Work Text:
A small interaction between Jeremy and Reid from the beginning of their day lingers in the back of Christina's mind. Just before they started their hike, Reid had asked Jeremy a clarifying question about the first-aid kit. She has no idea why she can't stop thinking about it… but it's put her a little on edge.
She makes sure to keep tabs on everyone, (including herself). She's cold, sure… but not dangerously so. "You doing okay?" she asks Jenni with a friendly smile. "Yep! You?" Christina nods her concurrence.
Reid separated from the group ten minutes ago. That's not enough time to go severely downhill when it comes to hypothermia, right?
God, if only she had access to google.
"Something on your mind?" Jenni asks, tilting her head in curiosity.
"I just… something's not right. But I can't put my finger on it," she laughs it off, expecting Jenni to do the same. But she doesn't.
"What do you mean?" The serious look on her face is a stark contrast from the near giddy expression she was wearing not too long ago. "I don't… it's just a gut feeling, I suppose…" she stammers, still unable to come up with any logical explanation for her anxiety.
"Okay," Jenni pauses for a few seconds, taking hold of Christina's arm and motioning for her to stop walking. "Why do you feel that way?" she asks calmly. "I don't kn-"
"You do. Intuition isn't random, it's based on cues that your subconscious picks up. Why do you feel like something's wrong?" Jenni explains, her full attention on Christina now. All other tasks have been completely abandoned.
"I…" she looks around, scanning everyone. Her eyes land on Andre, and she can't seem to look away from him. He's using the tools they've been given to take a sample from the walls of basalt… except he's doing a terrible job. His hand misses the device just inches in front of him multiple times.
He's shaking too, not dramatically, but a noticeable tremor that's more significant than everyone else's. "I think it's Andre…" she tells Jenni quietly, not taking her eyes away from him.
"Okay," Jenni watches with her for a minute. If anyone happened to look over at the two of them, they'd probably have a lot of questions. Just two astronauts, peeking over a rock and tilting their heads at something that piques their interest like meerkats.
"I feel it too," Jenni whispers, glancing over at her before looking back at Andre. "Should we confront him or try to pull him to the side?" Christina asks, not wanting to waste any "more time.
"I say we pull him to the side first, no need to make a scene if nothing's really wrong." Jenni says, already beginning to approach him. Christina follows close behind.
They pull him aside just as he hands off his sample. "Andre," Jenni says, gently pulling on his arm.
"Are you alright?" Christina asks, getting straight to it. "Yeah, why…?" he's not very convincing. "Andre," she stresses, looking at him with eyes full of concern.
"You have my full attention…?" he clearly doesn't know what they want from him. "Are you feeling okay?" Jenni asks, spelling it out for him. "You were kind of restless last night…" Christina says, thinking back to the night before.
"Are you guys keeping tabs on me?" It's meant to be a joke, but neither of them find it funny.
"It's feminine intuition, Andre. You wouldn't understand." Jenni says dramatically before returning to their minor confrontation. "Okay…" Andre says, looking between them.
"How much sleep did you get last night? And do you feel more or less rested than yesterday? How would you rate your energy level on a scale of one to ten?" Christina rapidly fires questions at him. "Slow down, uh… a normal amount of sleep… and energy?" he offers, squinting in confusion.
"Are you dizzy right now?" Christina asks anxiously. "Do you want to sit down?" Jenni asks before he can answer Christina's question.
"No, I'm okay really…" he says with a raspy laugh. "Woah, can you breathe okay?" Christina immediately disregards the words that come out of his mouth; all she can focus on is an abnormality that might not even be there. Jenni rests her hand almost imperceptibly on the back of Christina's arm, sensing her rising panic.
"Yeah, I promise I'm fine." He's not laughing anymore… he thought their confrontation was a joke at first, but now he's feeling as though they're teaming up on him for some unknown reason. Christina feels a little dejected when he looks to her with an expression of beytrayal and confusion.
Maybe he is fine and she's just seeing things that aren't there. She opens her mouth to apologize, but she's interrupted.
Andre turns when he hears Reid call his name. Jenni and Christina look in that direction too, but they don't take all of their attention away from him. They watch him get roped into a conversation with Reid and one of their geology experts, and Christina looks to Jenni, unsure of what else they can do.
