George walked into the hospital's cafeteria and dropped his tray on the table, deliberately waking Alex up, who was fast asleep, his arms crossed on the table and his head rested on them, making him almost loose his balance and falling of the chair. He chuckled to himself and sat down, closely examining Alex. He had dark circles under his eyes, and although he rubbed his hand over his face in attempt to wake up he still looked run down and beyond exhausted. George almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost.
"Are you okay? You seem…. tired" George asked.
"I'm fine." Alex replied, just as his pager went off, and he left without even touching his food.
Alex got home past midnight and was ready to drop. He barely made it from the hospital back to the house. He felt nauseas the entire drive home, and by the time he had parked in front of Meredith's house he was shaking so bad he was sure he was going to crash the car. He waited in the car for a few minutes, just taking deep breaths, wishing the nausea to pass. When the feeling didn't go away he eventually gave up, opened the door and threw up right there on the lawn. He slowly stretched up, wiping his mouth and wincing at the bitter taste of bile in his mouth.
"Are you insane?!" He heard Izzie yelling as she ran up to him. "Are you out of your mind?" What the hell was she yelling about he thought to himself, confused. "Driving home drunk? You're lucky you didn't hit anyone. What's the matter with you?"
"I'm not drunk" He said dejectedly and tried to get past her.
"Yeah, right." Izzie replied sarcastically.
He exhaled loudly and brushed past her. Seriously, he just wanted to get inside, crawl into his bed and sleep until tomorrow. Until he would have to wake up to go to radiation again and go through the entire nightmare again.
Izzie looked at Alex as he walked towards the house. At first she thought that he was drunk. What else was she supposed to think when she saw him park the car not so gracefully on the lawn and vomiting out the open door? But now she wasn't so sure. He seemed steady when he walked…. Maybe he was just sick… or tired…. Eventually she just followed him inside.
She saw him slumped on the couch in the living room, he didn't even bother to take his shoes off. Just lied there on his left side, his eyes slam shut and he seemed like he was in pain.
"Are you sick?" She didn't sound as angry as before, just worried.
"I'm not feeling well." He admitted. "I'm not drunk."
"I know. I'm sorry…. I didn't mean to… I just assumed… why won't you go up to your room and I'll make you some tea?" she offered.
"Think I'll just stay here…" he mumbled as he felt his eyelids grow heavier. God, how is going to get through another day like this, if he can't even make it upstairs to his own room, or keep himself awake?
Izzie watched him for a few seconds after he had fallen asleep, before throwing a thin blanked on him and going back to her own room to catch a few hours of sleep.
Alex woke up and had no idea where he was. At first he thought that he was back home in Iowa but then remembered that he was in Seattle, in Meredith's house and that he simply crashed in the living room last night. He looked at his watch and saw that it was only 4:27 AM and tried to go back to sleep, but after turning and tossing on the couch for 20 minutes he just gave up. He walked slowly upstairs, the climb taking its toll on him and left him almost breathless. But he wanted to take a shower in his own bathroom and all his clothes where in his room. He went into his bathroom and turned the water to burning hot, suddenly feeling cold. Was it because it was early in a winter morning or because he was sick? He couldn't tell. He took a good look at himself in the mirror and decided that for now he only looked tired, but that was not uncommon when you're a resident, and just a little sick, like he was coming down with something and he could definitely live with that.
He got under the steaming hot water and allowed himself to relax a little. He wasn't feeling as sick as he felt the night before; the few hours of sleep he got definitely helped, even if he only got about 4 hours. Plus, today is supposed to be an easier day. He still has to go to County for radiation, but he doesn't have any major surgeries and he could take it easy if he feels he's not up to it.
He got up and got dressed before going down stairs to get something to eat and grab a cup of coffee. It was only 5 AM and no one was up yet, so he allowed himself to enjoy the peace and quiet for a while. It was rare these days to have Meredith's house all to himself. Grabbing one of Izzie's muffins he sat his coffee on the table and set down sipping from his steaming coffee mug.
"Feeling any better?" Izzie asked as she walked into the kitchen. Her hair was messy and she was yawning widely. "Maybe you should call in sick today…" She suggested as she made herself a cup of coffee.
