Chapter 218

Kate sat down on the side of the bed trying to compose herself and breathe away the intense pain in her abdomen. Her entire body was shaking.

"Kate? Baby? Are you okay? Katy?" said Sara after waking up. She turned on the bedside lamp.

"Uh… I don't think so" mumbled Kate.

"Babe what's wrong?" said Sara immediately next to Kate. She noticed her soaked through shirt.

"Oh my God you're burning up" exclaimed Sara after touching Kate's radiating face.

"I think… oh here it comes again" mumbled Kate and staggered to the bathroom again. Sara could see she was completely off balance. Kate wasn't in time and heaved all over the tiles two feet in front of the toilet.

"Oh shit… sorry sorry" she mumbled, plump tears now involuntarily leaving her eyelids.

"Baby you need help" said Sara.

"It's okay… just a bit of nausea" said Kate.

"Kate you're completely drenched" said Sara. She put the thermometer she just picked up from the counter in Kate's ear.

"Holy shit… 104.3!" yelled Sara.

With that Kate gave an agonising cry again and fell to her knees clutching her stomach.

"Ahhh… ahh… oh my god… aaahhhh" Kate cried.

Sara just stroke Kate's hair. Kate was losing steam fast and toppled over into Sara's arms, still shaking, breathing fast, now making whimpering sounds.

"Sar… it's time… hospital" whispered Kate.

Sara was suddenly shaking as fear overcame her.

"Tegaaaan" she shouted at the top of her voice. She wasn't even sure if her sister was back from dinner yet.

"Heeelp!" she yelled.

It looked as if Kate was about to black out in pain.

"Ahhh" she groaned again clutching her stomach in the foetal position.

"Tegan! Heeelp!" Sara yelled again.

-o-

"Babe stop… what the fuck was that?" said Tegan, on the verge of orgasm.

"What" groaned Lindsey still kissing Tegan's eager breast.

"Heeelp" Tegan heard and pushed Lindsey off her, she pulled on a robe while running towards Sara and Kate's room as fast as she could.

"Heeelp" Sara's cries came again.

"Sara… Sar!" Tegan yelled as her eyes searched the bedroom.

"Here" Sara yelled.

"Oh my God… Kate" Tegan yelled and fell down on her knees next to her friend.

"Call 911… now!" yelled Sara cradling Kate's head.

"I'm calling" said Lindsey standing in the door.

"No... I can walk" mumbled Kate like a drunk person and tried to sit up.

"You just lie still… they're going to take good care of you… try and relax" said Tegan gently pushing Kate's shoulder down. Sara still held Kate's hand tight.

"Agghhhh" Kate yelled again and doubled over in pain.

"It's okay… help is coming" said Tegan calmly and put her hand on Kate's cheek that now had tears rolling over it.

"Fuck… she's burning up" said Tegan.

Kate lay shivering on the cold floor.

"Should we move her to the bed?" asked Sara, completely shaken up.

"I think the cool tiles are probably good right now" said Tegan.

"They're on their way" said Lindsey.

"Linds, wet washcloth and towel please" said Tegan.

"Aggghhhh help me" moaned Kate.

"Its okay buddy… just relax you're going to be fine. The medics will be here in a minute and they're going to take you to the hospital. Hang in there for me, I know it hurts" said Tegan.

Lindsey handed Tegan the wet washcloth and handed a dry towel to Sara. "Put it under her head"

Sara removed Kate's head gently from her lap and positioned it on the towel. Kate's breathing was uneven. Sara put her fingers in her lover's neck.

"Her pulse is racing Tegan… I don't know what to do… I don't know… I…" cried Sara.

"Sar… it's okay, you just keep her calm for me. Lindsey… the O2 concentrator is somewhere in their room" said Tegan as she wiped Kate's arms and neck with the wet towel.

"I'm here baby, where does it hurt?" asked Sara.

"My… aagggh… abdomen" panted Kate.

Tegan removed the mask from the 02 concentrator case and had oxygen running and delivered into Kate's lungs seconds later. She started to feel her own airways close up as the stress got to her. "Linds…. My inhaler… on the dresser please" she wheezed still holding the mask on Kate's groaning face.

"Sara get dressed if you want to go with her" panted Tegan.

