Outside the hospital room door, Dr. Alan Samuelson stood waiting, awkwardly rocking on his heels and ignoring the stares of the two officers sitting in front of him. Even if he had noticed their staring or odd looks, his mind was too much a chaotic jumble of emotion to care.
He'd been certain that his next visit to this room would involve a long talk with Kelly, but in light of his third revelation of the day, that was going to have to wait now. Personal situation aside, his ex-girlfriend and her friends had certainly gotten themselves into some trouble. Sabrina had explained that beforehand, but it had taken this lab result to really hit it home.
Alan stared at the report in his hand, marveling at how a simple sheet of paper could make his stomach queasy and his hands sweat. How did one deliver an announcement like this to people he'd considered friends? Oh, he'd seen his fair share of unusual and disturbing lab results. Six years of working in a level one trauma center had accommodated his mind to shock. It was a rare case now that really unsettled him.
Children mauled by dogs, factory workers with mangled arms and legs, stabbing victims, one brought in last week with the knife still jutting out of his body like a candle on the most macabre birthday cake. Of the horrors that could befall the human body, he'd seen it all.
Murder was not uncommon. Lately he and his colleagues had desperately tried to save the life of more soon to be victims of murder than they had victims of tragic accidents. An unfortunate part of his job that he'd had to quickly learn to cope with. Guns were the most common, the messiest. Knives were used sometimes, blunt objects, vehicles, with a little imagination, anything could be a weapon.
But, attempted murder by poison in this day and age? There was a rare but growing field of concern. Science had come a long way, though. Pesticide, lead, and arsenic poisoning, it could all be identified now, but to an unfortunate victim who had been exposed to the right amount of it over a long enough time period, it was bound to be fatal, and often enough was mistakenly diagnosed as something far more benign in its early stages.
In the case of Jill Munroe, science told him that she exhibited classic symptoms of pesticide poisoning. He was sure of it. Being a doctor, he had to be sure and he had to be right. And he was right, the lab results proved that. Just not the way he'd expected to be. Doubting his own finding at firsts, he'd consulted with two more experienced doctors, two older men that he'd done his residency with and trusted completely. Her blood was tested three times over, each time with him and his mentors coming up with the same conclusion.
There was something more to Jill's results. This was poisoning yes, but on a larger scale, the pesticide carefully hidden in with another drug he was unfamiliar with, a nearly lethal cocktail of poison and fertility drugs. According to the lab results, Jill's hormone level reading was much higher than that of a normal pregnant woman. This, in itself, could have caused her an immediate and fatal heart attack.
The culprit, a fertility drug called Clomifene had been used as either a way to kill her or...
Or a reason he hadn't figured out yet.
But even more disturbing yet, was the type of poison lightly traced in her blood. A poison he'd heard of in documentaries on the television. Not a poison that would appear in a patient, in a friend.
Hydrogen cyanide.
Code name Zyklon B.
Disturbing thoughts of how anyone could find and claim this killer drug wracked his mind, and Alan clutched the results, crinkling the paper in his fist. His steps towards Jill and Kelly's room were cautious, as if he was too dazed to walk a straight line. If it hadn't been this serious, he'd have gotten a colleague to deliver the news. But despite his desire to stay far away from this room, he had promised Sabrina he'd keep their situation quiet. With mixed emotions, he reached up and massaged his cheeks before entering, hitching on a breath before stepping inside.
"-and while you're at it, ask Bosley to look into some doctor. We don't have a name, but they kept talking about him."
Jill's voice was directed at Sabrina, and, as she spoke, her blue eyes drifted over to him, making her the only one in the room who'd noticed that he'd entered the room. Uncharacteristically, her face flushed and she looked away. Alan took a deep breath, wondering if he should just call out for their attention and get this over with or wait for Jill to do it for him.
Sabrina, who had the phone to her ear and her back to him, seemed to be the center of attention. Kelly, Kris, and that blonde surfer guy they'd brought with them were staring intently at her. Alan felt a tightness in his throat that he hadn't felt since the first time he'd lost a patient. He couldn't even look at Kelly and was glad that she'd not noticed him yet.
"A doctor?" Sabrina was echoing into the phone. "I don't know, Bos, that's what Jill says."
"Hi, Alan." Jill called suddenly, louder than needed for just a simple greeting. As she intended, the rest of her group suddenly turned towards him.
Alan cleared his throat. "Hi, everyone." Only Kris greeted him and the young doctor couldn't help but notice the way Kelly couldn't seem to meet his gaze either. Good. It was a strange thing feeling anger towards her, but despite it all, he couldn't help it.
"Bos, I'll call you back. Alan's here." Sabrina said quickly before hanging up the phone. "Hey there, any updates?"
He looked down. The chart in his hands made that obvious, didn't it? Swallowing, he forced a smile and nodded. "Yes, I'll get to that in just a moment."
"Are those my results?" Jill asked sweetly, much more sweetly than she'd ever spoken to him before.
