A Series of Unfortunate Events

Chapter 28

He wrapped Sharon and the baby who had since fallen asleep in her arms, in an embrace to calm and comfort her. When she stopped shaking he gently answered her. "No. It doesn't seem wrong at all, at least not in that sense. By that I mean, it is wrong that you had to go through what you did. It is wrong that you're having to endure the side effects from a drug that never should have been given to you in the first place. It is wrong that you were consistently made to go by a name that wasn't yours, but is it wrong to change a baby's name because of that experience when you know the name she had, could possibly affect your relationship in a negative way? No, I don't think so. I can see why, given what you've been through, that you would have a problem with changing her name. To you, your name is who you are and being denied that has made you sensitive to the idea. If she were older it would be a problem, Sharon, but at her age, even if she were a hearing infant, she wouldn't know the difference. Honey, it's okay."

Suddenly from across the room a gravelly but oh so familiar voice belonging to Provenza, spoke up. "If I may add my two and a half cents?"

Sharon looked over at him saying, "yes, of course Lieutenant… I mean Louie…"

"Think of it like this Com… uh... Sharon, when that baby grows old enough to read facial expressions and body language, which... isn't as far off as you may think, by the way. You don't want her to pick up on the negative feelings that you have for her name. It's understandable given what you've been through and are going through, but she'll only have signs, facial expressions and body language to go by. If you are trying to tell her you love her but at the same time your memories are still affecting how you feel about her name , and your face, and body language tell her you have negative feelings associated with her, it will give her mixed signals." When he finished he folded his arms across his chest and shrugged. "That's my two and a half cents. Take it or leave it."

Sharon was grateful she had such great friends, though it took years to get there. "Oh, I'll take it, Louie." Sharon said warmly. "I'd say that your advice is worth far more than two and half cents. It makes quite a lot of sense, actually. All three of you make a good case. So, I guess from now on, we call her Olivia Jane, just plain Olivia or Livvie."

"Well, it looks like just plain Olivia is asleep. Do you want me to put her in bed?" Rusty asked cheekily.

"Oh you! You know what I meant! Actually, she might need to be changed before you put her down. Why don't you bring the stuff over and I'll change her. I think I may be able to change her without waking her up. Give me her elephant toy too , please." Rusty complied with her request, bringing a changing pad a clean onesie a clean diaper, a clean swaddling blanket, wipes, ointment, hand sanitizer and the elephant blanket toy. Rusty spread the blanket over Sharon's legs put the changing pad over it. Sharon put the baby on the pad and put the blanket toy in Olivia's hand, she immediately stuck her thumb in her mouth. Sharon started gently unsnapping her onesie, she made quick work of cleaning the messy diaper and changing her onesie. The mess had gone out the sides of the diaper and stained the edges of her clothes. Not as badly as some of her previous ones but definitely messy. Sharon cleaned her thoroughly, but baby Olivia never opened her eyes. Once she was cleaned, dressed, and Sharon had cleaned her own hands, she lifted Olivia and placed her against her chest and neck again then cuddled her while Rusty got rid of the dirty diaper the wipes and everything else. When he came back for the baby, she wasn't ready to give her up so she shook her head. Rusty shrugged and sat down again to finish studying. Sharon lay against Andy's chest holding Olivia. Andy's arms supported them both. He could feel himself and her starting to relax.

"Do you mind if I put a game on?" Provenza asked, hoping for a distraction.

"Suit yourself Louie, but if it's football it better be the Packers, the Rams or the Patriots," Sharon said with her eyes closed.

"I'm afraid you're out of luck, Sharon it's baseball season." Provenza said happily, "the Dodgers are playing the Angels."

She shrugged. "Sorry, I forgot it's only the beginning of June. It seems like a lifetime has passed since this whole situation began or at least a whole season.

"Well, a lot has happened. It's been an eventful few days," Provenza said.

Sharon agreed solemnly. "It certainly has Louie, it certainly has."

