I'm not sure if I say this enough but thank you so much to you all who read my stories. I enjoy writing them and when people say how much they love reading them, well it makes my day.
I'm still a little obsessed with The King's Crossing (probably because I haven't seen last night's episode yet) so this is kind of a AU version of part of the episode. There isn't a fight in this story, but Cal does leave to see Taylor. Obviously there will be a whiff of Ethan whump - hey it's me, I can't resist it! But I really am going to have to leave the episode alone now.
Usual disclaimer - belongs to BBC and I own nothing!
Almost The Wrong Choice
"I know where Taylor is - I can get your money back Ethan!" Cal insisted, staring in earnest at his brother, who was shaking his head.
"No..." he mumbled as he grabbed his pen from the older man, fumbling to get it into his pocket, "I want your stuff out of the flat by the end of today," Ethan told him in no uncertain terms. Before Cal could react to his brother's declaration, the wall and window where they had been stood not ten seconds before, exploded behind them in a cloud of shattering glass and debris. Both men were thrown to the floor, Cal trying to cover his brother from the worst of it. As the dust began to settle, Cal started to get to his feet, hooking his hand under the smaller man's arm, "Are you alright?" he asked, doing a quick visual scan of his brother.
Ethan didn't get a chance to answer as the two doors on the corridor were pulled open allowing a confused Charlie and a few other staff members access to the mess, "Are you two alright?" Charlie croaked as he inhaled some of the dust and began to cough.
Cal didn't answer. He had given Ethan a quick once over and after seeing nothing to cause him any concern, he quickly strode away leaving an even more confused senior nurse and an extrememly shocked little brother, "Cal!" Charlie called after him...but he had gone.
"Ethan," Charlie tried to get the younger man's attention, "Ethan, we need to see what's happened outside."
Ethan looked down the corridor where his brother had just disappeared, then back to the older man, "Oh...yes...of course..."
As he began to follow Charlie, he was assaulted by a mighty coughing fit "Ethan?" Charlie questioned.
Ethan waved away his concern, "I'm alright, must be the dust."
A few minutes later, they were both busy outside the ED, assisting where they could, with Ethan ending up scrounging around in a hole with a poor young woman who had been knocked into it and was almost covered with concrete blocks. Within ten minutes she was out and on her way to Resus, Ethan following a little more slowly as he desperately tried to stifle another coughing fit as well as a pounding headache. He couldn't work out whether it was due to the accident or the crippling anxiety he was feeling over what his brother was doing, "Dr Hardy!"
He looked at Zoe in complete amazement, "I've been trying to talk to you...can you tell me what you know?"
Ethan mentally shook himself, then he began to reel off everything that he knew. He was about to put some gloves on when Zoe stopped him, "Ethan, I've got this. Go and get cleaned up. You're covered in mud and soil...not exactly sterile are we," she flashed him one of her quirky smiles, "Plus you've had a huge shock earlier - go and get a drink and a rest - in fact I should send you home..."
She was interuppted by another coughing fit from the young doctor - only this time, he was struggling to catch his breath. He tried to supress the cough as much as possible, but his lungs were starting to feel like they might burst. He felt an arm around his waist - Charlie, "Come on - let's get you some oxygen, you're starting to look a little blue around the edges."
As Charlie began to guide him over to a bed, Ethan began hacking once more. This time was worse, "Ch...arlie...can't...breath..." he coughed out as his legs began to buckle, "Lofty!" Charlie called, thankful that the young nurse ran straight over to them and knew exactly what was needed, "His oxygen is at 85%," Lofty stated, loud enough for Zoe to hear, "Give him 100% oxygen and watch his vitals," she told them as she carried on working on the young woman from the crash. Lofty kept a careful eye on Ethan's stats, while Charlie kept an eye on the young doctor himself. Although his breathing seemed easier now on oxygen, Charlie could see that his forehead was pinched, indicating pain, "Ethan does anywhere hurt?" he enquired.
Ethan looked up at him and nodded slightly, "My head," he gasped, "I think I got hit by some flying debris..."
His eyes began to drift shut, "Concussion?" Lofty looked at Charlie.
"That's my bet," the older nurse agreed, "Ethan, you need to try and keep awake," he told the young man on the bed.
"Oxygen levels rising a little..." Lofty commented. Ethan's eyes fluttered open once more, "Cal," he breathed, "I need Cal."
Charlie leant over to get into his line of vision, "Louise is trying to get a hold of him - don't worry."
Suddenly, the coughing started again, but this time it overtook him so severely that his eyes rolled back into his head and he started shaking.
So that was Chapter 1. This story is written so the next chapter shouldn't be to long. Thank you for reading.