Kate now seemed to be in and out of consciousness, her eyes rolling sporadically in her head.

"I'll stay with her go" instructed Tegan.

"I'll be back in a few seconds baby" said Sara and jumped up. Tegan took two large puffs from her inhaler that Lindsey just handed to her.

"That's it Kate… deep breaths just like you always tell me…. Deeeeep breaths bud" said Tegan softly, wiping wet strands of hair out of Kate's sticky face.

"Ahhh… ohhhh… fuck me" whispered Kate curled up in pain.

A few seconds later Sara fell down on her knees next to Kate while still pulling a shirt on.

"I'm here… I love you… hang in there" whispered Sara as Tegan wiped Kate's sweaty face.

"Emergency services… make room please" Sara heard somebody behind her but she didn't move.

"Hi... what happened" asked a blonde, female paramedic.

"I um… um" Sara stammered in shock as she watched the lady feel Kate's pulse.

"She was nauseous… Now… abdominal pain. She's been sick for a day or two… I um… she was fine when we went to bed" Sara cried.

"Ahhhghhhh" moaned Kate again burying her face in the towel under her cheek.

"Make that severe abdominal pain" said the another, Hispanic looking female medic.

"Let's get her stabilised and into an ER" said the blonde.

The medics worked fast, asking questions as they went along.

"Any medical history? Does she take medication?" asked the dark haired medic putting a BP cuff around Kate's arm.

"No… not that I know of" said Sara.

"I'm having trouble starting a line here" said the blonde.

"Probably because her pressure's 80 over 50" said the other.

"Hang on… I'm in"

"Good, hang a bag of saline and get her on a monitor"

"Lung sounds are fine but her breathing is laboured. Temps… whoa… temps 104.4"

The medic attached leads to Kate's chest without cutting her shirt off. Tegan kind of saw that as a good thing… she didn't know why.

"Can you tell me your name sweetie?" asked the blonde.

Kate grunted. "K.. Kate" she whispered in obvious pain.

"Okay Kate… we're gonna take care of you. Do you know where you are right now?"

"Uh… H... hotel... New… York" Kate panted.

"That's right… good… Where's the pain?"

Kate pointed in the general area below her navel.

"Okay… we're taking you to hospital alright. Just keep taking those deep breaths"

A medic put a whistle like device in Kate's mouth.

"Inhale this… it will help for the pain"

Kate tried to hold the pain whistle but her hands were shaking so much she couldn't.

"I've got it baby… relax" said Sara holding the device to Kate's mouth.

"BP's choppy let's move" yelled the Hispanic girl.

The medics picked Kate up under her arms and legs, trying to be as gentle as possible as they lay her down on the stretcher.

Kate just curled back onto her side moaning.

"I'm right here baby" said Sara holding Kate's hand and touching her pale, clammy cheek.

Tegan had pulled on some clothes in the meantime and stood right outside the door talking to Lindsey.

"I have to go with them… Will you be okay with the kids?" asked Tegan.

"Yeah it's fine… go!" said Lindsey.

Tegan kissed Lindsey's cheek with a terrified look on face.

"Call me please, as soon as you have news" said Lindsey.

Tegan nodded and followed the stretcher out into the hotel hallway.

Sara held onto Kate's hand in the elevator and softly touched her face.

"You're gonna be okay babe… they're gonna take care of you" she said softly.

Kate nodded weakly before giving another loud moan. Tegan glanced at the heart monitor between her legs which increased speed significantly.

"Amelia... Tegan... please" said Sara.

"It's okay... Lindsey's staying with the kids. It's fine" said Tegan calmly.

"I'm sorry only one of you can ride with us. We're taking her to the hospital two blocks up" said one of the medics pointing in the direction of the hospital.

"Yeah I know which one... Go Sar… I'll meet you there" said Tegan.

"Tegan call security to go with you" said Sara.

"Just go!" said Tegan and watched as the ambulance doors closed. Tegan was relieved to see that the paps went home, probably assuming that Tegan and Sara weren't going to show face again that night.

"Do you need a cab?" asked the doorman already holding his hand up.

"Yes please" said Tegan.

