Lloyd POV: I sighed heavily in the bed I was staying in, uncomfortably I might add. I was in the med bay after Zane and Jay convinced me to stay here as a way to keep an eye on Kai. I knew what they were thinking, so I didn't have to ask. But I didn't like the idea at first, since I know that it was also to keep me off my feet. Though, after taking one look at him, I agreed. Despite being asleep he was in so much pain that he was panting behind his mask. And also there was the fact that Zane told me about possible infections that could happen.
So here I was, bored yet worried out of my mind. Jay and Cole had promised to find things for me to do. But they haven't been back since lunch. And that was to bring food instead. That was two hours ago and Kai still wasn't awake. That was making me really worried, and I wished that I knew something about medical attention.
I sighed again and flopped back, only to flinch from my own pain. Stupid ribs, you guys just had to break, didn't you? I need to check and make sure something is coming to distract me. Because this pain was getting old.
But right as I was about to text them Kai started violently coughing. He instantly woke up from that and I rushed to his side. Keeping his injuries in mind, I gently helped him sit up and carefully patted his back. However, it still took him a while before he finally stopped, but he still sounded like he was having trouble breathing. Which was weird since he was still wearing the oxygen mask. I peaked at the tank and it was nearly empty, but not quite so he shouldn't be having problems.
I quickly texted Zane and went back to Kai. He was still struggling, but now his eyes were open.
He glanced at me and, painfully, said, "Hey…"
"Hey. How are you feeling?" I immediately asked.
I was expecting him to say that he was fine, but he just shook his head and coughed again. That alone was very concerning. He was never the one to easily admit to anything, and the fact that he was made my anxiety rise. Fortunately Zane was fast and when he opened the door he didn't like what he saw.
He walked over and switched the oxygen tanks after he saw the level. But Kai was still having trouble despite trying to make him more comfortable.
Zane walked over to his other side and asked, "Kai, what's wrong?"
"It… just hurts to breathe." He wheezed out.
Zane grabbed a scanner and checked his chest as I stood there. Anxious and really worried about Kai since he was getting worse. Once the scan was done and after looking it over he didn't react. Which is worse, in my opinion.
"Kai, don't freak out. But it looks like there's a small infection on your right lung that was most likely caused by your broken ribs. It seems a cut was formed from movement. And because we didn't know it was left untreated until now." He explained.
That made my anxiety skyrocket. That's the last thing that any of us wanted, and we tried so hard to make sure that didn't happen. Yet it has. I tried not to panic for Kai's sake, but he was taking it a lot more calmly than I thought he would.
"Really?" He asked, softly coughing as he did.
"Yes, but it is still a small infection. Once we get antibiotics started it should be fine. And I can get that started now." Him saying that made me feel better.
Kai nodded slightly and said, "Then there's no point in waiting."
He cringed a little, but Zane focused on what he was doing. He had to reinsert the needle and he flinched as it went in. He groaned and I gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, trying to help. But I don't think he noticed me and wheezed from the pain. I hate that he was in so much pain. But Zane worked quickly and motioned for me to help lay him back. He groaned again as we did, but he didn't say anything and took a shaky breath once we got him comfortable.
"Is there anything else?" I asked, and he glanced at me. The pain was so clear in his eyes. The infection was hitting him hard.
"At the moment… no." he said, but he coughed a little bit at the end.
"Please let us know if your pain gets worse. In the meantime I will keep a close eye on your lung for now. Hopefully, since we caught it early, we can avoid other measures." Zane said. I'm so happy that he didn't elaborate on what those measures would be.
Kai nodded and asked, "Okay, doc."
I laughed a little and Zane smiled a little. He then said, "I'll leave you both to rest. I'll be back later."
He gave me a look, the look that means to watch him closely, and left. And after he closed the door Kai looked at me.
"So, you're my… guardian for now?" He asked, struggling a little. But I was surprised by the question.
"What do you mean?" He couldn't be onto us already, right?
But Kai raised an eyebrow and said, "Lloyd… you have a… really bad poker face."
"And you need to get some rest. So rest." I said, avoiding the question.
Kai definitely caught onto that and rolled his eyes a little. Though he did listen to me and closed his eyes. Soon he was snoring a little, and he didn't look like he was in as much pain as before. That was a good sign. Even though I was still worried out of my mind.
I went back to my bed and stared at the ceiling. I may not know much about this sort of stuff. But I did know that lung stuff was sensitive and working around them can be dangerous. Kind of like head injuries, but not really. I just wanted Kai to get better fast so we can put this all behind us. If that's how this worked then life would be so much easier. Then again, I shouldn't really be complaining about that. It wasn't far and Kai wasn't doing it either, and he was in worse shape than me. I need to take the hint and follow Kai's lead.
I sighed and looked over at him again. He was actually sleeping as peacefully as he could. He was wheezing now, but it wasn't terrible. Maybe he was finally getting a break from all the pain he was in. but I grimaced when I looked over all of his bandaged limbs. He really was in bad shape and I hated it. I hate that he is so willing to put himself in danger just to protect us. We could have all gotten out with less injuries if we were more prepared. But Kai just had to worry about us instead of himself. That's just who he was and I hate it and love it at the same time. Which is annoying during times like this.
But I wasn't going to stop keeping an eye on him. He is, and always will be, my brother. And he needs my support right now, which is what I was going to give him. Even if I wish he wouldn't do this to himself. Though I'm definitely going to mention to the others about this once he was out of danger. At this point we definitely need to do something, so something like this won't happen again. Especially something where we have to worry about infections like this. Even if it doesn't work.
I just hope he can shake this infection soon.
