Disclaimer- I own nothing
I'm sorry for my mistakes in the last chapter...was quiet tired whilst writing that. And don't worry, it's not late while I'm writing this, so things should be much better. - Natalie
Another thing, Sorry if things aren't exactly historically acurate, I'm not a walking textbook haha.
Now here, we have a little Bonamesser.
Stella Bonasera sat down in the break room, lifting a few pages over on the clip board that Jane Fowler had just given her, at the beginning of the week, Jane had told her she would be in the OR working graveyard shifts full time starting at 9pm and ending at 7am.
Things had changed on Sunday when 60 more injured people had arrived at the hospital, on Monday morning Jane had found her and had proceeded to tell her that she wouldn't be in the OR for that week, she would be assigned to a patent until further notice.
Stella had groaned inwardly upon hearing the news, she wasn't a very patient woman, and when it came to patents, dealing with them had never been her strong point. What was worse was that her shift started in less than half an hour. Jane hadn't given her much time to go over the patents documentation, another thing that had pissed her off, it was safe to say that her week wasn't going very well, she hadn't seen her best friend Lindsay in almost five days, she missed their talk and silly-ness, because of the shift change, they had been put on completely different hours. Stella knew that Lindsay would be working during the day, and hopefully now that she would be babying some uptight soldier, she'd get to see Lindsay more often.
She would be nursing Private Danny Messer, 29 years old, from New York. She smiled faintly, she'd been an orphan in New York, until she had figured herself out, she planned to go back there once the war was over.
Sometimes she wondered why she worked so hard, why she had become a nurse only to work long hours cleaning up after people who couldn't do it themselves. Maybe, just maybe she would be lousy at anything else. She glanced at her watch, knowing she would have to leave now in order to arrive on time for her shift, she folded the papers over and got up, making sure she looked presentable before leaving the room.
Private Messer would be staying in room no. 145 that wasn't situated too far away from the break room, making things easier for her. Upon arrival, she noticed that there were only two beds occupied in the room, and both men were sleeping, there had been no picture on the clip board so she would have to wake both up in order to learn which of them was Private Messer.
She walked closer so she stood at the foot of the beds and cleared her throat, hoping the two men would awake from their slumber, unfortunately for her, they didn't move an inch. She sighed, rolling her eyes and clapped her hands loudly, hoping to shock the men awake.
"Come on now, wake up." She said, trying not to sound as annoyed as she was. She was shocked when the first man shot up, opening sparkling baby blues, he was a real looker. The second man had dark blue eyes, a beard and medium brown hair, baby blue eyes had mousy brown hair with specks of blonde here and there.
"Can I ask which of you is Private Danny Messer?"
Baby blues lifted his head and smiled meekly, "I'm Danny Messer."
The other smiled too, "I'm Private Adam Ross." he said shyly, a light blush covering his cheeks. Suddenly, Stella felt a lot better than she had earlier that morning, she came around to the right side of Private Messer's bed and flipped back her clip board file.
"I am nurse Stella Bonasera, I have been assigned as your nurse for the time being until you recover enough to be sent home or wherever it is that you will be going."
Danny smiled, he couldn't believe his eyes, the previous day he had been told he would have a grumpy old nurse named Clarissa Carver who was in her late fifties by the looks of it.
"I thought nurse Carver had been assigned to me." Stella smiled, raising an eyebrow.
"Would you prefer her as your nurse?" Danny's eyes widened considerably as he began to shake his head furiously.
"No, Ma'am. I would prefer you, over anyone here." He said, blushing slightly.
Stella smiled again, "Well that's settled then." She turned to Adam gave him a polite smile before moving to the end of their beds again.
"I do not know who your nurse will be, Private Ross, but I assure you she will be here soon." Adam nodded again shyly before turning to stare at the door, as if on cue, nurse Kendall Novak entered the room. She was a pretty blond, tall and very friendly, she and Stella got on like a house on fire, another thing for Stella to be happy about.
