Chapter Text
Jo woke up just as night was starting to fall. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, sitting a moment waiting to regain her equilibrium. She vaguely remembered fighting sleep, then String picking her up and carrying her from...
"Mike!"
She stood and ran from the room, running head-on into String.
"Whoa, there, girl," he said as he put a hand out to steady her. "Where's the fire?"
"Mike. Is he..."
"He's holding his own. Marella brought some supplies and is taking care of him."
Jo stiffened when he said that.
"Marella. One of Archangel's..."
"Yes. She'll take good care of him."
"String..."
"Now don't start sounding like my brother. I trust her. Do you trust me?"
Jo sighed and looked deflated. "Of course I do. It's just..."
"This whole leak business has us all on edge. I know."
She took a deep breath and hugged her cousin as he wrapped his arms around her. He held her for a minute, then released her.
"I was just coming to get you. Caitlin's cooked dinner."
Jo smiled, putting her arm around his waist as they headed for the stairs. "This whole domesticated/settling down thing suits you, you know?"
String snorted. "Yeah, that'll be the day."
"No, it does. Uncle Dom would be proud."
"Or maybe just relieved to have someone else besides him to be a mother hen over me."
"Speaking of mother hen, I have to be one and go check on Mike. I'll meet you downstairs. I promise."
After String threatened to come after her if she wasn't down in five minutes, she left him and made her way to the room that had become the hospital room. She felt her heart jump into her chest as she approached. Mike hadn't looked good the last time she saw him. What was she going to find? She hesitated at the door, took a deep breath and opened the door.
The dark-haired beauty she assumed was Marella looked around from where she was reading one of the monitors they had brought up. She smiled at Jo readily.
"Hi. You must be Jo."
Jo nodded and came forward to shake her hand. "I guess we didn't really get introduced when you were here last."
"Well, things were a little hectic."
She looked down at the bed where Mike was sleeping. "How is he?"
"Better." Marella said. She sat down on the bed and stroked his hair gently, causing Jo to have to swallow a surge of jealousy. "He's very strong. Not many could have come through what he was put through."
"Yeah," Jo admitted, sitting down on the other side of the bed. "Too bad we don't know why."
"I know it's hard for you to trust us," Marella said. "But believe me, Michael had no idea Dr. Carter would do this. He's known the man for years."
Jo picked up Mike's hand in hers, careful not to disturb the IV that Marella had obviously re-inserted when she arrived. "Right now, all that matters is that he pulls through."
"He will." Marella assured her. "I took blood samples and sent them back to our lab. I also gave him a blood transfusion...hopefully introducing healthy blood into his system will help him fight this off. I also brought antibiotics and pain medicine."
"Wow, you really know your stuff."
"Let's hope." Marella said, smiling sadly. "I've also sent Dr. Carter's kit back to the lab, as well as the banana bag from the IV he started. If something funny was in it, we'll figure it out."
"I don't think it's a question of if," Jo said dryly. "He did something to him, introduced some kind of biological...."
Jo stopped mid sentence, and she and Marella stared at one another as the same thought hit both of them.
"I'll call Michael" Marella said.
Jo nodded. "I'll go see if String has heard from the others."