Chapter 278

Kate remained critical for the rest of the day. Her infection count wouldn't drop and she had a raging fever. Her blood pressure was down the tubes and her heart was beating way too fast as it desperately struggled to maintain adequate circulation. She was still hanging on though.

Early evening Sax was examining Sara and Tegan. They've been asleep most of the day with only brief lucid moments after their initial awake period that morning.

"Sara's holding up fine. Her vitals are stable. I'm seeing a lot of improvement. I've also examined Tegan and well… I'm worried. It looks as if something is going on with her lungs. Her sats are down and I'm hearing rails. I've ordered a stat chest X-ray"

"What's wrong with her" asked Lindsey quickly.

"I suspect that Tegan may be developing pneumonia. This isn't a surprise. After the hypothermia… in fact we almost… expected it"

"Oh god… Her lungs are fucked as it is… Last time she had pneumonia she almost died!" said Lindsey now in full on tears.

"Lindsey, it's not the same. We caught this very early. There's a very good chance that we will be able to manage this"

"Dammit…. What next, she's been through enough" Sonia cried.

"I know, I know… we're going to start treating her with antibiotics and physical therapy for the lungs" said Dr Smith.

-0-

Tegan deteriorated a bit each hour but she was still okay. Lindsey felt as if she was going to have a nervous breakdown. She was scared, angry and tired. She sat in her usual spot next to Tegan's bed holding her hand, staring into space.

"Hey gorgeous" Tegan said softly.

"Hi, you're awake" said Lindsey and kissed Tegan's warm forehead.

"How's Kate?" Tegan asked.

"She's stable sweetie. She's holding on"

"Good… good" Tegan mumbled and closed her eyes.

"How are you feeling Boo?"

"Ugh… weak… sore" grunted Tegan.

Lindsey didn't know if she should tell Tegan about her pneumonia.

"Feel a bit… out of breath" said Tegan.

"Sweetie… Um… you have pneumonia and" said Lindsey softly before being cut off.

"I have what?" said Tegan softly, the last bit of colour in her face drained.

"They're managing it aggressively. It's okay… you're going to be okay, they got it early"

"Oh god… no… no… not again… please" said Tegan becoming slightly hysterical. Her heart rate was suddenly through the roof. Sax came barging into the room.

"Tegan? What's going on?" she said listening to Tegan's chest.

"Please help me… Sax please… I can't get ARDS again" Tegan wheezed.

"It's okay… we're managing this Tegan. Just rest now" said Sax and put a nebuliser mask on Tegan. Tegan grimaced in pain.

"Tegan this is a morphine pump. You can press the button when you need pain relief okay?"

"I don't want drugs… no drugs" Tegan mumbled.

"Tegan you need pain relief, this machine won't allow you too much it's got a built in dosage regulator. We'll make sure you don't get dependant on it. You need the pain relief to control your heart rate and blood pressure" said Sax.

Tegan whimpered. "I don't know… I don't want to… go through that again"

"You won't… I've got you. It's okay" said Sax squeezing Tegan's hand.

"It does hurt like a mother fucker" Tegan mumbled.

"It's okay… use it" said Sax patting Tegan's shoulder.

"I'm so scared Linds" Tegan whispered.

"I know honey, don't be scared. They're taking good care of you"

Tegan pressed the button and floated away.

-0-

"Sax just talk to me" said Jude where they sat on a bench in the sun. It was a chilly but windless day in Denver.

Sax threw her head back and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"What do you want me to say Jude? I don't have anything to say…" Sax huffed.

"Babe… these are your friends… Kate's like a sister to you" said Jude putting her hand on Sax's back when she leaned forward.

"I'm sorry, I have the headache from hell" said Sax putting her palms over her light sensitive eyes.

"It's okay… you're doing everything you can for her"

"I've never hated my job… but I hate it right now. I have to trach Kate today. I have to cut a hole into my friend's throat. She's completely ventilator dependant. The diaphragm injury is not improving. She's going to need the vent longer than I thought"

"I'm sorry" said Jude rubbing Sax's thigh.

"Tegan's had a setback. Fuck… I just can't seem to keep all of them stable at the same time. And I hate that I don't have the people I trust with me" said Sax frustrated.

"Hey, look at me" said Jude turning Sax's chin towards her.

"You are so talented, so dedicated. You're doing your best. They're in the best hands possible, I have no doubt"

"Thanks for being here" said Sax smiling sadly.

"I love you Saxon Sinclair"

"Love you too" said Sax and got up.

"I need to go check on them"

-0-

Erin stood outside the ICU and took a deep breath to compose herself. A second later Alex came out and took her in his arms.

"You're here. I love you" he said as tears just started spilling and wouldn't stop.

"Honey what's wrong… are they okay? Please tell me they're okay" said Erin now also in tears.

"They're hanging in there. Kate's stable but critical. Tegan's deteriorated but she's still okay from what I can make out"

"Fuck this… Why… why them?" Erin cried.

"It's okay… they're going to be okay" Alex kept repeating over and over.

"You want to see them? Kate's sedation is being lessened. They think she may wake up sometime this afternoon. Tegan and Sara are both kind of in and out of it all the time. Sometimes they're lucid, sometimes not.

Alex led Erin to Sara and Tegan's room. "They look terrible E. Just want to give you a heads up"

Erin nodded and scrubbed her hands before putting on an ICU gown. A nurse came out of the room. "Tegan's waking up" she smiled.

Erin walked into the room and stood next to her best friend's bed. She tried her best to keep her emotions inside. She hugged Lindsey and Sonia hello.

Tegan's eyes opened slowly. She blinked a few times.

"Hi Tegan" said Erin smiling through tears, she softly touched Tegan's face.

"Erin?" Tegan mumbled.

"Yeah, it's Erin. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay… I think" said Tegan softly. Erin squeezed her hand gently.

"You're going to okay… you just keep fighting alright. You're so strong, you're going to be fine Tegan"

"I love you E"

"I love you too Tegan. Get better now okay. You're going to be fine"

Tegan nodded weakly. "Where are… the kids?" she asked looking tired and weak.

"They're with the nannies in the hotel across the road. They're all absolutely fine Tegan. They miss you though so get better soon"

"Can I see them? I want to see them."

"Sweetie they won't allow kids in the ICU. If you keep getting better they could move you out for a few minutes to see them but not right now okay" said Lindsey.

"You should go Linds… go see the kids"

"I'll go later honey. I just want to make sure you're okay"

"Go now… they must be scared… and they don't know where we are… they're not used to being away from us for so long" said Tegan out of breath.

"Okay Boo, just relax now"

"Go Linds… and get some sleep… you look exhausted… please… for me"

"Okay Tegan. I promise somebody will be here with you all the time"

"I know" Tegan smiled weakly.

"You and me babe" said Lindsey and kissed Tegan's cheek.

"Me and you" Tegan whispered.

Lindsey didn't move. "Go… I'm okay" Tegan whispered.

Lindsey kissed Tegan gently on the forehead "Okay, I'm going. I love you so much"

"Thanks for taking care of the kids" said Tegan after Lindsey left.

"Of course Tee… I love them like my own. Don't you worry about a thing okay, we'll take good care of them"

"They okay?"

"They ask for you. They miss you but they're fine. Most of the time they're having a ball playing with the cousins"

"I just want this to be over… for all of us" said Tegan and turned away when she felt wetness on her cheeks.

"You're all going to get through this, you are" said Erin rubbing Tegan's arm.

Erin sat holding Tegan's hand until she was asleep again.