Chapter 3
Coming Home
-Kayla-
Kayla took a bus to the hospital while TC went to go visit Jordan before shift. TC had told her about their kiss in the locker room at the end of the previous shift and Kayla had prompted him to talk to her. While she didn't like Scott, she didn't want TC to break him and Jordan up.
When Kayla arrived, people were either leaving after the day shift or preparing for the shift change. Some walk-in patients were walking into the waiting room. Judging by how slow things were going, it did not look like there would be a lot of action that night.
"Kayla!" Kenny called out, waving the teenager over. "You have got to see this!" Both Drew and Kayla made it to Kenny at the same time, looking at him expectantly.
"Feast your eyes on what one of the nurse's found," he said, puling out a tablet. "It's Ragosa. He has a dating profile! Santana2001!" Both Drew and Kayla burst into laughter, Kayla grabbing the tablet to read his profile with an amused grin on her face.
"Likes long walks on the beach," she read aloud.
"Who doesn't?" Drew shrugged, chuckling.
"Everything life has to offer," Kayla continued and the trio fell into another fit of giggles as Krista approached them.
"Is that Ragosa?" she inquired, reaching to turn the tablet to face her. "Oh my god, you can see his ex-wife's hand in the picture." Paul approached them next and glimpsed the tablet to see what they were crowded around for.
"This man needs some guidance," Kenny began before Drew held up a hand.
"Leave him alone on this one," he told the others. "He doesn't have your moves, man. He doesn't have 'em." He walked off, still chuckling at Kenny's recent find, pulling Krista with him. Kayla knew that Rick was coming home any day now, and that was what the pair was probably talking about.
The young girl rolled her eyes when Scott called everyone over to make an announcement. After he had insulted TC, the teenager did not care much for the surgeon. When it had been announced that he was going to become the head trauma surgeon, Kayla had gone to the corner of the parking lot where the rooftop hangout had been relocated to and hit the punching bag for a good fifteen minutes. Scott's rambling, however, was but off by Molly hanging up the phone and standing up to talk to everyone.
"Excuse me, doctor. That was dispatch. Bus accident, highway 1-90. The passengers are soldiers. Multiple victims, total count unknown. They're going to every hospital in the area. Ours will be here in 20 minutes," she announced.
"Alright, let's clean and prep trauma! Call in all available surgeons!" Scott announced. Everyone was sprung into action, pulling on surgical trauma gowns and gloves as the impending wave of injured soldiers got closer and closer to the hospital. Kayla could hear the sirens getting louder and knew that in no time, the place would be swamped.
Kayla slipped behind the nurse's station and took Molly's empty seat, trying to stay out of the way as the doctors and nurses rushed around. From her seat, she could see the first ambulances pull up.
-TC-
TC hopped out of Jordan's car before it had even come to a complete stop, springing into action and pulling a man's stethoscope off of his neck as he walked toward the fray. Jordan ran to a patient as a nurse called her over. She instructed the other before they started wheeling the soldier inside.
Drew had been roaming around looking for a particular soldier and saw him being rolled out of an ambulance. He immediately rushed over, looking around for someone to assist him.
"T! T! I need you now! Please, over here!" Drew yelled to TC, who had been working on a minimal injuries patient.
"Topher! Hey, Topher!" TC called out, having Topher replace him for running over to Drew and the soldier.
"What's up?" he asked.
"This is Rick," Drew told him.
"Rick?"
"Yeah, he's lost a lot of blood."
"I'm on it. I'm on him, I'm on him," TC assured Drew and the two helped the paramedics wheel Rick into the hospital. They passed Kayla who was sitting at the nurse's station, answering phones and writing down names and descriptions of soldiers for their friends and family members. Ragosa was directing doctors and nurses into trauma rooms.
"Topher, you take over TC's crushed leg," Scott ordered before TC interrupted.
"He's mine and Drew's with me," he told the other.
"Are you really questioning me right now?" Scott asked incredulously.
