In The Wrong Place
Chapter 26
Jeannie saw Steve getting sick from her vantage point at the door and saw how miserable he was...She saw him looking at her and in that brief moment his eyes seemed to be begging her to rescue him from all the pain and discomfort they were causing him... She wanted to rush in and comfort him but she knew she wouldn't even make it that far without being ushered out again...As she saw him close his eyes and drift off she couldn't bear to watch anymore and turning away she walked a short distance along the corridor and finding a vacant chair she slumped into it and let the tears fall...
"Oh Steve...Steve..." She sobbed...
Just then Mike appeared further down the corridor as he exited the elevator. He had broken several speed limits to get there as quick as he did and at times like that he was grateful for the badge that allowed him to drive so fast when necessary...Looking up the corridor and seeing Jeannie sobbing her heart out , Mike's heart almost skipped a beat...He feared the worst and raced up to her calling out as he went...
"JEANNIE !"
Looking up and seeing her father Jeannie attempted to dry her tears with her hand not wanting to alarm him but knowing her attempts were in vain she ran to meet him instead and allowed herself to be gathered into a comforting and protective hug...
"Oh Daddy...Daddy...I'm so glad you're here" she sobbed as more tears fell...
Feeling his anxiety levels rise, Mike spoke soothingly to his daughter but at the same time attempted to find out what had happened that had upset her so much...a skill that he had perfected in his many years on the force...
"Ok sweetheart...Shush now...Everything's alright...I'm here now..." and then pulling her gently away from him so that he could look closely at her Mike dabbed at her tears with his handkerchief and asked the one question he was afraid to hear the answer to...
"Is it Steve? Has something...bad happened?"
Even as the words left his mouth Mike searched his daughters tearful face for signs as to whether he should be worried or not...
"No Mike...They're in there with him now...It's just that he was so sick and ...and he didn't want to let go of my hand...It was as if he was scared Mike...He didn't want me to leave him but they wouldn't let me in...Oh Mike I know I'm probably being silly...I know Steve is never afraid of anything but the way he looked at me...Oh Mike...He will be ok won't he? I mean everyone keeps saying that he's going to be fine but he doesn't look it Mike...He's burning up, shaking, sick and in so much pain...Oh Mike I can't bear it!..." and with that Jeannie broke down again and sobbed her heart out against Mike's shoulder...
Mike listened carefully as Jeannie spoke...He understood his daughter's tears...He hated seeing Steve so sick and miserable as well and hearing what Jeannie had told him rang true to what he had seen Steve go through back at their house before they had taken him off to the ambulance...Steve always gave the impression that he could cope with anything and always let on he was fine even when he was far from it...It was something that had always frustrated him about Steve and yet something about this affliction had seemed to knock Steve for six...He seemed to have reached his limit as to what he could cope with and seeing his vulnerable side unnerved Mike and made him worry twice as much about his partners emotional well-being as much as his physical condition... Hearing his daughter confirm what he had already witnessed caused a lump to resurface in Mike's throat too. Hearing his daughters tears, Mike felt his own resolve breaking but knowing that he had to stay strong for both Steve and Jeannie Mike took a deep breath and pulled himself together...Putting his arm around his daughter's shoulders he swallowed back down the lump in his throat and spoke as cheerfully as he could muster...
"Come on now...Dry those tears honey...Steve is in good hands...Dr. Armstrong is an excellent doctor...I know Steve is really sick right now but if the doctor says he'll be feeling better soon ...well then... we have to trust him and just be here for Steve when he needs us... Ok? Come on now...he's not going to want to see you crying like this because of him...You know what Steve is like..Let's go get some coffee and wait in the waiting room...I'm sure Dr. Armstrong will come and tell us what's going on as soon as he can..." and with that Mike guided Jeannie towards the waiting area and getting two cups of coffee from the machine they both sat down and prepared themselves for possibly a long wait...
