by Laura Acton
The astonishing strength Dan had in his weakened state, flabbergasted Ron. Had Dan not been compromised, Ron realized he wouldn’t have been able to restrain him. And truthfully, without Jeremy’s assistance, he might not have kept him pinned for much longer. It took all Ron’s weight and force to hold Dan until the nitrous took the blond man back to la-la-land. He appreciated Landry’s decision to maintain Dan on a low dose. He was unsure if Dan would retain the same strength when he woke, but he certainly did not want to put that to the test.
Once they got Dan sedated, Maisie expressed sadness that Dan experienced such terrible hallucinations. The whole thing left Ron unnerved. Heck, this entire situation with the Bartons and the storm of the century seemed surreal. His day started off boring at the lodge but turned into something he never imagined. His attention returned to the others in the room as Doc Landry spoke.
“Minna, I believe I removed all the infected matter. Please bring me the second culture vial so I can take a sample of the clean tissue to test later.”
As Landry waited for Minna, he inspected his work for any infected tissue he might’ve missed. His first step in the surgery had been to obtain a sample of the purulent drainage, being careful not to touch the edges of the gash. He remembered the numerous times his first lab technician told him, ‘Trash in, results in trash out.”
Now finished with the debridement, Landry collected a second, more critical culture from the meticulously cleaned site to ensure absence of harmful bacteria. The last step would be to pack the wound with antibiotic-treated gauze to promote healing. When Minna returned, holding the vial, he carefully and efficiently obtained an adequate tissue sample.
As Minna labeled the container and turned to set the sample aside for later delivery to the lab, she glanced at Ron, noting his closed eyes and the still lingering shade of green. He appeared to be losing his war against the need to vomit. Trying to lighten things up a bit, Minna teased, “All done with the gross stuff, but if you hurl, make sure to point away from the table, or you’ll ruin all Doc Landry’s beautiful work.”
Ron opened his eyes to peer at Minna. Unfortunately, he caught sight of Dan’s open wound. Swallowed hard, lost his battle with his stomach, raced to the bio-hazard waste can, and promptly threw up. Embarrassed by his lack of control, after he finished puking, he went to the sink to rinse his mouth.
Maisie appeared next to him and rubbed his back in a soothing grandmotherly manner. “Ron, my boy, you did so well. Without you in here today, Dan would’ve hurt himself or Landry. Thank you for staying and for your assistance.”
“Glad to be of service.” Her kind words assuaged his dinged pride. He donned clean gloves and a mask before returning to his previous position and keeping his eyes averted from Dan’s lower half.
As Minna assisted Landry in wrapping the wound, she said, “We’re all done with scalpels and such. His wound is now covered. Sorry for teasing you. Do you feel better now?”
“Yeah, no worries.” Ron smiled at Minna, but she couldn’t see it due to the paper surgical mask covering his mouth.
Maisie helped Landry sit in the wheelchair, noting how exhausted he had become. “I think you should take a little rest before tackling the GSW.”
“Yes, I believe you are right, my dear. These old bones will not stand much longer. They need a rest.”
Minna’s worry grew during the surgery when Vanessa had not shown up. “Wish Vanessa was here. If she were upstairs, she would’ve come down, which means she must be in the ER. I hope Loki keeps her safe.”
“Me too, my girl. But for now, let’s maintain focus on our patient. Instead of moving him to recovery, I want to ease Dan out of the nitrous sleep in here. Keep the mask on him, and if he begins hallucinating again, crank it back up. Minna, do you recall how to draw paired blood cultures?”
“Yes. You taught me well, Doc.” Minna stopped the flow of nitrous.
“Excellent. Please do it now before Dan begins to wake. I’m right here if you have questions on the procedure. Don’t want the formation of thrombi.”
“Thanks.” Minna grinned and began to prep Dan for aseptic phlebotomy. One of the things she liked about working in a small, rural hospital was she got to do more than a typical nurse. With their minimal staff, she had been trained to help in many ways to fill the gaps in personnel, which came in handy at times like these.
Ron worried about Dan lunging at someone again when he woke, so he suggested, “Maisie, there are chairs in the recovery room, perhaps you should take a break in there.”