"Drew's army reserve. I'm gonna teach him a few things he's gonna need in the field," TC replied, pushing his arms through a surgical gown that a nurse was holding up.
"Fine," Scott gave in. "Bring him up to pre-op in an hour. I need to amputate."
Inside the trauma room, Kenny and TC were working on Rick's leg while Drew checked his vitals, a concerned look on his face.
"You can't let him amputate. T, you gotta save his leg," he pleaded. "Kenny, page the vascular surgeon on call and get him here now."
"Dr. Murphy's tied up with another soldier at University, can't—," Kenny started before Drew interrupted.
"No, no. He has to get here now! We need him here right now! Kenny, you gotta get it figured out—," he yelled.
"Drew, Drew, Drew! I'm working here! This isn't gonna help Rick. You gotta keep it together. We stop the bleeding, go outside and take a breath," TC ordered. "I'll call you if anything changes. I promise."
"Just get him, get him—."
"Go!" Drew walked out of the trauma room, worried sick about Rick, and stripped off his gloves.
-Kayla-
Things had started to calm down as people were all placed in a trauma room or the waiting room, and Kayla had seen Drew storm out of one of the soldier's rooms. Hurrying after him, she noticed him go into the break room and start to pace.
"Drew? Drew? What's wrong?" she asked, slipping into the room and shutting the door behind her.
"Rick was on the bus. TC's in there working on him but he might lose his leg," Drew replied, worry and frustration filling his voice, and he continued to pace back and forth.
"Hey, Drew. It'll be okay. If anybody can save his leg, it's TC," Kayla reassured him. "Everything's going to be fine. It just takes time." Drew nodded and sat down, rubbing his face with the palms of his hands.
Kayla left the room quietly and noticed both Topher and Krista patching soldiers up, the former instructing the latter. She grabbed a rolling stool and rolled over to sit by Krista, observing as she fixed up a young private's wound.
"You're going to use scissors?" he inquired and Topher interjected.
"No, put those down. She's gonna use a scalpel. It gives a cleaner edge and is less messy."
"I promise, Private Wilson, I will be gentle with you," Krista told him, glancing at Kayla from the corner of her eye. The teenager was paying no attention to their conversation, but more watching what Krista was doing. It was something Kayla did often. Though she didn't admit it to anyone, TC, Krista, Topher, Drew, and Jordan all suspected that she would possibly go into the medical field. She had just gotten lifeguard and first aid certified, which was one of the first steps. On the days TC didn't have shift, she was working at a local waterpark.
"So, are you from around here or…?" Wilson asked, tensing as Krista did something to his wound.
"Was that a pickup line or you really wanna know?" the doctor responded.
"I don't know—," he started.
"The cat's got your tongue. It's probably the concussion," Krista joked.
"Snap, Wilson," the soldier Topher was sewing up laughed.
"Only if I got it from you. Cause you're—you're a knockout," Wilson replied. Topher and Krista chuckled while the solider named Buono shook his head. "See what I did there? The concussion? Knockout? Boom." Krista laughed as she started to finish up working on his arm.
"That's excellent work, PFC," Topher told the private from the hallway.
"I'm gonna go get some dressings," Krista announced, standing up and walking to another room.
"Hey, do you think I have a shot with her?" Wilson inquired of both Kayla and Topher.
"If you don't give it a shot, it might just pass you buy," Topher replied, smiling as if he knew something nobody else knew.
"It's a strong possibility. Krista seems to like you," Kayla added before leaning back against the wall and crossing her arms. Wilson nodded slightly and leaned back. Krista returned not long later and sat down in her abandoned seat, noticing that Kayla and Topher were exchanging mischievous glances.
"What happened?" she interrogated, looking between the two.
"Oh, nothing," Kayla said with a straight face before the corners of her mouth turned up into a slight grin.
"Well, Private Wilson. I'm assuming you met our resident youth over there," Krista assumed, wrapping up his arm. He nodded and exchanged a glance with Kayla, who mouthed 'Ask her out!' to him.
"Yeah, I'm Kayla. I like to bum around here and annoy all the doctors, especially TC," she added, standing up to formally shake Wilson's hand. "And thank you for your service."
