Disclaimer: Not mine.
I'm a teacher and not in the medical field so if I made any critical errors feel free to let me know.
Phone calls in the middle of the night meant one thing to Ellie Bartowski; work. Be it a horrible traffic accident or an emergency with one of her patients, she was ready to go no matter what the time. It was a given in her line of work.
Ellie loved her job. She loved making a difference. She loved that she had made her dream of becoming a doctor a reality.
But tonight she was tired.
She accepted the phone call without even opening her eyes. Experience had taught her to keep her phone within reach. She held her phone to her ear and sleepily answered. "Hello?"
"Ellie. This is Sarah."
Ellie instantly sat up, heart pounding with a surge of adrenaline. Devon stirred beside her, awoken by her sudden movement. Your brother's girlfriend doesn't call in the middle of the night to share good news. Good news could wait. Whatever Sarah was calling about now couldn't wait until morning. That meant one thing.
"What happened to Chuck?" Ellie asked afraid of the answer.
"There was a robbery at the Buy More and he was shot."
"Oh God," Ellie choked out. Her hand flew to her mouth. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest.
"He's at the hospital now," Sarah paused and Ellie could have sworn she heard her crying over the line. "They won't tell me how he's doing."
"We'll be there soon." Ellie replied ending the phone call, now purposefully shaking Devon awake.
"What's up, babe?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Chuck's been shot. We need to go now." She explained, hysteria barely contained.
"What? How?" Devon replied an expression of equal parts confusion and shock across is face.
"I don't know. We need to get there as soon as possible." Ellie answered, quickly grabbing clothes without bothering to even turn on light. She moved with purpose in fog of fear. She didn't really care how she looked at the moment.
Devon flicked on the lamp on the nightstand and they both got ready in a strained silence. Devon not sure what to say and Ellie afraid if she said anything she would fall apart. They were out the door and in the car less than ten minutes after Sarah's call.
Devon drove and Ellie was thankful. She had to hold her hands in her lap to keep them from shaking. She pretended not to notice the furtive glances Devon kept giving her. The headlights of an oncoming car illuminated his face for a moment before it darkened once more. His normally cheery demeanor was replaced with concern.
Devon reached across the console to take her hand.
"Talk to me, babe."
"I'm terrified," she admitted staring straight ahead. Silent tears fell from her eyes and Devon gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"I know, but we don't know very much right now. I'm sure Chuck will be okay." Devon reassured her.
"You didn't hear Sarah's voice. And it's not just that." Ellie answered nervously biting her lip afraid if she voiced her fear she was somehow making it a reality.
"What else is it?"
"The last conversation I had with Chuck ended with me telling him I was disappointed in him. I was just so angry about the dinner with your parents. Now, it doesn't really matter."
"Ellie, I'm sure Chuck knows that."
Ellie shook her head. She knew her brother better than anyone else. Chuck's biggest obstacle wasn't working at the Buy More or getting kicked out of Stanford. It wasn't even his ex-girlfriend Jill or the guy that she left him for. Chuck's biggest obstacle was Chuck.
"Does he? This is Chuck we're talking about. He takes everything to heart. He's constantly selling himself short and worried about letting everyone else down. And that might be the last thing-"
Ellie could tell that Devon was torn between getting to the hospital as quickly as possible and pulling the car over so he could comfort her properly. Instead, he just held her hand tighter and pressed down on the accelerator.
"It's going to be okay, Ellie."
Ellie nodded, not really believing it.
When they finally reached the hospital Devon immediately set out to get an update on Chuck's condition. Ellie let him take control because she felt so out of control herself. He hugged her tightly before leaving her in the waiting room with Sarah.
If Ellie had any doubts of the severity of Chuck's wound, Sarah's appearance alone told her it was as bad as she had feared. Smudged mascara around her eyes and the blood stains on her clothes that had been hastily washed away were still visible. Sarah had that far away look, the look that survivors of terrible accidents or crimes seemed to have. She was trapped in a world of thoughts to horrible to voice.
They greeted each other without a speaking. Sarah stumbled to her feet as soon as she saw Ellie approaching and Ellie held her arms out. They clung to each other in desperate fear.
Sarah didn't say anything but this was the most open she had ever seen Sarah before. Ellie really liked Sarah. She was good for her brother, but she had always seemed distant. Sure, she was friendly, beautiful, and charming but Ellie had always felt she was holding something back from the rest of Chuck's family. She didn't dwell too much on it though. Some people were more private that others. The way Sarah looked at Chuck though and how he beamed whenever she was around were enough for her to know she cared about her brother.
