The part of Duncan MacLeod is temporarily being understudied.
***Mercy Hospital ICU - - Day 2***
Zoe blinks looking around the room. Something was different... Something was... brighter.Zoe: Joe?Zoe says softly, so that if he was sleeping, she wouldn't wake him.Joe is slouched down in the chair in Zoe's ICU room...his head laid back against the back of the chair and he has finally fallen asleep....even though it wasn't willingly but out of pure exhaustion. His mouth is open slightly and he is snoring softly.Zoe blinks again hearing the snore, and starts to be able to make out vague shapes. She keeps blinking, in awe of whats happening, as slowly, her vision starts to come into focus.Zoe: I can't believe it.Zoe whispers, careful not to wake Joe up, not until she was sure.Nikki sits next to Methos in the ICU waiting room. Since arriving at the hospital, she, not only hasn't left his side...but she has made sure that she kept at least 1 hand on his shoulder, back or arm because he seemed to relax when she was touching him....and letting him know that she was there for him and that she loved him. The same goes for now. She has looped her arm through his and has her head laying on his shoulder, even though she isn't remotely tired.Methos sighs as he checks his watch, he's getting tired of being in the ICU, seems he'd been here for a month.Methos: You know what I'd drink right now? A nice cool beer, coffee just isn't the same thing.Methos murmurs, he doubts he can get a decent beer at the hospital cafeteria anyway.Duncan stands up and stretches.Duncan: You guys stay put. I'll play gopher this time.Duncan says with a tired smile.Methos rubs his forehead tiredly.Methos: Just how long have we been here anyway?Methos asks, he wasn't sure anymore, the days were starting to blend together.Nikki: Just coffee for me, Duncan. And thanks.Nikki says to MacLeod then turns to Methos to answer his question.'Nikki: 2 1/4 days.Nikki says in answer to Methos' question.Methos makes a face at that, they'd have to leave eventually if there wasn't a new development soon.Duncan takes his coat off of the coat rack and slips it on then heads out of the waiting room.Zoe watches the movement outside her door, and even recognizes Duncan as he walks by. Things weren't perfectly clear. Her vision isn't sharp, a little fuzzy around the edges, but... she could see. She could see.Zoe: I can see.Zoe whispers.A nurse tiptoes into Zoe's room..sees Joe asleep so she moves quietly around the room so she doesn't wake him. After checking all of the monitors and making a small adjustment on one of the IVs she steps up to Zoe's bed and takes hold of her wrist and proceeds to take Zoe's pulse.Zoe looks over at the nurse, watching her movements. She sees that closer is a bit clearer, but still a little blurry around the edges.Methos: You know if this goes on for much longer we'll have to start taking turns to be with Joe, or things are going to get smelly around here.Methos suggests with a soft chuckle, after two days everybody needed a shower and some clean clothes, not to mention a real bed to have some sleep.Zoe reaches out and puts her hand on the nurse's arm.Nikki sits up and reaches into the small backpack she had carried into the hospital and pulls out a can of Methos' deodorant and a fresh razor and hands it to him. Then simply smiles.Methos rolls his eye as he gets the things Nikki is giving him.Methos: Do I need to start calling you a girl scout or something?Methos teases her with a smile.Methos: Always ready and all that stuff?Nikki: Well....does a couple of years as a Girl Scout troop leader count?Nikki asks and leans forward so she can speak softly enough to not be heard outside of the writing room.Nikki: By the time the Girl Scouts were formed I had been and adult for...well...Nikki quickly glances toward the waiting room door then turns back to Methos.Nikki: ...let's just say a long time and the only way I could become a Girl Scout was to volunteer to be a troop leader. I would have been a GREAT Girl Scout.Nikki boasts confidently.Nikki: And I would have really looked good in their uniform....I DID look pretty incredible in my troop leader “uniform”. I was told by one of the older Boy Scouts that I was the sexiest