AN - This took me the best part of two weeks just finding the odd 5 minutes here and there to write and it didn't turn out to be what I wanted it to be as I was aiming for some more happy but I like it all the same and I hope my Big sister does as this is for you on your Birthday! Happy Birthday Sarah! xx
It's going to be a long night!
13th February 2014 – 8pm.
"Good Evening everyone, I know its late and we all have a lot of work to be getting on with but I would just like to introduce you all to our new f1's; Dr Lily Chow who I will be mentoring, Dr Samantha Nicholls who Dr Ashford will mentor and last but not least Dr Ethan Hardy who Dr Hanna will be mentoring. Now they were all meant to be joining us tomorrow but with the storm still raging we need all hands on deck tonight. So please make them all feel at home and offer support to the three junior doctors you all had to train to get to where you are today" Dr Nick Jordan, lead consent at Holby city ED informed everyone about us.
"Dr Ashford, you can call me Ash, I'm on call to go out if the paramedics request any doctors how does that sound?" Dr Ashford explained but I wasn't really interested, I was more interested in the fact that in little under 5 hours I was going to be turning 24 and I would once again I will be alone.
I really thought that this year would be the year I found my family. Ever since I could remember I had been in a care home, the carers were nice it was just the other kids, they used to pick on me as instead of going out and getting in trouble with the police like they all used to do, I would sit in my little room at my desk and type away researching and working away, there was only one person who ever wanted to sit with me and there and help me track down my family and follow my dreams to be a doctor, she would tell me to follow my dreams and let no one tell me otherwise. To everyone else Emily was just a care worker another one to ruin their fun but to me she was my best friend, my Mum, my world. She was the best person in the world and yet when I was 14 she was taken from me just like everyone I ever cared about was and it's for Emily that I stuck at it and followed my dreams.
"Dr Nicholls, are you with me or not?" Dr Ashford questioned and I was dragged from my thoughts.
"Sorry Dr Ashford, yes I am and I'm ready for anything" I said putting on a brave face.
Am I really ready for tonight? I don't know it was coming up to 10 years I lost the only person I ever truly cared about, 14th February 2004, my 14th birthday, Valentine's Day or just another day of the year to everyone else but to me and the other 3 survivors it was the hardest day of the year we were left homeless and alone on the streets without a penny to any of our names. We were care kids so no one even knew we existed no one asked questions we were left to fend for ourselves and so that's what we did.
"That's good to know, I know it's going to be hard being your first day but I am here for you if you need any help, don't be afraid to ask" Dr Ashford smiled.
"I will do, but for now where are we starting?" I asked clapping my hands together and grabbing my yellow stethoscope around my neck.
"CDU at the moment just trying to clear some patients as we got a bit of a backlog going on, so let's get going first patient of the night Orion Burns, he was presented to us last night after being found overdosed and lying in an alleyway, we kept him in under observation as we are concerned for his welfare and state of mind as he seems very distant but won't say a word to anyone, we have tried psych but nothing so we are going to give it one more go before we get him transferred to the psychiatric ward, do you want to give it a go? Dr Ashford explained as we walked to CDU.
Orion Burns, that name rings a bell but why?
"Sure, I give it a go? Have you got any other information on him?" I asked.
"None what so ever and his notes, don't ask we couldn't find any it's like this guy doesn't exist" Dr Ashford added as we got to his bed and drew the curtain, all it took was one look and I knew why he was lying in this bed and why there was no record of the man lying there.
"Orion, its Dr Ashford and this is Dr Nicholls, she is just going to check you over before we can make a decision on your case" Dr Ashford explained and I pulled him over to one side.
"I know it's not allowed or professional but I need to be able to talk to Orion alone, I know exactly why he overdosed and I know why he has no record" I stated and the look of confusion on Dr Ashford's face was one that looked like he was going to question my every move from now on.
"Can you please explain this one to me? How can you be so sure when you haven't even said a word to the guy" Dr Ashford asked.
"Because of the date, now if you want any more information on Mr Orion Burns leave me to have a chat and Alone as I know he will not say a word with anyone else in the room" I said walking towards the bed, Dr Ashford grabbed my arm and pulled me back and was about to say something but I wriggled out of his grip and went back over.
13th February 2014 – 9pm
"Ry, It's Sammy, how have you been?" I asked simply walking up to the side of his bed and taking hold of his hand.
"Sammy? What are you doing here" Orion asked.
"I'm working, I got it Ry, and I'm going to be a doctor. But more to the point what happened you were at Uni how did you end up here" I replied.
"I'm meant to be at Uni right now, but last night it started to get to me, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't even talk to anyone I wasn't sure what to do or who to go to I didn't know where you were and I haven't seen Luke or Emmy since 6 years ago when will all split and when our separate ways" Orion said.