She nodded. “Yes, I believe I will go sit for a spell as soon as Landry and I are cleaned up.”
Landry grinned as Maisie gave him a little peck on the cheek before pushing his chair to the sink. When Maisie finished, she headed for the adjoining door but stopped at the portal. “Landry, if you need me, you holler.”
“Okay, my dear.” Landry closed his eyes to rest a bit.
After drawing blood for the cultures, Minna washed up and wetted a cloth. She went to Dan and wiped the damp cloth across his face as she reflected on the events. That was a rough surgery. Both she and Doc were glad the infection spread only in the dermal layers and not into his muscle. It must surely be an aggressive strain for it to progress so swiftly.
Dan would be left with a large scar, but he would not lose his leg if they could prevent full-blown sepsis. Now they needed to do cultures on the blood and the tissues the doc had taken to identify the organism to ensure they treated Dan with the appropriate antibiotic. She hoped they had the proper medication on hand.
Ron came up behind Minna, placed his hands on her shoulders, and lightly massaged. “You look beat.”
“That feels wonderful. Don’t stop.” Minna sighed as Ron’s hands worked the tension from her body.
Ron grinned as he continued to massage her tense shoulders. Minna intrigued him. They had been friends for such a long time. Perhaps there might be something more than only friendship with her. Ron knew she was extremely picky about the men she dated. Her father being an RCMP Captain, had a lot to do with that, and Ron wondered if he would measure up.
When Dan’s feverish eyes blinked open, Ron released Minna and prepared to restrain him. He noted no hatred or anger this time, only confusion, and Ron breathed a sigh of relief.
His eyes landed on Lexa, and Dan slurred, “Lexa, you came?”
Minna sighed. Oh boy, he thinks I’m Lexa again, but this is better than the raging bull. To keep him calm, she neither confirmed or denied she was Lexa. “Do you know where you are?”
Dan lethargically scanned the room. “Hospital?”
“That’s right. Doc Landry finished working on your leg.” Minna glanced at Ron, both relieved Dan woke less agitated.
“Hot. Cold.” Dan’s mind swirled, not quite registering things around him as he gazed at the woman he loved. Lexa came to him … somehow.
“You have a high fever, and you need to remain still and calm. Can you do that?” Minna dabbed the cloth on his flushed cheek.
“Yeah.” Dan tried to lift his hand to wipe his sweaty brow. He winced, hissed, and dropped his hand. “Hurts, Lexa. Is Patch here?”
With no idea who Patch was, Minna addressed his injury only. “You dislocated your shoulder. Scott reset your joint, but you will be sore for a while. Lie still now.” She gently wiped his forehead.
As the cool rag moved over his face, Dan closed his eyes, and he drifted in a hazy world where Lexa took care of him. Where she chose him over the team. Where they built a future, started a family, and grew old together, surrounded by loads of family. His fevered mind conjured up a scene.
His hips and knees not even close to what they once had been, he shuffled across the room. His hair now white, yet still cut in the same military-style he preferred. The gnarled fingers of his left hand reached up to run through his short locks in a well-worn habit. He stopped at her bedside, and tears filled his sapphire eyes, though a lopsided grin formed as he stared down at his beauty.
Dan would never tire of gazing upon her. Many moons ago, her auburn hair turned gray, but the light and fire continued to shine in her hazel eyes. Her lashes fluttered open, and she smiled at him. “Will you lay with me, my love?”
“Nowhere I’d rather be.” Unable to deny Lexa anything, he lowered his aged body next to hers, sighing as her head nestled perfectly in his shoulder, and her hand settled on his chest. This was his favorite place to be, and his hand moved to clasp hers as they both closed their eyes.
Hours later, their daughter and sons, their grandkids, and great-grandkids all entered the bedroom in search of them. It was time to cut the cake on their seventy-fifth wedding anniversary. Many eyes teared upon finding them lying at rest in each other’s arms. No one would ever be able to determine whose heart stopped beating first, but everyone would agree one could not beat without the other. True soulmates to the end of time, who would never be parted from one another.
Minna shifted her gaze to Ron and Landry and sighed. “He appears so peaceful now. I wonder what he is thinking about.”
