Chapter 20: Deathly Serious

(Author’s Note: Still in Vincent’s POV)

I’m surprised how well I was able to control my speed on the road; speeding nonetheless, but avoiding every obstacle I came across. The hospital was only a few miles away, so I arrived relatively quickly. I parked immediately at the front curb of the Emergency Sector of the hospital. I leaped out of my seat and furiously went around to the passenger side to get Kim. She was coughing less, but now it was being replaced with a wheeze in her chest.
“It’s okay, hun,” I whispered to her as she cried silently. “We’re almost there.”

I glided up to the front desk, and explained my situation with Kim at the hotel to the receptionist. The woman rose from her seat and guided us both to a room. The doctor was there almost seconds later.
“Hello, my name is Dr. Baron,” he said as he examined Kim’s pupils. “You say she spontaneously began coughing tonight? Would you call it a harsh cough?”
“Harsh? Of course,” I was out of breath myself. “I thought she was choking it was so bad.”
“You said it has died down from its original state, correct?” he wrote every detail on a form.
“Yes, but now she’s beginning to wheeze,” I sat down in a chair next to the bed Kim was laying on. “Could it just be she’s sick?”
“Let me check her lungs,” Dr. Baron quickly grabbed his stethoscope and placed it against Kim’s chest. My heart raced as I waited to hear his evaluation.

Dr. Baron mumbled to himself. After about 15 excruciating minutes, he spoke up.
“I think I’ve figured out what’s causing Kim to be like this,” he fixed his coat jacket.
“What?” I was growing impatient. “Is it serious? Will she be okay?”
“She’ll be fine; don’t worry…” he pointed to an x-ray placed upon the screen. “Although she does have pneumonia; an illness we thought we had been rid of for years now… It can eventually lead to death if it isn’t treated correctly.”
“Get her whatever she needs; I’ll handle the costs. I want only the best options available.”
“Well, heh, of course. We wouldn’t consider anything less than the best in this situation,” he laughed as he wrote out a prescription. “However, the only things you can do for her is to make sure she takes this medication, and gets plenty of rest. Nothing strenuous or over-exerting.”
“Okay, got it; medication and rest,” I nodded to let him know I understood. “I’m guessing it would be a good idea to have her stay the night?”
“Yes,” he put the clipboard on the bottom of her bed. “We need to allow the machines to remove the mucus from her lungs.”
I stared at the tube going down Kim’s throat; poor thing…

It had been maybe 10 minutes; suddenly, the door to Kim’s room swung open as Cloud stood in the doorway. Behind him was Cid… But not just Cid.
“Tifa, Reno… Elena,” I looked past Cloud and saw Rude and Mia come out from around the corner. “Oh you guys… If only Kim was awake to see you all here.”
“Its fine,” Reno said as he wiped a stray tear from his calm face. “We’re just glad she’s going to be okay.”
“Mm…” Rude nodded in agreement. “Can we stick around?”
Dr. Baron sighed, but then looked at me. “Sure, I suppose… Just promise me you’ll keep it down to a dull roar.”