"Thanks," Wilson replied as Krista finished the bandage.
"If you ever need comedic beside relief, she always seems to fit the bill," Topher called in from the hallway.
Kayla gave him a look before scoffing, standing up and leaving the room after giving Wilson a wink. A wink that said that he better make his move on Krista.
The teenager passed by Rick's room as Drew and TC emerged, the latter spotting her and throwing an arm around her shoulder, pulling the girl to his side to walk with him.
"TC!" Kayla protested, pushing his arm off her shoulder and fixing her shirt.
"What have you been up to?" he asked as they walked down the hallway to the break room together.
"Just sitting in on Topher and Krista's patient, trying to convince him to ask her out," she shrugged, pushing the door open and walking over to her bag, pulling out her phone to check her messages. TC went to the counter and started making up a coffee.
"Sounds like something you would do," he replied before noticing that she wasn't paying attention to him and smiling like a schoolgirl at her phone. "Who are you texting?" He walked up behind her and tried to glance at the message, but she clicked the lock button and twisted around, pushing him away.
"Just a friend," Kayla told him before grabbing a coffee and walking out the door with a smile still on her face.
She made it back to Wilson's room, where a crowd of soldiers had congregated, and pulled the rolling stool to sit near the tray of medical instruments that Krista had out. The young doctor was now wrapping something around Wilson's wrist and attaching it to a brace that was around his abdomen. As Kayla walked in, she caught his eye and raised an eyebrow, to which he shook his head at.
"The ER's swamp and your case has been pushed to the morning, so you're stuck down here," Krista informed the private.
"Well, I like it here," Wilson replied.
"Is it the fluorescent lighting?"
"No."
"The screaming. Antiseptic smell," Krista nodded her head as if that was it.
"No, it's-it's you," he admitted. "Definitely." Kayla chuckled as another solider standing near the door spoke up.
"Wilson going in for the kill," the solider said.
"Stop," Wilson chuckled.
"No, you're sweet, private," Krista assured him.
"Do it Wilson," a different soldier told the PFC. "C'mon, ask her."
"Do it. Do it!" voices chimed in, a few of them chanting.
"What?" Krista asked, completely clueless, and Kayla chuckled.
"Okay, alright, uh, since you think I'm sweet, I haven't been out with a girl since high school prom—"
"And wasn't that your cousin?" the solider by the door asked.
"No, it was your sister. And she said I kissed better than you," Wilson dissed. Kayla laughed along with the soldiers.
"Ooo, Wilson scores!" Krista added.
"As I was saying, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?" he wondered.
"An honor? Really?" she questioned.
"No, really. You're a doctor. You're smart, and-and beautiful, and way out of my league. It's a huge honor!" Wilson argued. Kayla bit her lip to keep from laughing and internally cheered when he finally asked her out.
"Well, it would be my honor to go out with you PCF, but as your doctor, I'm really not allowed to," Krista admitted.
"See, Wilson, it's never gonna happen," the same solider by the door piped up.
"Hey, no. At least Wilson had the guts to ask me while you were all sitting there staring at my ass like scared little schoolgirls," Krista argued.
"Oh yeah, Doctor Krista up top!" Wilson announced, and the two high fived while everyone else laughed at her burn before Wilson started bleeding from his nose and eyes.
"Hey, oh," Krista said, tilting his head back as Kayla jumped up, handing her gauze pads. Wilson reached up before Krista moved his hands away. "Don't touch your eyes. Don't touch your eyes. Go get Topher in here, now!"
Kayla handed the doctor another gauze pad before Krista told her to put gloves on if she was going to help. The teenager obliged and moved to the other side of the bed, putting the gauze pad on the side of the soldier's face to catch the blood.
Topher arrived as the bleeding slowed and took Kayla's spot at the side of his bed. All of the soldiers had left the room, most heading to the waiting room while others went to Rick's, where TC and Drew were located.