Alan tore his gaze away from Kelly and nodded. "Uh… yes."
There was an obvious tension between him and Kelly and the other four occupants of the room picked up on it immediately. Something about his stance, the tight expression on his face, Kelly's averted and shameful gaze. But whatever spat they'd had needed to wait and unfortunately for the pair of them, they knew it too.
"I need to ask you something though." Alan continued in an odd voice. He scratched the side of his face, looking down at his papers. "I'm not sure if you want..." His eyes danced between Jill and Max, unsure if speaking freely in front of him was a good idea. Kelly, Sabrina and Kris were signed on as Jill's emergency contacts, allowing medical information about her released to them, but Max was not. From the looks he was receiving however, he could guess that Max's presence was the least of Jill's concerns. Still though, he had to make sure.
"What? You can say it in front of everyone, I want you to." Jill encouraged, when Alan's hesitance became uncomfortably noticeable .
"Go on, Alan." Sabrina pressured, a look of concern growing on her face. "It's why you came in, isn't it. Just-"
"Okay," Alan started nervously. "Okay, fine. Look, it seems that there is a high level of… of-" He looked up again at the women who he'd kept company with the last several months, had dinner with, spent hours of carefree time with, made a part of his life because they were a part of Kelly's and decided to stop being a doctor and just be a friend. He sighed and kept his look focused on Jill, never breaking eye contact. "Look, Jill, I am going to ask you this flat out, as someone who is your friend. Are you trying to get pregnant?"
Silenced stilled the air around them.
Jill stared blankly at him, as if waiting for him to clarify his question.
"What kind of question is that?" Kris asked quietly.
"For real," Sabrina echoed, standing up and walking over to him. "Does it say she's pregnant?" Her head snapped to Jill. "Are you pregnant, Jill!?" Not another one. She couldn't handle two of them.
"No!" Jill cried, snapping out of her trance. She whirled to face Alan, dropping her earlier awkwardness with him. "No, I'm not. I… wait, I'm not pregnant, am I? What are you-"
Alan waved off their questions. "I didn't say that you were. I asked if you were trying, because it would explain how a fertility drug showed up in your blood."
Jill came up short. "I… what?" The blonde sounded out of breath, her face turning pale. "Fertility drug? What?"
"This wasn't a good idea to do now," Alan spoke out loud, reprimanding himself with a bite down on his lip. "I should have waited until you were more stabilized, I'm sorry. But you're okay now and -"
"Alan!" Jill shouted, the paleness in her face a stark contrast to the red flushing along her cheek line. "Would you tell me what's going on?!"
He ran his sweaty hands through his hair, suddenly wishing he'd sent someone in here to do this for him. "You have a hormone level higher than that of a woman in her last trimester of pregnancy. This is something I would normally see in a lady who is going through vigorous fertility treatments. But since, clearly, this isn't the case, I assume what you were injected with was a near overdose of Clomifene."
"Is that the name of the fertility drug?" Jill asked. Stupid question, what else could it be? But her mind and lips weren't matching up. This felt like she was running on auto-pilot.
"Yes," He answered uncomfortably. "But, that's not what made you sick. I will tell you now I have no experience with this drug, and I don't know how it's even in this part of the world. It's called Zyklon B, a type of cyanide based poison."
Jill's gaze fell to the floor. "Cyclone D? So... I was poisoned."
"Zyklon B, Jill." He gently corrected. "And yes it appears you were. I don't know anything about it, if they were trying to give you a fatal dose or just enough to make you sick or what. And it sure as hell doesn't add up with why you would have been given a fertility drug with it."
"No," Sabrina muttered in a hushed tone, making her way over him to glance at the paper in his hands. "How could someone have that?" But there it was in bold letters. Her brain overloaded with information that didn't seem possible. "My dad said… I mean Alan, you know what that's been used for, right?"
Alan bit his lip. "Yeah, I was informed by the lab tech." He answered her gravely. He took a deep breath and fixed Sabrina with as serious and authorative look as he could muster. "And now I think I need for you to tell me what happened last night."
His demand sent the group of women exchanging conspiratorial looks amongst each other. Without any of them having to say a word, Alan realized immediately that, even though he had gone out of his way to help them, he was going to remain out of the loop. A second later, Sabrina turned back towards him, her hands folded uncomfortably in front of her.
"I'm sorry, Alan." She said, looking surprisingly apologetic. "You can't ask us that yet."
"Sabrina-"
But, Sabrina was firm. "Trust me, it's nothing illegal. We wouldn't ask you to do anything illegal. We just… we need a little more time to figure out what's going on and then," She reached out and laid her hand on his arm to emphasize her point. "-and then I swear to God, I will tell everyone that will listen to me, okay?"