Adam's eyes lit up a little when Kendall told him that she would be his nurse, Stella and Kendall exchanged looks every so often when they were taking care of the nursing duties, sharing a secret smirk. It had been a while since either of them had been given such young soldiers to look after, the last patient Stella had been assigned to had been in his mid forties and crankier than anyone she had ever met.
Once Stella had made sure Private Messer was well and able to manage on his own for the remainder of the evening, she folded the documentation over and prepared to leave.
"Stella?"
She turned around and saw Danny, a saddened look having taken shape upon his features.
"Yes, is there something wrong?"
Danny shook his head, "Well no, yes, not exactly. My family don't know I am here, would it be possible for me to write them a letter, I have my family, Louie, Alphonse and Clamenza at home, they are my only family who live in America, they live on Staten Island, New York. The rest are in Italy."
Stella sighed "I'll have someone send up some paper and ink, you let your family know you're safe."
Danny nodded "Thank you...means a lot."
Stella nodded, smiling politely at Adam and Danny before leaving the room. She was due a break, and there would be no questioning that.
Lindsay entered the ward and noticed that the blue curtain had been pulled around Mac's bed, she frowned slightly, knowing that wasn't the norm. She quickly pulled it back and saw blood stained sheets. She felt her heart fall into the pit of her stomach, white hot fear flashing behind her eyes. Before she could even think she was running towards the OR as fast as she could. Nearby doctor's and nurse's just stared as she ran past them.
She threw open the doors of the OR and looked around, trying to find him.
"Where is he!" She yelled, getting the attention of a few doctors working around her. They stayed silent, making her angrier by the second.
"Where is Lieutenant Taylor?" She repeated, her heart threatening to burst from her chest.
The double doors in the back opened and out came Sheldon, wearing blue scrubs and normal surgery gear. She panicked as he came to stand in front of her.
"He fell off the bed, causing two of his broken ribs to puncture something, causing internal bleeding, we've stabalized him, but he's still in critical condition." He said, not going into detail about what had been punctured.
"Tell me Sheldon. I can handle it."
"No, you don't need to hear it. He'll pull through, you know he will."
Lindsay breathed heavily, pushing some hair away from her face. "Can I see him?"
Sheldon sighed, "He's not looking good, Linds...but as your his nurse, I can't stop you."
She sighed and looked down, trying to regain her breath and common sense. Sheldon wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.
"Lieutenant Taylor is strong, Linds. I am very sure that he will pull through."
Lindsay sighed again. "I'm going to see him...he might need me when he wakes up."
Sheldon nodded and gave her a gentle squeeze before heading into one of the staff bathrooms to change out of his operating clothing.
Lindsay felt her heart leap as she entered the OR ward Mac had been staying in. What she saw made her feel sick, there were a total of six beds in the ward, holding the soldiers who had suffered the worst of the injures. People who had been blown up more severely than Corporal Flack, missing limbs, gun shot trauma, you name it.
She gulped as she approached the last bed of three on the left side. He was hooked up to an oxygen machine, a drip and some other tubes for medicine. His skin looked pale, paler than usual. They had dressed him in some hospital pyjamas, the shirt he wore had been left open, revealing a large patch of gauze and bandages covering his chest. He was spleeping. She had been frightened, and thought that if the heart moniter hadn't been beeping she would have thought he was gone, but she trusted Sheldon's medical work and his judgement, so she knew he would most likely pull through.
She pulled up an ugly uncomfortable blue plastic chair next to his bed and sat down. All she could do was stare at him, hope he would open those beautiful green eyes again soon. Hope he would pull through this.
A tap on her shoulder brought her out of her daze, she glanced up and saw Jane, who was currently giving her a sympathetic look.
"I'm sure Lieutenant Taylor will be fine. I have talked to Doctor Hawkes and he has assured me that Lieutenant Taylor has been stabalized and will begin to heal soon."
Lindsay nodded, not replying. She knew the prognosis and trusted every word that came from his mouth.
"I trust Sheldon's judgement." She said when Jane hadn't left for a few minutes.
"Yes. I would like you to and collect Lieutenant Taylor's belongings, they will be here with him until he is well enough to be transfered back to the normal ward."
Lindsay nodded, "Sure. How is Corporal Flack doing?"
