Time seemed to slowly tick by as Col. Tavington, Mary, and Dr. O'Brien waited for Jula to return with whatever she had gone to retrieve for Jae.
"This is taking too long.." murmured the colonel, a hint of worry in his voice as his brow creased with concern.
"It has only been five minutes." Mary replied calmly. "Just wait."
"For how much longer?" questioned Dr. O'Brien, who looked as concerned as the colonel.
"Two more minutes. If she's not back by then, you may begin your procedure."
"Very well..."
Col. Tavington began to tap his right foot lightly on the floor while Mary looked over at him and rolled her eyes, muttering softly, "Impatient git."
"I heard that." the colonel retorted, his eyes narrowing at his wife.
"Well you are. I said two minutes. Nothing catastrophic is going to happen in that short amount of time."
Col. Tavington opened his mouth to reply with something sarcastic but was silenced with a glare from Mary.
"William.."
Clenching his jaw tightly, Col. Tavington gave her a sarcastic smile and looked over at Jae.
"Well, being as no one is watching Braden even though he's sleeping, I'm going to go check on him." said Mary lightly before looking pointedly at her husband and saying, "Don't do anything foolish when I leave the room. Remember, she still has time."
Col. Tavington gave her a stiff nod and she left the room.
Two minutes passed and Jula had not returned.
"Colonel.."
Col. Tavington sighed and replied, "Alright, begin the procedure."
"I'm back!"
Both the colonel and the doctor turned to see Jula burst through the the door.
"My apologies; I had to get some water for Jae."
Col. Tavington gave her a puzzled look and she shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"I'll tell you later."
"What have you brought with you?" asked Dr. O'Brien.
"Just some highly effective medicine." replied Jula.
"Really, might I be able to see it then?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't right now. Perhaps another time." replied Jula glancing over at Col. Tavington who gave her a small smile.
"Thank you for being here, Doctor. You are free to leave now." said the colonel smoothly.
"You're sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I believe we can handle things from here."
"Alright then. Good day."
With that, Dr. O'Brien left the room.
"Jae." said Jula softly, walking up beside the bed and gently shaking her sister awake, who looked up at her with bleary eyes. "Here,."
Propping her sister up on pillows, Jula handed her two aspirin pills and a glass of water.
"Where did you get these?" Jae asked, her voice nearly gone.
"Your bag. Now shut up and take them." replied Jula with a grin.
Jae smiled weakly at her sister and took the pills.
"Thanks."
"No prob. It's much better than bloodletting. Now go back to sleep."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was half past eleven in the evening, and Jae hadn't awakened since taking the pills that her sister had given her. Col. Tavingon, who had stayed with her all day, grabbed another fresh pair of nightclothes and prepared to head off to Jae's room when Mary stopped him, placing her hand on his arm.
"She's asleep."
"Yes, I see that-"
"That's not what I meant, William. It isn't fitful."
"You're right.."
What exactly did Jula give her sister?
Col. Tavington walked over to Jae and felt her forehead. A small smile crept upon his lips.
"Her temperature has gone down. I believe she's going to be all right."