A/N: I was idly flipping through and encyclopedia when I was looking for something I hid in the pages when I found a description of a disease. I got to thinking and this is what came up. Since I follow the time line for The Torrent Settles, this is completely separated from it since Jay Lee is a part of the sequel.
Summary: Centered around Rowen and Jay Lee. Some bad news is learned and it causes some harsh emotion. Will Rowen risk his life to be next to his love? Read and find out…
Usual disclaimers: Ronins not mine. Still wish Cye and Sage were though. Jay Lee is an original character thought up by yours truly. Ask before taking please. Enjoy the story.
Rowen sat in the back of his Astronomy class. He couldn't think about anything the sensei was saying. He was worried. He needed to know what was going on, and he needed to know now.
He raised his hand and looked hopefully at the mid-aged man that was his Astronomy teacher.
"What is it Hashiba-san?"
"May I be excused to the rest room?"
The sensei glared at the azure haired boy and huffed like he usually did when annoyed. He nodded his head to the door and returned to his lecture on the different nebulas in their galaxy, or something of the sort. Rowen lifted himself from his seat and hurriedly made his way out of the room. Once outside, he made a mad dash to the rest room.
Once inside, he checked the stalls for any signs of school faculty just to be safe before pulling out his cell phone and dialing a number. Placing it to his ear, he moved around the room to find a strong spot. After about five rings, the answering machine picked up.
"You reached the Yun residence," the answering machine said. "Press one for Seung Yun, two for Cho Yun, three for Dong Yun, and four for Jay Lee Yun. You can also leave a message for the whole family after the beep. BEEP!"
"Hello Yun family," Rowen said. "This is Rowen Hashiba. I was just calling to find out what was going on with Jay Lee. I haven't seen nor heard from her in a week and I was getting worried. I'll try again later…"
There was a click on the other end of the phone and Rowen heard weeping in the background when Jay Lee's little brother, Dong, spoke softly into the phone.
"Hey Rowen," he whispered.
"Hey, what's going on?" There was a slight silence when he heard a door click and there was nothing but Dong's breathing.
"I'm sorry we never contacted you," Dong said. "I'm sure you could hear my mother crying."
"Dong, what is going on?" Rowen was getting more worried now, and dreaded any bad news that could concern Jay Lee. But that's what he got.
"Jay Lee's in the hospital," Dong said. "We just got back after seeing her."
"What happened?" Rowen asked. He was going hysterical now. Why is Jay Lee in the hospital?
"Rowen, she's really sick. It started as a fever, then headaches and then a mass of body aches and pains. It's been going on for a week. When she passed out last night, we had to rush her to the ER."
Rowen listened with fear building in his mind as Dong's words slurred into those of sobs. This went on for a few minutes until the boy was able to speak sense again.
"Rowen, I'm scared. We went to see her earlier. The doctors have her under quarantine. We can't go inside the room without gloves, masks, hairnets or dresses. We had to leave because she went unstable. We were watching when one of the nurses came to give her an injection of something…"
The boy was crying again and sobbing but continued.
"It was horrible, Rowen! I never saw so much blood. As soon as the nurse pricked her, it was like her skin ripped itself into a three-inch gash. Blood oozed everywhere, and the maniac beeping of the heart monitor deafened me. I was so scared."
Dong weeped some more and Rowen heard a thud. He figured that the boy must have dropped to the floor. In the background he could hear the squeaking of metal on metal and thought Dong had to be in his room and his pet rat was running on his wheel.
"What happened to her?" Rowen asked softly.
"I don't know!" he cried into the phone. "I heard what the doctor said, but I can't remember! Rowen, I'm scared. I don't know what to do!"
"I'm coming over," Rowen said without thinking. "I'm gonna get out of here and I'll meet ya at your place."
The line went dead then and nodded his head as he closed his flip phone and placed it back in his pocket. He hurried out of the bathroom and made his way back to the class. He rushed through the door and quickly grabbed his things.
