This fic contains some serious angst, its rated pg however. (I restrained myself on the language for a change. <G>)
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Kerry never heard the distant ambulance siren. She floated in and out of consciousness. She knew she was losing blood fast, could feel the warmth and wetness on her blouse. She knew she should try to stay awake, she opened her eyes, briefly, just long enough to close once again, shutting out the light and the pain in her chest. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move. She would
just stay still, and try not to do either one.
The paramedics came into the liquor store, asking the shop owner what had happened. He told them what Kerry had said, which wasn't much. Attempted mugging.
"She said she whopped him on the head, but good! Hopefully she broke the damn kid's skull! Picking on a cripple like that! It's just ain't right!" The shop owner was angry, he himself was getting on in years, and often a target for the young gang members on this city. He hated it.
"Hey, I know this lady!" Doris told her partner that day. "It's Dr. Weaver from County!"
She then picked up the microphone and spoke. "County this is unit 12."
"This is County, what have you got?" Simonne answered.
"We have a GSW coming your way, female around 40 years old, chest wound, some hand lacs as well, one pretty deep, glass is still imbedded. Vitals are stable, B/P 120/90, pulse 110, respirations 10, she's unconscious, on oxygen 10 liters by mask. And County, it's one of
yours."
Simonne was shocked, and worried not sure she wanted to know who it might be she hesitatedly asked.
"Who is it?"
"Dr. Weaver." Doris replied softly.
Silence at the front desk, everyone stared in amazement, how could this happen? Were the ER staff suddenly cursed?
"Okay, people let's move! Get trauma 3 ready, I want 4 units of O-neg ready to go." Mark called.
The ambulance bay doors whooshed open, and in rolled Kerry Weaver, blood staining her shirt and jacket, her crutch, laying beside her, was bent and contorted. Whomever had "attempted" to assault her got a nasty surprise for sure!
"Kerry? Kerry can you hear me?" Mark called to her.
Kerry was vaguely aware of movement. She could hear someone calling to her, but it felt like she was at the bottom of a well, drowning, and the voice was far above. It was getting difficult to breathe, she took short, shuttering gasps.
"Okay, on my count one...two...three..." They moved her over to the trauma table. She felt her clothes being cut off, and didn't particularly care. Electrodes were pasted to her chest, central line going in, slight cold feeling as the Betadyne was swished over her other shoulder area. God she was having such a hard time catching her breath.
"She's tachy at 130." Lydia called to Mark.
"What's her pressure?"
"90/60 and dropping." Lydia said.
"Okay, I need a portable chest, cbc, type and cross, and call surgery now!" Mark ordered.
"Pulse ox down to 88." Haleh replied.
"Okay, get me a intubation tray." Mark called back.
Kerry felt something slick going down her throat, gagging her. She wanted to spit it out, and couldn't. They kept forcing it down. AIR, air, she would breathe again. Oh how good it felt to take a breath.
"Still tachy at 140, pressures at 90/50."
"Are those chest films back?"
"Right here." Erik walked in with the chest films and slapped them on
the light box.
"Here's the problem." Mark announced. "the bullet is lodged in her lung, it must have traveled through the pulmonary artery, look here." He pointed it out to Erik, who agreed with his interpretation.
"What have you got?" Elizabeth quickly strode toward the light box, not taking a second look at the patient. "We need to redline her to the OR now!" Elizabeth took her stethoscope from around her neck, and placed it on Kerry's chest, "Oh my God!" She exclaimed as she realized who the patient was. "Get a chest tube tray!" Elizabeth's hands trembled slightly as she inserted the chest tube, one friend was one too many to see on this table.
Kerry felt herself being wheeled out of one room and onto the elevator, she could hear what was going on around her, she couldn't open her eyes, and she really couldn't feel a thing. She finally shut off her thoughts, and closed her mind to the reality of what was happening.
