*Hey, readers! So, I've reworked and reposted this story…Hopefully it should flow more easily and work a little better this time!
I own none of the characters of House or Law and Order: SVU. I'm just borrowing for a brief time!*
"I'm not a princess!" Alex exclaimed, "I just hate camping!"
"Aw, come on, Alex!" Casey coaxed, "We barely ever have time off. It'll be fun!"
"Well, you can still go with them!" Alex retorted.
"It won't be nearly as much fun without you, though!" Olivia prodded, "Come on, you've always said you'd go if you could take the time off."
"I lied," Alex bluntly retorted, "It's tradition at this point. Every year the squad goes camping, and I sit in my nice, warm apartment and thank God I have technology!"
"How about if you agree to come, lunch is on me today," Olivia bargained.
"Hmm…not enough," Alex caught on quickly.
"Alright, fine," Olivia sighed, "If you come camping with us, Casey and I will go to that ballet with you next week."
Casey gave Olivia the dirtiest look in her repertoire. She dreaded the idea of having to sit through "Swan Lake" yet again.
"All right, I guess I'll go!" Alex said, feigning excitement, "I can't wait for 'Swan Lake! I'll see you guys later; I need to go file this paperwork."
Once Alex was out of earshot, Casey dug into Olivia.
"Next time leave the negotiating to me," Casey laughed, "You don't agree to go to a freaking ballet with her unless you've exhausted every other option. And I mean every other option."
"Ballets aren't horrible. Haven't you seen 'Black Swan' yet?" Olivia joked.
"They are with Alex," Casey argued, "She used to be a ballerina in high school, so she spends the entire time criticizing every little mistake the dancers make. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Olivia joked in all good humor, "Oh well, seeing Alex trying to brave the elements will make it worth it!"
By Friday, even Alex was incredibly excited for the trip. While wilderness and nature weren't her things, hanging out with the squad and Casey always made for a good time. However, it soon became clear to Alex that she would not be able to leave at 11:30. Alex put in a courtesy call to Elliot to let everyone known her change of plans.
"Really, Alex, you're chickening out already?" Elliot joked.
"I'm sorry; I'm so bogged down with paperwork! I'll meet you in Jersey around 6:00, 7:00 latest."
By 7:00, dinner was ended and the camp was all set up for the evening. However, 8:00 came, then 8:30, and then 9:00 with no sign of Alex.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Olivia mused, "I've tried calling her four or five times. She always picks up her phone."
"She probably got stuck at the office," Finn offered, "Besides; she's been better about talking while driving. She even took that 'Oprah' pledge thing."
"Still, I'm surprised she didn't at least pull over and call," Casey thought aloud, "That's not like her."
As if on cue, Casey's cellphone rang.
"Hey, Alex, you're alive!" she exclaimed
"Hey, Casey," Alex managed to muster, "Don't freak out, but I won't be able to make it. I got into a bit of an accident. I'm fine, though, no need to worry."
"Oh my God!" Casey exclaimed, immediately gaining everyone's attention, "Where are you? What happened?"
"I'm at Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital," Alex admitted, "But seriously, they're just keeping me for observation. I keep trying to tell these…doctors…that I am perfectly fine. It was just a glorified fender-bender is all."
"We'll be right there!" Casey asserted.
"No, no Casey, seriously, you don't need to –"
Casey hung up before Alex could finish her objection. Within ten minutes, the entire group was on their way to the hospital.
Once they reached the hospital, they were quickly able to find the ER and, with the help of friendly nurses, made their way to Alex's room in an instant. When they reached their friend, they realized that the situation was incredibly understated by Alex. She had a black eye and her face had several superficial scratches and abrasions. Her left wrist was in a cast, and she looked like exhaustion itself. Finn led the way as they all went to give Alex gentle hugs.
"Aww baby girl, how are you feeling?" he asked, "You in a lot of pain?"
"No, the Vicodin takes care of that," Alex answered with a laugh, "I can't feel a thing!"
"Glad to hear it," Olivia said as she gave Alex's hand a quick squeeze, "Is there anything we can get you?"
"No, I'm fine, but thank you," Alex replied, and then giving a mock-glare to Casey, "You guys didn't need to interrupt your trip. I told this one over here that I was fine."
"You didn't really think I was going to let you sit in a hospital all alone, did you?" Casey softly joked, "And it's a good thing I didn't! You didn't tell me you broke something!"
"It's not that bad!" Alex defended, "They didn't have to reset it, or anything."
"That's really comforting," Elliot said with gentle mock-sarcasm, "I'm just glad you're ok."
"If the hospital asks where you got it, I'll deny everything," Munch leaned in and handed Alex a bag of Lindt truffles, "But I figured a stay in the hospital requires some chocolate!"
Just as Alex thanked John profusely and placed the contraband safely out of sight, Alex's attending physician came in to check on his patient.
"Hello, Alex, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked sympathetically as he checked her vitals. He introduced himself to Alex's friends as Dr. James Wilson.
"Well, I have good news. The x-ray from the rib fractures came back alright. We won't need to reset them after all," Dr. Wilson reported, "There's no internal bleeding, no kidney or liver damage, just as we thought. Everything looks really good!"
"Great, so I can go home?" Alex said. It was an amazing how she perked up with the idea of being in her own bed.
"Sorry, no such luck," Dr. Wilson confessed, "Hospital policy. With the fractures and the fact that you blacked out, we're going to have to keep you overnight for observation."
Though the fact that she blacked out gained horrified looks from her friends, Alex pretended not to notice and simply continued her conversation with the good Doctor. Once Dr. Wilson left, Casey, Olivia, Finn, Elliot, and Munch decided they would let Alex get some much-needed rest. They decided to check into the Holiday Inn across the street in case Alex needed anything during the night.
A few hours passed, but Alex couldn't get a wink of sleep. Eventually, she gave up and decided to watch the 11:30 episode of 'How I Met your Mother.' Before she could get too invested in Barney's shenanigans, however; she heard a knock on the door and Dr. Wilson came in.
"Hey," he began, "I hope I'm not disturbing. I heard the television on and figured you were still up. Do you need anything before I go home?"
"Nope, I think I'm all set. Thank you, though!" Alex replied. However, a strange sensation soon came over her.
"Actually, I don't think I feel so well," Alex managed as she cradled her head and stomach instinctively, "My head is killing me; I get migraines and this is bad. And my stomach just feels…weird."
"It's probably the Vicodin. It can sometimes make people feel lousy like that, ironically," Wilson replied consolingly as he felt her forehead and checked her vitals, "Let me grab you some ibuprofen and some tums for your stomach."
Before Wilson could even leave the room, Alex's vitals began to crash dangerously. Wilson called for a crash cart just as Alex began to vomit blood. Whatever this was, Wilson realized that it was not simply side-effects from the Vicodin.
*Thanks for reading! Stick with me, and I promise you some major, exciting twists and turns that will leave you speechless :D So, keep reading and reviewing and I will try not to disappoint!*