*Updated 18-05-2018*
Chapter 62 - Doctor Earnhardt
"Doctor Earnhardt!" Raul shouted, jumping from the jeep.
Vaas carried Rosa in his arms and ran into the quiet compound, thudding footsteps of pirates following behind. Jane jumped up also and ran through, to help get the Doctor up from his sleep.
Rosa was limp but breathing; Vaas was amazed at how strong she was. She rebounded from death like it was no issue. But somehow, this time seemed more serious, more intense, maybe even worse than her fight with Caddo. Vaas didn't know how to measure them, so shook his head of those thoughts and went back to concentrating on getting the Doctor to get Rosa better.
"Ha! The girl has no chance!" Shadow Man scoffed, coming out from the shack at the sound of the commotion.
A pirate behind Vaas knocked him out with the end of his gun; Shadow Man barely even noticed as he hit the floor once again. This had become a recurring theme since he had arrived. Vaas turned to the pirate, nodding at the man in gratitude and then continued to the centre of the compound.
"What's happened now?" Doctor Earnhardt grumbled, once again being woken from a drug induced sleep.
"You gotta help, Doc. She's dying." Vaas urged.
"Come up to your room then, so I can tend to her." he instructed .
Vaas turned to Jane and Raul.
"You guys hold the fort for a while. I'll be out as soon as I can."
"Sure thing, Boss." Raul replied.
The Doctor and Vaas jogged to the warehouse and entered.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Raul asked as Jane kissed him on the cheek.
"She's a fighter, she'll be fine. We'll call her father when we know she's okay."
"Ah, shit, Hoyt. Rosa's done nothing but get into fights and be close to death since she's gotten here." he answered, chuckling slightly.
"Everyone's gotta rebel at some point." Jane replied.
Raul looked at her sideways and Jane grew red.
"What?"
"Will you tell me what happened in your home town?" he asked her.
Jane rolled her eyes.
"Later. Lets just concentrate on getting Rosa better. RIGHT, YOU FUCKS!" Jane boomed, taking the attention of the pirates ...
"Antiaris Toxicaria. Upas trees. Highly poisonous. It's surprising that she's even breathing."
Rosa was laid out on the bed, the Doctor examining her cuts. He then took a syringe filled with a clear liquid and put the needle into her arm. Vaas rubbed the back of his neck and perched next to her, holding her hand, stroking it with his thumb.
"What you do need to do?"
"I have some antidote left for this kind of poison. Fetch my bag over there." he instructed.
Vaas got to his feet and passed him the bag.
"You're always close to death when you're with me, princesa. I must have that affect on people." Vaas said, trying to lighten the mood.
Rosa was unresponsive but she was less pal; her breathing was almost normal. Doctor Earnhardt injected her with a blue liquid and then began putting a special ointment onto her cuts from the plant.
"Depending on how her body reacts, she could be awake in a few minutes, a few hours or a few days. Until we know, I'll administer the antidote each hour."
"Thank you, Doc. What would we do without you?" Vaas said, his voice sincere.
The Doctor mumbled something of acknowledgement and then continued working on her cuts.
Vaas looked at his ill wife and then back to Doctor Earnhardt.
"Have you ever been married, Doc?" he asked, again looking down to Rosa.
"No. I had a daughter though." he replied loosely.
Vaas wanted to know more; he and Rosa were ever inquistive. The Doctor shifted on his feet, uncomfortable at being asked such personal questions but he had a sense that he could trust Vaas.
"A daughter? Where is she now?"
Doctor Earnhardt sighed and coughed.
"She came back to me with that boy; Jason. Ah, my dear sweet Agnes, I knew she was alright. How could I have said no to her?"
Vaas frowned and realised that he must have been talking about the blonde girl that was with Jason. He softly rolled his eyes at the mad Doctor and then looked back to Rosa.
"I'm sorry about your child, Vaas. The one that Rosa lost."
He gripped Rosa's hand together and remembered that she could be pregnant.
"Hey Doc, can you check something for me please?" he asked.
The man frowned.
"What do you need?"
"Well, it's just that ... Rosa thought ..." Vaas was struggling to get the words out.
Doctor Earnhardt said nothing, waiting for Vaas to speak.
