"His pressure's dropping." Droned the Surgical resident as Benton finished repairing the damage to the colon. "Get out Peter.." Barked Romano, "Clamp off, and scrub out.. You're no use to me..."
Benton looked up startled at the Chief of Surgery. "What?! No.. I'm okay.." He quickly shook off the fuzz of sleep and busied himself, suturing up the liver.
"Get out Peter.. I'll call Edson in here.. Hell.. I'll even get Carter in here.. You're in no shape to be operating. Go home to your Peanut Butter cup.."
"It's Reese.." Growled Benton, tying off the last suture and clanging the instruments back onto the tray.
"Aha.. Reese's Pieces.. I forgot.. Get some sleep. See you tomorrow Peter, bright and early. We have a press conference and I need my head of Minority Affairs. I think four AM would suffice.. The conference is at eight. We need time to prepare." Romano sneered at him, curling his lip. "Don't forget."
Benton grumbled under his breath and slammed out of the operating room, throwing his gown in the bin and past Elizabeth who walked in, as Shirley helped her into a gown and put on some gloves. "Peter.. Where are you going?" She shouted after him.
"Home.. I'm going home. Bye Elizabeth.." Peter stormed from the room, leaving her staring after his fleeting form.
Elizabeth cocked a brow and sighed, walking to the table. "Robert? What did you say to him?"
"Nothing. I didn't say a thing Lizzie.. He was tired.. He was risking my patient. I told him to go home and get some sleep. That's all.. Start the spleenectomy... We're going to be here awhile it seems." Romano muttered. "Hang another two units of type specific, Dorrie, please.."
Elizabeth sighed and blew a stray hair that had escaped from her cap. "Okay.. What happened to Malucci anyway?? You paged me.. This looks like a job for another surgeon.. Should we page Anspaugh too?? Have you assessed the damage of the kidney yet?? Looks like the poor man was sliced up like a Christmas ham.." Elizabeth surveyed the multiple wounds to Malucci's chest and abdomen.. They hadn't even started on putting the plates and pins in Dave's leg. This was going to take forever..
"Oh Lizzie, aren't you FULL of questions today!! They found the poor bastard passed out and bleeding to death outside the fairgrounds on the pier. Only an idiot would be hanging around that part of town at that time of night. I think we're both quite capable of doing this ourselves.. Rossdale.. Get over here and assist Dr.Corday.."
Romano shook his head, and with a sharp intake of breath he looked at the shattered leg and began meticulously removing the shards of bone and placing them in the tray. "Hand me the screws Shirley.. and immobilize this leg..."
********
Dave had cried himself to sleep, Cindy's head nestled beside him, but
he was too weak to do anything but breathe raggedly and will his heart
to continue beating.