Jane blushed and smiled, "He woke up this morning, he is quite the charmer."
Lindsay smiled, "I'm sure." She said before leaving to go to Lieutenant Taylor's ward. She knew he had said she could call him Mac, but under these circumstances, she wouldn't be caught out.
She entered the room and approached the bed, seeing Corporal Flack sat up, leaning against his pillows as he read one of the books Mac had been given.
He glanced up when she had entered and abruptly placed his book down, he blushed slightly on her arrival, only because she resembled a painting of a woman he had seen in America a few years back. His mother had bought the painting at a market, and it had been on the wall in their living room for years, and the girl who stood in front of him looked so much like her, it was unreal.
"Good morning, Corporal...your well I assume?"
He nodded and she smiled, going to the side of Mac's bed, retreiving his belongings. She felt a frown come, she tried to contain herself, hope that he'll pull through.
"Where is Mac, Lieutenant Mac Taylor? I was told that he was staying here in this room." asked the Corporal, looking at Lindsay questioningly.
She sighed and placed Mac's things down, she sat down in the chair that sat across from the Corporal's bed. She took hold of one of his hands, not noticing how he blushed again.
"He came out of surgery this morning, he is in the intensive care until, his internal bleeding was worse than they thought. But the doctors are very hopeful that he will recover."
The Corporal squeezed her hand tightly, a tear rolling down his cheek. Lindsay could feel tears coming to her eyes too, hoping Mac would be alright. She returned the squeeze and didn't release his hand, she moved closer to it would be easier for him to hold it.
"How do you know him?" The Corporal asked after his tears had subsided.
"I am his nurse, I have only know him barely a week. He has an effect on everyone as it seems."
"Yes, I have known him since I first joined the army, back in 1939...I know it's only six years, but I owe that man everything."
Lindsay placed a hand on his face, "He will pull through, I'm sure of it."
"And if not?"
"Don't think about it Corporal, he will be fine...they have him stabalized."
"Please call me Don. I know you're not supposed to, but I'd prefer if you did.
"Ok Don...Lieutenant Taylor is the same, he will scold me every time I use his title, he won't have it."
Don smiled faintly, "Something we've always had in common. My girlfriend Jessica was killed last year in an air raid attack, things haven't been quite the same since, and now Mac. I loved Jessica, and I love Mac...I can't lose him too." Don said, tears falling again.
Lindsay moved forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulder's gently, stroking his hair as he cried.
"You won't lose him. I promise."
"You can't promise that...what if.." She cut him off, "Yes, I'm an optimist."
"Ok. I hope you're right."
After some time she had sat back in her chair, the tears had stopped thankfully.
"What is your name?" He asked, looking curious.
"Lindsay Monroe."
"A lovely name..." He smiled, chuckling when she blushed. She glanced at her watch and gasped.
"I really must go. I was told to bring the Lieutenant's things over to ICU. It was lovely meeting you Corporal."
"Don...remember. come back soon though."
"I will." She said, smiling as she left.
She took a deep breath as she entered the ICU, walking slowly towards Mac's bed were he lay sleeping, hooked up to everything. She hoped he'd be ok...he had too many people counting on him. She knew somewhere deep down that he wasn't going anywhere, but it still made her sad to think about it.
She placed his belongings into the identical cabinet to the side of the bed, closing the little door and sitting in the chair pulled next to his bed. She took hold of his hand and kept it there until Jane walked into the room, she grimaced when she saw where Lindsay's hands were.
"Remember Lindsay, no fraternizing."
Lindsay sighed and gave Jane a pointed look, "I would never do that Jane, you know that."
Jane nodded, Lindsay sighed and glanced back to Mac's sleeping form.
"Corporal Flack cried earlier. This man here means a lot to a lot of people."
Jane smiled sadly, "He never asked when I was there."
"I think someone told him that I am Lieutenant Taylor's nurse."
"Yes. Well you're free to go now if you'd like. It's a lot quieter around here now that everyone has their jobs to do."
"Thank you, Jane. I appreciate that."
