Title: Altered States
Chapter 4 – Prescription for Pain
A/N: Hey everyone! So I did expect a reaction to last week's update and am kind of afraid of what I'll get this week but I do hope everyone reading will continue to give the story a chance and not jump ship or to conclusions just yet. I said it would be angsty and unlike anything I've done before and well…I am gonna stick to that and hope everyone sticks with me! To those supporting so far THANK YOU! Okay…here we go…
Matt rushed into the ER entrance of Chicago Med with his wife at his side; their two kids now with Brett and Antonio.
"Jay!" Gabby called out as she neared and saw Erin's partner along with Hank Voight and Benny Severide already in the waiting area.
"What happened?" Matt asked in haste as he looked at Benny's distraught expression.
"CPD is on scene…" Voight started. "Slick roads, couple of blown tires…it uh…preliminaries said they hit a cement bulkhead and the car…skidded and then flipped."
"Oh God…no," Gabby whispered in horror as her hand clutched Matt's even tighter. "What…how are they?"
"Don't know yet," Jay replied as he nodded toward three busy trauma bays with the entire Chicago Med team rushing around to help save their friend's lives. "Dr. Manning is with Miranda and the pediatric team but uh…Will and Dr. Choi are working on Erin and Kelly."
"Can't believe this," Benny muttered as he looked back at the room his beloved son was in and felt his stomach tighten.
"They're going to be okay Benny…they're a stubborn lot…you know they'll fight their way back to us," Hank Voight tried to assure his friend as Benny's tormented gaze kept fixed on the room a head of them and he tried to nod in agreement.
"Ruzek is down there right now wi…"; Jay started as Hank looked at him with a small frown. "Kim but I think Adam went with her…they won't let the scene be tampered with until…"
"Until what?" Matt interjected with a small huff as Jay looked at him with a frown. "You think it's more than an accident?"
"Don't know but just want to make sure. Erin would never put her family in harm's way…she just wouldn't," Jay stated with a sad lament as Matt offered a small nod. "They just want to make sure."
Matt looked past him to the area where his friend and his friend's wife were being treated but knew that right now if Kelly was awake he'd be thinking about his wife and daughter…himself last. He knew because it's exactly what he would do in the same situation.
A few minutes later, CFD Chief Wallace Boden entered the ER area and neared them.
"Chief," Gabby greeted her former superior with a warm hug.
"Wallace."
"Hank…Benny. How are they?"
"Don't know yet," Benny answered first. "Hate waiting…how's Donna?"
"She's good…worried. Terrance is still getting over the flu or they'd be here also," Boden replied in truth.
It seemed like an eternity before Dr. Halstead pulled away from his busy team and headed toward them with a somewhat grim expression.
"Dr. Halstead…" Benny jumped up in haste. "How are they? What's…"
"Dr. Choi is still with Erin. Her side of the car took the brunt of it and their daughter Miranda is with Dr. Manning and the pediatric team. She uh…I was told the car flipped and rolled and then landed on the driver's side which then slammed into the cement bulkhead?"
"Yes they…had to use the uh jaws of life to get them out…how are they?" Benny stammered as everyone around him held their breath in expectation.
"So for my part Kelly is going to be okay. He broke a few ribs, small puncture to the lung. Mild concussion and some internal bleeding which we were able to stop. He'll be in recovery room three after the sedatives wear off. I've sent him for another set of x-rays just to be sure we didn't miss anything but otherwise I'm expecting a full recovery. The others will have to give up updates on Erin and Miranda. Sorry I don't want to guess at what their prognosis might be."
"But…they'll be alright…right?" Gabby asked in haste as her husband's hand rested on her tense shoulder.
"I hope so," Will Halstead replied before he gave his brother a nod and then turned to leave.
"Heather said she could stop by the apartment and get a few things for them," Jay told Gabby and Matt as he referred to his wife.
"Okay," Gabby answered as she slumped back down by Matt's side. "Matt…"
"I know," he whispered as his hand squeezed hers. "Benny's right…they're stubborn they'll be okay."
The next small eternity passed before Dr. Ethan Choi finally left his trauma bay and neared them with news about how Erin fared in the crash.
"Erin is going to make a full recovery," Dr. Choi first told everyone and then waited a few seconds for the relieved sighs to be completed. "She had some head trauma but was never without oxygen so there will be no brain damage or memory loss. We did have to remove a small part of her spleen as it was damaged when the car flipped and then slammed into the bulkhead. A few broken ribs and she dislocated her left shoulder. We did a CT scan to be rule out any skull fractures and they came back negative. She's lucky the airbag covered her as much as it did. She'll be in the same recovery room as Kelly. It's been arranged."
