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Alicin Wonderland

By Lizz

Part 2

The Rescue

1996-Day 1 Sydney's Office Friday Morning

"Dear God!" Sydney exclaimed as he fought to halt her fall. Placing his arms under hers, he managed to support her just long enough to get her into his reading chair. He tipped the recliner back and began to apply pressure to her nose. With the other hand he stretched to press the button on his desk phone that would summon the Centre's paramedics within minutes. He managed to finish removing the straightjacket and threw it aside in disgust.

The nosebleed had slowed a bit but Sydney was concerned that the young woman was now unconscious and felt feverish. That would explain why she kept her face on the glass in the door, he thought. Her breathing was ragged and her lips were chapped. He also noted that her fingernails were bitten almost to the nail bed.

Within three of the longest minutes Sydney had ever endured, the paramedics burst through the office doors. The psychiatrist waved them to their patient and the team went to work in a flurry of emergency treatment. Everyone was talking at once.

"Whoa! Heartbeat's fast. Can I get a pressure cuff over here? Thanks." "Packing the nose with gauze." "Respiration is irregular. We have an airway. Need an O2 mask here!" "Starting a glucose drip. Can somebody take care of the kid's lips before they break open!" "Temp's 104.1" "Let's get her onto the stretcher now! On three." "Be sure she's strapped in good."

Sydney could only stand aside and watch.

The team leader flipped open his phone, pressed a key and ordered someone to page Dr.Patrice's trauma team and received some information in return. "Exam 2 is waiting for us. Let's roll, people!" And as quickly as they had arrived, they were gone.

=====

In the silence after the sudden departure, Sydney's phone rang. He picked up the handset and dropped himself into the chair at his desk. "This is Sydney."

"Patrice here, Syd. I'm on my way to the infirmary, what do you have for me?"

"A young woman, probably mid-twenties, quite ill. There's respiratory involvement and she's bleeding from the nose. There's a high fever and she's unconscious."

"One of yours?" Dr. Patrice asked in a tone of voice that told him he'd better not be responsible for the patient's condition.

"Raines," came the reply.

"Oh, God, not another one."

"Another?"

"One or two a month for the past six, Syd. Yours makes an even dozen. So, what name do I put on the chart?"

Sydney inhaled sharply. He had forgotten about the file on his desk. "Just a moment, Patrice."

"Please don't tell me you didn't bother to ask Raines for her name," she said flatly.

"Patrice," he protested, "this day started with a visit from Raines. I've been hard up against it from the start and it's not even 8:30. In fact, I was busy making certain that she was ta-"

"Alright, Syd, I get it! Now the name, please?"

He looked at the tab on the folder and saw only an eight-digit number. How like the Centre, he thought, reminded of the number on his wrist. He looked inside the folder and spoke into the phone. "Here it is, Patrice. Her name is Alicin. A-l-i-c-i-n."

"She's here, Syd! Gotta run. I'll keep you posted." The call ended before Sydney had a chance to thank her.

=====

Dr. Patrice entered Exam Room 2 and called for a gown and gloves that were quickly provided by Naomi, a tall and slender African woman who was born and raised Sierra Leone. Flanking the patient on the table stood two other members of the team, ready for their assignments. The doctor brushed an errant lock of graying hair from her face with the crook of her arm.

"Bring me up to speed," Dr. Patrice said as she approached her newest patient.

Joanna deBeer, a physician's assistant and head of the treatment team for the past nine years spoke. "Temp's 104, forehead's on fire, but her hands and feet are like ice." she started, handing the chart to the doctor. "Heart rate, pulse and respiration are stabilizing. Sydney says she passed out about 15 minutes ago. The paras packed off the nasal bleeding. There's just a little blood from her left ear. We almost missed it. Looks like it's been dried up for a few days.

Dr. Patrice read the chart and when she had finished she said, "Let's keep the oxygen flowing until she wakes up and then we'll decide if she keeps it or not. In the meantime, let's get the fever down. Joanna, that's your area. We'll go intravenous." Joanna crossed the room to a cabinet that contained several vials of variously colored liquids and selected one, then filled a syringe.

"Elinore, undo the packing so we can take a look inside. Then we'll have a look at the ear." When the nasal passage was clear, Dr. Patrice directed a light inside and let out a sigh. "There's the cause of the hemorrhage. Looks like a botched NG tube insertion. She probably wasn't cooperating. Looks like it's finally resolved. Does she have an eating problem?"

Joanna deBeer spoke up. "Yes, but it seems to be self imposed." Dr. Patrice's head snapped up with a look of disbelief. "She's dehydrated and look at her skin and fingernails. I won't speculate about the buzz cut, but the barber wasn't too careful. Whoever it was left nicks and cuts all over." The PA paused and shook her head as Dr. Patrice turned her attention and light to the injured ear.

"Okay, Elinore, your turn," the doctor said, handing the otoscope to the youngest and newest member of the team. "Take a look and tell me what happened."

The young nurse took the otoscope from her new boss and bent close to Alicin's outer ear. "The eardrum is ruptured. That would explain the bleeding, but the damage isn't consistent with a puncture wound. I'd rule out infection despite the fever. If there were middle ear involvement, we'd see some discharge, but her ear canal is dry."

She straightened up and stared at Alicin's face for several seconds. "I'd say a sudden, severe blow to the outer ear compressed the air in the ear canal, causing the eardrum to burst. Bruising on the outer ear itself suggests a blow to the side of the head, most likely from behind and slightly to her left. Not a fall, though. More likely it was an open- handed slap, and a forceful one at that." She paused. "This wasn't an accident. Someone meant business here."

