Season 1, Episode 8:
FANthrax
Part 9 of 10
Still visibly embarrassed by the recent maiming on the
helipad, Nick crept back inside the hospital and made his way into the ward
designated for anyone affected by the biochemical agent. He glanced through the doors as he put his
biohazard suit back on. The walls were
now lined with spare hospital beds, and he could just make out the sounds of
misery coming from the ward before he entered.
Bracing himself, he placed the helmet back on and made his
way into the ward, where he was almost knocked down by an eager young girl,
pushing her way past him and into a room, where several other hospital staff
seemed to be heading.
Wonder
who’s died now, Nick speculated, as he followed the crowd to the room to
at least catch a glimpse before finding Red.
Nick could barely see anything; it seemed as if all the
doctors and nurses were crammed into this patients room. “What’s going on?”
Nick asked the young lady who had almost knocked him down. She turned and grinned at him. She was not wearing a Hazmat suit. Must
have been here since the beginning and will soon be affected herself, he
thought.
“It’s Carter,” she started.
“He’s getting better.”
I’m
Carter, thought Nick in confusion. 00Carter. Then he remembered the other Carter, the doctor, whom Red reported had fallen victim to
the epidemic at the hospital. “Oh –
good,” he quickly recovered. “I mean,
that’s great news!”
The young nurse grinned and then moved out of the way so
Nick could attempt to enter the room.
He managed to shove his way through the swarm of doctors
and lab personnel chattering anxiously, as Dr. Carter was being examined by Jeanie
and Red Jewel. Nick could see Dr.
Carter’s eyes open and looking around.
He was watching all the people in the room; half smiles formed on his
lips when he saw some people. Soon he
closed his eyes again, presumably to sleep.
People started to dissipate, but many still lingered.
“Red?” Nick queried.
“Nick, he’s improving. The welts are going away, and Jeanie just came
back with the results of his latest bloodwork, which shows that the levels of
the biochemical detected earlier have decreased significantly. I was just getting a fresh blood sample to
take back to the lab to synthesize an antidote.” She squeezed Nick’s arm and started to proceed
through the remaining people.
All of a sudden, there was a commotion in the hall, and the
same mass of personnel flocked out of the room ahead of them. Stuck at the back of the crowd, Red and Nick
made it out of the ward just in time to see a stretcher fly by in a flash of
blood-soaked blue. “What happened, I
wonder?” asked Red, frowning in concern.
“Oh… uh…” Nick grimaced. “Slight mishap on the helipad. Julilly can explain when she gets back.”
“Ah,” murmured Red, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. “Well, I’ve got to get this to the lab. Why don’t you go check on Brian?” With that, she squeezed through the lingering
herd of hospital staff and disappeared.
Nodding after her, Nick turned and ducked back into the
isolation ward, making his way to Brian’s room.
± ±
±
Nick
stared. For an ambiguous period of time,
he stared at his – as weird as it sounded – colleague’s
unconscious body. He could swear he was
counting seconds away, seconds that felt longer than hours, accompanied by the
constant buzzing and beeping of the several machines that Brian was hooked up
to. His own stomach had given up on
cramping every time Brian went into a seizure or when his dry lips let out a
usually inaudible word or a moan, mostly because he’d been awfully quiet for
awhile. Several nurses, in the company
of Red and Jeanie, had come in and out to check his blood and fever, and not long
after their last visit, it had been officially declared: He was now in a fevered coma.
A
soft sob came from his side, dividing his dark thoughts. Nick eyed the brunette woman sitting next to
him. Tears were rolling silently from
her eyes, her bright green eyes, which were not looking anywhere else but at
Brian. Feeling oddly inadequate, not
knowing what to do, Nick sighed and turned back his gaze to him.
The
door of the room suddenly burst open, startling both of them, and along came
Jeanie, holding a syringe in one hand, followed closely by Red.
“Is
it ready?” Opal asked, slowly standing up.
A hint of hope, which only Nick could notice, was hidden in her voice.
