A ROUGH NIGHT FOR KATHERINE

by Donna and Abby

Rayden appeared in a shower of sparks at the foot of the bridge leading to K'immie Estates just before Connor arrived there. The Highlander was obviously furious, his eyes glowing intently in anger. He was on the way over the bridge with the intent of tearing Kronos' head off with his bare hands if need be. It was bad enough that the K'immie had broken into his home, but for him to have actually hurt Katherine was beyond excuse.

"Out of my way!" Connor growled, when his neighbor blocked his path.

"Listen to me!" Rayden said in a voice that cut through Connor's fury. Once he was sure he had the Highlander's attention, he continued. "I know you are angry, but you have to think of Katherine right now. She needs you by her side, not out headhunting right now."

"I canna allow him to get away with this!" Connor exclaimed.

"Trust me on this one, he won't. But now is not the time," Rayden said quietly, his eyes lit up with inner light. "To get to him right now you would have to go through those four." Connor looked up and glanced over at the other side of the river, where he saw the Four Horsemen standing with swords drawn and waiting for him.

Rayden rested his hand lightly on his friend's shoulder. "If you get yourself *killed*, even temporarily, it will hurt Katherine more than you can ever imagine. Think, my friend. Use your head." Connor glared at the four k'immies blocking his path to vengeance, the muscles in his jaw twitching with impotent rage. Without a word, he turned on his heels and walked back the way he came.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was several hours later before Connor had calmed down enough to be around Katherine again. He knew if he was to go into her presence with as much anger and frustration as he had been feeling, it would only get her even more upset. He stopped by the clinic first, only to be told she had gone home with Sarah Jo and John Clayton shortly after he had stormed out. He made his way back to his house, and taking a deep breath, entered in. He found John waiting for him, giving him an appraising look.

"You ok?" he asked. The highlander just shrugged and put up his sword.

"I've been better. Where's Kat?" he said as he walked over to the bar and poured himself a stiff drink.

"Upstairs in your room. She didn't want to go back in her room even after Rayden fixed that bloody great big hole in the wall that he sent Kronos sailing through. Sarah Jo has been sitting with her since we got back."

Connor tossed down the whiskey and poured another himself another one. He drank that one a little slower, then looked at his friend. "A bloody great big hole?" he asked with a slight chuckle.

John nodded and smiled himself, "Yes, Connor. I saw it before Rayden fixed it good as new. You could have rode a small elephant through it. Apparently throwing him out through the wall was only the beginning of what Rayden did to him. People are all still a buzz about how he used him as a lightning rod all the way through town."

"The good people are going to have even more to talk about when I finally get my hands on him," he said with an intent look in his eyes. Finishing the drink, he sighed deeply and walked upstairs. He stopped briefly and looked in the room he had made available for Katherine in case she wanted to *entertain* someone other than himself or John, but she mostly used it for her afternoon nap and to keep her clothes in it. All seem in order, and there was no trace of damage to the outside wall. Shaking his head, he then walked in the open door of his own bedroom. Katherine was laying propped up in the middle of the bed, with Sarah Jo sitting beside her.

Connor nodded at them both, then sat down on the other side of the bed. Sarah Jo grinned at him and leaned over and gave Katherine a hug.

"You call me if you need anything, you hear?" she told her. Katherine nodded in reply and Sarah Jo left the two of them alone.

Katherine moved into his strong arms and sighed happily as he held her tight, stroking her hair. They sat that way for quite awhile, before Connor finally broke the silence. "It's been a long day for you, hasn't it, lass?" he said quietly.

"Aye love, it has. But now that you are here, all is grand now." And to prove it, she pulled him down beside her. Connor chuckled slightly as he covered her willing mouth with his. With all the tenderness he could muster, he then made love to her; hoping by making her happy he could make the events of the day fade into nothingness. And for a little while, it actually worked.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Katherine had dozed for a couple of hours, and then Connor had tried to get her to eat a light supper. That had been a mistake, though. It bounced almost immediately, setting off a chain reaction of nausea and sickness that lasted all through the night. After each episode, she crawled back into bed, exhausted and getting progressively weaker. She tried to make light of how she was feeling but it was becoming obvious that she would need medical attention soon if this kept up. Her face was almost totally devoid of color, her skin cool and damp to the touch and she was shaking from the stress she was undergoing.

Connor and John had stayed up with her all night, and had been trying to talk her into letting them take her to the clinic. She was being difficult, saying that it would stop on it's own eventually. She fell into an exhausted sleep with her head on Connor's lap just about the time the sun came up. She had only been sleeping for a short while before another wave of nausea overcame her and she struggled to get out of bed and into the bathroom. Her legs gave out from underneath her and she collapsed half way there; curling up into a ball on the floor in pain, her abused stomach feeling like it was twisting itself into knots inside her.

