Chapter 39: Facing the Edge of the Abyss of Death
In just one moment, everything can change. A typical drive to work can become a tragic car accident. A calm summer day can turn into a raging thunderstorm. The tranquil winter evening can become a freezing blizzard. The simple flu can turn into a life-threatening viral infection.
Ross sat on his bed next to Natalie while she slept in her co-sleeper. He had a book about treating sick infants in his hand. He flipped it open idly and began reading through the opening pages. There was nothing particularly special, just information about common illnesses and advice. It seemed to ultimately come down to providing comfort and care unless the condition persisted or worsened to the point of emergency intervention.
He leaned back against his bed's headboard and sighed. There's seriously nothing more I can do than watch? He thought. He looked over to Natalie and watched her sleep. She was in the position that he had been in for the past day, laying on her back with her arms and legs spread out around her. Ross smiled a little. It brought a little comfort that she seemed at ease, although she was still a little flushed and her temperature was still feverish.
Ross's smile faded when he noticed that her right arm started to shiver. Is she cold? he wondered. He turned away for a moment to grab a small blanket to swaddle her in. When he turned back at her; however, her shivering had spread and worsened to her entire body shaking. Ross quickly draped the blanket over her and picked up the book hurriedly. "Shaking, shaking, shaking," he mumbled fearfully as he flipped through the pages.
He found the page he was looking for. Febrile- he read before Natalie began coughing hard. He put the book aside to attend to her when something caused all color to drain from his face, and he froze. Natalie's face was scrunched up with her fists clenched tightly and pressing against her chest while she convulsed. Then a splash of blood spilled out of her mouth and nose as she coughed. Her blood.
"Oh my God… Natalie!" Ross cried out with terror. He rushed to pick up a tissue and began wiping away the blood to keep her airways clear when Natalie gave out a weak cry, covering the tissue and Ross's hand with blood, and went limp.
"No, no, no, Natalie!" Ross screamed with tears beginning to fall from his eyes. "Oh my God… what's wrong?!" he cried futility. He grabbed his phone and called 119. "Hello?!" he called out.
"What is your emergency?" the operator asked, surprising him with good English.
"M-my daughter, something's wrong! She had a fever a-and started shaking and coughing up blood and then she went limp!" Ross explained hurriedly.
"We're sending an ambulance to your location. Please stay on the call so we can get more information. How old is your daughter?"
"S-she's 9 months old," Ross answered.
"Okay, how long has she been ill?"
"Since yesterday morning."
For a moment, he only heard tapping on the other end before the operator returned to him. "Okay, does she have any pre-existing conditions? Was she born prematurely?"
"N-no, she was perfectly healthy a few days ago. She's never been sick or anything before," Ross answered.
"Okay, an ambulance is almost there, just stay calm and follow their instructions, okay?" the operator asked, "if you can, perform CPR and careful chest compression. Cover her mouth and nose with your mouth and breath into them. Place one hand flat over her chest and grasp it with the other with your fingers interlocked and gently push down and up.
"A-alright…" Ross trailed off. He followed the instructions and began performing CPR on Natalie through the tears. Stay with me, please! Please God don't take her from me, please! Please!
He heard activity outside but didn't break his attention from his daughter. The front door to the apartment burst open, followed by the sound of rushed footsteps. Ross finally separated from Natalie. "Over here!" he screamed.
A group of three emergency medical technicians rushed over to his room. One of them ran over to Ross. "Please step aside, we'll do everything we can," he assured. Ross shakily nodded and left the room.
In the living room, he could see a stretcher waiting in the front doorway. In the kitchen, his eye's met William and Joseph's, who had just returned from practice, but their faces were as pale as his and their eyes full of panic and concern. "Ross, what's going on?" William asked.
Ross walked over slowly. "S-she's s-she's," he mumbled before breaking. He fell to his knees and let out a pained cry. William immediately knelt down to embrace him and pull him to his feet.
