Judgment Day
A deadly disease spreads through Trenton, New Jersey and the NIH team is called out to investigate. Meva and Nathen romance, eventually. There is tragedy for the team both collectively and individually, including a character death. My first Medical Investigation fic. Please review!
A.N.: Read the author's note at the end!
Disclaimer: I hate to break it to you, but I do not own Medical Investigation. Yeah, I know, that's what I said, too.
Chapter 6: Picking up the Pieces
Three days after the end of their assignment in Trenton, New Jersey, Miles, Eva, Stephen and Natalie sat around the elliptical table in the familiar boardroom back at NIH headquarters. The one empty chair, Frank's chair, respectively, reminded them all of the tragedy that had ensued in the previous week. It was going to be hard for the team to work for a while, to function. Not to mention the trouble it would be to find another toxicologist that could even hold a candle to Frank. Eva, Stephen and Natalie had spent the weekend resting while Miles had been kept busy by the endless incident reports and the proposition he was typing to amend protocols so that a situation like this should never have to repeat itself. Picking up the pieces was, if possible, the most difficult part of their job as NIH staff. A moment of silence replaced the usual chatter that would be happening around the table.
Miles rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. The exhaustion of the past week or so was finally catching up with him and he just wanted to go home and sleep it all off. The only good thing that had come out of the whole mess was his newfound relationship with Eva. He smiled at her across the table and winked subtly. Eva smiled back before they focused their attention on Stephen who had just cleared his throat to snap them all out of their reveries. He quickly sifted through the report that Miles had composed before speaking.
"I know you would all still rather be at home resting and remembering, but we have to debrief before this settles in too deep. First off, excellent report, Dr. McCabe. You did some great work out there in the field this past week. You got us through it, even if some sacrifices had to be made. Second of all, Frank's family is holding his funeral this Saturday at the Holy Trinity cemetery. We should all plan to attend. I know it was hard on everyone to lose Frank, I know you felt particularly responsible, Miles, but let's not let this get us down. We have to go on and work to the best of our abilities and forget about this whole ordeal. Next on the list, Dr. Ewing has asked us to fly out to a conference in Orlando next week. We'll be representing the NIH and speaking on our respective roles. Raymond Fink will be flying out with us in place of Frank. Does anyone have anything to add?" Stephen finished with an inquiry.
"The press has released the official report on the outbreak and none of the facts are tragically skewed. They've released the disease as tularemia and the cause as being transmitted by infected animals. There haven't been any reports of an influx of veterinary visits, so there doesn't seem to be a major panic happening," Eva explained.
"Good job, Eva," Stephen approved. "Anything else?"
"All of the infected animals have been euthanized and cremated so there shouldn't be any further spread of the disease. Additionally, all of the animals at the shelter from which the infected animals had come have been examined and there doesn't seem to be any more infection spread there, either. The pound has placed mousetraps to eradicate the infected rodents as well," Natalie stated.
Connor nodded affirmatively and looked around the table expectantly. After a moment's silence which he took to mean that there were no further reports he took the opportunity to speak again.
"Excellent work everyone. Now I want you to get any residual work finished and then go home and get some more rest. This thing is going to haunt us for a while, so we may as well give in. We'll reconvene tomorrow and get started on another case. See you all then," Stephen said.
There was a collective nod from the group gathered around the table, less one member. Everyone slowly filed out of the room until only Miles and Eva remained. Miles had his head in his hands and looked just about ready to implode while Eva sat beside him and did her best to commiserate. She rubbed his back in comforting circles as he, unbeknownst to her, fought to keep his plummeting vitals under control. It had been almost two weeks since his initial exposure and Miles hoped that he would escape unscathed from the encounter. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for him. Miles had woken up that morning with a splitting headache and various other symptoms that could indicated tularemia. He didn't have the gall to go and confess his predicament to either Connor or Natalie. However, it was getting worse and it was beginning to look like he wouldn't have a choice. Miles finally took initiative and looked up. Eva noticed his pallor and concern creased her features.
"Are you alright?" Eva inquired.
"God, I hope so," Miles said, clearly frustrated.
"What do you mean?" Eva asked.
"I think it's got me," Miles deadpanned.
"What? Oh no, not tularemia. Miles, you have to go see Stephen," Eva said worriedly.
"I know, I'm going," Miles replied.
"Do you want me to go with you?" Eva queried.
