AB: (Places Christmas decorations on her mini tree and sets out a menorah. Also sets out stuffed snowmen and gingerbread houses.) Merry Christmas to all my Christian readers, Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish readers, and Happy Holidays/Season's Greetings to everyone else! I wish you all a fabulous day! I don't have much to say, unusually. (Dr. Beeman, Dr. Grey, and Iris walk in, scaring AB.) Don't do that, you guys!
Dr. Beeman: Why not? It's fun to watch people suffer.
AB: (sotto voce) Sociopath.
Dr. Grey: Don't listen to him, AB. Iris and I didn't mean to scare you.
AB: Thanks, Dr. Grey.
Iris: Faites-vous un Noël / vacances à thème chapitre aujourd'hui? (Are you doing a Christmas/holiday themed chapter today?)
AB: Non. C'est juin dans l'histoire, de sorte que serait juste un peu bizarre. Désolée. (No. It's June in the story, so that would just be a little odd. Sorry.) (Turns from Dr. Grey, Dr. Beeman, and Iris to address readers.) Can you all do me a favor? Would you like to see anything in French in italics, no matter if it's spoken or thought, or would that be too confusing? Let me know, and I'll ask again after the chapter. Disclaimer: The Secret Saturdays belongs to Jay Stephens and Cartoon Network. Here's Chapter 10: Wake Up!
(3rd Person POV)
The Great Serpent descended deep below the earth. He continued on his path until he reached the Underworld. There, he saw a sand colored Naga with her black hair cut short and pulled into a tight ponytail; she greeted the Great Serpent by bowing low enough to touch the ground.
"Master," she said humbly. The Great Serpent raised her up from her bow and embraced her. Gulama welcomed her master's embrace. She knew her spell was working, and her plan would soon be complete, so long as the spirit of Agrata did not appear in the Underworld.
The Great Serpent tried profusely to apologize to Gulama, but she refused to allow her master apologize to her. She claimed that she and the Nagas ought to be apologizing to him. The two continued with this petty argument for some while. The argument finally ended with Great Serpent said that he would repay the Nagas, especially Gulama.
"I love you," the Great Serpent whispered. Then he pointed around his new kingdom. "Everything you sssee is mine, but I do not want it unlesss you will sssit bessside me." Gulama stifled a gasp. "Be my queen."
"Master, I cannot. I am merely your servant, not a queen."
"Then I will change that. You will no longer be Gulama. You will become Rani Nagi." Gulama tried to act surprised, but she could not. This was her plan, unbeknownst to the Great Serpent, and it was coming together.
"Master, I will be your queen, but only if you will give up your powers over the Nagas." Gulama knew what she was doing the entire time. After a moment of thought, the Great Serpent agreed to the conditions. They began planning their wedding right off the bat.
The day of their wedding, the Great Serpent gave Gulama his powers over the Nagas. That same day, a coronation took place for the Great Serpent; a following coronation crowned Gulama, Rani Nagi. But Gulama, now Rani Nagi, had yet to finish her plan.
(Iris's POV)
Dr. Grey shakes me awake; I realize where we are. We're in a hospital, waiting to hear if Ms. Grey survived surgery. I'm also keeping an eye on the Saturdays' statuses. I don't know what I'll do if ownership changes again. Suddenly, a doctor walks into the waiting room where Dr. Grey and I stayed the night. She smiles at us as Dr. Grey stands. The doctor nods and explains that Ms. Grey has been moved the ICU along with the Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell. Dr. Grey exhales relieved; she wipes her eyes with the palm of her left hand. She nods gratefully as the thanks the doctor and shakes her hand. Then a doctor whispers something and walks out.
Dr. Grey sits back down at looks at me, tears glistening in her eyes. She quickly wipes them away and motions that we should go see them. I rise and follow her. No one says a word as we walk, nor do we look at each other. My thoughts are on the Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell, but I can only imagine what Dr. Grey's are on.
We find our way to the ICU, and we split ways. I find myself at Mister Zak's side before too long. His black hair and white star droop against his face so beautifully, and his off-center nose rests perfectly on his adorable face. My heart skips a couple beats just being near him. But then I remember who he is, and my heart settles. A relationship wouldn't work for a number of reasons, such as the fact that his family owns me and that they are Master's enemies. I have to remember these, or else my world will start caving in on me.