Kayla left as Topher started checking his vitals and talking. When she got into the hallway, she peeled of the bloodied gloves and tossed them in trashcan, immediately heading into the bathrooms to wash her hands off. As she exited, she heard banging in a room and turned to see Krista going in there, catching a glimpse of Drew.
The teenager knew it was hard on Drew, especially since Rick could lose his leg, but there was nothing any of them could do except wait. Kayla decided she couldn't help Drew, so instead she moved on to Wilson's room.
He was alone in his room, occasionally pressing a tissue to his nose. When Kayla walked in, he looked up, surprised.
"You finally asked her," she stated as she pulled up the rolling stool again.
"Yeah, and I got shot down," Wilson replied. Kayla shook her head.
"No, the rules got in the way. But, there might be another way. I have an idea and I'm gonna run it by Krista when I see her, so don't give up hope just yet," she told him before a ding sounded. Wilson looked around, confused, before Kayla pulled out her phone, opening the text message. She smiled at it, biting her lip, before typing out a quick response.
"Who was that? Is it a boy?" Wilson inquired.
"What are you? A teenage girl?" Kayla deflected.
"No, but I do have a sister. I've seen that look. It's a boy, isn't it?" She looked at him with an eyebrow raised, starting a staring contest. It lasted for about thirty seconds before she caved.
"Fine! It's a boy," Kayla admitted, dropping her head into her hands as Wilson grinned in accomplishment. "Why do you care?"
"Well, you're helping me with Doctor Krista, so I owe you," he replied, shrugging.
"You don't owe me anything. I know the sacrifices it takes to be in the military, and your service is enough to make me owe you a thousand times over," Kayla contested.
"So, what's the deal with this boy? What's his name?" Wilson asked, brushing off her comment.
"Um, his name is Wesley—Wes—and we both work as lifeguards at the same place, and I don't know, I kind of like him."
"Okay, well has he asked you out?"
"No! There's no way. He doesn't like me like that." Kayla shook her head with a small smile on her face.
"Are you sure?" Wilson cocked an eyebrow. "What if he just thinks the same about you?"
"Okay, I'll give you that possibility. But it's probably not true. At his school, he's the top athlete in the three sports he does. He's in theater and chorus and on Student council and he's ridiculously hot. There's no way he would like someone like me," Kayla replied, sighing and staring at the wall.
"What do you mean someone like you? Someone that helped me man up enough to ask out an amazing girl? Someone who hangs around this place and helps cheer people up just for the heck of it?"
"No. Someone who had a drug addiction. Someone who got kicked out for fighting. Someone whose entire life pretty much revolves around her only living brother." Kayla slumped backward against the wall.
"Okay, but what if you're wrong? What if he likes you despite what you think badly about yourself?" Wilson countered.
"I don't know. All I know is that he could have any girl my age in the entire city. There's no way he's gonna pick me over all of them," she argued. Before Wilson could respond, Kayla spotted Krista in the hallway. "Sorry, gotta go to something."
Kayla jumped off the stool and jogged up to Krista, who was reading a patient chart.
"So, I was thinking about your situation with Wilson," she started.
"Oh yeah?" Krista inquired.
"And I think I came up with a solution," Kayla offered. "You see, Topher is Wilson's doctor of record, not you. Therefore, you can go out with him and it's allowed."
"Huh, I never thought about that," Krista said, sounding surprised. "That's pretty clever, Kayla."
"No problemo. I play matchmaker from six pm to six am every other night here at this hospital's ER. I'm always here for all of your dating qualms," the teenager joked.
"Hey, Krista, come on," Topher called Krista to Wilson's room, leaving Kayla standing in the hallway.
"You're welcome, by the way!" she yelled at Krista's back, who gave her a thumbs up over her shoulder.
The teen turned to Molly and started talking about Molly's nephew, who had just turned 13. Kayla had only met him once, but he seemed like a cool kid. Their conversation was cut short, however, when Kayla caught sight of TC exiting Rick's room.
"TC!" she jogged over as he had his back turned to toss his gloves. "What's the story on Rick? Is he okay?"
