He never let on how very heavy he was finding her towards the end. It didn't matter. She needed to be carried, she needed to be there. He could see others in the room, the sick and those who cared for them. They would probably get sick too but Tony couldn't be concerned for them right now. They had made their choice. "Please! Help us! She's preg-" Tony coughed heavily. He almost lost his balance but managed to not-quite drop her on a nearby bed. He immediately knelt beside her. "I'm here. We're here Gwen. Everything is going to be alright."
At last! Jack hurried over, his heart twisting in anguish at the sight of Gwen looking so pale and tired and obviously ill. He couldn't help but worry about her - and her baby too. He had no idea how this sickness might affect the baby, but it almost certainly couldn't be good.
He stopped next to Tony, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Glad you could make it," he said warmly, trying not to let any of his fear show in his voice. "Thanks for looking after my girl, Tony."
Gwen was drifting in and out of consciousness, but she was aware of being swung onto another bed. She didn't remember Tony actually carrying her anywhere, so she was a little surprised as she forced a look around the new room.
But Tony was there, and Jack was there, and for and sick and horrible as she felt, if she was going to die, she could have picked a worse way to go.
"Jack...?" she croaked, trying to clear the fog around her head. The room was spinning and she closed her eyes, her hand reaching out to seek either of the men beside her. She tried to speak again, but before the words could come out, she dissolved into a weak coughing fit.
Tony almost snorted 'your girl?' but he didn't. It was not the time or the place and he was also afraid if he snorted his head would explode. He allowed Jack to touch him but he got little comfort from it. Only the news Gwen and the baby would make a full recovery would do that.
"I was never going to do anything else," he said again, his hand in hers the moment she was settled. "Have you spoken to the doctors? Has progress been made?" He looked up at Jack, his face pale around the dark beard and near-black eyes. His fingers moved to brush the hair from Gwen's forehead as he sat on the edge of the narrow bed. "Were here darlin'. Me and Jack. It's OK. We're at the clinic now. The doctor will see you in a minute and -CAN WE GET A DOCTOR OVER HERE!- you'll be fine." He smiled a reassuring smile and had to break the gaze to cough heavily into his inner elbow.
Martha rolled her eyes as she hurried over - she'd been fetching more water to keep everybody properly hydrated. "Sorry I haven't managed to clone myself yet," she retorted dryly, pulling on a fresh pair of surgical gloves. Her gaze swept over Gwen, and she knew that things wouldn't be good - even without the baby to worry about, Gwen appeared to be pretty far gone.
"Hey, Gwen," she greeted the other woman as she bent over her, her voice now calm and soothing. "It's Martha, okay? I'm gonna see what I can do to make you feel a little better, maybe help stop that cough?" She smiled at her as she listened to her breathing with the stethoscope - and if the smile was a little forced, maybe nobody would notice.
Jack really hadn't meant 'his girl' in any way other than that Gwen was his friend and a member of his team and he therefore felt responsible for her. He let go of Tony and took half a step back. Tony had enough to deal with without having to worry about Jack's intentions too.
He said quietly, including Martha as well as Tony, "The Doctor says we should get anyone who's infected to the far future. There's a hospital there that he says might be able to help them."
There was a lot going on now, and Gwen struggled to keep up with everyone talking, but she was sleepy.
Sleepy, and everything hurt. She gasped for air, trying to force down the now endless need to cough, but she was aware enough now to know that Tony wasn't fairing to well either.
"Check on Tony, he's been expose..." she drifted off a moment, trying to force herself awake, but the room felt so hot. It felt like the world was on fire. "I didn't mean it, Martha, please, try and save it... Jack?"
There were a million thoughts going through her head, not one any more complete or coherent than the last, and more than anything, Gwen just wanted to sleep.
Truth be told Tony could hardly be under any illusions that Gwen was his anything beyond his friend. He had no right to be jealous. He liked Jack. He didn't mean to be hostile. "Jack, she needs you too. Can you stay?" Tony was so tired. It occurred to him he may need someone to keep him awake.
Tony then took to hovering over Martha,moving back to give her room, coughing occasionally as he watched her work on Gwen. "It's been less than twenty-four hours. The last few hours..." He didn't ask her what she thought. He would do that away from Gwen, just in case. He just hovered, paced a little, coughed into his elbow, ran his fingers through his damp hair.
Martha glanced up at Tony for a moment as he coughed. "Oi, you. Bed. Now." She jerked her head in the direction of an unoccupied bed - thankfully, one next to Gwen, because she didn't think he'd let her out of his sight. "I know you think Gwen and the baby're more important than your health, but being sick won't help her any, will it?" She was using her best doctor tone of voice - the one that most people didn't dare disobey. (She had a feeling Tony was the sort to argue anything and everything, though.)