-o-

Kate was wailing in pain for the two block trip down to the emergency room. The stretcher burst through the doors and a medical team stood waiting.

"35 year old female, complaining of severe abdominal pain, she's had lots of vomiting, no bleeding. BP dropped on route, 75 over 45, pulse 135, shallow resps at 30, sats 88, temp's raging at 104.4, we've started a litre of normal saline and we have her on 10 liters of O2 and a pain inhaler" reported the medic.

"Oh my god… Kate" said Sam, her face instantly paling.

"M'am you're going to have to wait outside please" said a nurse.

"No way… I'm staying… please" said Sara pulling her arm away.

"Saraaa" moaned Kate.

"Let her stay… for now. Transfer on three" said Sam.

The team lifted Kate onto an examination table while she curled in pain.

"Kate, we're going to need to palpate your abdomen" said Sam.

Kate nodded weakly, sweat still running down her face.

"Start another large IV line, we're going to need an abdominal x-ray and CT, start her on 5 of morphine and see if that hits sides" said Sam.

"No pain… meds" mumbled Kate.

"Katy please, you're in excruciating pain" said Sara.

"No… ahhggg… okay… please… meds" mumbled Kate.

Sam rolled Kate onto her back and started feeling around her abdomen which caused Kate to cry out loud in pain and pull her legs up defensively.

"I know it hurts, I'm really sorry Katy" said Sam.

Sara updated them on the symptoms Kate experienced since leaving the ER the night before.

The team worked fast to try and stabilize Kate and get her pain levels a bit more under control. Kate seemed to slowly be settling down more as the morphine kicked in.

"Page Dr Sinclair, tell her Kate Morgan's in the ER… Tell her to scrub in, we may need an urgent exploratory laparotomy" yelled Sam as they wheeled Kate out of the room.

"Sara, Kelly's going to show you to the family room. We'll update you as soon as we can" said Sam looking worried.

"Let's move please she's not very stable" yelled another Doctor.

"Sara… she's in good hands… it's okay" said Tegan running up to her sister and held onto Sara as sobs overcame her.

-o-

Saxon Sinclair stood waiting in the OR already scrubbed, gowned and gloved. Her heart was racing. Kate Morgan…. I can't believe Kate's here. She hadn't seen Kate in ages but she was due to meet her for lunch 2 days later. Sax had been Kate's boss and mentor when she was a green little intern, her residency and trauma fellowship. It was Sax who saw greatness in Kate, who helped mould her into the amazing surgeon she was today. Kate had some of the fastest and most talented hands she had ever seen and her instincts were absolutely amazing but more than that, she had a sensitivity that so often eluded surgeons. Kate was special. She had become good friends with the charming but shy resident and was devastated to lose her to Los Angeles, keen to keep this talent in her hospital but she understood that Kate needed to get away. Not from Manhattan but from its ghosts. It was Kate that begged Sax to help Sam get a job in the ER. Sam wasn't exactly high in demand at that stage while Kate was the rising star in the field, everyone wanted a piece of her. But Sax knew she owed Kate a number of favours and lucky for them all, Sam's appointment worked out ok.

Saxon Sinclair was a trauma surgeon but also very competent in general surgery. She was freakishly talented and often called in to for opinions and assists on general surgery cases so she knew exactly what she was doing. The general surgeon, Jim O'Connor stepped into the room and startled Sax out of her thoughts.

"Sax, any news on what we're dealing with?" asked Jim.

"They're finishing up in CT now. Looks like an atypical presentation of appendicitis" said Sax.

The next minute the doors burst open and Kate was wheeled in.

Sax bent over her. "Jesus Morgan… what did you get yourself into this time?" she joked.

"Sax" is all Kate could get out.

"Don't worry, you know you're in good hands. I've got you okay" said Saxon.

Kate nodded weakly.

"Okay let's do this" snapped Sax.

Kate was more scared than she had ever been in her life but seeing Sax's blazing blue, smiling eyes calmed her down a bit.

"Count down from 100 for us Kate" said Sax.

-o-

Sara jumped up when she saw Sam Cooper walking into the waiting room looking shaken up.

"How is she?" asked Sara.

"Sit down Sara" said Sam.

"I don't want to sit down just tell me what's going on" said Sara in tears.

