Febuwhump Day 6: Hypothermia
Word Count: 1408
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating: K+/PG
Characters: Doc, Neil
Warning: N/A
Summary: Usually Doc is the one taking care of patients. She's not used to being a patient.
Notes: N/A
Hypothermia
Doc blinked. There were—were—were… hands… hands on her. Hands… they were warm. They felt almost too warm. Why would hands feel too warm? This was a question. It was a question she should be able to figure out. Her brow furrowed. Why would hands be too warm? What was something that had a symptom of hands being too warm? Maybe a fever? Yes, that could be it. Doc shifted, trying to raise a hand up to feel one of the hands.
But there was something in the way. What—oh. A glove. A thick glove. She wouldn't be able tell anything through that. She tried to reach with her other hand to take it off, but it wouldn't move right. Well, okay. If her arm wouldn't move right, there were other ways to get a glove off. She brought it to her mouth, and bit on the edge, trying to pull it off.
"Wha—no! Doc, wait, don't do that!"
Someone pulled her arm away, tugging the glove back on. No, why would they do that? How could she check to see if they had a fever with a glove on? For that matter, how could she do much of anything with gloves on? She pulled her hand away and went back to trying to get her glove off.
"Stop it!"
"Forget it! They're opening the door for us, it doesn't matter!"
Doc blinked again. What were they talking about? She wasn't sure. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure it out. But suddenly things were different and there were lots of voices everywhere and—and—and wasn't she just standing?
She wasn't anymore. She was lying down, and there were voices and hands on her and someone was leaning over her.
"Doc? Hey, you with us? Just hang on, we're gonna get you all fixed up."
Neil, her brain supplied. That was Neil and—and wait, wasn't she just outside? This wasn't outside. This was…wait, where was she? Was she… moving? She tried to sit up, to figure it out, but her balance was off. Before she could even try to get it back, she was being pressed down into… a bed? No, not a bed. She knew what this was, but the word just wouldn't come.
Suddenly, she was being moved again, and things were happening quickly, quickly, quickly. She tried to move, tried to get up, but was once again pushed down. Neil came into her view again.
"Stay down," he said firmly, "Don't move."
His voice was serious, and he only got that way, with that particular tone, when it was a serious injury. And… and he had directed it at her.
Sudden panic surged through her, and she tried, again, to sit up, this time with more success. She could hear the cries of those around her, but she was only focused on one thing—how injured was she? She suddenly realized she couldn't feel her hands, or her feet, or, well, a lot of places. Neil was back with her, pushing her down, and she turned her face towards him. Her mouth worked as she tried to find the words to ask him what was wrong with her.
"Wh—wha… how… injury… can't…"
She couldn't make the words come out, but he seemed to understand what she was getting at. He guided her back down again, keeping his hands on her shoulders, and keeping his eyes locked on hers.
"Doc," he said it slowly, making sure he had her attention. "You're hypothermic." He paused and waited until she nodded. "No injuries. But we have to warm you up."
It slowly clicked with her. There hadn't been people with a fever. She had just been too cold. And things weren't making sense because she was too cold. Her brow furrowed as she thought, trying to pull up information—information she should know like the back of her hand.
"…Compress…" she said. "…fluids. Warm…. Inside out…."
"We're already on it," Neil said.
She belatedly realized that while he had been talking to her, people had been working on her. She felt, now, that some of her clothes had been removed, and warm dry compresses were being placed on her. It took her a moment to realize that someone had put one directly on her chest and another on her groin before covering her back up. A nurse was already putting one her neck.
Neil nudged her lips and she looked back to realize that he was poking them with the end of a thermometer. She obliged and let him put it in her mouth. It wasn't until she felt a sharp prick that she realized someone else had her arm and was getting it ready for an IV. She almost opened her mouth to ask, but Neil reached over and kept it shut.
There was too much going on, and she was having trouble tracking it. Neil removed the thermometer, and he said something she didn't catch. Something was put on her face, giving her warm air to breath. Her eyes tracked to the side, and she saw an IV bag hanging even as she felt something warm in her arm.
She struggled to understand what was happening. She knew that she should, but it was taking her too long to follow it. Warm, humidified air. Warm IV fluids. Warm dry compresses. Blankets piled on top of her. Active external rewarming, her brain supplied. Active core rewarming.
For… well, she wasn't sure how long. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. But she laid there, trying to make sense of everything. Her brain felt foggy at best, and she still didn't feel right. It took her a minute to realize it, but something felt wrong in her chest, and she suddenly realized that she wasn't breathing quite right. She clumsily reached a hand out, trying to grab Neil, but succeeding in hitting him instead.
He turned towards her, worry in his eyes. "Yeah, Doc I know. We're monitoring you. We're going to take it a step further alright? Don't worry, you're going to be alright." He stopped talking to her and started to talking to others. "Hey—I want a second-by-second watch on her vitals. We don't want to risk rewarming shock. I think she's slipping that way. Let's ease up on some of this, slow it down. You—"
Doc lost track of what was happening somewhere in there, and, she supposed, fell asleep (or slipped into unconsciousness. She wasn't sure which). When she next blinked awake, she felt much warmer and her brain seemed to be working a little better. She was still in sickbay, still had the IV in and the breathing apparatus on. But she felt warmer.
"Hey."
Doc turned her head towards the voice and saw Neil. He looked tired.
"How ya feeling?"
Doc blinked again, her brow furrowing. "…Tired," she finally said. "But not cold." Her voice was a harsh whisper, but it was the best she could do.
It was enough, apparently, and he grinned at her. "Hey, glad to hear it!" His smile dimmed a little. "Do you remember what happened?"
"Um…" she had to try to think back. It wasn't easy. "I was… hypothermic."
Neil nodded. "Yeah. White-out conditions hit while you were out with a patrol. Somehow you got separated from them. Another patrol found you later, but you were already hypothermic at that point. They got you here, and we started up procedures."
Doc nodded. "How bad was I?"
Neil frowned. "Moderate, edging towards severe. We got lucky—you never went into rewarming shock, although I had been certain you were about to head that way." He shook his head. "If you had, I'm not sure—Well," he cut himself off. "That's a conversation for another day."
Doc hummed. "…Thank you," she said.
He grinned at her. "Anytime. I'm gonna send a nurse in here to keep an eye on you, but you rest. I'm going to go report to the general that you're awake." He reached over, putting a hand on her forehead. "You just rest, alright?"
Doc was too tired to argue. As much as she wanted to be up and moving around, she was just too tired. She nodded, and he smiled, leaving her there. Doc let out a sigh and closed her eyes, safe in the knowledge that she was in capable hands.