"C'mon man, it's going to be okay, it's going to be okay…" he assured. Just as he said that he looked up and saw something he would never forget. With the EMTs moving quickly, he barely saw Natalie being carried by an EMT with an oxygen respirator over her face that had splotches of blood splattered on the inside. Her chest, chin, and neck were stained red. The EMT placed her onto the stretcher before they began to wheel her out of the apartment. William gently pushed Ross away from him. "You need to go with her," he said.
Ross shakily nodded and turned around. He almost froze again when he saw his little girl limp on the stretcher, but he pushed on and followed the EMTs out of the apartment.
"How are you related to her?" one of the EMTs asked as they rushed down the stairs carefully.
"I'm her dad," Ross answered sharply.
The EMT nodded. "Alright, you can come with us, but we have to hurry," he answered, "every second counts."
Ross followed them as they rushed through the lobby. A group of fellow students and the apartment staff stared as they rushed past, but stayed out of their way. The automatic front doors flew open as they ran to the ambulance waiting for them. They stopped at the open back doors and the EMTs retracted the wheeled legs of the stretcher to lift it into the ambulance. Ross followed them into the ambulance. A pair of EMTs quickly shut the doors and as soon as the doors were closed, the ambulance began to speed towards Oarai's main hospital.
Miho stared as the ambulance sped into the distance. She turned away tearfully and looked back to the apartment building as if begging for Ross and Natalie to emerge like everything was some terrible dream, an illusion, or if the ambulance took someone else. She didn't get that desperate wish as her friends caught up with her. "I s-saw her… b-blood, why was she covered in blood?" Miho whimpered. She nearly fell backward when Hana and Saori grabbed her arms to support her while Yukari and Mako stood behind her to catch her.
"It's going to be okay, Miho," Hana whispered.
Miho started to cry. She turned to hug Hana and cried into her shoulder. Hana gently returned the hug and let her cry. The rest of Anglerfish Team surrounded her with a group embrace. Miho felt their warmth and love, but it failed to heal her sorrow. "Why her?!" she wailed, "she's just a baby! She's done nothing wrong! Why her?!"
They stayed in this position for some time, letting Miho cry her heart out. As she began to calm down, William and Joseph left the building and walked over. "I-I guess you saw it," William said shakily.
Miho looked up with her eyes still full of tears and her face red. "What happened? Why was she covered in blood? What's going on?" she asked.
William frowned and looked at the ground. "I don't know," he answered frankly.
"But she just had a fever! How can that turn into something like this?" Miho asked.
"I guess it could be an advanced stage of influenza. That's all I can think of," Joseph suggested solemnly.
"Could it have progressed so quickly?" William asked. Joseph shrugged in response.
"There's no point in useless speculation!" Miho shouted, letting newfound frustration out, "we need to get to the hospital now!"
Saori took out a handkerchief. "Miho, please calm down first," she requested, "anger won't help us figure this out and let Natalie get better."
Miho turned to her and shakily nodded. "Y-you're right… I'm sorry," she whimpered. She took the handkerchief and wiped her face clean. Afterward, she took several deep breaths and straighten herself. "Let's go then," she said feeling calmer, but still afraid for Natalie.
000
"Sir, we're going to need you to wait out here," a nurse in a medical lab coat requested, gently holding him outside in the hallway of the emergency room.
"B-but," Ross stuttered as he watched Natalie get wheeled into a trauma room over her shoulder, "can you at least tell me what's wrong with her?!"
"We'll know once she's been stabilized," the nurse explained, "once she is, you'll be allowed to see her after we transfer her to the ICU. I understand that you're afraid for your daughter, but we're doing everything we can."
Ross slowly backed away. "Alright…" he relented with a sniffle. He found a nearby metal bench and sat down. He looked at the ground emptily before burying his face in his hands.
The nurse looked at him with pity and handed him a paper cup filled with water from the water cooler. "Here, drinking some water will make you feel better," she offered.
Ross looked up from his hands and accepted the cup. "T-thank you," he whispered before slowly drinking the water. As he finished, he could feel his mind clear up a little.
"Better?" the nurse asked.
