Sam and Donna worked to stabilise Alan, but in the end were forced to put him on the respirator. Due to his age and condition, Sam was prepared to let him go, but Donna wasn’t. She and Sam met with Sir Richard in Sam’s office to discuss their next move. Sam sat on the edge of his desk; Donna stood beside him. Sam sighed. “We’ve come to the end of the line, Sir Richard. Alan is no longer responding to our course of treatment. We’ve put him on life support until we decide whether or not we’re going to try the EHG, and the CTZ5.”
“Petal, is there any other way?”
Donna sighed and glanced at Sam. “No, Sir Richard. I’m afraid there’s not. Alan’s only other option is surgery, and we don’t think he would survive that. Our treatment worked for Missy, but it might not work for Alan. It’s either use the EHG, or we… let him go. Either way, there are no guarantees, but I’m willing to try if you are.”
“Alan is not just house staff to me, Donna. He’s like family. I don’t want to lose him. Give him the EHG.”
Donna stood. “Keep a close watch on Alan. Richard, Gary and I will get to work on the stem cell cultures. I do have one concern about this process.”
“What’s that?”
“Donna – no!” Sam said through his teeth.
Donna glanced at Sam and then to Sir Richard. “Harvesting stem cells from an adult of Alan’s age could be difficult. I would have to check, but if my genetic structure is compatible with Alan’s, my amniotic fluid would be our best bet because stem cells from a developing embryo are multifunctional.”
“No, Donna.”
Donna softly smiled. “This is not your decision, Sam. It’s mine.”
Sir Richard cleared his throat. “Actually, you’re wrong, petal. It’s not just your baby. It’s yours and Ricky’s. I think you should include him in this decision. Would there be any risk to you or the baby?”
“Yes, there is Sir Richard,” Sam interjected. “An amniocentesis is not normally performed on women before their 15th or 20th week of pregnancy. In the case of an emergency, it can be performed during her 11th to 13th week, but even then it’s risky. The risk would be much higher for Donna, who is only in her third week. The baby could be injured by the needle used to draw the amniotic fluid. The other risk is that it could cause Donna to go into premature labour and miscarry. At this stage of development, the baby would not survive.”
“A procedure like this, especially performed at this early stage of my pregnancy would be risky if it were performed by and inexperienced physician. Sam is not inexperienced. With VICi’s guidance, I believe he could do this.”
“Yes, I could do it,” Sam admitted. “I know I can control the needle, but I can’t control movement of the amniotic fluid, or the possibility of miscarriage.”
Donna rested her hand on Sam’s. “I know you can do this, Sam. I trust you.”
“Sir Richard, as Donna’s doctor I do not recommend this procedure.”
Donna grinned slightly. “Ah – Sam. You’re technically not my doctor. Juanita is. I need your help. This is not something I can do on my own. Sir Richard, even with the CTZ5, we may not be able to harvest enough stem cells in time to save Alan. Let me do this. Let me help him.”
Sir Richard stood. “I’ll send Ricky in. You two talk, and I’ll abide by whatever you decide. Come on Sam.” The doors slid open. “Ricky, Donna wants to talk to you.”
Richard furrowed his brow. “What about?”
“Risking a miscarriage to save Alan’s life!” Sam groaned.
Richard’s mouth gaped. “What?”
“Just go inside and talk to her,” Sir Richard said. “This is what she wants to do.”
Richard stepped inside; the doors slid shut. “Donna, Sam says you want to risk a miscarriage to save Alan’s life. How?”
Donna explained the procedure and the risks. Richard gave her an incredulous look. “You want to try and telepathically talk to Rich. Ask him to stay out of the way, while Sam stabs at him with a 120cm long needle? His brain is no more than primitive neural pathways at this stage, Donna. How do you even know he’s telepathic? I’m not!”
Donna softly smiled. “I know you’re not, but I am. You’ll have to trust me on that. I know this is going to be OK.”
Richard sighed. His conversation with Daria came back to him.
‘You have no idea what she is, do you?’
‘What do you mean? Of course, I know what she is!’
‘Her gift is genuine, Richard. What she says to you in prophecy is not gobbledygook. If you don’t listen to her counsel, you will regret it. She carries your child.’
‘She what? Donna can’t be pregnant. She’s on contraceptives, has been for months, and even if she hadn’t been, we only had one night together. If Donna is pregnant, the child is Sam’s, not mine.’
‘She is with a rival, but trust me, she carries your son. He is beyond special, Richard. Even now, as he grows in his mother’s womb, the child is aware of everything.’
