptue experiment on blood loss with Lona as their guinea pig, is all that he could say!
Hook walked slowly to the younger doctor's side before speaking.
He was very uncertain about how to handle breaking this news to Elmer. He obviously hadn't realized yet why they were in isolation with Lona and what might very well happen to them shortly. Hook didn't want to frighten him and yet and the same time he knew that Elmer needed to know the truth of the situation, to be prepared.
"Elmer, when you found Lona, you didn't have any sort of protection and neither did I," Hook said in what he hoped would be a gentle enough tone. "Whatever this is that's making her so sick, you and I were both exposed to it."
Elmer felt a cold feeling of fear wash over him at Hook's words but that was replaced a moment later by a sudden calm. Okay, he knew it wasn't good that they had been exposed to what was making Lona so sick necessarily, and Elmer was definately sorry Hook had been exposed but.
If they had it as well, that meant that the doctors could use them as guinea pigs and amuse themselves poking and proding them instead of hurting Lona further!
"What else do they need?" He asked as the nurse inserted the needle into his arm and started to draw the blood. Normally he would have cringed but not now, not after seeing how much Lona had been poked. The least he could do was take a few needles for her sake.
"Right now, just blood. And there are antibiotics they want us to start on as a precaution. If we are infected, then it might keep it from getting as severe." Hook watched Elmer closely. He had expected that the younger doctor would have at least a bit of a visible panic but as far as Hook could tell, he didn't seem unduely alarmed at all by the news. Either Elmer was much braver than Hook had given him credit for before or he was just too wrapped up in Lona to comprehend the potential seriousness of the situation. And Hook had a feeling which of the two it was.
"Lona's on them too, right?" Elmer looked from the pills that the nurse had handed him to Lona's still form. He wasn't going to take anything until he made sure that it wasn't something that could be better used to help Lona!
"They're giving her something through the IV," Hook said with a nod, motioning for Elmer to take the pills as he moved over to Lona's bedside, looking up at the monitors for a moment. Blast! That fever hadn't reacted at all although they were pumping Lona full of medications trying to get it under control. What was this thing?
He motioned for the nurse to follow him away from the bed before quietly giving her orders. "Get a portable EEG machine up here as soon as possible." He didn't want to think about it and would certainly not say anything about it to Elmer but Hook knew that the fever that had Lona in it's grips was more than high enough to possibly cause her to suffer brain damage. As the nurse headed out the door to carry out his orders, he moved over to join Elmer at Lona's side once more.
The younger doctor didn't even look up when Hook reached out and gently touched Lona's hand for a moment before sinking into one of the chairs. 'Lona,' he thought as he looked from her still body to Elmer sitting beside her trying to keep up a steady stream of reassuring chatter.
'You just hold on for us, okay?' He didn't even want to think of how Elmer would take it if it turned out that Lona had suffered brain damage or died of the disease. Just seeing her sick seemed to be totally taring him apart.
Just then Hook heard the door open and turned as Chris came in followed by Louis. Hook stood, moving off to the side as Louis approached,
nodding with understanding at the other doctor. This had to be killing Louis after how he had lost his other son.
"Elmer?" Louis whispered as he looked down at his son and then at Lona, barely able to keep his emotions under control at the sight of her,
wrapped in cooling blankets with a respirator breathing for her and wires and tubes everywhere. His son, that could be his son soon and.... He fought against the panic, though, forcing it back down firmly as he took a close look at Elmer. He seemed to be healthy. Maybe.... But if he wasn't infected yet, he certainly didn't need to be in here with Lona considering her condition! Every moment he was exposed would increase the odds that.... There were other isolation rooms, They could just put Elmer into one of those until they found out if he was okay or not.
"Dad?" Elmer said quietly, looking at his father with pleading in his eyes before Louis could say anything to Hook about wanting Elmer in another room away from Lona. "Dad, please, can't you do something to help Lona? She's really sick." Elmer looked down at her once more, gently touching her hand before turning back to his father. "Please, help her!"
He couldn't loose Lona, he just couldn't!
"Hook...." Elmer started to say and he turned his head for a moment only to stop in puzzlement when he saw the nurse drawing a sample of blood from Hook now. Now why would they be doing that? Not that he objected to them finding someone else to poke, of course. Lona had been used for a pin cushion more than enough!