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"John, John are you there? Jing looked at the phone in frustration. She pushed back her dark hair a worried expression crossed her face. This was her third phone call so far this night. She waited a few seconds sure he would pick up.
"John, it's Jing Mei," Jing glanced over at Randi who was gesturing her to continue. She tapped her foot impatiently. Where was he?
"Please call county as soon as you get this message." Jing handed the phone back over to Randi who alternated between looking irritated and worried.
"Should we try paging him again?" Jing asked Randi, who nodded reluctantly before picking up the phone. Randi glanced up when Mark walked up the receptionist area.
"Have you tried his house?" Mark asked Randy.
"Just now, still no answer." Randy watched as Mark grunted and grabbed the nearest chart. Somehow Randy knew that Marks complete attention was not on that particular chart.
Mark was busy running the E.R. A job he'd done before, knew instinctively would have to do again, and absolutely hated. The moment they had Kerry wheeled up for surgery, he'd come back and had Randy trying every number he could find in Kerry's personal file. Unfortunately for him, Kerry had only 2 numbers. Jeanie and John.
Mark had already called Jeanie to find out that she was sick and unable to come to the E.R. Having recently contracted walking pneumonia she was unable at this point to even hold her own son, much less get out of bed.
John's whereabouts were still unknown. Mark glanced up at Randi. "just keep trying" he told her briskly.
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"Dave, Mark wants to know if you and Luka can catch the next one" Simonne quietly asks him. She tried not to notice how incredibly handsome he was, or how worried he was over the chief.
Dave abstractedly looked at Simonne, another time he would be overjoyed she was looking at him, but now. "Yah sure. We got an E.T.A. on it yet?" his mind was obviously on something else.
Simonne watched him with big expressive eyes, then quietly spoke, "5 minutes."
She watched as he slung his stethoscope over his head. They both looked outside where a sudden summer storm had shown up, pelting rain down on everything in site. Dave went outside nervously pacing back and forth waiting for the oncoming ambulance. Fighting her instincts, she finally decided to follow him
"You should go back inside you'll get soaked." He told her after registering her presence.
"I know." She said nothing just watched him pace, finally unable to take it anymore she touched his sleeve lightly. Dave immediately stopped his pacing and stared at her. Truly noticing her for the first time that day. He questioned her with a glance.
"She'll be ok." She told him quietly, she wasn't sure why she needed to make an issue of it. Dave's concern for the chief touched her more than she thought possible. They continued their silent communication for quite a while, the only barriers between them was the pouring rain,
their revere was broken when they heard the ambulance roll in. As one they grabbed the gurney that rolled off the ambulance.
"Give me the bullet." Dave found himself saying as they wheeled their patient inside.
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"I just don't understand it." Luka said quietly to Jing Mei. "it's not like John to ignore his beeper." He thought of how fast John had arrived the night before. Knowing that John carried his beeper with him every where he went was frustrating for Luka. He wondered if John had
been with Kerry. If he had been, was he also hurt? Mabey wondering, and confused.
Jing looked at him worried, she'd made it back to county a scant 10 minutes after being paged. It was not like John to ignore a page.
"Do we know yet about Dr. Weaver's condition?" she asked quietly. She watched Luka's handsome face sternly set in a stoic mask.
"I asked Dr. Benton, it's not looking good." He told her quietly. "I'll be right back, I need to go outside for some air." He told her calmly.
Jing knew he was worried, she also knew of the anger and distrust that Dr. Benton and Dr. Kovac had for each other. If Luka had actually asked about Kerry's condition, then she knew it was serious indeed.
___
"Hey John," Dave looked uncomfortable, he rolled his shoulders, his long night was starting to show. He looked up at Randi in frustration, the last thing he wanted to do was talk to an answering machine.
Randy had convinced Simonne to ask Dave to call John, convinced he was at home and ignoring her voice. It took Simonne just a few brief moments to sweet talk Dave into calling.
Pause
"John, Pick up man. It's Dave."