"Hashiba-san, what is going on?" the sensei asked, more annoyed than ever. "You've been in there for twenty minutes and you come barreling back into my room. Where are you going?"
"I'm sorry, sensei. I was stopped in the hall and asked to come to the office. There's an emergency and I have to see to it."
"You are not leaving my class unless it's life and death."
Rowen shuddered. He was lying to his teacher, but there was something else he needed to do. That and his sensei didn't know the truth of his words.
"It is," was all he could say. He prayed to God that it really wasn't. The sensei looked at his grave face and softened instantly. He shook his head in slow motion almost and Rowen made his leave. He raced down the empty hallway and passed Ryo and Sage who were transporting a large clay model of a volcano.
"Hey, Ro!" Ryo said. "Where you headed in a rush?"
"Emergency, tell ya later!" he yelled back as he turned a corner. Wildfire and Halo looked at each other perplexed and slightly worried about their friend.
Rowen hastily went through the sign out procedure in the office before bolting to his car. Well, it was actually Ryo's jeep but he would be back to pick them up at three when school was out. It was a good thing he had a copy of the car key or he'd be screwed. Starting the Jeep, he pulled out of the student parking and drove as fast as he could without breaking the law.
He pulled up in front of the Yun Family's house and turned off the jeep before jumping out and running up the driveway.
"Rowen!" The thirteen-year-old ran out of the front door and collided into Rowen, throwing his arms around the taller, older boy. Rowen grasped the boy and held him as he cried harder than he had ever seen.
"Easy kiddo," Rowen soothed. "Breathe."
As Dong tried to take deep breaths, Rowen picked up the boy. Sure, he was thirteen, but he was a wreck. He carried the boy up the house and kicked the door lightly. Jay Lee's father, Seung Yun, opened it. Rowen noticed his eyes were red and puffy, meaning he had been crying as well. He heard full blast sobbing from Mrs. Yun as he stepped into the house. Mr. Yun led Rowen into the kitchen where Jay Lee's uncle, Chin Yun, was trying desperately to soothe his sister in law, but to no avail.
"Why don't you have a seat, Rowen." He nodded and sat down across from Mrs. Yun and placed the boy on his lap who had stopped crying and only stared off into nothingness. Mr. Yun sat down next to his wife and held her hand in his.
Rowen took this slight moment to look at everyone. Mrs. Yun, upon first meeting her, was a happy boisterous woman. She was chubby, but not large. Her face was beautiful even if she was in her late thirties. Now, she was a mess. Her face was pink and puffy, as were her eyes. The whites were red, giving her dark eyes the appearance of a demon. Her hair was normally long and straight, but were frizzed to enormous heights. She looked sick to put it simply.
Mr. Yun was no better. He was an equally chubby man in his early forties. His hair was short, but was messed like someone rubbed a balloon over his head for a good two hours. He was paler than usual, like he turned into a ghost. It was strange for Rowen to see him the way he was, since he was always so serious and proper mannered.
As for Dong, he was much lighter than he used to be. Rowen thought he had stopped eating by the way he looked. But that was the way he coped with things. He would turn anemic when something critical and life changing would happen. But he would get better. At least, Rowen hoped so.
"Rowen," Mr. Yun said. "We want to apologize for not contacting you sooner. We kept you in the dark for a week and we're really sorry. Dong told us you called earlier and that you were coming over. Did he tell you what happened in the hospital?"
"Yes," Rowen choked out.
"Then you know the doctors put her under quarantine?"
"Yes." Rowen felt the boy shudder and he held onto him tighter. "But Dong didn't know what happened to her. I need to know Mr. Yun."
Mrs. Yun broke out in sobs again and laid her head down on the table, her arms covering her face. Chin gently rubbed her back in comfort. Mr. Yun looked at Rowen with sad, tired eyes. He took a few deep breaths before he said everything.
"We thought she had the flu," he explained. "It started with a fever, turned into a headache, then aches and pains. But that was just the first two days. Then she started coughing a lot and claimed she had trouble breathing with chest pain. We were going to have her stay home yesterday from work but she insisted that she was fine to work that day.