After a few moments Patrice came in the room. She saw her husband in the Barcolounger, watching the game with one eye while the other was watching Sharon and Andy. The exhausted couple were cuddled up with the newly renamed baby Olivia. All three were asleep on the wide leather couch. Sharon was on the inside with the baby on her chest. Andy was curled around her on the outside, his back to the television. Rusty was studying again. He had moved over to a small desk that faced the sofa. He wanted to be prepared in case Sharon needed him to take Olivia from them and put her to bed.

Patrice stood there a moment, and watched them too. She was in a long multicolored sleeveless dress whose collar was formed by two straps that tied in the back of her neck. Her hands were on her hips , and she was chewing her bottom lip with her two front teeth. She needed to talk to Sharon but didn't want to disturb her rest. "What is it Patrice?" asked Sharon's voice, pitched low so as not to disturb Andy.

"Oh, I thought you were asleep," Patrice said quietly.

"I was, but I could feel you staring," Sharon said sardonically.

"I'm sorry, but now that you're awake, we need to talk."

"What is wrong, now?" Sharon asked with deep sigh.

Patrice looked up and caught Rusty's attention. With a small nod of her head she indicated he should take Olivia. He did, gently taking her from Sharon, without waking her up, he took her into his room where the crib was. He zipped her into a light blanket sleeper and put a little cap on her strawberry blonde curls. She stuck her thumb back in her mouth while holding the neck of the elephant toy. Rusty watched her sleep for a moment then went out of the room.

Back in the living room of the suite, Patrice helped Sharon ease away from Andy's sleeping form. He was exhausted, not having slept a full eight hours since she had disappeared. He didn't wake up. Provenza watched them leave the room, worried about Sharon getting the news she was about to get without Andy, but worried for Andy as well. He knew Andy needed the sleep. They walked slowly into Sharon and Andy's room, Patrice helped Sharon to sit on the side of the bed, then she sat down beside her. "First of all, I know you're not going to like what I have to say, but your doctor and I believe it's the best and the safest course of action. She doesn't want you to continue to go off the drug cold turkey anymore. She wants me to administer a smaller dose of Midazolam then you had the last time it was given to you and wean you off of it. It means several blood tests and it'll take at least three days."

Sharon looked at her horrified. She launched herself up into a standing position and began to pace in front of Patrice. It was painful because of her knee, but she was on her feet and even though she walked with a limp, she was managing. As she paced she addressed Patrice, "but I'm already halfway through the cold turkey! Aren't I? I've been experiencing just about all the side-effects, even before I started going off of it. If you start giving me the drug again, it'll be like starting all over again! I want all this to be over! I want my life back, Patrice!"

"I know, Honey and that was the plan, but when we were talking earlier, I didn't have all of the information, I now have. Going cold turkey is even more dangerous for you than I thought." Patrice tried not to show how really worried she was for her friend.

Hearing Sharon's raised voice, Andy shot off the sofa like he'd been shot out of a canon. He was groggy for a second, but when he started looking around, Provenza pointed to the bedroom and sighed. When Andy came into the room he saw immediately that Sharon was visibly upset. She was wringing her hands, there were tears in her eyes and she was pacing. "What is it? What'd I miss?" he asked as he came around the bed to her. Sharon reached for him. He put his arms around her, then sat on the bed and pulled her onto his lap. She buried her face into his shoulder holding onto his shirt and cried for a few moments. The toll the medication and the withdrawal was taking on her, had caused a lot of her emotional walls to break down. Crying in front of people while not something she desired to do wasn't nearly as much of an issue as it had been for her.

Patrice sighed and blinked back her own tears. Seeing her friend in such distress and knowing she was partially the cause of it, made her sad. Once she got her own emotions under control she answered him. "Okay, first of all and I should have said this earlier. Louie gave Colleen, his number in case she was able to find information about what exactly was given to Sharon, how much and how often. She called me a little while ago and faxed everything she found. Apparently, Cora was very meticulous about documentation, which is a good thing, but she was giving Sharon a lot more then she should have and a lot more often. Well, technically she shouldn't have been giving you anything but she did, so when I saw the levels of meds you were given, I called your physician, Doctor Elizabeth Evans We talked for a long time. She's on her way. She's known you quite a long time Sharon, so she knows how sensitive your system can be, even though you aren't technically allergic to anything specific. She also knows that your recent experiences haven't endeared you to hospitals, so she wants to try to handle everything here. You have experienced just about all the side-effects but there are a few you haven't. Seizures, I've found out are also a side effect of Midazolam. Not just the antidote Flumazenil. They are rare, but they have been known to happen. Tachycardia is also a side-effect of stopping the meds abruptly and then there is… um… death. The last one of course is the worst, although the first two can be pretty awful too. We want... actually we need to avoid those," Patrice said gravely, knowing that in spite of the gravity of the situation that last part almost sounded almost sarcastic.