"That's it! John, call Giles and tell him I'm bringing Kat in," Connor said as he held her in his arms till she stopped retching. She protested weakly as he wrapped her in a light blanket and picked her up off the floor and started out the door with her, but he ignored her. As soon as he got out the front door, he noticed one of the electric police cars parked across the street. Apparently they had decided to keep his house under surveillance. The door of the car opened immediately and the officer jumped out to help Connor with his limp burden. They put her in the back of the car and then the officer drove them to the clinic.

Giles heard his beeper go off and he rolled, catching it before it woke Lady. she murmured in her sleep and rolled closer, looking for his warmth. He smiled down at her, then looked at the beeper number. //Oh shit. I was afraid of this.// Although he knew damn well what was going on, he called the number anyway. "Okay," he told Greystoke, "I'm on my way. Gene should be there already, although you're about to catch him going off duty."

John Clayton apologized again for waking him and told him that he would see him there. In the meantime, the police car pulled up in front of the clinic. Connor gathered up Katherine again in his arms and carried her inside.

Giles wasn't far from work when he stayed with Lady. Bounding up, he began dressing. Lady woke and eyed him. "Don't tell me it's my sister?"

"No, Kat."

"What?" She sat up and Giles pushed her back gently. "She isn't losing it. She can't stop vomiting."

"Oh Pit. Go help her."

"I will. Whether she likes it or not."

When he arrived, a very tired looking Dr Sands was standing by the door. "I put her on fluids, but she doesn't look good. and she's torn the IV out twice, retching. There's nothing let to expel, but she is still spasming."

"Did you give her anything to stop it?" Giles asked as they hurried down the hall.

"Of course. No effect."

At the doorway, Giles looked at his exhausted friend and said, "Go home. I'll take care of it. Is Sarah Jo here?"

John Clayton looked up from the side of the bed where he was standing with Connor MaCleod, his face dark with concern. "She's on her way. I caught her over at Ev's house. She said she would throw some clothes on and be right here." As if right on clue, Sarah Jo breezed in the door.

Giles nodded to Sands, who seemed loath to leave during a crisis. But when Sarah Jo also assured them they would be able to handle it, he finally left. Giles looked at Katherine, who had once again pulled out her IV. Sarah went to comfort her friend but Giles said, "It won't work until she settles down." Closing his eyes, he seemed to concentrate for the briefest of moments, and suddenly Katherine went still. The retching had stopped completely. She turned to look at Giles, completely in shock.

"What did you do?" she asked weakly. "I could feel you doing something inside me, but it felt really strange." Sarah Jo took the opportunity to reattach the iv line and then took a set of vitals on her.

"I told you, if it got to be too much, I'd take it away completely. Now, I can give it back to you as a mild case of morning sickness, or it can be gone completely. Since you can virtually go through an entire pregnancy without any sickness, and still have a healthy child, I merely *thought* you being that way."

Katherine looked confused, still not completely understanding. Although the gut twisting nausea was gone, she was completely wore out. Not answering Giles, she turned over onto her side and closed her eyes. Sarah Jo looked up at Giles and told him her pulse was weak and thready, and her blood pressure 85 over 50.

"Okay, get that IV in," he ordered, checking her to see if she'd passed out. He could stop the vomiting, but she had to stabilize on her own, and the only thing that would help her do that was the fluids.

Sarah Jo checked the connection again. "I've got it on full drip now. You want me to put another line in?" She gently brushed back Katherine's damp hair, telling her it was going to be ok. Katherine nodded her head slightly in response, but kept her eyes closed.

"Yes, just until she stabilizes. We need to get her volume up." He looked at her helplessly. "There isn't a thing I can do until then."

Sarah Jo nodded and took Katherine's other arm in her lap, tying the elastic around her upper arm. Feeling around she located a vein she thought she could use and managed to get the needle in on the first try. She then taped it down and attached the iv line to it, turning up the drip on it as well. During all this John and Connor had stood quietly off to the side, watching everything closely but trying to stay out of the way. As they all watched, a little flush of color started to return to Katherine's face and she seemed to be breathing easier. Sarah Jo took another set of vitals, and looked up with a smile. "Blood pressure is rising, Doc, 90 over 60 now. And her pulse is stronger."

"Okay," Giles said, sighing just a bit with relief, "give her another few minutes and then take out the second IV. I don't want her getting too much." Sarah Jo nodded and turned her attention back to Katherine.

Connor looked over at Giles, his face almost as white as Katherine's. "Is she going to be ok? We were up with her all night, watching her. It just seemed she went downhill really quick."

