Chapter 95
Lindsey woke up to the sound of soft rain falling outside. She stared at Tegan still asleep next to her. A bit of drool escaped the corner of her mouth and her now very shaggy hair lay softly over hear one eye. Lindsey took her hand softly in hers and smiled. "God you're beautiful, so angelic" she whispered. After what seemed like at least an hour Lindsey looked at her watch on the night stand. It was almost 10 already. It was unusual for Tegan to sleep this late these days. She used to sleep until noon in the past but that was when she was up until all hours working on her music or watching TV. Tegan went to bed relatively early the previous night like most nights after getting out of hospital. She hasn't moved an inch since Lindsey woke up. Lindsey stretched and got up to go make Tegan some tea and some coffee for herself.
Sara and Kate were still in bed making out for most of the morning. "I wish we could stay in bed all day long" said Sara softly with her head on Kate's chest stroking her arm and looking at the rain that was now falling hard. "We can... we're on holiday" smiled Kate. "Oh as if that's not going to bring up some questions" joked Sara and kissed Kate again. "It's raining! It's either this... or Scrabble with the rest" laughed Kate. "Oh choices!... I do love Scrabble you know so you're gonna have to make it worth my while" whispered Sara seductively as she moved in for another kiss. "Oh I can guarantee you'll be a winner at this game" breathed Kate as she kissed Sara's neck. "I love winning" laughed Sara. "Oh I know you do... Sara... I'm so happy right now... Where have you been all my life?" smiled Kate as she looked up into Sara's eyes. "Touring... While you've been sewing new hearts into people. How are we gonna do this?" said Sara. "We'll figure it out... I like mending hearts... Not breaking them" smiled Kate.
Lindsey came back into the room after a while. She found Erin in the kitchen and they were chatting for at least half an hour. Tegan was still in the exact same position. Her hands laying softly in front of her on the pillow. "Sweetie... good morning sleepy head" she said softly stroking Tegan's hair. Tegan just let out a big sigh and moved her head a bit. "Baby... wake up I made you some tea and breakfast in bed" said Lindsey. Tegan just grunted. Lindsey stroke her arm softly. "You've been sleeping for ages lazy bones" she said. Tegan opened her eyes. "Hmmm... still sleepy... Five more minutes" she mumbled. Lindsey felt uneasy. "Tegan... hey come on now. I thought we're going into town today to go buy our wedding outfits and rings?" she said and started tickling Tegan. Tegan opened her eyes annoyed and started rubbing them. "Okay then" she said and yawned. Tegan sat up slowly and felt a wave of dizziness hit her. She closed her eyes for a few seconds. "You okay babe?" said Lindsey. "Yeah... just... still waking up" mumbled Tegan. "Here you go, your favourite breakfast" smiled Lindsey and put the tray on Tegan's lap. Tegan took a sip of tea and closed her eyes again. "Here you go have some fruit" urged Lindsey. "Mmm... I'm not hungry sweetie" said Tegan. "You're usually starving when you wake up! You have to eat something Tee" said Lindsey. "Maybe later" said Tegan softly putting her head back on the pillows and closed her eyes, the cup in her hand tipped slightly and messed some tea on the tray. Lindsey gently took it out of her hand. "Tee are you sure you're okay? You look pale" said Lindsey, fear rising in her voice. Tegan was out for the count again. Lindsey jumped out of bed and raced down the hallway to Kate's room. She started banging on the door. "Kate... Kate wake up please... I need you to come have a look at Tegan... Kate!" she continued knocking. She opened the door slowly. The bed wasn't slept in. "Sara!" said Lindsey to herself. She jogged to Sara's room. "Sara... Sara are you awake" she said loudly. "Umm... just a second" she heard Sara's voice from inside the room.
"Oh crap... it's Lindsey... hide" said Sara giggling. Kate jumped up naked and jogged into the en-suite bathroom. Sara grinned as she admired Kate's body. "Sara!" said Lindsey again outside. Sara pulled on a robe "Oh alright... alright" she mumbled as she opened the door. "Sara... do you know where Kate is?" asked Lindsey looking serious. "No..." said Sara quickly looking guilty. "I need to find her I think Tegan isn't doing so well" she said. "Um... go to Tegan Linds, I'll get her... go!" said Sara fast. "I'll find her. GO!" she repeated loudly. Lindsey headed back to their room. "Kate... get out here" said Sara before she could reach the bathroom. Kate came out wide-eyed. "Tegan needs you" she said seriously. Kate jumped over to the bed and stumbled to pull her pajamas back on. Her hair was standing in all directions. "Hurry" said Sara sounding panicked. "Go grab my bag in my room Sara" said Kate as she ran down the hallway.