Ross solemnly nodded and looked back at the emergency room doors. "How long will it take?" he asked.
"The general rule is one hour for all the tests, but if the problem is obvious, it could be sooner," the nurse answered, "I could give you a guess if you tell me her symptoms, but it's not a professional diagnosis."
"S-she had a fever," Ross mumbled.
The nurse nodded. "That's common in most illnesses," she stated.
"Right…" he replied, "she started shaking and it only worsened. At first, I thought she was just cold but then she started convulsing… God, it was horrible…"
The nurse put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay, she's going to get the best treatment we can give her. What else happened?" she assured.
Ross stared at the ground silently for a moment before speaking. "S-she started grabbing her chest and coughed up blood, then… she went limp," he explained, "like a broken doll…"
The nurse nodded and thought for a moment. "Did she have a bump on the top of her head? Something like a bulge?" she asked.
Ross thought about it in silence momentarily. "No, I don't think she had anything like that."
"Okay, it doesn't rule it out, but that can be a common sign of meningitis in infants," the nurse said, "how quickly did her fever develop? Did it rise suddenly?"
Ross nodded. The nurse frowned in response. "I see… that is a common sign of meningitis." He looked at her fearfully. "But it's not a defining symptom. As I said, a lot of illnesses have a sudden fever as a symptom," she reassured, "what about a stiff neck?"
Ross shook his head. "Not that I could tell," he answered.
"Okay, that's good. We may be able to rule out meningitis, but again, it's just an educated guess," the nurse reiterated.
"Meningitis… that is serious and can be fatal… right?" Ross asked fearfully.
"It can, especially bacterial meningitis, but only very rarely if it gets treated quickly. If she does have bacterial meningitis, then we can quickly treat it and give her a good chance of recovery with no long-term problems given the time frame we have. The other forms of meningitis, viral, fungal, and parasitic are much rarer, but also aren't as serious as bacterial and patients can even recover without medical intervention," the nurse informed. She looked at Ross sympathetically. "I know what's going on is terrifying. My son has been in the hospital for a serious illness before so I understand your fear. But we're going to give her the best chance we can, alright?"
"Right…" Ross mumbled. He didn't really feel reassured. Rapid footsteps caused him to look up. Ross and Miho's eyes met as she quickly walked through the halls of the emergency wing. "Miho!" he exclaimed while quickly standing up.
"Ross!" Miho cried out. She ran over and grabbed his hands. "What's going on? What's wrong with Natalie?" she asked urgently.
"S-she got worse… she started convulsing and coughing up blood. We still don't know what's wrong…" he answered.
"Oh my God…" Miho whispered, "are you okay?"
"I-I…" Ross stuttered. His eyes welled up again. "I failed her… just like he said. I can't be a father… I couldn't keep her safe. She's going to die because of me…"
"Don't say that!" Miho protested. She stared into Ross's eyes. "You did everything you could, I know you did. You didn't fail her. You haven't failed anyone. If she…" Miho paused as she started to cry again, "if she dies…" she whispered, "there's nothing more you could've done. So, please… please don't put yourself down like that. You are the best person she could have as her dad. There's nobody else who could be her dad."
000
"You what?!" a middle-aged man, with a potbelly and ragged brown hair shouted.
Ross stood in the doorway of the kitchen of his father's house. He barely considered it as his home anymore. "I got a girl pregnant. We're going to keep the baby," he said with shaky confidence.
James sneered at his son. "Then get out of here! I'm not dealing with your bullshit anymore. You smoke, drink, party, and ruin my good name, I'm ashamed to even call myself your father. What do you even know about parenting?!" he shouted.
"I'm going to learn. At least I can acknowledge my problems! Your 'good name' is built on lies!" Ross shouted back, "you know I was exposed to that shit?! Because of you!"
"Don't you raise your voice at me boy!" James snarled.
"I fucking will!" Ross spat back, "and unlike you, I'm going to clean myself up and become something you never were after Mom died! I'm going to be an actual father. All you did was push me away so you could pretend to move on while indulging in all your vices!"