"I'm going to see him," Benny piped up as Dr. Choi nodded and Benny was led toward his son's recovery room while the rest of the close friends remained in the waiting area.
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'Text from Matt…take the detour…roads slippery…tire blew…starting to skid…GOING TO CRASH….LOOK OUT…'
Kelly's weary eyes snapped open and instantly his heart rate stated to climb.
"Whoa there…"
That voice…April…that means…damn…
His mind tried to get his heart rate to come back down to a normal pace but when he saw his father's face instead of his wife or daughter's the rate went back up.
"Hey Kelly…Erin and Miranda are fine…just relax okay?" Benny tried to soothe his son as he looked up at April in concern.
"They…are?" Kelly managed in a raspy tone as he tried to swallow but found his throat a bit dry. "Where…are they?"
"Erin's just finishing up and you'll both be setup in the same recovery room. Miranda is still with Dr. Manning and the pediatric team."
"But…she lived right? She'll be okay?"
When April didn't reply right away, Kelly tried to get up but was quickly pushed back down by his father's strong but tender touch.
"You need to rest. Miranda is getting a bit of extra attention because of her age," Benny said in haste. "She's as stubborn as her old man. Course she'll be fine."
"I need to see…her…Erin…I need to see them," Kelly huffed as he looked up at his father with a watery gaze. "Don't lie to me…are they okay?"
"Erin is going to make a full recovery. She's banged up and they uh…had to remove a small part of her spleen but she'll be fine. Miranda is with the pediatric team because she hit her head but she's alive and that's what matters. What…happened?"
"It uh…it was dark and rainy and…and this is my fault," he tried to lift his arms to rub his face and then looked at his father in misery.
"What do you mean? You weren't driving."
"If I wasn't out then…damn, Erin came to get me…was too late to leave Miranda with anyone and….i shouldn't have been there…I should have left when…" he stammered as he looked up to see Matt enter.
"Gabby went to check on Erin," Matt told him as he clasped his friend's hand and gave it a good squeeze. "Glad you're all okay."
"Damn tires blew. But…but I thought Erin said that the brakes…I don't know…happened so fast," he huffed as he shook his head.
"The brakes what?" Benny prodded.
"Just felt sluggish. I think I was just tired…she was tired…reflexes were slow…" Kelly rambled on as Matt looked at Benny with a heavy frown before he quickly excused himself and hurried to call Kim Ruzek still on scene.
"You sure Matt?"
"Kelly said something about the brakes being sluggish. Tell Adam to check the area around the brakes. He'll know if they were tampered with. Call Antonio's team and tell him that Ruzek will take this on if…if there is something."
"Matt…"
"I don't know anything more. Kelly's…you know how he is with his cars, especially Erin's. He wouldn't have sent her out with faulty brakes. Just keep me posted."
"Copy."
Kim Ruzek hung up and then walked back to her husband with a heavy frown. "Matt says check the brakes."
Her husband Adam Ruzek looked at her and after a small shrug he headed back toward the two young uniformed officers and shooed them away so he could check under the hood of the now uprighted but crumpled car.
XXXXXXXX
Tired…just get home…car feels sluggish…maybe it's me…something's not…damn the road is bad…slippery….car's not responding…what the hell…tires blew and…BRAKES … nothing's working…oh God….we're gonna crash….NOOOOOOO
Erin's mind jolted her out of her drug induced stupor and forced her watery eyes open. She was instantly greeted by some harsh overhead lighting and then closed them just as quickly; her lips emitting a soft moan which brought a nurse to her side.
"My husband…daughter…" she stammered as she looked up and saw Gabby looking down and then looked over and saw April Sexton a few feet away. "Where…what…April…where are they?"
"Kelly's in recovery and Miranda is still with Dr. Manning and the pediatric team."
"Are they alive?" She managed in one labored breath.
"Yes," Gabby replied as she clutched her hand and looked at her friend in sympathy. "Jay said Heather is over at your place right now getting some things for you all."
"Okay…Kelly…"
"Nothing too serious. Punctured lung, few broken ribs. But…your side of the car took the worst so you and Miranda…."
"No…" Erin tried to protest. "Miranda…she was behind Kelly…" she paused when she saw April and Gabby exchange worried looks. "What? No…I remember…she…" she paused once more as she finally stop to recall where her daughter had moved to. "No…no she moved back…I swerved to miss their side…hit my side only…" she shook her head as her eyes started to water. "She…she has to be okay."
