Chance Is Sick

Log Title: Chance Is Sick

Characters: Ace, Chance, Nightingale

Location: Medical Center - The Pit

Date: September 12, 2013

TP: None.

Summary: Ace and Nightingale keep Chance company in sickbay.

As logged by Ace - Thursday, September 12, 2013, 7:53 PM ---

Medical Center - The Pit

 * The base infirmary is a spacious room, with high ceilings, blue tile floors, and plenty of room in which to walk around. The place is brightly lit by row upon row of fluorescent lighting. There are about six beds ready for use, with fourteen more that can be readied if necessary. Each bedside is surrounded by state-of-the-art medical equipment, in addition to the more standard medbay fare like trays of supplies and such.
 * Beyond the recovery ward are a pair of double doors leading into the surgical ward itself, which includes six separate operating tables and the best surgical equipment the US government can provide. A smaller room to the side is set up as a biocontainment ward, including an armored window through which doctors can monitor the patients inside.
 * While not a place to set someone's mind and soul at ease...it's a place to spend time healing...to watch the large, industrial-grade 12-hour clock on the wall, and consider the virtues of being more careful.

Ace sticks his head in the medical center to see if any of the docs are in. He's dressed in normal clothes now, and his face looks almost normal, if still bruised and swollen.

Chance had been awake for a while now, although he hadn’t moved. In fact he hadn’t done much the last 24 hours. His eyes open as he lay there, he caught sight of Ace sticking his head in, and the soldier finally moved a little bit, stirring to lift his head and peer in Aces' direction, staring at him. Perhaps remembering that 'skull' that Lifeline had showed him.

Ace spots movement, and goes over to see how Chance is going.

Rolling to his back as Ace approaches, Chance sits up a little bit more, offering a smile weakly. He seemed paler than the last time Ace had seen him. "Hey... Ace it was right?” The newest Joe asked, to confirm as he nodded.

Ace has popped into the medlab to see if any of the docs are in, and is now checking on Chance. He grins. "Yeah. It's nice to have a face again to be recognized."

Chance admits "I only recognise you because everyone *sniffle* pointed you out to me. Otherwise I'd be just guessing. Does it uh, feel better?" he asked, reaching for a tissue in anticipation of a vigorous sneeze.

Ace touches his cheeks gingerly. "My face? Yeah, it does. The docs did good work. I'm going to have to let them win at poker next time," he smiles.

"Waffles thinks I should try to play to see if my lu... bwuu... ba-CHOO! - OW!" that was quite the sneeze, and the yelp of pain that followed it made his body spasm.

Dr. Miller enters the infirmary, looking a bit distracted as she fiddles with a tablet. Looking up, she smiles broadly when she spots Chance and Ace. "Hello you two! How are you feeling?"

Ace looks over at Dr. Miller and smiles as if his face wasn't still a lumpy shade of bruise.

Chance finishes honking and puts the tissue in the can "... What was I saying? Oh yeah, play you to see who's luck runs out first." he noted, then glanced over. An awkward pause "Doctor Miller. I was hoping to talk to you a brief moment." Sniff.

Ace croaks, "Chance is still under the weather, it seems." He mutters to Chance, "Challenge accepted," And then nods slightly. "I can leave you two alone if you need to confer. I was just popping in for a checkup."

“It's nice to hear your voice at long last, Ace. How are you feeling?" Dr. Miller says with a smile. She turns to Chance, and nods a bit, having a feeling about what the sniffly Canadian wants, but not saying anything.

"It will only take a few moments." promises Chance to Ace as he looks at Miller, waiting for her to approach his uptilted bed now, and snorting into another Kleenex disgustingly.

Ace coughs slightly. "It's nice to be able to use it again." He bows his head, and steps back out of hearing range to give the two of them privacy. He busies himself studying repairs made to the bay post-Rhino attack.

"Well, if you need anything Ace, just ask." Dr. Miller says. She steps next to Chance's bed, not at all perturbed by the messy Kleenexes. "What do you want to talk about, Michael?"

