Maggie was worried. Her experience with any poison was limited but she really didn't know much about Thallium at all. But, what she did know about poisons in general was strictly based on how much the victims ingested. Large quantities almost always brought on a quick reaction. Smaller quantities would take longer so she wasn't completely convinced that Face or Carla wasn't exposed to the poison. It could be they're reaction time would take longer if they had been given a small amount.
Face was nervously drumming his fingers against the arm rest of the car while he watched DC go by on their way to the hospital.
"It had to be Trigorin," Carla said so softly from the seat across from him that Face had to strain to hear her.
"Yeah," he replied absently. "But, I've got plans for him once we get home we'll talk about it."
"Good," Carla said before she suddenly slumped in her seat while clutching her stomach.
"Maggie!" Face yelled as he lurched forward to catch his sister before she fell onto the floor of the car.
"Oh, God," Maggie said pushing Carla back on to the seat. Her instincts immediately took over as she checked Carla's pulse and respiration. "She's going into shock!" Maggie said looking up at Hannibal after she felt how cold and clammy Carla had become. "How much longer to the hospital?"
"I'll ask the driver," Face said lowering the privacy window. "How much longer until we arrive?"
"About ten minutes, sir," the driver said as Maggie shook her head.
"We've got an emergency back here," Face barked. "Step on it!"
"Yes, sir!" The driver replied as they felt the car suddenly speed up.
Face pulled off his coat and handed it to Maggie who wrapped it around Carla's torso as Hannibal elevated her feet. "Breathing is shallow," Maggie said worriedly. "Pulse is rapid, around one twenty!"
"Is it the poison?" Face asked as Maggie met his eyes.
"It has to be," she said gently. "Nothing else would cause this type of reaction. How are you feeling?"
"You mean, aside from being scared out of my skull?" Face replied. "Just worried."
"I understand," Maggie said looking down at Carla. "I am to."
As soon as the car stopped in front of the hospital, a few orderlies along with a gurney were waiting for them.
Face got out of the way as Hannibal and Maggie did their best to help get Carla out of the limo. In moments, she was whisked away to a triage room and he was put into the one next to it.
"I saw a lot of military police roaming around out there," Hannibal said joining Face. "I bet this is where they brought the rest of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff that were poisoned."
"Probably," Face said thoughtfully as he took a seat on the bed. "It's seems to cater to the different branches of the military and the President."
Hannibal nodded as Maggie rushed into the room followed by a few people in white coats. "Carla's stable at the moment and we're giving her a dose of radioactive charcoal," she said indicating the man next to her. "This is Doctor Porter, he's in charge of this case."
"I understand you were with the President last night and the Joint Chiefs Of Staff?" Porter asked as Face nodded.
"Yeah," he said looking at the doctor questionably. "But, I feel fine."
"Unfortunately," Porter said looking over his notes. "I doubt that will continue to be the case. Everyone there was exposed including the President, I've been told."
Face's head began to swim as Porter turned to Maggie and said. "I'll need blood and urine samples and once he's been admitted we'll start him on the same preventative treatment as Miss Stockwell."
Hannibal was the first to notice the unnatural palor of Face's skin before he started to slump forward much like Carla had done in the car. "Face," Maggie said as she and Hannibal reached him at the same time.
Porter opened the door and started yelling orders at the nursing staff who began to fill the room as Maggie grabbed Hannibal's arm.
"John," Maggie said leading him out into the hallway. "You better call the house and let Gloria and Stockwell know what's going on."
"Yeah," Hannibal said looking behind her as the nurses and Doctor Porter worked on Face. "He's going to be alright, ain't he MO?"
"I hope so, John," Maggie said softly before closing the door and blocking his view of the chaotic scene taking place in the room.
Helpless. That's how Hannibal felt each time one of his men were sick or wounded and he hated that feeling the most. By now, BA had shown up with Ellen and Gloria much to Hannibal's protests for her to stay away, but she was adamant about being there for Templeton. They had been escorted to a private waiting room and as Hannibal looked around at the sparsely furnished room, he decided that, he'd spent way to much time in hospital waiting rooms lately.
"Hey, guys," Maggie said upon entering the room. "I've got some good news!"
"I think we can all use some good news," Hannibal said looking over at the worried expressions from Gloria and Ellen. "So, let's hear it?"
