CHAPTER SEVEN: CURE

Justin wept for some time. When he finally could bring himself to speak, he said very calmly, "If anything happens to her, I don't think I can go on. I depend on Elizabeth for too much. If she dies … I won't be able to lead you any more."

"Justin," Ian whispered, "may I go see her?"

"It won't do any good," Barnes protested softly. "I've already done everything for her that can be done. All we can do now is wait and see what happens."

Justin waved off Barnes' remark. "If you want to see her, Ian, you have my permission."

"Thank you." Ian gave his grieving leader a short bow and left the room. After he was gone, Barnes spoke up.

"There was no need for that, Justin. Ian's a very good doctor, but he'll be as powerless as I am."

"Isn't there any hope at all?" Justin cried, rising from his chair and pacing the floor.

"Yes, there is hope," Barnes said, "but I'm afraid that's all there is. You know I've never been able to save anyone with this disease. We can hope and pray that Elizabeth recovers, but if she does, it won't be because of anything I did." The doctor came from behind his desk and embraced Justin. "I feel so sorry for you. I really do." Barnes stood back. "But even if she dies, you can't step down. You'll still have to be our president."

Justin threw up his arms. "How can I?"

"Because you're the only leader we've got."

"Arthur would make a good president."

Barnes shook his head. "Arthur's a great architect, but he's no leader. He could never handle all the problems we face each year."

"What about Brutus?"

"Brutus is a moron," Barnes said scornfully. "He would settle every dispute with a duel to the death." Barnes took Justin's forepaws in his own. "Your leadership is responsible for all that we've done here, and we still need it to survive. If you quit now, we'll enter a dark age that we may never come out of."

"You're right, of course. But … " Justin closed his eyes. "I just don't know. It will be a hard time for me."

"I know it will." Barnes hugged Justin. "Whatever happens, we'll be behind you."

There was a knock on the door, and Ian entered. He carried the jug of water that Barnes had left by Elizabeth's bed for her to drink from. "I've examined her," said Ian, "and I'm not sure, but I think I may be able to help her."

Justin couldn't believe his ears. "Can you? Really?"

"Maybe."

"How?" asked Barnes.

"First off, she must not have anything to drink."

"Are you mad?" Barnes shouted. "She's burning up with fever! She must have fluids."

"She may have a fever," Ian stated confidently, "but her kidneys have also stopped working. If she keeps drinking, she'll literally drown from the inside out." Ian turned to Justin. "You should be by her side. The next few hours will be very rough for her. She'll beg for water, but she must not have a drop. When she starts going to the bathroom again, she can have small amounts, but nothing before then. In the meantime, I'd like to take a sample of her blood. I wanted to ask you before I took it."

"Will it help?" Justin asked.

"If I can study her blood, I might be able to figure out what exactly is causing the disease. And if I can learn that, maybe I can cure her."

Justin looked to Barnes for confirmation; the doctor shrugged. "He's lost me, Justin. I don't know where Ian learned his medicine, because I sure didn't teach him any of this."

Justin nodded at Ian. "You have my permission to do whatever you must to save Elizabeth. Just tell me one thing: does she have a chance?"

"Yes," Ian said, "I think she may have a very good chance."

Ian took a little blood from Elizabeth and left Justin with her. Barnes went to Ian's chamber a short time later and found the new doctor peering in a strange device. "What is that?"

"A microscope," Ian replied without looking up.

"Where did you get it?"

"Put it together myself. Hugo had all the parts I needed in the workshops." Ian reached up to the shelf above his work table and brought down a bottle of blue liquid. He added some to the blood sample and put the blood back under the microscope. "A-ha! I thought that was it."

"What is it?" Barnes asked.

"Something very interesting." Ian handed Barnes another bottle, this one of pink liquid. "You were right. It is a stomach virus. But it also produces substances that get into the blood and make the kidneys stop working. Give some of this to Elizabeth. It should get her kidneys working again."

