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Albert was escorted into Henry's room quickly and as quietly as possible for no one was to know they'd be meeting. Dr. Slusar felt Henry's forehead for a possible fever, he was relieved to find that his skin was quite cool and dry. "I should tell you, you won't be receving much of a response." Albert walked to Henry's side with an angered look. His hand fell to his cheek, and then to his hair, which was soaked from sweat.
"When was the last time you let this man wash himself? Is this part of his treatment? Look at him, he's filthy."
"I'm sorry, we've just had a lot--"
"Excuse me, there are many nurses and attendants currently employed in this institution, am I correct?"
"Yes, Albert." Christopher said, appearing to be losing his patience.
"Then why, may I ask, has my son been left here in this room with absolutely no help whatsoever? I want a nurse sent in here immediately to clean him up before he becomes sick from the germs and the other putrid in circulation here."
"Yes, Dr. Jekyll." Christopher didn't speak another word, but left quickly, and let the door slam behind him. He went down the hall to the nurses station. "I want a warm sponge bath administered to a patient of mine, Henry Jekyll, is that understood?"
"When, sir?" asked the older woman.
"In about ten minutes, alright?"
"Of course."
"He's in the last room at the end of this hallway on the left hand side. Don't take too long. It is at his father's request and you know how impatient the Jekyll men can be."
"His father? But isn't he--"
"No time for questions, Mary. Hurry this up, I'll explain to you later what has happened." And he hurried back down to Henry's room, where he found Albert sitting at this bedside, holding his hand, and speaking to him quietly. He made sure not to interrupt the tender moment. Instead, he stood outside in the hallway, giving Albert the time he needed alone with his son.
"My brave boy. Look what you've gone and done to yourself...and all for me, hmm? You sacrificed so many things just to save an old man that no one thought could be saved. I want to know how many years it took off of your life...how many? Too many, I'm sure. All that time working and slaving over a drug...trying to save a life...only to end up being a joke in the eyes of others. Well..." he said, with a smile, "...you've proved them wrong, haven't you, son...they didn't believe you when you said you could do it, did they? But I'm proof. I'm fine now..." he said, trailing off as he finished the last word, unable to control his tears any longer. "I don't like seeing you this way, Henry Jekyll. You're too strong of a man to let this ruin you. But...I'm going to make you well again...I can make a new and improved drug which will reverse the effects that the HJ7 has had on you, Henry. But another drug will only do so much if the man who's receiving it doesn't want to keep pushing onward. You have to want to break free of this hold, boy...you have to fight this, and I know you can do it. Dear Lord, I hope he can hear me...I hope he knows that I'm here...and that I will try to save his soul as he has saved mine. And then, Henry? When all is well again and you finally marry that lovely young lady you love so much...you can give me my grandchildren, and we'll call it even..." Christopher stood outside the room smiling as he heard Albert's final remark.
"Albert..." he said softly, pushing the door open, and peeking his head inside. He laid Henry's hand on his stomach, and then stood up quickly, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Did you order one of the nurses to come down here yet..."
"They're on their way. Albert...are you alright?" he walked farther into the room and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"No, I'm not...but if I'm successful, and I can save my son..." Christopher handed the can he'd been using back to Albert. "...and I can walk like a normal person, without this stupid piece of wood, I'll be fine. Look at me, I'm a fifty six year old man, yet I'm walking like one who's eighty and talking to my son who's in a coma. There's something wrong here."
"Yes, but you'll set things straight."
"Yes, I will. Tell me, when Henry arrived here, did he bring anything with him? Or was anything brought that may do me any good?"
"Not that I know of."
"Are you positive?"
"Yes, Albert...I'm sorry."
"Where is John..."
"He's waiting for you in front of the hospital."
"Let's go. I can't bear to look at him like this any longer. He's a good man, he doesn't deserve this." Christopher helped Albert down the hallway. It was a rather long and silent journey, but they reached the doors eventually. He opened the door for him, where John took over.
"Good luck, Dr. Jekyll. I'll be praying for you."
"It isn't I who needs your prayers..."
During the ride home, both John and Albert were quite silent. They very rarely exchanged a word or even a glance, for that matter. Dr. Jekyll was too consumed by his thoughts on how he was going to manage to succeed in his latest challenge to pay any attention to what was happening around him. That is, until, John handed him a large notebook with Henry's initials. "This may help, Dr. Jekyll."
"What is this?"
"Henry's journal. I had taken the liberty to read through parts of it. You'll be very pleased to see that he has taken extensive notes regarding this experiment....there are diagrams, chemical formulas, minute by minute accounts of each transformation, and I believe Edward Hyde even took it upon himself to make a few entries here and there."
"Where did you find this??"
"I was in his laboratory the morning after his arrest and this was one of the things I had found while looking through the mess on his countertop."
"John...do you realize what this could do..."
"Yes, I do. That's why I know you should be the one to have it. I had orginally brought this to Henry's cell one afternoon, but...now, it doesn't seem as though he'll be making much use of it."
"No, unfortunately it doesn't. But with this...John, I can determine the exact chemicals I need to do create the new formula. My chances of saving him have just sky rocketed."
"Then you admit there was probably a very little chance of ever helping your son."
"Without this information, I would've had to start all over again. So yes, my chances were slim. I don't need to think about that anymore. This is the key! His notes...his formulas...and entries from that son of a bitch."
"Pardon me, Dr. Jekyll, but you said earlier today that the reason Henry's been suffering is because of the drug's potency."
"I've been thinking, John....and I'm not so sure if that's entirely the case. I'm almost positive that it is partly to blame for the wear and tear on his body, but as for this Edward Hyde character...well, I've yet to determine how this chemical brought such a creature about. I'm not sure how long it will take either, but I do know that I will discover the reason, you can be sure of that."
"Do you have any idea as of yet?"
"It could be many things. It could be because of the drugs high potency,
I'm not completely ruling that possibility out just yet. Depending on how
extreme the strength of the drug is, it could've very easily caused a severe
hallucenation which caused Henry to believe he that he was becoming someone
else. Also, the amount of the drug used in each dosage plays a large role
in this. But again, I'm not sure. I can't come to any final conclusions
until I'm alone in the laboratory with the HJ7 and this book open in front
of me. I shall begin the moment I step foot in that place. There's no time
to waste...no, not when a human life is at stake."