Thants for the reviews !
Hihihihi you liked the cliff-hanger lol
- "It's over Scott, she's dead, it'd be useless" articulated Logan "She's dead…"
- "No!"
Determined not to stay without doing anything, Scott took the matter into his hands, going to fetch the pallets by himself.
- "Scott, it's useless to set upon it" said Ororo, who was also crying.
But he didn't listen and started again the electroshocks at the same rhythm than Hank, his eyes misted by his own tears.
- "Scott!"
Shock.
- "Jean I beg you!" he said.
- "Let him, he needs to do it" declared Hank by holding back the adults without Scott took care of it.
- "Come back Jean!"
Shock.
- "Come back I beg you, you can't die Jean! I love you, I need you, come back please Jean!"
After several electroshocks and as even Scott was beginning to give in to the unacceptable evidence, the strident alarm of the electrocardiogram died away and the flat line let place at a weak frequency more or less stable.
- "How is it possible?" asked Logan by starting again to ventilate her without thinking any longer.
- "The water…the lake was iced, 33.8°f all the more, this has slowed down her organism…." realised Hank "How could I be such an idiot? We can't declare the death as long as the body hasn't been warmed up…" he blamed himself.
Ororo had yet placed an electric blanket on the adolescent.
- "No, we need the warming tunnel (with a ventilator which blows hot air at the end), we have to warm her up slowly, she's suffering from a quite serious hypothermia, her corporal temperature is around 82.4°f; no more than 35.6°f by hour or it may carry grave sequels…if they are not yet there" said Hank "Scott, go fetch it, into the reserve, upon the cupboard, at the back, on the right" he indicated to the adolescent, but he had to repeat himself for making him react.
Beast checked Jean's vitals function and frowned.
- "Some blood pressure is back, but her cardiac rhythm is fibrillating…is the serum ready Ororo?"
- "Yes it is"
- "Put her on a drip with a little debit, we have to warm her organism before the surface of her skin"
He took the pallets again.
- "What are ya doin'? Her heart is beatin'" said Logan, perplexed.
- "But it'll stop again if we do nothing, carry on ventilating her between the shocks"
When Scott came back, Hank had just replaced the pallets and was passing a hand on his forehead for chasing the sweat away. Scott began to panic again, but he realised that he wasn't hearing the flat line sound and saw a frequency on the machine watching for Jean's heart.
- "Is that it?" he asked by showing what he had brought back to Beast.
- "Yes. Ororo?"
- "I'm on it" she said by catching the material.
- "Put the ventilator at its minimum for the moment"
The weather witch nodded, then, once done, she placed a blanket on Scott's shoulder whose teeth were beginning to chatter. Henceforth he was feeling that his reflexes were weakened, he was shaking in an uncontrollable way and his arms and legs were hurting him. During this time, Beast took the probe again for being sure that Jean hadn't had water in her lungs anymore, and injected some dopamine into her drip for doping her blood pressure.
- "Stop ventilating her" he asked to Logan before giving an explanation "we have to see if she breathes alone"
Wolverine backed up. And they watched
- "Go on Jean, breath…." they pried, but she didn't.
- "We can't wait longer, she's too weak" declared Hank .
He intubated her and started the mechanical ventilation before her breathing rhythm decreased too much.
- "And what about the barbiturates?" asked Ororo.
- "I'm not sure she took them, she's not showing the symptoms and the two combined we wouldn't have been able to reanimate her, but I'll check it." said Hank "I'll also make her pass a scan, she has missed oxygen for a long time, and even if the cellules work in slow motion at a low temperature and don't suffer a lot from it, I'd like her to go through some exams. Just in case".
- "I'll come with you" declared Scott.
- "No, you're in a state of hypothermic shock so you go and change yourself before you catch your death, you can do nothing more. As soon I'll be done, you will be able to see her again"
- "But…"
Logan gave his opinion :
- "Scott, if ya keep these clothes it's ya who'll need cares, and Hank has only two hands even if Storm can assist him" he argued, knowing than between him and Jean, the adolescent wouldn't hesitate.
And he was right; Scott nodded, went to lay a long kiss on Jean's still cold forehead, muttered some words to her and exited.
