3

"What do you need me for?" Mike asked Gabrielle when he reached the ED.
"Looks like Jack beat you to it," Gabrielle replied. Mike turned around and saw Jack taking a patient up to theatre. Jack waved at Mike.
"Need a hand?" Mike asked.
"All under control," Jack replied as the elevator doors closed.
"What's this about Sean's killer being in the ED?" Mike asked.
"Geez, good news travels fast," Gabrielle said sarcastically. "Zoe recognized him as soon as she saw him. Swears he was one of the men involved. The police are in with him how."
"How's Zoe?" Mike asked.
"A bit shaken up," Gabrielle replied. "Frank's with her."
"That'd be right," Mike muttered to himself. The two detectives emerged from sub acute two where Jackson had been moved to.
"Any luck?" Gabrielle asked them.
"Reckons he's not well enough to talk," one of the detectives said, rolling his eyes. "We were hoping to talk with Doctor Gallagher."
"She's in the quiet room, just though there," Gabrielle said pointing them in the right direction.
"Prick," Mike said angrily.
"If he did it, they'll get him, Mike," Gabrielle said reassuringly.
"If they don't, I will," Mike replied.

"Surgical wing still in tact?" Frank asked Vincent as he exited the elevator.
"Barely," Vincent joked. "Hey, how's Zoe?"
"She's shaken," Frank said. "But otherwise she's holding it together pretty well, considering. She's in the quiet room talking to the police now. Why don't you come into my office for a chat?"
"Oh I feel privileged," Vincent said with mock surprise.
"Watch it, Hughes," Frank replied.

"So how's Canada?" Frank asked when they were seated in his office.
"It's good," Vincent replied with a smile "Really good actually."
"Well don't you look like the cat that got the cream?" Frank mused. "I didn't know having an office the size of Tasmania was all it took to make you a happy man." Vincent laughed a little.
"Actually there's a bit more to it." Frank waited for Vincent to tell him.
"Oh God don't make me guess," he said, irritated.
"I've met someone," Vincent said.
"Ah, that explains it," Frank said. "Well who is she?"
"She's wonderful. Her name's Louisa. She's a trauma surgeon as well. Beautiful, great sense of humor, down to earth…"
"So I guess it really is a case of out of sight equals out of mind when it comes to Beaumont," Frank said.
"I should thank her for being so hard to get over," Vincent said. "I never would have met Louisa otherwise."
"So you're over Charlotte?" Frank asked skeptically. "I never thought I'd see the day."
"I am," Vincent nodded. "I'll always care about her but she just isn't a part of my life at anymore."
Charlotte stood against the wall just outside the open door to Frank's office. She was so blown away by everything she had just heard that she had forgotten why she was even there.

"Where's Dan?" Gabrielle asked. She looked at Erica.
"I'm not his keeper," Erica said, shrugging.
"Well his patient needs his obs taken. He's usually on top of this."
"How am I supposed to know?" Erica asked. "I have patients of my own to think about." Suddenly she remembered the drug check that she didn't do. "Gabrielle, can you please do a drug check with me?"
"Weren't you supposed to do it before?"
"I know," Erica said apologetically. Gabrielle sighed.
"Come on then." Gabrielle and Erica walked towards the drugs room. "Why is the door open?"
"I have no idea," Erica replied. She walked ahead of Gabrielle entered the drugs room to find Dan lying on the ground unconscious. "Oh God," she said panicked. "Gabrielle! Help!"
"Shit!" Gabrielle said, shocked, when she saw Dan. "I need help in here!" she yelled out. Mike ran towards them.
"What?" he asked. He went into the drugs room and saw Dan.
"Dan?" he asked as he rubbed his fist hard against his chest.
"His breathing's normal," Gabrielle said.
"He has Hepatitis C," Erica said, shaken.
"Get a trolley," Mike said. Dan slowly started to open his eyes. "That's it. Good man."