Though I do check on the other Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell frequently, my main concern in Mister Zak. He is the worst out of everyone, and the doctors are dedicating most of their time to him. Standing in the corner, I observe as the doctors and nurses tend to the Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell. It's fascinating to witness how a doctor will shout for X amount of X medicine over X amount of time, and the nurses jump on it as if each one is assigned a medication to fetch. If I were not a servant, I would definitely go into a medical career.
Most of the attention is on Mister Zak, but it doesn't look like it's doing much good.
"Doctor, his vitals are dropping," one nurse says. The doctor gives another command, and the team of nurses immediately begins working on it.
The monitor beeps with every action the doctor and nurses take. Nothing seems to be working, and the frustration is palpable. The doctor eventually throws his hands up. After a while and through the entire team's hard work, Mister Zak's vitals are soon stable. Out of the blue, a thought dawns on the doctor, and he turns to the closest nurse.
"Get Poison Control on the line." One of the nurses leaps for the phone and dials a number rapidly. She hands the phone to the doctor who then explains what Mister Zak's and the other's symptoms are. "What? . . . How is that possible? . . . How do we treat it best? . . . Okay, thank you." The doctor hangs up. "Good and bad news: it's arsenic poisoning."
A nurse asks the doctor which treatment option to use. He thinks it over for a moment and tells her to start sending absorbents into the Saturdays, especially into Mister Zak, STAT. Then he asks why Mister Zak isn't in Pediatric ICU, and a nurse tells him this hospital doesn't have a Pediatric ICU.
Frustrated, the doctor steps away for a breather. He checks on the other Saturdays. The nurses have medications running in all the Saturdays' IVs. The doctor says to keep everyone under observation; he then walks out to tend to other patients. One of those patients is Ms. Grey. He checks on her and says something to Dr. Grey, who is stroking her sister's hair. The doctor walks out of the room and continues his work. Dr. Grey and I continue to stay with those about whom we care for a while longer.
After a while of watching everyone's statuses, Dr. Grey decides that we should step out of the ICU and relax our minds a little. She suggests that we go get something to eat. I follow her out of the ICU, down to the cafeteria. She orders a salad and water, but I refuse any food. Master made it clear for the past six years that it is not my place to eat with my betters. Dr. Grey looks at me, sighs painfully, and says that I'm going to die if I do not eat. I try not to look at her.
After lunch, Dr. Grey and I head back up to the ICU; I get some water from the fountain up there. We spend the rest of the day with the ones for whom we care. That night, Dr. Grey and I sleep in the waiting room. She dozes off before I, but once I do fall asleep, I have a troubled sleep.
The sunlight feels warm on my skin as I sit at the kitchen table. It's May, and school just let out for summer break yesterday. I can't wait to spend my summer with Lindsey and Daddy. It will be so much fun!
Daddy walks into the kitchen ever so silently and sits down in the chair next to me. He breathes deeply for a moment, leaving me to wonder what he's doing. He doesn't say a word for a long time; he just looks at me. This isn't like Daddy at all. I wonder what's going on. Daddy takes another deep breath, as if he's trying to figure out how to tell me something. Finally, he grabs both my hands.
"Iris, I've been thinking, and- Iris, I know that you love life as just the two of us, but you're growing up now." Daddy pauses and looks over his shoulder like he's looking for something. "As you get older, you're going to need a mother figure." After looking over his shoulder once again, Daddy takes another deep breath. "I've met someone, we've been seeing each other for a while, about three years. We've decided that it's time you two meet."
He turns around in his chair, hanging his elbow off the back of the chair; he calls out to someone in the living room, saying he or she can come in. The person I cannot remember comes in. "Iris, this is _. _, this is my daughter, Iris." The person waves to me.
Just like yesterday, Dr. Grey wakes me up, but she looks at me with concern filling her eyes. I meet her eyes, and she asks me if I had another dream. I nod. Then she asks me if I dreamed of anyone. Again I nod; Dr. Grey asks me if I know about whom I dreamed. I tell her that I dreamed of my father, another person, and myself. When Dr. Grey asks me if I remember who the person was, I tell her no.
"Iris, I might know who the person is."
My eyes widen. "Qui? (Who?)" Dr. Grey leans in closer and whispers the name to me. I pull back after the two words. I take another look at Dr. Grey, my mind in total disbelief. "Comment? (How?)" I ask.
