Chapter 127
It was early evening by the time Tegan and Sara finally decided to call it a day on the practice session. "Ugh I'm finished" said Tegan and gave a tired yawn. "Good work today Tee. We're getting there" said Sara and smiled. They found Lindsey, Kate and Erin in the living room paging through some decor magazines. "Hey... decorating without me" said Tegan and gave Lindsey a quick kiss. "No no sweetie we were just bored and..." said Lindsey before being cut off by Tegan. "Hey I'm just kidding... you decorate all you want honey" said Tegan. "You guys ready for an early dinner. Your doc here said she wants you in bed early tonight Tegan. You guys had a busy day" said Erin. "Same goes for you Linds" said Kate. "Well same goes for you Kate" said Tegan. "I'm fine but whatever you say Tegan" said Kate shaking her head. Her face was looking so much better. The swelling was gone and the bruises were starting to fade. Sara flexed her hand open and closed, deep in thought. "You okay baby?" said Kate and took Sara's hand in hers and kissed it softly. "Yeah just overworked" said Sara. Kate rubbed Sara's hand softly. Tegan was sitting back in an oversized chair with her eyes closed. She looked exhausted and a bit pale. Lindsey got up with a lot of difficulty and walked over to Tegan. "Come on rock star... dinner... bath... bed" she said.
Tegan was quiet during dinner and was now lying on the couch in the guest house. "Hey beautiful... I've missed you" whispered Lindsey seductively. "Hey" said Tegan opening her eyes. Lindsey leaned over and kissed Tegan. "We still have half an hour before Kate comes to plug you in" said Lindsey. "Yeah... kiss me gorgeous" smiled Tegan. "Man this is uncomfortable but I really... really want to kiss you" said Lindsey trying to position her belly. Tegan smiled a tired smile and sat up. She gently pushed Lindsey back and kissed her softly. She moved on to her neck and breathed heavily. She felt out of breath and tired. She stopped for a few seconds and just put her head on Lindsey's chest breathing fast. "Sweetie?" said Lindsey. Tegan responded by fondling Lindsey's now much larger than normal breasts. "Ohhh Tegan yes... that feels so good" she moaned. Tegan felt sweat beads form on her forehead. She kissed Lindsey's face again in the hopes that the endorphins would kick in soon to make her feel a bit better.
After a minute of kissing she stopped. "Sweetie... I so want to do this but I'm really, really exhausted and I... honestly I just really don't feel great" said Tegan. "I'll call Kate" said Lindsey looking panicked. "Don't... I'm just tired" said Tegan. "Tegan I really think I should call her" said Lindsey. "She'll be here in 25 minutes... I think I'm just going to take a shower... I feel sticky" said Tegan. Lindsey looked at her concerned. "Are you sure babe? Don't mess around with your health" said Lindsey. "I'm sure boo... just relax. Can I make you a cup of tea before my shower" asked Tegan. "No... you go shower... I'll make you a cup of chamomile" said Lindsey. Tegan smiled. "I love you... thanks for understanding" she said. "Yeah because it's hard to resist your adorable-ness" said Lindsey.
Tegan stood under the shower with her head on her arm leaning against the wall. She felt slightly queasy and dizzy and forced herself to finish her shower fast. She got out of the shower, pulled on her PJs and air dried her hair. When she switched off the hair dryer she heard Kate and Lindsey talk in the living room. She sat for a while staring out in front of her. She got up and her legs felt like jello. She heard a soft knock on the door before Lindsey and Kate entered. "Hey Tee... Linds tells me you're not feeling so good" said Kate with a serious expression on her face. "I'm fine... I'm just tired" said Tegan sounding out of breath. "Okay... let's just have a look. Lie down for me" said Kate and guided Tegan to bed by her elbow.
