"Sorry, run that by me again...they did what?" Jill asked impatiently.
Rebecca emptied a pack of sugar in the coffee she'd made herself. "They left, to get more guns from the shop," she said.
Jill was sitting in a lounge chair over by the sofa. When she and Barry had returned with the medical kit, Rebecca had been alone with Claire. Leon and Chris had gone, and she still couldn't understand why Chris would leave without at least telling her. She sighed and looked down at Claire, who was finally sleeping again. She'd woken up yelling when Rebecca had applied the alcohol, and had been constantly throwing up, until about ten minutes ago. Poor kid, Jill thought.
She looked up at Rebecca again, and shook her head. "I don't get it, why would they just leave?" she asked.
Rebecca shrugged. "It might be faster and safer at only two people. Hey, you have Chris' cell phone number right?" she asked.
Jill grinned. "Of course," she said. She pulled out her cell phone from her pocket. "What's up?" she asked.
"Could you call him and check where they are? I'm starting to think they'll need to find a pharmacy," she said. Jill noticed the worry on her face.
"How serious is this thing?" she asked.
Rebecca sighed. "I've never really dealt with a fever this bad before, and I have no way of knowing what kind of infection got into the cut. The alcohol might prevent further infection, but to deal with what's already in her system we would most likely need antibiotics, and even then nothing's guaranteed," she said.
Jill blinked and looked back down to Claire, who was shivering and covered in a cold sweat. They'd searched the entire shop for some sort of blanket, but all they had was Barry's jacket, and even that didn't seem to help much. "Any pharmacy would have them?" Jill asked.
Rebecca nodded. "They're quite common. But like I said, there's only a slight chance antibiotics would work. It depends on how bad the infection is," she said.
Barry stood up from his seat across the shop and walked over. He stood next to Jill and put a hand over her shoulder. "Go call Chris, I'll keep an eye on her," he said.
Jill smiled and got up, walking towards the back as Barry took her seat. She dialled Chris' number, and waited anxiously.
"What's wrong!?" Chris said into the phone.
"N...nothing, Chris, calm down. Where are you guys?" Jill asked.
Chris paused before replying. "Not far, we found a gun shop but someone had the same idea as us; most of the shit there was gone. We got a shotgun, a couple boxes of shells, and some more handgun rounds. That's it, unfortunately. How's Claire?" he asked.
Jill had been anticipating the question, but wasn't sure what to say. "Well, to be honest she's not doing so well. Rebecca said she'll need antibiotics, if you can find a pharmacy and get some," she said.
"Yeah sure, we just passed one so it's not a problem. I think I'll need her to tell me what kind, though," Chris said, and Jill could hear his tone sounded slightly relieved.
"Chris...she also said there was a chance those wouldn't work..." she said. He went quiet, and she felt like her heart could break.
"It'll work, Jill. She's tougher than she looks, and it's just some stupid fever," he said.
Jill sighed, unsure if he was trying to convince her, or himself. "From the way Rebecca was talking, I think we'll need to find a way out of the city and get to a hospital somewhere," she said.
"Put Rebecca on, I want to know what I'm looking for," Chris said, completely ignoring what she was trying to say. Jill sighed and brought the phone to Rebecca, noticing that Claire was awake again. She handed the phone over, and headed back to the sofa.
Barry had his hand over Claire's forehead, and was smiling. Jill looked down, forcing a smile on her own face. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
To her surprise, Claire looked over with a faint smile. Her grey-blue eyes seemed lost in the paleness of her face, and dark circles under her eyes only added to her worries. "Cold," Claire whispered.
Jill sat on the table in front of the couch. "Sorry, we couldn't find a blanket," she said. "And we have no idea where the control for the heater is, either."
Claire took in a deep breath and looked aside to Rebecca, who was on the phone behind the counter. "Where's Chris?" she asked, still barely louder than a whisper.
"He went to get you some medicine, he'll be back soon," Jill said.
Claire blinked and sat up suddenly. "He went outside!?" she said. She blinked again, feeling a sudden rush of dizziness and nausea, and fell back down with her hand to her head. "He can't..." she said.
Barry put the jacket back over her. "Calm down, he's not far and he'll be back any minute now. You know your brother, he just got lost and Rebecca has to guide him back," he said with a grin.