- "I'll call Chuck" said Wolverine to Hank and Ororo "Keep us informed"
He went out of the room at his turn as the two other adults were about to move Jean's bed.
Three hours later, the Professor had come back and everyone was gathered in the same room where Hank had made his diagnostic after Jean's liberation months before. The faces were grave, all of them knew what had happened. Only Scott was missing, he hadn't wanted to leave the adolescent's side.
- "She's not out of danger yet, she's weak and in a coma. She doesn't breathe by herself which leave her between life and death. Fortunately she hadn't swallowed the barbiturates, why? I dunno. Her temperature is slowly raising, she had started to shiver which is a good sign, but it's not enough" he said "Her scan didn't reveal anything, but I don't know how she'll be or when she'll come out of her coma; she could be normal, or stay in a lethargic state or whatever else, if she wakes up one day…"
- "What are her chances…I mean, like, what are her chances to survive?" asked Kitty.
- "As long as she's under mechanical ventilation, one one to twenty, no more"
- "My god…" said Jamie.
The Professor sighed heavily.
- "Jean's life hangs only by a thread, but she is alive for the moment, so you have to keep hoping. When she's more stabilized, I think you will be able to go and see her, but for the moment Scott is the only one authorized" he said "It is too soon for me to attempt whatever by telepathy, but if she ends by no needing mechanical ventilation anymore, I would try to contact her, now it would be too dangerous"
Students were authorized to return to their activity and each of them went on its side, the sombre look still lingered on their faces.
Hank and the Professor were the two last people in the room.
- "I thought I wouldn't save her Charles" said Hank "I've declared her dead whereas she wasn't warmed up, if Scott hadn't insisted…"
- "You were under the shock…."
- "But I've almost killed her!" Best interrupted him. "As a doctor I don't have the right to be wrong!"
- "Hank, you have to take care of young you care about, do not blame yourself my friend, the most important is that she is alive for the moment"
- "Yes, for the moment" answered Hank before going out at his turn.
The next day, Jean was still in the same state, leaned and surrounded by machines which sounds weren't leaving Scott's mind anymore, the worst was the one of the mechanical ventilation, there was something lugubrious into it. Hank wasn't trying to send the adolescent back to his room anymore, he knew it would be useless, so he as the others professors were letting him be. They couldn't force him to eat or to sleep, he would end by doing it when he would be starved or exhausted. He stayed at Jean's side day and night and was only releasing her hand when he was obliged to leave for some minutes.
Beast was catching back his sleep when Scot burst into his room.
- "What's up?"
- "She has a fever, she's burning!" he answered, worried "I dunno since when, I fall asleep, I've noticed it when I've woken up!"
- "I'll come immediately, until I arrive passes a flannel of cold water on her face"
Scott nodded and went back to the infirmary as fast as one can. He didn't know how much temperature she had but she was covered by sweat and her cardiac rhythm seemed to be disordered. He did what Hank had told him by waiting for his arrival anxiously.
This one arrived four minutes later with Storm.
- "Her cardiac rhythm is strange" said Scott as once.
- "That's biological: in normal time, the raising of temperature would augment her ventilation for alleviating to the hotness, I'll settle the mechanical ventilation."
Ororo took her temperature:
- "105.8°f " she announced in a worried voice "What's happening?"
- "I don't know yet" said Hank by passing a light in front of Jean's eyes whom he had raised the eyelids "I'll sound her, it may be the consequence of her drowning, a strong cold or a pneumonia. Until it, we have to surround her with ice and to hydrate her by IV, you're on it Ororo?"
- "Yes, no problem"
- "Well, I'll check her vitals functions and make a blood test. Scott you carry on with the water"
For almost than 2 days, Jean's fever came close to 111.2°f, the professors and some students were relaying themselves near her, only Scott was never leaving her.
It was 3 a.m, Jean had attempted to kill herself four days before.
- "We need cold water" said Scott in a tired voice "I'll go fetch it"
Ororo nodded by carrying on sponging the adolescent's forehead, Logan wouldn't be long to come and switch with her. Hank was arriving when Scott collapsed on the ground.
- "Oh god!" started Ororo by running to him.
Beast was yet at his sides, Logan appeared at his turn.
- "Slim?"
To be continued
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Wen
