"Quarantine"

 (set up by Satchie)

Clutching an IV bag of (1)______ in one hand and his partner's gurney with the other, Roy felt an eerie sense of deja vu as the ambulance attendants wheeled Johnny down the deserted emergency room corridor.  He hadn't seen the walls and floor covered with (2)______ like this since he and Johnny rescued a scientist from a burning laboratory.  Except this time, the younger paramedic hadn't been exposed to a dangerously high level of (3)______.  Roy (4)______ shuddered and the hairs on the back of his (5)______ stood on end as the probable reason for the precautions dawned on him.  The doctors must be concerned that Johnny had contracted another (6)______ and highly contagious virus or other communicable disease.  His worst fears were confirmed when a masked, gowned and gloved Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early met them in the hallway.  A chill reverberated throughout Roy's spine when he noticed that each doctor was wearing a (7)______ and (8)______ over the standard isolation attire to maximize their level of protection against the unknown pathogen.

Brackett greeted Roy with a perfunctory (9)______ as he steered the gurney toward the designated treatment room.  "We're set up for you guys in here," Brackett (10)______ in a (11)______ tone.  "Has there been any change?"

Roy (12)______ cleared his throat as they pushed the gurney into the treatment room.  "Not really.  He's still drowsy, diaphoretic, sensitive to (13)______ and extremely (14)______.  His pupils are (15)______ and his (16)______ responses started to deteriorate while we were en route.  Oh, and he threw up on me just before we pulled into the driveway."

"And you say Johnny seemed fine until about an hour ago?" Early asked.

"That's right," the paramedic answered as they transferred his (17)______ partner to the exam table.  "Johnny was (18)______ the (19)______ at the station when he started to complain of a headache and some minor (20)______ pain.  But since he ate some smoke at a (21)______ fire this morning, I didn't think much about it at the time.  That usually makes him feel (22)______ and out of sorts for a while."

Dixie noted that per protocol for a dangerously high fever, Johnny had been stripped of his clothing and covered with a burn sheet drenched in sterile water.  However, as she lifted the sheet so she could apply fresh ice packs, her eyes widened in surprise when she spotted the frozen (23)______ and (24)______ pressed against Johnny's (25)______, armpits and groin.  Dixie raised a quizzical eyebrow and gestured toward the thawing items.  "Um, Roy?"

Roy face turned (26)______ from (27)______.  "The ice maker at the station is broken, so we had to make do with what we had in the freezer to try to get his temp down."

Brackett's forehead furrowed in concentration as he examined Johnny's (28)______ with a penlight for signs of (29)______ or (30)______.  "Do you know if he took anything or not?"

"Just a couple of extra-strength Tylenols around noon, then Johnny made a beeline for the dorm so he could stretch out on his (31)______ until lunch was ready.  I went to check on him as soon as I finished (32)______ the (33)______ and taking out the trash, and that's when I found him passed out on the floor."

Brackett addressed the sick paramedic in a (34)______ voice.  "Johnny?  Can you hear me?  Johnny, wake up!"

The stricken paramedic groaned weakly and his (35)______ fluttered in response to the physician's command.  "Huh?"

"Johnny, do you know were you are?"

Johnny coughed (36)______.  "Ram...Rampart?"

"How do you feel?  Do you remember what happened?"

"Cold," he answered through chattering teeth.  "Sick."

"Do you feel like you're going to (37)______?"

"Uh huh."

Brackett glanced up at Dixie as she deflated the blood pressure cuff.  "Dix, what do his vital signs look like now?"

"BP's 88/54, pulse is 132, respirations are 28 and his temp's up to (38)______ degrees," she reported with alarm.

Brackett's paper mask wrinkled at the corner of his mouth.  "Give him 10 mg. of Phenergan IV for the nausea and a Tylenol suppository for the fever.  Then get a couple of cooling blankets down here, as well as a fan and at least a dozen (39)______."

Early pushed the cold, damp sheet aside to reveal Johnny's (40)______.  "Kel, take a look at this (41)______ rash and peculiar bruising pattern."

