The Quaranteam Universe is the creation of CorruptingPower, used with permission.
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Chapter 12: Laboratory Science
26 August 2020
For the second time in as many months, Adam unexpectedly woke up to the steady beep of hospital monitors. Other than that, though, the two situations could not be less alike. He had monitors attached, sure, but they were far fewer in number and much less invasive. No catheter, no breathing tube. More importantly, he was not alone.
He had managed to move about two inches and open his eyes when suddenly he had his arms full of a sobbing black beauty. Adam's arms were free to wrap around her. "Easy, Shannon, I'm alright."
Someone cleared their throat from the other direction. "No offense, Adam, but we do not know that yet." Esther's voice had changed, ever so slightly. A little bit of the harshness was out of the background of it. "We heard a thump and found you unconscious in your room, computer on and calendar on your screen. You have had blood drawn like you're feeding a vampire nest already, looking for indicators of almost anything we can think of."
"Anything come back positive? I mean, not that I'm hoping for it." Adam was pretty clearly still getting his head back together.
Esther shook her head. "The labs are overworked at the best of times, and they are on a skeleton crew right now. No, nothing's come back at all, but nothing in the other tests and scans we've done has indicated a stroke or heart attack. Thankfully, you're awake now. That means we can start asking questions in a bit."
"And that's not all." Callie was also in the room, off in a visitor's chair. "They were packaging up the samples they took into two different containers, and one of them looked like it was ready to be mailed somewhere. I'd say that Health and Human Services is getting their money's worth from you, now."
Adam chuckled in his hospital bed. "Always did call some of those people vampires. Guess the joke's on me. Okay, serious talk. How long was I out, and what did I miss?"
Esther breathed in, mentally putting things in order. "You passed out about noon two days ago. So, call it 48 hours. You missed us being worried sick, the aforementioned battery of tests, an ambulance ride, and pretty much nothing else."
Callie shook her head. "Looks like we traded one small apartment for another. The hospital put us up in what looks like a four-person room since we can't be apart from you all that long. Nobody seems sure how to treat bonded Teams, so they're jumping whenever we say something. Heck, they even gave us an improvised Do Not Disturb sign but asked that we only use it when absolutely necessary."
She seemed to be actively contemplating how necessary it was to hang it up now that he was conscious and could respond to certain advances. Esther seemed to know where this was going, though. "I know what you're thinking, and it needs to wait. At least until Adam has had a chance to drink and eat, and for the medical crew here to get a chance to check him out awake. Myself included." She walked over to check his charts again, despite the fact that she probably knew them by heart by now. "Speaking of, I hear a cart. That's probably the food. Shannon, you and I need to eat quickly, you have your own imaging in about forty-five minutes. Are the plates in your bones ferrous? I couldn't find the information."
Shannon nodded. "My family isn't exactly rich, so pure titanium or something fancier wasn't in the cards."
"Alright. Not doing an MRI, then. I'm still going to make sure Radiology is up in gear for an X-Ray or five. Your boobs aren't the only thing growing, according to the measurements we took you've gained an inch, maybe an inch and a half of height. That makes me suspect something with your spine. Ugh, this is MADDENING."
"What's wrong?" Shannon asked.
"It's all impossible. They told me to forget that I ever heard that word, but there it is. People don't just repair like that. You did. That means I need to get a closer look if I want to know what we need to be doing." The door opened with a food cart, interrupting her line of thought.
Callie noticed a certain hesitation on Adam's part. "Don't worry. We're allowed to speak freely here. The frontline medical workers and staff were some of the first to get pushed to vaccinate." The nurse pushing the cart gave a thumbs up as she rapidly turned around, leaving the whole cart there with food for the four of them. "Doesn't help that a lot of the staff who aren't considered medical workers... you know, like cooks and janitors... died while waiting in line. Part of what's slowing things down around here is that whomever is left has to try to cover the gap. We've been helping where we can, but given how the law works there's only so much we can do. I mean, HIPAA has a good reason for existing, don't get me wrong, it's just awkward right now."
"Good to know. I wouldn't want to be a bad guest, now would I?" Adam grabbed the nearest tray on the cart, barely within reach, and opened it up. The sight of a sandwich and chips had never filled him with hunger before, but it did now. He felt like he'd barely breathed before the thing seemed to evaporate in his hands and disappear into his mouth, along with the glass of water. The clock had managed to tick forward once or twice in the meantime, but no more than that. It almost seemed embarrassed about it. "Um. I know you said I was out of it for two days, but I wasn't expecting that. Is there more?"
Wordlessly, Callie handed her tray over. Adam dug in again with gusto, earning another focused stare from Esther. "Okay, there's another thing to watch, I guess. The limited literature I have on the Serum's effects and side effects mention that the team primary... that's you, Adam, in case you forgot... can burn through calories more quickly. I already noted that you are putting away an unexpected amount of food, but here I thought that was normal for you."
"Am I really?" Adam looked down. His hands were empty of sandwich. Again. "Huh. So I am."
"Shannon, if you're done, let's go. Preferably before Adam eats your clothing." Esther led her out. Shannon's glance in Adam's direction said many things, one of which was that the two days she'd spent without him in her were the longest dry spell she'd had since arriving in Yelm. Still, a glance was all she had time for before following the swiftly-retreating figure of the white-haired Asian woman.
Adam looked around the room, not finding anything of note. "Callie, what haven't you said while you waited for the other two to leave? I can tell you're antsy."
"Two things. Let's start with the obvious. You."
