Catching Faith

Chapter Thirteen: Winded

Jake held himself up on the bathroom countertop by a pure miracle. It had been over a week since he had first got sick and he had never truly gotten better. He had to be honest with himself... it was worrying him a little that this wasn't just the flu. But he didn't have the energy to think of what else it could be. He pulled the thermometer out of his mouth for his hourly temp check. It read 102.1.

"Well, that's less than ideal," he said, coughing. The cough was the worst. It made his chest either burn or ache with pain. He was beginning to sleep less and less when it started waking him up. Sometimes it even made him throw up. It was so barking and rough.

He shut the bathroom door, walking back to his bed, coughing. He took a deep breath and realized he couldn't. He gave one final cough, then fell on the floor next to his bed, passing out.

Nick rubbed his eyes, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as if willing his stress headache to go away.

"Nick! What the hell do you think you're doing with our daughter?"

"Oh good, the cavalry's here," Mackenzie whispered sarcastically under her breath from her perch net to Nick. Nick stood up, getting dizzy for a moment as Mac held him up.

"Nick! Answer your father," Dana said, glaring at him.

"Oh, you mean saving my sister? Cause that's what I'm doing."

"What do you think you're going to achieve by keeping her locked in a prison cell?"

"Mom! It's not a prison cell! It's for your safety!" Nick yelled, bewildered. He teetered again as Mac pushed him back up.

"Jeez," Nick thought. "Maybe I really should sleep."

"And where do you get off knowing where she's safe?" Lucas Zaminski asked his son, his nostrils flaring in anger.

"Because she almost killed herself last night!" Nick screamed, catching the attention of a few doctors milling around the halls but he didn't care. Nick nodded as he watched his parents look at him in surprise. "Yeah, bet you didn't know that."

"How?" His mom asked.

"She cut herself. With a wine bottle. While high on heroin."

Mac closed her eyes from her place next to Nick, her arm in his. She snaked her arm around his waist and squeezed him in a tight hug.

"What is your girlfriend doing here? This is really none of her business." His dad snapped.

"First of all, she's not my girlfriend anymore. She's my fiancée. And two, you don't get to talk to her like that."

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to finish the paperwork that authorized this act needed to save Sarah's life."

And Nick walked past them on shaky legs with his arm linked in Mackenzie's.

"Are you okay?" Mackenzie asked when they were out of earshot from Nick's parents.

"Not really. But I'm dealing. I'm glad you're here," Nick said, giving Mac a side glance and then a kiss. "Give me a sec to go get this paperwork then I'll be back."

The couple spent the whole morning at the hospital, giving Nick some time to get some actual sleep with no nightmares this time. It was a while before a doctor finally came out. His brown hair was combed over to one side, gelled slightly, his black-rimmed glasses giving an edge of professionalism.

"Nick Zaminski? You're Miss Zaminski's sister?"

"Yes," Nick said, standing up, Mac doing the same.

" Hi. I'm Dr. Zack Windsor, I head the psychiatry department here. You can see her if you want. I recommend keeping the visit under fifteen minutes though. She's quite agitated."