"Get out of my fucking house!" James screamed.
"With fucking pleasure!" Ross screamed back.
James gave him a horrible glare as he began to walk back into the foyer and to the front door. "You don't know a damn thing about being a parent. Whatever brat you raise is just going to be as fucked up as you!"
Ross gave his father one last glare. "I'm going to prove you wrong," he stated determinedly, "I'm going to become the dad to my child that you never were for me!"
000
The doors to the treatment center for the emergency room opened. Another nurse, this time wearing medical scrubs stepped out with a manila folder in her hands and removed her mask and gloves to dispose of them in a nearby trash can. She rubbed her brow before approaching the group. "Are you the baby's parents?" she asked.
"We are," Ross answered. Miho squeezed his hand reassuringly, preparing them both for whatever news would come.
"Alright, well we've managed to stabilize your daughter the best we could and transferred her to a private ICU room. I'm going to be honest though, she's not in good condition. We've only been able to stop her from getting worse," the nurse informed.
Ross's heart fell further. "Oh…" he mumbled.
"We have managed to get a diagnosis though. It seems she is suffering from a very advanced stage of influenza that caused pneumonia. As her lungs filled with fluid, it progressed into Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, ARDS for short," she explained.
"What does that all mean?" Miho asked.
"In layman's terms, the influenza virus caused fluid to build up in her lungs and cause them to become incredibly inflamed, causing her oxygen levels to drop. Because she was feverish, she had a febrile seizure, which further worsened her condition," the nurse answered.
"Oh my God…" Ross whispered, "is h-her brain okay? Is she going to…"
"Thankfully, febrile seizures in infants aren't usually serious, at least on their own. Unfortunately because of the situation in her respiratory system, she may suffer from hypoxia or progress into sepsis," the nurse informed. She opened her folder and pulled out papers containing pictures of Natalie's tiny lungs. "If you look here," she said, pointing to the areas along the edge of her lungs while she presented it to them, "you can see that white clouding. That's the inflammation and fluid in her lungs preventing her from breathing properly."
Ross could barely stomach looking at the basic black-and-white photograph. "J-just do whatever you can to save her… please," he begged.
The nurse nodded sympathetically and squeezed his shoulder. "We're doing everything we can. She's on a ventilator right now to help her breathe and we're administering IVs and antiviral medication," she assured before her face fell, "part of her treatment is the inducement of a medical coma. We want her body to fight the infection as much as possible and it needs every resource it can get. However, it's likely that because of the hypoxia, she might've slipped into a coma on her own. I assure you that it's what will give her the best chance of recovery."
Miho and Ross stared at her in shock. Miho barely stifled a gasp. "S-she's in a coma?" Ross whispered.
The nurse nodded. "She'll likely recover from it when we take her off the medications, but I can't say that it's a certainty. She might not wake up immediately…"
"Or ever?" Ross asked tearfully.
The nurse winced. "Possibly, yes if the hypoxia induced it."
Ross let out another sob and buried his head in Miho's shoulder. Miho pulled him close and held him for comfort. It felt like one terrible nightmare that only got worse and worse. How could this happen to her? She was happy and healthy just a few days ago… Ross thought, damn it! Why her?!
"She's stable enough for us to let you see if, if you wish," the nurse offered.
Ros looked up quickly. "Of course, I want to!" he exclaimed, "take me to her!"
The nurse gestured for the two to follow her. "You can return to your position, Eiko," she said to the other nurse.
Eiko nodded. "Alright, are you expecting others to arrive soon?" she asked Miho.
"Yes, they should be here soon," Miho answered.
"Okay, we can have them wait out here until you two are ready to see them," Eiko replied.
Ross and Miho nodded and turned to the other nurse. "By the way, I'm Nurse Chi, but please, just call me Chi," she said. The two introduced themselves as they entered the emergency wing. "If I may ask, how old are you two? You both look fairly young," she asked.
"We're both sixteen, but I'll be turning seventeen in October," Miho answered for them.
