Disclaimer - Nope, don't own Code Lyoko. How I wish I did.
The nurse looks at the slumped figure resting in the chair curiously as she peruses the patient's chart. So it was true then; the hospital grapevine actually had been right. The blonde nurse taps a finger lightly on the chart while her mind ponders the scandalous possibilities. Why is Dr. Ice Eyes so wrapped up in this woman? Everyone was abuzz with the news. They had all wondered about the remote doctor's life and Carol never gave in to the wheedling or bribes. Remembering the task she was here to do, the nurse checks the chest tube to make sure no coagulated blood stuck to the inner lining. A clogged tube could lead into many nasty complications so the hospital took great pains to check them frequently.
The nurse briskly checks the pertinent details and marks on the chart the time and date of her inspection. All was well for now but these cases had a very high mortality rate in the first week. She'll be lucky to make it through. Throwing a last curious glance at the slumbering doctor in the chair she walks out to report to the other staff that the doctor showed no signs of leaving their new patient's side. Carol passes by her into the room as she walks out.
Carol ignores her boss slumped into the chair and stands by Aelita's beside. She too was incredibly curious about what went on between the two but that could wait. The poor woman looked haggard; her face was wan and the tubes helping her breathe and drain the last remnants of the internal bleeding didn't help. So far the aorta had held and now modern medicine sat back on its haunches and waited. Either Aelita would survive or another rupture would send them all into the operating room once again. Shaking the darker thoughts out of her head, Carol wonders how Jeremie is doing.
She walks around the bed and gives a start at the beeping sound in her ear. Carol chuckles wryly at herself for being surprised by a sound that she heard every day of her life. Guess I'm on edge due to today's events. A routine check of the monitor by the bed shows no abnormalities. She slumps into the blue chair by Jeremie with a soft crash but her boss hears it. Raising his head off of his hand, Jeremie immediately looks towards the bed and sighs with relief at the sight of Aelita.
He glances away from Aelita and at Carol. "How long was I out?" he asks while stifling a cracking yawn. Jeremie rummages through his medical coat slung on the other chair for his phone and checks the time. Wow, I slept for a while. Carol motions to the tray on the table beside her and Jeremie looks at the plate of food with a famished smile.
"I think you slept for four hours? You needed it after that surgery after all. Now eat." Carol commands sternly. Jeremie laughs and maneuvers the warm tray onto his lap. He opens the crisp biscuit and inhales the aroma of stew wafting from the white bowl.
"Thanks, Mom." Jeremie teases before cramming his mouth with the biscuit. His favorite scrub nurse rolls her eyes and watches him devour the tray in about a couple minutes. Hospital staff sure knew how to eat fast; time was scarce during shifts. Putting the tray on the table, Jeremie feels his gazed dragged to the splash of pink on the bed. She still acts like a magnet after all these years…
"What's with the pink hair? Just curious." Carol asks hesitantly. She wasn't sure if Jeremie wanted to talk about how he knew Aelita but the curiosity couldn't contain itself any longer. They saw all kinds of people every day but the woman didn't seem the type for anything flamboyant like dyeing her hair pink. Jeremie smirks at all the times people wondered about Aelita's hair before replying.
"It's natural. Don't ask why; I can't tell you that." He responds briskly. Silence settles on the two unbroken except for the steady beating of the monitoring equipment while Carol processes that statement. I don't think I've ever heard one sentence from him that said so much about him. First off Dr. Belpois obviously knew her very well. Secondly Carol found herself with a burning shard of curiosity in her heart at the secrecy. Surely pink hair can't be a national secret or something? Shrugging away that particular thought, the nurse wonders what to ask next. Jeremie opens his mouth to speak while Carol struggles with her mental consternation.
"It's been so long…" Jeremie sighs and continues staring at Aelita's peaceful face. "Ten long years." He shakes his head at his own stupidity. I just never can learn my lesson with her. He had thought that Aelita taught him the lessons he needed to learn after their breakup but he was wrong yet again. What good did ignoring her for ten years do? As he could attest very well, life liked to end suddenly without warning. Once again Aelita dropped into his existence to reveal another important truth: Live life with zest and without regrets. Sadly Jeremie failed both commands miserably. His work tried to be a substitute for life but it never could fill the thirst inside him for long. Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich flit through his mind and Dr. Belpois smiles at how much they meant to him still. I'm an idiot for driving them away.
Flipping open his phone and ignoring yet another look of concern on Carol's face, Jeremie scrolls through the menu to a number he hadn't called in a year. Come on Ulrich, I hope you still have this number. The long-distance would cost him a fortune but he didn't care. His salary barely got used anyway. His bank account was quite fat for a man of his age. The ringing tone buzzes three times before an incredibly familiar voice answers with suspicion. "Hello?" Ulrich asks.