"No, that's okay. I'll see you a little later," Miles answered.
Eva smiled sympathetically and Miles weakly returned the favor. He leaned over and kissed her briefly before getting up and leaving the room. He slowly walked over to Stephen's private office. He knocked and waited until he was summoned to enter. Stephen looked up from his paperwork as Miles stepped into the office. Miles closed the door behind him and waited until Stephen motioned to a chair before sitting. A momentary look of concern creased Stephen's brow before he regrouped and spoke.
"Miles. What can I do for you?" Stephen inquired.
"I think I'm infected," Miles said simply.
Stephen looked at him appraisingly, taking in the obvious physical attributes of an infection.
"When did you first present with symptoms?" Stephen asked.
"This morning. I woke up and thought it was just exhaustion, but it's only gotten worse," Miles said truthfully.
"Okay, go get Natalie to draw some blood and run the panel. I'll finish up this report and I'll meet you in the clinic. Just grab an empty exam room and put a post-it note on the chart slot. I'll be there in a moment," Stephen instructed.
Miles nodded and did as he was told. He left the room and found Natalie working on some slides in the lab. She looked up from the microscope and smiled.
"What do you need, Miles?" Natalie queried.
"I need you to draw some blood. I think I might have contracted tularemia after all," Miles explained.
"Does Stephen know?" Natalie inquired.
"Yes, I've told him. He wants you to run the panel," Miles stated.
Natalie nodded and motioned Miles into a chair beside one of the lab tables. She sat facing him and stretched his arm out on the table. After rolling up his sleeve, Natalie deftly tied the tourniquet and inserted the needle. After a few seconds she had completely filled the vial necessary for the test, untied the tourniquet and withdrawn the needle. Miles held a piece of gauze to the site and folded up his arm to prevent a bruise from forming. He waited a moment before rolling he sleeve back down and standing up to leave the lab.
"Thanks, Dr. Durant," Miles said gratefully.
"You're welcome. I'll let you know as soon as I've got the results back," Natalie assured him.
Miles nodded and left the lab. He slowly made his way down to the clinic. Once he got there he discreetly grabbed a post-it note from behind the reception desk and stuck it onto the chart slot outside of exam room three. He waited only a couple of minutes before Connor found him. He entered the room and closed the door behind him. By then, Miles had had plenty of time to worry and anticipate. He prayed that it was only a cold or flu. He prayed that he had become immunosupressed because of the stress and had contracted influenza. Connor looked at him apologetically for a moment before donning a pair of gloves and retrieving the necessary equipment from various cupboards and drawers. Once he had finished, Stephen turned to face Miles once again.
"Are you experiencing any of the telltale symptoms? Any joint pain, difficulty breathing, headache, weakness, chills or anything like that?" Stephen inquired.
"Just a headache, fever and chills so far," Miles replied.
"Did Natalie already draw blood?" Stephen asked.
"Yes," Miles answered.
"Good. Look, I know it's hard to think optimistically after the events of the last week, but bear with me. We'll know what's going on soon enough. This is probably just a cold, especially since you've taken the prophylactic Streptomycin as directed. Either way, now that we know what this thing is, you'll be fine. Now, let's get on with this. Just relax," Stephen said reassuringly.
Miles nodded and tried not to let on to how nervous he really was. Aside from the fact that this could be a disease that would put him out of commission for a while, he felt awkward being on this end of the spectrum. After working so closely with patients it was perfectly ironic that he should become one himself. It was Murphy 's Law. On top of that it was Occam's razor; all things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one. In Miles' case, the simplest explanation was tularemia.
Miles sat patiently through Stephen's exam with bated breath. He tried to relax as Stephen went through the motions of taking his pulse, blood pressure and temperature. So far his superior didn't seem overly phased. Then again, Miles knew as well as Stephen did to always maintain a stoic expression when examining a patient, even when there was cause for alarm. That was one reason why doctors made the worst patients. They knew all the tricks. Stephen carried on with the exam, checking Miles' heart and breath sounds and lymph nodes. After another quick minute, Stephen had finished with his preliminary survey and looked at Miles sternly.
"Well, the good news is that so far you don't seem to fit the pattern. Your breath sounds aren't characteristic of tularemia, but rather a virus. I want to get a chest x-ray just to be sure it isn't the beginnings of pneumonia," Stephen suggested.