"You're welcome. See you tomorrow." Jane said, leaving the room. Lindsay knew she could leave, but she wanted to spend some more time with Mac, she felt butterflies inside when she thought about him, even though she'd only known him a short while, he had taken a great effect.
"Hey stranger." Lindsay turned around and saw Stella standing in the door way, it was all she could do not to bolt up and throw her arms aorund the other girl.
"I have missed you so much this week, it's unreal." She whispered, even though she knew Mac wouldn't be waking up any time soon.
"I know, I have been assigned to a patient. So you'll be seeing a lot more of me now." Lindsay grinned as Stella pulled a plastic chair up next to hers.
"So, who is this man." Stella asked, pointing to Mac.
"Lieutenant Mac Taylor, internal bleeding crept up on him yesterday. Hawkes said he should do ok though."
"He's quite handsome, you're lucky." She said, making Lindsay blush.
"Stell, you know being romantically involved with the patients is absolutely forbidden."
"Unfortunately." Stella said, rolling her eyes.
"So, who have you been assigned to?"
"Private Danny Messer, he's quite the looker too, you know."
Lindsay smiled sadly and turned her head towards Mac, "I know of him, Mac was talking about him the other day."
"Yes. I've heard he's quite important."
"Yes, I have met Corporal Flack, but that's it...I've heard of Adam, Danny and Don. But I have only met Don."
"I met Adam and Danny today, they're very charming, I assure you. How was the Corporal?"
"He cried in my arms, and by the end, he told me to come back tomorrow."
Stella nodded, "Private Ross seemed happy to have Kendall as his nurse."
"I'm sure, Kendall is very good at impressing those around her."
"Don't we all know it."
"Yes. Jane warned me again about being involved with patients, just because she saw me holding Mac's hand."
"She can be annoying sometimes. And there is one question I'd like to ask."
Lindsay nodded, "Do you like this man here. You know you can trust me."
Lindsay shushed her, got up and looked outside, making sure no one was around to hear. She closed the door, making a perfect sound barrier.
Lindsay sighed as she sat down again.
"Maybe. There's something about him that gives me butterflies." Stella clapped her hands excitedly, making girly noises.
"Ooh, maybe you'll marry once the war is over."
"Stella! I have know him a week, you make it seem like I'm in love with him."
"Maybe you are, love at first sight?"
Lindsay shook her head, blushing.
"No. I don't think so...the attraction is there, though I imagine I'm invisible to him."
"So, is Danny cute?" Lindsay asked, changing the subject. Stella raised a brow but let it slide, leaving the younger girl to contemplate her feelings on her own.
"Yes, he's from New York, has the accent and everything, blue eyes and brown hair with hints of blond."
"Lovely, and Adam?"
"He's slightly more porky than Danny, but he's cute all the same, he has a slight beard, blue eyes and brown hair."
"You know, we really shouldn't be adressing them by their first names, though Don and Mac have already told me they'd prefer if I used their first name."
"Yes, but it makes it all the more exciting."
"Jane would have our heads."
"I know."
"Good. So we need to be more careful."
Stella sighed and nodded, while Lindsay stared at Mac again, hoping he'd wake up soon.
"Do you think he'll pull through?" Lindsay asked, hoping for an honest answer.
"Of course he will, I've heard that he's a hard ass. I'm sure he will."
Lindsay glanced at her watch and decided that it was late enough to retire for the night, she glanced at Mac again, wishing he were well enough to wake up.
She rose from the uncomfortable chair and waited as Stella followed her, they both made their way back to the nurse dorm slowly, not caring about the time.
"So, will I be seeing more of you now?" Lindsay asked, hoping she would.
"Yes. I'm going to ask Jane if I can be moved to your dorm since we're working the same hours now."
"That would be great, I sometimes get sick of Julie Rodriguez and her big mouth, all of the other girls in the dorm literally kiss her feet."
"I agree, she thinks to highly of herself."
"Yes, you're lucky you have Peyton and Kendall in your dorm, making sure you don't go stir crazy."
"Yes, I guess I am very lucky. I'd probably go crazy to if I had to put up with Julie Rodriguez daily."