Girls Scout they had ever seen and, as you know....Boy Scouts don't lie.Nikki says with a smile and she winks mischievously at Methos.The nurse bends down so she can speak without waking up Joe and she asks Zoe, "how's your pain, Zoe?" Then she switches from taking Zoe's pulse to taking her blood pressure.Zoe: It's fine. But....Zoe whispers back but hesitates.Nikki: Besides....I was raised to believe that when a woman loves a man she does everything she can to help him through their life together. If it is to lend emotional support.....crawl around on a garage floor and help him work on their car....or just bring essentials to the hospital where he is holding vigil for a friendNikki smiles lovingly at Methos.The nurse leans closer....not knowing what to expect from her patient who, so far, has been the bravest and most centered cancer patient she has ever cared for.Zoe: I can SEE.Zoe murmurs, so Joe won't hear.Methos: I'll remember that next time I move and need help with the books.Methos teases, remembering it was what he was doing before Joe called, he sighs at the thought, it seemed it was ages ago.The nurse looks at Zoe and mouths the word, "what?"Nikki: You know......you just told me a fib.Nikki says and slips her arm out of his and folds her arms across her chest indignantly.Nikki: And it's times like this that I wish you had a middle and last name.Methos: I did?Methos asks wondering what it was.Methos: And what about Methos the Immortal?Methos whispers to her, making sure no one listens.Zoe: I can see. My vision is back! It's... not as good as it was before. Definitely.. blurry around the edges, but I can SEE.Zoe whispers urgently.Nikki: Nah! It doesn't have the same punch as when being scolded as being called by your first middle and last name.Nikki can still hear her father's voice bellowing from the barn...."Nicayla Lynn Shivon Flynn?"The nurse takes a penlight out of her pocket and checks Zoe's eyes ....finishing by watching how quickly the pupils react to light.Zoe watches the light, as the nurse does her check."So you just woke up and could suddenly see everything?" The nurse asks quietly.Zoe: No.Zoe shakes her head.Zoe: First it was just... a lightness But it slowly...or I guess rather quickly, came... back into focus. It's not perfect. By no means, but... it's there again.Zoe explains, making sure to keep her voice low."How clear are things now?" The nurse asks watching Zoe's eyes intentlyZoe: Blurry. I can... I can make out broad details. Like, I can tell you've got on white scrubs, with brightly colored splotches. But I can't tell what the splotches are. I'm guessing large flowers?Zoe says.Duncan steps out of the elevator at the floor where the Intensive Care Unit is. He walks casually down the hall to the double doors of the ICU and picks up the phone on the wall by the doors. When one of the nurses answers it, he identifies himself and a few seconds later a nurse opens the ICU doors and lets him in. He walks across the ICU to the waiting room and feels the Immortal buzz he was expecting to feel.Nikki feels the presence of another Immortal and decides it's probably Mac and lays her head back down on Methos' shoulder.Methos sits straight on his chair when he feels an Immortal buzz and looks around. He sighs in relief when he sees MacLeod is back."Are you having any pain around your eyes?" The nurse asks softly.Zoe shakes her head.Zoe: No.Duncan walks through the door of the waiting room and sets a large shopping bag down on the coffee table closest to Methos and Nicayla.Methos looks down at the bag, then up at MacLeod again.Methos: So what do we have in here?Methos asks as he extends his arm to look inside the bag."Can you rate your overall pain for me?" The nurse asks. "10 being the worst pain you have felt and 1 being no pain at all," she explains.Zoe: Four or Five.Zoe says.Nikki sits forward and opens the bag. She pulls out a six pack of bottled beer, an insulated coffee mug that has a little steam escaping through the sip hole in the mug's lid and a small pink bakery box from the local Dunkin Donuts"How long has it been a 4 or 5?" The nurse asks....making notations in a little notebook she carries in her pocket.Zoe: A while.Zoe replies.Methos:
