A/N: This is where things begin to get interesting :)
Chapter 4: A close call
Cressida POV:
Pollux dropped by for dinner two more times within the month. During the last dinner, I informed him of a new project where we'd do an update on District 3. People were trying to liven up the drab areas around the factories by putting in little shops and painting the buildings. They had dug a canal to go through the area firstly for water run-off and secondly to make it a bit more scenic.
After the video shoot, Pollux, Mark, and I were sitting outside an ice-cream shop called the Waterfront Creamery. "Well, I thought that went well." Mark said. Pollux and I nodded. "So, boss, since we worked the weekend, what weekdays do we have off?"
"Dunno. Monday and Tuesday. I think we have another assignment on Thursday." I pulled out my electronic planner and tapped the screen until I got to the calander. "Yup."
"Oh goody!" Mark cheered. "Hey, Pollux, you want to come to Eleven? My brother's getting some friends over to have a barbeque."
Maybe. Pollux signed. We turned as we heard two kids laughing and giggling by the canal.
"Connor! See if it works!" Two boys about eight years old had a boat that looked homemade.
"Those kids better not have open wires on that boat." Mark said aloud.
They won't get zapped too bad, I don't think. Pollux signed chuckling. Plus, they probably know more about wiring than us.
"I remember tinkering with stuff as a kid." Mark said.
"So did my brother." I reminisced. Pollux raised his eyebrows wanting to know more. "Mostly, he would put things on string or wires and string them down from our balcony." I explained. "Scared the wits out of our neighbors when he took a squid out of the refrigerator and dangled it-"
"CONNOR!" One of the boys screamed in horror. As in slow motion, we watched the brown haired boy wobble from his knelt position and fall face first into the quickly moving water of the canal. Pollux jumped up and sprinted past the boy. I realized he was going a ways downstream to try and catch him. Pollux must know how to swim from working in the drains for so long. I reasoned. Still, I feared for the little boy.
"Mark, come on!" I called. I ran after Pollux. Mark ran into the Creamery I assume to tell the people inside to call for help. I caught up to Pollux as he pulled off his shoes and jumped into the canal. The boy - Connor was trying to keep his head above water. Pollux swam toward him and held his hands out. Connor latched onto Pollux and they both went down. Someone was screaming Pollux's name in a terrified voice. Then I realized that was me. Pollux surfaced holding the boy who was clutching tightly to his neck and shoulders.
"There they are!" Two construction workers came around the corner. They had a long rope and a plastic bucket. "Catch!" One of them tossed the bucket tied to the rope toward Pollux and Connor.
"GRAB IT, POLLUX!" I yelled. Pollux helped Connor grasp onto the bucket and rope. I could see he was loosing strength quickly. Connor turned back to Pollux who shook his head and pointed toward us. Connor inched his way up the rope to make room for Pollux. When he turned around, he, the bucket, and the rope were the only ones above the water.
I was vaugely aware of Mark and the other construction worker holding me back. I was screaming, but I don't think I was making sense. "Cress, you can't go in and get him." Mark said. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He said over and over as I wept.
"There he is!" One of the construction workers yelled suddenly. He tossed the bucket. "GRAB ON, MAN! We got you! Just grab on!" Pollux was signing frantically.
"They got the kid out, Pollux!" Mark called. "We're saving you now!" I knelt down on the ground still sobbing but now out of relief and fatigue. The three men hauled Pollux in. By this time, the rescue vehicles had come and rescue workers were tending to Connor.
"You're out, Pollux. It's ok." Mark said kneeling by Pollux who was on all fours gasping. He coughed up water as rescue workers came over to him with a blanket. I ran over to them.
"You're ok - Oh Pollux, you're ok!" I cried grasping his hands in mine. A part of me was chiding me for still crying and carrying on. But another part of me never wanted to let go of him ever again.