"Ulrich! It's Jeremie." Jeremie chuckles into the phone at the lightness in his heart. How could icy isolation compare to talking to a best friend once more. A slight gasp greets his statement and a second of undistinguishable whispers follows. He's probably mentioning this to Yumi.
"Hey. It's been too long by far." Ulrich's voice contains a hint of an accusation. They hadn't given up on Jeremie; he gave up on them. Jeremie accepts the rebuke he deserves and apologizes.
"Sorry Ulrich, I've been an idiot the last year for ignoring you guys. That's going to change. But anyway why is Aelita in Boston?" he asks. Silence from the other end tells Jeremie that they had known she was here.
"Oh? You ran into her then? She requested a transfer from her company and they sent her there." Jeremie's heart trills with anticipation at the thought of Aelita actually staying here. Focus! She has to live first.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it running into her. I saw her on my operating table." Jeremie continues with the story of the surgery while Carol listens intently by his side. He doesn't seem to notice her eavesdropping.
"Oh my God, you've got to be kidding me. How's she doing?" Ulrich asks with a note of panic in his voice. Jeremie looks over at Aelita again.
"She's stable for now. The first week is critical so we'll see how it goes. Any chance of making it out here on a short notice? I'm sure she'd appreciate the support." Another few seconds of whispers and the voice that returns to the phone is feminine but still familiar.
"Hey Jeremie. We can probably fly out for a couple days since Ulrich's caseload isn't very high and I'm off on vacation this week anyway. Alright if we come in tomorrow evening?" Yumi asks.
"Shouldn't be a problem. Don't bother looking for a hotel; my house has plenty of room. Three extra bedrooms that I never use. I'll call Odd right after this alright?"
"Sounds good. We'll call Mark to let him know." Jeremie's brows raise in confusion as sudden silence greets him after Yumi's statement.
"Mark?" he asks back. A clearing of the throat echoes from across the ocean and Jeremie taps his fingers on the chair arm impatiently.
"Aelita's ex-husband. We never told you about him since she asked us not to mention it. That's why she requested the transfer after all; he worked in the same office. I think she wanted to get away from whatever tied her to him. Anyway they've been apart for a few months now. Their marriage only lasted…what was it Ulrich? Oh yes, a couple years. She never mentioned why it fell apart." Yumi replies in a rush. Jeremie absorbs the information and waits for the inevitable jealousy to surge in him. Thankfully Jeremie's tense body meets no surge of anger. Guess I outgrew at least one thing from my teenage years. That news didn't matter near as much as all of Aelita's friends being here for her.
"Ah, alright. Well I'm looking forward to seeing you again. I'll call you if anything comes up with Aelita's condition. Have a safe trip." Jeremie replies cheerfully.
"Goodbye Jeremie. We'll let you know our flight details once we know." Yumi replies and hangs up. Jeremie puts the phone down for a second to think about the conversation. Knowing his friends were alive and well gave him a certain feeling of euphoria; something that hadn't graced his senses in months. A sudden statement comes from his right shoulder as Carol blurts a question that had been nagging her all day.
"You love her don't you?" Carol softly asks. Jeremie turns to gaze at her with piercing blue eyes and nods.
"Yes. I always have. I screwed up ten years ago but now who knows what could happen?" Jeremie replies. Neither one notices Aelita's eyelids twitch on the bed. Standing up with another cracking sound emanating from his back, Jeremie obsessively checks Aelita's vital signs to make sure everything was fine. Carol wanted to continue this thread of conversation to find out what happened ten years ago but wisely shuts her mouth. That question probably spent all of her leeway with him.
Jeremie toys with his phone while marveling at how easily the old emotions resurrected themselves. Sunlight glints off the spinning rectangle and Carol realizes that hospital duties needed her once more. She gets up and leaves without a word as Jeremie loses himself in thought. A few nurses sneak a peek through the door as Carol passes through at the doctor within before the door closes once more. Remembering that one friend still needed to hear the news, Jeremie flips open the phone once more and scrolls down to Odd.
"Yo, this is Odd." A voice replies. Jeremie laughs at how unchanged it was; he could guarantee that Odd still retained his crazy hyper personality.
"This is Einstein. It's been a while." Jeremie replies and winces at the cry of delight from the other end. Holding the phone a little further away from his ear, Jeremie waits for Odd's excitement to abate.
"Been so long Einstein! What are you calling for now? How is the doctoring? Anything new in your life?" Odd asks rapidly. Jeremie tries to keep the barrage of questions straight as Odd pauses long enough for him to answer.
"Well, I'm calling to let you know that Aelita almost died last night. I operated on her myself and it was touch and go for most of it." Jeremie explains the situation again and for once Odd had no reply.
"When should I be there?" he replies quietly after a few seconds. Jeremie smiles at Odd's fierce loyalty to his friends. He hasn't changed.