Red
nodded. “Yes, finally. We ran a couple of tests on the guinea pigs,
and it seems to work just fine. Let’s
just hope the same for Brian,” she sighed and turned to look at Jeanie, who was
preparing the needle for injection. “Let’s
just hope we’re not too late.”
Opal
sobbed softly again, her lower lip trembling. “Baby...”
They
all stood still and watched Jeanie find the vessel on Brian’s arm and wipe the
area where she was going to inject the needle with an alcohol swab. Being the pro that she was, it took her only
seconds to insert the syringe with the antidote made from Dr. Carter’s blood
into Brian’s skin and push the plunger down. All three pairs of eyes watched the vital
scene without a blink, as the antidote made its way into Brian’s bloodstream.
Jeanie
placed a clean cotton ball over the injection site and withdrew the needle from
Brian’s skin, gently applying pressure on his arm. Her expression was full of sorrow, but also the
determination that was all too familiar when a doctor wanted to cure a patient.
Sending another glance to Brian, she rejoined
towards the rest, wiping her forehead with the back of her gloved hand.
“Let’s
hope for the best, people.
Opal
collapsed back onto the chair she’d been sitting in and rested her dark head on
her hands. Little did they know, she was
softly praying under her breath, like she’d been doing between her sobs for the
past few hours.
Red
motioned Jeanie to follow her outside the room.
She wanted to fully get her hands on the current situation Brian was in
and exchange other possible ways of saving him if the antidote didn’t work as
they’d planned. Red mouthed, “We’ll be
right back,” to Nick and squeezed his arm kindly.
As the
two doctors left the room, Nick caught a glimpse of Julilly standing in the
doorway. Meeting his gaze, she raised
her hand to wave, hesitating to come into the room. Eying Opal and figuring he could leave her
alone for a couple of minutes, Nick followed suit and went out into the hallway
to meet Julilly.
“How
is he holding up?” Julilly asked hesitantly.
Nick
let out a tired sigh. “I don’t know.” He rubbed his forehead with his fingers. In hopes that all of the dark thoughts would
just disappear, as well as the killer headache, he shook his head slowly. “He’s been going in and out, but for the past
hour, he’s been in a coma. Jeanie and Red
just applied the antidote they prepared
from Dr. Carter’s blood, but I don’t know if it will work.” He growled
exasperatedly, “I just wish I’d gotten the chance to rip that twitchy bastard’s
head off. A helicopter crash was a good
way to go compared to what I would have done to him.”
Smiling
sympathetically, Julilly placed her hand on Nick’s arm, rubbing it slowly.
“He’ll
be fine, Nick. I’m sure he’ll kick this
virus’s ass. Littrell may be small, but
I think he’s pretty tough on this inside.”
Nick’s
lips cracked a lopsided smile. “Indeed,
he is.” He looked back into the room,
where Brian was still lying unconscious. “He definitely knows how to kick some serious
ass.”
“Have
faith in him, Nick, and have faith in the antidote. You’ll see…
Before you realize, he’ll be back on his feet, healthier than ever. I don’t know him personally, but from what I could
tell, he’s not the kind of person to let a stupid virus take him down.”
Nick
nodded. He knew Julilly was right. In the short and not-so-pleasant time he’d known
Agent Littrell, although he didn’t want to admit, Nick had witnessed that he
was one of the most determined and strong people he had ever encountered. Often enough, Nick thought The Rok would do a
brilliant job if he were a part of HimTak.
And
now, he was worried. Not only was he
worried that someone had caught this awful virus and was battling for his life
right behind that door; he was worried that it was Brian. Brian, Agent Littrell, The Rok, cousin of his
boss, and, at the most basic form, an ally for HimTak. Someone he’d fought side by side with for the
same cause.
And
at that point, it didn’t matter that he was a part of the American government,
a group he hated almost more than he’d hated that twitchy bastard himself. He was suddenly overcome with a strange
realization. He cared for Brian. It had surprised him enough as it was that he
was worried for him, worried about whether or not he’d make it, but now it also
surprised him when he found himself hoping deeply that Brian would be back on
his feet soon, so he could annoy the hell out of Nick.
