Danse and Rhys cleared off the intel room table to serve as their surgery table while Nora and Haylen pulled out all the supplies they might possibly need.
"Have you been taught how to do the emergency procedure for a pneumothorax?"
"In theory, yes. But I've been fortunate in that I've never had to do one."
"OK." she said. "We're going to be working on his left side. That's both good and bad. The good part is, it's generally the smaller of our lungs because it has to leave room for the heart, so at least it's the larger of the two lungs taking up slack. The bad news is..."
"That's where his heart is."
Nora nodded.
"This medical kit is primitive. Hell, it was primitive 200 years ago. Simple still works, though. When you open that kit, you'll find a large bore needle and catheter in there, still sealed."
"Did you just say large bore? don't like the sound of that."
"You'll be fine, Deacon." Nora replied as she looked around to see Rhys helping Deacon into the room. "And you are getting at least one stimpak and a med-x before we start, and another dose of each once we're finished, so you may not actually care that much in the moment."
Haylen spread a blanket over the table and motioned for Rhys to guide Deacon to it.
"Come on, pal." he said. "Hop up here and we'll let these ladies get to work."
"First off, I'm not your pal."
"Fair enough."
"Second, I don't hop anywhere."
"Fine. We'll do it the hard way."
With no more talk, Rhys picked Deacon up and put him on the table. Nora tried to suppress a smirk, because Rhys moved so quickly Deacon didn't even have time to yelp before he found himself firmly in the center of the table. She had to admit even she was surprised by the soldier's raw strength.
"That was DEFINITELY not in the script." Deacon grumped when he finally caught his breath enough to respond. He started to sit up, but Rhys stood there, arms crossed and glaring, looking like a bouncer hoping for a reason to fight, and Deacon relented.
"I'd stay if I were you." Rhys growled. "I'm a latecomer here so I don't give a rat's ass what the outcome is. But Nora seems to think you're worth the rescue effort. That means I'm helping her."
Scribe Haylen rolled her eyes.
"Children, please."
She nodded to Nora as she moved to Deacon's left side. "All right, Blue Eyes. I need you to do something for me."
Deacon smiled and seemed to relax as he looked at Scribe Haylen. "If you just stand there and smile just like that, doll face, I'll do anything you ask. I'm putty in your hands."
"Raise your left arm up and back under your head... give me your best supermodel pose."
"How did you guess my secret identi... SONOFABITCH. WHAT THE HELL, boss?"
Nora laughed as she high-fived Haylen, and the look Deacon gave Nora told her he knew he'd been had.
"I'm sorry, baby. But I knew I'd have to catch you while you were distracted. You're still being a stubborn ass."
"That comes natural, darlin'…I've never claimed to be anything else. Whoa, that stuff...wow, it works fast."
Nora rested her hand alongside his face and stroked his cheek with her thumb.
"It does. I need you to relax as much as possible, OK? We really can't sedate you much, and I can't make it not hurt, but I promise we'll get it over with as quickly as possible. I'm going to keep talking to you, so just focus on my voice."
Deacon nodded to her, but then jumped as Haylen tore open an antimicrobial swab and started cleaning his side. His arm came down to his side quickly, and Rhys moved to the head of the table and pulled both of his arms up, holding them fast.
"Wait. Please wait...give me...give me a minute. Please..."
"Shhhh. It's all going to be over soon. I'm here. I'm right here. We need to work fast before the med-x starts to wear off. See, you didn't even feel the stimpak that Haylen gave you. Good stuff, right?"
Deacon said nothing, his only response to close his eyes and try to take a deep breath. Nora knew he was struggling to keep the panic at bay. She only hoped Rhys was strong enough to keep Deacon's arms immobile. Adrenaline could be a helluva thing, even in a drugged patient. Nora kept stroking his cheek and talking to him softly, but when he leaned his face into her hand, she could feel his pulse pounding where her fingers rested under his ear.
"Deacon, I'm here. I'm here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Don't fight the chems." she urged. "You can let go, just for a little while."