"Talk to me Tegan... what's not feeling good?" said Kate softly. "I don't know... I'm a little... out of breath and dizzy" said Tegan. "Alright I'm just going to have a listen to your lungs and heart. Relax for me" smiled Kate. Kate knew that if Tegan admitted to not feeling good she really wasn't feeling good. She put her stethoscope to Tegan's chest and listened to her heart before moving on to her lungs. She had a concerned expression on her face. "Okay sit up for me" she said and put the stethoscope on her back. "Deep breath in for me... and out... and in... and out all the way" said Kate. "Everything okay?" asked Lindsey sounding scared. "Your airways sound a bit constricted... It's not unusual when recovering from ARDS to experience this. There doesn't seem to be any fluid build up though which is good. Let's get the pulse ox on you and take your BP" said Kate and smiled trying to put Tegan and Lindsey at ease. "I'm so tired... I just feel weak suddenly" said Tegan as Kate took her BP. "Your BP is a bit low and so is your pulse ox" said Kate. "Dammit... fuck this" said Tegan becoming emotional. "Hey relax for me... we'll have this sorted out in no time" said Kate. "Tell me this is nothing Kate" said Lindsey. "It's not nothing Linds but it's okay... it's manageable... I'm going to start you on a nebuliser to open up those airways and then put you on some oxygen. I'm going to start you on some IV saline and a little something for that BP in a minute. I'm going to shine a light in your eyes now... okay there we go... follow the light now... good job" said Kate.
"I'm not going back to that fucking hospital" said Tegan, tears now rolling down her cheeks. "Nobody said anything about a hospital Tee. Let's just see how you respond to the treatment" said Kate. "Hey Kate... I'm sorry for being... such a dick to you all the time... I guess you were right to check on me constantly" said Tegan. "Don't mention it Tee. Just relax now and take nice deep breaths" said Kate putting the mask on Tegan's face. She swiftly inserted the IV into Tegan's central line. "I'm going to take some blood and send it over to the lab... it's okay Tee... I'm sure this is nothing... just your lungs needing a bit of a break" said Kate taking some blood from the other port on the central line. "Sleepy" said Tegan under the mask with her eyes closed. "You can sleep if you want" said Kate drawing up some meds in a syringe. "Shhh sweetie... Kate's taking good care of you. Just relax, you'll feel better in the morning" said Lindsey. "I'll be back soon Lindsey... just sending these off to the lab" said Kate. "I'm sorry Linds" said Tegan softly. "Hey there's nothing to be sorry about boo... shh now... just relax... sleep now" she cooed. Tegan tried to stay awake but felt herself slipping away.
Kate pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed after sending the blood tests to the hospital with a driver. Sara opened the door and walked in looking petrified. "What's going on here?" she said. "Sar... let's go talk outside" said Kate and took Sara's hand. "Is she okay... what's wrong with her" asked Sara when they were out of the room. "She's okay... calm down" said Kate. "Don't you tell me to calm down when my sister's in there looking like hell" said Sara. Kate calmly explained the situation to Sara. "This is my fault... this is all my fault... I shouldn't have let her rehearse, she was pushing herself like crazy and I let her. Dammit..." said Sara in tears. "It's not your fault Sar... listen this is nothing that a bit of nebulizing and some oxygen can't fix. I'm actually very surprised she hasn't had one of these episodes before. It's expected... Why do you think I've been checking on her constantly. It's not the singing that caused this Sar... sure she probably pushed herself a bit too much today and to top it off she was kind of over emotional today or am I wrong?" said Kate. "No you're right... we... we had a very emotional day... Kate tell me you're fixing this" said Sara. "I'm fixing this" said Kate looking into Sara's eyes. "I trust you" said Sara.