“Don’t care, so long as he remains still.” Ron glanced at Landry. “How long do you want to keep him in here?”
“I’m not certain, but since he is quiet, have a seat and rest a moment.”
As Ron sat on the rolling stool, he pondered how the rest of the night would play out. The stark reality of their situation invaded his thoughts. Will we be alive in the morning or the latest victims of the Bartons?
Out of Patience
43
November 24
Hospital – ER Treatment Room – 9:15 p.m.
Scott’s rapidly deteriorating health, denoted by flushed cheeks, feverish shivering, and frequent coughing, concerned Loki. The twinness of the cousins made Loki fear they both had issues with various medications, and Scott’s immune system took a hit from being out in the blizzard for hours in his effort to bring help for Dan. In the last half-hour, Loki attempted to convince Noah to allow either Vanessa or Yasmin to tend Scott, but the callous murderer refused each time.
Sadly, gaining concessions from a stone-cold killer aiming a gun at a nurse’s head, when Loki had nothing to give in return, put him in a powerless position. Mercifully, as long as Vanessa focused solely on Jonas and Yasmin continued to be docile, keeping her eyes lowered submissively to the floor, Noah remained somewhat calm. Whenever Noah vacillated from orange to red, Loki reminded Noah that excessive tension put additional stress on his brother. Fortunately, the prompt resulted in the subject de-escalating.
Although noting Barton’s agitation ramping up again, Scott’s wet hacking followed by labored breaths drove Loki to attempt negotiating once more. He cleared his throat to gain Noah’s attention and couched his request in terms which might yield the desired result. “Noah, Scott isn’t doing well. This room is small, and it would be in Jonas’ best interest if Yasmin or Vanessa examined Scott to determine if he is contagious. Becoming ill while recovering from a GSW would surely make things worse for Jonas.”
Noah turned his gaze to the coughing patient as something niggled in the back of his mind. The blond man seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t place where he might’ve met him before. His eyes returned to Jonas, his worry increasing. Dealing with a cold would complicate their escape.
With the blood transfusion completed and his patience wearing thin, Noah decided to move things along. His sibling must be the priority now. He didn’t give a damn about anyone else, and he was done waiting for the surgeon to return, so he would take Jonas to the old doctor and demand he work on him now. Though, first, he needed to figure out the best way to secure Loki, Scott, and Ron, the only potential threats at this point.
While pondering his options, Noah moved closer to Vanessa, keeping the weapon aimed at the scared nurse. “Yasmin, go check on him. No fast moves.” Switching the direction of his barrel, the gun now pointed at Vanessa’s head. “No one better try anything, or I will kill the doctor.”
On wobbly legs, Yasmin stood and shuffled towards Loki. She wanted to cry as her body shook uncontrollably, reminiscent of when she was only ten and plunged into the icy lake. She almost died, but a teenager reached her in time and kept her afloat until adults arrived. Yasmin never got the chance to thank the boy who saved her from drowning because he became quite ill too.
As she approached Loki, Yasmin lifted her eyes and peered into his reassuring brown orbs. She remained alive due to his efforts. Every time Noah become angry and threatened to kill her, Loki interceded and managed to talk him into lowering the pistol. Yasmin murmured, “Thank you.”
Loki gave the terrified nurse a small smile he hoped would reassure her before returning his gaze to Noah. His mind worked fast, endeavoring to determine why Noah agreed this time and switched hostages. Help should be arriving soon if the weather had not been an insurmountable factor, and if it had, he was on his own and needed to keep Noah appeased until he determined a strategy which kept everyone alive.
Yasmin halted at Scott’s bed. She noted the light sheen of sweat, rosy cheeks, and had not missed his coughing. Now close to him, she detected audible wheezing when he breathed out. “Scott, I’m going to take your temperature before examining your wound.”
Scott nodded and opened his mouth for the oral thermometer. When she put it in, he lifted his lids, and his feverish but confident gaze met Yasmin’s compassionate yet fearful one.
Yasmin drew in a sharp breath. Sapphire eyes! She would never forget the eyes of the teenager. “It was you! You saved me from the frozen pond.”
Confusion crossed Scott’s face. “Saved you?” came out a bit raspy around the thermometer before he spat it out as he devolved into a coughing fit.