Thanks, MacLeod. I really need one.Methos nods in his direction as he gets a bottle of beer. Then he sprawls on his chair and takes a sip with a contented sigh."OK," the nurse says and snickers softly. "Since I don't know how "a while" translates into real time.....why don't you be a little more specific?" The nurse says and smiles almost playfully.Zoe: A few hours.Zoe replies.Zoe: And... more like a 6 and a half or a 7, pain wise.Zoe admits with a sigh and a wince of pain.Duncan takes one of the bottles out of the pack and opens it.Duncan: No problemDuncan says humbly.Duncan: It was good to breath something other than recycled hospital air.Duncan says and sits down on one of the other couches.Methos: We should take a look at them in a while, they were both sleeping last time I checked.Methos says checking his watch to find out how long it was, he decides it can wait for a while and takes another sip of beer."OK This is what I want you to do for me," the nurse whispers to Zoe. "I want you to close your eyes.....let them rest while I go call you doctor. A 6 or 7....huh?" The nurse says as she makes some quick calculations in her head. "I'll have a solution for that when I come back. I won't be long," she adds and hurries out of the room.Zoe: Alright...Zoe murmurs to the nurses disappearing back and with a sigh, closes her eyes, and imagines her happy place.Nikki glances out of the waiting room door as she absentmindedly opens the bakery box. She see a nurse leave Zoe's room and walk determinedly to the nurse's station. She recognizes the look on the nurse's face. It was a look of purpose. and determination. She was a nurse on a mission for her patient and, for the moment....nothing else mattered. Instead of selecting one of the decadent looking donuts in the box, Nikki stands up and casually strolls out of the waiting room....with an attitude of someone who was tired, hungry and bored and just wanted to look at some different walls for a few minutes. She continues to display that attitude as she walks over to a potted plant and pretends to examine it. Then she walks over to the nurse's station and stands close enough to Zoe's nurse to be able to hear her telephone conversation but not close enough that anyone would suspect that she was eavesdroppingDuncan: I know that lookDuncan says before taking another sip of his beer.Methos: What look?Methos asks distracted with his beer, he had no idea what MacLeod was looking at.One thing Nikki hears the nurse say to whoever was on the other end of the telephone sticks in Nikki's mind. Zoe has her sight back. Nikki's first instinct is to go congratulate Zoe but she opts for her second instinct which is to say where she is and see if she can hear anything else usefulDuncan: I've seen it before when Nicayla gets a plan in her head and is determined to carry it out.Duncan says and takes another drink of his beer.Duncan: Reminds me of a dog with a bone he doesn't want to share but is determined to eat the whole thing....even if it makes him sick.Duncan adds and looks out the door...looking for Nicayla. Unfortunately she is out of sight. so he turns back to Methos.Duncan: The problem with that is that it seems to always end messily.Duncan says warningly.Methos: Oh oh, I hope it's not something to make her get in trouble.Methos looks in the direction MacLeod is looking, he finds out he can't see anything, so he stands up and goes to the door, remembering how some of Nikki's plans ended up, he's relieved to see that so far she's only near the nurses' station.Duncan:I thought you knew her.Duncan says a bit teasingly.Methos looks at MacLeod and raises one eyebrow, questioningly.
Methos:What don't I know?Methos asks and takes a sip of his beer.
Duncan:That trouble is Nicayla's middle name.Duncan says with a smirk.Nikki waits until she hears the nurse shift in her chair. She can tell by the nurse's tone of voice that the phone conversation is coming to an end.....then she turns her back to the nurse's station and pretends to be interested in a health issue pamphlet.Methos: Tell me about it.Methos nods as he comes back to sit on his chair.Nikki waits until the nurse left the nurse's station to answer a call bell then she hurries back to the waiting room.Nikki: Guess what.