The time passed slowly as they waited for news of Steve...Feeling tired and worried, Mike and Jeannie just sat in companionable silence ...Jeannie had finally stopped crying and had fallen asleep with her head on Mike's shoulder. Mike couldn't stop thinking about Steve and wondering how he was doing ,his eyes permanently fixed on the doors that he was expecting Dr. Armstrong to appear from at any stage...He glanced down at his sleeping daughter and for the second time that day he thought about what Joe had said about Jeannie and Steve...Mike hadn't seen his daughter that upset about anyone since his wife Helen had passed away some years earlier...She obviously cared a great deal about Steve and thinking about what Jeannie had said about Steve not wanting to let go of Jeannie's hand maybe Steve felt the same way about her...However he didn't have time to ponder on it anymore as he saw the double doors open and Dr. Armstrong emerged and headed towards them...Shaking Jeannie gently awake they stood up and walked to meet him halfway, anxious to hear how Steve was doing... Not able to contain himself any longer Mike was the first one to speak...
"Doc.. How is he?"
"I'm not going to lie to you both...At the moment Steve is very sick...The gradual build up of whatever toxins Steve was allergic to in the donor blood has caused delayed anaphylaxis...The EMT was right to give him the adrenaline shot. However while the shot definitely helped his symptoms improve unfortunately the shot also has some unpleasant side effects...It causes anxiety, restlessness, a racing pulse and it can as it has in Steve's case cause severe nausea... Also when dealing with a fever, it has to reach its peak before it breaks and goes down again...Steve's fever seems to be peaking at the minute...He's burning up and has the chills very bad...He also lost a good bit more blood when the stitches burst so unfortunately we had to transfuse some more blood into him...I made sure it was from a different donor though and I'll be keeping a close eye on him this time..I'll need to keep him for at least the next twelve hours Mike and this time I'll need to wait for his blood results before I discharge him... "
Seeing Mike's worried face and Jeannie's despairing look the doctor quickly continued...
"However, that's all the bad news out of the way...I have him on a saline drip which should flush out the toxins fairly quickly...I also have him on antihistamines and steroids which should clear up the rash and have him feeling much better soon...They take about three to four hours to start to show results so my feeling is that Steve has another couple of bad hours ahead of him and then things should start to look up...His fever should break soon and by the morning I'm confident that he should be feeling back to his old self again...His side will still be very sore and he'll probably be very tired for a few days...This whole thing has taken a lot out of him...But please be assured that's he's going to be just fine..."
Mike and Jeannie looked at each other, relief written on both of their faces but then turning to the doctor again Mike spoke...
"Thanks Doc...I really do appreciate you taking such good care of the boy but you said that he has another few bad hours ahead of him...Now that worries me Doc...Both me and Jeannie feel that Steve has coped with about as much as he can take over the last twenty-four hours...I've never seen Steve as thrown down as he was the last time I saw him...Quite frankly Doc...If he has to endure another few hours of feeling lousy I'm really worried about how he'll cope with that..."
Seeing the genuine concern that Mike had for his young partner Dr. Armstrong was quick to calm his fears...
"I understand your concerns Mike and I agree with you...In all the times I've treated Steve this time seems to have got the better of him...but I promise you Mike that I'll do everything in my power to keep him comfortable and pain-free for the next few hours until his fever breaks...Actually I've decided in order to monitor him closely and keep a close eye on him to transfer him to the Intensive care unit just for the night ahead..."
Again seeing horror cross Mike's face the Doctor quickly continued...
"Now Mike...Please don't be alarmed...It's for no other reason than they are the best equipped to monitor him ...Now they are pretty busy up there at the minute and as usual short-staffed so I'm going to send one of the night nurses from here up with him...He'll have his own private nurse and she'll monitor him and report back to me regularly on how he's doing...So you see , he'll be well looked after...I'm sending Samantha with him...She's an excellent nurse...She's actually the one who noted the rash he had on his arm on his chart the last time he was in...If only the day nurse had passed that information on to me well we mightn't be here now...Look please try not to worry...You both look exhausted...There really is nothing more you can do for Steve tonight...I would suggest you two go home and get a good night's sleep and when you come back in the morning you'll see a huge improvement in Steve...I promise you!"