"Nah… I'm feeling much better…. Must be something I ate… I'll be fine." He said as he got up to leave.
"What? You're leaving already? It's only 5 AM."
"Yeah, I have this errand before work and I don't want to be late." He said as he grabbed his half eaten muffin for the road.
--
By the time he was about to start his rounds Alex was already run down. What little he had for breakfast made a reappearance shortly after he had left County, and he had been sick three more times since then. He took a quick shower once he got to Seattle Grace in the hopes that it would make him feel slightly better, but no matter how hot the water was he simply couldn't get warmer. He could feel the chills running through his body, which meant that he probably got a fever. That's just great, he thought angrily to himself. He thought about calling his oncologist and was just about to make the call when Christina walked into the locker room and told him that Dr. Shepard was looking for him and he was late for rounds. So he decided to delay the call for now, probably just a side affect from radiation, he thought- it's not unheard of. He put on his lab coat and left.
"Glad you could join us, Dr. Karev." Dr. Shepard welcomed Alex sarcastically, as he walked into the patient's room. Shepard was standing by the patient's bed along with Meredith and her interns, and Alex couldn't help but wonder whether he was needed there or not. Meredith was carefully studying him, he could feel her eyes on him, so he stretched up a little and tried to hide the nausea and generally look more alive.
"We were just discussing the precautionary measures in this case." Dr. Shepard continued. "Dr. O'Malley, care to fill Dr. Karev in?"
"Ah… Mr. William's tumor can cause uncontrollable violent outbursts, so he will be held in restrains until his surgery." George explained.
"Good, and what will we do in case he has an outburst, Dr. Karev?" Dr. Shepard addressed the question to him, catching him completely unprepared; he wasn't even paying attention to what George was saying before.
"What?" he asked. Dr. Shepard just stared at him, clearly pissed off.
"We'll treat it with Haldol." Meredith said, covering for him.
"Okay then. Mr. Williams, you're in good hands, and I'll be seeing you in a few hours." Dr. Shepard said as they all exited the room. Once they were all outside he addressed the staff. "What ever you do, do not aggravate him and do not let him out of the restrains- before he was diagnosed he almost choked a guy to death…" He said and left the groups of doctors standing there.
"Are you okay?" He heard Meredith asking him.
"Not really…" He replied softly, not even bothering to pretend with her.
"Why won't you do lie down for a bit, I'll cover for you…." She suggested. He thought about turning her down, refusing to receive help, but the mere thought about standing for even a bit longer was tiring him, so he simply nodded and thanked her before he went to find an empty bed in one of the deserted corridors of Seattle Grace.
He got almost 30 minutes of sleep and felt slightly more human when he went back to check on his patients. "Alex, help!" He heard George call out his name from Mr. Williams' room. He was unrestrained when he walked into his room, and Alex wondered who was the idiot who let him loose. He was standing in front of George waving an IV pole in every direction shouting at them to step back.
"George, get security, and page Shepard." He ordered and stepped closer to Mr. Williams. He waited until George left before grabbing the pole out of his hands. On any other day he would have easily taken him down. But today in his weak state he had no such luck. He tried to pull the pole out of Mr. Williams' hands but the man had a firm grip and instead pulled Alex closer to him. It all happened too fast for Alex to react- Mr. Williams punched him in his face and he could hear a sickening crack sound as his fist connected with his nose, breaking it, making blood flow freely from his nose and drip onto his chin. Alex was blinded from the pain for a mere second but it was all it took for Mr. Williams to grab his throat with one hand while still punching him with the other.
Alex tried to struggle free as he felt that breathing was getting harder and harder, as Mr. Williams hand closed around his wind pipe. He managed to strike Mr. Williams a few times but it didn't loosen his grip, and Alex began to panic as he realized that the man was having some sort of seizure, which meant that his muscles are cramping up and will soon block all of his air ways.
They struggled for a few more seconds until suddenly Mr. Williams threw them both through the glass wall into the hallway. Alex heard the sound of glass shattering before he felt the shards tear his skin as they both fell to the ground, but even the fall didn't cause Mr. Williams to loosen his grip. He was really dizzy by now from the lack of oxygen and didn't have the strength to fight him any longer. Eventually he just gave up and stopped fighting all together, allowing his eyes to close.