Nikki announces as she steps across the threshold.Methos: What?Methos asks not bothering to even imagine what she was asking him to guess.Duncan looks up at Nikki.Duncan: What he said.Duncan says, pointing to Methos.Nikki: Zoe got her sight back.Nikki says as she sits back down next to Methos.Nikki: What do you think that means?Nikki asks, looking at Methos.Duncan looks at Methos, questioningly.Methos: Nothing. Alexa never lost her sight.Methos shrugs, trying not to think about it.Methos: Besides I was a doctor 200 years ago in case you don't remember, I didn't use the same drugs they use now.Outside of Zoe's ICU room someone drops a tray of instruments that clatter to the floor and Joe is startled awake. His eyes fly open and he sits up straight even before realizing he's awake. After a few seconds the fog of sleep disappears and he realizes where he is. Rubbing his face with one hand, he reaches over to Zoe's bed and takes her hand with his other.Nikki: Could it mean that she's getting better?Nikki asks hopefully.Zoe opens her eyes when Joe takes her hand, and looks over at him.Zoe: Joe?Zoe says softly, unsure how to tell him.Duncan sighs and gets to his feet. He walks over to the door of the waiting room and leans against the door jam, looking at Zoe's room.Methos: No, Nikki she won't get any better.Methos points out, wishing for once he was wrong.Joe: Sorry.Joe says sheepishly.Joe:I didn't mean to wake you.Zoe shakes her head.Nikki: Oh.Nikki says sadly. She slips her arm through his again and lays her head on his shoulder and sighs.Zoe: I was already awake.Joe: I guess I dozed off on you.Joe says quietly.Joe: Sorry.Zoe: No, not a problem. You were tired.Zoe says quickly.Zoe: You still look tired.Joe:That's what happens with old age.Joe says and smiles. He lifts her hand and kisses it. He is about to kiss Zoe's hand again when what she said registers in his brain and he looks up at her.Joe: Wait. You said I look tired.Joe says still looking at her and quirks an eyebrow.Zoe: Yes, I did.Zoe smiles a little.Zoe: Because you do.Joe: How....Joe gets out of his chair and sits on the edge of the bed.....something that the nurses have frowned upon. But at this point he doesn't much care because what are they going to do? Kick him out? Doubtful.Zoe: It came back. Its not... not as good as it was before but... it's back. I can see again.Zoe whispers.Joe places his hands on both sides of her face.Joe: Oh, honey.....that's....that's great. Right? It's great?Joe asks looking into her eyes. The cloudiness that had been there ever since she had lost her sight is gone and her eyes are once again a deep sapphire blue.Zoe: It means I can see you again.Zoe says, happy as tears come to her eyes.Joe: Oh baby...sweetheart. That's wonderful.Joe says and leans down. He gives her a loving....and slightly passionate kiss.Zoe returns the kiss with as much passion and strength as she could. But both passion and strength, Zoe knows to be much diminished"All right, you two," the nurse says as she enters the room. "That'll be enough of that. This ICU is rated G you know."Methos looks down at his now empty beer bottle, while he thinks that after 17 years of avoiding hospitals and doctors and diseases, he was in another ICU waiting room. And waiting for someone to die again, he didn’t need this, he didn't need this at all, he thinks to himself as he gets another beer bottle with an unhappy sigh. He opens it and takes a sip.Joe breaks off the kiss, startled by the nurse's entrance, and he looks at the nurse a bit embarrassed...feeling like a school boy who just got caught kissing his sweetheart under the bleachers.Zoe just laughs and shakes her head.Nikki: Baby? You OK?Nikki asks Methos when she hears his sigh. She reaches out and places her hand on his back and gently rubs it in little slow circles.Zoe: I can't say I care.Zoe says still laughing, when the laughs turned into a cough. A deep whole body wracking cough.Methos: I'll live.Methos shrugs, looking down at his beer, after all this was nothing after some of the things he had to endure in his lifetime."Alright. See what happens when you get too excited?" The nurse says going over to the bed and putting her hand behind Zoe's back and sitting her up so she can cough. She waves at Joe and say, "shew. You've done enough damage for one day."Joe: Let me guess. You use to be a nun in a Catholic grade school.Joe says as he slips off of the bed and reclaims his seat in the chair.Nikki: Yes you will. And not alone. Unless you want to, that is.Nikki says softly. She knew this was going to be hard for him even though he denied it over and over. She's glad she ignored him and was here with him.Zoe finally manages to stop coughing. Taking a long deep breath, me leans back against the bed, feeling almost exhausted from the coughing."I spoke to your doctor," the nurse says as she gently pats Zoe on the back. "And he's on his way in."Methos:I'm not the one who's losing the one he loves this time.Methos points out, before he takes a sip of beer. He realizes he could have loved that woman at a different time and place though, and takes a mental note to light a candle to all the gods he remembered in thanks for not letting that happen.