Miles almost let out a paean. He prayed that it was something simple and treatable. So far it seemed that he would get off easy, but only when he got the lab results back could he relax. Miles got down from the table and followed Stephen out the door and down to radiology. He longed to hear Eva's mellifluous voice telling him that everything would be alright. She had quickly made her way into his heart and become his inamorata. Once they reached radiology, Miles made himself comfortable whilst Stephen prepared the film and set up the x-ray machine. The x-ray was done quickly and Miles headed up to his office while Stephen waited for the film to develop.
Miles reached his office and opened the door. He didn't even notice Eva sitting in the chair opposite his desk until he had walked around the desk and collapsed into his own chair. She smiled at him in commiseration and encouraged him to speak by taking his hand in hers and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"How did it go?" Eva asked.
"Stephen thinks that it's something viral. Natalie took some blood and Stephen did a chest x-ray so I'll know more in a little while," Miles replied.
Eva stood up from her chair and walked around to Miles' side of the desk. She sat on the arm of his chair and embraced him lovingly. Miles took shelter in the arms that were wrapped around him. He wished that none of the past few weeks' events had ever happened. They embraced a moment longer before separating just enough for their lips to meet in a passionate kiss. The desire was apparent in both of them. The two of them stayed locked in their fervent kiss until they heard footsteps stop just outside of the office door. They pulled apart and a knock was heard momentarily. Eva rearranged herself and perched herself on the corner of Miles' desk.
"Come in," Miles instructed.
The door slowly opened and Stephen stepped in wielding a large manila envelope that no doubt contained Miles' x-ray results. He had an unreadable expression on his face and that worried Miles more than anything. He gave Eva an acknowledging nod and pulled the x-ray out of the envelope, placing it instead on the light board at the side of the room. Miles and Eva stood up and walked over to where Connor was standing, examining the film. Miles briefly scanned the sheet and looked away. He couldn't focus. A moment later, Stephen broke the silence.
"Good news, Miles. There's no sign of edema or pneumonia. So far so good. Now all you have to do is wait for Natalie to run the panels," Stephen commented.
Miles almost whooped for joy. All there was left was Natalie's assessment and then he would know his fate. Connor put the x-ray away and tossed the manila envelope onto Miles' desk before leaving the room. As soon as he left, Miles and Eva were once again tangled in each other's arms. They kissed again, only this time their kiss was softer, more gentle. It was a kiss that implied endless possibilities, not just a heat of the moment romance. They kissed until they were nearly cyanotic. When they separated, Miles looked deep into Eva's eyes and found eternity in their depths. Miles cupped Eva's face in his hands and kissed her once again. When they pulled apart he wrapped his arms around her waist and she put her hands on his chest. Eva could feel Miles' heart beat beneath her palm. She smiled and was glad that she could have such an effect on him. She knew it was her proximity because Miles had the exact same effect on her.
"I love you, Eva," Miles said sincerely.
"I love you too, Miles," she replied.
At that moment, Miles' phone began to ring. He pulled away from Eva and picked up.
"Miles," he said briskly.
Eva watched as he conversed with the person on the other line. With each spoken word his expression became less severe. A moment later Miles hung up and clipped his phone back onto his belt. He smiled broadly and hugged Eva. After he pulled away, Eva looked up at him questioningly.
"What is it?" She asked.
"That was Natalie. She said that the panels were all negative. I'm not infected," Miles said ecstatically.
Eva smiled at him and embraced him in return.
"That's great!" She replied.
"Why don't we go home? There's nothing left for us to do here today anyway," Miles suggested.
Eva smiled and nodded her agreement. After collecting all of their belongings, Miles and Eva left NIH together, chatting animatedly. Once they reached the parking lot they both got into Miles' car and headed for his apartment.
The sun could finally peek out from behind where it was stagnated beyond the horizon now that Miles could finally be sure that everything was behind him…
A.N.: Okay, so I know I said the last chapter was the end. I lied. I'm adding this one and possibly a few others. Here's to those who asked for some Miles angst. I've made this one more detailed to please those of you who like the action. I still stand by what I said about this going nowhere. This chapter is just blatant overkill. Prove me wrong by submitting a review! Thanks again, guys. If I update this, you'll see it in the new chapters section of 'just in' and if not, then you'll know because the summary will state that it is complete. You may as well expect another chapter, but not too hopefully. Please review and give me ideas on where, if anywhere, I should run with this! Thanks-Julia-