Christine shook her head. “No, I wasn’t home for dinner. We can find out in the morning.”
CHAPTER 30
It was just coming up to six am when the door opened and Robbie walked in seeing Christine just walking back from the bathroom, carrying an empty bucket.
He looked at Jacob, Fran, and Christine, all of whom looked worn out, especially Jacob.
“Morning, Rob,” Fran said, seeing him first.
“Hey, Doc,” Jacob said weakly.
“Hi, Robbie,” Christine said, sending him a tired smile.
“Have you been here long?” he asked her.
“Most of the night,” Fran said, before she could.
Robbie touched her shoulder. “Thanks.” He looked at Jacob. “I know you’ve been vomiting, but how’s the pain?”
“Truthfully, Doc, I’m not sure how much more of this I can take. I think these sixteen hours are it,” Jacob said weakly.
Robbie looked at Jacob who was as white as the sheets he was laying on, his head wet with sweat and laying there with no energy. He moved to sit at the side of the bed. “You’re doing great, Jacob. Look at it this way, you’ve survived the first sixteen hours, you can survive the rest. I had a message from the research team, they said after the first twenty-four hours thesickness should slow down as there will be less silver in your system.”
“But my insides will still be damaged, won’t they?”
“Yes, but we’re hoping shifting might help fix some of the internal damage.”
“Not all?” Christine asked.
Jacob made use of the bucket. Groaning, he said, “These eight hours need to hurry up and get done.”
Fran wiped Jacob’s face.
“We’re honestly not sure about fixing all the damage. The reports the researchers have read indicate that the length of time the silver was in the body determines the damage. It’s a wait and see kind of thing.” Robbie paused. “I’m sorry I failed you, Jacob.”
“What?!” he exclaimed, moving to touch Robbie’s arm. “You didn’t fail me. You’ve pretty much been patching me up since we met. No one uses silver nowadays. It just goes along with the shit show that’s my life.”
“Whatever the lasting effects are, we’re all here to help you,” Christine assured him.
“We are indeed,” Robbie confirmed.
“Sip some water, Jacob.” Christine held the bottle to his lips.
Robbie looked at the bottle. “Where did the electrolyte water come from?”
“Clairmont and Christine went shopping in the early hours and got it,” Fran replied. “Clairmont helped us last night. He didn’t get to bed until a few hours ago.”
“I’ll make sure he rests,” Robbie promised. “Fran, have you checked Jacob’s stomach?”
Fran nodded. “A couple of times, the stitches are holding.”
Robbie nodded. “I have to get to the hospital, my shift starts soon, but I’ll message Dad about Clairmont.”
“Can you get Christine to rest now?” Jacob asked. “Thanks for helping, Christine, but you need sleep.”
“If you have rest now, you can help me later,” Fran said to her.
Before she could reply, Emory walked into the room.