Andy questioned, "I thought you said cold turkey was her best option?"

"That was before I found out from Colleen the dosage information. Now, that we know what it is I can gradually decrease it. Before, not only did I not know what the dosage was so I knew where to start from, I wasn't sure we could get a hold of the exact meds she was given, but Colleen not only found the documentation, she found the bottles of meds that were used on Sharon. We are having them tested to make sure that there was not anything besides medication in them and duplicate them. I had her FedEx them to a reputable lab to be tested and Doctor Evans has the results, the new medication and is bringing it here."

Sharon's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "So, Elizabeth is coming… here?" Sharon asked, a little incredulously. "This quite a bit out of her way, isn't it?"

Patrice knew Sharon didn't want to see any more doctors even if it was one she had known for years. "Yes, but you are her patient and you are here, so she's coming. She should be arriving soon and she's bringing someone. A friend who is going to test your blood when we take samples so that we can measure the levels of meds in your system and hopefully keep you from experiencing the worst side-effects. Like I said before, it should take all of three days. A little longer than you hoped and way more involved. I know, but we have to be careful. We don't want to lose you!"

"No, we don't," Andy agreed with a catch in his voice. "I can't lose you, not after everything we've been through and don't forget we're getting married in November. I was really hoping you'd be there for that." Both Sharon and Patrice looked at Andy, their eyebrows in their hairlines and their lips twitching. Suddenly Sharon and Patrice burst out laughing. Sharon's was a snort laugh. "What the hell is so funny? I was serious!" Andy shouted, truly mystified at their hilarity at such a serious subject.

Sharon ran her fingers under eyes to wipe away tears of mirth. Then she cupped his cheek and kissed him on the mouth. It was not just a peck. It was a passionate loving kiss. Another wall had come down. Showing affection in front of people or PDA. Not nearly as much of an issue anymore, she thought. Then she pulled back and said with not just a little amusement. "I know you are, Darling. That's actually what struck us so funny. It is after all, customary and quite necessary that the bride as well as the groom attend the ceremony otherwise there is no wedding."

Andy stared at her a moment, blinked when the lightbulb went on and he realized what he had said , and how he'd said it . He looked at both women, the one standing next to him and the one still on his lap and shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I guess it was a rather obvious statement, but give me a break, I'm sleep deprived here. I've almost lost the love of my life, several times in the last several days let alone the last month. I've maybe gotten three or four hours of uninterrupted sleep in the last 72 hours. I'm not exactly running on all cylinders here."

Sharon was instantly contrite, she cupped Andy's face in her hand and rubbed at the new worry lines she saw there. She pressed her lips together and tilted her head. "I know, Darling and I'm so sorry we laughed at you, please forgive us. I can only say in our defense, that given the seriousness of my… situation, we needed some comic relief and you provided it, albeit inadvertently. Thank you."

"You're forgiven and you are welcome," Andy said. They exchanged smiles and more kisses.

Patrice cleared her throat so they wouldn't forget she was there. It was understandably easy for them to get lost in each other. Considering how many times they'd almost literally lost each other. Sharon turned back to Patrice, "As far as what we were discussing, do what you have to do. I just can't promise I won't come unglued during some of it."

"Honey, you're going to be asleep for most of it," Patrice said matter of factly. "I'll try to make sure you don't need to be peeled off the ceiling when I need to get the blood samples. I've been doing it for a long time. I know a thing or two about not hurting my patients."

TBC...

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