"Uh, yeah, he's alive. We're still not sure about his leg, though," her brother replied before turning around.
"What the hell happened?" Kayla exclaimed when she caught sight of the bruise forming alongside TC's cheekbone, grabbing his jaw so that she could look at it.
"Scott and I got in a little scuffle over how I tried to save Rick's leg," TC shrugged as if it was no big deal. When he mentioned Scott, however, Kayla clenched her jaw and looked as if she wanted to kill someone.
"Hey, I'm fine. It's no big deal so don't get involved. If you get involved, then Scott might throw a fit to the chairman and then you wouldn't be allowed to hang out here anymore. Then where would the night shift be?" he pointed out. Kayla gave him a look but nodded.
"TC," Topher greeted, walking up to the pair of siblings. "I need you to check on Wilson for me." TC nodded and started walking next to Topher, before noticing that Kayla was still glaring at the wall across the room. He turned and grabbed her arm, pulling her along with him. They entered Wilson's room and TC made Kayla sit on the stool farthest away from the door, wanting to make sure that she didn't run her mouth off at Scott. She gave Wilson a small smile before his attentions were turned to her brother.
"He had me get you because he heard you were a ranger," Topher informed TC as he started to unwrap Wilson's wrist.
"Ah," he said, understanding why Topher had asked him to check on his patient now.
"So were you in Kandahar when the battle went down?" Wilson asked excitedly.
"Kind of, I was in the med tent," TC replied. "Close enough to catch a whiff of the poupon." Kayla glanced down at the floor when he talked about it. He told war stories sometimes, but all it did was remind Kayla that one of her brothers came home in a box while the other was still stuck overseas.
The two doctors started talking about the lesions on Wilson's stomach and Kayla leaned over to watch. Wilson mentioned that they were really itchy and TC and Topher conversed quietly with each other, before telling Wilson everything would be okay. They got up to leave and Kayla rolled around to where she could lean against the wall.
"You, don't do anything stupid. Scott's not a big deal," TC said, pointing at Kayla. "Okay?" The teenager stared at him with an annoyed look but nodded.
"Fine," she consented. "I'll stay in here." TC gave her a small nod and left, Kayla sticking her tongue out behind his back.
"I guess Doctor Krista wasn't lying when she said you were close with the night shift," Wilson commented, causing Kayla to look over at him.
"Well, it's kind of required that I be close to him. He's my brother," she replied.
"Wait, your brother was an army ranger?" Kayla nodded. "So that's what you meant when you said you knew the sacrifices of serving."
"Yup. I'm from a military family, so I mean, I understand better than most people."
"Does that mean that he lost your guys' brother while he was overseas?" Wilson inquired, remembering most of the conversation.
"Yeah. He was there when Thad died. He was the one who tried to save him," Kayla shrugged with a painful smile. The two lapsed into silence for about twenty minutes, save for the private occasionally scratching his shoulder or abdomen, until Krista entered the room.
"So, I was thinking we could maybe go bowling or ice skating. Have you ever been ice skating?" she asked as she entered the room, barely noticing Kayla sitting against the wall.
"Yeah, that sounds fun," Wilson replied, eyes half closed.
"Hey, how you feeling?" Krista queried, concern lacing her voice, causing Kayla to stand up and walk over to the bed.
"Sort of lousy. I'm really itchy and hot."
"Let's take this blanket off," Krista offered. Kayla helped her as Wilson started to unbutton his hospital shirt, revealing more lesions on his shoulders. When Krista saw them, she got a look of small panic on her face and headed out to the hallway to look for Topher.
"Topher, Topher!" she called. "His temperature's 103!" Kayla watched with the soldiers that had been visiting Rick as the two doctors worked over Wilson.
"It's not ITP. He has visceral leishmaniasis. I saw a mild case on a local in Afghanistan. He must have caught it from sand flies," Topher informed the younger doctor before a look of realization passed over his face. "Steroids!" He jerkily moved over to cut of the steroids supply as Wilson's heartbeat increased.