"What the hell?! Who let him out of the restrains?" Dr. Shepard stormed the corridor. "Oh God." He managed to say as the scene played before him- Alex was lying on the floor, his arms spread to his sides, his eyes slam shut, blood running freely from his nose and from a few lacerations in his forehead, while Mr. Williams was on top of him, choking him, his face all red from the effort. The two of them were covered in pieces of glass from the broken wall and the shards were glistering all over the floor, making the whole scene seem a bit surreal. He quickly approached them and injected the Haldol, and Mr. Williams grip loosened immediately, and he was taken back to his room by George and another orderly.
"Alex, Alex… Can you hear me…" Dr. Shepard attended to the resident, who seemed unconscious. He forcefully squeezed the muscle between his neck and his shoulder, and really began to get worried when he got no response. "Alex, Alex, open your eyes" He tried again. Suddenly, Dr. Bailey appeared beside him with an ambu bag forcing oxygen into her former intern's lungs. She squeezed the bag twice before Alex suddenly jerked away from them, turning over his left side and violently coughing.
The coughing fit seemed to last forever, leaving Alex throat feeling scratched and raw. He inhaled quickly a few times filling his lungs with air, and all the while trying to hold the tears back. He could feel someone drawing soothing circles on his back and he slowly began to relax. Slowly he pushed himself into a sitting position leaning heavily against the wall breathing deeply, still coughing every now and then.
"You're okay… you're okay…" Dr. Bailey tried to calm him down. "Follow this…." He heard Dr. Shepard talking to him. He didn't respond. "Alex…" He addressed him again. He lifted his eye lids and shone a pen light in his eyes. The sudden brightness making him feel sick. He shut his eyes and swallowed hard against the sudden wave of nausea.
"Alex…." Dr. Shepard asked again, shining the pen in his eyes.
He couldn't fight it anymore this time. He turned to his left side and violently retched into a trash can. He felt awful. He waited until the cramping subsided and he was only dry heaving before he straightened up and opened his eyes, allowing Dr. Shepard to examine him. He followed the pen light with his eyes and answered their question briefly.
"You probably have a concussion." Dr. Shepard summarized. "You should get a CT…."
"No!!" He almost shouted. "No, I'm fine…" He added softly. If he did another CT they would definitely find out he was sick, and he couldn't handle it right now.
"Fine." Dr. Bailey agreed. "But at least go to Slaon and have your nose looked at and get him to stitch you up." She instructed, and for the first time Alex noticed that he was bleeding from a few lacerations in his head. Dr. Bailey got up and Dr. Shepard helped him to stand up. He swayed a little as he stretched up and had to lean against the wall for support for a few seconds before he was sure he will be able to walk on his own.
"Oh God." Izzie yelled as she ran into the three of them in the hall way. "What happened?" Alex looked awful- there were already bruises forming a black eye and sort of raccoon look from the broken nose. There were also bruises clearly forming around his neck in the shape of fingers making Izzie feel bit nauseas. There were also several lacerations slowly oozing blood from where the glass probably cut his skin. He looked pale and was covered in sheen of sweat, and he also seemed to be unsteady on his feet. Perhaps on top of everything else he was still sick from last night, she wondered. Maybe she should tell the rest of the doctors about that…
"Nothing… I… I'm fine" Alex said suddenly feeling a bit dizzy.
"Dr. Karev here is just going to get himself patched up by Dr. Slaon, and then he is going home, isn't that right, Dr. Karev?" Dr. Bailey said in a tone of voice which indicated that he had absolutely no say in the matter. "Maybe you could escort him there?"
"Sure" Izzie agreed and turned around to walk Alex into an exam room.
"I don't need a babysitter…" He mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?" Dr. Bailey asked.
"Nothing…" He growled and followed Izzie into the empty exam room.
Dr. Sloan just finished the last of his stitches when the Chief, Dr. Shepard and Dr. Bailey walked in, and Alex couldn't stop himself from sighing deeply, indicating there is nothing more he would rather have than them gone.
