... *** "PAIN!" Wilbur thought at her. "Help me with the pain..." He looked at the poor girl, who was cowering in the middle of the room, with her hands over her ears. He didn't know why she was acting like there was a loud noise in the room, but he desperately wanted her to stay and do something, not run away as she had earlier. "PAIN... Help... me... pain..." Joanne blinked as the words hit her with a near-physical presence. She staggered backwards at the impact, then she automatically walked over and increased the Demerol I-V drip with a steady, practiced hand. A few seconds later, the screaming stopped, and Joanne staggered to the door. She paused, wobbling on her feet, then collapsed to the floor, blissfully unconscious. Wilbur wanted to help the young lady, to wake her up (please don't let her be hurt). He hadn't meant to hurt her, he only wanted to communicate and make her stop the pain. He had been in so much pain, but now it was better. The pain receded quickly, chased by the increased anesthetic. Wilbur no longer felt it after a while. In fact, he was feelin' pretty darned good. After about three minutes, [determined via transcript record] he no longer felt so good, just sleepy. He drifted into a deep slumber rather quickly, with an extended period of REM sleep. Day 3, 0638: Joanne blinked sleepily, stunned and still woozy from -- whatever it was. She got up and stood shakily, looking around the blurry room. Everything came back into focus when she saw the oxygen tent, and she snapped back to full awareness. Nurse Weber checked the patient; he was sleeping, and his vital signs had improved since her last reading at 5... It was 6:38! The noise of the custodian's push cart told her that she was no longer alone in the ward, and had better regain herself and act her professional part. |