They walked back into the room and Kate looked at the pulse ox meter. "Look at that... better already" she said and listened to Tegan's lungs again. "Yes that's much better... they just needed a little help" she smiled. "She's okay?" asked Lindsey lying next to Tegan holding her hand. "Yeah she's okay" said Kate. She took her BP again. "BP looking better. Let me check her temp" she said and put a digital thermometer in Tegan's ear. "Temps normal... that's a good sign... probably not an infection but the bloods will tell us more" said Kate. "Thank God" breathed Lindsey. "Let me check your BP Linds... you need to try and calm down now okay... the babies need you calm... Tegan's okay" said Kate. "Uh huh" said Lindsey sounding emotional and let Kate take her BP. "Mmm... as expected... it's high. Just take deep breaths and try and calm yourself down now" said Kate. "Okay" whispered Lindsey but opened her eyes. "Relax... I'm here... I'm looking after her... I'm not going anywhere... try and get some rest Linds" said Kate. "I don't think I can" said Lindsey.
After about an hour on the nebulizer Kate looked at the pulse ox and smiled. "All good... I'm just going to put her on some oxygen via the nasal cannula and put her on the heart monitor for the night... It's okay... it's just so I can keep an eye on her vitals more easily. She's okay guys... she's going to feel a lot better tomorrow. Blood tests show nothing to worry about" said Kate. She fetched the heart monitor from the spare room and hooked Tegan up. "Is this really necessary?" asked Lindsey. "Well... no, but if I don't do it I'll be listening to her chest and taking her pulse every five minutes and I want her to get some quality sleep" said Kate.
Tegan was still knocked out cold by a combination of exhaustion and meds "Okay... Sara why don't you go to bed now... I'll stay with her" said Kate. "No way... I'm staying. That couch has more than enough room for both of us" said Sara pointing at the couch in front of the window in Tegan's room. "Okay then" sighed Kate, knowing that she won't change Sara's mind. "I'm going to check Lindsey's BP again. Go get us a blanket please" said Kate. "Looking a lot better Linds... sleep now please" said Kate switching off the light. She cuddled up next to Sara on the couch but stayed awake, watching Tegan's heart monitor like a hawk even though she knew she didn't have any real reason to worry. Lindsey held Tegan's hand and stared at her face in the moonlit room. She never knew it was possible to love someone this much.
Kate was awake most of the night checking on Tegan. Tegan was stable the entire night but Kate just couldn't switch off. She saw Tegan stir as dawn started breaking outside. She got up and walked to Tegan's side. "Hey buddy... feeling a bit better?" she said softly, careful not to wake Lindsey. "Hmmm... so much better" said Tegan groggily and stretched. "Good" said Kate and took Tegan's BP again. "BPs back to normal... and so is your pulse ox. Lungs sound nice and clear... excellent air entry" said Kate. "Thanks Kate... thank you" said Tegan. "No problem" smiled Kate. Lindsey woke up when Tegan moved to sit up. "Angel... are you feeling better?" she asked. "I feel great boo... I'm fine!" she said smiling and kissed Lindsey. "You scared me so much" said Lindsey. "I'm sorry... I'll try not to do that again" said Tegan. "Sleeping beauty over there?" asked Tegan looking at Sara on the couch with her head throw back and her mouth hanging open. "She refused to leave last night" said Kate shrugging. "Oh Sasa... you worry to much. Can I go to the loo now please" asked Tegan. "Of course... you must be just about bursting right now after that IV" said Kate and removed the electrodes from Tegan's chest.
Kate checked Tegan's lungs and vitals again before unhooking the IV. "Alright... you're fine for now" said Kate. "Fantastic... any way I can prevent that from happening again?" asked Tegan. "Not really... just keep doing your lung exercises to improve the elasticity of the lungs. I'll speak to the physio about some options, maybe some vibrational treatments. I'm considering nebulizing you more often so we don't give them as much a chance to even think of closing up again. Just try and take it a bit more easy today. I want you resting for another few hours and then you can rehearse if you must... take breaks please. And breathe!" said Kate. "I'm fine to rehearse this morning though" smiled Tegan. Kate gave her a death stare. "Okay I'll take that as a no then" said Tegan. "I'm taking a nap now" said Sara yawning. "You just woke up read the script" said Tegan strictly.
A/N: Phew, Tegan's okay, it was just a scare. Another chapter coming tonight, in the meantime, Review please!