"She called me a few days past," Martha added over her shoulder, "before anybody knew this was anything more than an isolated incident. I've been consulting with her over, y'know, things. I told her then that she needed to have me look at it - sounded like a case of pneumonia then."
"I think she's about...two, three months along? Too early for a foetal heartbeat." Martha sat back on her heels. "Problem is that this is the most dangerous stage of the pregnancy when it comes to external influences, which could include antibiotics and
( ... )
“I’m here and I’ve got nowhere else to be,” Jack assured Tony - and Gwen, though he wasn’t sure how aware she was of what was going on around her. He also didn’t seem to be getting sick, which was a good thing, although he couldn’t help wonder why. Not that Martha seemed to be succumbing either, thankfully.
He listened tensely to what Martha had to say about Gwen and her baby. If Gwen lost the baby due to them being stuck here… He gave Martha a sober look. “The Doctor’s sent out a transmission telling everyone who’s sick to get the Time Room and to the hotel in the future. Apparently, they have a hospital there which obviously will have far better facilities than we have here. Even if they don’t know what this virus is, they should have far more advanced ways of treating it.”
There was a tiny voice in the back of Gwen's mind that told her she should be paying attention, but it wasn't enough. Her stomach had started churning again, and she groaned in pain, clutching her abdomen as she turned to her side.
She didn't have the strength or the sense to say anything, but there was just enough sense in her to be thankful she was around the people who cared for her. She trusted them with her life, and that was enough to let them take the lead.
Moaning, she coughed wetly and violently against her pillow. A spatter of bright red blood landed on the pillowcase, the thick, metallic taste of it coating the inside of her mouth. She clutched the side of the bed and coughed again, unable to stop.
Tony shook his head emphatically. "I'm not leaving her. Not leaving them, got it? Gwen needs me. I'm here. End of story." Martha's words were making feel sicker than the virus. He pressed a kiss to Gwen's hand. "It's gonna be OK baby, it's gonna... Gwen!"
He grabbed her convulsing body, stared in horror at the blood on her pillow. "Help her!" he said, his own thoughts slow and muddied by fever. All he could so was hang on to her and plead for help. No, have to do more, more, she needs....
Jack cast one anxious look across at Gwen and then gazed firmly at Tony. "No-one said anything about you leaving her, Tony," he said, as calmly as he could with that image of Gwen coughing blood bright across the front of his mind.
"And I think we need to get you both to the hospital right away," he added, glancing up at Martha for confirmation which he didn't really need, because it was obvious, but which might serve to convince Tony that moving Gwen was the right thing to do. He glanced down at Gwen again, biting his lip. "I can carry her, if you think you could walk?"
Martha mentally rolled her eyes a little at Tony - but the illness was probably affecting his ability to think rationally, she figured, not to mention the stress involved in caring for someone so ill. "Definitely," she agreed with Jack. "And that means you need to get treatment, too, Tony." She doubted he would even go so far as to let Jack carry Gwen, but, well, she would let Jack deal with that particular issue (and hope that it didn't go any further than testosterone-filled staring contests).
"I'll help if you need me to," she added, "but if not, I'll stay here to direct anybody else who might not've gotten the message on the phones."
Gwen stayed curled on her side, coughing dramatically into her pillow. She wasn't following anything going on around her anymore - there was some arguing and Tony sounded upset, but all Gwen really wanted was for someone to pull out a gun at end her damn misery before she internally bled to death.
Curling her legs up to her stomach, she pressed her eyes closed and tried as hard as she could to relax, but her body ached so much and throat continued to threaten with another wave of hacking attacks. She wheezed, desperate for air between coughs, her whole body trembling with pain and exhaustion.
Dying, at that point, really didn't seem like that bad of an option.
Tony nodded at Jack, his words making some sense. "Please.. carry her. I can walk." He swayed a little where he stood but his eyes were determined. He hated the fact that he had to rely on someone else to help Gwen but he knew if he tried to lift her now she would end up on the floor and she wouldn't handle that in her current state. He needed to finish that suit. He could have lifted her with the suit. "Be careful," Tony breathed, his dark eyes boring into Jack's.
Tony ran his fingers though Gwen's hair. He really couldn't think of what else to do, or of much at all. He was useless and helpless and frustrated. His voice wavered as he said, "Please, take her and I will go where ever you want, do whatever you want. Just take care of her first."
