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Shane still felt numb when he arrived to work Friday morning. Once he got past Marissa, he headed into his office and started going through his email. Jonathan soon tapped on his door.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I've been better."
"So how's Rachel?"
"She took quite a tumble. Lots of cuts and bruises and a few broken bones, but, fortunately, no life-threatening injuries." He thought about the baby they lost. It was too painful to talk about. "She said he tried to rape her, but, luckily, he was interrupted before he could do too much damage."
"Thank goodness, and it sounds like she should make a full recovery. So, why are you here?"
"Good question." Shane stopped for a moment. "Sorry, Jonathan. I didn't mean sound sarcastic."
"Hey, I understand. You've been through a lot. You may recall a similar thing happened to my daughter."
Shane nodded. "Yes, I remember you telling me about it. However, Rachel tells me she needs some time and space to heal."
"She's been through a major trauma, Shane. You'll have to be patient with her."
"But your daughter went through her own ordeal. Did she push people away?"
Jonathan shook his head. "No, she didn't, but we're all unique individuals, and we all have different ways of coping. Give Rachel some time. It's what she needs, and while she's recovering, there's plenty for you to do around here. I swear, the hackers always stay one step ahead of us."
Shane felt a sneeze coming on. A chill ran through his body as grabbed a tissue and sneezed.
"You okay?" asked Jonathan.
"Yeah. I woke up with a sore throat this morning, so I took a cold pill. I'll grab another box of Kleenex from the supply room, and I think Marissa has some herbal tea, so I'll brew myself a cup. I'll be fine."
"You're sure?"
"I'm fine, Jonathan. You know how it is in the desert in October. Hot one day, cool the next, and there's all kinds of dead grasses and pollens in the air. It's probably just allergies."
"Hopefully, you're right."
Jonathan excused himself and Shane went back to work, but it was difficult for him to concentrate. He kept seeing Rachel's bruised face and her voice kept echoing through his mind. He sighed as he worked. He managed to get over Fiona, and if he had to, he could get over Rachel too, although getting over her would be more difficult.
By the time Shane arrived at Bruce and Julie's home on Sunday night a cold had set in. He assured them he was feeling better, but it was obvious by the way Julie talked that she was deeply concerned about Rachel's state of mind. As she described the seat belt incident, his heart sank even lower. Rachel's mental and emotional state was worse than he had thought. He left soon after the meal was over, thanking Julie for the update, but saying he needed to get some rest. Both Bruce and Julie told him to get well soon, and they would let him know if there were any changes.
Shane's cold lingered for another week, and he developed a hacking cough which remained once the cold finally subsided. Two more weeks passed, and his cough grew worse. His chest felt tight, and he was experiencing some shortness of breath. He shrugged it off as changing weather, compounded with high levels of stress. Nearly a month had passed without word from Rachel or her parents. Depression set in. Shane wasn't eating. He was having a hard time sleeping, and each day he dragged himself to work. Sitting at his desk one morning, he started having chills. He put his sweater back on, but he still couldn't get warm. Once again, he was coughing hard when Jonathan stepped in.
"You look like hell," said Jonathan.
"Halloween is only a few days away, so this year I thought I'd be a real-life zombie."
"Very funny. However, I think you should go home and get some rest."
"I'm fine, Jonathan."
"No, you're not. Your face is pale and drawn, and you've got circles underneath the circles under your eyes. Go home and get some rest."
"Wouldn't do me any good. I hardly sleep anymore."
Jonathan gave him a concerned look. "When was the last time you saw a doctor?"
"I'm fine, Jonathan. It's just a lingering cough."
"That's been going for weeks now."
"It'll get better. I've been taking some over the counter stuff."
"No." Jonathan's voice was firm. "You're going home, and you're not coming back until you're feeling better."
It was pointless to argue. Shane took a deep breath, and as he rose from his chair, he was once again racked by another coughing spell. His chest hurt and he fought to catch his breath, but knees buckled, and he collapsed into a heap on the floor.
"Shane!"
"I'll be all right." Shane spoke in a hoarse whisper as he tried to reassure Jonathan. He grabbed onto his chair and tried to stand as Jonathan came to his aid.
"Whoa! You're burning up. I'm calling nine-one-one. We need to get you to a hospital."
"Fine. Just help me get back into my chair."
Marissa rushed into the room as Jonathan sat Shane back into his chair.
"What l happened? I could hear the commotion all the way up front."
"You need to call the paramedics," said Jonathan. "Shane's very sick and he's running a really high fever. He needs to get to a hospital."