"Roll up your sleeve, Elmer." Hook said as he took the pills that another nurse handed and tossed them back with a glass of water. They're going to need blood from you too."
"What, why?" Elmer asked as he obeyed the order. "Did Lona run out of blood for them to take?" That wouldn't surprise him with the amount of blood that he had seen them removing. Really, what could they possibly need that much blood for? They better not be doing an impromptue experiment on blood loss with Lona as their guinea pig, is all that he could say!
Hook walked slowly to the younger doctor's side before speaking.
He was very uncertain about how to handle breaking this news to Elmer. He obviously hadn't realized yet why they were in isolation with Lona and what might very well happen to them shortly. Hook didn't want to frighten him and yet and the same time he knew that Elmer needed to know the truth of the situation, to be prepared.
"Elmer, when you found Lona, you didn't have any sort of protection and neither did I," Hook said in what he hoped would be a gentle enough tone. "Whatever this is that's making her so sick, you and I were both exposed to it."
Elmer felt a cold feeling of fear wash over him at Hook's words but that was replaced a moment later by a sudden calm. Okay, he knew it wasn't good that they had been exposed to what was making Lona so sick necessarily, and Elmer was definately sorry Hook had been exposed but.
If they had it as well, that meant that the doctors could use them as guinea pigs and amuse themselves poking and proding them instead of hurting Lona further!
"What else do they need?" He asked as the nurse inserted the needle into his arm and started to draw the blood. Normally he would have cringed but not now, not after seeing how much Lona had been poked. The least he could do was take a few needles for her sake.
"Right now, just blood. And there are antibiotics they want us to start on as a precaution. If we are infected, then it might keep it from getting as severe." Hook watched Elmer closely. He had expected that the younger doctor would have at least a bit of a visible panic but as far as Hook could tell, he didn't seem unduely alarmed at all by the news. Either Elmer was much braver than Hook had given him credit for before or he was just too wrapped up in Lona to comprehend the potential seriousness of the situation. And Hook had a feeling which of the two it was.
"Lona's on them too, right?" Elmer looked from the pills that the nurse had handed him to Lona's still form. He wasn't going to take anything until he made sure that it wasn't something that could be better used to help Lona!
"They're giving her something through the IV," Hook said with a nod, motioning for Elmer to take the pills as he moved over to Lona's bedside, looking up at the monitors for a moment. Blast! That fever hadn't reacted at all although they were pumping Lona full of medications trying to get it under control. What was this thing?
He motioned for the nurse to follow him away from the bed before quietly giving her orders. "Get a portable EEG machine up here as soon as possible." He didn't want to think about it and would certainly not say anything about it to Elmer but Hook knew that the fever that had Lona in it's grips was more than high enough to possibly cause her to suffer brain damage. As the nurse headed out the door to carry out his orders, he moved over to join Elmer at Lona's side once more.
The younger doctor didn't even look up when Hook reached out and gently touched Lona's hand for a moment before sinking into one of the chairs. 'Lona,' he thought as he looked from her still body to Elmer sitting beside her trying to keep up a steady stream of reassuring chatter.
'You just hold on for us, okay?' He didn't even want to think of how Elmer would take it if it turned out that Lona had suffered brain damage or died of the disease. Just seeing her sick seemed to be totally taring him apart.
Just then Hook heard the door open and turned as Chris came in followed by Louis. Hook stood, moving off to the side as Louis approached,
nodding with understanding at the other doctor. This had to be killing Louis after how he had lost his other son.
"Elmer?" Louis whispered as he looked down at his son and then at Lona, barely able to keep his emotions under control at the sight of her,
wrapped in cooling blankets with a respirator breathing for her and wires and tubes everywhere. His son, that could be his son soon and.... He fought against the panic, though, forcing it back down firmly as he took a close look at Elmer. He seemed to be healthy. Maybe.... But if he wasn't infected yet, he certainly didn't need to be in here with Lona considering her condition! Every moment he was exposed would increase the odds that.... There were other isolation rooms, They could just put Elmer into one of those until they found out if he was okay or not.
"Dad?" Elmer said quietly, looking at his father with pleading in his eyes before Louis could say anything to Hook about wanting Elmer in another room away from Lona. "Dad, please, can't you do something to help Lona? She's really sick." Elmer looked down at her once more, gently touching her hand before turning back to his father. "Please, help her!"
He couldn't loose Lona, he just couldn't!