Nick
let out another sigh. “I should go back
in,” was all he said. He’d never admit
his true feelings out loud.
Julilly
nodded. “I’ll be around.”
Feeling
the need to be polite, Nick knocked on the door before walking back into the
room. The scene was identical to the one
he’d left: Brian lay unconsciously in
the silent room, accompanied only by the constant beeping and buzzing of the
machines, with Opal crying silently on the other side of the room.
Opal.
Nick
was clueless when it came to comforting other people; hell, he didn’t even know
how to comfort himself. And he was
notorious for saying the wrong things at the very wrong times. But, at least, he could be there. He could just be there for her.
Slumping
into the chair next to Opal, he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her
towards him. Delicate to another
person’s touch, Opal just gave in and rested her dark head on Nick’s shoulder,
tugging on his suit.
“He’s
gonna be alright, Opal,” he whispered, as he rubbed her shoulder softly. “He’s gonna be alright.”
± ± ±
The
day turned into night. Night passed,
gradually. They waited. Mostly in silence, with occasional coffee
breaks, chit-chatting now and then about the most random things, just to break
the tension that surrounded them. Nick
made sure he goofed around enough to distract Opal from going crazy, just
waiting there. And Opal, being a
hardcore agent at heart, wanted to know all the details about the virus, the
mission, and the man behind it all.
When
dawn broke, the sun shone with its full might. The room was dim because of the closed window
blinds, but the sunbeams still seeped in, bathing the room in a soft, orange
tone.
Nick’s
head kept falling down onto his chest, and every time, he jerked his chin up,
his eyes flying open to see if there was any difference in Brian’s condition. Opal was sleepless all night, barely winking
an eye.
However,
the last time he couldn’t resist sleep taking him over, it wasn’t his fallen
head that woke him up. It was Opal’s
sudden tugging on his arm.
“He
moved!” Opal whispered enthusiastically. “Nick! Wake
up! Brian just moved his foot!”
“Huh?”
Nick straightened himself up on the chair, rubbing his eyes.
Opal
was already by Brian’s bedside, carefully examining his body and his face. Afraid a single touch would break him into
pieces, she gently stroked Brian’s hand.
Nick
shook the sleepiness off of him right in time to see Brian moving his head
slightly.
And a
minute later, Brian’s eyes fluttered open.
“Ashy...”
his voice was cracked.
“I’m
right here, baby,” Opal spoke tenderly, taking his hand into hers. “Thank God..”
In an
attempt to speak more, Brian tried to clear his throat, which made him cough
uncontrollably.
“Shh…
don’t wear yourself down...” Opal coaxed her boyfriend. She cleaned the tiny sweat drops that had appeared
on Brian’s forehead with a damp cloth. “You
need your energy.”
Brian
moaned, once the coughing was over. Taking
a full glance around the room, he noticed Nick sitting on the other side of the
room, looking around sheepishly. His
glance turned towards Opal again, his expression confused. “What happened?”
A
stubborn tear rolled down on Opal’s face. “Oh baby, I thought I lost you…” She caressed Brian’s dark blonde locks
lovingly. “When Nick told me you got
infected, I thought I was going to die. You’ve
been through hell and back, baby. I
don’t know what I would do if I lost you…”
Brian
wiped away another tear from Opal’s face with his free hand and pulled her chin
in for a small peck.
“I’m
not going anywhere, Ashy. I will never
leave you. I won’t let anything tear us
apart, let alone a stupid virus…” He
cracked a smile. “I’m the luckiest man
in the world. Your love keeps me alive.”
“I
love you, Brian…”
Nick
just sat there awkwardly, a heavy lump caught in his throat. He wasn’t one to enjoy emotional scenes; as a
matter of fact, he felt quite uncomfortable whenever he found himself in one. This time around, though, to his surprise, as
the lump in his throat could explain, he found himself getting emotional as
well.
Brian
was a lucky man, indeed.
He
stood up from his seat and made his way out of the room, trying not to draw any
attention to himself. Luckily, Brian and
Opal were too engrossed in each other to notice.