"I'll be seventeen in March. Natalie will… she'll be one year old in October… i-if she recovers," Ross added.
Chi nodded as they entered the ICU. "I see, did Natalie have any complications at birth, Miho?" she asked.
Miho blushed. "Oh well… I didn't have her. Her biological mother left Ross after Natalie was born and they transferred here sometime after that. Since I'm Ross's girlfriend, Natalie has sort of attached to me as her mother figure," she corrected.
"Oh wow, it's wonderful that you're willing to do that for her," Chi commented. The trio stopped in front of a door that would lead them to Natalie's room. "Are you ready? It's often a shock for parents to see their children hospitalized," she warned.
Ross and Miho looked into each other's eyes. Miho could see his fear and anxiety, so she tried to comfort him by squeezing his hand again. "I'm here for you, okay?" she whispered.
Ross hesitantly nodded and turned back to Chi. "We're ready," he stated.
Chi opened the door quietly and let them step inside. Once they passed her, she followed and closed the door. Inside was a spacious plain room, with white tiling and walls with just a small amount of wood trimming at the base. In front of them was a large bed against the right wall. Surrounding it was a variety of machines, screens, and instruments that quietly made various noises. The stereotypical beeping of a heartbeat monitor overcame most of the sounds and a green line with some data at the bottom jumped up and down on a screen attached to a stand next to the bed. A few chairs were placed on the far side bed under a large window that was curtained off. In front of the bed was a television screen that was turned off.
The bed had pure white sheets and was on a set of rollers so that it could be wheeled around the hospital. Laying on the bed was Natalie, partially covered with a loose white blanket. She looked at peace, but she had a needle in her arm and an oxygen mask over her face. Her upper body was slightly elevated to help her breathe while the ventilator pumped oxygen into her lungs.
Ross slowly stepped forward and took her little hand. He was surprised when she didn't grasp onto him like she usually would until he remembered that she was comatose. Nothing he could do would make her react. That sent a terrible feeling through his body. Everything just felt… hopeless. "How long will she be like this?" he asked.
"It's hard to say," Chi admitted, "the influenza virus itself could clear up within a week, maybe two or three weeks. But that only clears the causes. Pneumonia will need a week or so afterward to clear up, at that point the lungs will start to recover. Once that happens, we can lift her from the medications, and then she might wake up. Or she could take some time after that to wake up."
"Or she might never wake up," Ross whispered.
"That… is, unfortunately, a possibility. We'll know more once we can see how her brain responds to the lifting of the medications and how much damage there is," Chi responded.
Ross knelt down next to the bed at Natalie's level. "So all we can do is wait?" he asked.
"If emergency surgery or intervention to clear her lungs isn't necessary, then yes. Any more medication will likely cause more harm than good. Of course, we'll constantly monitor the situation," Chi answered, stepping over to a cart with a laptop on it. Wires from the various machines around Natalie were wired into the cart, where the main systems of the computer were held. "This computer will let us keep constant monitoring of her condition and will detect any abnormalities or emergencies. A team of ICU specialists will rotate throughout her stay here until she can be taken out of intensive care and to a more general recovery process. From there, if she returns to health, then we can discharge her," she explained.
Miho pulled over a pair of chairs from the other side of the room. "Here, it'll be more comfortable if you sit rather than kneel," she advised.
Ross took the chair and sat down next to Natalie. "Thank you," he muttered gratefully, although dampened with sadness.
Miho smiled warmly and sat down next to him before taking his hand into hers. "It's going to be okay. I'm sure Natalie will recover from this," she assured.
"How can you be so sure?" Ross asked mournfully.
"Because I know she's strong," Miho answered, "you two are the strongest people I've ever met and I'm so grateful I did. You changed your life for the better when you learned you were going to become a father, you kept on that track when her mother left you, and you came over to a foreign land with her so you can continue your education and give her a chance at a better life. We met because of that… and fell in love." She stared deep into Ross's eyes to convey to him her feelings. "And now I can be a part of that. That's how I know both you and her are strong… we can make it through this, just like how you made it through so many times before."
