Case by Case Love

Chapter 46: Dizzy and Nauseous

"Oh shit...." a voice could be heard  through the small hospital room, followed by a pair of eyes wandering left and right to glance around. It was the first time the voice had been heard since their arrival earlier, and even with the compliant laced in it, there were a couple smiles to be had around the room in response. It was progress. 

Natalie makes her way inside the room, looking over the vitals on the screen, before allowing her eyes to cast down on her patient. She wondered if she was the right person to be doing this, considering the fact Erin was her future sister-in-law. They said to not treat your own family. They said to not treat those you were close with - not like they were, truthfully. But she also didn't want to risk personal judgment getting in the way here. She knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from Hank, or from Jay, which may result in Will having a lot to say as well.

"Do you know where you are, Erin?" Natalie asks, catching the brunette's attention immediately. It was a simple question. The devices around her should answer it even if she was not able to put the pieces together. Why was that the doctor's first question always?

"Chicago Med," Erin answers dryly, focusing her eyes on the doctor that stood alongside her bed. She was used to watching Natalie treat children as that was her specialty. Why was she handling her care right now? 

"Do you remember why you are here?" It was another simple question as she thought back to earlier in the day. She had been looking forward to questioning the boyfriend and pushing him about what happened. It seemed so obvious considering everything they had found in the house.

"I passed out after we cleaned out a house of drugs." Natalie nods her head, as she was glad to see the memory was intact, which showed other neurological behaviors should be on the right path. She was not worried about these questions, though, in having known the drugs would not have affected them from past dealings.

"The drugs you came across were meth. The basement was so full and so strong that it was releasing toxins in the air from the open packages on the counter. It drugged not only you, but four other officers at the scene." Erin felt some relief in seeing Jay standing leaning back against the glass at the bottom of her bed. He was not among those officers as if he was, he would have been in a room of his own. However, she could not take her eyes off of him once she caught his eyes. What if something was off? He was good at hiding things. He was the best at compartmentalising pain. "How are you feeling right now?"

"Awful, real awful, but better than I was before I fainted." Erin takes a deep breath, her head feeling light on her shoulders as her eyes wanted to spin around the room. There was no way she would be going on a merry-go-around anytime soon. "I'm feeling a bit dizzy and nauseous. Nothing else, really." 

"That should remain for the next 24 to 48 hours. We've given your some drugs for that, and can't give you anymore for a couple hours. If you need to throw up, feel free to grab the basin on the table beside your bed." Natalie then glances back over the numbers once again. "Considering we had to pump out your stomach and how bad you were coming in, you are doing really well. We'll be keeping you overnight to ensure that it does not get worse. Be sure to let April know if you need anything." 

"And Jay can stay with you for the night as he's clean," Will adds as he walks by, handing a slip of paper over to his brother. Jay looks at it, seeing it was the tox screen results from his pee sample he had provided earlier. It showed no traces of meth, or any drugs in his system, which was no surprise for anybody in the room. Unless he was absolutely forced, Jay never touched anything no matter how he was feeling. 

"You should've been my back up," Erin comments, catching Jay's attention. "Then I wouldn't be going through this alone right now." Jay shakes his head no as he finally closes the distance that was between them, clasping her hand with his own.

"If I was fighting off this, I couldn't be here to take care of you," Jay replies, bringing her hand to his mouth and giving it a light kiss. He had his eyes on her lips but didn't want to take any chances given what she had ingested earlier that day.

"I will be fine. You should be solving the case. You were so excited to be back on the job this morning. This just seems like unfair detail work." He shakes his head no. It didn't bring him the same adrenaline and satisfaction he would get in the field, but he knew he would not want to be anywhere else right now than where he was. It was why he had filed the special request with Hank earlier.

"I actually got special permission from the boss to be there. He accepted because he wanted to make sure that his girl was fully taken care of, and would be okay. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, except here with you. I just got you back. I don't want to lose you, ever." He then kisses her hand once again as she just smiles back at him in return. 

"Make sure to give me a heads-up on the wedding date so I don't have plans," Will teases as he leaves the room, earning an eye roll from Erin. Jay, meanwhile, was almost ready to chase after him and kick his ass for the tease. The only stopping him was the hand he held, in knowing he needed to be there with her to help her feel better.