"She will be. The doctors just want to make sure."
"What happened…to her?"
"She hit her head when the…when the car hit the cement bulkhead," Gabby replied with a somber tone as Erin's heart started to thump a bit faster.
"Hey Erin…" April quickly interjected as Dr. Choi rushed into the room. "Heart rate is spiking."
"I need to see my daughter!" Erin demanded as her body started to lightly convulse.
"Erin…I need you to take a deep breath and…Erin!"
She tried to snap herself back to reality but it was reality that had her so shook – the fact that she might have purposely put her daughter in harm's way when that is the last thing she wanted. "I need to see her."
Dr. Choi instructed April to go and check with Dr. Manning while he checked Erin's vitals once more and then instructed her to just rest and he'd be back later.
"I need to see…Kelly."
"He's okay," Gabby insisted.
"This is my fault…I … I thought Miranda was behind Kelly…" she lightly gasped as her face crunched in pain as Gabby leaned in a bit closer. "I would never…never put her in harm's way deliberately."
"This isn't your fault."
"Look I just….who's on scene…I need…"
"Kim and Adam are there and they just called 'Tonio'…" Gabby tried as Dr. Choi returned.
"We're going to move you to the same recovery room as your husband."
"And my daughter? Miranda? Where is she?"
"Dr. Manning will meet you both in the room with an update."
Erin looked up at Gabby with a tense expression and then found herself actually holding her breath until she arrived in the room and then was able to see for herself that her husband was okay. It was very early in the morning, several hours had passed since they were brought in but even still no one wanted to leave until they knew how Miranda Severide had fared.
"Erin…thank God," Kelly whispered as his wife's transport bed was wheeled in next to hers. He pushed himself up and bit back the resounding waves of pain that told him to lie back down; his brain ignoring the pleas from his father and friends as he took his wife's hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Kelly…I'm so sorry," Erin whispered as her hand clutched his and his eyes watered.
"No…not your fault. Miranda…"
"Dr. Manning is coming…" Erin said as all talk instantly ceased when they all looked up to see a familiar face enter the room; Will Halstead a few feet behind her. "Where's our daughter?"
"Is she going to be okay?"
"Miranda is just finishing up in recovery. We are going to take another CT scan as she did sustain a head injury and we need to make sure we didn't miss anything. She cracked a couple of ribs and fractured her left shoulder but…" she paused as Erin locked eyes with the anxious brunette and she knew in her hear that something was very wrong.
"Just tell me…what is wrong with Miranda?" She dared to ask as her eyes instantly watered and Kelly's heart rate started to gain momentum.
"Okay…the first CT scan came back with evidence of a transcranial skull fracture on the left side. We…"
"Wait…what does that mean? Brain damage?" Kelly dared to interject as his and Erin's hands remain clasped.
"Tell us…" Erin interjected at the same time.
"We really should wait for the second CT scan results to make sure we don't make a false diagnosis," Dr. Manning started. "The last thing we wa…"
"JUST TELL ME!" Erin shouted and then slightly choked on a lump of emotion before she shook her head in remorse; her body having just come out of surgery begged her to calm down. She wasn't going to listen. "Sorry…please just tell us…what are you worried about? Is there…brain damage?"
"No. The nature of the injury does not show brain damage and there was no oxygen loss," Dr. Manning replied firmly as Erin heaved a sigh of relief. "The first scan, however, showed signs of a skull fracture and…the fracture might have obliterated her left hearing nerve and if that is what the second scan shows then…there is no surgery to restore her hearing. Again this is all just preliminary until we confirm it. Plus there is swelling and when it goes down it could…"
"Wait…what the hell are you saying!" Kelly interjected in anger as he swung his legs over his bed and glared at Dr. Manning in anger. "Are you saying…my daughter is…deaf?"
A/N: eeks! So yes lots going on (would you expect any less from me? Haha) No real major injuries to our couple – minor things to overcome BUT…lots of angsty tension and guilt ahead for sure! Again I really hope people stick with the SL and give it a chance to see how it ALL plays out (hey life is ups and downs, right and how we cope and adapt to new situations!) so please do review before you go and let me know b/c I'm so nervous everyone will hate this and I'll have to just end it early and thanks so much!
PS: Please remember this isn't the same SL as 'A New Start' so there is no George and Shay isn't alive (for those asking about them). Thanks!