Chance mutters to Nightingale, "... uncomfortable the other... text... with my comment... your uh... I did not... you... Lifeline... seeing... any offense..."

Ace hums a Beatles tune while he patiently (no pun intended) waits.

Nightingale mutters to Chance, "... it's... Michael! *laugh*... be truthful,... really been... our... And, I... rather flattered... comment.... a nice... man.... worry... better,..."

Chance wipes his nose, which was looking somewhat red from the irritation and offered a smile to her, nodding "Trying to. It’s not easy." he noted, laying back on the bed once more now as he looks over at Ace and waves at him to come back "Glad it’s all good and stuff. I realized that text could have been taken wrong.

Ace notices the wave, and comes back over. "Everything OK?" he asks.

Nightingale chuckles, giving Chance a smile as Ace comes over. "All is good, Ace." she says. "Just telling Chance here to focus on getting better."

Ace nods. "A good plan. All *I've* been focusing on for months."

Chance states "Trying to. Not sure if I'm succeeding." he sniffed again and preemptively grabs another tissue. "At least I'm not dehydrated anymore, but now this cold is trying to kill me. and..." he paused, then shook his head "And well, still recovering overall." he changed what he was going to say.

Ace nods. "It's time I actually focused on something else, really. It's hard to get back in the game after sitting out so many hands, though."

Chance nods at Ace, agreeing with that. He'd missed several of the recent largest missions, including the one that Ace had been taken out of. He then tenses, hand lifting to his nose as he feels another sneeze coming on.

"The common cold - archenemy of productive people everywhere." Dr. Miller quips. She turns to Ace. "You'll get back into the rhythm of things, don't worry."

Ace smiles. "Thanks. How's Payload been handling the workload?"

The sneeze comes and Chance spasms again, and utters a sharp four letter cuss word quickly after, eyes watering the faintest amount. "Never had one THIS bad before. Lemme guess - body's already weakened so it’s basically steamrolling through?" he noted, thinking he accidentally peed a little on that last sneeze.

“I think he's eager to have you back and full strength." Dr. Miller says to Ace. She winces slightly at Chance's loud sneeze. "Most likely; too much stress can compromise your body's immune system."

Ace croaks, "Don't blow out your organs on one of those sneezes... I think one like that might bust off my new face!"

Chance states "We have duct tape for that." in a croak, wiping his nose again. "I just hope I don’t disgust anyone when I'm emptying. That 'expectorant' stuff doesn’t work for long."

Ace grins at the duct tape comment.

Nightingale chuckles. "You and your duct tape." she chuckles. "And I, for one, am not grossed out by your emptying. I raised two kids, so I've dealt with nasty colds."

Ace blinks and looks at Dr. Miller. "You have two children?"

Chance looks up as well in surprise "I think you mentioned having children before." he notes upon some thought, settling back on the bed now. He dabs at his nose, finding it quite tender now "I don’t think I've ever had one this bad. I wish we COULD just vacuum it all out. Think how much suffering would alleviate!"

Nightingale nods. "A son and daughter." she says simply. She looks over at Chance, and a wry little smile creeps onto her face. "I don't think that would work, but I understand the sentiment."

"Why not?” asked the Soldier, honestly curious as he lays back down with a shiver, pulling the blankets up around all but his still-IVed arm. He still had a ways to go strength-wise unfortunately, but he was out of the danger zone. "How old are your kids?"

Ace smiles. "Do you have pictures?"

"I... think I have a good picture here..." Dr. Miller says, digging out her wallet, and pulling out a well-worn picture. It looks to have been taken at a wedding, as the young woman in the photo is wearing a wedding dress, and the slightly older man beside her is in a suit. They're both smiling broadly. "William and Rachel. Rachel's 24 now... William would have been 26 this winter..."

Ace blinks again. "Wow. I was thinking younger children..."

Chance sits up to squint at the picture "So was I, I think. Nice kids. Rachel looks a lot like my sister." he admits with a smile. Then he remembered what she had told him previously about William and the smile fades.

