"I'm sorry Nancy, I just have no interest of dating anyone at this time. My life is busy enough with my job." Rose said.
"Dr. Carmichael!" Someone shouted tearing her away from her' invigorating' conversation with Nancy.
She looked up to see a couple Medics carting in a patient who seemed to be in a lot of pain. They had bandaging covering his left shoulder and it looked like he had lost a lot of blood.
"What happened?" She asked as she took over analyzing his wound.
"Sheriff Rick Grimes, single gun-shot wound to the left shoulder, bullet still inside, no main arteries hit, blood pressure is low and dropping."
"Thank you. We need to get him to surgery now. Nancy, go up ahead and get me a room ready. He'll need a blood transfusion get some blood ready." She ordered as she rolled him away.
The Medics were right. No main arteries were hit thank goodness. The bullet wasn't as deep as she had expected but he still lost a large amount of blood due to the fact that it was close to his heart. This man was lucky.
In fact he was so lucky that there were no complications during the surgery. They got the bullet out just fine and gave him a blood transfusion. The only problem was when they were done and ready to take him to his room, he slipped into a coma.
He was set him up on fluids and life support in his room. Rose hated seeing patients in a coma. They look so peaceful but lifeless at the same time. Looking like they are asleep but knowing at the same time that they may never wake up.
Once he was all settled she walked out of his room and stopped by the nurses' station for her paperwork.
"Dr. Carmichael?" Nancy said. "There is someone in the waiting room for an update about the Sheriff."
"Thank you. I will go let him know." Rose replied as she turned and walked towards the waiting room. She looked around as she entered and saw many people in the room. It was however, not hard to find the man that was waiting for news on the Sheriff.
He sat in a chair, decked out in a sheriff uniform just like the coma patient. As soon as she walked in he stood, holding his hat in his hands looking like he was going to wring it into nothingness.
"How is he doc?" The man asked.
"He's doing fine, Mr.?"
"Shane. You can call me Shane."
"Ok, Shane. There weren't many complications with the surgery. That man really is lucky. The bullet hit no major arteries, but he did lose some blood. Not to worry though we replaced it. There was really only one problem. He slipped into a coma. He is stable right now, on life support but as with all coma patients we really can't tell you if he will wake up or not. We give them all a certain amount of time to rely on life support and if they over go that length of time then we must pull them off. But that time won't come for a while."
"What am I supposed to tell his family?"
"The truth? That he got shot protecting this county. That he is a hero. If he has kids that will be very important for them to hear."
"Tanks doc. Can I see him?"
"Of course. Let me show you to his room." She replied.
Once she escorted him to his room she decided to give him some space. She walked back to the nurses' station to finish the paperwork.
"So, Rose, how about we finish that conversation?" Nancy asked, not even seconds after Rose sat in her chair.
"How about not?" She replied. "I just got out of surgery from digging a bullet out of a mans shoulder. I really don't have the patience to argue with you about my love life."
~Two Months Later~
She woke in a pouring sweat. The blankets and sheets were thrashed around the bed. This nightmare was killing her. She'd been having the same one for two months, ever since that coma patient came to the hospital, and with each passing night it was getting more vivid and seeming like reality. She was losing sleep and that was affecting her at work as well.
She was a doctor at a hospital in King County, Georgia. Some days, in the middle of her shift she would wake up in the on call rooms without remembering she fell asleep. And of course, even at work, as soon as she slipped into a light slumber the images would come back.
They were always the same, the nightmares. The deformed claw-like hands reaching out for her, the sunken faces with decaying mouths ready to eat her. The humans that looked so dead moved like they were alive. It was all impossible. The dead could never come back to life, no matter how many zombie movies there were. And she was a doctor. It was against everything she ever learned in school and in the field. She never really watched horror movies so she had no idea where she was getting this from.
She was a practical thinker, a realist. She refused to let it affect her life any further.
However, there was no point in trying to go back to bed. The nightmare would only come back and she needed a clear head for her patients today. So, she stepped out of bed, forgetting to put on her slippers which made her squeal from the cold wooden floor, and walked to the bathroom. She took an extra hot shower and did her morning routine.
As she looked in the mirror she took in her appearance. Wavy brown hair, high cheek bones, natural tan skin. You could definitely see the Cherokee in her. She was an average 5' 7". She had an average toned body from working out at the gym after work almost every day. She saw nothing too special about her, but not too plain either.
When she stepped out she dressed in plain, blue scrubs. She did her best to put her wavy, brown hair into a neat bun and applied the little amount of make-up she wore.
She gathered her necessities and made her way out the door, making sure to lock it behind her. Once she started up her blue Saturn she merged onto the street. On her way into work she thought about her coma patient. He was a sheriff of the county. He had come in with a bullet wound to the shoulder and was currently in a coma. She felt bad for his family. He had a wife and son. It pained her to think that the day might come when his wife would have to choose to keep him on life support or to end his suffering.
She walked in the hospital and collected her papers from the nursing station. As she made her daily rounds she always saved Sheriff Grimes for last. He was a sort of inspiration to her. He did his job with no doubts and no second guessing. It all was just second nature to him. It also made her think that life was too short. You never knew when it would end for you. It also made her decision to not be involved with anyone a lot easier.
When it all ended and you die, you leave behind people that care deeply about you. You leave them behind to suffer without you. You spend most of your life building up a fantastic relationship with people, only to let them down at the end. She refused to do that to anyone. She preferred to be alone. That way, when her life ended, no one would be suffering without her. So she spent her life healing those who chose to be with others so that they would not have to suffer.
As she was checking his liquids and vitals on the screen, the door opened. She turned to see his friend, Shane enter the room.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I can come back later." Shane said.
"No worries, I'm done." She replied. "He's lucky to have such a devoted friend like you that stops by almost every day."
"Well, I guess I feel that it was my fault he got shot. I wasn't keeping my guard up. I don't know what I will do if he never wakes up."
"He's a tough one. I have faith that he will wake up."
"Even with all that new crap that is happening out there?"
"I like to try to be an optimist. It's what makes me a better doctor I think. If I was a half empty kind of person then I wouldn't try my very best to make my patients better."
With that she walked out the door. Shane was right of course. With everything happening outside the walls of the hospital it was hard to keep up the optimism. People were saying they saw the dead walking around. Just like in the dreams she's been having.
Once she was done with her rounds she started her paperwork. And as usual that's when one of the nurses, Nancy, would come up and start a conversation.
She and Nancy weren't what you would call friends exactly. Nancy was just the one that brought it upon herself to try and set her up with men. Nancy thought that it was boring being alone. That you just had to have a man in your life. Completely opposite of what Rose thought.
"So, I have a date with Gerald tonight." Nancy started.
"Oh?" Rose questioned. "Sounds fun, which will be the fifth date with him?"
"Yes. He is quite amazing. And I was sort of wondering…" Nancy trailed off.
Oh no. Here it comes. Rose thought. "You were wondering what exactly?" She asked.
"Well, he has a brother, Steve, cute as can be. Gerald and I thought that maybe, since you don't do anything on Friday nights, that we could double date. It would be so much fun. Give you and I a chance to get to know one another better and maybe get you man."
"Oh, Nancy that sounds so tempting." Rose replied sarcastically. "But, with my work load today I'm most likely going to be working late. Oh and there is the fact that I refuse to fall needlessly in love and depend on a man until the world ends." And she walked away. She just had to say that last sentence. Cursing herself without even knowing it.