Stella smiled, "Well I'm going to try and get some sleep tomorrow, if we have the same breaks, I will come to Lieutenant Taylor's ward, assuming you'll be there?"
"Yes." Lindsay sighed, moving forward to hug her friend.
"Sleep well Linds, don't stay up worrying about him, he'll be fine."
"Ok. Goodnight."
"And you."
Lindsay sighed greatfully on entering the dorm, Julie and three of the other girls were sleeping leaving a girl with light brown hair who she'd never seen before. The girl looked up and smiled.
"Hi, I'm Kennedy Chase." Lindsay reutrned the smile and sat on her bed facing the girl.
"Lindsay Monroe. Nice to meet you."
"I'm glad I've met you, I met the other four girls in this dorm earlier, they all seem to follow the tall blonde girl, I think her name was Julie."
Lindsay smiled, "Finally, another person who isn't completely up Julie's backside."
"I can't stand her." Kennedy said, grinning, her green eyes sparkling.
"I don't think any normal person can. We've disliked each other since day one. I came to France first, I'd been here a while before her."
"I intimidated her because I knew my way around here and knew what I was doing. She hated rookie status, so I became her number one target because I am one of the few newbies."
"So, have you been assigned?" Lindsay asked curiously.
"Yes, Tim Speedle. He lost both legs, as you could imagine, he's not very talky at the moment. He's angry at everything, mutters things. Says he wished they would have left him to die out there."
"Oh, well my patent is currently in the ICU. Internal bleeding, I'm optimistic though."
Kennedy smiled sadly, "It's always hard when a patent is in limbo or close to dying, things could go either way."
Lindsay nodded, "I have experienced the same thing before. Lieutenant Jasper Caine, he died and I was his nurse."
"Don't hold yourself accountable, Lindsay. Things can go wrong."
Lindsay sighed, "I know, but I felt so bad after, his mother and sister were waiting for him to come home, and he never did. Imagine that kind of pain?"
"It's not your fault though. And whether your patent will recover or not is in the balance, you won't be held accountable."
"Thank you." was all Lindsay could think of saying, giving the new girl a small smile.
"Well, you're welcome."
"Where are you from?" Lindsay asked, noticing the slight twang in her voice.
"Texas, arkansas."
"That's great, I'm from Montana."
"Nice, but there's nothin' short of Wyoming is there."
"Pretty much. Bozeman is pretty empty."
Lindsay smiled and grabbed her night gown, going into the bathroom, locking herself into the cubicle to change.
When she had returned, Kennedy was reading a book, not paying much attention.
"Well, it was nice talking to you, goodnight." Lindsay said, before climbing into her bed.
"You too. I hope we can be friends."
"Me too."
"Goodnight."
"Night."
Danny Messer groaned in pain as he sat up in bed. It was dark outside so he assumed it was night, broken ribs and bruised weren't anything to cry about, but the pain still hadn't lessened. He glanced over at Adam, smiling as his friend was out cold. Adam could sleep through anything, it amazed people how he never woke up, even in loud enviroments.
The hallways had a faint glow meaning the night staff were still awake, Danny pressed the buzzer, hoping someone would come. Sure enough a tall woman with defined features, brown hair and blue eyes entered the room. She looked young, and defintely didn't look like a nurse.
"I'm Doctor Peyton Driscoll, what can I do for you?"
Danny shifted and winced slightly, "I think I'm due some more pain-killers. The pain woke me up."
She smiled, "Ok. I'll be back in a few moments."
She returned with a plastic cup containing two pills and a glass of water, she handed the medication and water to him and watched as he swallowed them down.
"Thank you, Doctor."
"You're welcome, goodnight Private Messer."
He smiled as she left, wondering how she knew his name, unless his nurse that he had caught himself dreaming about had told her of his name. He found that he couldn't get Stella out of his head, her pretty face, eyes, even her hair. She was impossible to forget.
He soon began to feel sleepy, effects from the pain-killers obviously. He smiled faintly and leant back, pulling the covers up, letting sleep take him. Hoping he'd dream about Stella, because she was a face he wouldn't soon forget.