Ace tries to think of the polite way to say, 'You don't look old enough to have children that old!' =)

"I think you'd like Rachel; she's very cheerful and friendly. Her husband's very sweet." Dr. Miller says, smiling fondly at the picture before tucking it away. "Of course, I tease her about giving me grandkids; all in good fun."

Chance chuckles a little "My sisters have taken care of that for me. I got off lucky *ACHOOO* Again. Ow. F***." he grimaced, rubbing at his shoulder.

Ace smiles ruefully. "Yeah, I have to rely on my brother. He can't keep it in his pants very well, so I'm sure the family genes will get passed along plenty."

Nightingale lets out a sudden laugh at Ace's comment. "Oh dear!" She's not embarrassed at all by the comment. She turns to Chance. "Should I get some antihistamines for you?" she asks. "Depends. Do those make you sleepy?" asked the Joe warily. "They have cough suppressants. I think they need sneeze inhibitors."

"Well, yes, Benadryl can cause sleepiness. Not all people have that reaction though." Dr. Miller says.

Chance frowns "... Got anything that won’t do that likely? Dayquil or something?" he asked, now looking a little torn. Nightmares or comfort..

Ace croaks, "Whiskey?" He grins.

"No whiskey." Dr. Miller says, but she's grinning. "Besides, that's only bother his sinuses, if my experiences are anything to go by... I'll see what I can do for you Chance." She steps away from the bed, and heads over to a supply cupboard.

"Thanks." a chuckle at Ace "That knocks me out cold. I'm very sure - and don’t tell Edwin this, he'd flip - that my grandpa gave me some as a kid to get me to be less rambunctious.

Ace grins. "Be careful, or the Joes might do that to you now."

"Naw, we'll just use duct tape." Dr. Miller says from the cupboard, coming back with a box of DayQuil. "Here you go; two caplets every 4-6 hours."

Ace smirks, a look that's weird on his bruised face. "I like the duct tape idea..."

Chance guffaws a little bit "I think he did THAT once too. Or that was my sisters." admits the man thoughtfully, with a bit of a weak smile "Thanks. Sorry I know I should rest more but I can rest while being awake just as easily."

"I understand; sleeping all day isn't really appealing to me either." Dr. Miller smiles, lightly touching Chance's shoulder, a look of concern in her eyes.

Ace croaks, "I've certainly done more than my fair share of sleeping."

Chance nods at both "Yeah. And I never liked being bedridden. Nobody does though - *sniff* thanks." he reached for his lukewarm glass of water after popping a few pills out. Just two. "I can’t even stand sleeping on my back."

Ace croaks, "I still don't think I'll be sleeping face-down for a while... not that I don't trust Lifeline's work."

Dr. Miller frowns a bot. "Have you been eating well, Chance? I know when I have a cold I don't feel very hungry, but it's important to eat enough, or you won't get better."

"I prefer on my side, but I apparently toss and turn a lot usually. I fell out of bed a LOT in basic." confesses Chance. HE then paused, and his guilty face perhaps said it all.

Ace smirks again, getting better at the expression with his new face.

Dr. Miller sighs, in the way a long suffering but loving mother sighs. "I'll bring you something to eat." she says warmly. She turns to Ace. "Want anything to eat? I'm not sure if anything is on the 'do not eat' list for you..."

"I'm... not very hungry though." admits Mike simply as he lays back "Food doesn’t even taste like anything, but also I just don’t feel like it." he explains.

Ace croaks, "I'm happy to have teeth with which to eat solid food again." He smiles, realizing his has a complaint-trump-card for at least a few months.

"Well, you need to eat anyway." Dr. Miller says, in a tone that leaves no room for argument. She sounds like Dr. Steen sometimes. "I'll be back in a few minutes, all right?"

Chance frowns at that, and shook his head, not speaking again. "Ace can have it. I think I may just throw it up again." he pulls out THAT trump card.