"Yeah," Jill added, "poor boy can barely even find a pump at a gas station. Plus he's got like three guns with him, and Leon watching his back."
"Yep, that's the one! You got it! Now hurry back you two!" Rebecca said, and hung up the phone. Jill looked back towards the girl, and was relieved to see her smiling. "They're on their way back," she said.
Jill turned back to Claire. "Hear that? You have nothing to worry about," she said.
Claire shut her eyes, taking in another deep breath. "Virus," she said.
Jill blinked. "No, it's not. It's just a regular bacterial infection, which we're dealing with soon," she said.
Claire looked at her again. "But what if-"
"Nope," Jill interrupted, "definitely bacterial. Man, you Redfields are so easily worried," she said.
Barry laughed, and even Claire slightly grinned, eyes shut again. "Can't help it," she whispered.
Jill turned and looked at Rebecca. "Is there something back there that she could have to warm up? Something easy on the stomach?" she asked.
Rebecca shook her head. "She's not even keeping the water down, coffee would make it worse," she said.
As if on cue, Chris and Leon appeared at the door, carrying the guns, a bag, and a big red puffy winter jacket. Jill got up and ran over to let them in, locking the door behind them. Chris put the guns on the counter and ran over to the sofa while Leon handed the pharmacy bag to Rebecca. She suddenly frowned, realizing Claire might not even be able to keep the meds down.
Barry walked over to check out the guns while Chris sat Claire up to put the jacket on her.
Jill walked over, confused. "She fell asleep again?" she asked.
Chris looked at her. "She was awake?" he asked.
Jill nodded. "She was talking with us not even five minutes ago. I guess it took a lot of energy," she said.
Rebecca walked over with the bottle of antibiotics. "Well you'll have to wake her again, she needs to take these right away," she said.
Chris zipped up the jacket and sighed, slightly shaking Claire's arm. "Hey, time to wake up now," he said.
Jill looked at Rebecca. "What if she can't keep them down?" she asked.
"That's what I'm worried about," said Rebecca.
Chris brought Claire down so her head was on the arm of the couch, and looked at them. "She's not waking up," he said.
"But she was just awake!" Jill said. Rebecca reached down and felt for Claire's pulse.
"It's still the same, so she's just out cold," she said.
"Is there another way to give her the meds?" Chris asked.
Rebecca nodded. "Could break it up and dissolve it in the water, but even so we'd need her to wake up," she said.
Chris lifted Claire again and sat on the sofa, then set her down so her head was on his lap. The coat was a bit big, and she seemed so lost in it. He took the glass of water, and held it up over her face. Very slowly, he tiled the glass back, letting small drops to fall on her nose. After about ten drops, Claire groaned and opened her eyes slowly. Chris grinned. "That always worked," he said. Jill couldn't hold back a laugh, and Rebecca simply smiled.
Claire blinked, entirely confused. "Where'd you come from?" she mumbled, her words slurring as though she were drunk.
Chris smiled down at her. "Went shopping with Leon," he said. Claire shut her eyes, but Chris pulled her so she'd be sitting up next to him. "No you don't, you have to stay awake for a bit longer," he said.
Claire's head leaned against his shoulder, and she took in a deep breath like before, eyes shut. "...m'kay," she said.
Rebecca handed two of the pills to Chris, set the bottle on the table and walked back to Leon and Barry. Jill sat on the lounge chair and watched Claire try to hold up the glass of water. She was weak, but somehow managed not to spill. She took one of the pills from Chris, tossed it in her mouth and drank a bit of water.
"Wait a bit before the other one, to make sure the first one stays down," Jill suggested.
Claire stared straight ahead, breathing deeply. She waited for about a minute before taking the second pill, and handed the glass back to Chris.
"Feeling sick?" he asked. Claire shook her head, leaning on his shoulder again. Chris looked at Jill and smiled. "See? Strong," he said.
Jill smiled back. "Never doubted you for a second," she said. "Oh, and by the way, thanks for leaving without saying anything."
Chris sighed. "Jill, please...we were in a hurry, and I really wanted to do something useful instead of sitting around and just waiting," he said.
Jill nodded. "I know, but you could've said something. Had us worried sick!" she said.
Chris grinned. "And by us, you mean...?"