Charlotte was still standing against the wall outside Frank's office when she saw Erica rush through the ED. She snapped back into reality.
"What's wrong?" she asked Erica, who grabbed a spare trolley.
"Dan collapsed," Erica said, close to tears. Together they took the trolley over to the drugs room where Dan was lying there semi conscious.
"He was complaining of dizziness before. I noticed he'd been off all day," Charlotte said. "Do you want me to take over, Mike?"
"I've got it," Mike said. "Can all of you help me get him onto a trolley? Then we'll find him a bed, get bloods and check his blood pressure and-"
"The usual," Gabrielle interrupted. "Got it." After Dan was on the trolley, Mike and Gabrielle wheeled him over to sub acute. Erica started to follow but Charlotte grabbed onto her arm and held her back.
"Why don't you stay here until they've got it sorted?" she asked gently.
"No," Erica protested.
"You're not going to be any help to them in there, Ricki" Charlotte said. Erica took a shaky breath. She knew that Charlotte was right.
"We just had a stupid fight," Erica said. "God, I'm such an idiot."
"Well he was feeling off before that," Charlotte said. "And you're not an idiot. You didn't do that to him."
"He didn't even tell me that he wasn't feeling well," Erica said.
"He probably didn't want to worry you," Charlotte replied. She gave Erica a hug. "Take a break and we'll come and get you as soon as you can see him, okay?" Erica nodded and went towards the tearoom.

"What's going on?" Vincent asked, approaching Charlotte. Was that Dan on a trolley?
"Yep," Charlotte said. She walked away. Vincent watched her, wondering what caused her mood change.

"Mike, his blood pressure's way down." Gabrielle said. Dan was completely conscious now. Mike sighed with relief.
"I'd say that's why you passed out, Daniel," Mike said. "We'll wait til we get your blood work back before we rule out something Hep C related."
"Low blood pressure?" Dan asked, confused. "I've never had a problem with that before."
"It can manifest itself at any age," Gabrielle said. "You scared the hell out of all of us. Ricki especially."
"Can you get her?" Dan asked.
"How about when your blood work's back so hopefully you can give her some good news," Mike said. Dan nodded. "Not bad for a crusty old surgeon, eh?" Mike asked, winking at Gabrielle.

"What's going on?" Frank asked as he walked through the ED. He could always sense when things weren't quite right with his staff.
"Dan passed out. Probably related to low blood pressure, Zoe's still talking to the cops and Charlotte's in one hell of a mood," Vincent replied from the staff base where he was munching on an apple. "It's all happening."
"Hmmm Friday the thirteenth," Frank mused.
"That's what I said!" Dan shouted out from his cubicle. "Ask Ricki! I said that it was going to be one hell of a night!"
"Aren't you supposed to be resting, Goldman?" Frank shouted back.
"Sorry!" Dan replied.
"What the hell are you still doing here?" Frank asked Vincent. "It's 2:00am."
"I'm on Canada time," Vincent replied. "No one else is awake."

The two detectives walked out of the quiet room looking satisfied.
"Well?" Frank asked.
"We have some local ambos to thank for our big break," one of them said.
"How come?" Vincent asked.
"They took the registration plate details from the getaway car of the assault on the patient you're treating. One of the ambos-" he looked at his notebook- "a Ms Cate McMasters went to the police with it. We've been in touch with the police and the car is registered to a Mister Craig Shields. He and his mates are known to police for a number of misdemeanors. One of those mates being your patient. Four of them have been rounded up at the station for questioning regarding the death of Sean Everleigh. We're taking Doctor Gallagher in there now to do an ID check."
"Oh thank Christ," Frank said with relief.

Mike stood at the staff base holding Dan's blood test results. He was listening to Frank talking to the detectives. He looked around and saw that Charlotte and Gabrielle, who had replaced Dan as Jackson's nurse, were deep in discussion near the drugs room. Slowly he walked over to where Jackson was.
"Who are you?" Jackson asked when he saw Mike. Mike closed the curtain behind him.
"You piss weak little shit," he said with quiet disgust. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Jackson looked around nervously. Mike stepped towards him.
"You hit a man in front of his partner and leave him there to die like a mongrel dog!"
"I…" Jackson stammered.
"Only he didn't," Mike continued angrily, closing in on Jackson. He survived for hours. He fought for life with everything he had and died in pain just over there." Mike pointed towards resus. "And for months you just go about your life as though it didn't even happen. I hope you don't co operate. I hope you do the opposite of everything the police say. Because the worse you make it for yourself, the more time you're gonna spend rotting away in prison like the scum you are." He glared at Jackson with absolute fury and stormed out of sub acute.
"I think he's ready to talk," Mike said to the detectives who looked at him puzzled. He picked up Dan's test results.

Mike sighed as he went in to see Dan.
"Oh no," Dan said, fearing the worst when he saw Mike's face.
"No, don't worry you're fine," Mike said. "It was low blood pressure as expected. Your condition hasn't deteriorated.
"Well what's with the face?" Dan asked.
"Sorry," Mike said. "I just had a word with your mate Jackson."
"And said what?" Dan asked.
"I'll go get Ricki shall I?" Mike asked, leaving.