"Sara, we did some tests, X-rays, a CT scan, blood tests" said Sam.

"Yeah and?" said Sara impatiently.

"Kate's white cell count was through the roof indicating that there definitely is an infection somewhere, so does her raging fever. We got that down a bit to a manageable level. The CT showed a suspected ruptured appendix" said Sam.

"Ruptured? As in burst? Oh my God this is bad" said Sara pacing around.

"She's in surgery now, IF it did in fact rupture, they will remove the puss and the appendix and check for further infection or inflammation. Our main concern will be infection once she's out of surgery. But I can guarantee you that Kate's in the best hands in the country. Dr Sinclair is amazing. So is Dr O'Connor" said Sam.

"Dr Sinclair? Is that Saxon?" asked Sara. Kate had told her about her good friend Sax so many times but Sara was yet to meet her.

"The one and only" said Sam.

Tegan looked surprised.

"Kate's mentor… used to be her boss" said Sara. Tegan nodded.

"Oh… I know who she is. Kate talks about her all the time, apparently she's brilliant" said Tegan.

"She is. Well… I better get back to the ER. I'll make very sure they keep you updated" said Sam.

"Thank you Dr Cooper" said Sara sincerely.

"She's strong… she'll be okay" said Sam and touched Sara's arm softly.

"I should call Alex" said Tegan.

"It's one in the morning" said Sara.

"It's only 10 in LA. Wouldn't matter if it was three in the morning there. Alex would want to know" said Tegan.

A nurse handed Sara and Tegan a cup of coffee each. Sara sat with her leg bouncing up and down. She was nervous but there was a sense of calm that somehow came over her when she pictured Kate's calm, smiling face in her mind.

A few minutes later Tegan was back.

"Spoke to Alex. He's taking the red-eye into New York, should be here by morning. Erin and Leah will fly in later. Told him it's not necessary but you know how he gets where Kate's concerned. Lindsey says everything is fine with the kids. She sends love and light" said Tegan and put her arm around her sister's shoulder.

Sara took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Hey… it's okay" whispered Tegan.

"Thanks for being here with me" said Sara.

"Of course Sar… where else would I be" said Tegan.

"You okay? You were amazing back there" said Sara.

"I just… acted on instinct I guess" blushed Tegan.

"How's your anxiety?" asked Sara.

"Well I'm obviously scared shitless here… but I'm okay. Linds had the foresight to give me an anxiety pill when she brought me my inhaler. Although, it was almost as if… I didn't have time to panic you know" said Tegan.

"Thank God you were there… I was so scared" said Sara becoming emotional.

Two hours later Kate was still not out of surgery.

"Why is this taking so long… I Googled it, it should take an hour or less" said Sara pacing around again.

"Yeah, probably not when it's ruptured" said Tegan.

As if called, Saxon opened the door to the waiting room ten seconds later. She was finishing her sentence to a nurse outside. Saxon was still wearing her scrub cap and a surgical mask was hanging around her neck. Her navy blue scrubs complimented her blue eyes and black hair. In that moment her appearance reminded Sara of Kate.

Sara and Tegan both jumped up.

"Hi guys" smiled Saxon.

"Is she okay?" asked Sara without making small talk.

"She's out of surgery, she's stable. She's in the recovery room. It went well" said Saxon with her hand on Sara's shoulder.

Sara plonked down on a chair and let out a shuddering sigh of relief.

"Thank you… thank you" said Sara as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Saxon sat down next to Sara and put her hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" she asked softly.

"I'm fine… just so happy… relieved" cried Sara.

"The appendix did in fact rupture but she was lucky, we got to it early. We did a thorough cleanout in there, that's what took all this time, it was a pretty big mess. Fortunately, we managed to do to go in laprascopically so she's only got three small incisions instead of one big one. We had some trouble keeping her temperature down through the op, there was a lot of infection in there. We've got her on some pretty potent antibiotics to prevent any post op infection. That's the biggest risk right now. She's in the recovery room, after that I want to keep her monitored in ICU for a couple of hours. Don't worry, no reason other than I'm paranoid when it comes to Kate or any loved ones" smiled Saxon.

"So… she's alright?" asked Tegan.