She seems to read her mind. "Let's just watch him carefully and make sure he doesn't separate from the group at all. And you, Tina, just try and keep the rumination at bay and talk to me if you start noticing anything else, okay?"
Christina nods, but she's not entirely satisfied with that answer. The feeling in her gut is only getting worse. She's not sure how she's going to be able to get any work done…
Okay, Christina… take a step back.
It's not solely her responsibility to make sure he's okay. They're a team crew. They all take care of each other. If (when) Andre decides he's ready to admit that something's wrong, she and everyone else will be there to make sure he's okay. The same goes for all of them.
She takes a deep breath. Some of the pressure is lifted off her shoulders with that reminder— and by the reassuring squeeze Jenni gives her hand before returning to their task. But some of it remains…
—
Christina watches Andre like a hawk for the rest of the day. Occasionally, he notices that she's staring and will eye her strangely, raising his eyebrows and giving her a goofy smile.
She keeps thinking about what Jenni said. There's a physical reason for intuition: she just hasn't been able to consciously place it yet. But definitely not for lack of trying!
She knows the symptoms of altitude sickness by heart, which is currently her top concern for all of them. Andre's not displaying any of them, but that doesn't mean he isn't feeling them. She's overanalyzing his every move as he digs through his bag, looking for a protein bar, when Jeremy approaches her.
"Nana…" she turns her head so fast she almost gives herself whiplash. "What's wrong?" She doesn't bother asking if he's okay, she can tell by his shaky voice that he isn't.
"I'm not feeling very well." Her heart drops as all the pieces click into place. She doesn't have time to dwell though, because Jeremy looks two seconds away from collapse. "Okay," she looks over towards the rest of the group, trying to determine if anyone else is witnessing this.
Reid's looking right at her with a questioning expression. She gently grabs Jeremy's arm, about to gesture him over for help, when he swoons into her.
"No, you're too big for that. Sit down," she implores, quickly guiding him down onto the black sand beneath them. He catches her hand when she starts to pull away, whimpering almost imperceptibly. Within seconds, his head is resting on her shoulder, and his hand is gripping hers desperately.
"You're okay," she murmurs mindlessly, "I'm not going anywhere, Jere." Reid's at their side seconds later. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know, I just… really don't feel good…" Jeremy says, breathing heavily. "It came on suddenly?" Reid asks. Christina shakes her head… it couldn't have. Now that she's thinking about it, she's been noticing mild symptoms in him all day. Shit, why hadn't she flagged them earlier?
"No, but it was manageable before." Christina and Reid share an unimpressed look. "Why didn't you say something?" Christina asks with a frown.
"I… I didn't think it was anything. I'm sorry." Christina sighs heavily. He may have made a mistake, but he has no one to apologize to… except maybe to himself… and Catherine, who would definitely have some choice words for him if she were here.
"We'll talk about that later. What are you feeling? And why is it unbearable now?" she asks, prying gently as she digs through his backpack to find the first-aid kit, with her free hand.
"I've just been feeling kind of sick… almost like the feeling right before an illness. It wasn't too bad, I swear… but then it started getting harder to breathe." She really doesn't like the sound of that.
Reid crouches down in front of Jeremy and pulls one of his gloves off for a moment in order to palm his forehead. "I think he's a little warm, but it's also hard to tell when everything else is so cold," he reports, shivering slightly as he puts the glove back on.
"What's going on?" It's Andre… Christina looks up at him briefly enough to give him a guilty look. She's definitely going to have to apologize about all of this later.
"Seems like Jeremy might be suffering from altitude sickness." It's a bit of a leap, but considering the presentation, their location and the lack of other significant possibilities… it makes the most sense.
"Any idea how bad?" He asks with a wince. "Bad enough…" Christina says, finally finding a thermometer and pulse oximeter. Blood pressure: 102/76, blood oxygen: 94%, temperature: 37.5
They're not alarming numbers by any means (although that 94 is not pretty), but considering his other symptoms, it doesn't make her feel any better about the situation. As she gathers more information by checking vitals and asking Jeremy specific questions, Reid and Andre gather the rest of their group to gather a plan for how to get him back down to their campsite.
They do have a stretcher, but given the terrain, it's going to be quite tedious. Scott had asked if there was any possibility that Jeremy could walk, but Christina dismissed the idea before Jeremy could even respond. Not that he would have had a particularly coherent response anyway. With every passing minute he's drooping further into Christina's side and becoming less responsive. She's no longer trying to diagnose him or ascertain the severity of his symptoms— what she missed— instead, just trying to help him remain as warm and calm as possible.