Alan didn't look at all convinced, but was smart enough to realize that it didn't matter what he felt about it. These weren't Kelly's friends for no reason, after all, he thought bitterly. His dark gaze met with Sabrina's, then Jill's and Kris's, before skipping directly over Kelly to Max. "Well," he started moodily. "Then I guess it's none of my business, is it?"
Sabrina had the decency to look guilty. "It is, Alan. Just… just not right now, okay? I promise we'll let you know as soon as we can. Just please, don't tell anyone."
"What are friends for?" Alan replied dryly. Clearly angry and frustrated, he sighed and ran his hand through his thick, dark hair. "I have work to do. I'll leave you to your… plotting then."
"Thank you, Alan." Jill called out to him. The playful, teasing lilt that was usually in her tone was completely absent. She did feel badly about this, maybe they all did. But for once, her sincerity did nothing for him.
"Yeah." He gruffed. His gaze swept over to Kelly, her blank stare fixed on something on the table between her and Jill's bed. Probably at nothing, really. So long as she wasn't looking at him. Just one of her many quirks he'd gotten to know while they dated. A infuriatingly childish quirk that had always driven him crazy during their short relationship and her simple avoidance of him suddenly had his blood boiling. Suddenly, now seemed like a perfect time for their little heart to heart. He fought down the prickly mass that seemed to be clawing its way up from his chest. "Kelly?" he called quietly.
She looked startled by his acknowledgment. Alan tried to ignore the way everyone else in the room suddenly went on edge.
"Yes?" Kelly mumbled, still not meeting his gaze.
But the timing couldn't have been more wrong, Alan realized suddenly. As angry as he was with her, as much as he wanted to get this off his chest, he couldn't do this in front of her friends. Not here. Not after what he'd just dumped in their laps. Later. When they had a moment alone.
Just as quickly as it had come, Alan lost his nerve. "You know what? Nevermind." He breathed quickly.
The room let out a collective sigh of relief and suddenly, Alan wanted nothing more than to be out of this room as fast as possible.
"We'll talk later." He tossed over his shoulder as he made his way to the door. He was halfway into the hallway before he realized he hadn't said goodbye to anyone in the room. But with everyone going on, he was far beyond the point of caring. He'd come back later. Set this all straight. Until then, he still had a job to do.
Five pairs of eyes watched in silence as the door closed behind him.
"What was that about?" Kris piped up, unable to take the tension a second longer.
Kelly's felt her face grow hot. "Nothing." She whispered. She turned herself toward the wall and Kris knew to leave her alone.
It was a blessing when the phone rang before anyone else could question Alan's demeanor. The group stared stupidly at it before Sabrina finally snapped out of her daze and shoved Kris aside to answer it.
"Hello?" She greeted wearily. A loud but muffled male voice drifted to their ears from the other line. "Yeah, Bos. You bet he did. Uh huh. You sitting down?"
The group listened as Sabrina launched into her story. She had scarcely finished an abbreviated version of what Alan had just told them before the entire room could hear the pitch of Bosley's voice rise in excitement even from the phone. They watched in concerned silence as the color drained from Sabrina's face, trying in vain to piece together what Bosley was saying. Finally, his voice trailed off and Sabrina let out a long, controlled exhale.
"Thanks, Bos." She said shakily. "No… no, I think I know where to go now." She hung up the phone and instead of regarding the obvious questions written in everyone, save Kelly's expressions, started making her way to the door amid cries of protest from Jill, Kris, and Max.
"Hey!" Jill called at her back. "Where are you going?"
Sabrina turned, but didn't stop her progress. "I'll call and explain from my car. Answer the phone, okay? I gotta talk to someone."
"Bri!"
But Sabrina couldn't be held back a second longer. She took a last second look at her two friends and fittingly replied with her usual wit. "Let's just say we're gonna need a bigger boat." With those parting words, she shut the door behind her.
And just like that she was gone. Jill let out an agitated cry and slammed her hand against the soft mattress she was lying on. "Goddammit, Sabrina!" she fumed.
"What was that all about?" Max wondered aloud, speaking up for the first time since Alan walked into the room.
Kris shrugged as if he'd asked her directly. "Something to do with that phone call, I guess."
"Really, Columbo? Jill snapped sarcastically. "You think so?" She shot her sister a weary look and then rolled her eyes. Her weariness was once again catching up to her and she slipped down under her sheets and pulled them up to her neck. "I hate when she does this. Kris, make sure one of us answers that damn phone."
Kris flinched at her older sister's harsh reply, but decided to forgive it. Being held hostage and then nearly poisoned to death was enough on Jill's plate - on any normal person's plate, and considering just how differently the outcome to last night could have been, who could fault her for snapping? Besides, she'd apologize later. She always did.
Feeling suddenly drained, Kris shared a brief look with Max and then shrugged in defeat, deciding to give Jill some space. This was most definitely not their world. With Sabrina gone, Kelly checked out, and Jill silently fuming across the room, they settled back and stared quietly at the phone, waiting for Sabrina's call and the explanation to her sudden departure.