Marissa hurried out of the room. Shane sat with his face in his hands until she returned with the paramedics. She stood by with Jonathan as they checked his vitals and started an IV. As expected, they were taking Shane to the hospital by ambulance. They loaded him onto a stretcher, and Jonathan asked if there was anyone he should call.
"My mother," said Shane. He gave them the phone number as they wheeled him outside.
"Which hospital?" asked Jonathan.
"Catalina Community," said one of the paramedics as they loaded him into the ambulance.
The ambulance doors slammed shut and Shane closed his eyes while the attending medic went over his medical history.
"I've been going through some stuff," said Shane. "My girlfriend was kidnapped from her sister's wedding. It happened a few weeks ago."
"Wait a minute. Are you talking about Donny Wheeler's sister-in-law?"
"Yeah."
"So you're that Shane. I thought you looked familiar. I was there that night. I remember you all were looking for her at the time we left, but you thought she was in the ladies' room or something. We didn't know she'd been kidnapped until we heard about it on the news the next morning. I'm Bart. I'm the one who snuck the iPad into the reception. So, how's she doing?"
"I'm not sure. She ended up in Albuquerque. She was able to fight him off before he had a chance to rape her, but then he pushed her out of his truck while it was still moving, and she ended up with several broken bones. Anyway, she decided she wanted to end it, so I don't know how she is now."
"Sorry to hear it."
"Yeah, me too. So I went back to work and promptly came down with a bad cold. It lasted almost two weeks, but the cough lingered on. I thought it would go away, but it just kept getting worse."
"It sure did, and it looks like it's turned into pneumonia."
"Well, no wonder I feel like hell."
"I'll bet you do, but no worries. The doctors will get you fixed up in no time."
Shane remained silent for the rest of the ride. Once they arrived at the hospital he was wheeled into a cubicle where a nurse drew some blood. A doctor soon arrived to examine him, and he was sent to X-ray. Once he was returned to his cubicle, the nurse came back and as she made notes in his chart Shane's curiosity got the better of him.
"Is Alice Bennett, or Wheeler, here today?"
She smiled. "You know Alice?"
"I'm a friend of the family, but I haven't spoken to her in a while."
"I see. Alice isn't here today. She and Donny were leaving this morning to go on their honeymoon. They had to postpone it, you know."
"Yeah, I know. Any word on her sister?"
"From what I hear, she's still in Albuquerque, and is apparently doing better." She made more notes on his chart and stepped away. Shane's mother arrived a few minutes later. A shocked look came over her face as soon as she saw him.
"What happened?"
"I woke up feeling like hell this morning, and after I got to the office I collapsed. They think I've got pneumonia."
"What? You told me you were feeling better. So how long has this been going on?"
"Well, I was feeling better, sort of. The cold cleared up, but I kept coughing. I figured it would go away on its own."
"Which it obviously didn't," said Kelly.
"I know, Mom. I'm exhausted, and I'm probably run down. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since the night Rachel disappeared."
"I know you haven't, and I know you haven't been eating right either, but once you realized it wasn't getting better you should have seen a doctor and gotten treatment. Pneumonia can be very serious."
"I know. I've probably had walking pneumonia for the past week or so and didn't know it." He started coughing again. Kelly handed him a tissue, and as it subsided the doctor came in.
"Well, Mr. MacLeod, I've gone over your X-ray, as well as your blood work, and I'm afraid you have bacterial pneumonia."
"Damn," said Kelly.
"She's my mom," said Shane.
"And I also used to be a nurse."
"Then you know the drill." He turned his attention back to his patient. "I'm prescribing a round of antibiotics, along with a cough suppressant, something for the chest pain, and a mild sedative in case you're still having trouble sleeping. You need to go on strict bed rest for the next couple of weeks, and you'll also need to see your regular doctor for a follow up."
Kelly reached for her phone and called Colin, asking him to pick up the prescriptions on his way home. Once the paperwork was signed, Shane was released.
"You can take me back to the office," he said. "My car is there, and I'll drive straight home. I promise."
"Not a chance." Kelly's voice was stern. "Shane, this is serious. People die from this."
"I'm not a frail, old man."
"No, you're not, but you're still very sick, and I don't want you having complications which could put you in the hospital. We're going back to your place so you can get Lucy and pack a bag, then I'm taking you home with me. You'll be staying with your dad and me until you're back on your feet."
"But Mom—-"
"Don't 'but Mom,' me. I meant what I said. Your father and I will pick up your car later, but right now you're not well enough to be on your own. You can call your boss from the car, and then you're leaving your phone and your laptop at your place. The rest of the world can wait. You're too sick to worry about work or anything else right now."