It seemed like hours, but about two minutes later, Aidan regained consciousness. The first things she noticed was that her throat was sore and her lungs hurt when she tried to breathe… but she could breathe.
Opening her eyes, she saw Ralph and Pam looking down at her with the matre'd standing nearby. Ralph was dabbing her face gently with a washcloth and noticed she was looking at the two of them. "She's awake," said Ralph to the matre'd, who nodded and headed toward the main doors. Dylan had gone outside to wait for the ambulance along with the restaurant manager, and were wanting an update on Aidan's condition to tell the paramedics.
"Man, what…" she said, trying to sit up. Realizing the motion was making her nauseous, she just leaned back into a semi-reclining position to ease her breathing.
"Relax Aidan, the paramedics are on their way. You don't need to overexert yourself right now," said Pam, putting a gentle hand on the young woman's shoulder.
Aidan remembering the events and hearing the siren nearing, groaned. "I had an allergic reaction didn't I?" she said, her breath still in fairly rapid, but fuller breaths.
"Yeah Cub, ya were gasping for air and everything," said Tony as he leaned into her view. "Mr. H told me ta get the paramedics and when I came back, you were out like a light. Scared me for a moment, cuz I thought ya were dead."
Aidan moaned, and Ralph nodded. "Yep you did look pretty bad there for a moment sweetheart, but I did what you told me to if this happened and gave you that shot…"
"Shot?" she said, and vaguely remembered what happened before her black out. "Great, not again…"
"Yes, I had to use that EpiPen you always bring and you passed out," said Ralph, understanding what she was thinking. "Feeling better?"
"A little, but I can't believe I went out because of a shot…"
Tony shook his head in disbelief. "What? C'mon Ade, ya nearly died here and you're embarrassed about fainting from getting the shot?" he said, then smirked. "If you're gonna act that way, maybe I should start that bet up again each time you go visit the doctor's."
Aidan glared at the man, but didn't say anything - for the moment. She turned to Ralph. "What caused it though? I wasn't in contact with any of those triggers…"
Ralph frowned, not wanting to say anything, but Aidan knew that look. "The drink," she said, already working it out. "But who?"
Pam put a hand on her shoulder. "We don't know, but Tony's going to find out. At least now we know whom it is they're after," she said.
"The question is, who is it that wants me dead?" said Aidan. The paramedics entered the room and rushed over to treat Aidan. After giving her a breathing treatment on scene, they were told to take her to the hospital for further evaluation just in case of a second reaction. She was given an IV, which she held Ralph's hand when they inserted the needle, and was loaded up into the ambulance.
As the paramedics treated Aidan, Tony talked with a bus boy who said he was assaulted by someone out in the alleyway. Hearing the man say he felt his jacket being put back on him, Tony asked for the coat, hoping the man hadn't worn it long enough then to negate any vibes the bad guy might've put on the jacket. After he also collected the drink to have it analyzed, Tony drove Ralph and Pam to the hospital so they could check on Aidan and get to the bottom of what was going on.
------------------------------------
Jackson drove down the freeway, smiling. He was proud of what he did to set up the hit on Aidan at the restaurant. Just before the group arrived, the man found one of the bus boys in the back of the restaurant taking out the garbage. Jackson knocked the man out, laying him behind a dumpster in the back.
Putting on the man's attire, Jackson entered the restaurant courtesy of the man's friend and acted as though he was the busboy. No one was really paying attention to the workers, as they were in the midst of a busy service. He saw the Hinkleys meet Dylan and sit at the table. As he cleaned up a table, netting $5 in the process, he heard what Aidan wanted to drink. He went to the back and waited until the waiter came in and got the beverages. When the waiter went to get Pam's order of a strawberry margarita, Jackson discreetly slipped a small amount of extra virgin olive oil in the Coke that was going to be given to Aidan.
After lacing the drink, he then went back outside, changed into his regular outfit, and redressed the unconscious bus boy. Going back inside, he watched from the bar as Aidan took a drink of her soda and chatted with her family. Within a few minutes, she started gasping for air and the group panicked. He heard Ralph tell Tony call for an ambulance, but someone bumped into him, distracting him for a few moments. Returning his gaze to the situation, he saw Aidan slump sideways into Ralph, unmoving, and Ralph frowning as he tried to hear her breathe. Satisfied she was dead, Jackson paid for his drink and left.
As he was thinking, his cell phone rang. Finding it was the tone he chose for these particular calls, he picked it up and smiling, answered it. "Well, I've done my part. When am I going to get paid?"
"Right now… when hell freezes over you moron," hissed the voice on the other side. "She's still alive."
Jackson was confused. "What? She's dead, I saw her fall to the ground."
"You only saw her faint. She regained consciousness not too long after you left."
"But, I saw her drink the soda…"
"Yes, so I hear, but she survived because she got first aid right away," said the man. "She has to carry medicine just in case."
"I didn't know that," said Jackson indignently.
"Well, I can blame the info I got not being complete there, but you should've made sure they took her out on a stretcher in a body bag," said the other voice, glowering. "I want her dead. You've got ONE more chance here. Fail, and I'll kill you myself."
Jackson heard the phone slam down and closed the cell. He too was just as furious as his boss. He started thinking of ways to kill Aidan that would be fast and without a way to escape. The man knew that if he didn't kill her, his boss would be beyond upset, and if that happened, he'd be dead.