He was awoken multiple times in the night, Simen coming in to suction out Martin's breathing tube and to check on the bags of medication and fluid. Alarms went off a few times but Simen assured him in a whispered tone they were nothing to worry about, and Douglas drifted back to sleep.
He got up early around six when a much louder alarm went off down the hall. It was quickly silenced, but Douglas was too awake to return to his slumber.
Simen came in when he saw Douglas was up.
"Sleep alright?" he asked.
"I've had worse," he said truthfully.
Simen nodded. "There are a lot of disruptions, I know. But Martin is doing fine. His x-rays from last night came back and they look a tiny bit better than the ones from the morning. We'll get another set soon to compare. But his fever is down a bit, which is good."
Douglas stretched before replying. "Yes, I suppose it is."
"It means the antibiotics are having some effect, which is the first step to recovery."
Douglas yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Is there anything Martin would like for breakfast?" Simen asked. Douglas smirked at him and took note of the twinkle in his eye. Another kindred spirit.
"As long as there's coffee, Martin won't care."
Simen grinned and headed out to put in the breakfast request.
Douglas took that opportunity to give Martin's hand a pat and tell him he'd be right back.
A quick trip to the toilet, which included splashing water on his face to try and wake himself up, or at least help him feel more human, and he returned to find Martin stirring slightly, just as he had the day before.
Douglas lowered the railing on the side of the bed nearest him so he could reach Martin's hand without having to contort his body.
He fired off a quick text to Carolyn, telling her that the night was uneventful and Martin was doing marginally better. As an after thought, he requested she bring him his phone charger and the book he'd kept in his flight bag since he started at MJN and still hadn't read.
He may as well keep himself busy.
Breakfast arrived at seven, and Martin continued to stir occasionally, although did not wake.
The breakfast turned out to be better than the dinner, and Douglas ate the toast and eggs thankfully, even trying the porridge before determining it beyond help.
The coffee, while not having been made by Arthur, was still rather good, and Douglas relished the buzz of caffeine as it hit his body.
Rounds were to be at nine, and then Douglas would meet the doctor in charge of Martin's care. Simen told him that the man was brilliant, but didn't speak any English. He offered to stay around for then, but Douglas declined, knowing that Irene would be able to translate for him.