wrath of the Sea Queen (182 page)

"
What s
he wants
is answers
," Vin commented without further explanation.

"
We all do.  However,
t
he way she is
frequently
slipping in and out
of consciousness
concerns me. 
We
wi
ll need to wake her up
several times
over
the next twenty four hours to make sure she doesn't slip into a coma. 
Her internal
bleeding
could get worse
very quickly
;
and we might not know it if we aren't
monitoring
her
c
losely
. 
Moreover, w
e cannot know anything
certain
about the baby
's status
until we get
C
a
eli
stabilized.  Vin, you
wi
ll need to pay attention to her pain
level
.  The pain from her injuries is to be expected.  But
,
if s
he gets sharp
, sudden pains, like before, then she is in trouble.  If we can somehow find a way to keep C
a
eli in bed until she gets stronger, and if we can keep her still, we might have a small chance of saving your child.
 
Overall,
I think the best we can hope for is getting C
a
eli through this.  That will be difficult enough.
"

"I un
derstand,
Salma
," Vin replied solemnly.
 

Salma
disliked having to be the one to put this burden on Vin, but she
needed to
be
sure that
he
understood the risks.  From the
frightened
look on his face, he
grasped the severity of C
a
eli's
condition
.

Vin
tr
ied
to figure out
how he was going to explain
this
to C
a
eli.  He could barely process
the news
himself.  How could he be happy at being given a second chance and terrified
of the likely outcome
at the same time?  How was
C
a
eli
going to feel?
  When were they going to get off this emotional roller coaster?

"
How long has it been since C
a
eli ate anything?
"
  Ben asked.

Vin
tried to recall the l
ast time
she had eaten
. 
She
did
not eat anything when she cooked the pancake
breakfast
for him.  She
did
not
eat any of the
cookies
she made
with Max, and
could
n
o
t have
eaten anything since the ordeal that ended in the cave.

"
It's been at least a day, maybe a day and a half.  I think the dinner she and Apela fixed
Monday night
might have been the last time she ate.  I'm not certain.
"

Vin felt
terrible
after
saying
it out loud
. 
C
a
eli
hadn't eaten
in
over thirty six hours.  Granted, there
were
extenuating circumstances, but Vin
had
n’t
even
notice
d
.  He
didn't even
offer her anything when his own stomach grumbl
ed
. 
Where was his mind?  It was un
like him to
miss something
this important
. 

"
Well then, I have the perfect solution.  I will go and get her some
lunch
from the kitchen if you will come
along
and help me, Vin.  Salma, would you be kind
enough
to show Vin what a properly made bed should look like?
"
  Ben, indicating the blanket
covering the mattress
, shot Salma a look that she understood.  She agreed, and the two men walked out of the room.

Salma found a clean set of sheets in the closet and made the bed. 
T
hen she moved all the medical equipment over to the door, so that she and Ben could remove it when they left. 
Salma
worked her way around the room, cleaning up whatever remnants she could find
from yesterday and
today's episode
s
.  When Salma was done, the
room
almost looked like a typical vacationer's hotel room.  If it weren't for the equipment
stacked on the cart
by the door and her niece
lying
in the middle of the floor,
Salma might have found the
room
quite
peaceful.  S
he
walked over and opened the window beyond the bed, and then opened the
sliding
door to the porch.  The subsequent breeze that wafted through the room carried the
fresh
scent of the ocean
to
replace
the
heavy
air in the room. 
The rhythmic sound of the steady rain
and waves hitting the shore
was relaxing.

C
a
eli woke again as Salma moved around her.

"
What are you doing?  Where
di
d everybody go?
"
  C
a
eli started to raise herself up off the floor, but Salma hurried over and placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"
L
ie still
, Dear.  You passed out again after t
oo much moving around; too much, too soon. 
The guys
went to get you something to eat
. 
Between you and me
, I think Ben wanted to talk to Vin
; guy talk
. 
I
wi
ll let
Vin
fill you in
on the details
when he gets back
.  Now you listen up, while I've got your
undivided
attention," Salma said in her professional tone with a hint of sadness hovering at the edges of her voice.

"
Why does everyone keep
restraining me
?
"
  C
a
eli asked
somewhat
perturbed
.  Then she
saw the look on Salma's face
, and h
er voice c
onveyed the
worry
s
he
saw reflected there
.

"What's wrong, Salma?"

"
You have twice the issues as we originally thought, but I can
't
resolve
this for you. 
Y
ou are going to have to
handle
this one
yourself.  The most important thing is
strict
bed
rest
, but not just for today
. 
You
absolutely
will
no
t
get up
or
mov
e
around
until I tell you otherwise
. 
I
wi
ll tell Ben to loan Vin his handcuffs if necessary to keep you in bed.  I know how antsy you are, but y
ou
ha
ve got to give your body time to
heal
. 
Do you understand, C
a
eli?  It
is
very important.
"
  Salma's tone was stern
, and she barely withheld the tears at the corners of her eyes
. 

C
a
eli did not miss the serious implications behind her words, but she knew Salma was not going to tell her anything more. 
That task
had been
assigned to
Vin
, and
C
a
eli
would have to wait until he returned
to
get the details
.

"
Ok, Salma.  I'll be still.  Could I at least have a pillow? 
This floor is not
very comfortable.
"