In The Wrong Place
Chapter 27
Before very long Steve was settled up in the Intensive Care Unit...It was much quieter up in the ICU except for the sounds of the various machines carefully monitoring their patients...As Dr. Armstrong had mentioned it was quite crowded up in the ICU but they had managed to make a space for Steve's bed over by the window and pulling the curtain across Samantha just had room to squeeze a chair in beside his bed where she could sit and keep an eye on him...She took his temperature first and was disappointed to see that it was still very high...Fetching a bowl of water she then placed a cool cloth on his forehead...Then she took Steve's pulse and was pleased to see that it wasn't racing as fast as before.. Having done all the checks that were necessary and noting them on his chart Samantha sat down and started her vigil...Steve hadn't opened his eyes since they had arrived in ICU and seemed to be sleeping... Peacefully Samantha hoped, but soon that was all to change.
Less than an hour later Steve became very restless...As his fever peaked Steve's dreams became nightmares and the days horrors came flooding back to him in Technicolor ...First he saw Joe and relived him walking out of Mike's house as if on replay..."Bye kid" reverberated around his brain...As the memories tortured him, Steve thrashed his head from side to side and as Samantha moved closer to try to calm him she heard Steve deliriously talking...
"JOE!...Don't do it!...No don't ...MIKE !...The gun's empty...No...Oh God!...NO!..."
Seeing Steve so agitated Samantha decided that she'd have to wake him...Shaking his left shoulder gently she spoke firmly...
"STEVE !...Wake up Steve !...Open your eyes for me Steve..."
But Steve's torture only continued...Instead of waking him Samantha's attempts to rouse him had merely changed the fever induced scenes in his head...Perhaps it was hearing a woman's voice but now Steve thought of Jeannie...He was trying to protect her but Joe was leering at her..."Come keep me company little lady" Joe was saying...Again Steve started deliriously raving...
"NO!...You leave her alone! Don't touch her!...JEANNIE!...RUN!..."
Again Samantha tried to wake him from his fever induced nightmares...
"Steve!...Steve!..You have to wake up!..."
But again his nightmare changed...He could hear a voice talking to him...Was it Jeannie? He wasn't sure...Then he remembered holding Jeannie's hand outside the examining room...They wouldn't let her come in with him and he didn't want to let her go...She was his only lifeline...
"Don't let go Jeannie...Please...don't let go!...JEANNIE !"
She had let go of his hand and they had wheeled him away...
"NOOOO!...Jeannie!...Come back!..."
While he spoke Steve's left hand reached out as if he were searching desperately for something...Checking his pulse she found it racing again...She had to try to wake him or calm him down at the very least...Having failed miserably to wake him by calling or shaking him Samantha had almost decided to page Dr. Armstrong but then she remembered the girl in the corridor...Her name was Jeannie and she remembered how the girl had held his hand reluctant to let it go...She saw his hand still searching and saw his feverish torment and without thinking anymore she held her hand out close to his...Almost like a drowning man Steve grabbed her hand and held it tight and almost within minutes his whole body calmed and he stopped tossing...Almost in a whispered and a relieved voice he muttered to himself..
"Jeannie!...Jeannie...Don't let go...please..."
Then he drifted back into as peaceful a sleep as his high temperature would allow.. Samantha continued to allow Steve to hold her hand and reflected on what had just happened...
"Maybe you're not the heart breaker I had you down as Steve Keller..." she whispered to herself..."Maybe you have let one girl capture your heart.."
Then leaning back in her chair she continued to watch her patient...After a half an hour had passed it was time for the next set of checks to be done so as gently and as carefully as she could she prized her hand out of Steve's grip...As soon as Steve felt the loss of contact his eyes flew open feverishly and in a blind panic he called out...
"JEANNIE!"...
He was breathing heavily and trying to get his bearings...Looking around him he saw the nurse but he couldn't see Jeannie or Mike...Seeing Steve distressed, Samantha quickly tried to calm him down again...
"Steve...take it easy!...Everything's ok...You're alright..."
"Where's Mike and Jeannie?...Where...are we?...Steve stammered not fully recognizing his surroundings...
"You're up in ICU being monitored...Your fever is still pretty high but it should break soon...Just try to relax...Dr. Armstrong sent Jeannie and Mike home to get some rest which is what you need to get too...Now try to get some sleep..Ok?"
Steve heard what the nurse had said and nodded his head...He closed his eyes but sleep wouldn't come...He felt so hot and yet he couldn't stop shivering...He was in a strange place...Mike and Jeannie weren't there...He was still attached to various wires and drips and if all that wasn't bad enough he was starting to feel sick again...Then he heard someone groaning and feeling alarmed he opened his eyes and tried to see where it was coming from...Not able to see much from where he was positioned, the groaning continued...Looking at the nurse who was attaching a new bag of saline solution to his IV line he asked...
"What's that sound?..."