"We're going to have to take you to the hospital just to check you out, sir." One of the workers said. Pollux nodded. "Do you hurt anywhere?" Pollux shook his head. "Are you sure? Does it hurt to talk? You haven't said anything."
"Um." I paused. "Pollux can't talk." I explained to the rescue team. "He can sign though. I'll translate." I said quickly. Pollux looked at me gratefully. "He's a little dizzy, but he can probably walk." I began translating. "He still feels like he swallowed some water. He's worried about getting contaminated - slow down a little, Pollux - contaminated by sewage waste."
"Oh yeah. No, that's not a sewage canal. That wouldn't be too scenic." One of the workers quipped. "Well, do you want to come with all of us?" He asked me. "What's your name by the way?"
"Cressida."
"Would you want Cressida to come with you, Pollux?" He asked. Pollux nodded eagerly.
Once we were at the hospital, I noticed Pollux getting more nervous. I squeezed his hand reassuringly as we waited for a doctor to come to our exam cubicle. We hadn't broken our grasp since getting on the ambulance. "Pollux?" the doctor asked looking in." Pollux nodded. The doctor was a middle aged man with a full head of grey hair and a mustache. "Dr. Fraiser here. Nice to meet you." Pollux smiled as they shook hands. "Now, I'm just going to look at the back of your throat there and listen to your lungs just to make sure you don't have any residual water in there. Another doctor came in. "This is Dr. Rowe. She's our pulmonary intern." He explained. "She's going to be helping me out today. Dr. Rowe, you want to record his basic stats there and we'll get started?" She wrote down some numbers that were on a monitor that was attached to a probe clipped to Pollux's left index finger. Dr. Fraiser listened to Pollux with a stethoscope. "Yup. There's a little bit of water left in there." He said. "That would explain why you probably feel short of breath." Dr. Rowe brought a cart over to the bed as Dr. Fraiser elevated the head of Pollux's bed a bit more.
"We're going to have you breathe in some medicine and give you something to help your throat relax. Then we'll get that liquid out for you." I noticed the beeps coming from the machine increase in speed. Pollux started breathing more heavily as he heard the doctors arranging their instruments on their cart.
"Pollux, what's up? Are you feeling worse?" I asked worriedly. Pollux squeezed my hand in a vise-like grip. Suddenly, I realized he wasn't thinking about this current procedure, but of another time he was faced with a doctor doing some sort of procedure - a horrible procedure of torture. "They're here to help you, Pollux." I said hoping I sounded reassuringly. "They don't want to hurt you." Dr. Rowe handed him a mask attached to a machine that contained some sort of medicine. I helped Pollux hold it to his face.
"I've done this once before, so there should be no problems." Dr. Rowe explained. "Everyone gets a bit nervous before procedures, don't worry."
"You're doing really well, Pollux." I said.
"Ok, I just have to give you some numbing medication here." Dr. Fraiser said calmly. He uncapped a hypodermic syringe. Pollux looked at it then balked. He tried to get off the stretcher, but the rails were up.
"Pollux -" I was trying not to sound scared but failing. "Pollux - they're not - those doctors." Pollux shook his head and tried arguing with me, but all that came out were terrified sounds.
"Oh - right." Dr. Fraiser said as he realized why Pollux was so scared. He put the syringe down and motioned for Dr. Rowe to step back from the bed. As Dr. Fraiser took several steps back, Pollux began to calm down. "So, I take it you've had a pretty terrible experience with doctors before." He said conversationally. Pollux bit his lip and looked down at the sheets.
Pollux POV:
A pretty bad exprience with doctors before - oh yes, Dr. Fraiser. I would never wish my brutal drawn out surgery minus anesthesia on anyone. Well - maybe former President Snow since he ordered it after all. I thought. I stared at this Dr. Fraiser and his assistant. I nodded slowly. "Well, tell you what. We can give you a sedative that will help you relax. Really, all we want to do is get some water out of your lungs so it doesn't turn into a raging infection. What do you think?"
