A Love With Limits

Chapter 8: Going All The Way

It was an early Monday morning, a couple of days after Dr. Vìzkovà had slept with Leonard. They hadn't done anything more than cuddle all night, and it had felt so wonderful. Sitting in the canteen, eating her breakfast, she was snapped out of her daze, remembering that she had to bring up the subject of administering the drug to all of the patients with Dr. Kaufmann. He was sitting in front of her, with that ever serious face, eating breakfast. Dr. Vìzkovà did feel slightly intimidated by him, but she would never show it, as she never wanted to appear weak; especially not in front of someone like him. She didn't like him, and he probably knew this, but she wouldn't let him get under her skin...Right? At this point, she felt like a boiling pot of water, ready to explode. Whether he liked it or not, she was going to get the drug distributed to everyone.

"So... Dr. Kaufmann, you and I both know that we need to talk about this. You saw how L-Dopa worked on Leonard?" She smiled, a bit cocky, because she knew he didn't believe in her to begin with. "He's awake, and his brain is clearly functioning as it needs to, 98% of the time. I suggest that we try this on more patients. If it works on him, why not the others?" She spoke, leaning over the table, staring Dr. Kaufmann in the eyes, maybe a bit too intensely. Putting his fork down on the table, Dr. Kaufmann simply scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Don't get cocky with me, sweetheart. You may be pretty, and I'd say that's probably why you even got hired in the first place, but you can't just risk every patients life. Plus, we don't have the money for this." He smirked, clear satisfaction on his face, as if he had just figured out the meaning of life itself. Dr. Vìzkovà balled up her hands, and before she could stop herself, she slammed her fists into the table, creating such a loud bang that it caught everybody's attention. "You have been nothing but disgusting towards me ever since I started this position, Dr. I'm frankly sick of your never-ending sexist commentary, especially because I'm ten times the doctor you'll ever be. I never see you trying to improve the lives of anyone here! To you, this is just for money! Keep them here as long as possible for your gain, that's how you see it. I'm going to save these patients, like I saved Leonard, and you can shove it!"

Before Dr. Kaufmann could even open his mouth to utter a word, Caroline burst out the door from the cafeteria and out the main door, where she sat on the front steps. The steps were cold and hard, but she was too angry to care. Digging her face into her hands, she just started to cry, feeling hopeless. She didn't regret blowing up at Dr. Kaufmann, but she thought that she maybe could have done it elsewhere. The whole canteen could hear and see her throw a tantrum! She just hoped that they'd understand her reasoning, but she felt like nobody would. Women in high positions? Not respected around here, ever so frustrating, but it was just the harsh reality.

Hearing the front door open behind her, Dr. Vìzkovà didn't even lift her head to check who it was. She assumed it would be Dr. Kaufmann coming to bother her again, and she simply did not have any more energy left for him. However, as a comforting hand landed on her shoulder, softly, she looked up and saw Leonard sitting next to her, looking at her with intense worry. Almost instinctively, she leaned her head on his shoulder, giving it a little kiss.

"Caroline, I heard you yell at Dr. Kaufmann. I'm sorry, he's a jerk, but don't stress over him. He is not worth your anger. You are my hero, and I know you will do your best for everyone else here." Leonard smiled at her, squeezing her hand, giving it a soft kiss. "I am here for you, every step of the way." He stuttered, and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Maybe he's right though, Leonard. We don't have the money, and we don't know if this drug will work on everyone else like it worked on you. Maybe I should just be satisfied with having you... But as much as I love you, I really want to save everyone." She didn't notice immediately, but she had just said she loved Leonard, and her heart stopped. She loved him, and there was no denying it. "I suppose that's my reply to you saying "I love you" the other night... She gave him a sad smile, blinking back tears.

"You said it back..." Leonard chuckled, looking at Dr. Vìzkovà with bright eyes. "I love you too."

****

Back inside the hospital, Dr. Vìzkovà was sat in her office, contemplating. How would she get any further with such little funding? There was no way she could pay for the drug herself, her paycheck would never reach that. She buried her face in her hands once again, at a loss, until she noticed a pile of envelopes on her desk, right in front of her. She'd never put those there herself, so curiously, she peeked at what the envelopes contained; checks. Checks with enough money to pay for the cost of L-Dopa administration to all the patients at the hospital! A note next to the envelopes read: "Dr. Vìzkovà, we know how important this is to you. Therefore, we have all chipped in with money to pay for the treatment of the patients here at Bainbridge Hospital. Signed, your co-workers." With a big smile on her face, Caroline made a small squeal and immediately got up from her seat. This was exactly what she had dreamed for when starting her job at the institution!

After getting the right permission from the right people, the doctor got to work with administering the drug to the rest of the hospital. Having gathered all the patients in the common room, Leonard, Dr. Vìzkovà and a female nurse sat by a table in front of all the patients. All of them had gotten their dose of L-Dopa, and the three of them waited patiently for anyone to react to the drug. Leonard looked nervous, like something was bothering him, but it was no surprise since this was a huge deal, not only for him, having stayed here most of his life, but for the hospital. Most of all, he wanted this to succeed for the sake of Dr. Vìzkovà, all he wanted was for her to be satisfied and happy, and he knew that if this worked out, she would feel much better. He looked at her with a comforting smile, and discreetly held her hand under the table, stroking her hand with his thumb. He whispered, "It'll be okay."

****

Time passed, nothing happened. The patients were as catatonic as before. Not wanting to lose hope, but being out of energy, Dr. Vìzkovà went back to her office and fell asleep on the couch. This was such a failure, she thought, but she tried to push the thought away in order to get a couple of hours rest. She would have to try again tomorrow...
Not long after Dr. Vìzkovà had finally fallen asleep, the door to her office suddenly slammed open, and a nurse frantically shook Caroline awake. "W-what is it?" Caroline asked, rubbing her eyes. "It's too early."

The nurse simply beamed a big smile at her, "It's a miracle! It's a fucking miracle!" she said with a breathy voice, as if she had been running a marathon. Quickly getting up, Dr. Vìzkovà and the nurse ran down the hallway, heading towards the sleeping area for the patients. Was this really happening?! Had the drug worked on them all? She was in a daze, but the excitement was overwhelming. When they arrived at the sleeping area, she couldn't believe her own two eyes; they were awake! Everyone was... awake, and moving! A miracle indeed this was! Where will we go from here?

****