A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone for the kind reviews! I appreciate the support!
The flashing blues and reds cast an eerie glow over the barred store fronts and cinder block alleys. The seering wail of the sirens filled the still night air and called onlookers to the deserted street. The crash had been bad. The vehicles barely recognizable and both sporting ominous streaks of blood on what was left of the windows. A silent black bag lay off to one side as EMTs struggled to breach the battered shell left in the other car.
The sun was just rising in the winter sky when the metal and glass finally twisted apart to reveal the life within the damaged cocoon of the SUV. She was conscious but just barely. They kept talking to her, trying to keep her engaged and awake as they pulled her out and began working feverishly over her. When she was stable enough they loaded her into the ambulance.
"Miss, we headed to the hospital now. We're going to take you to Mercy. We'll be there soon." The EMTs voice cut through the fog she found herself stuck in.
"No," she croaked. "We have to go to Princeton-Plainsboro."
"Miss, you are losing a lot of blood. We need to get you to the closest hospital and that's Mercy," he tried to argue.
"You don't understand. My father is a doctor there. We have to go there." Her voice was weak but the paramedic could see the steel in her gaze and he gave in. It was the patient's right to choose their care and he could see there would be no convincing her that Mercy was the better choice.
"Ok," he said giving in. He instructed the other medic to tell the driver to go to PPTH.
HHHHHHHHHHH
"24 year old female in a motor vehicle accident. Possible concussion. compound fracture of left ulna and radius, possible fracture of right femur. Multiple lacerations concentrated on the left side of the body. Patient conscious and responsive at the scene but lost consciousness during loading. IV fluids pushed in the abulence."
She could hear the doctors and nurses bustling around here. Their voices far away but she knew they were talking about here. She could feel them hovering over her, working on her as she fought against the gray cloud she was stuck in.
Then slowly the fog began to lift and a voice cut through the mist. "Sweetie, can you open your eyes for me?" As she opened her eyes, the scrub clad visage of the ER nurse came into view.
"Where am I?" she asked, her voice scratchy and raw.
"You're at the hospital. Can you tell me your name honey?"
In a moment of unbridled terror, she realized that she didn't know. Her eyes widened and she felt the panic welling up inside. And then it all came back to her. "Anna. My name is Anna. Which hospital am I at?"
"You're at Princeton-Plainsboro. You were in a terrible car accident but we are getting you all fixed up. The doctor is running some tests right now. Is there someone we can call for you sugar?"
The nurse's kindly manner put Anna at ease and she wanted to tell the nurse so badly to call her father when a cop came into the tiny, curtained off area. "I'm sorry but I need to speak with Ms...?"
"Patterson. Anna Patterson." Her head began to throb with the thought of the coming interview. Or perhaps it was the concussion.
The officer pulled up the chair next to her bed and she began to tell her story. She told of the last minute decision to visit her father on the three day weekend she had off work, the drive down from New York and the narrow city street where a drunk driver came careening out of an alley and smashed into her SUV sending it flying. Her eyes were wide and watery as she finished and the policeman put away his notebook. He hated drunk drivers.
After the officer left, another nurse came in. "They're finished with all the tests and the doctor will be in to see you again soon. Can we call some one for you while you wait?"
"Yes," she answered softly. "Can you call my father? He's a doctor here. His name is Greg House."
The stunned look on the nurse's face as she left to page Princeton-Plainsboro's most notorious doctor said far more than words could have.