"Randy I don't think he's there." Dave told her, frustrated. Randy glared at him. "I was told to keep trying, so leave a message already." He looked up the see Simonne staring at him urgently
motioning him to go on.
Pause
"When you get this message call me back asap."
I hope he gets this one." Dave said as he hung up the phone. He was rewarded with Simonne's shy smile.
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Mark had just left Kerry's office. He had been attempting to find emergency numbers for Kerry, some notes or personal contacts that wouldn't be on her personnel file. He left very perplexed, curious as to why her relatively neat and orderly desk had absolutely nothing on it. The floor however was a jumble of papers and miscellaneous desk assessories. He gave up after a few minutes and found himself looking at the nearby phone. Bending on impulse he picked up the phone off the floor, and dialed.
"John it's Mark, please call me as soon as possible. I can be reached either on my cell or on my pager."
He paused to clear his throat, not sure what else to say.
"It's regarding Kerry." He stopped not quite sure what to say, finally he ended the call with.
"It's important!" Mark hastily hung up the phone, hoping that this message would get him.
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"Prep for a sternal incision, I want four units of O positive blood on hold, call the blood bank, and have them ready." Elizabeth called as she made her way to the scrub room.
"What happened?" Romano asked as he stood next to Elizabeth and proceeded to scrub for surgery.
"Dr. Benton and I have agreed to work on her." Elizabeth told him calmly. She watched as Romano'' face turned ridged. He glared at her for a brief moment then told her calmly but in a voice that would have no arguments.
"I insist on doing the actual surgery, Lizzie, you may of course assist. We will need Dr. Benton's fine skills to help out the E.R. today." He glared fiercely from Benton to Lizzie before Peter finally shrugged and left the room. Elizabeth continued scrubbing, never taking
her eyes off Romano.
"From what I understand, it was an attempted mugging, Kerry must have hit him pretty hard I understand there was blood and hair on her crutch and she was still holding onto to it, when she dragged herself into the shop." Elizabeth told him as she dried her hands then held them up for
Shirley to glove them.
"Serves the bastard right, hope she fractured something else for his time and trouble." Robert said as they finished, and made their way into the OR.
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John stumbled through the living room. He was still carrying his coat, he slapped it onto the couch, watching his pager fall out. He tiredly picked it up, noticing as he did that the small machine was not lit. He glanced at the pager, remembering how he'd dropped it earlier that
morning. He tiredly wondered if anyone had paged. He stretched then placed the broken beeper on the counter and walked into the kitchen. He'd replace it tomorrow, he'd also to call Kerry then. He knew if he called her now, he'd catch hell. She did not like being awakened
in the middle of the night.
John almost wished he'd called her from the NA meeting. He knew he had spent far longer at the meeting than he had intended but in the end it had been good for him. He was still trying to find the words to apologize to Kerry. He stretched again, to tired to think, he'd figure it out tomorrow. He glanced at the clock and watched the numbers blink 12:14 a.m. He was so tired. He knew he was running on his third or fourth day with diminished sleep. Normally he didn't go for coffee after his meetings, he'd always preferred going home immediately afterwards, but knowing that he didn't have to work tomorrow, and being so upset before hand, his sponsor had offered coffee and a friendly ear. John knew he had to take him up on it.
Glancing at the clock again he contemplated calling her, but knowing how angry she could get he decided that it would have to wait for morning. He groggily wondered through the house, more tired than he could remember being in years. As he passed through the kitchen he reached
for a glass, filled it with water and draining it eagerly in one large gulp. He placed the empty glass on the counter next to the answering machine. Not once did he notice the blinking light.
Turning off the lights to the empty kitchen, as he searched the room he was aware of a brief feeling of unease, shaking his head slightly he shrugged then entered his bedroom. Not being on call this evening and not wanting to be interrupted by prank phone callers he unplugged his phone and lay down on his bed, to tired to even undress he immediately went to sleep.
