Room with a View - [Jopper] ✓

One Thing After Another

It had been a week since Hopper had finally kissed her. Joyce was curled against his side as he strummed his guitar. His arm was around her back, as he held the instrument over her. The two of them were lying back in his bed as they sang quietly together. 

"August afternoon

I can picture you

Walking with your father at your side

In the summer heat

California speaks

Softly like she's making up her mind"

Joyce smiled gently as she sang along with him, she knew his guitar talent was good but she was surprised at how nice his singing voice was. It had been a rough night for her. Hopper had stayed up with her all week as each night turned into a worse coughing fit than the last. Her eyes felt sleepy but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to sing along with him.

"Baby, isn't it crazy that we are born only to die?

But lately, I've been counting my stars'

Cause I will spend my whole life loving you"

She was nestled in the gap of his arm and chest, her arm hugging his torso softly as he continued strumming the guitar. When she first came to Hawkins Hospital, she expected to be homesick the entire time. She waited to catch herself counting down the days until she could return home, expecting it to be at any time. She never did though, not once. She felt more home here than she ever did in her own home.

"She's supposed to have Chest P.T. in fifteen minutes, I don't have the heart to go in there and interrupt them," Jenny said with a smile as she and Owens watched through 240's window from the nurses' station.

"We're gonna have to go in there sooner or later," Sam replied with a cheesy smile.

"Not yet. Just let them sit for a few more minutes," she whispered as she crossed her arms, smiling bigger than she had in a long time. It warmed her heart to see Jim happy. When he had first been admitted, Jenny remembered how quiet and angry he was. He didn't talk to other people, and when he did it was usually just retorts stemming from the anger.

"She's been getting worse each day. I've been trying to talk to UNOS about it but it's like talking to a brick wall. O'Bannon from her CF team bumped her oxygen up and decided to try a stronger dose of Ceftazidime but there isn't much difference." Owens sighed.

"Should we move her to isolation?" Jenny asked with a concerned frown.

"Nobody else on the floor has CF so she can't catch something that would be severely threatening, and I think Hopper would kill us if we did move her to AIIR." Owens chuckled as he watched Hop lean over and kiss Joyce's forehead.

"They've been inseparable all week. Crazy kids in love." Jenny snickered as she nudged Sam on the shoulder.

"Jennifer, you're only three years older than them. They aren't really kids anymore." Owens laughed as he took a sip from his coffee cup.

"They're both 27 and I'm 30. Anybody younger than me is a kid. I'll give them a few more minutes and then I'll send P.T. in." she laughed as she went back to typing up charts.

--

Joyce had been able to convince Hop to spend time with his friends for a little while during her chest P.T. She had even seen the sly smile that Claudia gave when Jim pecked her forehead goodbye. Eventually, Jenny came in to help Joyce finish her second part of therapy, relieving Claudia from her duty. 

"How are you feeling today, Jo?" Jen asked as she helped buckle the clearance vest around Joyce's torso.

"Tired. Trying not to act like it because I don't want to upset Hop. Just kinda worn down, y'know?" she gave a small smile as Jenny nodded.

"Yeah, I know. You're running a slight fever so after you finish your neb and vest, I'll leave you to rest. I think Jim has been itching to go on a beer run with the guys so that might give you some time to recharge." Jen smiled as she handed Joyce the nebulizer. 

As Jenny dimmed the lights for her, she left Joyce to try to rest while she finished up her airway clearance. She hated to admit it but Joyce looked rough. Her lungs sounded rougher than they had yet and she was quickly losing color in her skin. 

Owens was standing outside of the nurses' station, waiting for Jenny to finish up. He could see the faux smile drop into a look of worry as the nurse stepped out.

"I think you should order a more wide-spectrum panel for her. My gut is telling me that this isn't Pseudomonas." Jenny sighed as her stomach felt like it was in knots. She hadn't seen Joyce rapidly decline like this before, her instincts told her that something was off.

"What's her temp?" Owens asked as he clutched his clipboard.

"Touching 102, she's pale, and her lungs sound like fingernails scratching on vinyl. I'm worried, Doc." she scratched her forehead with a deep sigh. 

"Alright, give me about a half hour to talk to the lab and send the scripts up to order." Owens groaned as he walked away. 

Jenny was right, something about this was extremely unsettling. 

--

An hour later, Jenny began to walk into room 240 to draw Joyce's labs.

"Joy—Oh sweet Jesus. Someone page Owens and prep an ISO room!" Jenny called into the hall before rushing to her bedside. Blood stained Joyce's lips and pillowcase and her breaths were clearly light and uneven. Dozens of nurses and doctors began piling into the room, voices loudly overlapping each other. 

"Alright, someone get me an intubation tray! Call radiology and have them meet us down on the ISO floor. Page whoever is on call for Infectious Disease." Jenny ordered as she ripped the suction tubes from the wall, clearing her airway as best as possible.

After Joyce was as stable as possible, Jenny and the team rushed her up to floor 30. Doctor Owens ran out of the elevator just as they maneuvered Joyce's bed into her isolation room. 

"What the hell happened?" Sam shouted while Jenny ripped off her used scrub gown. 

--

Jim was heading back towards his room with a case of beer in his hand when Sam and Jenny approached him.

"Hop, we need to talk. It's Joyce." Owens said with sympathy in his eyes. Jim immediately felt a cold rush of fear run through his veins. As he looked behind the doctor, he could see his room was covered in plastic wrapping and caution tape.