Loki shifted with slow movements, wanting to assist Scott in sitting up but halted when Noah commanded, “Don’t move, or I shoot.”
All Loki could do was stand by and helplessly watch as Scott hacked so hard and long, he had difficulty drawing in air afterward. All those hours out in the storm and impaling his leg must’ve weakened his immune system.
Yasmin put an arm behind Scott to support him, then assisted him in laying back when his coughing subsided. She poured tepid water into a cup and handed it to him. “You sound like I did after they rescued us from the lake. I ended up with a terrible case of bronchitis, but it is better than drowning or freezing to death. Thank you for saving me when I was a silly girl who didn’t listen and skated out on thin ice.”
Wiped out and struggling to recover his breath, Scott shook his head. “Never been here before.”
“I vividly recall my savior’s unique shade of blue eyes. They were my lifeline when I panicked and thought I would die. I dreamed about your eyes for months. Maybe you forgot.”
After drawing a deeper breath, glad he didn’t begin hacking again though his chest felt tight and he wheezed upon exhaling, Scott clasped Yasmin’s hand and smiled. “Not me, my cousin. Dan came here as a teen with a family friend. It must’ve been him. We both have the same color eyes and hair.”
“Same eyes?”
“Yes. People often mistake us for twins, though I’m several years older.”
“Twins? Oh, yeah, I recall Loki saying something about you and Dan looking a lot alike. I’ll thank Dan later, but for now, I should take a peek at your wound and get your temp.” Yasmin removed her hand from Scott’s, re-inserted the digital thermometer, and proceeded to unwrap Scott’s dressing. Examining Scott’s wound, Yasmin gasped. “Vanessa, I’ve never seen drainage like this.”
Though Vanessa wanted to go to Scott, she held still so Noah wouldn’t shoot her. “Describe it to me.”
“Green with a blue-green center, almost like the inner circle of a target. It is foul-smelling too.” She peered at Vanessa. “Infection should be yellowish, right? What would cause this color?”
Mentally reviewing her course in infectious diseases and organisms, Vanessa searched for the name of one, which produced a bluish-green pigment. “Ah, I remember. Ps
eudomonas aeruginosa. A cryophilic organism that grows at temperatures below freezing and produces a blue-green tint. It can be found in water and dirt. Scott might’ve been infected with it when his ski pole impaled him. We need to start him on Ceftazidime.”
Vanessa turned to Noah. “May I go to the pharmacy?”
Noah contemplated what he overheard and witnessed. Scott appeared to be wholly incapacitated and no threat. However, the raven-haired geek cop only complied so long as he kept his weapon on one of the women.
Considering his next step, Noah decided to get things rolling in the direction he wanted. “No! My brother comes first. I’m tired of waiting for the surgeon. Jonas got his blood. Now it’s time to take out the bullet. Loki and Yasmin come here. You will push Jonas’ bed to the operating room.”
Loki glanced at Scott with concern.
“I’ll be okay,” Scott wheezed after removing the thermometer.
“No talking. Get over here now!” Noah yelled as he seized Vanessa’s arm. “Try anything, and she dies.”
Resisting the temptation to grab Scott’s gun, knowing he wouldn’t be fast enough and Vanessa would end up dead, Loki only hesitated a moment before complying. He hated to leave Scott alone, especially when he needed antibiotics, but soon Scott wouldn’t be in harm’s way.
An idea formed, and Loki hoped Noah might agree. “Leave Yasmin here. I can push Jonas, and you’ll have one less person to worry about. Yasmin and Scott can’t go anywhere due to the storm, and Scott’s in no condition to challenge you. Let her tend Scott, and we’ll take Jonas to surgery.”
“I should put him out of his misery.” Noah pointed his gun at Scott.
Unflinching, Scott stared at the loaded Smith & Wesson sighted on him. “Shooting me makes no sense. When you and Jonas leave, you’ll be on the run and need the ammo. I can’t walk, and Yasmin is too frightened to do anything, so wasting a bullet on any of us isn’t in your best interest.”
Noah studied Scott. The familiarity of the man kept gnawing at him. “Where are you from?”
