Chapter 83

Trowa made his way to Kiri's room. Sally had told him he was allowed to visit as long as he promised not to do anything to overstress his shoulder. Since sitting in Kiri's room talking to whoever was on guard duty didn't require him to use his arm, Trowa planned to spend a good majority of his time there.

He knocked on Kiri's door and Quatre opened it.

"How is she, Quatre?" Trowa asked as he entered the quiet hospital room.

Kiri was asleep, the soft beeping of machines providing background noise.

"Sally says that she's hanging in there," Quatre said as he shut the door behind Trowa. "She's been out since the ambulance. Sally started stitching up her foot on the way in because it looked so bad. She woke up part-way through so Sally had to put her out."

"So when is she supposed to wake up?" Trowa asked with a frown.

"I'm not sure. Sally didn't say," Quatre said with a matching frown. "Now that you mention it, maybe I ought to go ask."

Quatre's cell phone chirruped with a text and he looked at it. "Oh, bother."

"What is it?"

Quatre sighed. "Winner Corp problems. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to deal with this personally."

"I can sit here with Kiri while you take care of it."

"Are you sure?"

"It isn't like I'm doing anything else."

"You promise not to overdo it with your shoulder? I don't want Sally and Heero yelling at me for letting you hurt yourself. Or Cathy, for that matter."

Trowa grinned. "I promise. I'll sit here and be a good boy."

"Well…" Quatre hesitated as he re-read the text. "Okay. I'll try to hurry but I don't know how long this will take to sort out."

"Take your time."

Quatre left and Trowa leaned over Kiri, placing a soft kiss on her forehead before settling into the chair with the television remote. It was just like watching her before, without the night terrors.

After about an hour, Kiri shifted on the bed and Trowa immediately turned off the television. He watched her closely, hoping she was about to wake up.

Kiri's eyes opened a little bit, not enough to actually see what was going on around her, but enough to let Trowa know that she was awake. Her eyes suddenly scrunched shut with a groan. Trowa figured the bright lights in the room were hurting her eyes. He went into the bathroom, rinsed a clean washcloth in cold water and wrung it out, careful of his shoulder so that Sally wouldn't have a reason to send him back to his room. He went back in and put the cloth over Kiri's eyes.

"Thank you," Kiri murmured softly before drifting back to sleep.

Trowa gently kissed Kiri on the forehead. "Now, you are safe. Sleep well, Kiri."

He settled into the chair next to Kiri's bed and turned on the television. His arm kept him from doing much but he could watch Kiri without any issues. A soft knock on the door made Trowa get up.

"Good afternoon, Sally," he said as he stepped aside for the doctor to come in.

"Good afternoon yourself," she answered. "Any changes?"

"She woke up for a second but I think the lights were bothering her so I took care of it. She fell asleep again."

Sally took the now dry washcloth off of Kiri's face and felt for her temperature. She frowned and read the various machines.

"Trowa, I'll be right back."

Trowa frowned as Sally dashed out the door. He looked over the machines, unsure of what Sally saw that was upsetting her.

Sally came back in with barely a knock. She had a syringe.

"What's wrong?"

"I need a blood sample to be sure," Sally said. "These numbers don't look right to me and she feels warm."

"What do you suspect?"

"I hope I'm wrong," Sally said as she finished getting Kiri's blood. "She's a prime candidate for sepsis and she has some of the symptoms."

"Blood poisoning? Because of her foot?"

"Most likely. I'll be back in a bit to let you know either way."

Trowa nodded.

Sally rushed the blood test. If sepsis was setting in she would have to take measures immediately. She gathered what she would need just in case the test came back positive. Kiri was in a sensitive position without adding blood poisoning into the mix. She was still underweight, though not as emaciated as when she was first found and Sally had no idea what her immune system was like at the moment.

"Doctor Po?"

Sally looked up as Hannah came through her office door. "Yes, Hannah?"

"I've got the results of that blood test for you," Hannah said as she held out a clipboard.

Sally grabbed it and scanned it as quickly as she could. She swore under her breath. "Thank you, Hannah. Can you assist me, please?"

Hannah nodded and followed Sally.

Sally knocked on Kiri's door and Trowa opened it.

"This isn't good, Trowa," Sally said as she led Hannah inside. "Hannah, please get her hooked up to the saline drip."

Hannah got Kiri hooked up while Sally administered an antibiotic.

"If we can nip this early it'll be better for her," Sally told Trowa, who was watching the proceedings, an uncertain look on his face.

"When will we know if it's working?" Trowa asked as Sally put the syringe away.

"I'll check her levels again in a few hours," Sally promised. "Thank you, Hannah, you can go now."

Hannah let herself out of the room.

"Thank you, Sally. Is there anything I should watch for?"

"Well, she might have chills and if her blood pressure drops I'll need to be alerted immediately."

Trowa nodded.

One of the machines started beeping, making them both jump. Sally looked at it and swore. She dashed out the door, leaving Trowa to wonder what happened. He looked closer at Kiri and realized that she was having trouble breathing.

"Kiri hang on, Sally's coming," Trowa said, trying to keep his own panic at bay.

Sally burst through the door and quickly injected Kiri with something.

"What is that?" Trowa asked.

"Epinephrine," Sally told him. "Come on, Kiri, breathe honey." She rubbed the injection site to help the medicine disperse faster.

Kiri took a few gasping breaths before her breathing started to even out as the medicine took effect.

"Oh, thank goodness," Sally muttered. "I didn't know she was allergic to meropenem. We'll have to do something else for her."

"Will she be okay?"

"We'll have to take a different route to deal with the sepsis but she should be fine. We've caught it early enough, I think. I've got to go get a few things so I'll be right back. Let me know if anything changes, okay?"