“Even now, as he grows in his mother’s womb, the child is aware of everything,” Richard mused.
“What did you say?”
“Never mind. Just something Daria said. You really trust Sam to do this?”
“Yes, Richard, I do.”
“Can I be with you while he does the procedure?”
Donna’s eyes glossed. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Of course, you can. In fact, I’d like it if you held my hand.”
“Then do the test and find out if Alan is a possible match. I’ll get things set up. That way I can begin culturing the stem cells as soon as Sam draws the amniotic fluid.”
“Does this mean you believe I can talk to Rich telepathically?”
“You say you can. Daria said your gift was genuine, and she was right about Rich. That’s good enough for me,” he said and tenderly kissed her.
“Thank you,” Donna smiled and hugged him.
Richard looked at his watch. “Let’s get the test started. Then we’ll grab some lunch, in the cafeteria. By the time we get finished, we should know whether or not you’re a compatible donor match for Alan.”
“I’ve got a better idea. Sam can draw the blood sample. I’ll get it started. You can watch it. I’ll help Sam get things set up for the amniocentesis. I’ll make us something, and then the three of us can have lunch together in our quarters. Unless, of course, you would rather eat Rita’s food, than mine.”
Richard grinned. “I would much rather have your cooking.”
“Good. But, bear in mind, I like eating healthy.”
“What about all those spicy foods like tamales and gumbo? Do you classify them as healthy?”
Donna narrowed her eyes. “Smart Ass! I fudge every now and then. I’ll let you know when lunch is ready.”
“I love you,” Richard said and kissed her.
The corners of Donna’s mouth turned up. “I know….”
Richard stepped into the waiting area. “She wants you to draw a blood sample, and then you’re having lunch with us in our quarters.”
Sam frowned. “So… you let her talk you into doing the amniocentesis?”
Richard studied his eyes. “I trust her judgement.”
“Remember what I said. This could cause her to lose the baby, Richard.”
Richard smiled condescendingly. “She knows what she’s doing. See you at lunch, Sam.” Richard patted Sam’s upper arm and left.
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Sam was a bit gruff when he entered his office. He opened the supplies cabinet behind his desk and brought out a vacutube. “I trust one vial will be enough,” he said tersely.
Donna nodded. “It should be.”
Sam fastened on the tourniquet and swiped her arm with an alcohol wipe. He pulled the needle cap off and looked into her dark eyes. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Donna.”
“It will be fine, Sam,” she smiled. Donna winced when he stuck the needle in her arm.
“Was it your idea for us to have lunch together?”
“Yes, it was. Is that a problem?”
Sam studied her eyes as he waited for the vial to fill. He couldn’t stay mad at her. A slow smile spread across his mouth. He shook his head. “No. What are we having?”
“Avocado and mango chicken salad. Do you approve?”
Sam grinned. “Yes, but your fiancée won’t.”
Donna frowned. “Why is that?”
“Because it’s healthy. Why don’t I come early and help? It’s the least I can do.”
“If you promise to behave yourself. I don’t know if Richard’s quarters are monitored by VICi.”
“Easy, sweetheart. I offered to help you do lunch. I didn’t offer fringe benefits. If you want those, you’ll have to give me a little more advanced notice so I can check my schedule.”
Donna rolled her eyes, stood and held out her hand. “Can I have my sample, now, please?”
Sam laid the vial in the palm of her hand and closed her fingers around it. “You can have a kiss, too if you want it. Or, anything else, for that fact.”
Donna softly smiled. “I’ll just take the sample, for now,” she said and turned to leave. “Are you coming with me, or are you going to chicken out? You can clean the mangos and avocados while I shred the chicken and make the rest of the salad.”
“Lead the way,” he said with a wave and followed her to the genetics lab.
Richard was already preparing culture discs. He looked up and smiled as Donna entered the room. “Get this started…” she said, placing the vial of blood in his hand.
Richard smiled and glanced at Sam. “Something follow you home?”
“Sam is going to help me prepare lunch, that way it will go faster.” She kissed Richard. “There’s no need to wait. As soon as you have this going, come on to lunch. See you in a little while,” she said and kissed him again. Sam tucked his head and lightly cleared his throat.
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Donna put some ripe mangos and avocados on the cutting board and handed Sam a sharp paring knife. “I trust you can do this without cutting off your fingers? And I trust you know what this is for.” She set a small bowl of lemon juice on the island.
Sam grinned. “Carry on with your chicken and salad greens. I’ll take care of these beauties…” he said, gently squeezing the mangos. “They kind of remind me of something I had my hands on not so long ago,” he teased.
