Chapter Two
Ron was keeping the White House in crash mode. He walked quickly along the portico towards the Residence. The remains of the coffee that had been in Sam's room had been taken away to be analysed. So far he hadn't been able to find out if the other two victims had drunk coffee as well that morning. One thing he was sure of though was that Sam had brought the coffee into the White House. The cup was not one that anyone recognised and the security camera footage showed him walking in with the cup. As he walked along the portico, Ron thought about the other two victims and made a mental note to get their routes to work. He knew that if the coffee was to blame then tracking down where they had bought it as soon as possible was vital. By the time he had reached the entrance to the Residence he had even more bad news to tell the President. An agent had stopped him to tell him that Ben Canton had died and that another three victims had been taken to hospital with similar symptoms.
Sam hadn't spoken since asking Josh to stay. Curtains had been pulled around the bed and the bedside lamp had been switched off. The nurse explained that sensory stimulation could cause convulsions and after hearing that, Josh had kept rigid in his chair for fear of causing more.
Sam moaned and shifted and Josh sprung to his feet forgetting his effort to keep as still as possible. "Okay?" Josh asked as Sam peered up at him.
"Dark," Sam mumbled.
"It's to make you feel better." Sam had had convulsions in the ER but none since Josh had been with him and he planned on keeping it that way. "You need to just lie still and try to relax and lie still and just…" Josh didn't know what Sam needed to do. He looked back at Sam who was staring up at him and tried to force a comforting smile.
"When…did…when they…"
Josh listened patiently as Sam tried to ask him something but shushed him when it was clear he was just making himself more agitated. "It doesn't matter. Don't worry about anything. Just lie still." Without taking his eyes from Sam, Josh felt behind him for the chair and slowly sat back down. A nurse entered, checked equipment, recorded a few notes and left. Josh glanced at the clock. One hour. It had only been one hour since Donna had burst into his office and told him that Sam was sick. One hour since he'd been sat in Toby's office, watching helplessly as Sam's back arched up from the floor.
Sam's moan made Josh jump and he stood again and hovered over the bed. The sudden convulsions were violent and the sound of Sam's cries drowned out the sound of the headboard hitting the wall. Josh made way for the doctor and nurses who entered the room and resisted the urge to cover his ears. The nurses worked quickly to keep the wires and tubes attached to Sam, providing a steady stream of comforting words as they did so. Josh fought his desire to look away knowing that however hard it was for him to witness the fit it was a hundred times harder for Sam to experience. Eventually the rhythmic thud of the bed against the wall slowed and then stopped. A doctor worked hard to get Sam's attention and Josh waited for one of the nurses to leave before returning to Sam's bedside.
"Sam, open your eyes please. Sam, Sam, can you hear me?" Exhausted by the fit, all Sam could do was nod in reply. "Sam, we're going to give you something different to stop the convulsions and we're going to increase your pain meds, okay?" Sam nodded again and the doctor seemed satisfied with his sluggish responses.
Josh sat back down and reached out for Sam's hand and hoped the shaking of his own wouldn't be noticed. Sam opened his eyes slightly and peered up at Josh. The doctor returned and injected two drugs into Sam. "That will stop the convulsions, Sam." He came round to Josh's side of the bed and called Sam's name again. Josh shook Sam's hand and finally he opened his eyes and peered up at the stranger beside his bed.
"Sam, I'm Dr Keel. You're having convulsions and difficulty breathing because you've ingested a large amount of strychnine. I know you're in a lot of pain and the convulsions are frightening but we're doing all we can to make you as comfortable as possible. I've given you something which should stop the pain. Is the oxygen making breathing easier?"
Again, Sam nodded and his eyes remained fixed on the doctor who was talking so slowly and in such a reassuring tone.
"Good, that's good. All you need to do is try to relax and breathe normally through the mask. Okay?"
"Okay," Sam replied and closed his eyes again.