Kate found Lindsey sitting next to Tegan holding her hand. Tegan seemed to be asleep. "What's going on Linds" said Kate as she sat down on the other side of Tegan. "I... I don't know... she... she's just slept for so long... she woke up after I just about planted a bomb under her but she's just sooo, so lethargic... she didn't want to eat... and she just fell asleep again pretty much mid sentence" said Lindsey looking worried. "I'm so sorry for bothering you... I don't know... maybe it's nothing but... I don't want to take chances" she said. "No problem Linds, you did the right thing" said Kate as she put her fingers in Tegan's neck searching for a pulse. Sara entered with Kate's medical bag. "Hey Tegan... wake up" said Kate loudly and shook Tegan's shoulder. "Whaaaat" mumbled Tegan sounding annoyed. "There you are, morning!" smiled Kate. "How are you feeling today buddy?" said Kate as she took out her stethoscope. "Sleepy" said Tegan. "What the hell's going on" she said confused. "Nothing... just want to check that everything's okay" smiled Kate calmly and put her stethoscope under the sheet onto Tegan's naked sheet, careful to preserve her modesty. "Heeey, I'm naked... give me a minute" said Tegan annoyed pushing Kate's hand away. Tegan seemed confused. She scratched her head. Lindsey handed her some pajamas and started to help her get them on. "Nothing I haven't seen before Tee" said Kate shaking her head and turned the other way. Sara was looking out the window. "Whatever... So much for sleeping in on holiday" she said and closed her eyes as she started feeling dizzy again. "Tee... you feeling okay bud?" asked Kate seriously opening Tegan's eyes with her thumbs and forefingers. She put her hand on Tegan's forehead. Her face didn't give anything away. "Yeah I guess... Just a bit... dizzy" she said. "Alright... relax for me" said Kate and listened to her heart and lungs. She took a portable pulse-ox meter out of her bag and put it on Tegan's finger. "Is this really nessesary" asked Tegan annoyed. "Yup, just making sure you're okay" said Kate. She wrapped the BP cuff around Tegan's arm and stared inflating it. "Lindsey tells me you don't have an appetite?" she asked. Tegan sighed "Okay I'll eat... give me a break already!" said Tegan. Kate's eyebrows raised as she finished taking Tegan's blood pressure. She wordlessly put a digital thermometer into Tegan's ear. Tegan had her eyes closed again. "Tee... can you try and stay awake for me" she said. "I'm awake okay" said Tegan. "Open your mouth and say ahhh" said Kate as she shone a light into Tegan's throat. "What the fuck... I'm fine" said Tegan. "Calm down Tegan" said Kate. "Okay... your BP is way low... I'm going to check your glucose and take a blood sample to send to the lab. Any other symptoms I should know about Tegan? Pain?" asked Kate. "Just a pretty sucky headache" whispered Tegan as the glucose meter pricked her finger. "Mmm... you don't have what can be classified as a a fever yet, temps slightly elevated though." said Kate. "It's Lindsey, she makes me hot" giggled Tegan groggily. "TMI Tegan..." said Sara rolling her eyes. "Lungs sound okay, pulse-ox slightly lower than normal but it's still acceptable. I'm going to get you started on those IVs we didn't do yesterday, give you something for that headache and something to bump your BP. I'm also going to give you a bit of supplemental oxygen... that never hurt anybody" said Kate. "Good thing I brought half the hospital right... Follow my finger" she said testing Tegan's neurological response. "Everything seems okay except for the low BP and a low blood glucose. I want you go eat something, it will make you feel better. Drink plenty of fluids. I'm going to ask one of the staff to run the blood down to the lab for me" said Kate. "Okay... Can you leave me alone then so I sleep after breakfast" asked Tegan. "Sure..." said Kate inserting the IV. Tegan stared at another needle entering her arm and the blood filling two tubes "I look like a fucking drug addict with all these track marks in my arms" said Tegan.
"Kate is she okay?" said Sara following Kate out of the room. "Yeah... I'll know more after the blood tests come back but I think she's okay" said Kate. "I don't want you to think she's okay... tell me she's okay" said Sara annoyed. Kate turned around and looked Sara in the eyes. "Calm down... I've got this" she said seriously. "Is this because she didn't get her meds last night because we were fucking on the forest floor? That's it isn't it" asked Sara seemingly angry. "It's got zero to do with that Sara... listen I'll talk to you in a minute let me just get these to on their way to the lab please" said Kate.
Lindsey fed Tegan breakfast and tried to make small talk. "So... guess what... Kate's bed hasn't been slept in last night. They tried to hide her but I'm pretty sure she was with Sara when I went to look for her" said Lindsey. "Ha... no surprise there... lovebirds. Hope you didn't interrupt... Um anything" said Tegan smiling. She stayed quiet for a minute. "I... I don't want to be sick again Linds" said Tegan softly. "I want to marry you ... and nothing's getting in my way of doing that... soon" she said seriously. "I know... You'll be fine my love... let's just make sure okay" said Lindsey. "I want this to be over... I can't anymore" said Tegan as tears started rolling down her face. "Hey... you are so amazing... you've been so strong and brave through all this. Everything's fine baby just relax and breathe" said Lindsey wiping away Tegan's tears and kissing her cheeks. "Hey the babies are kicking just for you sweetie" said Lindsey as she put Tegan's hands on her belly. Tegan smiled and stifled a sob. "Hey peanuts... Mommy's okay... Dammit Linds... I wanted to go shopping with you today... but I'm just so tired" whispered Tegan. "We'll go shopping another day sweetie. You can marry me in a garbage bag I won't care" smiled Lindsey.