Now with all the walls pulled down, Ellie could see just how deeply she cared.
Ellie pulled away from the embrace. Her voice was full of emotion, "Thank you, Sarah for being there. If you hadn't.."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears. "I wish I could have been faster."
Ellie understood the sentiment. She had wished for a lot of things in her life. For years she dreamed of her mom and dad coming home and being a real family again. She wished that Chuck would realize how much he had to offer the world. Now all she wished was for her little brother to be okay. He was the only family she really needed.
Sarah and Ellie sat together in the waiting room. They didn't speak, but Ellie was grateful for the presence of another person who cared for Chuck.
When Devon finally emerged from the doors Ellie was on her feet in an instant.
"He's out of surgery and in ICU. We can go back to see him now." Devon said answering Ellie's questions before she could even ask. He was so serious it was unsettling.
Sarah waved them ahead, perhaps worried that she would intrude on a family moment. Normally Ellie would have insisted differently, but all she could think of was Chuck.
Ellie followed Devon, clutching his hand and trusting him to guide her to her brother. The doctor who treated Chuck greeted them with a curt nod at his room. He was buddies with Devon but she couldn't remember his name. They immediately started a dialogue about Chuck's prognosis. She caught snippets of their conversation; collapsed lung, blood loss. These were terms she understood, things she even knew how to treat but they sounded so wrong when they were describing her brother.
Ellie froze just outside the door. She was suddenly completely lost in a world that she was supposed to understand. The hospital was always where she felt strong. It was her home away from home where she saved lives and made decisions. With Chuck so hurt everything felt wrong though. She felt like running and for a moment she was selfishly angry at what had been taken away from her.
It was just a moment. She remembered that her little brother needed her.
She opened the door.
The machines and monitors were familiar and completely foreign at the same time. It was incredible the difference in her feelings on this side of the experience. Ellie considered herself a compassionate person. She had bedside manner. She knew how to comfort the patients she treated and their families. But this was totally different.
She took a seat next to the bed where Chuck lay. She forced herself to ignore the chest tube and IV lines and focus on Chuck. Chuck, her charming and sweet baby brother, lying in a hospital bed with a gunshot wound to the chest. She choked on a sob. It was just so wrong.
Gingerly she picked up his hand. It was unnaturally cold where Chuck was always warm. His face was lax in sleep but pale and his hair all kinds of unruly. She brushed his hair with her fingers like she used to when he was so much littler.
"I was thinking about the last time you were in the hospital." She said.
It was strange to talk to him like this. She was used to his smiles, not this silence. Once she started she couldn't stop though. Ellie wasn't sure if she was talking to him or for herself. She supposed it didn't really matter.
"Back when mom and dad were still at home. You had just started kindergarten so you must have been five or six."
She smiled at them memory. She remembered his messy hair, toothy grins, and how proud he was of everything he was learning at school. His teachers always adored him. Most people did.
"You always wanted to play on those big rocks back in the woods behind the house. They were a fort or some secret base you were infiltrating as a world class spy. They were anything you wanted."
Anything he wanted she thought ruefully. She always knew he could be anything he wanted.
"You weren't allowed to go by yourself though. You'd beg and beg me and most of the time I went because I always wanted to look out for you. I had homework though and told you to leave me alone. You did, which should have been worrisome in itself. When mom asked me if I'd seen you hours later I knew where you were."
Ellie remembered the way her heart had pounded when she ran on the trail back behind their house. It wasn't like Chuck to stay away so long. Even then she worried about her little brother.
"I found you between two giant boulders. You'd tried to jump across. You fell, broke your arm, and couldn't climb out on your own. God, you were terrified of coming home. I told you mom and dad would be more concerned about your arm but you just kept crying that they would be mad and how you had let them down. I was right, they were so worried and dad figured a broken arm was punishment enough. I could hardly let you out of my sight for weeks after that. I kept thinking about you being hurt and all alone."
Ellie sniffed and wiped away the tears on her face. She was tired of crying. She just wanted to feel safe again. For Chuck to be safe.
"When I look at you sometimes, I still see that scared little boy so terrified of letting anyone down. You don't see what everyone else see though. I wish you could see how amazing you are and how I proud I am to have you for my brother."
Ellie promised herself that when Chuck woke up she would tell him again. She squeezed his hand and gently kissed it. She would always look out for him, no matter what.
"You're aces, Charles."