Just don't knock me out completely. I signed slowly. Cressida translated. Can she stay? I asked pointing to her.
"Certainly." Dr. Fraiser said. "I figured you two were a team." He asked his assistant to get some sort of medication. She returned with a large needle-less syringe. "Now, I'm going to have you open your mouth just so I can take a look-see here to make sure you don't have any oral injuries." I opened my mouth. Dr. Fraiser hummed to himself as he looked around the tongueless void. I was relaxing around him. He seemed like a nice guy. "Ok, well, Dr. Rowe here has some medication she'll squirt in your mouth. She'll go slow so you have adaquate time to swallow.
Thank you. I signed. Dr. Rowe gave me the medication. I felt Dr. Fraiser wipe something cold on the back of my hand before I felt a prick. I gave Cressida's hand a squeeze.
"I'm right here for you, Pollux." She said. I nodded. I felt a bit hazy and was surprised at how quickly the medication was working. I could still hear Dr. Fraiser chatting with all of us as he approached me with a long suction type tube. He was telling a story about unclogging a drain which I suppose was amusing. I got out a bit of a chuckle before he put it down my throat. The doctors' voices drifted in and out of my hearing. At some point Dr. Rowe had me breathe in more medicine. I heard a suctioning noise somewhere and Dr. Frasier sounding like he was directing Dr. Rowe in the procedure. The only things that kept me grounded and calm were the warm grip that Cressida and my hands formed, and her soothing voice in my ear. I felt the whole bed moving before dozing off.
Cressida POV:
I helped the doctors push Pollux's bed into the recovery area of the ER. We were in a small curtained-off cubicle. Only while watching him peacefully sleep did I allow myself to cry again. I had nearly lost him, but gained a new realization. He wasn't just a good friend and co-worker. He was the one I truly loved. I pushed some hair out of his face and kissed his cheek. He lifted his hand to feel around for mine. Stay he finger-spelled into my palm.
"I will." I said. I pulled down the railing and climbed onto the bed. After pulling the covers around him and making sure he was comfortable, I lay down next to him and pulled the railing back up. I left a trail of kisses on his cheek and down his neck as he dozed off again. "I love you." I said before I felt my eyelids droop.
Pollux POV:
I woke up with something tickling my neck. Looking over, I saw Cressida's head on my shoulder. Upon closer inspection, she was laying next to me, her leg draped over mine. I was holding both her hands. I smiled. Today I realized how much I needed - wait- wanted Cressida. She's a good friend, but when I felt myself drowning as I rescued that kid in the canal, I realized that on top of the pain of watching me die, she would have the pain of never knowing if I loved her. She was the reason I kept on swimming even though every part of me wanted to black out. I love you too. My fingers were too tired to fingerspell it into her hand, so I just gave her a squeeze. She deserved to have a nap after this afternoon.
As I was peppering her face with kisses, Mark chose that moment to pull back the curtain to the small space separating my bed from the other patients' quarters in the ER. "So they finally let me back here - oh - sorry." Mark stamered as I felt Cressida stir. "I guess you've been in good hands this whole time. " I started laughing as he blushed a nice dark crimson.
"You guys! Why didn't you wake me up? " Cressida asked groggily.
"Aw, because you both looked adorable." Mark said grinning as she opened her eyes.
"How are you doing? " She asked me.
Good. Mark put down the railing so Cressida could climb out of bed. The curtain was whisked open again and Drs. Fraiser and Rowe were back. Thanks, guys. I signed.
"That's why we're here." Dr. Rowe said smiling. Dr. Frasier took another look and listen to me before handing me some discharge instructions.
"Oh good, we don't have to spend the night in here." Cressida said happily. "Thanks again." She and I shook hands with the doctors before they left.
We still have time to go to a nice restaurant. My treat. I signed. Cressida's jaw dropped. Consider this our first date. Mark pretended to be interested in a sign on the wall while I enveloped an eager Cressida and kissed her soundly before we walked hand in hand out of the hospital.