:We’re just going to go back to what he was on before - it’ll work, the only reason we switched is that it’s a more broad-spectrum antibiotic and we’re supposed to minimize using it to avoid causing more antibiotic resistance:

Belrun would be so interested in that concept any other time. She writes down the phrase "antibiotic resistance" so she can be interested in it later and cuddles back up with Leareth.

Marian bids her goodnight and goes home. The unit is quiet. The night nurse pops in every two hours to turn Leareth, and once around 1 am for a low-blood-pressure-related alarm, which summons a frazzled on-call resident to the room; they turn all the lights on, which seems kind of rude and unnecessary, and she orders another litre of saline. 

Around 4 am, when the night nurse wakes Belrun yet again for her assessment, Leareth’s body is finally starting to chill out. His face and extremities are puffy from having so much fluid poured into his veins, but the more-dangerous swelling in his airways is receding, and his circulation is behaving itself. By 6 am, his hand is finally warm to her touch again. 

He doesn’t wake up, though he does occasionally sort of half reach out to her through the lifebond; it seems purely instinctive.

She nudges him back across the bond when he reaches. Catches sleep as she can. At one point asks if they have anything good for her headache.

The night nurse gets her Advil, and then pulls the curtains shut and tries very hard to leave her alone for the remaining night. 

Marian, when she arrives bleary-eyed with Starbucks for her third consecutive day shift, doesn’t disturb them. Leareth is her only patient until/if she gets an admit in 114, but he’s not going to get bedsores if she stretches it a bit longer before repositioning him just this once, and Belrun needs SLEEP. And she, Marian, is really appreciating the chance to sit quietly and just watch the monitor, occasionally tiptoeing in through the curtain to tweak his pressors down. By 8 am she has his entirely off the epinephrine and is weaning down the dose on the next one.

The sun slowly seeps in brighter through the not-totally-effective window blinds. 

Belrun is still pretty conked out for a couple hours past dawn.

Whenever she does stir, Marian is ready with water and an array of nonperishable cafeteria snacks, and Elaine is ready to time her break and go pick up a hot breakfast.

:Thanks: Belrun says, cracking open a carton of juice.

Marian putters around the room for a few minutes while Belrun eats, assessing Leareth's responsiveness (or mostly lack thereof) and listening to his lungs, tidying up mess left over from the day before, hanging up newly-mixed IV bags ready to go behind the nearly-empty ones. 

:Dr Millinger wants to start reducing his sedation, see how much he wakes up. I said I had to talk to you first - we really really need him not to freak out and go after his breathing tube, so I don't want to try until you're up for staying awake and keeping a close eye on him: 

:I think I'm up. Uh, maybe Nayoki should set-command him about it though? If it's as bad as you describe:

:- Oh, can she do it selectively like that? We do want him to be able to move and interact in general, kind of defeats the point of trying to wake him up otherwise. And...I mean, we don't know how bad it'd be, but given how yesterday went...: Shrug. :I'm not in the mood to take any chances: 

:She can be selective, especially if she's not in a hurry. I'll ask her:

:Nayoki, they want to let Leareth wake up but it's important he doesn't try to pull out his breathing tube. Is this a good case for a set-command?:

:Oh! Yes, probably - tricky to get that specific before he is awake, but I can take my time, and making it overly broad might still be safer than nothing? It would cause him distress but once he is awake I could fix it: 

:Oh, I didn't realize him being asleep would make it harder. What if they wake him up and we hold his hands down at first, how long will it take?:

:Five minutes? Hopefully less: 

:He is restrained: Marian points out. :It's just that last time I'm pretty sure he got out of the restraints with magic - he probably can't do that if we're watching him closely enough though...: Shrug. :Also it could take him half the day to actually wake up, they were running the Versed at 10 an hour all night, it sort of accumulates: 

:Okay. Nayoki, do you need to come here or can you do it from there?:

:For a set-command I need to be closer. Maybe my nurse would let me come stay in his room a while? They were talking this morning about whether I could be discharged later today - not that I know where I would go...: 

:I might have found some of the things you'd need to make an artifact that goes the other way but I don't know about all of them, I was interrupted:

:Oh, good work! I am glad: 

Nayoki pauses briefly to think. 

:- I am feeling fairly well, but still a bit tired. If you are reading him with Thoughtsensing then I think you would have a few minutes' warning if he is about to wake up, and I could come over then?: 

:Sure:

Belrun explains this plan to Marian.

:- Sounds good: 

Marian is still kind of nervous, but she double-checks Leareth's restraints, and then pauses the Versed drip. 

And hauls a chair plus COW over so she can park her butt right next to him and watch him like a hawk. 

No change is apparent within the first 10 minutes.