"Anytime you can. Ulrich and Yumi are headed in tomorrow night and it will be a pleasure seeing you as well if you can make it." Jeremie replies.
"I definitely can. Work isn't busy right now. I'll be in tomorrow evening as well then. Not that long of a flight for me since I'm not an ocean away. See you soon Einstein. Take care of Aelita for us will you?" Odd asks with concern.
"Of course you can count on that." Jeremie replies and hears a chuckle from Odd.
"Why did I even ask? I know you'll do anything for her still. Like the good old days right?" Odd replies in merriment. Jeremie murmurs something in response while thinking of those good old days. Everything was so bright and clear in that time; not as murky and dark as life seemed to be for him now. He had known who he was and what he wanted then. Jeremie was now just a workaholic with no ties in life beyond his four friends. Shaking the melancholy from his thoughts, Jeremie bids Odd adieu and shuts the phone covering with a click.
He looks around the room and realizes that today was supposed to be his day off. At least today contains more excitement than usual. Not many other relaxation days led him to a bedside vigil. This is what you call excitement? You need to get out more. A snide voice replies in the back of his mind. Jeremie laughs at how he really hadn't lived since high school. His life put itself on hold once he went to college. He also knew why his life essentially remained in stasis for the last ten years.
There the cause sat, lost in whatever dreams flitted through her brain right now. He never got over her but that wasn't a surprise at all. The attempt at forgetting her for ten years merely walled away the emotions in a corner of his mind. Seeing her face yesterday cracked that barrier and once she looked at him with those emerald eyes then it would crumble down into a pile of rubble. It'll be like high school all over again. Hopefully not. That didn't turn out very well at the end. A slight veil of pain crosses Jeremie's eyes and Aelita stirs slightly. He quickly rushes to the bed and checks the monitor. Her blood pressure was steadily creeping up, putting pressure on that frail suture in her chest.
It went up by 10 in an hour? That's not good. Jeremie checks the chart hanging off the edge of the bed and realizes why. The pain medication was wearing off. He didn't want to keep her drugged for too long but right now it was necessary. A couple days of drug-induced coma beat another aortic rupture by a fair margin. He walks out the room and returns with a vial of morphine grabbed from the supply closet. Tapping the syringe and making sure there was no air in the tip, Jeremie deftly inserts the needle into her IV drip. The clear liquid flows into the tube and Aelita seems to relax into the bed. For a second, Aelita had regained consciousness but the incoming opiate was enough to send her into blackness again before she could even so much as open her eyes. Jeremie feels his heart loosen as the blood pressure dips once more.
The door opens just as he disposes of the syringe and Carol walks back in with a couple policemen in tow. Jeremie looks at them steadily; these kinds of interviews were fairly normal for him. Although generally they were directed at the patient, he still had a responsibility as a doctor to be there. "When is she going to be awake to talk to?" the taller cop asks gruffly.
"Not for a couple days. She needs to remain unconscious for the best chance of surviving the aortic trauma. Why was she shot anyway?" he asks.
The second cop responds before his partner could shoot a look of warning at him. "The usual pointless crime we see every day. Apparently she went into a mom and pop store to grab a few things and someone came barging in to rob it. The store manager said she tried to stop the gunman but got a bullet to the chest for her trouble. Well it actually worked; he ran out after shooting her. Damn foolhardy thing to do." The cop says admiringly. "Glad to see she lived through it. Everyone there thought she would die for sure. All thanks to you, doctor."
"Thanks but I had some help." Jeremie says sincerely. "I'll call you once she's in condition to talk. The nurse's station will get your number. Have a good day gentlemen." The cops nod and file back out the door.
"You doing alright?" Carol asks once again.
"Yep. My friends will be here tomorrow and Aelita's in stable condition. Definitely better than a few other alternatives that come to mind." Jeremie replies while pacing the room. He suddenly needed to shed a burst of nervous energy. "Wonder if I should take tomorrow off…" he muses as the small room seems to draw closer to him.
"Don't see why you can't. I don't remember you ever taking a day off in fact." Carol replies while tapping her finger against her chin. She really hadn't realized how much of her boss's life revolved around work until just now. Heading for the door in her usual brisk walk, Carol opens it and looks back at Dr. Belpois. "My shift ends so good luck. She'll be just fine you know."
"Thanks. Relax a bit and say hi to those kids for me!" Jeremie replies good-naturedly. Carol disappears into the bustling veins and arteries of the hospital. He takes his accustomed place in the blue chair opposite Aelita's bed and leans his head against the wall. The burst of energy fades as quickly as it arrived and tiredness replaced it. Sleep was a luxury he never got enough of. The steady drone of Aelita's heartbeat on the display gives Jeremie a rhythm to slip into dreams with. The sun moves across the still woman on the bed and the slumbering man a few feet away.