"Wilson?" Rick asked from his bed, the curtain open.
"Topher, you have to save him," Krista pleaded.
"Grab the crash cart!" Topher demanded. Someone retrieved a crash cart as TC ran in, Kenny following soon after with a kit, pushing everyone out of the way so that the doctors could work. Kayla stood frozen, as Krista started chest palpitations and TC prepped the paddles.
With all her time at the night shift, she had hardly watched anyone die. There was Nick, a close friend of TC's and the one with Thad's heart inside him, and a couple people who had been in a really bad car accident. She hadn't known them, but seeing them die took a toll. And she didn't want to see Wilson die.
"Wilson? What's going on? Wilson?" Rick demanded. Kayla slumped against the wall, watching them try to revive him.
"Stop, stop compressions," Topher instructed a while later, checking for a pulse. When he couldn't find one, Krista continued the chest compressions.
"It's been thirty five minutes without splinting or circulation," he informed her. "It's time to stop, Krista." She slowly stopped, and got off the bed, cursing with a sad look on her face, as Topher called it.
Kayla stared at Wilson, biting her lip to keep it from quivering, and watched as Kenny pulled the sheet up over his head. Topher left the room and Krista turned to the teenager. When TC saw that Kayla was going to go with Krista, he hesitantly left the room.
Krista walked side by side with Kayla to the room where Drew had previously been banging on the filing cabinets; the two grasping hands like something bad would happen if they let go.
The moment the door was closed, Krista turned to Kayla and wrapped her arms around the teenager, tears leaking out of her eyes as she started to silently cry. Kayla was no better. The moment Krista pulled her in for a hug, she started crying into her shoulder.
The teen's tears stained Krista's scrubs as she cried, Krista's own tears falling to the floor. Both of the females had formed a bond with Wilson. Krista genuinely liked him and was actually really excited to be going on a date with him. And Wilson had made Kayla feel like she had a reason for being at the night shift. For hanging around it all the time. And then he was dead.
-Drew-
Drew walked into Rick's room, caring his chart.
"Drew, I'm scared," Rick admitted, staring at his leg.
"I'm booking the surgery," the doctor announced. "And I swear I will drug you and do it myself if you don't agree."
"Okay," Rick whispered.
"Okay," Drew repeated, going to write something on his chart. The Captain reached for his hand, but Drew pulled away.
"I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry," he said. "You have to prep for a surgery." He cleared out the room and left, leaving Rick staring at his retreating form.
-TC-
Everyone stood in the main room of the ER as one of the Mexican musicians started to play the military taps. The young PFC Wilson was wheeled out of his room, a sheet covering his head, as everybody formed a memorial tunnel. As Wilson's body passed by Rauder, the one who had been standing in the doorway of Wilson's room, he placed a folded up flag on his chest, holding back tears.
Soldiers saluted as he went by and the Mexican band took off their hats. Krista, watching him go, started to silently sob again, leaning into Kenny's shoulder. He put his arm around her, comforting her as she cried.
TC couldn't see Kayla anywhere, meaning that she was probably off alone in her grief. She had done the same thing with Nick. TC had found her outside the side entrance to the ER, leaning against the wall with her knees to her chest, crying. He would give her few moments before going to find her.
Seeing Jordan walking, TC called her name and jogged up to her, ready to let her do what she needed, which didn't include him.
-Kayla-
Kayla stared at the picture on her phone, tears leaking out of her eyes, but the sobs not yet coming. It was a photo of her, Krista, and Wilson after they had found the loophole that would allow Krista to go on a date with him. Tapping the little arrow in the corner, Kayla made it her phone's wallpaper. It was her own little way of remembering the PFC.
Clicking the phone button, the teenager scrolled through her contacts until she found the one she was looking for. Wes.
It was around four in the morning on a Monday, so she knew that she was going to get his voicemail, which was what she had planned on getting anyway. It was his cute little voice telling whoever had not been able to reach him that he was off fighting a dragon or saving someone from drowning and that was why he wasn't able to answer.
