Even though Jack had handed over temporary control of the operation to Donovan, it didn't stop him from observing on the other side of the isolation cell glass. Actually, the entire team was watching with him. Ianto had his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall behind his lover. Gwen was hugging her chest while twisting at the waist, working off some nervous energy. Fish had his forearm against the glass, above his head, staring at Henry who was inside the cell with the kettlebell in hand. Martha was standing with the defibrillator paddles. Donovan was inside the cell too but out of the way to the right. Miranda was laying on the cot, nude from the waist up.
"Go ahead, Martha," she said, smiling weakly.
"I wish you'd let me use an anaesthetic first," Martha insisted.
Miranda shook her head. "The fewer variables the better and I'll be fine."
Donovan sternly ordered, "Proceed, Doctor Jones."
Martha looked at Henry who nodded. She gave Donovan a bit of a dirty look. Steeling herself, she settled the paddles against the conductive pads and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Then, she shouted, "Clear!" and pressed the buttons on the paddles.
Miranda jerked and then went still. A quick glance of the monitor showed a flat line as the alarms began to blare. Henry stepped forward but before he could even get into position, there was a beep on the heart monitor and Miranda gasped. There was fear and pain on Miranda's face and it made Donovan's heart ache. He couldn't stop himself, he rushed forward and put his arms around her. She panted against his chest.
"Breath, babe," he said, rubbing circles into her back. "It didn't work?"
"Must not have," Martha said, gritting her teeth.
"Do it again," Miranda said, wheezing. "Increase the charge to maximum."
"Why don't we give you a few minutes," Donovan said, softly.
Miranda shook her head. "I'm fine, Ethan."
Donovan kissed her forehead and gently laid her back onto the cot. He stepped away so that Martha could position the paddles. She clenched her jaw and cried out again, "Clear!"
Miranda's body convulsed with the electricity. Once again, the line was flat and Martha moved out of the way for Henry. They'd moved more quickly this time but, again, there was a beep on the heart monitor and Miranda gasped back to life.
Again Donovan rushed forward, putting his arms around her. Miranda pushed on his chest, giving herself a bit of room to catch her breath.
"She isn't healing from the electric shock," Henry said, shaking his head. "She's reviving too quickly."
While it as normally an incredible asset, Miranda's immortality was now a disadvantage. Donovan saw Henry's sword up against the clear glass wall. He knew what he needed to do but did he have the stomach for it? Time to grow a set… He locked eyes with Miranda and then flicked his gaze to the sword. She nodded at him, laying back down on the cot. Quickly, before anyone could stop him, he stood up and grabbed the sword. He raised it above her chest pointed at the ground. He plunged the blade straight down. Miranda let out a stifled cry, then a gurgling breath and died.
Donovan felt a lump form in his throat and he swallowed around it. Martha screamed in surprise. She wasn't the only one. Fish and Gwen both shouted. Fish even banged his fist into the glass. Out of the corner of his eye, Donovan saw Ianto fumbling for his stopwatch.
"Henry, use the device now," Donovan ordered. His voice not entirely steady. When he let go of the sword's hilt, his hands were shaking.
Without missing a beat, Henry stepped forward. He held the device about a quarter meter above Miranda's throat. He hit the button. Nothing happened except an extremely anticlimactic beep. Donovan wasn't sure what he was expecting but it was more than a simple beep. Henry moved down Miranda's sternum, and activated the device again. He continued to make his way down her body. When he was done, he nodded at Donovan who stepped forward and grasped his sword at the hilt. He planted his foot on Miranda's shoulder and yanked upwards. The blade came free with a sickening tear, blood dripping from the metal onto the floor.
Donovan turned to the glass. "Ianto, how long?"
"Twenty minutes, depending. It could be as long as thirty," he said, his voice muffled by the glass.
"No, how long did it take for Henry to complete the sweep?" he asked. He mentally filed away the information on Miranda's time to revive.
"About thirty seconds between time of death and the end of the sweep."
"Is that too long, Martha?" Donovan asked.
Martha was still staring at the blood stained sword in Donovan's hands.
"Martha?" he pressed.
"The faster the better but it's not long enough for permanent brain damage," she said, swallowing.
"Once Miranda's revived, we'll head to University Hospital."
Donovan handed the blood stained sword to Henry. He sat down on the cot and pulled Miranda into his arms. He felt tears stinging his closed eyes as he clutched her limp body to him. I'm sorry… He knew everyone was staring at him but he didn't care. He kissed her forehead and smoothed over her hair. He didn't realise it but he was rocking Miranda gently back and forth. Ianto had pushed the stopwatch face up up against the glass so every few minutes, Donovan looked up to see how much time had passed, grateful for the time piece.
Every minute felt like ten. Twenty minutes felt like hours. Then, thirty minutes came and went and Donovan's heart sank but they all continued to wait. At precisely forty nine minutes and twenty seconds, Miranda gasped and convulsed. Donovan gripped her tightly.
"I've got you," he said but she started to struggle against his arms. Louder, he said, "Miranda! I've got you!"
"Ethan," she gasped, settling against him.
The minute she caught her breath and not caring everyone was watching him, Donovan kissed her. Miranda broke the kiss first, pulling away and looking at the others.
"How do you feel, babe?" he asked.
Miranda blinked a few times. "Tired. More tired than I should be from a sword to the chest."
He let out a small chuckle. "I don't want to know how you know that."
"I'm fine, Ethan. I no longer feel ill." She stood up, a bit unsteady and Donovan held onto her. "We don't have time to wait to see if I redevelop symptoms. I don't think I would still revive feeling fine if the nanopaths were still active."
Martha looked wary. "We didn't use the defibrillator."
"That shouldn't matter. It was the beating heart we needed to overcome," Henry pointed out.
"I think we've been successful," Miranda said, looking around. She picked up a t-shirt from a pile of clothes.
"Jack?" Martha asked, looking at the other former companion.
"Don't look at me. This is Ethan's show. Ethan?" Jack called out from the hallway.
"How soon after infection do symptoms present?" Donovan asked, looking at Martha.
"Forty eight hours," she supplied.
Miranda was right. They didn't have time to wait. "We go forward. We perform the procedure on the infected staff at the hospital and quarantine them for seventy two hours. They've already been in isolation for a week, another three days isn't that much more," Donovan said. He saw approval in Jack's eyes. "If they redevelop symptoms, we've bought ourselves some time to find something else. Miranda? If you're up to it, I want you to take over for Henry at the hospital. You'll move faster than him and we need to be fast with these people. Gwen? Is everything arranged there? The patients are moved?"
"Yes. All the patients are in private, individual rooms," she said, loudly.
"We have consent from the families?" Donovan asked.
"Yes, Director," Ianto informed. "I gave them a cover story of an experimental treatment. They understand the risks, especially Kowda's and Oliver's families. They're all willing to try."
"Martha, I want you to take every precaution with these people. Call the hospital. I want a replacement for Doctor Suresh Kowda's pacemaker standing by and the procedure to replace that device ready to go for him. I want the old device confiscated. I want a crash team standing by in case the defibrillator doesn't work so that the more experienced people can step in for resuscitation. I also want to do Jake Oliver, the man with the heart defect, first. Let's go."