The doctor was impressed. "Why do you think the blow came from behind?"

"Look right here," Elinore continued with confidence. She placed the fingers of her left hand over four oval bruises spanning Alicin's left cheek. "The pattern of these bruises suggests finger marks, doctor. And the injury is recent, within the last two or three days, judging by the coloration. And it really hurt."

"Nice work," Dr. Patrice smiled. "Talk to me, Jo." She shifted her attention, knowing that her colleague had something else to say.

"I can't help but wonder what could make her decide to self destruct, and in such a slow, painful way. According to her file, she's a crack researcher at the top of her game-until a few months ago. What changed? And why didn't she get help before this? Someone had to have seen it coming! And now this injury that doesn't look like an accident." came the reply.

"All good points, Jo. But we may need some help finding answers." The doctor paused for a moment, thinking, and then said, "Clean her up, lose the pajamas and get her a gown. Find one that's been laundered to death so it's nice and soft. Make her as comfortable as you can. You can take it from here, Jo. I need to make a few calls and then I'll be back and we can begin the detailed examination. Keep an eye on her breathing and the fever. Elinore and Naomi can start the blood work. Page me if you need me." She started for the door, then stopped suddenly and spun around to face her team again. "Oh! Let me know immediately if any of Raines' people show up. Isolate them if they do. And under no circumstance do any of them get near our patient." Dr. Patrice furrowed her brow and gazed at Alicin for a moment.

"We'll take good care of her, doctor," Joanna guaranteed with a sympathetic smile.

"I know you will. I just can't help thinking-"

"She's safe here, doctor," Naomi reaffirmed. "Go do what you have to do. She'll be fine."

"I know she's in good hands." Dr. Patrice turned and left the room, looking up to smile at Earl Phillips, the team's orderly. Unnoticed by the others, he had placed a thermal blanket on the warming table earlier and had added two pairs of thick cotton socks to the pile. He rolled the warmer to the examining table and addressed Joanna. "It's a bit coolish in this room, Jo. I thought these might help." He showed her the contents of the warmer.

Joanna smiled and let out a soft chuckle. "Are you sure you're not a mind reader, Earl?" He had an uncanny ability to anticipate what was needed at any given moment.

Earl smiled in return and quickly covered Alicin up to her waist with a warmed blanket. He placed one pair of socks on her icy feet and re-covered them. The other pair of socks he placed on her hands, which were frighteningly cold to the touch. He then tucked her hands back under the warm cover and stepped away. "This should do until you're ready bathe and dress her. Do you, uh, need me here for any of that?" Earl was clearly uncomfortable with the thought of assisting with Alicin's bath.

"We may need some help to stabilize her body when we turn her over, that's all," Joanna replied. "But for now, you could round up the supplies we need and pick up a couple of gowns from linens." Relieved, Earl set out on his mission.

Joanna knew that Earl was concerned about Alicin's privacy and dignity. He was nothing, if not a gentleman of the old school. Earl still opened doors for women, helped them on and off with their coats, walked them to their cars after dark or with an umbrella when it was raining and if the wind should pick up their skirts, he averted his eyes while others ogled. He was one of three men at the Centre who still wore a hat with his overcoat. And he never, ever, wore a hat inside the building. Yes, he was one of a vanishing breed, Joanna mused. And she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

=====

While the team took care of Alicin, Dr. Patrice was on the phone to Sydney with an update. "You may want to be sitting down for this, Syd. Alicin's injuries might be the result of a physical attack." Then she told him about the nose and ear injuries and the bruising of the ear and face. She heard a long, troubled sigh at the other end of the line. "They're cleaning her up now and trying to make her comfortable. My people are moving beyond concern, Syd."

"I can imagine, Patrice. Do you feel the need for a security detail?" he replied with growing concern himself.

"That's my thought Syd, but I need someone whose loyalty is beyond question and who has the tenacity and reflexes of a junkyard dog. And I mean that in a nice way, of course." The smile on her face carried over into her voice."

"I understand," Sydney chuckled, grateful for even a brief respite from the gravity of their situation. "I have just the person you're looking for. His name is Sam, and he is my most loyal employee and quite accomplished in this field of expertise. His tenacity is unmatched. And he has the reflexes of that breed you mentioned."

"He sounds like my champion." "I'll brief him and have him report to you personally this afternoon. Is 3:00 suitable?"

"Yes, it is. And thank you, Syd. This is above and beyond. Perhaps you'll accept a cognac in my office later as partial payment?"

"No thanks needed. I'm at your service for the duration of this case. However, I will take you up on that cognac. Patrice, do you have any idea when I'll be able to speak with Alicin?"

"I'm not sure, Syd. I'd like to see the fever break first and get some nutrients into her system. She'll need clear liquids and then it'll be several days before she can start on soft foods. I know that's not what you wanted to hear."

"No, it isn't. But I appreciate that you're doing all you can. I can't shake the feeling that Raines is the real problem in all of this."

"You know what they say about him, Syd. A day without Raines is like a day with sunshine. Anyway, plan to stop by later, maybe early afternoon, and look in on her."

"Thank you, Patrice. I will do that. There's one other thing. In light of the morning's events, I've decided to spend the weekend here at the Centre. I'll drive home before lunch and collect what I need. I should be back early this afternoon to see Alicin, if she's up to it. And I really should call on Jarod to let him know I'll be here."

"That sounds fine, Syd. Take your time. I'll see you this afternoon. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Patrice."

Sydney collected his coat and hat and left his office, heading for Jarod's living quarters. He had decided to visit his Pretender before driving home.

End AW Part 2

TBC









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