"Face and Carla are both stable at the moment and yes, they were both given a manageable amount of Thallium," Maggie said as though she was reciting a carefully scripted speech. "The antidote is a multi-dose mixture of activated charcoal and Prussian Blue along with other supportive measures."
"Can I See Templeton?" Gloria asked first as Maggie nodded.
"He hasn't come around yet but I expect he will soon since we started treatment. It's already reversing the affects of the poison."
"How's the other people?" Hannibal asked curiously as Maggie suddenly looked distressed.
"The vice chairmen of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff died a few hours ago and two others are in critical condition," Maggie replied quietly. "The President is being treated at home and I've been told that he should pull though."
"Sounds like Faceman and Carla were lucky," BA said as Maggie nodded in agreement.
"Very lucky," Maggie said taking Gloria's hand. "C'mon, I'll take you to his room in the ICU."
Where am I, Face thought as he floated on a wave toward consciousness. The last thing he remembered was Carla collapsing in the limo and he was deathly afraid the same thing was going to happen to him but he felt fine. Or did he? Internally taking stock, the first thing he realized was that he couldn't quite feel his body which immediately sent him into panic mode since the last time that happened, he'd been injured and temporarily paralyzed from the waist down.
Gloria stood with her back toward the bed by the window in Face's room watching the rain as it fell on the city. It had been several hours since Maggie had first brought her to his room and he still he had not awakened yet. With a sigh, she returned to her seat next to his bed and took his hand in hers. When his eyes suddenly opened revealing the panic that he was feeling, she got to her feet and bent over him so that he was looking right at her. "Oh, baby," she said gently stroking his face. "What's wrong?"
"Why can't I move?" he asked excitedly which in turn made the alarms on his equipment suddenly go off.
"Hold on and I'll get Maggie," Gloria said quickly leaning down to kiss his cheek.
Face closed his eyes as a wave of vertigo suddenly spun the bed completely around. "Make it stop," he whispered.
"What stop, Face?" Maggie asked softly as she leaned over him.
"Dizzy," he replied without opening his eyes.
"I know," Maggie said soothingly. "I'll have a nurse give you something to help."
"I'm paralyzed?" Face said concerned as the panic in his eyes showed when he opening them to find the doctor gently smiling at him.
"It's temporary," Maggie replied with a grin. "An effect of the poison. You should start to feel things again in a day or two, okay?"
"Okay," Face said closing his eyes again and Maggie could tell by his breathing that he had gone back to sleep.
She indicated with her head that Gloria should follow her out into the hall where Ellen, Hannibal and BA were all waiting for news. "I should have known that when he woke up, he might panic from not being able to move and that's what happened, he thought he was paralyzed again," Maggie said as Ellen gasped sadly. "I told him it's only temporary and that seemed to calm him down for now but I hesitate to leave him alone because the next time he wakes up, he might not remember our conversation and do it all over again."
Hannibal nodded before he looked at BA. "You take the girls home to get some rest and I'll stay with Face tonight," Hannibal said as BA agreed.
"No, I'm going to stay to so I can check on Carla," Maggie said firmly. "I can catch a nap in the writing room later.
"Alright," Hannibal said with a smile as BA, Ellen and Gloria went down the hallway to the elevators.
Hannibal stretched in the chair next to Face's bed later that night before getting up to stretch his legs. A soft moan from the bed brought the colonel back down into his seat as his former Lieutenant started to come around.
"Hey, kid," Hannibal said once he opened his eyes. "Feeling any better?"
"Not really...kinda feeling like...I might be sick," Face said as his face literally turned a palish grey.
"Okay, kid," Hannibal said racing for the door. "Just hold on!"
Within moments, he returned practically dragging Maggie along with him. "Blood and guts, I'm your man!" Hannibal said seriously. "But, this is your domain, Mo."
Maggie snorted as she held Face's head over a basin and the colonel raced back out the door. "Remind me never to have kids with that man," she mumbled as Face collapsed back onto the bed spent from the exertion of vomiting.
"Am I going to die now?" Face asked with as much humor as he could muster.
"Hardly," Maggie said with a grin as she cleaned him up. "I know it feels like you're going to but I assure you, you're not."
*Sorry I don't seem to be able to reply to individual reviews right now but I do appreciate each and everyone of them and when the system returns to normal I will do my best to reply :)