I read the note, which said, "The food that you didn't eat. I'm sure someone would forget to remind you to eat up, so eat this before dinner. I'm sure this is part of the reason why you woke up now. There was nothing attached, but I could imagine her smiling when she wrote that last sentence.
I dumped the contents on my table and rattled out a cup of Fruit Loops(wonder how she knew they were my favourite), a small pack of milk, an assorted fruit cup, and a packet of orange juice.
Catherine looked at it and said, "Guess this was why she took two packs. I guess it was a good idea since we both forgot."
"Yeah, she mentioned that in the note, too."
"Anything else?" Catherine asked. Maybe she had something in mind? I wasn't sure what that was about.
"No, that's it. Why?" It wasn't like she had anything to tell me about.
"Isn't today your test day with her?"
That reminded me. Although it was fake, we should be seeing each other for that.
"I… don't know. Maybe she'll come later to tell me about that. Or maybe my uncle told her to give me a break today."
I doubted my uncle would have allowed that. It wasn't like him to let me take a break even when I'm the one who was sick. I would be doing my job at home and he'd check if I'd finished after he returned from the hospital to check my state. That was his default mode and the only time he didn't — or more likely couldn't — give me work was when I'd gotten COVID-19. I was in my worst state and while doing the work he requested me to do, I fainted and was sent to his hospital via ambulance. I was stuck in the quarantine ward until I was completely freed from the virus and had to finish the work within that week. (I got out on Saturday, which says how evil he is.)
"Perhaps she'll come later in the day or something. She isn't the type to just ignore someone like that, you know."
"Of course I am." Dr Jones entered at that note, entering with a nurse behind her.
The clock read 6:30, which felt weird. "I thought it was only 5 or something like it."
"Well, no, the clock is correct. About your test day, I'm not doing it, but your uncle doesn't know this. If he ever comes in to ask you on this matter, tell him to talk to me." She said and handed me a bag with my dinner, staring intently at my face.
"What?" I asked, wondering if I looked that bad.
"Yes, you look that bad. Catherine, you're in charge of Dawn until I tell you you're free to go. Lucas, you're getting a check-up and isolated into a different building where you can't see Dawn. While that's going on, I'll have to talk to the other folks about your welfare here and at Downy. Until that talk is settled and we've got a clear solution for you, you're not allowed to set foot in this room, excluding the situation like Dawn searching for you. You're not allowed to disagree."
So I was dragged through the basic tests for everything and the results were not surprising. All of my vitals were normal, but I was under a lot of stress and missing sleep. "I knew it was going to end like this. Why do you have to take this to the extreme and forbid me from looking after Dawn?"
"Because you're looking after her, not "seeing." Do you realise you just said that? Probably not, as it feels like such an obvious thing to you. This amount of devotion and dedication is something we adore for carers but also don't like much: the pain you feel after this person leaves will become too much to handle. So we need to check your state constantly to prevent you from "following her" as we call it."
Their concern had justice, I suppose. In her view, she just doesn't want to lose a valuable asset for the hospital. In other words, she just wants to make sure I receive the same treatment for the work I'm doing while I'm working here.
But why does this make me feel… dirty? It felt awkward — no, weird — for me to ask them to treat me as they're supposed to.
Then I realised why: I'm not officially employed. They technically have no reason to give me money just like all the other family members. But they're giving me this amount because I was going to work for them.
It can be summarised quite simply: it feels like I'm receiving "special" treatment.
"Wouldn't other people go against this?" I asked her while she got me settled in a room.
She just laughed at that and said, "No, of course not. You're doing much more work than the other people and you can even say you're overworking as your work has no ending time. All of us have been watching what you were doing that night through the camera we installed in Dawn's room. They all said you look like a professional and are doing so much more work than a family member or carer would do. You're doing the two jobs at the same time. That's why everyone can't complain about this. Also, the people you're worried about will never know: they already thought you were just one of the nurses without an outfit."
She must have decided it wasn't enough to persuade me, so she added this on top. "This was a topic we had to broach ever since you joined us in the weirdest way ever. We just decided this would be a perfect time since you need the rest and we've got proof to convince the upper folks of your expertise."
"The only reason this topic is on the table is that you weren't employed the correct way." My uncle entered, carrying two bags with him plus a messenger bag.
"What's all that?" I asked, wondering if I'll be stuck in this room forever.
"Your clothes and other things. The other stuff is in your room at Downy. They're getting things ready for Dawn's stay because they've got a place empty to get things ready for you both."
"That room may get reserved during Dawn's stay here. Or are you perhaps implying that Dawn wouldn't last long?"
"No, no, that's not what I mean, of course not. The room we reserved for Dawn is empty mainly because of the size and price." Dr Jones then explained in more detail about the room's state and everything, including why it's fine to hog that room.
After that, I was persuaded and my uncle, getting bored while Dr Jones persuaded me, organised my things for me. "This room is where you'll stay until we let you go. Until then, you're not allowed to leave without our permission. The purpose of shoving you in here is rest, so rest and don't think about Dawn. Especially don't worry about her. I'll contact you through Catherine if things happen."
That comment made me worry less, but I was still worried. I hoped she would not need me.