The doctor moved away from the bed and placed his hand on Josh's shoulder. He nodded towards the door. They walked towards a row of plastic seats and Josh waited silently for the doctor to tell him whatever it was that he didn't want to say in front of Sam.
"Does Sam have any family in Washington?"
"Not in DC, his mum and dad live in California."
"It might be an idea to call them if you haven't already." Dr Keel tried to ignore the fact that the colour had seeped from Josh's face. "Six victims of strychnine poisoning have been admitted this morning. Three have died. Sam has ingested a large amount. It's vital we stop the seizures as the longer they continue the greater the chance of brain damage and a worsening of the respiratory problems he is experiencing at the moment. I've administered a dr-"
"You're telling me he could die?" Josh interrupted even though he knew what the answer would be.
"I'm telling you that the prognosis for strychnine poisoning is good if the patient's condition can be maintained over the first six to twelve hours but we're having problems maintaining Sam's. He hasn't responded to the drugs we would normally use to control seizures and as a result of that, the damage to his lungs, the intense pain he is in and the other effects of strychnine in his system means his condition is deteriorating. I'm telling you that I think you should contact his family."
Josh nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on the floor. "I need to phone his friends as well but it's…the White House is in lockdown they can't leave. I need to phone his friends."
Dr Keel placed a hand on Josh's shoulder and returned to Sam. Josh stood up on shaking legs and made his way to the exit. He phoned the Communications Office first and asked Ginger to get the numbers for Sam's parents and call him back. He paused before dialling Toby's number.
Toby grabbed for the phone and picked it up before it had rung twice. "How is he?"
"He's not good, Toby. He's…they don't think…the doctors, they can't get him stabilised. They told me to phone his parents. They said he needs to get through the next twelve hours but they can't... Jesus, Toby, I don't think he's going to make it."
Toby didn't answer. He knew he should be trying to calm Josh down but his gaze was locked on the paperweight on his desk. The sunlight was catching it and sending shards of purple light across the wooden surface. He heard Josh's voice and closed his eyes. "I'm here, sorry, I need to see Ron and get out of here." Toby was about to hang up when he pulled the receiver back to his ear. "Josh! Tell Sam I'm on my way."
Leo listened patiently to Toby's rant about needing to let him out of the building. He listened and then he told him that Ron had just ended the lockdown. Toby told Leo he would have got out of the building lockdown or not and Leo had no doubt that he would have. He told Toby to keep him updated. A few moments after Toby left, he looked up and saw his old friend standing in the doorway between their offices. "Tell me how Sam is, Leo, and don't tell me the version that you think will keep me from wanting to go to the hospital."
After taking Ginger's call and phoning Sam's parents, Josh returned to the ICU where he found two doctors that he hadn't seen before and a nurse. Josh watched her adjust Sam's oxygen mask. Sam's eyes followed her movements carefully before finding Josh. "Just…me?"
"What?" Josh asked and then realised what he meant. "No, there were a couple of others I think." Josh hoped Sam wouldn't ask anymore about them, he certainly didn't want to tell him that three of the others had died.
He needn't have worried as Sam's attention was diverted by one of the doctors who waited for the nurse to leave before moving closer to the bed.
"Sam, I'm Dr Keel I spoke to you earlier and this is Dr Nashton who is a specialist from Chicago and spending a few days with us."
Josh noticed that he didn't say what Dr Nashton was a specialist in.
"I just want to ask you a few questions." Doctor Keel said as he moved closer to the bed. "Can you tell me where you are?"
"Hospital," Sam mumbled.
"Okay, that's good, Sam. You're at George Washington in the ICU. Can you tell me what day it is?"
Sam frowned. "Tuesday?"
"Are you sure?" the doctor said.
"Wednesday," Sam said again just as uncertain.