Suddenly, a nurse comes running out to Dr. Grey and stops in front of her. The nurse says that Ms. Grey has gone into cardiac arrest and may not wake up; Dr. Grey rushes to her sister's side and starts encouraging her to fight for her life. She takes her sister's hand and squeezes it and starts telling a story about a time when they were little. Dr. Grey describes a game they played with their brother and how their parents were so proud of Ms. Grey. After a few minutes, Dr. Grey takes a look at the monitors before continuing with her story. She keeps trying to convince her sister to wake up.
I look away for just a moment, but a large crash reverts my attention back to Dr. Grey and Ms. Grey. To my horror, nurses are surrounding Dr. Grey and helping her into a chair. A few nurses are asking if she's okay and trying to wake her up, but she's not responding. The nurses keep trying, and eventually Dr. Grey wakes up.
At first, she seems very confused about what just happened, so a nurse explains what just happened. Dr. Grey tries to piece together what just happened; seeing her sister in full-blown cardiac arrest shocks Dr. Grey and almost brings her to tears. She turns to nurse and asks for help getting back to the waiting room. One of the nurses makes sure Dr. Grey is okay and helps her back to the waiting room. The nurse then brings her a cup of water.
"She'll be okay, I promise." The nurse leaves after that.
Dr. Grey looks at me. "What if she's not okay? What if Abbey dies? What about our parents? Our brother's death about tore them up. What are they going to say? What are they going to think? Who knows what they'll do." Out of frustration, Dr. Grey runs her fingers through her bangs and framing strands, tears rolling down her face. Her pain is immense, as her eyes so clearly tell. Her family must be the most important part of her life; this event must be killing her.
About ten minutes later, the same nurse that led Dr. Grey to her seat comes back and says that Ms. Grey is back. Dr. Grey immediately stands and hurries to her sister's bed, where she stays for the remainder of the day. Meanwhile, I make my way to the Saturdays' and Mr. Blackwell's beds.
"Doctor," a nurse tending to Dr. Drew says, "her vitals are improving. The absorbents are working." The doctor gives a sigh of relief and tells the nurses to continue treatment. Then he continues making rounds to the other Saturdays and Mr. Blackwell. All the nurses say that the absorbents are working properly. The doctor nods and tells those nurses to continue treatment.
After hearing this news, I stop worrying so much about the others and focus most of my energy watching Mister Zak. I spend the rest of the day by his side, begging him to recover and help teach me to serve his family. I try to convince him that he is needed here, even into the late hours of the night. However, sleep soon calls my name, and just like any master, I obey its command.
For the first time since this whole ICU ordeal began, I wake before dawn on my own. The first thing I do is check on Mister Zak as he remains comatose in the most adorable way. Part of me yearns to bend down and kiss his forehead, but that is forbidden on all levels. In order to resist the temptation, I start walking out of the room; I look over my shoulder longingly as I leave. I barely step out of the room when things start to go wrong.
A nurse comes running out of the room Mister Zak is in. She finds the doctor and tells him something. "Doctor, we're losing the boy." Both rush into the bay and work frantically to save Mister Zak. "Doctor, he's crashing." A monitor beeps once before emitting a long beep.
"No pulse. Electrical activity. Let's shock him. 200 Jules."
"Charging. Ready."
"Everybody clear." Nothing happens. The team tries five more times, but to no avail. The monitor stops beeping all together and only shows straight lines. "Flatline," the doctor admits. All the nurses stop. "Time of death?"
"15:05" one of the nurses replies.
One of the nurses holds Mister Zak's hand before placing it beside him again. Then they cover up Mister Zak's body. Everybody steps away, and the same nurse who held Mister Zak's hand closes the door the the room. I look at the closed door and the sheet covering Mister Zak. My heart fills with regret for not kissing him.
I make my way back to the waiting room, where Dr. Grey is waiting for me. I sit down by her feet and curl up into a ball position. I try not to show my hurt because it does not make sense for me to grieve a person set on killing my master. But my heart belongs to Mister Zak, and nothing will ever heal this pain.
AB: Iris, please don't make me cry! (Wipes a tear from eyes then pulls self together.)
Iris: Bon chapitre, AB. (Good chapter, AB.)
AB: Merci, Iris. (Thank you, Iris.) Anyways, Happy Holidays and Season's Greetings to everyone! I hope to have another chapter up later. Let me know what you all think of this chapter. We're almost halfway; I need to know if you want a sequel! Also, as I said before: Would you like to see anything in French in italics, no matter if it's spoken or thought, or would that be too confusing? Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but a lot does happen in my defense. Please forgive any mistakes; I'm in a huge rush. Don't forget to favorite, follow, review, or all three! Love you all!