hacked title number 6

Layla woke soon after Lex, hearing the disturbance, and called for Gaster. Gaster came in and fitted Lex with the dreaded Oxygen mask and lowered the bed a little. Layla grabbed Lex's hand and held onto it firmly, if only to let him know he wasn't alone right now.

Lex gripped Layla's hand without thinking who's it was.  He gasped into the mask, his lungs working enough only to sip air.  Sipping was enough with the oxygen mask, but his head still spun from lack of oxygen.  His lungs just couldn't work enough.

Gaster tried to do some chest compressions to force some more air into Lex's lungs. Layla whimpered softly and held Lex's hand tightly.

This time lasted longer than any of the others, but at last, just as it had suddenly stopped, his breathing returned. Lex gasped, sucking in lungfulls of air.

Gaster wiped some sweat from his brow as Lex breathed again. "Lex, we are doing those X-Rays and Ultrasounds today." he said seriously. "I don't want to risk another breathing attack like that one again, and I want you on oxygen as much as possible until we make a breakthrough."

Layla released a held breath of relief as Lex's breathing became manageable on his own. She never thought she would be more relieved to hear someone gasping for air as she did then.

Lex managed a faint nod, pain in his eyes.  He still hadn't let go of Layla's hand.  He didn't even realize he was clutching her hand.

Gaster fiddled with the IV drip, adding more intense level tranquilizer in it to calm Lex and numb pain. He would allow Lex to be able to relax some and regain his breath before preforming the scans.

Layla just gave Lex's hand a gentle squeeze. "You'll be fine." She assured Lex. "You're the strongest person I know. If anyone can get through this, it'll be you."

Lex glanced at Layla then kept looking at her.  Her face was a lot nicer to look at than the room around him.  He focused on breathing, on the beat of his heart, on the shape of Layla's face, anything but the pain.

Layla kept talking, just hoping it helped. She didn't really talk about anything in particular, just whatever came to her mind. She planned on talking as long as it took for Lex to relax more or tell her to be quiet.

The words worked.  Little by little, Lex's hand on Layla's relaxed until it was a normal, gentle hand holding.  He blinked, the drugs making him sleepy.

Layla smiled gently when she saw him get drowsy. "Rest now, okay? I'll stay here with you." She promised.

Lex didn't want to sleep.  Whenever he slept, bad things happened.  He didn't want to wake up with new stitches.  But at last, he did drift off into a drug induced sleep.

While Lex was asleep, all Gaster did was perform the X-Ray, which didn't require anything but Lex being still. Gaster looked at the results on his computer in his office, while Layla fell asleep with her head on the edge of Lex's bed, still holding his hand.

Shuni tiptoed in and looked over Gaster's shoulder.  "What's that?"

"It's an X-Ray." Gaster explained. "It shows your bones and other hard things in your body, without having to cut into anyone. This is Lex's X-Ray."

"What is it telling you?" Shuni asked.

"Sam!  Time to go get Paul!" True called.  "After we pick up Paul, let's head to the lab."

"Several things." gaster said with a sigh. "How is Ashton?"

Sam put the last thing away. "Coming!" He called back before grabbing his coat and meeting True and kat by the door.

"He's sleeping now," Shuni told him.  "He needs rest."

True smiled at his younger brother and led the way out the door.  "They'll be fine.  Lex will be fine."

Gaster nodded. "Good." He pulled some paper off of his printer and stapled them together. "Would you please give these to Miss Geena for me? It's the report I had to get done today."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, but I still worry." he walked beside True as they went.

Shuni nodded and bore the papers to Geena.  When he returned, he didn't come alone.  Geena walked with him, hand in his.

"Me, too," True sighed.  He was silent the rest of the trip to the school and sat rocking back and forth slightly as they waited.

Gaster swallowed a little when he saw her. "Geena." He greeted softly. The doctor's chest started to hurt all over again after what happened between them.

While they waited, Kat tried to reassure True. "True, he's in good hands. Gaster, Layla, and Ashton won't let anything bad happen to him if they have a say in it."

Geena smiled tentatively.  "I heard about Lex.  I'm here to help.  I'm here for you.  Your family."

"I know, but I'm still worried," True sighed.  "There are things even they can't fix."

Gaster took a shuddering breath. The doctor felt worn thin, and it probably showed more than he would have liked. "Well, for starters, it doesn't appear any foreign object is causing the headaches, but I did find a couple of potentially worrysome spots." He hesitated. "Shuni, could you please give me a moment alone with Geena?" Gaster had an idea, and knew his sons would disapprove if they caught word of it, but he wasn't even sure if it was possible yet. Also, he wanted to apologize to Geena again.

Kat kissed his cheek gently. "But your father will exhaust every option he can before admitting defeat. You know that."

Shuni nodded.  "I'll go check on Ashton."  He scurried out, leaving the pair alone.
Geena looked up at the X-Rays then back at Gaster.  "What is your idea?" she asked softly.  She knew him well enough to know he had an idea.

"I know," True said softly.  "Thank you for being here."

"Those devices.... I have the slightest idea what they do." Gaster said softly, pointing to the pump next to Lex's heart and the other one at the base of his neck. "I don't know if they're good, or if they're bad. I... I have nothing to go off of, and I don't want to perform surgery if it can be avoided." He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Geena.... if I gave you the key card and directions, could you find Proditor's laptop in deep storage and retrieve it for me? And you couldn't tell my sons. Not until I know something. Proditor, my old assistant, was a vile and despicable man, and there is a lot of animosity towards him in this family, more than most. However, I cannot deny that he was smart, and some secrets may lie in his notes."

Kat smiled softly as a happy Paul raced out of the school and immediately gave Sam, Kat, and True all bear hugs.