"Hey, Wes," Kayla started, sounding sick from her stuffed up nose, a result of crying for half an hour. "I know it's early and I knew that I would get your voicemail, but I just had the worst night ever, and it's not even over yet." Kayla paused for a moment as a sob racked through her chest.
"I made a familial bond with a soldier, Wilson, and he died about an hour ago. Right in front of my eyes. That's partly why I'm calling. He made me accept my feelings and his death made me realize that life will turn around and stab you in the back.
You're my best friend, Wes. You are one of three friends that I have that are my age. We weren't friends before I got a lifeguarding job, but now I can't imagine not having you to text or to call or to eat crappy waterpark pizza with.
But, I like you, Wes. I like you as more than friends. And I was calling to ask you if you would go on a date with me, bowling or ice-skating or something.
Never mind, it was a stupid idea. You don't like me like that, and you could have any girl, which means you definitely won't pick me. I know this is gonna wreck our friendship now because it'll be so awkward, but I had to tell you before life stabbed me in the back. I had to tell you because it's the only way I know how to honor Wilson and because it was killing me keeping my feelings inside.
I'll see you on Wednesday for work. Bye, Wes. It was nice being your friend."
Kayla clicked the red button to end the call and let her phone drop between her legs to the concrete sidewalk, beginning to cry all over again. She let her head drop onto her arms, which were encircling her knees, as tears dripped down her face and silent sobs shook through her body. She didn't even hear TC until he was kneeling in front of her.
"TC," she whispered helplessly. He offered her his hand with a sad smile, and she took it, letting him pull her off the ground. He placed an arm around her shoulder and she started to stop crying.
TC led her back inside where Rick was just starting to be led away to surgery. He didn't get very far before Scott approached him.
"Captain Lincoln, I want you to know that we're going to make this absolutely painless and save as much of your leg as possible," he informed the soldier, who nodded but didn't say anything back. "As soon as it's done, we're gonna get you on the best prosthetics we have. I've already called a buddy of mine at the Intrepid, so they'll be expecting your call."
"Thank you," Rick replied sullenly.
Krista and Drew were standing off to the side, watching the exchange before Rick started to get wheeled away again.
"Go with him, he's terrified!" Krista told the other.
"I can't," Drew answered, staring at his shoes.
"Don't you ever tell me how tough you are again, do you understand me? All that MMA talk, all that ranger talk? It doesn't mean crap if you let him go through this alone," she contended, turning to walk away.
The soldiers in Rick's platoon saluted him and offered him words of encouragement as he passed them. Scott continued speaking to him, but it didn't look as if he was listening very hard. Right before they reached the elevator, Drew called out.
"Hold it," he announced, walking through the soldiers to get to Rick. He moved forward and gently grabbed onto Rick's hand.
"I'm gonna be there for you, I promise," he said, leaning down. "I love you." There was only a slight hesitation before Drew kissed Rick in front of everyone. TC looked surprised and proud while Kayla looked on, feeling proud but not being able to express it. Krista was smiling at them, and a few of the members of Rick's platoon looked uncomfortable, but accepting nonetheless.
"Me too," he replied. Rick was led into the elevator and as soon as the door closed, everyone started to disperse.
TC continued to walk Kayla to the break room, offering a smile to Drew and a nod to Krista as he passed them. Kayla smiled at them both as she passed them, but the smile was fake. Krista knew that, because she had fake-smiled a couple of times that night.
Kayla laid down on the couch, pulling a blanket to cover her body, as she stared at the coffee table. TC made her a cup of her favorite tea and placed it in front of her before crouching down again.
"I'll come get you when shift is over," he told her. She nodded and he stood, ruffling her hair before he left.
When shift was over, TC went and got Kayla like he said he would, having to wake her up from her sleep. After she had grabbed her backpack and phone, the two headed out to the main room, TC having to stop and talk to Drew about something before they left with Topher.
Kayla's phone dinged with a message as she stood to the side, waiting for TC and Drew to be done. The ID said it was from Wes. She knew it was probably to say that they weren't friends anymore.