"When she passed out, we knew something bad was happening to our daughter. We rushed her to the ER and waited for the doctors to tell us what was happening. Of course, they sugar coated the truth from us that first time saying she only got dizzy and fainted. Then they did the blood test…"
Rowen waited for the rest, but it never came. Mr. Yun started crying as he held onto his wife's hand in vain attempts to keep them down. It wasn't working. Chin even began to cry silently and Dong was trembling profoundly in Rowen's arms. He needed to know what was wrong with his girlfriend, but he didn't want to know at the same time if it had this effect on her family. Rowen was beyond worried now, he was dead-ass scared.
"Please sir," he said. "I need to know." No, I don't. You baka, why do you feel like it's gonna kill ya?
"She has Ebola Fever!" Mrs. Yun screamed. Rowen's blood froze in his veins. Oh Gods. "My baby has Ebola Fever! There's no vaccine! She's going to die! My baby's going to die!"
Ebola Fever. According to the attire they had to wear according to Dong, it would make sense. Ebola was air borne and extremely contagious. Keeping her in quarantine will safe guard others and stop an outbreak. Then the thought of what they did last unnerved him.
Funny that we would spend an evening watching Outbreak and this should happen.
Before he thought about it, he was standing outside of the glass window in the hospital that separated him and his love. He had his head against the glass and both palms up against the window, begging to hold her.
She was a mess. The area around her eyes were a mixture of light blue and ugly purple, like she had two black eyes. From where he could see, her ears were crusted with her blood. Both of her arms were wrapped in bandages that were once white, but now a dark shade of crimson. Her skin was pale, having almost no pigment whatsoever. She looked dead, and he thought she was if not for the medical machines connected to her body, measuring her vitals.
Rowen was ready to be sick. Looking at her like this made the bile rise in his throat, but he choked it down. His love was in pain, and there was nothing he could do to comfort her. He wanted so badly to hold her to his chest and stroke her black hair till she was better. He wanted to hold her on his lap like they would when they watched a home movie. He wanted to kiss her soft lips and breath the life back into her.
We rarely get what we want. He knew the danger of her condition. Deep down, he knew she wouldn't make it. There was no cure for Ebola, no vaccine exists. Something that has the scientists confused beyond comprehensible reasoning. He needed to be by her. That was it.
He walked up to a nurse in a yellow rubber air suit. She stopped before she placed the helmet over her head and looked at him.
"I want to be by her," he said. "I'm her boyfriend and I have direct permission form her family to do so."
The nurse nodded and guided him to the nurses lounge where she helped him into a similar rubber suit that was a light blue with white stripes. She helped him with the helmet and placed her over her head. Rowen then followed her into the hallway and into the small room.
The nurse pulled up a chair next to the bed and had Rowen sit in it.
"Do not take your helmet off under any circumstance," she said. "You may hold her hand but gently. Ebola causes her skin to become paper-thin and the slightest friction will tear it apart. She is conscious and can talk, but briefly. When you are finished, push the yellow button on the door and someone will come and let you out."
Rowen nodded and the nurse left him alone with his sick lover. He raised his hand to hers and placed it gently on hers as the nurse said. It did nothing for him. He wanted to feel her skin. Jay Lee opened her eyes briefly and looked at him.
Rowen allowed his tears to fall. Looking into her eyes, seeing the damage the Ebola did to her broke his heart. She was crying too. Her disease making her tears into blood as they fell down her cheeks. She breathed in a gasp of pain, and Rowen knew that crying hurt her.
"I'm here," he assured her. "I'll neva' leave ya 'lone."
A/N: Okay, it's like close to one in the morning and I have to get to bed. Don't worry, I'll continue if you all want to know what happens. Meanwhile, click the purply-blue button and tell me what you think of it so far. I really, REALLY need to know. If anyone also has any suggestions on how I should continue, I would love to hear them. I'm sort of stuck after "I'll neva' leave ya 'lone" scene. Nighty-night people!