Finishing her task she came back around to Steve and reassured him...
"It's alright Steve...it's one of the other patients...He's very ill but the other nurse is looking after him...It's ok."
The groaning continued and the noise unsettled Steve as new waves of nausea washed over him...He suddenly felt really sick and decided he had better warn the nurse...
"Feel...sick..."
Still positioned on his side, Samantha merely produced a basin which she placed beside him. Then rubbing his back she spoke again to him...
"Steve...listen to me. You were very sick down in the ER...I don't think you have anything left in your stomach to be sick...I know you feel like you're going to be sick but just try to breathe through it...Ok?...
Steve really tried to do what the nurse told him...He tried to breathe through the waves of nausea but it was no use...He didn't have the strength to fight it off and within minutes he had started to gag and retch...The awful retching continued but as the nurse had predicted nothing came...All the retching served to do was aggravate his already throbbing side and hurt his throat..When it finally eased up Steve held his sore side and felt himself getting upset.. He felt that he really couldn't take much more and as he once again heard the other patient groaning, in that instant he knew how the other man felt...However the other man's audible suffering only made him feel worse and in that moment he wished that his ordeal would finally end...Not able to contain his misery any longer he turned his head into the pillow and brought his left hand up over his face as he felt his body shake...Only this time it shook with racking sobs of despair and exhaustion...
Seeing Steve's visible distress, Samantha's heart went out to the sick young man who had obviously had as much as he could take...Making a decision there and then Samantha hurried to the end of Steve's bed and called out to another nurse in the room...
"Maria!...Can you page Dr. Armstrong for me please! Tell him I need him down here stat!..."
Then rushing back to Steve she pulled her chair in closer and rubbed his shoulder and did her best to comfort and console him...
"Steve!...Steve...come on now...Don't get upset!...Look I know you're fed up and you have every right to be...I know you've been through hell but you need to stay strong for me for just a little while longer...Ok?...I've paged the doctor and he'll be here any minute...The doctor will give you something to make you feel better...Come on now...Your fever should break very soon and things will improve...I promise you...Just hang in there for me Steve..."
It took every ounce of resolve Steve had and several minutes for Steve to regain control of his emotions...Wiping at his eyes with his hand he slowed down his breathing and glanced at the nurse embarrassed by his momentary loss of control...
"Sorry..."
"You don't have to be sorry Steve...I know you're feeling bad..."and then noticing how he was holding his wounded side she continued..."Is your side hurting?"
Steve winced and nodded just as another strong wave of nausea washed over him...
"Oh God...no, not again..."Steve gasped not wanting to suffer another episode of retching...
Seeing and hearing Steve's distress Samantha guessed that he was feeling sick again...
"Steve...remember what I said...Try to breathe through it"
Just then Samantha heard Dr. Armstrong arrive...
" Doctor...Over here!"
Hearing his nurse call him he rushed over to Steve's bed...
"Samantha.. Whats happened? "
"His fever is still high and he's got really bad nausea ...He's just had a bad bout of retching which has made his side very sore...He's not doing good at all doctor. He's very distressed..."
"Has he slept at all?"
"Very little and what sleep he had was very fitful..."
"Ok...Thanks Samantha."
The doctor moved around Steve's bed and when he saw Steve he understood why Samantha had paged him...Steve looked awful...His eyes were shut tight as he tried to breathe through the waves of nausea that were assaulting him. Laying his hand on Steve's shoulder the doctor spoke to Steve...
"Hey Steve, the nurse here tells me you're still in the wars...Let's just take a look at you ok?"
The doctor examined Steve and quickly came to his decision...
"Samantha...Take him off the current antihistamine ...I'm going to give him an injection of promethazine instead. Could you get me a syringe of it please?"
As Samantha left on her errand the doctor again addressed Steve...
"Steve, We need to stop this nausea. Too much retching and you could burst those stitches again...The nurse here said that you're not sleeping well either and I really need you to get some rest. The injection that I'm going to give you will stop the nausea fast and it will make you drowsy and should hopefully help you to sleep...It's also an antihistamine so it will still work on the allergic reaction too...Ok?"
Steve listened to what the doctor said, nodded and then replied...
"Sounds too good to be true!...What's the bad news?"
"The only bad news is that it has to be injected intramuscularly so it has to go into your thigh like the one that the EMT gave you..."
"Great!...More needles." and then as the nurse arrived back and Steve saw the size of the syringe he added "Oh man!...I'm not looking. Just get it over with please..." and again turned his head in towards the pillow...
Samantha smiled at how the young detective who was always so courageous could be so squeamish over a needle...Having prepared the injection site the doctor instructed Steve...
"Ok Steve, try to relax and try not to tense up..."
That's easy for you to say...Steve thought to himself...
"You'll feel a slight pinch and then it will burn for a few minutes as it has be injected slowly but you'll feel the effects quickly Steve...Your fever should break soon so by the time you wake up you should be feeling better. Ok, are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be..."