Zoe: Thank you.Zoe says a little breathlessly.Nikki: Right.Nikki says simply...feeling a bit dejected. She gets up and walks out of the waiting room and into the ladies restroom next door.Duncan turns and looks at Methos in silence, folding his arms as he continues to lean against the door jam."How do you feel?" The nurse asks Zoe as she fluffs up the pillows and checks the IV.Zoe: Tired.Zoe admits."How's the pain? Your doctor gave me the OK to up your dosage if you need it," the nurse says, taking Zoe's pulse.Zoe: That... that would be nice.Zoe says softly, hoping that Joe wouldn't hear, but figuring that hope is in vain.Another nurse comes to the door and says, "Betty? Dr. Bjourn is on line 2 for you." "Tell him I'll be right there," the nurse says and puts down Zoe's wrist. "Now the two of you behave yourselves," she says looking first at Zoe then at Joe, then she leaves the room.Joe: Yes, Mam.Joe says and salutes.Zoe rolls her eyes at Joe.Zoe: Little does she know.Joe waits until the nurse is out of site then he gets up and, not only sits on the edge of Zoe's bed but lays down next to her, laying on his back and slipping his arm around her.Joe: I'll bet she was a drill sergeant in a previous life.Joe says softly and kiss the top of Zoe's head, taking in the scent of her shampoo.Zoe: She a a kindergarten teacher.Zoe confides.Joe: She reminds me of some of the nuns in the Parochial School I attended for a while. All she needs is a ruler to smack our palms with.Joe says with a chuckle.Zoe: Don't give her idea's.Zoe whispers with a fake urgency.A different nurse comes into the room, pulling an IV pole attached to a box along next to her. "Betty asked me to bring this in and set it up," she says as she rolls it over to where the other IV poles are.Joe: What is it?Joe asks without moving."It's a morphine pump," the nurse says. "It allows you to regulate your own pain medication," she explains as she proceeds to set it up. She hands a device that looks like a call button to Zoe and says, "All you have to do is press this button and this machine...," she pats the box on the pole, "...will deliver a dose of your pain medication. You can press it every hour of you want."Zoe: Thank you.Zoe replies.Joe: Am I in your way?Joe asks the nurse as she moves the IV poles around.The nurse shakes her head and says, "no. Stay put." She finishes her work and asks Zoe if she can do anything else for her.Zoe: Not now. Thank you.Zoe replies and hits the button twice on the morphine pump before the time limit is set.The nurse leaves and Joe gives Zoe a gentle hug.Joe: See? Not all nurses are drill sergeantsJoe says with a chuckle.Nikki comes out of the ladies restroom but instead of going back into the waiting room she walks through ICU and out into the hall outside of the unit.Joe: Now.....you told the nurse you were tired. So why don't you close those beautiful blue eyes of yours and get some rest?Joe says softly to Zoe.Duncan sees Nikki walk through the ICU and out the doors. He glances back at Methos then follows Nikki out into the hall.Duncan: Are you OK?Duncan asks as he walks up to her.Nikki: Yeah. Fine. Just need to stretch my legs. Those couches in there get hard after a while. You'd think they'd provide softer seats for their patient's people who are waiting.Nikki says as she stares out of the window at the tops of Seacouver's buildings.Zoe: Joe?Zoe says, looking over at the man she loves.Joe: Yes, my love?Joe says and leans his head back a little so he can look down into her face.Zoe: I love you.Zoe states firmly.Zoe: You know that, right?Joe: I may not know a lot of things....but that is one thing I am absolutely sure of.Joe says with a smile and kisses the top of her head.Zoe: Good.Zoe says, and smiles.Zoe: I love you.Zoe whispers again, closing her eyes to rest.Joe: And you know that I love you, too.....right?Joe asks even though he knows the answer.Zoe: MmmmmZoe murmursZoe: I do.Duncan: He didn't mean anything, you know....right? It's just his way. Or...at least it is since.....Duncan says and stops not sure if he should say anything more.Nikki: I know. Since Alexa. I get it.Nikki says still looking out of the window.Zoe sighs and drifts to sleep.Duncan: But it still hurts....I know. Sometimes we men can be insensitive boobs.Duncan says and looks out the window, too.Nikki: Preaching to the choir, Mac. Preaching to the choir.Nikki says with a half hearted snicker.Methos empties the second bottle of beer, gets up to put both in the trash can, then he yawns and stretches. Looking around he sees the razor and the deodorant Nikki has brought for him and decides he'll feel better after a fresh shave and some wash up, so he picks it up and walks to the men's restroom.Nikki: Thanks, Mac.Nikki says quietly.Duncan: For what?Nikki: For being you.Nikki says and stands up