Chapter 15:

Bobby, Myles, Dimitrius and Tara rushed into the emergency room to see Jack pacing in the waiting area, a worried look imprinted upon his face. They went over to where he was, Tara enveloping him in a big hug, before getting him to sit down.

"What happened?" D asked worriedly. Tara put her arm around Jack's shoulders, hunched dejectedly. Jack explained how he had found her collapsed on her couch, her pills everywhere. He had tried to awaken her, but she just wouldn't wake up. She was breathing, and she had a pulse, but it was shallow and weak. That's when he had called the ambulance.

"Do… Do the doctors think she overdosed on the sleeping pills?" Myles asked quietly. Bobby glared at him, but Jack didn't even react.

"I don't know what happened. I never would have ever considered Sue doing something like that, but now, now I don't know anymore." They all turned as they saw Sue's doctor make a beeline towards them. Tara got up, and moved towards her friend.

"Hannah – what's going on? Is Sue okay?" The five of them all crowded around her, anxious for any news.

"Sue's just been moved to a private room. You can all see her shortly, but why don't we first talk in my office?" They followed her through the sterile hallways, before filing into the office at the end of the hall. They all sat down, though crowded in the small room, but apprehensive for what news she would bring them. She began to explain,

"Firstly, I want you all to know Sue is in stable condition and will be fine." Jack could hear his friends all breathe a sigh of relief. He spoke in a hushed voice, barely able to form the words that scared him,

"Did she overdose?" They all turned to look at Dr. Jenke, who glanced at Jack surprised.

"Why would you say that?" Suddenly, Jack didn't know what to think. He had been so certain that Sue had taken desperate measures, that he had never considered the possibility that maybe she hadn't.

"Jack found Sue's sleeping pills scattered across the floor. When he couldn't wake her up, he assumed she had taken a few of them." Tara explained for him. The doctor shook her head reassuringly.

"I ran a screen on Sue's blood. She did take a sleeping pill, but I don't believe it was even a whole one. The amount of medication she had in her system contributed to what had happened, but was not the cause."

"Then what was?" Myles asked anxiously.

"Sue had a hypoglycemic attack." She could tell that the FBI agents didn't quite understand what she meant, so she continued to explain, "Tara had brought Sue in earlier this week for dizziness. Tara had also told me she had changed a lot lately, become more withdrawn. Shaky sometimes. At the time, in consideration of her job and also the fact she is deaf, I accounted it to stress among other physiological, but normal problems that she was aware of. Sue had admitted to me she had not been sleeping well at all, so I prescribed a sedative. When Sue was brought in tonight, it confirmed what I had suspected. Her blood pressure was extremely low, and the lack of consciousness made me realize that hypoglycemia was the cause."

"What does this mean for her?" Bobby asked.

"At the moment, Sue is still comatose." Jack could feel the pit in his stomach tighten when the doctor said that Sue was still unconscious. "Basically, she needs to take better care of herself, in particular with her eating habits. This problem may be genetic, and even if she did eat today, if something had happened in her life to cause a lot of shock, and her world was thrown off balance, then it could all have contributed but didn't cause it. Taking the sleeping pill tonight only caused her to go into the state of unconsciousness quicker and deeper, but it probably would have happened eventually anyways. Has she complained of being very tired lately?" Tara nodded.

"Even before she took off earlier this week, like I told you, she had become very run down after the last case."

"Her symptoms were beginning to appear previous to whatever happened. The shock that came with the event that made her leave must have shifted it into overdrive, and hence you've seen the results and symptoms since. It couldn't have been prevented, and in the job that you all have, it's surprising her symptoms hadn't become more apparent earlier." Hannah explained.

Jack still felt like he couldn't move. He was relieved that it wasn't what he had originally thought, but the question still remained. Sue had been suffering the symptoms for weeks now; Jack had noticed how tired she had gotten after the last case, more tired than normal. But whatever did happen that had caused her to leave only made things worse. And he wanted to know why. Dr. Jenke continued,

"Sue has an IV right now, to get her glucose and electrolyte levels back to normal. She's also constantly hooked up to a blood pressure machine, and we've already seen some improvement and she is being given oxygen, just to make her breathing easier so she can use that energy to recover the rest of her body. We expect she should be waking up soon. I want to keep her for observation for a few days and this time I recommend that she stay with someone for the next two weeks, to ensure that she's eating enough and incase she has another attack. Within time, she will learn how to manage this, and she should be able to lead a normal and productive life, as always, though she may have to pay more attention to her diet, similar to someone who has a disease like diabetes." Dr. Jenke concluded.

"Thanks Hannah. We really appreciate all your help." Dimitrius said, as he leaned forward to shake her hand.

"Anytime. I'm sure you're all restless to see your friend. I'll show you to her room." They all hurried out the door, relieved that Sue was going to be okay, and anxious to go see her.

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Tara, Myles, Dimitrius, Bobby and Jack stood outside Sue's hospital room door, as Dr. Jenke said her goodbyes. Bobby turned to his best friend,

"Why don't you go in alone first mate? Have a few moments with her by yourself, and then we'll come in a bit and see how she's doing. I could use a coffee." The others nodded in agreement, and Jack expressed his thanks, knowing that they all wanted to see her almost as badly as he did, but wanted to give him some time alone with her first.

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Jack walked in quietly, feeling apprehensive at the machines surrounding Sue, her once bright face dimmed by the artificial light that attempted to cheer up the room. He pulled up a chair next to her bed, taking her limp hand in his. Even if she had been awake, he knew she couldn't hear what he was saying, but somehow it made him feel like he was connected with her, in a small way.

"Charlie's picking up Levi. I'm sure he's going to miss you while you're here for a few days, but I'll make sure someone keeps checking up on him." Jack knew it was like talking to a wall, but in his heart, he felt that she could hear him in ways he didn't understand.

"I'm going to find out what's wrong Sue. I want to see your smile again. I want to see you light up like you used too." He leaned over, gently moving the hair away from her face, speaking quietly, "I want you to wake up so I can tell you how much you mean to me, and how I don't want to live without you anymore."