savetheearth | Not the bird flu / closed

Entry tags:

Not the bird flu / closed

Who: Fil, Liam and Aaron
What: Fil dragging Liam off to Aaron's clinic in Locke to get him some REAL medical attention
Where: The clinic
When: Around 1/17?
Warnings: Nothing.

[He has never met anyone so...utterly frustrating. It had been an adventure in itself, getting Liam off the mountain in one piece. (Fil was seriously thinking about getting a leash on the guy.) Then there was the short car ride to the teleporter in Vegas. (He hated driving these days, mostly on account of how he had to have cushions just so he could see over the dashboard). The teleporter, as much as he disliked that too, at least was working properly now and he was getting used to the sensation of going through it. The convenience of being able to travel so far so fast outweighed his past prior experience with it. Then it was followed by another, thankfully short drive to the clinic.

It was with a sigh of relief that he parks the car.]

C'mon, we're here.

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[Fil refrained from rolling his eyes when Liam forgot about the seatbelt. The guy WAS sick after all, most likely a bit delirious at that point. So when Liam was brought into the examination room at the back, he followed. He was already there, might as well see the thing to the very end.

Besides, someone rational needs to be there to give the Doctor the facts. ]

Doc, he has a cold, probably the normal human influenza at this point because he refuses all 'chemical' medication, maybe bronchitis as well with the way he's coughing. You can test him for 'bird flu' if you like but I highly doubt it.

[By this point Liam is sitting on the exam table shivering in his coat, even keeping his hat on. When Fil keeps insisting it's not bird flu, he gives him a glassy eyed glare.]

Dude, it's totally a possibility if you've been near a sick bird.

[brb coughing.]

...I feel like shit.

[...oh, boy. Refuses chemical medication, huh. He nods at Fil.]

Scarf and coat off, please.

[Aaron unhooks a stethoscope from its place on the wall and hooks it around his neck, businesslike.]

Have you been in close contact with any sick birds?

[His tone says he doubts it. There's a reason cases of H5N1 in humans are so rare -- most people just don't wind up in contact with sick birds. Either they don't have the opportunity, or they're smart enough to stay away. This guy doesn't seem the type to have a job in the poultry business.]

[Fil returns the nod with all seriousness, his eyes saying: good luck with this one, Doc.

He lets out another sigh.]

I think he's been with our friend Julien, who has some bird characteristics but I don't think is really an actual bird.

Bird characteristics are enough, I was trying not to sound weird. Thanks Fil.

[Liam reluctantly takes off his scarf and coat. He's still shivering, and his skin is bone dry, an obvious sign of dehydration. He glances over at the doctor.]

Uh... So it's close enough, right?

[Aaron starts at the mention of Julien. Something Julien told him comes to mind again: Sumatera. Real concern flashes across his face.]

Julien? He's not sick, is he?

[He'll get to you in a second, Liam. First, he's got to determine whether or not the world is about to end in pigeon plague.]

Er....not sure about that actually. He's...kind of lost in the wild right now? I think? [This time, Fil is actually looking to Liam for answers, as shocking as it is. He's been too worried about his Uncle to pay much attention to the Network.

But wait...something else occurs to him.]

You know Julien, Doc?

He seemed pretty sick to me when I went to go see him. He was in a lot of pain and totally running a fever I think.

[ That concerned look that Aaron gives starts up his anxiety again, so it takes him a moment longer to pick up the fact that the doctor seemed to know Julien.]

...Wait, what? Do you?

[Oh fuck.

This is a whole lot of bad news in a really short time. Aaron's face is largely hidden behind a surgical mask, but it's clear from his eyes that his mind is racing.

He skips right over answering the question about Julien. There's no time for that right now. Aaron turns to Fil, giving him a hard, considering look, weighing FIl's chances of exposure.]

I need you to leave the room, now. Go into one of the other examining rooms, and shut the door. Wash your hands thoroughly in the sink there, and wait for me to come talk to you.

Go.

[Then, he looks at Liam.]

I'm going to take some samples, and I'm going to send them out for testing. Liam, you're going to stay here until I get the results back. You're badly dehydrated anyway -- even if this isn't from Julien, you'd need to stay a few hours.

[Fil gaped for a moment at Aaron. Don't tell me the Doc was actually taking the bird flu thing seriously?

He threw his hands up in the air.]

Fine, I guess I'll have to be last rational person in the madhouse. I'm going, I'm going.

[He's going to do as Aaron asks because he IS going to see this farce through until the very end.]

And doc? DO NOT let him get out of medication, chemical or otherwise, no matter what.

Screw the environment.

[It should be a testament to both how sick he felt and how serious he thought the situation was that he would say something like that. If Liam was worried before, now he was almost terrified. He's frozen in place with his arms wrapped close to him to try to stop the shivering. He looks over at Fil, eyes wide in fear. ]

Fil, believe me, I'm taking whatever he gives me. Seriously.

[Suddenly he has to cough again, but he tries desperately to hold it in. He didn't want to start a pandemic, here. He manages only a few seconds before he has to turn away and grab his scarf to cough into.]

[Once Fil is out of the room, Aaron pulls the stethoscope up to his ears and, finally, uses it. Sorry to leave you hanging in your shirtsleeves there, buddy.]

Deep breaths -- deep as you can.

[Once he's figured out if he'll have to treat Liam for bronchitis too or not, he'll move on to taking specimens, giving brisk instructions. He'll take a nasal and -- more uncomfortably -- a nasopharyngeal swab, packaging them up deftly and safely.

It's strange, looking at them, to think that they might contain a virus capable of wiping out most of humanity.]

[Signs of bronchitis are minimal, like it could be first starting. That nasopharyngeal swab was probably one of the grossest medical tests he'd ever done, and quickly he's pulling out a packet of 100% recycled tissues from his PJ bottom pockets and taking care of the aftermath.]