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He stopped next to Tony, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Glad you could make it," he said warmly, trying not to let any of his fear show in his voice. "Thanks for looking after my girl, Tony."
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But Tony was there, and Jack was there, and for and sick and horrible as she felt, if she was going to die, she could have picked a worse way to go.
"Jack...?" she croaked, trying to clear the fog around her head. The room was spinning and she closed her eyes, her hand reaching out to seek either of the men beside her. She tried to speak again, but before the words could come out, she dissolved into a weak coughing fit.
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"I was never going to do anything else," he said again, his hand in hers the moment she was settled. "Have you spoken to the doctors? Has progress been made?" He looked up at Jack, his face pale around the dark beard and near-black eyes. His fingers moved to brush the hair from Gwen's forehead as he sat on the edge of the narrow bed. "Were here darlin'. Me and Jack. It's OK. We're at the clinic now. The doctor will see you in a minute and -CAN WE GET A DOCTOR OVER HERE!- you'll be fine." He smiled a reassuring smile and had to break the gaze to cough heavily into his inner elbow.
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"Hey, Gwen," she greeted the other woman as she bent over her, her voice now calm and soothing. "It's Martha, okay? I'm gonna see what I can do to make you feel a little better, maybe help stop that cough?" She smiled at her as she listened to her breathing with the stethoscope - and if the smile was a little forced, maybe nobody would notice.
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He said quietly, including Martha as well as Tony, "The Doctor says we should get anyone who's infected to the far future. There's a hospital there that he says might be able to help them."
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Sleepy, and everything hurt. She gasped for air, trying to force down the now endless need to cough, but she was aware enough now to know that Tony wasn't fairing to well either.
"Check on Tony, he's been expose..." she drifted off a moment, trying to force herself awake, but the room felt so hot. It felt like the world was on fire. "I didn't mean it, Martha, please, try and save it... Jack?"
There were a million thoughts going through her head, not one any more complete or coherent than the last, and more than anything, Gwen just wanted to sleep.
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Tony then took to hovering over Martha,moving back to give her room, coughing occasionally as he watched her work on Gwen. "It's been less than twenty-four hours. The last few hours..." He didn't ask her what she thought. He would do that away from Gwen, just in case. He just hovered, paced a little, coughed into his elbow, ran his fingers through his damp hair.
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"She called me a few days past," Martha added over her shoulder, "before anybody knew this was anything more than an isolated incident. I've been consulting with her over, y'know, things. I told her then that she needed to have me look at it - sounded like a case of pneumonia then."
"I think she's about...two, three months along? Too early for a foetal heartbeat." Martha sat back on her heels. "Problem is that this is the most dangerous stage of the pregnancy when it comes to external influences, which could include antibiotics and ( ... )
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He listened tensely to what Martha had to say about Gwen and her baby. If Gwen lost the baby due to them being stuck here… He gave Martha a sober look. “The Doctor’s sent out a transmission telling everyone who’s sick to get the Time Room and to the hotel in the future. Apparently, they have a hospital there which obviously will have far better facilities than we have here. Even if they don’t know what this virus is, they should have far more advanced ways of treating it.”
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She didn't have the strength or the sense to say anything, but there was just enough sense in her to be thankful she was around the people who cared for her. She trusted them with her life, and that was enough to let them take the lead.
Moaning, she coughed wetly and violently against her pillow. A spatter of bright red blood landed on the pillowcase, the thick, metallic taste of it coating the inside of her mouth. She clutched the side of the bed and coughed again, unable to stop.
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He grabbed her convulsing body, stared in horror at the blood on her pillow. "Help her!" he said, his own thoughts slow and muddied by fever. All he could so was hang on to her and plead for help. No, have to do more, more, she needs....
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"And I think we need to get you both to the hospital right away," he added, glancing up at Martha for confirmation which he didn't really need, because it was obvious, but which might serve to convince Tony that moving Gwen was the right thing to do. He glanced down at Gwen again, biting his lip. "I can carry her, if you think you could walk?"
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"I'll help if you need me to," she added, "but if not, I'll stay here to direct anybody else who might not've gotten the message on the phones."
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Curling her legs up to her stomach, she pressed her eyes closed and tried as hard as she could to relax, but her body ached so much and throat continued to threaten with another wave of hacking attacks. She wheezed, desperate for air between coughs, her whole body trembling with pain and exhaustion.
Dying, at that point, really didn't seem like that bad of an option.
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Tony ran his fingers though Gwen's hair. He really couldn't think of what else to do, or of much at all. He was useless and helpless and frustrated. His voice wavered as he said, "Please, take her and I will go where ever you want, do whatever you want. Just take care of her first."
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