Dr. Miller sighs again, looking both cross and worried. "Chance, you need to eat, or you won't get any better." She puts her hands on her hips, full on channeling Dr. Steen's lecture face. "Don't make me hook you up to a nutrient drip; neither of us will be happy."

Chance glances to the IV bag still attached to him, the last dose of hydrating fluid. His lips thinned out though and he just dropped his eyes.

Ace shakes his head. Not happy.

With a satisfied nod, Dr. Miller turns around and heads out of the infirmary, to fetch some meals for the Joes.

Chance glances up as she's gone, and lets out a sigh, rubbing his face "Okay, I'll TRY to eat. I just don’t feel hungry is all. Anyways... Can you see okay Ace? I uh, saw your skull before they put it in and still can’t figure out how they moved your eyes..."

Ace makes a face. "I can see just fine... and, ick. I hope pics of me don't wind up on the Internet, faceless." I'm looking at you, Slipstream. ;)

A few minutes later, Dr. Miller and a couple of orderlies come in with some food. For Chance is tomato soup with a large stack of crackers and a side salad, and for Ace is a chicken and rice dinner with bread on the side.

Chance grimaces "I hope not either. If anything I think there are copies, for at least study purposes. Those always get out. I don’t know if my 'tattoo scar' is out there." he looked up as Miller returned and stared at the food a little bit listfully "Thank you ma'am."

Ace smiles at Dr. Miller. "Thank you, ma'am," he parrots. "Do you have any makings for tea?" His voice is starting to sound extra-raspy, and he coughs again.

Chance stirs the soup, adding some of the crackers, although he didn’t seem inclined to eat as heartily as he was the day before.

"Eat up now." Dr. Miller says. "Some tea? I can bring in some tea for you, do you have any preferences?"

Chance eats, but not very heartedly or fast, grimacing after every bite. He manages only half a bowl though before putting the rest aside, and quickly rolls over and pulls the covers up, at least 'pretending' to be asleep.

Ace says, "Maybe Chamomile? I probably should keep away from caffeine for a while."

Nightingale nods. "Okay Ace." She looks at the half eaten soup and sighs, seeming worried. "I'll be right back with your tea."

Ace nods. "Thanks, Dr. Miller. I really appreciate it." He coughs again, dryly.

Nightingale returns with a hot cup of tea, plus some sugar packets so Ace can sweeten it to taste.

Ace grins appreciatively. "Thanks," he repeats.

"No problem, Ace. It's my job to take care of you, and the others here." Dr. Miller says.

Ace grins. "Well, you do an excellent job."

Nightingale grins. "I try my best." She again looks over to Chance, and looks a bit worried. "I wish I had a magic wand to wave."

Ace nods. "I know THAT feeling, and I'm not even a doctor. It must be a lot harder for you guys. It's a whole lot easier to break people than put them back together." He frowns ruefully.

Nightingale nods. "I do my best to take care of all of you; it's hard and frustrating, and sometimes heartbreaking - but I wouldn't want to do anything else with my life."

Ace smiles. "Well, I do appreciate the effort. I literally would not be here without the efforts of you and your colleagues."

Nightingale smiles. "We worked very long hours for you Ace. And we'd do it again in a heartbeat - but we'd rather not need to!"

Ace grins abashedly. "I'll try not to give you any more work any time soon!"

Nightingale chuckles. "I'll hold you do that, Colonel."

Ace smirks. "You won't have difficulty doing so! My greatest enemy for the time being will be open desk drawers."

"Sometimes they're my enemies too." Dr. Miller quips with a grin, going to the fridge to pull out an apple juice.

Ace smiles. "Well, watch out for them, and I'll give you a heads-up if I see any lurking."

Nightingale chuckles, sipping her juice. "Much appreciated Ace."

Ace waves tiredly. "Well, I'd better get some shuteye. Night, Dr. Miller. Thanks for the dinner and tea."

Nightingale nods. "I'll leave you to it then. Call if you need anything."

Ace nods. "Will do!" He waves off, and heads to bed