...Ew.

[He sighs and rubs his face with one hand against the fatigue, and then looks sideways at Aaron.]

Hey... am I going to be okay? What's going on?

[He talks as he takes Liam's temperature.]

We'll know that when the results come in. Give me your arm.

[He hands Liam a little stress-ball foam kind of thingy.]

Squeeze this for a couple of seconds, then relax. Do it until I tell you to stop.

[He walks toward the door. Gonna get an IV going, get those fluids and medicine in him. Aaron turns to look back at Liam as he turns the handle.]

And you might as well get comfortable. You're not leaving here tonight.

[Liam does as he's told without question. The fact that the doctor couldn't give him a definite "yes" is really worrying. He can't say much with a thermometer in his mouth, but he nods, and takes off his hat with his free arm, not even thinking about the pointed ears underneath.]

[When Aaron comes back with a drip and needles, he doesn't really look at Liam until he's inside and the door's shut. He takes the thermometer out of Liam's mouth, checks it, drops the disposable tip in a bin marked with a biohazard symbol, and then as he reaches to take hold of Liam's arm with gloved hands, he catches sight of the ears, and freezes. His eyes widen in clear disbelief--]

--it can't be.

[That's it, that's why he looks so familiar--]

Legolas?

Yeah?

[He answers automatically, feverish brain not really thinking about which name was what right now, but after a moment the penny drops.]

...Wait, how do you know my other name?

[He can hardly believe it -- Legolas, sitting right there on the examining table. It's surreal -- he has never met anyone from his own memories before now.]

Well, I'll be damned. Of all the people to walk into my clinic -- on all the days --

[--but he hasn't forgotten why Liam is here. Aaron shakes his head. Now isn't the time for explainations.]

Treatment first. You can relax your hand -- hold very still, now.

[He'll have Liam lie back and begin the process of getting that drip in. Clean the arm, find a vein, get the needle in the vein (not so easy, with Liam as dehydrated as he is), and within a minute, the IV is dripping away, delivering its fluids and nutrients and medicine. That done, he'll finally get Liam under a couple of blankets.]

[It's probably a good thing that Liam isn't particularly uncomfortable with needles more than the average guy. He and grimaces a little as he's poked around to find the vein, but looks relieved to be lying back and under blankets when it's all done. He kicks off his shoes which stay near to his feet when they're off.]

Okay, are we done for now?

[brb coughing.]

I'd really like to know what's going on in your head right now, man. You're scaring me.

Nearly. I'll be back in a few minutes -- then, we can talk.

[He leaves the room again: this time, to talk to Fil, to call in that favor in the lab downtown, to dismiss the rest of the staff, and to close down early. It's about twenty minutes before he returns, with something about grapefruit-sized wrapped in a towel under his arm.]

I'm sorry. I'm sure you have questions. I won't be able to tell you everything for confidentiality reasons, but I'll do what I can.

[He sits in a chair next to the table, setting the towel-bundle down on the floor with a dull, heavy-sounding thud.

There. Liam has his full attention, and his undivided time, for the next several hours.]

Edited 2015-01-23 21:16 (UTC)

[Liam waits anxiously, sending off a few texts to appropriate people. When Aaron returns he's mostly curled up on his side, though the arm with the IV in it sticks out some. The round object in the towel has him curious, but there were a lot more important things on his mind right now than to ask about that. Several questions come out at once.]

Okay so... seriously, I get that you can't tell me everything, but should I be worried? Is like, bird flu possibly a thing, here? Do I need to call my parents or anything?

And how do you know my old name, are you numbered?

We'll know for sure by tomorrow. I've called in a favor with an old friend -- she'll be able to tell us if this is a bad flu, or something else. I'm afraid I can't tell you what the something else is -- it was told to me in confidence by Julien Sakazaki, and it is up to him to tell you more. But I will say that it has to do with the numbers.

[A deep breath.]

As for your name, I learned it well over a year ago, when I began to remember things that had never happened to me. I had a number from April 2013 to December of that year. Then, I lost it -- for a full year, there were holes in my memory. My number seemed to be gone for good, but this morning, I began to remember.

Iston i nif gin, Legolas. Gin iston.

...Aw, shit.

[It it had to do with being numbered, that usually meant bad things. He listens as the doctor tells him a bit about his numbered past. The Sindarin takes a moment to register with his fuzzy brain, but when it clicks he has trouble reverting to English.]

Ú-iston lin. Man i eneth lín?

[Just now it occurred to him that he didn't even know the doctor's name, and now he was putting his life in his hands.]

Edited 2015-01-23 23:13 (UTC)

[He replies in the same language, using words harder to piece together using internet phrasebooks and conjugation charts.]

Do you truly know me not?

[It can't be seen, but his mouth twists into a wry smile behind his mask.]

Here, I am called Aaron Strider. But the name you knew me by...

[Aaron finds that he does not want to say. He couldn't tell you exactly why: maybe he wants to be remembered first out of some desire for acknowledgment, or maybe it's simple orneriness after a roller-coaster of a day.]

...you will remember soon enough, I am certain.

Not fair. You know my name.

[By now Liam is speaking half in Sindarin and half in English. The fever obviously making it harder to concentrate and focus.]

How do you know me? You remember something about me?

[As sick and scared as he was, he was really curious now. The doctor knew him, but Liam didn't know who he was. There's an unpleasant sounding coughing fit. Liam gives a low groan.]

You got any cough medicine you think is okay for me to have?

[Yep. He's asking for the real stuff.]

Edited 2015-01-24 06:13 (UTC)

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If Aaron took / takes his temp it's 103f / 39.4c D:

oh noooo

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