As the needle was injected Steve winced and tried not to tense his leg...As it started to burn Steve sucked in his breath and shut his eyes tight and Samantha noticed that his hand was closed in a fist clenching the bed covers..Again Samantha felt sorry for Steve who had already suffered so much, so reaching out she held his hand...The sudden contact distracted Steve from the discomfort of the injection and looking at the nurse curiously he smiled at her in appreciation of her support...She smiled back and squeezed his hand as if to say "you're welcome." Soon the ordeal was over and within minutes the nausea had cleared and in its place a strange sensation started to wash over Steve ...He started to feel light-headed and yet for the first time in a long while he started to feel relaxed...As the drowsiness kicked in blackness closed in on Steve and his last coherent feeling was one of gratitude for the merciful carefree oblivion that awaited him and the last thought he had was of Jeannie and how he wished that the warm and comforting fingers that were currently entwined around his own really belonged to her...
Meanwhile...
Back at De Haro street Mike and Jeannie had arrived back home...Both exhausted from the day's ordeal they hadn't conversed much on the journey home..Now pulled up outside the house Mike was relieved to see that the crime scene had been fully cleared and there was no evidence outside that anything had in fact occurred at all...Exiting the car they went up the many steps to the house. Mike had hurried up them ahead of Jeannie just in case there were still bloodstains outside the door, feeling that if he got there first he could hopefully block them from Jeannie's view but again Mike was relieved to see that the place where Joe had fallen had been cleaned too. However looking behind him at his daughter, he noted that she was deep in thought and wondered if her mind still held the shocking scene that the crime team had worked so hard to remove all trace of...
However, little did Mike know that instead of the lifeless body of Joe Landers, Jeannie's thoughts were of the journey she had taken up the steps with Steve earlier that afternoon...She remembered the pain he had been in, the worry for him that she felt, the conversation they had about forgiveness, her stumble and the speed with which he had saved her from falling, their closeness just after and the embarrassment that showed clearly on his face as he let her go...It all replayed in her mind and her thoughts again turned to the hospital and to Steve...
"Come on honey...Let's get you inside...You look fit to drop!"
Mike ushered her up the last few steps and in the door to the living room...Inside the house, not much had been done but thankfully Mike noted there wasn't too much evidence of their ordeal on display and he quickly took off his trench coat and fedora and proceeded to look for anything that might remind Jeannie of the trauma that she had suffered. He noted that the crime team had removed the handcuffs that had held Steve captive and the bullets from Joe's gun that Steve had held and a feeble attempt had been made to clean a slight bloodstain from the floor where Steve had been sitting. It would need a bit more attention though to remove it completely and looking up Mike noted that while the stray bullet had been removed from the ceiling there was still a bullet-hole that would need filling. Heading for the kitchen Mike was grateful to see that the broken glass in the back door had been boarded up and he made a mental note to himself to have it repaired first thing in the morning...Then he headed back into Jeannie who was way too quiet for his liking ...
Jeannie had tidied up the first aid things and folded the blanket that had covered Steve...She looked at the couch and remembered their conversations of earlier...She remembered cleaning his wound and the few tender moments they had shared...Finally picking up his last discarded bloodstained shirt she felt tears form in her eyes...Placing the fabric up to her cheek she could smell Steve's aftershave off it...Closing her eyes she held the shirt and wished that she were back at the hospital with Steve...A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek...Hearing her father return from the kitchen she quickly pulled herself together and with the bloodied shirt still in her hand she spoke as normally as she could manage ...
"You know I really need to wash this and the rest of his things too...He's going to be needing them when he gets out of the hospital...I just have to remember what's the best thing to use to remove bloodstains..."
As she uttered the word bloodstains the horror of everything that had happened hit her like a freight train and unable to contain her upset anymore she broke down and cried...
Seeing Jeannie upset Mike raced to his daughter's side and hugged her tight letting her cry it all out on his shoulder...
"Ok sweetheart...I know...I know...Let it all out...Everything's going to be fine...You'll see...And don't you worry about Steve...It would take a lot more than this to keep our buddy boy down..."Mike comforted, not fully convinced himself that was the case this time but at the same time praying it was...
Then removing Steve's shirt from his daughter's grasp he added...
"You don't worry about washing those...We'll just go buy him more of his fancy shirts tomorrow if necessary...Ok? Now why don't I make us some hot cocoa, we'll ring the hospital to check on Steve and then we'll try to get some sleep...Alright ?"
"Ok Daddy..."Jeannie answered drying her tears with her father's always reliable handkerchief ...
"That's my girl!" Mike affectionately added as he steered her towards the kitchen with him so that he could keep a close eye on her while he made the cocoa... As they went Mike thought to himself..."You better get well soon and don't make a liar out of me buddy boy!..."