"She's going to be just fine after a bit of R&R. We'll watch her carefully for any signs of complications or infection. But I'm willing to go out on a limb here and say she's going to be out of here in two or three days. Kate's always been an overachiever" smiled Sax.

Tegan and Sara both laughed.

"Sorry, we haven't formally met although I've heard aaaall about you. I'm Saxon Sinclair"

"Sara Quin, this is my sister Tegan. We've heard all about you too"

"We've met… a million years ago" said Sax and looked at Tegan.

Tegan felt her face flush and just smiled. Truth was that Saxon and Tegan shared a couple of weeks of incredible passion many, many years ago, before she met Lindsey. All they did was have sex and drink wine naked every night after Sax's shift ended for days on end. It was casual and it was gooood. The budding relationship was mutually ended as both of them couldn't fathom a long distance relationship and they weren't really each other's type in anyway. Tegan didn't like how emotionally closed off Sax was at the time. She silently hoped that had changed. Truth be told, Tegan was quite fucked up herself during that time. Kate did tell her that Sax apparently met the love of her life, some film producer and that she was happier than Kate had ever seen her. Sax did seem to have a new kind of tenderness to her. Tegan did like her a lot and even after the 'breakup' they had a few very civil social interactions without any awkwardness.

"Nice to see you again" said Tegan and smiled.

"Always" smiled Sax. "How did Kate's arm get in a cast?" she asked.

"She… fell onto it. She was on her knees next to a guy having a heart attack when the plane landed" said Sara.

"Ah… Kate being the hero again" said Sax.

"We brought her straight here after landing. She's got a broken scaphoid and a badly sprained wrist" said Sara.

"Hang on… didn't you guys land, what… yesterday?" asked Saxon frowning.

"Well technically not yesterday any more, it's 3 in the morning" said Sara.

"Did she have symptoms then?" asked Sax.

"She was very nauseous and tired but she had hardly had any sleep for like 3 days" said Sara.

"We thought it was just that and the shock of having to resuscitate a fellow passenger that shook her up"

"Kate doesn't get shaken up easily… Who was the doctor that attended to her?" asked Sax frowning.

"Dr Cooper" said Sara.

"I see… did she order any tests, I mean apart from x-rays of the hand and wrist?" asked Sax.

"She… um… I wasn't with them all the time but she poked around Kate's belly a bit and she ran some blood tests. She said they were close to normal and that Kate should just get some rest because she may be coming down with something" said Sara.

"Did she miss something… tell me Sam didn't fucking miss something" said Tegan suddenly looking furious. Sam had disappointed and pissed her off enough times in her life.

"No, I don't think so Tegan. I'll track down her chart and have a look" said Sax, hoping that she was wrong in her assumption that Sam missed something.

"Did she have other symptoms earlier in the day?" asked Sax.

"Fatigue, nausea, fever was coming and going but she seemed so be over the worst of it when I got home around 5. She slept through most of the day. She was fine except for a low grade fever. She said she checked her heart and lungs, she palpated her abdomen, she assured me that everything was fine! Then… the shit just hit the fan. She woke up completely drenched and curling with pain" said Sara.

"She probably did check and found nothing to be too worried about. This sounds like a very Atypical presentation of appendicitis. If Kate suspected it for one minute she would have come in, trust me, she knows it can be serious. It's not always that easy to diagnose. Take it easy on her" said Sax patting Sara's shoulder.

"I will… Can I see her now?" asked Sara.

"Sure, she's still out of it though. Could take a while for the anesthesia to wear off. I'll take you to her in the recovery room" said Saxon kindly.

Saxon led the girls to the recovery room. "I have to follow up on another patient. I'll check on her soon. Ask one of the staff if you need anything" she smiled and left.

Sara took a deep breath and walked up to her beloved Kate looking pale and fragile in the hospital bed.

A/N: Phew, that was nerve wrecking. Poor Kate, Glad she seems to be okay now. Remember to review. You're not going to believe it but there's ANOTHER chapter coming tonight, but only if you remember to review ;)

P.S. Saxon Sinclair is a character from one of the Radclyffe books "Passion's bright fury" - it's a goooood one, read it if you get a chance. No copyright infringement intended or anything, this is just fanfiction after all.