They both looked anxious, so I quickly helped Dawn sit up. She leaned against my shoulder, letting me support most of her weight while she continued to suffer from the pain.
Seeing Dawn covered in sweat and her brows knitted tightly in pain, Dr Jones checked her vitals and everything, while Catherine held her hands, trying to give her some support.
Dawn was resting against me, the pain less than I was used to seeing her. She was able to keep her eyes closed, which meant her pain wasn't too much.
Suddenly, Dawn's eyes shot open with a gasp. "Dawn! You okay??" Catherine asked, squeezing Dawn's hand tightly.
Dawn tossed her head to the right, gasping out again in pain, and moaned, "Lucas.."
"I'm here, Dawn, I'm here," I said, stroking her hair and trying my best to comfort her.
Dr Jones called someone on the phone, and I could tell it was my uncle on the other side. "Dr Johnson will come with the meds as soon as he can, so under ten."
"Think he could make it in five?" I asked, hoping for Dawn's sake so that she would suffer less.
"He can, I'm sure. I could hear him running before he got off the call."
I nodded and hugged Dawn, trying to help her cope. Dawn was groaning again, her pain increasing so that she couldn't close her eyes. Dawn was panting for breath, her body jerking from time to time.
"Lucas…" Dawn groaned out again, "Help me…"
She was on the verge of crying from the pain. It was a miracle she wasn't panicking. Dawn grasped the arm I wrapped around her.
I tried to soothe her, but she was nearing panic mode.
"Dawn, I'm here for you. Just hold on!" Catherine said, trying to help her calm down as well.
Dawn moaned in pain and curled into her left side, leaning into my body for support. She freed her hand from Catherine's grip, wrapping one arm over my shoulder and the other under my armpits.
I hugged her tightly in return, resting my head on hers. I shut my eyes tightly, rocking side to side in an attempt to comfort her. Dawn wept, keeping her face hidden and mumbling that it hurts.
Dr Johnson entered after what felt like ages. Before anyone could ask him why he took so long, he said, "I made it here in five minutes. It took that because I had to get the drugs for her, okay?"
"It felt like an hour," Catherine remarked, and we all agreed.
Dawn's gasp brought us back to reality and before he could do anything, Dr Jones spoke first. "I've checked everything. Give her the extra painkillers, the amount we had considered for a situation like this. It's worse than what we expected, I can give that much, so you can give her that much."
"Why not give her more?" Catherine asked, thinking on the same track as I was.
"If we do, she may need stronger medicine when her pain intensifies. That may make us use heavier doses or even opioids. We don't want that happening, mainly because there is a chance that she may become addicted, no matter how little and a short time we give her." Dr Jones spoke while my uncle prepared to inject the painkillers.
However, Dawn flinched from the pain at that moment and freed her arm from his grip, holding my arm instead. So I held that arm out and he was able to inject the medicine in.
"Do you think Dawn would remember all of this after the pain becomes manageable?"
"She may just recall bits and pieces, but it wouldn't feel realistic to her like she woke up from a bad dream. Why?"
"So she wouldn't remember what the pain felt like?"
"Yeah. Or she may. We can't be 100% sure on this, you know that."
I nodded, at least a bit relieved that Dawn wouldn't remember the pain like this. It would be torture to remember it to the finest detail."
Dawn's face relaxed after a few minutes, and she finally looked peacefully asleep. I held her in my arms for an hour and let out a breath when I still saw her sleeping peacefully.
I was able to lay her down and rest on my bed, closing my eyes to get some rest without worrying about Dawn's state.
My eyes opened to find the clock reading 3 p.m. I shot up, wondering why no one woke me and found Dawn talking with Catherine. I met eyes with them and Dawn started to blush.
I walked over to them, stifling a yawn, and asked, "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"You were so deeply asleep. Plus, you needed that sleep, too. It's not easy supporting someone emotionally."
Dawn's blush intensified at her comment, so I asked, "Did she tell you what had happened?"
"I didn't remember much of it, so she confirmed that it wasn't a dream and I forgot a lot of it. But she didn't tell me anything about the bits I forgot, except that I relied on you more than anyone."
"You were literally glued to him, and Lucas didn't seem to mind."
"At least there was someone that could help you at that time. Imagine if that wasn't possible." I said, trying to make a point.
"Yeah, that's true." Catherine commented, acknowledging the possibility as well.
There was a bag on the desk, with a note on top. "What's that?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Dr Jones dropped this off a few minutes ago. She told me to give it to you after you wake up. She somehow knew it would be soon, but left anyway because of something."