"Ok Doc...And thanks again...If anything does change you'll call us?"
"MIKE!...Stop worrying!...In the unlikely event something goes wrong you will be the first person I call...but he's going to be fine! Trust me will you?"
Mike chuckled..."Ok...ok you win...We'll trust you but can we just say good-bye to him and tell him we'll be back in the morning ?"
"He's really not up to much at the minute but we'll be transferring him up to ICU in the next ten minutes if you want to see him briefly before you leave.."
"Ok...Thanks Doc..."
And with that the doctor disappeared back into Steve and Mike and Jeannie resumed their wait for Steve to appear...
Jeannie had been very quiet while the doctor had relayed Steve's condition to them and Mike studied her closely now trying to figure out what she was thinking...Breaking the silence Mike put his arm around her shoulders again and spoke softly...
"You know when you were small every time you got quiet like that it meant that something was bugging you...I used to say "I'll give you a penny for those thoughts sweetheart" and you'd always smile at me and say "Daddy...for you they're free!"...Mike smiled at the memory..."Do you remember?"
Jeannie looked at Mike and smiled back..."Yes I remember...You'd sit me on your lap and I'd tell you what was wrong and you always managed to make me feel better...and then from out of your coat pocket you'd produce a lollipop and tell me a magic fairy had put it your pocket while you were at work just for me..." Jeannie laughed and hugged her father tight...
Mike laughed too..."Boy you fell for that one every time!..." Then when the laughter stopped Mike continued..."You know sweetheart...you're a bit too big to sit on my lap anymore and I don't have any lollipops but I'm still a pretty good listener you know!...What's chewing on you?...Are you still worried about Steve?.If it's any help I do trust and believe the Doc you know...Sounds like Steve is going to be well looked after for the night too"
Jeannie looked at Mike...
"Yes...I guess I am still a little worried ..He just looked so lost Mike. I hate just leaving him here..I don't know maybe I'm just tired I guess but this whole thing with Steve has really got to me you know...He risked his life today to save us Daddy...He's kind of special...Isn't he?"...Then feeling that perhaps she had said too much already she decided to leave it there...
Studying his daughter closely Mike answered...
"Oh he's special alright and what he did today...well... words just don't come close to say how thankful I am to him for getting you out of that situation the way he did..." Then choosing his next words very carefully he continued..."You really care about Steve don't you honey?"
Feeling slightly unnerved by Mike's line of questioning Jeannie spluttered out...
"Well of course I do...I mean he's practically part of the family..."
"Oh sure...sure he's part of the family...but that's not really what I was asking..You know you can tell your old busy body father to mind his own business but I was just wondering if you care... more deeply than that for Steve?"
Taken aback by the straightforwardness of the question Jeannie squirmed and became flustered...
"WELL ! That's a hell of a question Mike!...What possessed you to ask that?"
"You're squirming Jeannie! When you were little every time you squirmed it meant you were holding something out on me!" Mike continued almost knowing the answer to his question by the dramatic way Jeannie had reacted.
"I AM NOT SQUIRMING!...I just...well I just...Oh shouldn't we just wait for Steve?.." Jeannie stammered hoping that Mike would just drop the conversation but Mike wasn't letting her off the hook that easily...
"You do don't you ?" Mike continued ...
"MIKE! Will you just drop it please? I know your rule about dating cops...It's set in stone! Remember!" Jeannie retaliated enjoying her clever use of the words...
Mike smiled at his daughter's clever comeback...
"Touché!...Seriously though...if that rule...well...if it didn't apply to Steve would that make a difference to your answer?"
Jeannie stared at her father incredulously...