The senior physician flinched at the unexpected finding.  "Hmm.  I just read about that in the latest issue of (42)______.  Is his (43)______ swollen?"

Early nodded in affirmation.  "There's also significant rigidity of his (44)______, (45)______ spasms and extreme (46)______ tenderness."

"Do you know what's wrong with Johnny?" Roy asked hopefully.

Brackett sighed as he crossed his arms across his (47)______.  "We'll have to run several tests to make sure, but I'm almost positive Johnny has contracted a rare bacterial infection that was originally seen in (48)______ a few years back.  From what the CDC in Atlanta has been able to determine, this mutated strain of bacteria is primarily transmitted when an infected person (49)______ a non-infected person.  There have only been a handful of outbreaks since this nasty little bug was first identified.  I believe the last one was at a (50)______ convention in (51)______ about six months ago."

Roy could barely contain his excitement.  "Does that mean that there's a cure?"

"Yes, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.  We'll need to perform a CBC, sed rate, (52)______, (53)______ and (54)______ Johnny's (55)______ before the diagnosis can be definitively confirmed.  If the results are what I expect them to be, we'll move Johnny to an isolation room on the second floor and start him on the appropriate drug cocktail.  Then I'll call Captain Stanley to let him know what's going on.  The guys from the station will need to come in for (56)______ treatment, as well as everyone else Johnny has been in contact with during the past couple of weeks."

Roy immediately felt the tension in his (57)______ begin to (58)______.  "So Johnny's going to be okay?"

Brackett (59)______ hesitated.  "He should be.  Unfortunately, he'll probably have a (60)______ time of it since he's had his spleen removed.  It's going to make it a lot harder for Johnny to (61)______ the infection, and he's likely to develop complications."

"Like what?"

Sensing his colleague's reluctance to answer the question, Early held up his gloved fingers as he ticked off several possibilities.  "It's possible that the infection could spread to Johnny's (62)______ or (63)______, or he could develop a serious case of (64)______ or even (65)______.  But let's not start assuming worst-case scenarios yet, okay?  First we have to wait to see what the test results show, and then we can get Johnny started on the recommended treatment protocol.  In the meantime, Dix will provide you with a (66)______ to change into.  I'm afraid we'll need to admit you, too, Roy.  You've probably been exposed to the same infection, especially since Johnny threw up on you earlier."

Roy sighed in resignation.  "Yeah, I figured as much."

Brackett gave him a reassuring (67)______ on the shoulder as he prepared to leave the room.  "I need to go make some phone calls to get everything organized.  Is there anything you need?"

"No, but thanks."

"All right.  We'll be back in a few minutes," Brackett said as he removed his protective attire and tossed it into the (68)______ receptacle labeled "WARNING:  (69)______ " in bold block letters.

Once the ER physicians were in the hallway, Early couldn't help but notice the huge smile on the other man's face.  He was perplexed by the (70)______ response to a potentially serious situation, and promptly challenged Brackett to explain his curious reaction.  "Kel, would you care to tell me why you're grinning from ear-to-ear like a (71)______?"

A twinge of guilt gnawed at Brackett, and he blushed with embarrassment.  "Don't get me wrong, Joe.  If Johnny has what I think he does, I'm thrilled that there's a known cure and prophylactic treatment to keep it from turning into a full-scale epidemic.  But on a personal level, I'm glad I dodged the (72)______ this time.  That means I won't have to be admitted as a patient and share a room with young Romeo again.  Do you have any idea what it's like to have (73)______ women (74)______ on the other side of the room all day long while you're trying to (75)______?  It's next to impossible to get any (76)______!"  Then with a flourish, Brackett held up his forefinger to emphasize his next point.  "And best of all, I just saved a bunch of money on my (77)______ insurance by switching to GEICO!"

There was something (78)______ about the older doctor's expression, and Brackett immediately became concerned.  "Joe, what's wrong?"

Early pointed toward a strange blotch on the back of Brackett's hand.  "Kel, looks like you have the same type of rash that Johnny has."

Brackett pounded his (79)______ against the wall and wailed in disbelief.  "(80)______!" he wailed.  "This is NOT happening!"

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