"You should have phoned a doctor or spoke to someone, not end up in here after overdosing, I know it's hard Orion, right now it's all I am thinking about as well but we need to move on and follow our dreams just like Emily would tell me, so here I am becoming the doctor she told me I could always be and Ben he told you and Luke that you could both do anything you wanted to and he's right you can and Emmy had Alice who told her to go and break a leg. I miss them all Orion, but mainly my partners in crime and Emily." I whispered the last part before bursting into tears.
"Sammy, please don't cry, This is going to be hard for all of us and I know this hit you hardest as you when back in to save Emily but it was too late and what you saw no 14 year old should ever have to witness but you kept us going and kept us moving forward please don't cry Sammy, we all miss them and never know what could have been but we made the best of what we had and look at us now we found some work got some money and all managed to follow our dreams, I am studying Law at Uni, you are at medical school, Luke got his Apprenticeship with the restaurant and I bet you he is still working at that fancy restaurant down town and Emmy got the job at the local theatre club. We are all where we wanted to be when we grew up and you where the girl that taught us to never give up" Orion explained.
"But Ry, there's someone missing, Emily she should be here to cheer us on to congratulate us all on getting to where we are today and yet tomorrow will mark the 10th anniversary of her death, but I don't want to accept it Ry, I want her here with me and you 3 just sat around the table eating a make shift birthday cake" I said with the tears still falling.
"Sammy, I'm so sorry I forgot It was your birthday the day it happened and all we tried to do was make the most of it, before he game in" Orion said getting up and hugging me.
"Ry It's fine but please don't ever leave me again, I want us to stay close me, you, Luke and Emmy" I said and Orion pushed me back and wiped my tears away…
"I don't want to lose you again, Sammy I promise you I will always be around" He said with a smile and let go before grapping a pen and taking my hand before writing his number on my hand. "Whenever you need me just call" He added and I nodded smiling.
"Thank you Ry, I will do" I said smiling and Dr Ashford appeared behind the certain.
13th February 2014 – 10pm
"Dr Nicholls, Can I have you assistance over here please" Dr Ashford asked.
"Of course you can, what do you need help with?" I asked walking over to him.
"I want to see who good your diagnostic skills are" He said placing his arm around my shoulders and guiding me out of the cubic, I turned around and mouthed "Sorry" TO Orion before heading off with Dr Ashford.
"What am I diagnosing exactly?" I asked as we walked down the corridor.
"Well that's what we need to find out" Dr Ashford said chuckling "You were with Mr Burns for a while, what did you manage to find out" He asked.
"Not much that I didn't already know, let's just say me and Orion go way back and he should be fine he just needed a little reassuring, So I cannot do any medical treatment on him but I am happy to talk to him if you need me to, he just needs a familiar face" I explained.
"And you didn't think to mention this? And what caused the overdose?" Dr Ashford asked.
"No offence Dr Ashford but I would rather not talk about it and I know Orion would rather not talk about it as well, Sorry but its rather a hard subject and especially at this time of year" I said and then saw Orion walk past.
"Sammy, I was wondering if you happened to have an Iphone charger on you" Orion asked.
"No Sorry Ry, I don't have an Iphone, I wish I could help though" I smiled.
"It's fine, I didn't know if you had one or not but It was worth asking also Sammy, I know tonight's going to be hard if you need me I will be here for you, you know where to find me" Orion said and I nodded.
"Mr Burns, if you would care to explain why you want to use your phone I may be able to help you but as you know you are not meant to use your phone in the hospital" Dr Ashford said raising an eyebrow. "Dr Nicholls, bed 4 go and give little Hannah the once over and have a chat with her mother, I will join you once I am finished here" Dr Ashford said and I nodded walking off.
(Ash's POV)
"Mr Burns if you would like to follow me we can take this chat somewhere private" I suggested and Shoed Mr Burns to the Staff room
"Now, I happen to have an Iphone Charger in my locker but I would like an explanation as to why you need one" I questioned.
"Well in an hour and a half it will be Samantha's 24th Birthday but also the hardest day of her life and It's a shot in the dark but I need to see if I can locate 2 other people to come in tonight and be there for Sammy in the morning" Mr Burns explained.
"I didn't know it was Dr Nicholls birthday tomorrow and how so is it going to be the hardest day of her life and also who are these people and how will they help?" I asked.
"I'm 26 two years older than Sammy, I first met her 22 years ago, She was 2, I was 4 and we both lived at Charlie's Angels and we lived there right up to 10 years ago tomorrow when a very horrible event took place and we were left homeless, Me, Sammy and the 2 others had been friends forever and where the only ones to survive all thanks to Sammy and until 4 years ago when we all went our separate ways she as the one that keep us going, the youngest, yet the strongest and I know she needs someone but she can't let anyone in she just wants to bury it but this time of year is an incredibly hard time for us all and the reason I ended up in here now, if you don't mind I have to people I need to get a hold of" Mr Burns explained and I just nodded and passed over my charger to him and he gave me a half smile and left. I know it wasn't right but I couldn't leave it, I needed to know more and the name Charlie's Angels rang a few bells so I went over onto the laptop and started to do some research.