"Okay." Dr Keel glanced at his colleague and a look passed between them that Josh couldn't decipher. They talked quietly using terms and language that made their conversation almost foreign sounding. Finally Dr Keel turned back to Sam. "Dr Nashton is going to ask you some questions now."
Josh felt Sam squeeze his hand.
"Sam, I need to know about your pain. We'll work on a scale of one to ten. One is no pain and ten is severe pain. Where are you now?"
"Eight…think…eight," Sam said.
"Okay, well that's higher than I'd like so let's do something about that." He spoke to the nurse who was standing by the end of the bed. "What day is it, Sam?"
"Sunday?" Sam answered and this time there was no mistaking the look that passed between the two doctors. They told Sam to relax and try to breathe normally and again Josh was beckoned from the room.
"Mr Lyman, I understand that your colleague was at work when he became ill. Before the paramedics arrived, how many times did he have convulsions?"
"He's not my colleague," Josh replied.
"I'm sorry. I thought you worked at the White House with Mr Seaborn?"
"I do, that's not what I- he's my friend."
"I see, okay, I'm sorry. Can you tell me how-"
"Once, he had them once."
"Okay, I need to talk to Dr Keel. Go back in, be with your friend."
Josh silently prayed that Toby or CJ would turn up soon and he wouldn't have to cope with this on his own. He sat back down beside the bed and again reached for Sam's hand and squeezed. Sam nodded slightly as he felt the pressure but didn't open his eyes. Josh watched the fall and rise of Sam's chest and tried hard to ignore the sounds of the ICU unit and sight of the tubes running from Sam's nose or the wires attached to his chest or the line running from his wrist to a pole by the side of the bed.
"It's alright, Sam, you just need to get the strychnine out of your system and you'll be out of here in no time. Toby's on his way. He told me to tell you."
Josh could see the effort it took Sam just to open his eyes. He watched as Sam looked first at him and then around the room. "Where am I?"
Josh smiled and hoped the unease he felt at Sam's words didn't show on his face. "You're in the hospital. You got ill at work, remember?"
A puzzled frown was Sam's reply. "Toby's here?" Before Josh could answer the frown deepened. "Don't feel…feel so good."
"Where, what, how not good?"
Sam could see Josh was getting into a state and wanted to tell him to calm down but the pain in his chest and stomach were rendering him incapable of doing anything. He reached over and tried to pat Josh's hand, a reassuring pat to tell him everything would be fine but somehow his hand would only move as far as the rail beside his bed and anyway, Josh wasn't looking worried anymore, he was shouting. Sam couldn't tell what Josh was saying but he knew he was shouting because his mouth was opening wide and his eyes were wide also. He tried again to tell Josh to calm down but no words came. Josh was disappearing, fading in and out in front of him. The tremors that ran through his body flung it from the bed in an arch and overpowered him. Sam couldn't feel Josh's hands on him anymore. There were other hands though and a man's voice, calm and strong telling Sam to hold on.
He listened to the voice, tried to focus on it. The sheer pain he felt made it impossible though. Even his lungs were rebelling against him, refusing to allow him to breathe. Gradually, his movements ceased and Sam became aware once more of the voice, its constant tone acting as a lifeline to pull himself back on. He felt a hand on his head stroking his hair and that was more soothing than the voice so he focused on that instead. The oxygen mask was adjusted, his IV was straightened and still Sam didn't move. The voice had stopped and another one had taken its place. Sam knew it and he tried to concentrate on giving it a name. He could feel that both his hands were held now but couldn't summon the energy to open his eyes.
"I'm here, Sam, you want to open your eyes for me, make my mad dash across DC worthwhile?"
Sam's eyes opened slightly, enough for him to see people sitting on either side of his bed. One was Josh. He knew that because Josh was always there when he opened his eyes. The other person leant forward and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. "You hang in there, Sam. You're going to be fine," Toby said quietly as he sat back in his chair, avoiding Josh's lost expression opposite him and the concerned face of the doctor who stood beside him.