"How are you feeling, Dr. Karev?" The Chief asked.
"Fine." He answered curtly.
"I wouldn't call a concussion and 13 stitches fine."
"I've been beat up worse by my father." He blurted before he could stop himself, and everyone in the room got quiet all of a sudden.
"It was one of the new nurses, who opened the restrains." Dr. Shepard provided with an explanation, making sure that Alex understood that it was not his fault, not that he thought it was his fault to begin with.
"I would strongly recommend that you'd stay here for observation for at least on night, but I understand that you feel strongly against it. So you're going home." The Chief instructed. "And I don't want to see you here for the rest of the week, understood? And if by any chance you are not feeling well, if the smallest thing feels off somehow, I want you back here in an instance. Is that clear?"
"Crystal, sir." Alex replied before getting up to leave.
"Alex, wait." Izzie called after him. "Let me drive you home…" She offered and he waited until she caught up with him, silently accepting her offer.
--
Meredith got home a little early hoping to check in on Alex. She was having a hard time covering for him, keeping his secret. She was really worried about him, getting beaten up can't possibly be doing his illness any good. She brought a bag of saline with her, guessing he is probably dehydrated.
"Alex?" She called out for him as she went upstairs. She got no response, maybe he's sleeping, she wondered. When she got upstairs she saw that Alex's door was closed. She softly knocked and called out his name again. When she still got no response she opened the door and got inside.
The first thing Meredith noticed was the scent of vomit in the air. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and moved closer to the bed, where she assumed lay Alex underneath the covers, though his face was not visible. She peered at the bucket by the bed and realized the awful smell came from there. Alex probably had left it there instead of getting up to throw up each time. She pulled the covers a little revealing Alex's face. He was a sleep and didn't even acknowledge her presence. His skin seemed hot to the touch and she figured that he is probably running a fever. She tucked the covers around him before moving to open the window, letting the cold winter air enter the room. She then grabbed the bucket and went into Alex's bathroom to wash it.
Returning back to Alex's room a couple of minutes later with a glass of water and the saline bag the smell was beginning to evaporate and it was easier to breathe. She put the saline bag on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Alex?" She softly shook him.
"Wha'?" he slurred in his sleep.
"Alex, I need you to wake up." She shook him a bit harder this time.
He slowly opened his eyes, turned on his back and pulled himself into a semi sitting position. His face now clearly visible, Meredith could examine the full extant of his injuries. "God…" She whispered. His left eye was almost completely swollen shut, and the ugly purple bruises around his neck probably made it difficult for him to breath. There were to butterfly bandaged just above his right brow covering a neat row of stitches and another bandage right by his hairline. He looked completely miserable.
"It looks worse than it really is." He said apologetically when he noticed she was staring at him.
"Here, drink this." She handed him the glass of water.
He took the glass from her and put it aside. "Thanks, but really don't think I'll be able to keep anything down."
"You're probably dehydrated." She said reaching for the saline bag.
He looked at the bag and then back at Meredith. "Fine." He agreed and stretched out his right arm so that she could insert the needle easily.
It took her a couple of minutes to set the IV and once she was finished she put the bag on Alex's shoulder allowing the fluids to flow into his vain freely. His eyes were closed again and he seemed to be sleeping. The room was getting too cold for her so she got up and closed the window and then sat back on the bed.
"You can't keep doing this Alex." She said quietly. Alex opened his eyes and looked at her.
"You'd have to tell them… I mean… look at you…"
"It wasn't my fault… one of the nurses let the guy loose…."
"Yeah, but any other day you would have been able to fight him off and wouldn't let things get this far… you're just lucky it didn't turn out worse." She retorted back.
"I can't… I'm handling this the best way I know how…" he said without looking her in the eye.
"I know you are…." Meredith said quietly. She softly ruffled his hair as she got up. "Get some sleep; I'll be waking you up every couple of hours or so to check on your concussion." He closed his eyes again.
"Meredith?" he called out to her and she turned around at the doorway. "I'll tell them eventually okay? Just not… not now. But I want to be the one to tell them… so you have to… promise me… promise me you are not going to say anything?" He pleaded again. Meredith simply nodded before exiting the room.
