By Ginny
I just want to thank everyone who reviewed At the End of the Day. I was pleasantly surprised at the response so I decided to write this prequel to the story.
As always, reviews are a big motivator and are greatly appreciated.
Abby glanced around to see who was lurking about the ADMIT desk as she logged onto the computer and pulled up the surgical schedule for the day. She quickly scanned it looking for Dr. Dubenko's name. She felt sort of foolish doing it. After all, why should she care about someone who had propositioned her in the ambulance bay because he was afraid of what lie ahead of him.
But she did care. Before their awkward moment in the rain they'd started to forge some sort of strange combination of friendship and mentor/student relationship. Which of course was strange because Abby wasn't a student anymore, but as every doctor knows, there is always more to learn. They had gone out for a bite to eat a few times after work and were known to grab a cup of coffee when they had a few moments.
"Frank, I'll be back in a little while," she called over her shoulder as she logged off.
"Going upstairs to see if you can catch Dubenko before he goes under, grant him his final wish," Frank snorted.
"God, is nothing a secret around here?" Abby muttered to herself as he hit the elevator button.
She exited the elevator on the 4th floor as she tried in vain to do something with her hair, but lacking a brush she settled on letting it down and shaking it out a little before putting the scrunchie around her wrist.
"Lucien Dubenko," she inquired at the desk. She was pointed towards the holding room at the end of the hall, the last stop before the OR.
Abby headed for his room, knocking once but not getting a response. As she opened the door she found out why. Lucien had clearly been given a pre-op sedative and was not exactly what one would call lucid. "Hey," she said softly as she closed the door behind her. He lolled his head in her direction and gave her a drunken grin when he recognized her voice.
"Dr. Lockhart, nice of you to come see me off," he slurred as he reached blindly towards the side table for his glasses. Abby helped him put them on and pulled up a chair next to the bed. "Had a little Versed," he announced unnecessarily.
"A little?" Abby asked with a smirk.
"OK, a double dose," he admitted. "I was a little freaked."
"And now?"
"Still freaked but I don't care all that much," he whispered as he struggled to stay part of the conversation.
"Dr. Dubenko, time to go," the orderly announced from the door.
"Yeah, give me a minute," he said sleepily. "You'll stop by later?" he asked Abby.
"Uh, sure, I guess," she said, a little surprised at his request.
"Good," Lucien whispered as he gave Abby's hand a quick squeeze. The gesture caught her a little off guard and she pulled away faster than she had intended. He handed her his glasses and called for the orderly. Abby held the door and watched until the stretcher rounded the corner. She put his glasses in his bin and headed back to work. She thought about asking the nurse to call her when he was out of surgery but she didn't feel like incurring the inevitable teasing and strange looks if someone had to relay the information to her via Frank.
The ER got slammed by an overturned school bus and a gang fight on the EL. Abby and the rest of the staff bounced from patient to patient for hours. By the time the last kid had been sent to the OR, Abby was in dire need of some coffee. Her shift had ended almost an hour earlier. She went into the lounge poured a cup of coffee and called up to check on Lucien. She found out he was already out of recovery and settling into a private room.
"Frank, I'm leaving," she yelled as she headed for the elevator.
"Door's the other way," he yelled back.
"Shut up," she called over her shoulder.
The secretary at the unit desk directed Abby to his room. The shades were closed and the overhead light off. Dr. Dubenko was doing his best to curl up into a ball on the bed, not an easy feat for someone a few hours post surgery. His glasses were on the rolling table next to the bed and he had a small pink basin on the bed next to him.
"Let me guess, you're wishing you took the epidural," Abby teased gently as she walked into the room.
"Shut up," he muttered as he blindly reached for his glasses. Abby brushed back his wild curls and put his glasses on for him. She straightened the pillow behind his head as he carefully rolled onto his back. "God that hurts," he groaned as he pressed his hand against the bandage. "Guess you don't have to ask which kind of incision," he teased.
"I wasn't going to ask," Abby assured him as she pulled up a chair. "I could have always just taken a peek at your chart," she teased. "You want some ice chips, ginger ale?" she offered.
"Ice chips, I guess," he whispered as his eyes slid closed and he tried to keep his stomach under control. He swallowed hard and tried to will back the inevitable.
"Deep breaths," Abby coached as she slipped a folded towel under his head. "Do you want the bed up a little more?" He just nodded without opening his eyes. Abby put the head of the bed up just a little and he turned back on his side as best he could. She rubbed his back with one hand and held the basin with the other as he got sick. Having eaten nothing all day the painful dry heaving kicked in quickly. He eventually calmed down enough to wipe his mouth on the towel.
Abby slipped the towel out from under his head and tossed it in the bin in the hall. She exchanged the basin for a fresh one and got a cup of ice. "Do you want to try to get some down?" she asked as she held up the spoon. Lucien shook his head and curled up miserably. "Did they given you antiemetic?" Lucien nodded. "Whatever it was, it's not working," she smirked as she brushed back his hair a bit.
"That your professional opinion, Dr. Lockhart?" he gasped as he motioned for the basin once again.
"Take it easy," Abby whispered as he coughed and gagged again. Abby reached over him and hit the call button.
"Compazine not working, Dr. Dubenko?" the nurse asked unnecessarily.
"Good guess," he groaned.
"Does he have an order for anything else?" Abby asked as he pushed away the basin and reached for the cup of water.
"I think so, let me check," the nurse said as she got out of the room as fast as possible.
"Already making friends with the nursing staff, I see," smirked Abby as she handed him the cup of water. "Rinse and spit," she suggested as she handed him a second empty cup.
The nurse came back with a dose of Kytril and something for pain. She quickly checked his vitals and pulled the sheet back a little to check the incision. Abby went into the bathroom to get a damp wash cloth to wipe Lucien's face as the nurse did that. With a nod in Abby's direction, the nurse left them alone, closing the door behind her.
"You always have this reaction to general anesthesia?" Abby asked as she sat down next to the bed and wiped his face with one of the damp cloths. She folded the other one, brushed back his unruly curls and set it on his forehead.
"Never had it before," he said. "I have all my original parts, thank you very much," he teased with a small smile. "Let me try a little of that," he motioned towards the can of ginger ale on the table.
"Ice?"
"Yeah."
Abby got a cup of ice and poured a little of the soda for him. He managed to get down a few sips before his stomach began to protest. He curled up again and reached to flip through the television channels.
"You should go home," he said a little while later as Abby tried in vain to keep from yawning.
"You'll be ok?" she asked.
"I don't know about 'ok' but I'm going to be out in about 5 minutes. Things are getting a little fuzzy," he admitted as he turned off the television.
"Yeah, everything should kick in pretty soon. Don't be stubborn about the pain meds," Abby said with a little edge of warning in her voice. Lucien gave her a little "who me?" smirk to which she responded with a glare of her own as she stood up to leave.
"Cold," Lucien muttered as he struggled to pull the covers up a little.
"How about a blanket from the warmer?" Abby offered.
"Sounds good," he whispered. "Hey Abby," he called when she was almost out the door.
"What, you need something else?"
"No. In case I'm asleep when you get back, thanks for coming up," he said tiredly.
"You're welcome. I'll check on you tomorrow," she assured him. Lucien waved a little and closed his eyes.
True to his prediction, he was sound asleep when she got back. Abby tucked the warm blanket around him, straightened the IV line and left a full cup of ginger ale and ice with a straw on the rolling table. She went out to the nurses' station to grab a piece of paper and a pen, so she could leave her home, cell and pager numbers by his phone.
TBC
