Doctor Kathy Tucker and her staff were waiting in the emergency room when the ambulance pulled in.
As the driver and the paramedic started unloading the gurney with Rick Plunkett on it, Kathy shouted, "We're skipping the ER! Take him straight to the room we've prepared across from my lab, STAT!"
With that, two orderlies joined the driver in wheeling the gurney down the hall as the paramedic conferred with Tucker.
"Patient's vital signs are steadily falling," he told her, reciting the latest readings, taken just before they pulled in. "Fever is climbing. From 103 even to 104.1 on the ride over. Plus, the patient appears to be delusional. Says he's supposed to become a werecheetah. As if that's even possible," added the paramedic, unaware of Plunkett's previous visit and examination. "Two witnesses on the scene both claim that while the exposure was entirely accidental, the wound had closed and even started sprouting fur."
Kathy looked at the paramedic in amazement as the man said, "Whether or not that's true, by the time we arrived, the wound was open and bleeding, with no evidence of any fur growth. That rash spreading from the wound site started in route."
"This is an unusual situation, but don't worry, the patient's in good hands. We'll take it from here," said Kathy, before turning to join her staff.
Moments later, Kathy entered the patient room across from her lab. Rick had been completely stripped of all clothing and was now laying on a hospital bed with a light blanket covering his lower half. Various monitors were hooked up and showing low, but at the moment stable vital signs.
Yet what concerned Doctor Turner most was the partial bag of O Normal, Female blood hanging from the IV Rod.
"THAT'S ALL THERE IS?" asked Kathy, shocked to see such a low donation.
"That's all that's been processed," replied her assistant, reminding her of the chromosome isolation procedure. "We're waiting to see if the Maternity Ward can give us the pint they have reserved, but that's dependent on whether or not the woman about to go into labor will need a C-section."
"What about the call to other hospitals?"
"All ready made. Seattle's rushing three pints to us as we speak, although naturally, they don't know the true nature of the emergency. Haven't heard back from Spokane or Portland yet."
"The other shots we discussed earlier?" asked Tucker, as she stared at the wound on Plunkett's lower left arm. It had been cleaned and was no longer bleeding, but looked bad. The cut was technically light, but swelling, with a bright red rash growing from it to reach the crook of his elbow and the edge of his left wrist. Under better circumstances, would that be fur? she wondered.
"Already administered the first doses," was the response.
Doctor Tucker stared at her assistant, realizing everyone was doing the best they could. Or were they?
With that, she turned and stared at Rick Plunkett, lying unconscious before her. She bent down and brushed a strand of hair away from his left ear before saying, "Rikki? Can you hear me? It's Doctor Tucker. Your moment is at hand. Your dreams are within your grasp, but you have to help us Rikki. Embrace the change. Welcome the werecheetah and enjoy your transformation. Relish the pleasures of having fur, a tail, and claws along with all your feminine charms. The Were Society of Moon Lake is anxiously awaiting the chance to celebrate the debut of Rikki Plunkett the werecheetah! Don't keep us waiting honey!"
AN HOUR LATER...
A tired Doctor Kathy Tucker walked out of the hospital room and discovered her husband Frank across the hall, sitting on the floor next to the door to her lab.
"How are you and how's—" he began, standing up to greet her.
"Me and our foal are as well as can be," she said, rubbing her swollen stomach with their growing child inside. "We've managed to stabilize the patient's condition, but the outcome is still uncertain right now," replied his wife, before bringing Frank up to date. "The maternity ward didn't need their pint after all, so we're processing it now. Seattle's donation should be here within the hour. Spokane only has one pint available, but Portland's sending two. Hopefully those will be enough, because we don't dare cast a wider call without risking the exposure of the whole town and revealing weres exist. But we'll have all the donations here and prepared by nightfall. Repaying the favors is something we'll have to worry about later. Meanwhile the battle's far from over, but we've done all we can, for now. The rest is up to Plunkett," said Kathy. "Now tell me everything that happened, and don't leave anything out!"
Frank Tucker honored his wife's request, recapping their trip back to the horse ranch in hopes of tracking down the were-gorilla, Sasquatch, or whatever it was that he photographed. Then he explained what happened with Diane.
"She genuinely thought she was helping by trying to scare Rick off the chase. Scratching him was a total accident," concluded Frank.
"We can deal with that later. Where is Diane now? We might need her soon," said Kathy, looking around for her niece.
"I've failed her honey. As both a big brother and a legal guardian."
"What are you talking about dear?" asked Doctor Tucker, with growing concern in her voice.
"Turns out today is far from the first time she's played hooky from school without my knowledge, so they've arrested her for truancy," revealed her husband.
"Well, I can't say I'm surprised, but the worst that can happen is she faces charges as a juvenile and might have to repeat this grade," realized Kathy. "We can handle that when the time comes, together," she stressed, while clasping her husband's hands in hers. "But where is she now?"
"That's just it. After that whole mess with that rogue were-vixen, the police are also detaining her until the DA decides whether or not to charge Diane with any violation of Statue 1-A!"
"GREAT!" shouted Kathy in anger. Final sentencing of Yvette Smith, who changed two people against their will into werefoxes, was pending the results of the medical and psychological tests being conducted. Unless the court decided to show any leniency because of whatever the exams revealed, Smith was looking at 50 years to life for each count of Statue 1-A against her.
Not knowing what else to do, Frank held Kathy tenderly in his arms until she said, "Okay. I'll start making a few phone calls. You go down to the police station and see what you can do on that end. But the moment we get her released, even if it's just temporarily for this medical emergency, you make sure she gets back here stat! Every second is crucial!"