Barnes eyed the pink bottle. "Will this cure her?"

"No," Ian said, "but I think I know what will. After you take that to Elizabeth, see if you can find Brutus, and tell him to come here."

"Do I look like a messenger service?" Barnes asked angrily.

"No, not really, but you'll have to do."

Barnes left to do Ian's bidding. Several minutes later Brutus was at the door. "You wanted to see me, Ian?"

"Yes, I did." Ian gave Brutus a crude drawing of a plant. "Have you ever seen any of this growing in the valley?"

Brutus studied Ian's drawing a moment. "Is it red on the bottoms of the leaves?"

"That's it. Can you get me some?"

"Sure," Brutus nodded. "Is this by any chance for Justin's wife?"

"Yes, it is," said Ian.

"Then you'll have it within the hour." Brutus hurried away. Ian sat back to wait for him.

Brutus returned after scarcely a half-hour, dragging behind him three leaves that were as big as he was. "I hope these're what you wanted."

"Fine, fine." Ian patted Brutus on the back. "You've done well."

"Is it enough?"

"More than enough, I would say." Brutus left, and Ian set about making Elizabeth's medicine. He tore a piece off one leaf, mashed it up in a bowl, and added some of it to another bowl of steaming water. Putting the hot bowl on a tray so he could carry it, Ian went to Justin and Elizabeth's chamber.

Justin had not been away from his wife's side once all afternoon, and was overjoyed to see Ian. "Is it true?" he asked. "Have you found a cure?"

"I think so." Ian set the tray on the floor by the bed. "After that cools a bit, give it to her. And make sure she drinks it all."

"Thank you," Justin said to him. "Thank you."

"Thank me when she's better. Is Barnes around?"

"He hasn't been by in awhile."

"Oh." Ian saw that Elizabeth was asleep. "No need to rouse her. Let her wake up on her own, and then give her the medicine. I'll be by later tonight to see how she's doing." He left without waiting for Justin to thank him again.

In the wee hours of the next morning Barnes came by and checked Elizabeth's temperature. His eyes widened as he read the thermometer. "Justin, her fever's almost gone." He shook his head in wonder. "Ian's actually done it. He's found a cure for Simmons' Disease."

Justin moved from the bedside for the first time since the previous afternoon. "I'm going to go tell Ian of this," he said to Barnes. "He said he was going to come back, but he never did."

"He's probably asleep."

"Well, I'm going to go check. If he is awake, I want to talk to him." Justin went out the door and down the corridor to Ian's room. He found the door ajar and the lights on within, so he entered.

Ian was nestled in a cushioned armchair, gazing at the wall of his chamber. He looked up at Justin's arrival. "How's Elizabeth?" Ian sounded tired.

"She's recovering."

"I knew she would."

"Ian, have you gotten any sleep at all tonight?"

"I haven't got enough time left to waste it all sleeping." This was the first time Justin had heard Ian comment openly on his problem of advanced aging. He noticed a half-empty bottle of wine on the floor beside Ian's chair.

"Ian, I cannot express deeply enough my gratitude to you for what you did today. Not only did you save my wife's life, but you saved me as well." Justin took away the bottle. "I am also very sorry for you. Your plight truly grieves me, and if you ever want to talk to me about anything, come to me anytime you feel like it. I'll always be available for you."

Ian nodded his appreciation, but remained silent.

(A/N: How did Ian so quickly diagnose Elizabeth's kidney failure? How did he get to her room and back in such a short time? Why would Brutus of all rats be the one to consult about medicinal herbs? Wouldn't the colony already have a stock of such herbs, and know their various uses? And why would these super-intelligent rats not have built microscopes of their own long before Ian came along? Well, I'm no super-intelligent rat myself, or at least I wasn't back when I wrote this, so I suppose I must be forgiven such literary shortcomings. Although it is worth noting that the entire non-functioning kidney deal was lifted from an old episode of "M*A*S*H*", so there is that.)