dampness. He moved slowly and carefully, still feeling the pain of his own wound. “Yeah, I’ll get her through this and we’ll see where we stand.” His voice lowered in pain. “I don’t really know anything about her. I don’t know if she has a family somewhere wondering where she is. If she’s married, if she has kids…” his voice trailed off.
The mood in the room got heavy. Christ, they hadn’t thought of that. Wolf cleared his throat. “The main thing is to get her well. Cookie, you can deal with all that after she recovers.”
Cookie nodded. “Okay, you guys get going. Benny and Dude can stay here with me. Wolf, if you can talk to Tex and let him know we’ll be holed up here for a bit longer I’d appreciate it. I’ll stay in touch and let you know how Fiona is doing and what our next steps will be.”
The other men left the room, each looking back one more time at the woman on the bed and their teammate. They all silently hoped she’d pull through and that she was free. It was plain to see Cookie already considered Fiona “his,” and they hoped, for both their sakes, it could work out.
Chapter Nine
Fiona’s fever spiked. Cookie was in the room with her when she started thrashing on the bed. She was extremely hot to the touch. Cookie grabbed Fiona’s hand to try to reassure her, but that only seemed to make her reaction worse, and it pushed her over the edge. She jerked away from him and sat up, obviously trying to get up and out of the bed.
“Duuuude,” Cookie bellowed as he tried to hold Fiona still. He wasn’t very effective with his own shoulder injured from being shot. The door slammed open and not only Dude, but Benny also entered the room and summed up the situation quickly.
Dude grabbed hold of Fiona’s shoulders while Benny grabbed her shins. Cookie stayed at her head trying to calm Fiona down with his touch. All three men were silent while they watched Fiona twist and turn and struggle to release herself. Just as before, her efforts only exhausted her. This time when Cookie tried to gentle her with his voice, it did no good. His voice couldn’t bring her out of the drug induced haze she was in this time.
Finally, after what seemed hours, but was really only ten minutes or so, Fiona fell still again. She opened her eyes, gazing duly around the room. With glazed eyes she whimpered, “Why? Why are you doing this to me?” and then fell silent once again.
“God damn,” Benny exclaimed softly. “Let us know when she wakes up again,” he told Cookie sadly, knowing it probably wouldn't be the last time they were needed. “We’re just next door and can be here in a second.”
“I will, thanks guys. Hopefully she’ll sleep the worst of this off soon.”
Nodding, Benny and Dude left Cookie alone with Fiona again.
Cookie slept fitfully for the next twenty four hours. Waking when Fiona woke, trying to soothe her, calling for Benny and Dude to help him keep Fiona from hurting herself when needed, and then trying to sleep when Fiona slept.
They’d actually had to put gloves on Fiona’s hands because she kept trying to scratch her skin. He knew it probably felt like her skin was crawling with bugs, but it was just the withdrawal making her think that way…okay, and the multitude of bug bites as well.
Cookie had seen a lot of hard things in his life, but nothing had prepared him for the heartbreaking cries and pleading that came out of this woman’s mouth. They were all the more horrifying because he knew if she knew she was doing it, she’d have been mortified. Fiona had done everything she could while they were in the jungle to downplay her own suffering, and there was no doubt she’d been suffering.
When Fiona was lucid enough, they all tried to get her to eat something. They knew she wasn’t dehydrated because the IVs were pumping lots of life saving fluids into her nonstop, but they were worried about her caloric intake.
They frequently got her up and
The mood in the room got heavy. Christ, they hadn’t thought of that. Wolf cleared his throat. “The main thing is to get her well. Cookie, you can deal with all that after she recovers.”
Cookie nodded. “Okay, you guys get going. Benny and Dude can stay here with me. Wolf, if you can talk to Tex and let him know we’ll be holed up here for a bit longer I’d appreciate it. I’ll stay in touch and let you know how Fiona is doing and what our next steps will be.”
The other men left the room, each looking back one more time at the woman on the bed and their teammate. They all silently hoped she’d pull through and that she was free. It was plain to see Cookie already considered Fiona “his,” and they hoped, for both their sakes, it could work out.
Chapter Nine
Fiona’s fever spiked. Cookie was in the room with her when she started thrashing on the bed. She was extremely hot to the touch. Cookie grabbed Fiona’s hand to try to reassure her, but that only seemed to make her reaction worse, and it pushed her over the edge. She jerked away from him and sat up, obviously trying to get up and out of the bed.
“Duuuude,” Cookie bellowed as he tried to hold Fiona still. He wasn’t very effective with his own shoulder injured from being shot. The door slammed open and not only Dude, but Benny also entered the room and summed up the situation quickly.
Dude grabbed hold of Fiona’s shoulders while Benny grabbed her shins. Cookie stayed at her head trying to calm Fiona down with his touch. All three men were silent while they watched Fiona twist and turn and struggle to release herself. Just as before, her efforts only exhausted her. This time when Cookie tried to gentle her with his voice, it did no good. His voice couldn’t bring her out of the drug induced haze she was in this time.
Finally, after what seemed hours, but was really only ten minutes or so, Fiona fell still again. She opened her eyes, gazing duly around the room. With glazed eyes she whimpered, “Why? Why are you doing this to me?” and then fell silent once again.
“God damn,” Benny exclaimed softly. “Let us know when she wakes up again,” he told Cookie sadly, knowing it probably wouldn't be the last time they were needed. “We’re just next door and can be here in a second.”
“I will, thanks guys. Hopefully she’ll sleep the worst of this off soon.”
Nodding, Benny and Dude left Cookie alone with Fiona again.
Cookie slept fitfully for the next twenty four hours. Waking when Fiona woke, trying to soothe her, calling for Benny and Dude to help him keep Fiona from hurting herself when needed, and then trying to sleep when Fiona slept.
They’d actually had to put gloves on Fiona’s hands because she kept trying to scratch her skin. He knew it probably felt like her skin was crawling with bugs, but it was just the withdrawal making her think that way…okay, and the multitude of bug bites as well.
Cookie had seen a lot of hard things in his life, but nothing had prepared him for the heartbreaking cries and pleading that came out of this woman’s mouth. They were all the more horrifying because he knew if she knew she was doing it, she’d have been mortified. Fiona had done everything she could while they were in the jungle to downplay her own suffering, and there was no doubt she’d been suffering.
When Fiona was lucid enough, they all tried to get her to eat something. They knew she wasn’t dehydrated because the IVs were pumping lots of life saving fluids into her nonstop, but they were worried about her caloric intake.
They frequently got her up and
Similar Books
