Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 4:40 PM EST



I reached the floor Jacob is on. I exit the elevator and head toward his room. The Nurses station is in sight and much to my surprise - and my delight - Nurse Caitlyn is working. Naturally, I stop and lean on the counter looking at her as she works.


She doesn't notice I'm there at first. She turns her chair to grab something off the counter directly in front of me and she nearly falls out of it.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Hahaha."

NURSE CAITLYN: "Jesus Christ! Don't do that to me! You scared the shit out of me!"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "You don't say!"

NURSE CAITLYN: "Why are your eyes red? Aww, were you crying?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "No."



Maybe.



NURSE CAITLYN: "What are you sad about?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I'm not sad. I'm tired."



That's not altogether a lie, but it's not altogether true neither.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Any changes?"

NURSE CAITLYN: "His brain waves continue to increase. Dad isn't satisfied that it's significant yet."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Is he ever?"

NURSE CAITLYN: "Not until they open their eyes."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "In this business, I guess it's understandable."

NURSE CAITLYN: "I go on break in an hour. You wanna...."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Do I wanna what?"



I know what she's talking about. I'm just not giving her the satisfaction of beating around the bush.



NURSE CAITLYN: "You know. Like last night. On the roof."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Ohhh. Mehh. I don't know. It's like 85 degrees out there. Maybe tonight."

NURSE CAITLYN: "Ahhhhhh!"



Desired reaction? Achieved.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "What are you doing here anyway?"

NURSE CAITLYN: "Oh, Jackie called off, so I told them I'd cover."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with me being here, would it?"

NURSE CAITLYN: "Pffft! No!"



That laugh. It gets to me.


No doesn't always mean yes. This no, means yes.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I'm heading in. Come see me later."

NURSE CAITLYN: "Ohhh, I think you could count on that, Sebastian."



Ha! I know.


I head into the room and Dr. Nguyen is snoring in the chair. Loudly. Part of me says to let him snore. If his snoring doesn't wake Jake, nothing will. Of course, what fun would that be. Should I kick him and wake him up?


Damn right.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Wake up!"

DR. NGUYEN: ".....Cheeseburger....."



What the fuck is he dreaming about?



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I got Caitlyn pregnant. And I'm not gonna marry her!"

DR. NGUYEN: "YOU SON OF BITCH!"



Yep. That woke him up.



DR. NGUYEN: "What you mean you marry Caitlyn!?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Relax. It's a joke."



The old doctor wipes his eye and sits up.



DR. NGUYEN: "Well, it wasn't a very funny one."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Any changes?"

DR. NGUYEN: "Brain waves have increased. I'm reluctant to make a call either way, though."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Why?"

DR. NGUYEN: "They could be very lucid dreams. The type of pain killers he is on is very much hallucinogenic. It could be nothing more then that."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "If we lower the dosage?"

DR. NGUYEN: "Well, it could make it easier to determine, but..."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "But what?"

DR. NGUYEN: "He could endure too much pain."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Is there a way to determine his pain levels?"

DR. NGUYEN: "At this stage of the game? Heart rate, really."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Then lower the dosage. If his rate rises, then we'll raise it back up."

DR. NGUYEN: "Everyone is a doctor!"



Dr. Nguyen stands from his chair and walks over to the machine pumping the drugs into Jacob. He punches in a code, open the cover, hits a few buttons, then closes the cover.


I wait a few minutes before speaking.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "His heart rate hasn't yet increased. Lower it again."

DR. NGUYEN: "Sebastian, I'm hesitant to do so."



What happened to Mr. Duke? I guess fornicating with his daughter puts us on a first name basis.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Why?"

DR. NGUYEN: "It's a very highly addictive drug he's on. If I lower it much more, he could begin to withdrawal."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "So?"

DR. NGUYEN: "If he withdrawals then it could cause mistakes from myself and others misinterpreting the symptoms he exhibits."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "How much time do you need?"

DR. NGUYEN: "I'd be comfortable lowering it again in four hours."



I pull out my phone to check the time.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "It's ten to five now. 9 PM sharp. That drug level gets lowered."

DR. NGUYEN: "Agreed."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Go to your office or the doctors lounge. Get some sleep. I'll call you if I need you."



I figured I'd be nice. Let the old man get a little sleep. Actually, I think I might get some sleep, also.