Infections of a Different Kind of Human

10. The Seed

Owen was right, Amelia had become an outer shell of the person she used to be, and he couldn't help but blame Tom for it. All she would do is sleep all day, and when she wasn't sleeping, she was simply staring off into the distance or at people as if she couldn't figure out who they were. The only good thing that had come out of the last day or so was the fact that she was able to breathe on her own now.

"It was just a little bit of blood..."

"It shot out at you!" Owen reminded Tom, "Her brain activity was decreased after. You gorked her."

"I did not gork your precious little ex-wife," Tom retorted, glaring at Owen. He hated being questioned about his work, and he and Owen had been at each other's throats since the surgery had passed. "She's been very responsive, physically."

"So then why won't she say anything?" Owen accused.

"Maybe she's not speaking because she doesn't want to talk to you," Tom spat back at him, "And, another thing-,"

"Will you shut up," Amelia grumbled, catching the attention of the two doctors arguing in front of her. Both Owen and Tom looked at Amelia in shock, while she stared at them with a face of distress.

"Did she just speak French?" Owen called out immediately, pointing at her.

"What? No I'm not," she answered them.

"That is definitely French," Tom affirmed, completely entranced by the phenomenon, "Why does she know French?"

"Hey, how's it going?" Derek asked, not knowing the confusion he and Maggie had stepped into once they walked through her patient doors, "Any verbal responses?"

"Water?" Amelia managed to say, her voice hoarse from her throat being dry.

"That's...French..." Derek muttered, staring at her in confusion. She repeated the word again, and this time, Maggie fulfilled her request, pouring a glass of water out for her and bringing it to her with a straw.

Whilst she helped her drink, Owen asked, "Is this a permanent thing?"

"It usually goes away on its own," Derek summarised, "But hey, at least she's talking."

"I'll order another scan in the meantime," Tom insisted, nonetheless, "If she's like that for too long, then something may still be wrong." He glared at Owen one last time before exiting the room, and Owen rolled his eyes.

"Did anyone see that?" the trauma surgeon said aloud, looking at Maggie and Derek, "There is something seriously wrong with that guy."

Derek sighed, trying to ignore him as he scrolled through Amelia's chart on his iPad. Owen had become really unhinged since the surgery, and he was beginning to get on everyone's nerves. They understood how complicated things were for him right now, between raising four kids alone and having to bounce between them and the hospital where Amelia was staying at, but it was worrying how easily angered he would get sometimes, or how dismissive he would also be at other times. Sometimes he'd say really inappropriate things to the kids, and other times he'd just shut off and say nothing. His behaviour was erratic, and it was affecting everyone around him. Derek worried mostly about Ryan and Rosie, as they were old enough to understand and receive the full brunt of stress that this situation had caused in their dynamic with their parents. Which meant they could present with their own mental symptoms at some point, and that would be cause for even more trouble.

———

"That's the twins."

"And this is?" Owen further prodded, switching to another picture on his phone. Amelia looked at the photo and furrowed her eyebrows. "Amelia?"