"Well...I certainly wasn't expecting that!...I don't know...I mean Steve is a lot older than me and a lot more worldly-wise and besides I don't know if he ...well if he feels the same way...That is...if I felt that way about him in the first place... "Jeannie added carefully, definitely feeling out of her comfort zone in this conversation ...
"Well then why don't you ask him?"
"MIKE ...Have you lost your mind?...I couldn't just ask him! "
"Why not?"
"WHY NOT?...Mike if I asked and he didn't feel the same way it would be embarrassing... and it would ruin the close friendship we have now" Jeannie stammered again. " Mike whatever made you ask about me and Steve all of a sudden?"
Mike looked down at the floor and seemed to be recalling something, then looking back at his daughter he carefully answered...
"It was something Joe said..."
"JOE?...Landers?...What did he say?"
"It was the funniest thing...As he lay there dying he said that you and Steve made a real nice couple and that you could do worse than a guy who would risk his life for you...I guess it just starting me thinking that's all..."
Before Jeannie could respond the double doors opened and Steve's gurney was wheeled out carefully...Their conversation set aside, Mike and Jeannie's attention turned to the sick young man on the gurney that was heading in their direction...Steve looked awful...He was still positioned on his right side,and he had drips and wires connected to him in all directions...His usual wavy hair was slightly damp from the fever induced perspiration and his face while pale was slightly flushed from the fever too...He appeared to be sleeping and yet his facial features did not give the impression of being peaceful...He seemed uncomfortable and distressed and the sight of him upset both Mike and Jeannie...There were two orderlies pushing the gurney and Dr. Armstrong and a nurse were walking along beside it...As they reached Mike and Jeannie, the doctor stopped the gurney and leaning over he spoke to his patient...
"Steve!...Mike and Jeannie are here to see you for a few seconds before we transfer you upstairs like I told you... Steve!..."
Steve feebly opened his eyes and seeing Mike and Jeannie he forced a smile..
Mike placed a hand on his arm which felt cool to the touch while Jeannie held his hand...
"Hey there buddy boy...Don't try to talk now...You just take it easy now and try to get some rest...Ok?...We'll be back in the morning to see you...Hang in there buddy boy...Doc here says you'll be feeling better soon..." and patting his arm Mike stood back allowing Jeannie in closer...Squeezing his hand Jeannie smiled at Steve...
"Hey there babe!...No more tough hero stuff ok?...If you need anything for the pain you tell the nurse..Ok?...We'll see you tomorrow...I hope you manage to get some sleep..."
Jeannie felt herself getting upset again and this time she was the one reluctant to let go of Steve's hand...Seeing this unfold Mike put his hand on her shoulder and spoke softly to her...
"Come on honey...We need to let them get Steve up to ICU now..."
Hearing Mike's words and knowing that he was right Jeannie reluctantly let go of Steve's hand and placing a kiss on his forehead she stood back beside Mike...Steve hadn't the energy to answer them but had remained staring at them while they spoke...Grateful for their concern and their presence Steve managed to wink at them both and hoped that they had seen it and understood that it held his affection and his gratitude...They had and both winked back almost simultaneously as Steve was wheeled down the corridor away from them... Dr. Armstrong and the nurse didn't follow Steve immediately but instead the doctor addressed Mike and Jeannie...
"Mike, Jeannie,...this is Samantha the nurse that I was telling you about...She'll be taking good care of Steve for the rest of the night..I can assure you he'll get the best of care.."
The nurse shook both their hands and smiled..."I'll keep a close eye on him and please try not to worry. He'll be fine..." and with that they turned and headed back down the corridor after Steve...
They watched until Steve disappeared into the elevator and Mike could see that Jeannie was getting upset again...Squeezing her shoulder affectionately he said...
"You ok sweetheart?"
This pulled Jeannie back from her thoughts and pulling herself together she put her arm around his waist, hugged him and smiling up at him she replied..
"With you looking after me how could I not be!...Let's go home Daddy..."
And with one last look down the corridor both father and daughter headed for home confident that Steve was in the best of hands...