April 19th, 2011
Area 51: Secret Medical Facility
The door slowly opened up, I quickly grabbed for a scalpel in one of the drawers. I lowered it when I saw it was only Beverly.
“Whoa, it’s only me. Are the two of you alright?”
Putting the scalpel back in the drawer I got discreetly, a soldier entered the room with Beverly. Sighing, I looked at her with a hard to read expression.
“You have 20 minutes with these two.”
The solider assumed his position outside the room. I was cautious at first.
“I’ve been poked, prodded and examined in places I’d rather not have someone being. I got the worst of it. Deanna’s been hooked up to these ancient machines for the past four days. I think they are on to us doctor.”
I sat up on my bed and watched as Beverly pressed a bunch of buttons on the fetal heart monitor next to the bed. She lowered her voice and looked at the two of us.
“This monitor is slightly off. There. You know why we feel so sluggish? Tired? It’s because they’ve been giving us horse tranquilizers. Deanna how do you feel?”
I watched her shake her head. She hadn’t been doing too well since yesterday.
“I feel like my lungs are water-logged. Do you think these horse tranquilizers will hurt my baby?”
Beverly shook her head, she was uncertain.
“I’m not exactly sure, with their ancient technology it could take a while to screen for foreign toxins in the body. Although I would likely think the placental/blood barrier should protect your baby. They’ve kept you immobile in this bed for four days?”
I gave Deanna’s hand a squeeze and she nodded her head yes.
“Yes, and as you can see, they have me hooked up to every machine possible except a Dialysis machine.”
I gave Deanna a confused look.
“What’s a Dialysis machine?”
Beverly clued me in as she pulled the covers back and had Deanna turn on her side.
“You’ve already got bedsores. A Dialysis machine was used in this century to help clean the body of toxins when a person didn’t have Kidneys. These doctors don’t realize what they are doing to you Deanna. By keeping you in this bed, immobile as it may be, your body is exhausted and they’ve caused Pneumonia to settle in. That’s why your lungs feel so water-logged. Now this oxygen intake valve says that you are on 75 percent oxygen. When was the last time someone changed your catheter and the bag?”
A puzzled look crossed Deanna’s face as she tried sitting up.
“I’m not quite sure, four or five hour’s maybe? Why?”
Beverly shook her head and went rummaging through various drawers and put a pair of gloves on, the thin tubing in her hands. She took a plastic instrument with no needle on the end and stuck it in an opening on the tubing.
“Take a deep breath in Deanna and let it out slowly.”
I grabbed for Deanna’s hand and kept my left hand there. Squeezing it I watched as the old catheter came out.
“All the doctors keep telling me that. Why?”
Beverly smiled as she finished putting the new catheter in and replaced the old bag throwing it into a waste bin by the door with a glaring red bag that read: Bio-hazardous Materials Only.
“Taking deep breaths relaxes the muscles in the body. There’s one more thing I want to do before they take me back my room. It won’t be uncomfortable this time I promise. This won’t hurt.”
I watched as she peeled off the gloves she’d been wearing and tossed them into the same waste bin she’d thrown the tubing in and used bag in. She rummaged through the top drawer of a cabinet and found what she was looking for.
“Oh, one of those again. What is that anyways?”
Beverly smiled at the both of us and put the instruments earpieces into her ears while the round part went up to Deanna’s stomach.
“The baby’s heart sounds good, correlating with the machine, holding at 137. The placental blood flow sounds good too. This is what they called a Stethoscope. It amplified sounds not easily heard by the human ear. I took an extra-credit course while I was in medical school. We were taught how to utilize all of this equipment in this room. In case we encountered similar machines in other places. I’ll speak with the other doctors, see if we can get this catheter out of you and up and about. Your lungs need to dry out. It’ll only get worse if you are confined to your bed all the time. Is there anything else I should know about before I go?”
Deanna nodded her head yes and moved slightly in the bed, wincing a little.
“Actually, my hips have been bothering me since we got here.”
Beverly nodded her head and pulled the blankets back one more time.
“Probably from the swelling in your legs. I’ll ask the doctors if they can get you something to cushion your lower back. The weight of the baby is also putting stress on your hip joints. Something soft to lay on usually relieves the fluid build-up. I recommend walking once I can get these doctors to at least listen to what I have to say.”
The soldier that’d brought Beverly in opened up the door and took her roughly by the arm.
“Times up doc. Say good-bye to your brother and his wife.”
I restrained myself from going after the soldier who shoved Beverly roughly out of the doorway. I felt Deanna’s hand on my own, turning back, I looked into her eyes, they held exhaustion, and the rings under her eyes weren’t any better.
“Will don’t. These men have guns. Bullets are permanent. At least with phasers, they can be set on stun at the lowest setting and not cause permanent damage.”
I nodded my head and kissed her hand. I looked up at the flat rectangular screen attached to the wall.
“A television. Wonder what people watched in the 21st century? There should be something called a remote around here somewhere…”
Deanna smiled tiredly at me and pointed to the drawer on the bedside table.
“The remote is in the drawer right there.”
Grabbing for the remote I pressed a button with a symbol that looked like a half circle with a line through the middle. The screen came to life. A blurry of images and voices came on over it.
“…This is CNN… Heavy fighting in the Middle East tonight as American troops continue their fight against the War on Terror…”
I knit my eyebrows together and thought for a moment.
“This must be the second Iraq war. The first was Desert Storm. Details are a bit vague on what happened. Let’s see if we can find something else on tv.”
Flipping through the channels I found a salesperson talking about a very expensive ring on a mannequin’s finger.
“…as you can see here, this 6 karat 16 diamond encrusted wedding ring is an absolute stunner and a must have for any woman. Today only we have an affordable price of $9,999.
The payment options are listed on your screen, and a customer service representative is standing by to take your call now…”
I whistled and looked at the ring momentarily.
“Wow. People would pay excessive money for that many diamonds?”
I heard Deanna laugh softly on the bed, her eyes were slowly closing.
“Diamonds were a girl’s best friend. Some women anyways, I’ve never really been attracted to such materiality as jewelry.”
I stopped flipping through the channels momentarily and kissed Deanna on the forehead.
“Goodnight Imzadi. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.”
Deanna smiled a little and placed a hand over her stomach. Her smile disappeared for a moment and she groaned.
“Sweetheart, it’s time for sleep now. Mommy’s tired.”
I placed a hand on hers and turned the tv off. I could feel the strong pitter patter of tiny feet protesting Deanna’s wishes.
“Mommy’s right honey, its time for sleep now. We’ll play again later.”
I curled up in bed next to Deanna, and soon I was asleep. This place was impossible to escape.
To Be Continued…
A/N: So, what’d you guys think? Let me know! Thanks!
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