"Rosa thought that she might be pregnant again."
Doctor Earnhardt nodded.
"Ah, yes, I remember now. She stole a urine test from me. I shall check her blood now."
"Thank you, Doc." Vaas replied with a sigh.
The Doctor went about grabbing the necessary equipment.
"It's a simple test really. You just take a blood sample and pour it onto some leaves here; they're all outside the compound. If the leaf changes colour, it means that you're pregnant. I spent a while finding the perfect specimen that would do this and once I had, I sold it to those women in Bad Town and Amanki for a good price. Fool proof really." he explained.
Vaas scoffed.
"Shall I get the leaves or -?"
"No, no, allow me. I shall be back momentarily." he muttered, stumbling out of the room.
Vaas looked down at Rosa and touched her face, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Princesa, I know you can probably hear me. I just really need you to wake up, okay? Come on, we've been through this. You know how much you mean to me; you gotta wake up, please." he mumbled, stroking her hair.
He rested his forehead against hers and sighed deeply. He closed his eyes, trying to channel happy thoughts and memories through to her, as if she would pick them up and awaken.
Rosa started to stir.
She frowned at first and then gently opened her eyes. Her throat was raw and she felt diabolically awful but she managed to speak.
"5-5 more minutes please, gracias." she whispered, her voice a thin croak.
Vaas jumped up as thought he was dreaming.
"Rosa? Are you awake?" he asked.
She nodded gently.
"5 more minutes of sleep, please." she whispered again.
Vaas jumped in delight.
"You're awake! Ay, ay, ay!"
He rushed over to her and kissed her on her forehead as she groaned and batted him away.
"Sleep."
Doctor Earnhardt re-entered the room and Vaas got to his feet, gushing with excitement.
"She's awake, Doc. Tired and moaning,but awake!" he cried jubilantly.
The Doctor clapped his hands in happiness.
"Wonderful. I have the leaves, so I shall conduct the test now that she's awake. I will still administer the antidote every hour, just to be on the safe side."
Vaas nodded and went back to Rosa, who was more awake and squinting from the luminous lights. Her body ached all over and she felt dirty and soggy, like she had plunged into a huge pool and swallowed all the water within it. Then she remembered; the cenote, the hallucinations, falling. It all came back and she began to cry with relief.
"Hey princesa, it's okay. You're safe now." Vaas reassured her as he wiped away a tear, like he always did.
"I'm just so happy that I'm not dead." she cried.
Vaas laughed.
"You and me both, hermana."
"Ow!" she cried out as Doctor Earnhardt pulled the needle from her arm.
"Just getting some blood."
"Doc's doing a pregnancy test." Vaas said vaguely.
Rosa sniffed.
"Ah right. I feel like I've been run over or something. Hurts worse than last time. The visions, Vaas, they were -"
Rosa shuddered and closed her eyes.
"It's okay, baby, it's okay." Vaas shushed, calming her down.
"Ahem." Doctor Earnhardt coughed.
The pair looked at him. Rosa was still lying down and Vaas was sat up straight.
"Well?"
"Not pregnant." he replied.
Rosa breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank God." she breathed as Vaas kissed her on her forehead.
"All in good time. Later on, when we're ready, yeah? I'm gonna speak to Doc about getting us some birth control." he said.
Rosa nodded.
"Good idea. Can I go to sleep now, Vaas?" she asked.
He looked at the Doctor, who nodded in confirmation.
"I'll be back in an hour to give you some more of the antidote." he mumbled and then wandered off, presumably to get more drugs.
"I'll just tell them that you're okay." Vaas said/
He went to stand up but Rosa pulled him back down with a feeble hand, weak from her injuries.
"No, they can wait. Stay and lie with me." she pleaded.
Vaas pulled off his shoes and his holster, before stripping Rosa down, out of her wet clothes. He pulled the sheet over her before lying next to her, his arm around her, protective.
"Te amo, Vaas." she whispered.
Vaas smiled to himself and kissed the top of her head.
"Te amo, Rosa."
Hey guys, hope you are all okay! I also hope that you enjoyed this chapter too, so leave a review or a favourite or follow. I wonder what will happen now, dun dun dun! Happy reading my little cherubs and we'll talk soon :)