He
bumped into Red and Jeanie on the hallway.
“I
was just coming to tell you...” he started.
“Did
something happen to Brian?” Red cut his sentence worriedly.
“No,
he’s getting better…” Nick replied, noticing the sudden light in both doctors’
faces. “Actually, he just woke up!”
The
two doctors looked at each other for a second to process the news they’d just
heard. It took them another second to
fully comprehend what Nick had said, before they hugged each other tightly,
between mumbles of, “Thank God,” and, “We did it.”
“I
better go inside to check him,” Jeanie piped up, when their small celebration
ended.
“I
would wait for awhile if I were you,” Nick chimed in, wiggling his eyebrows. “Let the lovebirds finish declaring their
undying love for each other.” He stuck
his finger down his throat, pretending to retch.
Jeanie
and Red could only show patience for another five minutes before bursting into
Brian’s room. It surprised Nick how
different Brian looked already: the
black pustules were disappearing, his blue eyes were shining, and he was smiling.
So was Opal.
“Look
who’s back among us!” Red said joyfully. “You just kicked the virus’s butt, Agent
Littrell.”
“You
had doubts that I wouldn’t, Dr. Llewellyn?”
Red
shook her head. “Not for a second, Brian.
Not for a damn second.”
For
the next half an hour, there was a constant rush in Brian’s room. Nurses and doctors came in and out, checking
Brian’s vitals, congratulating him, congratulating Jeanie and Red. One survivor was one thing, but two meant that
the antidote was working and could be used to cure other victims.
The
virus was officially beaten.
The
rush died down eventually, and they were left alone. Happiness was contagious and solid in the
hospital room. Jeanie and Red were
informing Brian about the virus and how it had been cured, while Opal was, in
the most basic form, gleaming. She was
nursing Brian like a baby, coddling him with all her being.
Nick
was watching the scene before him with an indefinable peaceful feeling, when a
soft knock on the door diverted his attention. A nurse poked her head inside, eyeing everyone
before entering the room.
“I’m
sorry to interrupt,” she said, smiling, “but I’m afraid visiting hours are
over. We have to let Mr. Littrell rest. He’s been through a lot, as you already know. Plus, the sooner he gets back on his feet, the
sooner we can send him home.”
They
all nodded in agreement. Jeanie and Red
said goodbye to Brian and followed the nurse outside.
“I’ll
be back first thing in the morning.” Opal
leaned in and gave Brian a small kiss. “Even
before you wake up. I love you, baby.”
Brian
smiled and pulled her in for another kiss. “I love you too, Ash.”
Opal
left Brian’s side and walked over towards the door. Nick held the door open for her, motioning her
to go out first. She smiled with gratitude
and walked past him.
“Carter?”
Nick
was right about to step outside the door when he heard Brian calling his
name. He stopped and turned back towards
Brian.
A
mischievous smile was playing on the agent’s lips. “I heard you wailed like a baby in a
helicopter chase... just to try and save me.”
“Yeah, well... word travels fast
around here, doesn’t it?” Nick suddenly
felt embarrassed. What had he been
thinking when he’d told Opal how he’d almost had a panic attack during the
chase, anyway?
“I’m kidding, Carter.” Brian chuckled softly, before his expression
turned serious. “Thank you. For everything. But especially for taking care of Opal. It means a lot.”
His
hands tucked in his pockets, Nick lowered his head, kicking an invisible object
on the floor.
“Nah,
it’s no biggie…”
“I
owe you, Carter.”
It
was Nick’s turn to return the mischievous smile. He lifted his index finger towards Brian. “I’ll make sure you pay me back, El-li-ott…”
he spoke in his ET voice.
Instead
of shaking his head and rolling his eyes as he would normally do, Brian lifted
his own hand up and motioned to his forehead with his finger. “I’ll… be… right… here…” He imitated his own version of ET’s voice.
Surprised
that the CIA agent was actually going along with his joke, Nick grinned and
motioned towards the door once again. “Glad to have you back, Littrell.”
± ±
±