"Probably the right call. Sucks balls for us though. How's he doing in there?" 

"Asleep." Ma'ar isn't even stirring at the sound of her voice. "He's handling the tube being clamped, so far. I don't know. Nothing much else's changed." 

"Wanna switch off so you can take a piss? Oh, and your coffee's still here. I can microwave it for you." 

"You don't mind? Yeah, that'd be amazing. Thanks." 

Nellie is now slightly regretting the offer - it involves standing up - but she hauls herself out of the chair anyway. "Sure thing, kid. Be right in. We're in this together, yeah?" 

Nellie is halfway through gowning up when Dr Zee swings by the vestibule room and sticks her head in. "How's he doing? An acquaintance of mine from Public Health is driving over here ASAP. Wants to talk to him, get firsthand confirmation. Figure he's up to it?" 

"That's - huh. Fair enough, I guess. I'm swapping out with Marian for a few minutes, I can talk to Ma'ar. He's been pretty lethargic. Probably he's still capable of the telepathy? Dunno." 

"Do what you can. I - well, it would be awfully helpful for sorting out this mess if we can get him stable and lucid. I just can't think of any other interventions that would definitely help." 

On the other side of the door, the monitor alarm starts going off. 

"Oh for God's sake what is it this time?"

Marian looks around frantically out the window, then spots them through the glass door-window of the vestibule, and runs over to thump on it. 

"He did a run of V-tach on us!" she says loudly, hoping this is at all audible on the other side of the door. "Four, maybe five beats -" 

"Jesus. Okay, fuck, I'm calling the lab again - dunno what they think 'stat' even means -" 

"Shit. If he can manage not to code on us for another twenty damned minutes that will make my life so much simpler. This is– I'd consider reintubating him now just because it'll make it more likely he gets through it intact if he does code on us, but then he wouldn't be able to talk to Bert and prove this entire insane story - and I think Bert wants to throw a lot more resources at this but can't in good conscience do that until he has confirmation..." 

...Wow. Nellie hates that. She especially hates that Dr Zee kind of has a point - if their worst fears here are true, then it matters a LOT what the public health department's response is, how soon they act and how drastically - 

"I'll speak to him about that. And I'd feel a hell of a lot better with the crash cart in the room." 

Sigh.

"Do that, please, get the defib pads on him now - if he does drop into a sustained tachyarrhythmia, we've got a better chance of snapping him out of it if we're ready to shock him immediately. And let's give him more mag, his level wasn't technically low but it won't do any harm to get him to top of normal range - might help, and it's less risky to run it fast than the potassium." 

- and then Dr Zee speedwalks away, extremely inconveniently, because she didn't say how MUCH magnesium and also Nellie cannot simultaneously go prepare any magnesium and also wrestle the crash cart into the room. And Marian presumably still has to pee. 

"- Two grams?" she yells out after Dr Zee. "How fast can I run it?" 

Dr Zee pauses reluctantly. "...For active arrhythmias, you can give up to two grams over fifteen minutes. Dilute it in 100ccs of D5, keep a really close eye on his vitals, slow it if his BP starts tanking." 

Nellie is entirely gowned up but not technically contaminated yet, she hasn't crossed the vestibule. 

She darts a few metres up the hall and yells. "Amélie! Oy, we need 2g mag ASAP please!" Waits for a confirming nod, then starts hauling the crash cart into the vestibule. She only slightly rams it into the counter; it makes a loud clanging noise but probably nothing broke. Nellie is way too tired for this right now; she's been awake since 2 pm yesterday and it's now almost 8:30 am... 

Somewhat out of breath, she forges her way into the room proper. "Marian, I'm on it - get a break now while you can -" 

"...Are you, uh, sure?" Marian is hovering by Ma'ar's bedside, one hand on his radial pulse, watching the monitor intently. 

"S'not gonna be a better time later. If he codes he codes, and I'll press the button and get everyone in here. You need a break. ....Oh, and when you come back in, hide a jug of water for yourself in the bathroom. I got a Monster energy drink in my locker too, if you want it. You've got to stay hydrated." 

From Marian's perspective right now, the main effect of staying hydrated will be having to pee more often, but Nellie probably has a point.

She switches places and starts undressing in the vestibule. 

Nellie kicks an IV pole a few feet sideways so she can shove the crash cart up close to the bed, then crouches down and reaches underneath to plug in the defibrillator. 

...at which point, because she's tired enough to be a little dizzy, she inevitably bangs her head on the bottom of the bedrail. Ow. This does not help with her mood at ALL. 

She straightens up, grabs for the defib pads packaging, and then shakes Ma'ar's shoulder. "Hey there. Time to wake up." 

Ma'ar doesn't move. 

Shit. 

Nellie is exhausted and frustrated and does not have time for this. She yanks down Ma'ar's gown and drags her knuckles up and down his sternum. "I said WAKE UP!" 

He really doesn't want to, but the pain - and the urgency in Nellie's voice - reaches through the glue and drags him toward the surface. 

Everything is about a thousand times too bright, and it's right in his face. Ma'ar's head hurts. 

:What: he manages.