“I thought about that myself. I’m a second chance for her. I hope Elizabeth will think so too."
Martin left Lola in Dana and Kenny's care. After a discussion, even after the emotional blow, Patrick elected to move Austin to a private room on the surgical floor. The quiet of the corner room would allow him to rest. The place was also defendable. Shaun promised he wouldn't leave his sleeping friend's side.
Comfortable Austin was safe, Martin returned to the ICU. With every crutched step, a foreboding twisted his gut. Patrick was sitting at the nurse's station, pointing to a computer monitor with Mike leaning over his shoulder.
“CODE BLUE ICU ROOM 2!” the loudspeakers roared.
Patrick rushed into Elizabeth's room, followed by a dash of medical staff. Mike reached Martin in time to protect him from the throng of arriving personnel. Through the glass, he saw Elizabeth seizing. Pete and Tuck bobbed and weaved through the group, injecting two rounds of medication.
Frustrated, Virginia cursed, "Damn it, Beth."
"What's going on?" Martin shook Patrick by the shoulders.
Patrick stepped out of Martin's anguished grasp. "I wish I could give you an answer. Page Hoyt, stat. We need a scan of her brain."
Martin refused to leave Elizabeth. He stood out of the way, watching.
After the CT scan, Sterling Hoyt returned to the room and shook his head. "Her brain is healing well. Did she ingest something again? It doesn't make sense."
"If the seizure is not coming from trauma to the brain, it’s something in her system." Patrick's phone went off. "This is Dr. Hedges." He leaned a pad against the wall. "Give me those numbers again. You’re sure? No, I'm not suggesting you made a mistake. It just doesn't make sense. Another sample is coming to you in a few minutes." Red bloomed up his neck. "I am aware other patients are in this hospital. I still want that level STAT.”
Patrick frowned. “I don't understand; the lab tested all the previous samples for Flecainide levels. After admission, her blood level rose, but eight hours after admission the number fell again. Yesterday morning the level was elevated again. It fell throughout the day. The level at midnight was higher. It fell once more. At 18:00, it rose again. Pete, we need another level now."
"You are telling me the amount of the drug rose four times in the hospital. What did you give her?" Martin snapped.
Neither Pete nor Tucker took offense at Martin's accusation. "Flecainide is not an IV medication. Everything we administer is IV," Tucker explained.
Patrick rubbed his chin. "The only way to introduce it into her body is through the feeding tube. Replace everything, send that new level, continue the high dose sodium bicarbonate and the lipid emulsion."
"Forgive me. None of you did this. Who had access to Elizabeth?" Martin inhaled through gritted teeth and sat beside her, raising his throbbing leg.
Pete’s brows crunched as he faced the wall. "To start, her primary medical team."
"A lot of staff care about her. She had a bunch of visitors: Krump, Lois Massey, Keys, Tommy Kline, Pietra Hahn, Warren Chen, ICU nurses, OR nurses, surgical floor nurses, her residents—Hailey Ullman, Byron Hall, Connor Caine, George Keller, Krystal Slater," Tucker said.
"Question everyone." Martin put the heels of his hands against his forehead. "Krystal? While waiting for word on Austin, I heard Knox on the phone with a Krystal."
The nursing station clerk knocked on the door. "Dr. Hedges, the lab called with a critical value."
Patrick rocked on his heels. “Research of the literature shows only one patient with a level as high as 5.3 survived. And they had huge deficits. Elizabeth's level was 5.25. We have the window. The level is at the highest since admission. Who had access to her between 18:00 and the first seizure?"
Tucker rubbed the back of his neck. "After the code, us, two nurses, you and Virginia Harper. The surgical resident team was at a grand rounds lecture. At 19:00, neurosurgery and their residents rounded. Damn. Krystal Slater was with them. Why didn't I notice that? She’s a surgical resident. I could have missed her getting close. Pete, you stepped out to talk to Judd about Austin. Martin, I'm so sorry."
"Tuck, don't. Mike, find her—now!" He sent out an immediate order: any staff entering Austin's, Tonette's, Elizabeth's, Lola's and Victoria's room needed to be searched. Martin laced his fingers with Elizabeth's.
“CODE BLUE. ROOM 5. CODE BLUE. ROOM 5,” the loudspeaker throbbed.
"It's Tonette." Patrick ran from Elizabeth's room. Ford followed.
From his vantage point outside Elizabeth’s door, Martin had a view of the resuscitation attempt.
Virginia led the attempt to revive Tonette, who failed to respond to any intervention. Patrick whispered to Ford, pointing out Krystal Slater. He picked up a pile of rhythm strips accumulating at his feet. "Virginia, I think it’s potassium."
Virginia Harper gave him a confused glance at the improbable reason since her levels were normal at 16:00 but called out the antidote. The team defibrillated her and continued CPR. Two minutes later, Connor Caine called out to the group, "I feel a pulse."
The non-essential residents began leaving the room. Ford wrapped a possessive hand around Krystal's upper arm. "Dr. Slater, I'm Ford Cox from Homeland Security. You need to come with me."
She struggled to break free. "Let go of me, you pig!"
