Just A Simple Exchange

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Ch. 24
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Magnum's fever continued to rise over the next few hours. He was reliving old missions, some from before Rick and TC had first started to be teamed with he and Nuzo. The one-sided conversations were giving the duo a window into the SEAL's life when he and Nuzo had been assigned to different teams to fill them out for various assignments. These missions were from before Thomas and Nuzo's first tour in Iraq, before they met Robin, from their earliest days as SEALS together. And, by the sounds of things, they had been pretty gnarly experiences for both men.

Rick had taken to taping TM's mutterings; hoping to ask him about the missions when his friend was better. TC had advised him they were probably all still classified, but Rick persisted anyway. Honestly, TC just hoped they would get the chance to ask Thomas to share the full stories. Their boy was really, really ill and Theodore was seriously beginning to get worried. Usually Thomas bounced back quickly when hurt or sick, something that even their time as POW's hadn't taken from him, but Calvin felt like this time their friend was just getting worse and no sign of improvement. The chopper pilot was feeling the beginnings of fear, that the current situation was one time too many for Thomas' seemingly gifted nine lives. He didn't share that fear with Rick, not wanting to bring his friend down, but, he really was getting worried.

Finally, he took a turn to go and get coffee for him and Rick and as he left the room, he took out his phone and called Shammy. He needed to talk to someone about his growing concern.

Shammy heard him out, heard the fear behind what he was saying, and advised him. "TC, ever since I first met you and Rick, you've always talked about how Thomas is a survivor, always. I still believe that. Give him time for the new antibiotics to kick in."

"I hear you, Shammy, and I know, but I have never seen him so completely miserable for so long. He barely rests before the dry heaves wake him up again and the pain is not being controlled. I'm really worried."

"Keep on keeping on, TC. Things will turn a corner soon…"

"Yeah, but, in which direction, bro?"

"The right one, TC. The right one."

"I should probably call Father Mike. He can put Thomas on the chapel's prayer chain." TC pondered, aloud.

"Let me do that for you, so you can get back to Rick with the coffee, okay?" Shammy offered. He had come to really like the affable private investigator in the short time he had gotten to know him. The man had been through so much in his lifetime, this just couldn't be the end to his story. If he died, Rick and TC would be devastated to lose another member of their ohana. Thomas Sullivan Magnum the Fourth was not going to be taken down by this - no way, no how. He had no problem calling Father Mike Murphy and getting the Prayer Warriors of Pearl on the case. Hopefully, that would be the turning point Magnum needed to start improving. Somebody needed to give the SEAL a hand up at this point.

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After feeding and playing with the lads a bit, Juliet Higgins took a shower and went to bed, but she just couldn't drift off. It was amazing how much Magnum had worked his way inside her defenses. She was genuinely worried about him to a degree she would not have thought possible not that long ago. She went back down to her office and opened up her laptop and began researching the topics of Thomas' injuries, the complications he was dealing with, the infection the doctor had said he had and the exact nature of the antibiotic the urologist had switched him to. Web MD was not her friend by the time she was done. The thought that they might soon have to start Magnum on dialysis if he didn't begin putting out more urine, the meaning of kidney failure and what that would do exactly to his lifestyle if his kidneys didn't recover horrified her. Good Lord, she was worried earlier, now she felt tendrils of real fear stalking her. The odds Thomas was facing seemed stacked against him, indeed. Okay, that had put paid to any hope of her sleeping tonight. She was considering just going back to the hospital when Kumu walked in.

"Juliet, what are you doing up so late? Didn't Rick and TC send you home to get some rest?"

"Yes, but I couldn't sleep." Higgins started to explain.

Kumu moved behind her and looked at the screen of her laptop. "Somehow I doubt trawling the internet for more information on what Magnum is dealing with is going to help you sleep, Higgins. Come on, now. Turn that thing off and let's go have some nice warm milk…that might help you get a bit of sleep before you head back to the hospital."

"I'm afraid you are correct, Kumu. I doubt I will be able to sleep at all now, but I suppose I should try."

"Have a little faith, Juliet. Thomas is a strong young man and a fighter. He won't quit now. I'll get my nephew who is a Kahuna pule to do a healing ritual for Thomas."

"What is a Kahuna pule, Kumu?"

"A Hawaiian holy man…"

"I'm sure Magnum would appreciate that, Kumu. I hope it will help. He is really not doing well at the moment. The nurse called me with an update and the urologist has confirmed he has a severe kidney infection and is in early kidney failure. If his output doesn't improve, they will have to put him on dialysis."

"Oh, my. I'm going to call my nephew right now."

"It's the middle of the night, Kumu."

"Trust me, Keoki won't mind. Magnum helped one of his congregants recently. Keoki is both a Kahuna pule and a Christian minister, so he is used to sick calls in the middle of the night. Thomas helped his congregant find his missing daughter and Keoki really liked him. Magnum didn't charge anything for helping Chou find Leanna."

"That sounds like something our resident private investigator would do."

"He's a good man, Juliet."

"You'll get no argument on that from me, Kumu."

"I'm going to call Keoki, first. After that, I'll get you that warm milk with a bit of sugar in it."

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SORRY, it has been so long since I have updated, but working at Walmart is far more exhausting than I expected. Standing on your feet all day and folding clothes and minding the fitting room, answering the phones for the entire store, etc. It's a lot on this 60 plus-year-old. Still we are making progress on paying off bills, I have lost 25 lbs over the last years and Randy and I will soon get a new telescope (our Christmas present to ourself - we had one a few years back, but we had to sell it at one point and Randy is a rather good astrophotographer so we really want to get back into it). After the first of the year, we will start saving up for the first work on our mobile home, so there you go. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. More soon, I hope.