Despite Omega's best intentions, hypothermia had ruthlessly set in, exacerbated by starvation, dehydration and severe immunodeficiency. Deep in the grip of unconsciousness, wracked by cold chills with almost every third shallow breath, Blue never heard Owen's beloved voice, nor registered his unforgettable scent. She lay all but limp in Omega's arms, closed eyes dark in deep hollows.
She never heard the sound of the waves crashing against the empty beach, nor the crackle of the radio and Doctor Gwen's anxious voice demanding something of someone on the other end of a satellite phone. She was unresponsive when the boat's motor started again, and had no way of knowing that Owen, Doctor Gwen, Omega and she covered the ninety miles from one island to the other in record time.
Gwen, however, knew it'd be a helluva long time before she ever forgot any of this. She'd received Owen's call just an hour before he skidded the Jeep into her complex's parking lot--she had a duffel packed and was closing the passenger side door almost before the vehicle even stopped moving. Then had been a mad, grim dash south as quickly as it was possible to go; she'd had no qualm about using her emergency medical clout to skip security checks wherever necessary--at least doing so kept Owen from shooting anyone.
But seeing Blue in Omega's arms as he brought her from Isla Sorna's dense jungle...well, that had nearly frozen her heart. Immediately, she'd jumped on the satellite phone, knowing it was a long shot--Mitch might not even work there anymore--but she'd dialed one of the few numbers from her old career she'd taken care to keep committed to memory, and praise God it had been answered.
After only the briefest explanation, with a promise to deliver more details later, she'd hung up the phone and herded Owen with Omega and Blue into the boat, instructing Owen to head for Isla Nublar, to the site of their former respective employments. True to his word, Mitch was waiting for them at the back entrance of the medical center.
"I'm gonna get my ass chewed for this--!" the short man complained, staring wide-eyed at the group hurrying through the center's sliding doors.
"Mitch, thank you, more than you can know, but right now, we need to hurry. She's hypothermic and under-oxygenated, so we gotta move." Gwen hugged him quickly, but then all but shoved the white-coated tech down the hall, gesturing to Omega to bring Blue and quickly.
It took a bit of doing to get Omega back out into the hallway, but pointing out that Blue couldn't get any better as long as he was in her way did help Gwen's cause quite a bit. She shoved him back outside, to wait with Owen, while she and Mitch went to work on their comatose patient. Thankfully, the center was virtually unoccupied, this being the park's off-season, with guest counts in the record lows. Irony, really.
About three hours later, almost sunset, Gwen finally emerged from the room, looking tired and haggard. She crossed the hallway to where Omega and Owen paced, respectively, and called them both, telling Omega right off, "You can go in now. She's still not quite awake, but you should be in there with her." She opted not to remind him not to break anything; she surmised his concern for Blue covered that much.
After the male raptor had practically vanished--thank God Mitch had decamped right when Gwen urged him to do so--she turned to Owen, her face grave. "It's bad, Owen," she began without preamble. "Starvation, dehydration, her immune system's been compromised by all the goddamn tranquilizers they filled her with, Christ, I've never ever seen an animal take so much of that crap." Her expression thinned. "There's evidence of physical abuse, too. Her wrists and ankles are chewed up, which doesn't surprise me, to be honest, but there are bruises, Owen...bruises consistent with rape victims."
Gwen's eyes grew anguished. "--and that's not the worst of it." She put her hand on his arm, gently. "Blue's hemorrhaging--the drugs have abraded the lining of a few blood vessels, and," Gwen took a deep breath, dreading the words she was preparing to say, "...she's also pregnant."
no subject
She never heard the sound of the waves crashing against the empty beach, nor the crackle of the radio and Doctor Gwen's anxious voice demanding something of someone on the other end of a satellite phone. She was unresponsive when the boat's motor started again, and had no way of knowing that Owen, Doctor Gwen, Omega and she covered the ninety miles from one island to the other in record time.
Gwen, however, knew it'd be a helluva long time before she ever forgot any of this. She'd received Owen's call just an hour before he skidded the Jeep into her complex's parking lot--she had a duffel packed and was closing the passenger side door almost before the vehicle even stopped moving. Then had been a mad, grim dash south as quickly as it was possible to go; she'd had no qualm about using her emergency medical clout to skip security checks wherever necessary--at least doing so kept Owen from shooting anyone.
But seeing Blue in Omega's arms as he brought her from Isla Sorna's dense jungle...well, that had nearly frozen her heart. Immediately, she'd jumped on the satellite phone, knowing it was a long shot--Mitch might not even work there anymore--but she'd dialed one of the few numbers from her old career she'd taken care to keep committed to memory, and praise God it had been answered.
After only the briefest explanation, with a promise to deliver more details later, she'd hung up the phone and herded Owen with Omega and Blue into the boat, instructing Owen to head for Isla Nublar, to the site of their former respective employments. True to his word, Mitch was waiting for them at the back entrance of the medical center.
"I'm gonna get my ass chewed for this--!" the short man complained, staring wide-eyed at the group hurrying through the center's sliding doors.
"Mitch, thank you, more than you can know, but right now, we need to hurry. She's hypothermic and under-oxygenated, so we gotta move." Gwen hugged him quickly, but then all but shoved the white-coated tech down the hall, gesturing to Omega to bring Blue and quickly.
It took a bit of doing to get Omega back out into the hallway, but pointing out that Blue couldn't get any better as long as he was in her way did help Gwen's cause quite a bit. She shoved him back outside, to wait with Owen, while she and Mitch went to work on their comatose patient. Thankfully, the center was virtually unoccupied, this being the park's off-season, with guest counts in the record lows. Irony, really.
About three hours later, almost sunset, Gwen finally emerged from the room, looking tired and haggard. She crossed the hallway to where Omega and Owen paced, respectively, and called them both, telling Omega right off, "You can go in now. She's still not quite awake, but you should be in there with her." She opted not to remind him not to break anything; she surmised his concern for Blue covered that much.
After the male raptor had practically vanished--thank God Mitch had decamped right when Gwen urged him to do so--she turned to Owen, her face grave. "It's bad, Owen," she began without preamble. "Starvation, dehydration, her immune system's been compromised by all the goddamn tranquilizers they filled her with, Christ, I've never ever seen an animal take so much of that crap." Her expression thinned. "There's evidence of physical abuse, too. Her wrists and ankles are chewed up, which doesn't surprise me, to be honest, but there are bruises, Owen...bruises consistent with rape victims."
Gwen's eyes grew anguished. "--and that's not the worst of it." She put her hand on his arm, gently. "Blue's hemorrhaging--the drugs have abraded the lining of a few blood vessels, and," Gwen took a deep breath, dreading the words she was preparing to say, "...she's also pregnant."