They eventually unfold the stretcher and lay it down on the ground next to Jeremy. He looks over at it, a few seconds passing before recognition sparks in his eyes and he quickly rolls onto it, relishing in the opportunity to be completely horizontal. His eyes slip shut as he settles down, but Christina can tell that it's voluntary.
"Try to stay awake, Jere…" she tells him and he reluctantly pries his eyes back open. "J-" he breaks off into a coughing fit, which only spikes her concern. Christina's hands hover inches away, unsure of what she can do to help.
The coughing eases after a minute and he tries to speak again. "Jenni," he requests weakly. She pops up on the other side of the stretcher. "I'm here," she says, giving his shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze, and casting Christina a knowing smile.
Reid and Andre lift either side of the stretcher and follow the rest of the team as they retrace the trail they walked this morning. Christina and Jenni stay close to Jeremy, one on either side.
It's clear that he's not loving the movement that comes with being carried. "It's alright, you'll start feeling better when we get you back down." Christina tells him when his anxious eyes meet hers for a moment.
"Just hang in there, buddy…" Jenni says what they're all thinking.
—
They settle Jeremy in one of the bigger tents so that the responsibility of his care is evenly dispersed. Kelsey uses a stethoscope to listen to his lungs and immediately determines that he needs an oxygen treatment.
Once they get him started with that and confirm that there isn't any brain swelling, they finally give him the okay to actually rest. Jenni sits closest to him while Christina stands a few feet away. Finally, she feels the adrenaline-fueled panic that has consumed her all day begin to subside.
He pulls the oxygen mask away for a second to mutter, "Catherine's going to be pissed…"
Jenni chuckles, before immediately putting his mask mask back on. "Probably, but I think she'll mostly be happy to know that you're alive." Jeremy nods, satisfied with that answer.
He inches closer to Jenni until she gets sick of it and just pulls him into her lap. "Are you sure this is okay?" Jeremy asks anxiously. "Of course," she responds without hesitation.
"I'm so sorry about all this," he frets. "I'm so sorry you're going through this," she counters with a sympathetic frown.
Christina rolls her eyes at how Canadian they both are. But they're fine and Jeremy's settled and not dying, so… she approaches Andre, who is standing just outside the tent, talking to Victor.
"I'm really sorry about this morning," she says before he even knows she's there. Andre looks at her inquisitively, seeming to have forgotten what occurred before Jeremy nearly collapsed. "Oh, for that? It's no big deal… your concerns were mostly valid, but it seems like maybe they needed to be projected onto someone else…" He is so very right.
"I know, I know… still working on interpreting my intuition. Right concern, wrong person…" She really hopes he won't hold this against her.
"True, but I think this time was a fluke, I've seen you save lives thanks to your intuition before. You're doing well, Tina." She nods, but she can't quite take his compliment to heart. Part of her still feels guilty— both that she had wrongly accosted Andre, and that she had missed the signs with Jeremy.
"Don't beat yourself up about it. Jeremy's okay, I'm okay, no feelings were hurt. I know how much you care about all of us. That's not a bad thing." She nods, giving him a short smile before looking at the ground. He opens his mouth to reassure her further, when she hears her name whisper-yelled.
"Christina," it's Jenni. She steps back into the large tent. "What?" she whisper-yells back with a slight laugh. "Sneak us some maple cookies," she pleads, giving her puppy-dog eyes and Jeremy agrees with a nod.
"Alright, alright… no need to beg… this isn't a real hospital," she jokes, grabbing the packet and bringing it to them. "Sit with us?" Jeremy asks, his voice just loud enough for her to make out. Her heart melts at the sight of them.
They're so much like siblings sometimes that Christina can't fathom that they're not related. She settles down next to Jeremy and he positions himself perfectly in between the both of them. (Later, he would describe that as a strategic choice to conserve heat, but anyone who was there could tell you that it was purely for comfort.)
Andre joins them after a while, followed by Reid, and then Victor, until eventually the whole team is gathered around Jeremy's now sleeping body in a circle. They make sure to take plenty of pictures to show to Jeremy, since he slept through the majority of their epic campfire-without-a-campfire-cuddle-circle.