Donna softly smiled, shook her head and took the salad greens out of the refrigerator. “Just get on with the job and stop molesting our lunch.”
Sam frowned. “Spoil sport.”
Donna laughed and finished making the salad. “Which had you rather have Melba toast, with creamed cottage cheese and chilies, or garlic thins with lemon butter?”
“How about both,” Sam said, sucking the mango juice off his fingers? “I’m done here. I’ll do the bread, you do the toppings.”
Donna gave Sam some slices of wholegrain bread and a couple of small baguettes, from the bread box. Using a serrated knife, Sam prepared the breads and popped them into the oven. “You’re quite useful in the kitchen,” she chuckled.
Sam wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her neck. Donna’s eyes widened. “Sam, stop! Richard is coming.”
“No, he’s not,” he said and kissed her again.
Donna pushed him away. “I said stop! Go sit in the lounge. I’ll finish this,” she said, pushing him out of the kitchen.
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With a sigh of resignation, Sam sat down on the sofa and picked up a magazine from the coffee table. He heard the doors to Richard’s quarters slide open. “Hello, Sam. Something smells nice. I thought you were helping Donna prepare lunch.”
“I did, but she ran me out,” he replied, thumbing through the magazine. “Just between you and me, I hope this test fails.”
Richard grinned. “It won’t. In fact, it hasn’t.”
Sam laid the magazine down and frowned. “What do you mean?”
“VICi already analysed the sample. She picked up a match in the first scan. As soon as we’re done with lunch, you can draw the amniotic fluid, and I’ll get the cultures done.”
“How can VICi find a match so quickly? The scanning process normally takes at least half an hour.”
“Beats me, but she did. Trust me. I didn’t believe it either. So I ran the test again, and then used the HIC to align the profile. There’s no doubt. Donna was right. This will work. The rest is up to you.”
“Yeah, if I can just convince your son to stay out of the way.”
“Donna thinks she can take care of that.”
Sam looked incredulous. “How?”
Richard grinned. “By talking to him,” he replied and went into the kitchen.
“Talking to him! Richard, are you….”
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Donna changed into a gown. Sam helped her onto the biobed and positioned her within the scanning outline. “VICi, full body scan. Centre on uterus, enhance and magnify view by one hundred fifty percent. Display on wallscreen and above biobed.”
Donna looked up at Sam and frowned. “I told you I wanted Richard here, for this.”
“I’m going to check the baby’s position first. If it’s in the wrong part of the amniotic sac, I’m not doing this.”
“Sam, don’t start. I know what you’re doing.”
“What I’m doing, Pretty Lady, is looking out for what’s best for my patients. If the baby is positioned too close to the insertion point, I’m not risking it, Donna. You can get pissed at me all you want.”
Sam and Donna watched the overhead wallscreen and waited for the image to appear. Donna forced the air from her lungs and locked her gaze with Sam’s. “That settles that,” Sam said.
“Sam, please, give me a chance to try something.”
“If this is the part where you’re going to talk to the baby and ask him to move, you’re wasting your time, sweetheart.”
Donna narrowed her eyes. “Just shut up and let me concentrate.”
“Fine – fine – whatever,” Sam groaned.
Donna closed her eyes and concentrated on the baby. She conjured the image of him in her mind. She saw him as an infant. She imagined holding him in her arms. She began to reach for his thoughts. Rich, it’s your mom. Do you understand me? Can you hear me? Don’t be afraid. Uncle Sam needs to collect some of the fluid you’re floating in. He’s going to stick a long needle in Mom’s tummy, but he can’t, because you’re too close. I need you to move to one side and be very still. Mom needs this fluid sample so she can save a man’s life.
Donna didn’t get a mental reply, but she felt something like butterflies in her stomach.
Sam frowned. “What are you doing?”
Her eyes glossed behind her closed lids. “Asking him to move,” she said in a soft voice and swallowed hard. “What is he doing?”
Sam’s mouth gaped. “I don’t know whether what you’re doing is the reason…” he dubiously replied, “…but he’s… moving.”
Donna opened her eyes and smiled. “VICi, notify Richard Triplet.”
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“Take a deep breath, sweetheart,” Sam said. Donna squeezed Richard’s hand, clenched her teeth and winced as Sam penetrated her abdominal wall. “OK, let it out slowly. I know it hurts, but try and breathe normally,” Sam added, keeping a close watch on the monitor. “I’m in the amniotic cavity.” He started slowly drawing the fluid.