"It was all the vomiting. Used up her fluids and her electrolytes. She's responding well, though, and she should be fine as long as we contain the nausea," Giles reassured him.

Sarah Jo grinned at Connor and John. "Looks like the two of you are just as tired as she is. We'll be keeping her here for awhile building up the fluids in her system. Why don't you go home and get some shut eye. We can call you when she is ready to go home."

Giles nodded. "We'll keep you updated." Turning to Connor, he said, "This is the safest place she can be." the Highlander didn't seem happy about leaving her, but Giles did have a point. Finally, the doctor said, "Sarah Jo, go make up a room." Then he went to see if Katherine was asleep or awake. When he gently laid a hand on her forehead her eyes fluttered open, and she mumbled something in Gaelic that caused both Connor and John to chuckle and shake their heads.

"Ok, Doc. We'll go. Just call us if anything changes." Sarah Jo took them both by the arms and escorted them out of the room.

Giles leaned close, wondering what she had said. His Gaelic wasn't that good. Okay, he didn't have ANY. "Kat?" he asked softly. "Kat, I need to know if it's okay to suppress the vomiting permanently, or I need to let nature take its course. Are you okay with it being totally gone?"

She reached out and patted his hand gently. "Most assuredly, dear Giles," she whispered. "Now tell that off-tune marching band in the next room to go away please. I just want to sleep until I wake."

"Off-tune . . .?" He looked around, bewildered. He didn't hear anything. Sarah Jo came in then, and together they wheeled Kat into a room. When she was settled into a bed, she went right off to sleep. "Keep an eye, eh Sarah Jo? I'm off to fill in her chart."

He was almost done when Sarah Jo buzzed him on the intercom. "She's awake, Doc, and complaining of a massive headache. Said there was a marching band playing in her head. And she's hungry." She added the last with a burst of laughter.

Giles echoed the laughter. "Consider the headache gone, Sarah Jo, and call over to Fitz, will ya, luv?" he said as got up from his desk and made his way to Kat's room.

When he entered Kat's room, she was sitting up in bed, looking 100% better. Seeing him enter, she smiled brightly at him. "Hi Giles! Did you do something to make my headache go away? It felt like someone was playing a bass drum in my head, but now it's all gone!"

"Headaches are easy," he grinned, coming close to hold her hand. He looked in her eyes. "You look lovely," he noted. "The glow's comin' back."

"Thanks! " she said with a wry grin, knowing she probably looked like a mess. "Cut the flattery, Giles. Isn't there anything to eat in this place? I'm starving of the Hunger!"

"Food's on its way." He moved her hair away from her face. "You look like you've gone through the ringer, Lass, but you are glowing. You all glow when you're in that way."

Katherine grinned happily at him, wanting so much to lean over and kiss him, but knowing he didn't want that while she was his patient. She had to settle with giving him a hug. "Thanks Giles. I appreciate all you are doing for me. And for being my friend." Sarah Jo then popped her head in the door. "Foods here!"

She helped Fitz bring in a selection of Sunday brunch items, enough for all three of them. Everyone laughed when Katherine's stomach growled at the smell of the food. Fitz gave her a kiss and a hug and told her he had to run. On the way out he paused and kissed Sarah Jo too, giving her a playful swat on her rear as he went out the door.

Giles smiled. "You eat up. That little lass wants food, and you better get used to feeding her!" To Sarah Jo, he said, "I'll be in my office. I ran out on Lady this morning and I want to be sure the twins didn't give her any trouble."

After awhile, Sarah Jo brought in the remains of the brunch to see if he wanted any of it. "She had a huge bowl of oatmeal and just about all of the fresh fruit. She turned her nose up at the meat but ate a few bites of the scrambled eggs. Then she rolled over and went back to sleep," she said with a grin on her face.

"Good. She needs the proteins but they are the hardest to take at the start. She'll start wanting them when the baby decides she needs it. Let her rest the remainder of the day, and after she wakes up, we'll see if she's strong enough to go home. You want me to call Connor, or do you want to tell him the happy news?"

"He's probably sleeping as sound as she is right now. Why don't you just drop him an email. Otherwise, I'll call him when she wakes up." She leaned over and gave him a big kiss, surprising him totally. "That's from Kat. She won't give you one herself right now because she knows you don't want it." She then leaned over and kissed him again, a little harder this time with her tongue tentatively exploring his mouth. "And that one is from me. Just for the heck of it." With that she turned and left the room, a sassy wiggle in her hips as she did so.

Giles tilted his head as he grinned. "You should watch it, Miss Eternal Virgin," he said softly to himself after she had closed the door, "Or you're going to get it good." He snickered to himself, remembering what Doc had confided. "And so will I."