Ross felt Miho's warmth from her love in his heart. Finally, the sorrow started to fade. Her words etched their way in to erase all of his fears and doubts. No matter what happened, they'd make it through as a family and the task ahead of them didn't seem so daunting anymore. Ross and Miho looked at Natalie together. They'd stay with her until the end.
A knock on the door broke everyone's attention away from Natalie. Eiko peeked inside. "The visitors Miho mentioned early have arrived, may they come in?" she asked.
Chi looked to Miho and Ross, who nodded. "Let them in please," Chi answered.
Eiko nodded and stepped aside. The first person to enter was William, followed by Joseph, Anglerfish Team, and Yuri. There was a moment of silence as they arranged themselves so the room would not be overcrowded or interrupt Chi's work, but they made it work. They all took in the scene in front of them with their own sorrow and fear for Natalie. "What's going on?" William asked, speaking for them all.
"Chi, could you explain everything to them?" Ross requested.
Chi smiled and nodded. "Of course. Based on what tests we've performed and what Ross has told me, Natalie is suffering from pneumonia triggered by the influenza virus," she explained.
"But that's just the flu!" Joseph exclaimed, "how could it have come to this?"
"That's a good question. I think that the cold weather during our stop in Alaska could've weakened Natalie's immune system, meaning the symptoms could have been less obvious. Along with that, she's still a baby, so it's harder for her to express her symptoms. So really, the virus could have developed over a longer period than what we expected, just under the radar. Once she started showing symptoms, the virus was progressing faster than she could defend against it, and thus fluid built up in her lungs," Chi explained. She opened the folder and showed them the x-rays of Natalie's chest. "The white puffy area around her lungs is the build-up of fluid and her body reacting to it with inflammation. This caused a condition known as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, where her lungs were inflamed enough to limit the amount of oxygen she could intake."
"So she was drowning in her own fluid," Mako said bluntly.
"Effectively yes. That's why she started coughing up blood. Combined with that, she suffered a febrile seizure from her fever. This likely interfered with her regular breathing and worsened the situation considerably. Now she is in a medically induced coma, but she may already have likely fallen into a hypoxia-induced coma, which can cause serious brain damage or even death without a ventilator."
It took a moment for the group to process it, but William stepped forward first. "Thank you for the explanation and for taking care of Natalie. She means a lot to us and Ross is a very close friend," he said before turning to Miho and Ross. "As your superior in the Freikorps, Ross, you are dismissed from your commander's position until Natalie has recovered. I'm sure you planned to anyway, but I just wanted to make it clear and official."
Ross stared at William with wide eyes at his bold taking of the initiative. "I- thank you…" he muttered.
William turned to Miho. "I know you are my superior on the team, and although we are all friends, I still respect that chain of command. Regardless I'm going to speak to you as a friend right now, I think you should be relieved from the captain's position until Natalie recovers so you may support her and Ross," he stated.
Miho stared at William with her mouth agape for a moment. "B-but the finals," she began to protest.
"The finals are one month away," William pointed out, "she may be fully recovered by then and we can catch you up quickly, considering your experience I doubt a few weeks off are going to affect your performance."
"But what if she isn't recovered by then?" Miho argued.
"That will have to depend on when and how far she has recovered," William said, "I think it'd be best if you stayed with Natalie as long as she and Ross need you. If that means that you aren't the captain at the finals, then so be it."
"Who will be captain then?" Miho asked.
"The student council and the Freikorps can manage the team until you are ready to return. I assure you that we will do our best to ensure the team stays in shape and if it comes to it, win the final battle alone," he answered directly.
Miho turned to her crewmates. "What do you guys think?" she asked.
"We can manage on our own, Miho," Saori assured, "if it comes to it anyway."
"If that's how it is, that's how it is," Mako replied.
"We can figure things out," Hana added.
"We'll do everything we can to support you and the team!" Yukari encouraged.
Yuri smiled sadly at the group, moved by the bond they shared. I can hardly believe that I tried to keep my daughter from something like this… she thought regretfully, it truly is wonderful.