For the next hour Kate kept checking Tegan's vitals as she slept. Her phone started buzzing on the night stand. She grabbed it and walked into the bathroom to take the call. Tegan stirred and opened her eyes. "Hey how ware you feeling?" said Lindsey laying next to her. "Okay... better... Always better when I see you... You're the best medicine" said Tegan smiling. Kate walked out of the bathroom, her face difficult to read. "That was the lab" she said "Good news. Everything looks okay except for a low white cell count" she said. "What does that mean?" asked Sara. "It means you're fighting an infection" said Kate. "Fuck! Fuck this shit!" Exclaimed Tegan throwing her head back. Her chin started quivering again. "Hey relax... we've been pumping you full of immune boosters. Still... you're going to have a more difficult time dealing with it than for instance any one of us. Could be anything. Could be something really small. Could just be something you ate that your body is having a hard time dealing with. I don't think it's a respiratory infection, we would pick that up in no time with your lungs having gone through what they did. I'm going to up those boosters and give you some more IV fluids and precautionary antibiotics. We don't want it turning into one. Just get some rest. I'm going to keep a close eye on you but I think you're going to be just fine after a day or so of rest. If there was a major problem your fever would be sky high by now, trust me. But let's not forget that you're still kinda weak and you're body's fighting harder than normal." said Kate. She didn't look worried. It confused Lindsey. "So... she's okay... she doesn't need to go back to hospital or anything" she asked. "Nope... not yet... and I'm going to make sure it stays that way okay. We've got a wedding in a few days... nothing's going to mess with that" grinned Kate. "That's for damn sure! We're getting married no matter what!" said Tegan.
Kate made sure Tegan had everything she needed and led Sara by the hand to her room. "Where were we" she said and started kissing Sara. "Kate... no... not now" said Sara wriggling herself out of her grip. "Are you okay Sara?" asked Kate. "No... I'm freaking out" said Sara sitting down on the bed. "Sar... she's okay... I'm going to make sure of that" said Kate. "She can't go through this again... I can't" sighed Sara and shook her head. Kate pulled her up, took her into her arms and held her tight. "You won't have to! You've been amazing through all this Sara... I know this is hard... and I'm sorry" said Kate softly. "Just fix her Kate... fix her" said Sara and started crying. "She's okay Sara shhhh" whispered Kate pulling Sara's chin up. Sara looked into Kate's eyes and kissed her softly on the lips. "Where would we be without you Katherine" she whispered.
Tegan spent the next two days in bed as a precaution. She didn't mind because she was tired, she slept a lot of the time and went through hundreds of baby names inbetween. Lindsey tried to be brave in front of Tegan but she was a mess. Despite Kate's assurance that Tegan was okay she could not stop worrying. Kate took great care of Tegan as always. She and Sara were full of excuses to slip away together constantly. "Reading", "Snorkeling", "Walking". They spent every night in each other's arms and it was clear to everybody that they were both so in love they couldn't see straight.
Tegan was given as clean a bill of health as she could possibly get in the morning and was getting ready to hit the town with her love in search of the perfect wedding outfits and rings. "You ready for some shopping baby" said Tegan tying her shoelaces. "Yeah! Are you sure you're up for this Tegan? We can get something online you know" said Lindsey. "I feel great Linds... I really do. I think I have these episodes... or whatever they are... little setbacks... every now and again just to remind my body to take it easy. Just to keep me down to earth. We won't go to a million shops... I kinda know what I'm after and I think I know where to get it" she smiled. "Okay baby... but you tell me when you're tired please... please don't play brave. I don't want anything spoiling our special day. I want you at your glorious, gorgeous, healthy best" said Lindsey with her arms around Tegan's waist. "Deal! I promise I won't do anything to jeapordise this wedding... or my health. I'm going to marry you this Saturday feeling great" she smiled. "I love you. Thank you for taking care of me" she said as Lindsey put a jacket over her shoulders. "I love you more! You amaze me my love" said Lindsey as she took a photo of a smiling Tegan. "My favourite subject, my almost wife" she said smiling from ear to ear. "Better enjoy it while I can because soon you're going to have two new favourite subjects" said Tegan. "Mmmm... Nope, you'll always be my favourite... My number one heartthrob!"
A/N: I know... So soppy... Sorry for dragging things out a bit. Don't want this fic to end. What do you think they'll wear for the wedding? Any suggestions for baby names?