on her tip toes and gives Duncan a quick kiss on his cheek. Then, without a word, she turns and goes back into the ICU and heads for the waiting room.Joe: I will always love you.Joe whispers against the top of her head and closes his eyes as they cloud with tears.The beeping on Zoe's heart rate monitor begins to slow.Nikki walks into the waiting room and sees that Methos is no longer there so she starts picking up their empty beer bottles, coffee cups and sandwich wrappers and throwing them away. Then she straightens up the rest of the waiting room, in need of something to do.Duncan sighs and finally walks back into the ICU.An alarm at the nurses' station begins to beep and all of the nurses look at the bank of monitors. Seeing whose alarm is going off, Zoe's nurse hurries to her patient's room.Duncan hears the alarm behind the desk of the nurses' station and sees one of the nurses hurry into Zoe's room. He follows her and stands in the doorway.The nurse walks into the room and over to the monitor. She presses a button, shutting off the alarm so it will stop beeping at the nurses' station and looks over at Zoe and Joe and figures they are both asleep. She quietly places two fingers on the inside of Zoe's wrist...being careful not to wake either of them...and when she feels Zoe's pulse for a few seconds she turns and starts out of the room. As she passes by Joe's friend she whispers, "it won't be long now," then heads for the nurses' station to make her report.Duncan looks at Joe and Zoe then turns away and goes to tell Methos and Nikki.Joe was aware of the nurse coming into the room and checking Zoe's pulse. He just chose not to open his eyes. And he is grateful that she left in silence. He doesn't trust himself to talk to anyone without losing control.....at least not at the moment.Methos sighs in contentment as he comes out of the men's restroom, still touching his now shaven face. He walks to the waiting room again with the razor and the deodorant still in his hands.Duncan walks up to the door of the waiting room and shoves his hands in his pockets.Duncan: The nurse just informed me that it won't be long now.Duncan says softly.Nikki turns and looks at MacLeod then sighs, not knowing what to say. She goes back to her cleaning...using one of their napkins to wipe off the coffee table.Duncan turns around and goes back to Zoe's room and walks in quietly and takes a seat in a chair that is out of the way.Zoe's heart rate slows a little further.Joe hears the beep of Zoe's heart monitor slow and he tightens his arm around her shoulders. He presses his face against the top of her head and whispers, "I love you, Zoe Dawson."Nikki finishes wiping off the table and throws the napkin in the trash can then walks past Methos and heads for Zoe's room.Methos rolls his eyes when Nikki passes him without speaking, then he shakes his head, the woman was sulking again. "Fine." He murmurs and sits on the couch again, he'd pass watching Zoe die any day, and Joe had already enough people with him anyway.The heart rate slows further. Its now possible to count the seconds between each beat.Joe hears the beep of the heart monitor slow again and opens his eyes. He looks at the monitor and sees that Zoe's heart rate has dropped to 16 and he quickly closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. A part of him wants to scream, "No. Don't go. Don't leave me. We need more time." But he shoves that desire into the far recesses of his mind because he knows that it would be selfish. Even though he hadn't said anything he had noticed that since the morphine pump had been hooked up, Zoe had pressed the button twice before the time limit had been set....as if she had known what the machine was before it was explained to her. That told him she was in pain and he couldn't stand the thought of her suffering anymore. He presses his lips to the side of her head, near her ear.Joe: It's OK, sweetheart. You can go now. I love you and I'll be fine.Joe whispers. His tears can no longer be held back and they freely flow down his cheeks as he tightens his hold on her.Joe: G....g....goodbye, my love.Joe whispers.Nikki bites her lower lip, covers her mouth with her hand and turns away.The heart rate monitor flatlines, and Zoe is gone.An alarm begins sounding at the nurses' station and Zoe's nurse walks quietly into the room. She walks over to the monitor and shuts the alarm off. Taking her stereoscope from around her neck she places it on Zoe's chest and listens, moving it to a couple of different spots then puts the stethoscope back around her neck. Another nurse comes into the room and Zoe's nurse looks over at her and says very softly, "time of death twenty o eight," and she begins to shut down all of the monitors.
To be continued
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