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.