14th February 2013 ~ 10pm
A Gas explosion has just wiped out the children's home Charlie's Angels.
The Fire service and Paramedics did all they can to retrieve the Children and members of staff but the rescue operation was unsuccessful and there are believed to be no survivors, the hunt is now on to track done the families of any of these children and the Staff to inform them of the tragic event that has shocked Holby and will always be remember for it was the night where 142 children and 21 staff members lost their lives in the fight to give those children the best future they could.
We are deeply saddened by this event and know that the city will be forever mourning to lost lives.
The local community are going to organise a memorial for all these Children as they have no one other than the community they were from. This will be held on the 20th February and will be held on the village green where the children played among everyone else.
There is going to be a major clean up starting from tomorrow once the fire service are sure that the building is free from anymore explosions.
I read the article and many more related to the same story and I remember going to the memorial and seeing four tatted, torn and scared teenagers hiding behind a few bushes, it must have been Samantha, Mr Burns and the other two he wants to call. No wonder he didn't want to talk to us this must be a hard time for all four of them and I just wish there was more we could do. It also answers why he had no records as he was unknown to the system, lost and forgotten. Something hit me and I had to just check up some more records I typed Samantha Nicholls into the search bar but there was only one person on the list and she was a young girl born barely 2 months ago so Samantha was also missed from the system, unknown to the world which only means these other two would be as well.
(End of POV)
13th February 2014 – 11pm
"Dr Ashford" I asked opening the staffroom door.
"Dr Nicholls, what can I do for you?" Dr Ashford asked raising his head from the screen.
"I have referred Hannah to paed's and I have sent her along with her note's as I believe she is suffering from Dehydration and also needs to see a paed's doctor as after chatting with her mother I believe she is probably lacking in very essential vitamins as she is on a very poor diet" I explained.
"Thank you Samantha, I just been typing up some notes for Mr Burns, although it seems he has no medical records and yet he doesn't seem to be the only one" Dr Ashford said and I felt the colour drain from my face and the tears form in my eyes. "Samantha, I just want to know one thing, why didn't you tell us?" He added.
I can't believe he knows or that Orion told him, none of this makes sense.
"I couldn't bring myself to say, I worked so hard to get here and if you knew I was a care kid you wouldn't want me, I'm nobody and nobody wants me, Orion or Luke and Emmy, The four of us survived and no one even knew. We lived in on the streets until Orion and Luke managed to find work in a bar at 18 and we started to spend the odd night in a hotel and then when I was 19 I applied for funding to go to medical school, Orion to Uni, Luke got accept to be a chef and Emmy when into Drama. None of us four ever thought we would make it this far, 10 years later look at us now, we have come so far but it's been so hard please Dr Ashford don't tell anyone" I said starting to beg.
"Samantha, it doesn't matter what your background is Mr Jordan will be happy to have you working for him as you are an amazing doctor and to tell you the truth you probably worked harden then any of us to get to where you are now. I am not going to ever lose you Samantha I need you to work alongside me as you are the best person for the job and I know in time you will grow out of your shell and everyone else will see the amazing talented young doctor you are!" Dr Ashford said smiling and handing me a tissue.
"Do you really mean that?" I questioned.
"Of Course I do, now why don't you just quickly type up an few medical notes of your own so when Mr Jordan looks you don't have to explain all of this again until you are ready as it can't be easy" Dr Ashford said getting up from the desk.
"Thank you Dr Ashford" I said giving him a hug, he just smiled and left me too it.
It wasn't long before I was tapping away on the keyboard and adding all the information I could onto my notes and also making sure that I knew I got help for the things I wrote that when I checked the time as I was starting to feel tired to make myself a cup of coffee to get a caffeine fix that I realized it was 5 minutes until midnight, 5 minutes until I was 24, 5 minutes until that dreadful day will have been 10 years ago. I would only take a few minutes to get from here to Orion's bed as I knew he would want to see me as it is going to be my birthday, so I saved what I had wrote on my notes and closed it all down before heading off towards Orion's bed.
14th February 2014 00:00am
I drew the curtains and was about to speak but instead I had the shock of my life as there was Luke and Emmy standing on either side of his bed and they started to sing Happy Birthday to me, which drew the attention to us and all the other nurses, doctors and patients (that where awake) Joined in singing I was so embarrassed I could feel my cheeks burning but it only got worse when look turned around and picked up a lemon cake with a candle in for me.
"Happy Birthday Sammy, you have used your skills to help Ry and me and Emmy so I have used mine to make you a proper cake this year!" Luke said Smiling.
"Thank you Luke" I said blowing out the candle and starting to cry and Emmy also started crying before we all huddled together and just hugged each other for comfort, it had been so long I had forgotten what it felt like to be in the arms of people who care about, in the arms of your unbiological brothers and sister, and to tell you the truth nothing could be more prefect and I think it's safe to say this has been the best birthday in 10 years the only person who is missing is Emily but I know she is looking down on us all bursting with Joy and the young people we have become and the battles we have won to get here.