"Well, Barry and I, and Rebecca of course!" she said quickly.
Chris looked over Jill's shoulder, grinning. "Sorry to worry you, Barry!" he called out.
Barry laughed and grinned back. "Wasn't worried, Redfield! Jill's the one who was ripping her own hair out!" he said.
Jill sighed. "Thanks, Barry," she said.
Barry looked to Rebecca and grinned. "I'm adding that to my best man's speech," he whispered.
Rebecca burst out laughing. "Someday, Barry...Someday," she said.
Leon put down the shotgun and walked over to the others, sitting on one of the lounge chairs. "So, she'll pull through?" he asked.
Chris glanced over to the boy. "Yeah, there's no infection strong enough to beat this kid," he said, looking down to his sister who was sound asleep on his shoulder.
"Glad to hear that," Leon said.
Jill looked over to Leon, grinning. "I bet you are," she said. "She's pretty lucky to have a friend who's so worried about her, huh Chris?" she asked.
Chris frowned. "Yeah, Leon, you're a great friend," he said, emphasizing on the word 'friend'. Jill glared at him, and he glared back.
Leon shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Hey, I'm sure she'd be just as worried if it were me," he said.
Chris laughed. "That she would," he said. He looked back down to Claire, and lifted her wounded arm. He gently pulled back the sleeve of the jacket, and looked at the gauze wrapped around the arm. "So, how do we know those were the right antibiotics?" he asked.
Rebecca looked up. "Well, those are used for most bacterial infections. If the infection is minor, it'll definitely help. She'll be weak for awhile, but the fever will clear out. I just hope it's not Osteomyelitis, or she'll need to be hospitalized with intravenous antibiotics, since it would be too late for a needle aspiration," she said. She looked up and saw all four of them stare at her in sheer confusion. She grinned.
"Sorry, I think I started talking to myself at some point there. Osteomyelitis is when the bacteria gets in through the wound and infects the bone," she said. "It would explain the fever, chill, and nausea. And the swelling on her arm," she added.
Jill looked back to Claire. "And if it's this Osteo thing, will those pills even help?" she asked.
"No, she'd need a direct IV for a few days," Rebecca said.
"Meaning we should head for a hospital?" Leon asked.
Rebecca shook her head. "Not necessarily, it might not even be the case. It fits the symptoms, but she hasn't said anything about massive pains in her arm. Also, she's been moving it around, which would've been impossible if the bone was infected. I think it's just something in the sewage water that accelerated the bacteria," she said.
Leon blinked. "How are you so smart?" he asked.
Rebecca grinned. "It's what I do," she said.
Barry laughed and looked outside. "It's starting to get dark out," he said.
Jill stood up. "Okay, I suggest we stay here for the night, get some rest, and figure out our next move," she said.
Barry nodded. "Sounds like the best plan, but we'll need to take turns watching the door," he said.
Chris took a sip of water. "I'm staying awake until I know everything's okay," he said.
Leon looked at him. "Yeah, but you'll be watching her, and if something happens at the door we'll need a second watcher, so I'll stay up too," he said.
Jill nodded. "I'm actually not tired, so I'll help watch," she said.
Barry laughed. "Alright, you kids stay up and party," he said. He walked over to a lounge sofa on the other side of the lobby. "Keep it quiet," he joked.
"Yes dad," Jill said. She looked over to Rebecca. "Why don't you try getting some sleep? Put that brain of yours to rest," she offered.
Rebecca grinned. "Think I might just do that, never know when it'll come in handy again," she said. "I think there's a staff room back there with a couch, so I'll be there. Wake me if anything happens," she said. She waved and headed to the back.
Jill sat back down and looked at Leon and Chris. "Well it's completely dead out there, so to speak...so we should be fine," she said.
Chris nodded. "In the morning, I'd suggest we get out of the City," he said. Jill and Leon nodded in agreement, and they sat around chatting. Jill fell asleep on the chair within the hour, and Chris took the opportunity to ask Leon all about his time in Raccoon City with his sister. It's not that he didn't trust him, but he'd really wanted to know just what had happened, and was worried that asking Claire would trigger really bad memories for her. Leon seemed like he could handle it.
"Well, it was my first day as a cop, believe it or not..." Leon started. He talked for most of the night.