Miho looked back at Natalie. She stroked her hand gently and lovingly before she turned back to her friends. "Alright, I'll stay off the team to stay with Natalie for a couple of weeks, then we can determine if I can leave to captain the team."
"And you can still visit whenever you are free," Ross added. Finally, with everything else settled, the attention of the room turned to Yuri and the vase of flowers she held. "I don't want to sound hostile… but why are you here?" Ross asked.
Yuri stepped forward. "I had a talk with Hana at the flower showcase tonight. She showed me how I was wrong about Sensha-do, and for that, I am terribly sorry to all of you," she said, before setting the vase on Natalie's right bedside table next to the heart rate monitor. "And these are my apology to you and your daughter for how dreadfully I treated you the first time we met. I'm sure you are aware that babies have been… distasteful to me, and how I felt knowing Hana was friends and teammates with a teenage parent. I was wrong and these flowers are my apology. They were also an idea of Miho and Hana's before we had reconnected at the showcase," she answered.
Ross stared at the flowers momentarily and smiled. "They are very nice. Natalie loves the scent of lavender, so when she wakes up, I know she'll love them. I accept your apology," he said.
000
William slowly closed the door to his room. He yawned and was about to call it a night, especially now that things had relatively calmed down. However, he sighed and pulled out his phone, and opened it. Its glow cast a focused light into the room that illuminated his face. William winced and looked away. He felt around and found the light switch and turned it on. Now that the phone's glare wasn't so contrasted by the room's light, or rather lack thereof, he could finally look at it without blinding himself. He opened his contact list and called Pastor Barnes.
The phone connected for a moment before William heard a yawn greet him. "Rather early in the morning for a chat, isn't it?" Pastor Barnes jabbed jokingly, "what do you need from an old pastor at this hour?"
Despite everything, William found a small smile form on his face. "I know you play up your age so everyone sees you as the 'wise elder,' even if you are… what is it? 42, 43?" he jabbed back.
Pastor Barnes chuckled briefly. "Alright then, considering the time zones it must be quite late for you, so what is William?" he asked.
William sighed, feeling the joking atmosphere diminish. "Natalie is seriously ill. She caught a really bad case of influenza and that progressed into pneumonia. She's in the hospital right now," he revealed.
William could almost feel Pastor Barnes' heart drop over the phone. "Oh my…" the pastor muttered, "what's the prognosis? Will she survive?"
"It's too early to tell, unfortunately. She was only admitted a few hours ago… Pastor… it was really, really bad," William said.
"You don't need to describe it to me son. From your voice, I can already tell it must have been a very frightening experience, but she is in good care now, correct?" he asked.
"I-I think so. I have no reason to doubt Oarai's hospital. Despite the other parts of the ship falling into disarray, it's good to see that it has not spread to healthcare," William answered, "actually I'm calling for a favor, two of them."
"Let me guess, you would like me to visit?" Pastor Barnes asked.
"Well, I suppose that would be an obvious request," William replied.
Pastor Barnes sighed. "Yes, it would be. Very well, I suppose the church could spare me for a few days," he decided, "you mentioned you had another favor."
William steeled himself and took a deep breath. "I need you to bring Lisette," he requested.
The call remained silent for a moment. "I can't do that," Pastor Barnes answered, "you know she requested to keep the letters as her only form of communication."
"And that was when Natalie wasn't lying on her possible deathbed!" William snapped, "I was willing to accommodate her, but the circumstances have changed. She needs to see her again, especially if this… proves to be her last opportunity."
There was another moment of tense silence. Given the situation, Willian wouldn't have been surprised if he hung up. "On one condition," Pastor Barnes stated.
"Fine," William relented.
"You, Ross, and everyone she sees need to let her explain herself," Pastor Barnes requested.
"I'll make sure of it," William answered, "I'd like to speak to her right now, could you give me her number?"
000
Next Time on Girls und Panzer: Tank Aces...
Chapter 40: Stay on Course