"What do you mean, 'What did I give him'?" Laurie exclaimed. She stared in disbelief at Dr. Kaeler.
"He's obviously been drugged. Now how exactly did that happen, Nurse Bradford?" The doctor's voice was scathing as he spared a glance toward the patient's room.
"I have no idea! All of a sudden he became agitated, yelling about a man in his room that he had to go after—"
"Was this before or after you shot him full of an anti-psychotic?" Laurie snapped her mouth shut in shock at being cut off. She stared in disbelief at his smug countenance while biting her tongue, struggling to remain professional.
"Dr. Kaeler." She took a deep, calming breath then proceeded to detail her actions for the most supercilious man on the staff. "I was working at the desk when I heard Mr. Gibbs begin to yell. I ran to his side only to find him in an agitated state, disturbed by a man he claimed had been in his room. As I tried to calm him, I noticed the patient had become feverish." Laurie shook her head as she remembered the man's earlier condition. "At that point he experienced a seizure. I took his pulse, called for a cardiac team and continued to monitor his vitals until the cardiac team arrived. At no time did I administer any medication to Mr. Gibbs."
In the brief silence, the two regarded each other. Kaeler's face was stony, his fury with Laurie unabated. From the hallway they could hear the patient's confused voice. "It was Ari! Laurie? I shouldn't be here. Where's Tony? Is he gone? He'll come back to kill me." The words came in an unceasing stream of disjointed logic, causing both Laurie and Kaeler to stare in through the open doorway at the restrained man.
Laurie was full of concern and sympathy for the suffering man; the doctor, if looks were any true judge, was full of a good deal more irritation for the situation and his next words were venomous. "Did you, by any chance, see this supposed intruder, Nurse Bradford? No? I didn't think so," he sneered. "Draw blood. If you won't tell me what you shot him full of, I'll find out myself. Do it now, I'm not going to wait for the phlebotomist from the lab. I want those vials in my hand, I'll take them down myself!"
Unable to hide her disgust and frustration Laurie threw her hands up in the air and walked toward the supply area, tossing over her shoulder, "Let me get the necessary equipment."
Once down the hall slightly, she was unable to stifle the muttered, "Oughta just use your fangs, you old…" Her words were cut off as she nearly slammed into another human being.
"Laurie! Hey, you okay?"
"Angie! Yeah, fine. In fact, you're just the person I need. Come here." Laurie grabbed the phlebotomist by the hand and dragged her toward the room of the man she'd been accused of drugging.
"I can't! I have to get this draw down to the lab, stat," Angie protested.
"Look, Kaeler needs a blood draw done, it'll only take a second." Laurie grabbed her friend and steered her down the hall. "He's going to walk the blood down himself. And for reasons I don't want to get into, I don't want to do the draw." Laurie dropped her voice to a whisper as she thrust the petite brunette into the room.
"Dr. Kaeler, Angie was on the floor," Laurie explained to the waiting doctor, trying to ignore his snide expression. "She'll do the draw and you can have the vials. That way you can't accuse me of tampering with the results." She waited outside the room with Kaeler until he nodded and motioned toward the door.
"Acceptable, Nurse Bradford," and he followed her into the room.
As Angie approached the bed, both Kaeler and Laurie were surprised at the sudden change in the patient's demeanor. The earlier agitation and exhausted disorientation that Laurie had witnessed was now replaced by stunned stillness. Though his eyes still showed a measure of bewilderment, there was no mistaking the spark of hope that flared in their depths.
"Kate?" Gibbs beseeched.
Angie looked over her shoulder at Laurie, who shrugged. Feeling it was better not to play into the fantasy, the nurse spoke softly.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Gibbs. This is Angie; she's just going to draw some blood." Laurie moved to stand on the other side of the bed and Angie expertly slipped a needle into a vein. As Laurie watched the vials fill with her patient's blood, she watched the hope fade from his tired eyes. Sadness welled up inside of her as a sense of total desolation seemed to settle around the strong man, lining his features.
"Not Kate. Kate's dead." These words were unexpectedly cold and hard as he looked at Laurie. He was clearly struggling to gain some control of himself and his wildly fluctuating mental state with limited success. With no warning, his voice suddenly softened as he said, "I know you didn't do it. It was him. He killed Kate. He was here."
Meanwhile, Dr. Kaeler took the vials from Angie and motioned for Laurie to join him outside the room. "I'll have these analyzed immediately. If this is, as I suspect, an anti-psychotic, I'll have the pharmacy send up Cogentin for him. And when I can prove you gave it to him, I'll have your license!" Glaring contemptuously at her, he stalked off. Just then, Angie came to join Laurie outside the doorway, and the two women stared at one another.
"Did I hear that right? He's accusing you of drugging a patient?"
"Yeah. Great, huh?" Laurie tried for a laugh but it fell flat.
"Well, I know you wouldn't do it, but good luck with Kaeler." Angie briefly laid a hand on the nurse's arm as she headed toward the elevator. Only Laurie remained to hear the words spoken very softly by the emotionally distressed man in the bed.
"Miss you, Kate."