'Go outside,' it read. Kayla was confused, and looked over at TC to see him still talking, so she headed towards the entrance of the ER where day shifters were still coming in.
It was six thirty am, and Kayla was ready to go home and sleep for a week, but TC was being slow. When she made it outside, the sunlight blinded her for a moment before her eyes adjusted to the brightness and looked around.
When her eyes spotted him, she was really surprised. It was Wes, leaning against his car while staring at the ground, waiting for her. He looked up as she started walking towards him and pushed off the car, moving to meet her halfway.
He didn't even say anything when they reached each other, just gave her a hug. She relaxed, not even realizing how tense she was, and wound her arms around his torso, resting her head on his chest.
Wes smelled like he always did, of axe deodorant, a slight hint of chlorine, and something else that Kayla was never able to place. Whether or not he had been in the pool, he smelled like it because it was somehow imbedded in his DNA after swimming for ten years and lifeguarding for three.
Kayla didn't cry. She had cried enough that night. No, she reveled in the comfort of Wes, feeling at peace for the first time that night. She could have fallen asleep standing in the parking lot like that but Wes shifted and she pulled away, looking up at him. He was six inches taller than her.
"Why did you come?" she asked him as he walked to a bench near the entrance.
"Because you said you had the worse night ever," he replied as if it were obvious. "And because we need to talk about your voicemail." Kayla's face fell a tiny bit.
"Yeah, I get it, you don't like me like that. You just wanna stay friends, I understand," she stated and Wes looked at her like she was crazy.
"Well, actually I was going to take you up on your offer of a date and tell you that I feel the same about you," he contradicted, staring off into the sunrise.
"Uh, what?" Kayla inquired, dumbfounded. Did she hear him right?
"I like you. As more than friends," Wes told her slowly. "And I would love to go on a date with you. Did you get it that time?" Kayla couldn't speak, only nod before pulling him in for a hug.
"Ehem," someone cleared their throat and Kayla looked up to see TC standing there with an unamused look on his face.
"TC!" Kayla exclaimed, pulling away and shooting up off the bench. "Uh, this is Wesley. We work together are the waterpark."
"Wes, this is my brother, TC." Kayla introduced the two and they shook hands, TC giving him a tight smile with narrowed eyes.
"Um, I'll text you," Kayla told Wes before pulling TC away toward where Topher was waiting by his car.
"What are you two texting about? Why were you hugging? Why was he there?" TC interrogated when they were all in the car.
"Uh, calm down, TC," the teenager said as Topher pulled out of the parking lot.
"Whom are we talking about?" he inquired.
"Kayla was hugging a boy and then said she was going to text him. I just wanna know who he is and if I have to kick his ass," TC explained.
"Oh my god, TC!" Kayla exclaimed, face palming. "He's just a guy I like! We're texting about where we are going to go on our first date."
"Um, no where. My sister is to young to have a boyfriend," her brother replied in a no-nonsense tone.
"TC, I'm turning 18 in three months. I'll be an adult in three months. I think I'm old enough to have my third boyfriend!"
"Wait, what?! Third?! Who were the first two?!" TC turned around in his seat to stare at Kayla.
"Well, one was this porn star and the other was in sex trafficking," she replied with a straight face, bursting out laughing after seeing TC look like he was about to blow a gasket. "I'm joking, T. The first was computer nerd at my private school and the second was a two-week stint while I was an addict."
TC still didn't look happy, turning around to face forward and crossed his arms across his chest.
"Don't worry, big brother, I'm still a virgin," Kayla informed him, leaning forward and laughing.
"Kayla?" TC asked.
"Yes, brother dear?" she countered innocently.
"Shut up."
Guys, I cried writing this and then I laughed at the end. This is my longest chapter so far at 6,498 words! Do you guys like Wes? Did you like what I did with Wilson or no? And do you want a chapter for Wes and Kayla's date? Also, if I started a prequel or drabbles series for "Kayla Callahan" would you want that? Please favorite, follow, and REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! xoxo -L