Trowa nodded and pulled the chair closer so he could watch Kiri.

Sally came back in with some different medications.

"No changes, Sally," Trowa told her.

Sally nodded and gave Kiri another shot. "If she's allergic to this I've got another backup," she told Trowa as she stepped back. "Now we wait just to be sure."

Trowa offered Sally the chair and went out to retrieve another one. Sally was going to object and insist that Trowa rest while she found a chair, but she realized that if Kiri had a reaction, it would be better for her to be in the room rather than out hunting down a chair. Trowa didn't take long and Sally watched him as he brought the chair in with his good arm, careful not to jostle the bad one.

They both waited in silence to see if Kiri reacted to the new medicine. After twenty minutes Sally stood up.

"I think if she was going to have a bad reaction it would have manifested by now. But if something else happens, page me immediately."

Trowa spent the next two days hovering around Kiri's room, annoying everyone who was on guard duty and the hospital staff alike.

"Why isn't she awake yet?" Trowa demanded of Sally when she came in to check on Kiri the third day.

"Because she isn't," Sally told him, exasperated. "Look, I told you that it would take her a few days. She's in better condition than when you first brought her in but she is still underweight and her immune system is still slow. But I'm positive that she will be just fine. Be patient and rest that shoulder or I'll put you on bed rest. Got it?"

Trowa blinked in surprise. Sally didn't usually sound so serious when she threatened him with bed rest. He nodded and sat in the chair by Kiri's bed.

Sally finished checking Kiri's machines and then turned back to Trowa. "She'll be fine, Trowa. Trust me, okay?"

"Okay."

"I might as well check your shoulder since you're here," Sally said.

Trowa submitted to Sally's poking and prodding.

"You need to rest your shoulder," Sally told him with a frown. "If you don't, you could cause permanent damage."

Trowa rolled his eyes. "I'm not doing anything but sitting with Kiri."

"And getting upset about her situation," Sally pointed out. "You aren't resting. You aren't relaxing. You are constantly pacing because the stress is getting to you whether you want to admit it or not. Being up and about as much as you are right now is putting a lot of stress on your shoulder. You need to spend more time with your arm supported so the muscles and tendons can heal."

Trowa grunted.

"I mean it, Trowa. I will be telling the others to force you to rest since you won't listen to me."

Trowa scowled as the door closed behind Sally. He wasn't a child and didn't need to be treated like one. He looked at Kiri and his expression softened. There would be plenty of time to rest once Kiri was better.

Sally sighed as she checked Kiri's vitals again. She couldn't understand why it was taking Kiri so long to wake up. The only reason she could come up with was that Kiri's mind had shut her body down as a defense mechanism.

Sally put the clipboard away and turned to Heero, who was on duty.

"I really don't know when she'll come out of it. She really ought to be waking up any time now. I've done everything I can and it's up to her now."

Heero frowned, but nodded his understanding. "You're sure she'll wake up? I mean…she's not going to suddenly…go the other way, is she?"

Sally shook her head. "I'm certain she'll pull through. I just wish I could get Trowa to believe me. He needs to rest more."

"He'll believe it when she wakes up," Heero said. "But I will talk to him about resting. Maybe he'll listen without forcing me to make it an order."

A whimper from the bed caught their attention. Kiri's eyes were still closed as she shifted, obviously trying to get comfortable. She gasped and let out a cry of pain.

"Kiri…Kiri look at me."

Kiri whimpered in response.

"Kiri, look at me. Open your eyes and look at me."

Kiri's face scrunched up again and she looked like she was in pain. Sally wanted to get Kiri to wake up again. If she could get her to wake up now it might prompt her body to wake up more regularly.

Kiri moaned.

"Open your eyes, Kiri."

It looked like it took a good deal of effort but Kiri's eyes finally opened. Sally tried not to look too concerned as she peered down at her patient.

"Kiri? Can you talk to me?"

"I hurt," Kiri managed.

Sally tried not to let her worry show. She didn't want to risk upsetting Kiri. "Okay. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being no pain and 10 being the worse pain you've ever been in, where would you say you're at?"

"Twelve," Kiri whimpered as her tears started to flow.

"Okay, honey. I'll adjust this painkiller for you," Sally said as she adjusted the machine.

Heero couldn't help but feel bad for Kiri. Considering what she'd been through and how badly injured she was when they first found her, he couldn't imagine how much pain a rating of twelve must be for her. He watched in silence as Kiri closed her eyes.

Sally noticed as well and started talking to Kiri to try and keep her awake. She wanted Kiri's body to get used to being awake.

"Kiri, I know you're tired but I need you to stay with me." Sally wiped Kiri's tears from her cheeks. "Kiri? KIRI!"

Sally tried to keep her panic under control as Kiri succumbed to unconsciousness yet again. She checked Kiri's machines and made more notes on the clipboard before sighing again and turning to Heero.

"I know this looks bad but I really think it's a good sign. She might not be as deeply asleep as she was before. Maybe you guys could make some noise while you're watching her. Turn on the television, have conversations, maybe play poker."

Heero frowned, confused. "But isn't sleep good for her? Shouldn't we let her body rest? She was still in a lot of pain and being awake will make her feel that pain."

"At night, I fully support letting her sleep. But making noise during the day will bring some normalcy back to her routine. And I have some painkillers we can administer if the pain doesn't abate. I really think that waking up is more important. If she wakes up and her pain isn't as bad then we can expect her to wake up more regularly because it's proof her condition is improving. If she can't wake up or her pain is at the same level or worse then we'll have to start really worrying and take some more drastic measures."

"Ok. I'll pass the information along. I really hope you're right, Sally. If she doesn't start showing more signs of improvement, I'm afraid Trowa is going to become more difficult to handle."