A/N Sorry about all the delays… school, broken computers, life... makes updating hard sometimes!! Thanks for sticking with us, and the story, please review, we always love to read them!
Sean nodded and looked at me one more time, squeezed my hand and then pulled the sheet up over my face. "You still want to see that closet?"
"Should I? I want to, but at the same time.."
"You don't' need to."
"But at the same time I feel I need to, that's the last place she spoke, took a breath, it's where Abby died"
"She was called in a trauma room. Not the closet."
"You said she didn't have a chance when you pulled her out of that closet, did she ever breathe, did you ever get a heartbeat Susan?"
"We had one for a moment. A heart beat. We bagged her; she didn't pull a breath voluntarily though. She was in PEA for a while."
"So she died in the closet, she never took another breath without your help,"
"Fine."
Sean stopped for a moment and lowered his gaze, "tell me Susan, how everything happened,"
"I found her, and then Luka was there. We took her from the closet, into the trauma room, tried to bring her back."
"I know the basics, please; you know what I'm asking about,"
"No. I don't."
"How did..What where your thoughts? If you knew she was gone, why did you try? Who was in there, what was said?"
"We didn't talk about much, just the standard stuff. No humor though. We... We had to try because we knew her. It's that simple. We didn't want to let go."
"How long did… before you got the heartbeat?"
"About ten minutes."
"I'm sorry for all the questions Susan, I just need to know. How long did it last?"
"About three seconds, then half a minute of v-fib."
"Did you think…then that maybe she had a chance?"
"Then, for a moment, yes."
"Must have been nice, to at least believe that you, that Abby had some hope."
"It was short lived. Made it that much harder to loose her."
"What did you do then?" oh Sean, at least he's talking about me now.
"Then I kept trying, and when we figured her brain was fried, we called it."
"After how long, how long did you work on her?"
"At least an hour."
"Did anyone else, I mean did you even think about calling down another specialty? Or did you know?"
"We knew, but we called down cardiology and surgery anyhow."
"What did they say; did they know who she was?"
"Yes. They knew her. They didn't say anything outside of the medical aspects.""
"Did they even try, even think about what to do next, or just let you guys work until.."
"They didn't bother to book an OR. They knew. We knew. Just didn't want to admit."
"How can someone, hurt Abby? She probably thought he was just a patient, probably wanted to help him." Sean, you know me all to well.
"Years ago, there was another stabbing. A resident and a med student. Schizophrenic man they were just trying to help. The resident survived and wound up addicted to drugs because he felt so guilty that the med student died."
"So they were just trying to help, just like Abby. I know the entire thing is going to be on that tape Susan."
"But do you want to hear it?"
"I want to know how he got in into that closet, without any alarms going off in her head. Abby was smart, something should have clued her in, but obviously he said something that didn't make her suspect anything."
"Could've thought he was altered."
"But wouldn't she have asked for help, and why would she go with him into that closet."
"Sometimes it's hard to understand. I don't know."
"Do you think she suspected anything, when they walked into that closet?" No, Sean, I didn't, not until it was too late.
"I don't know."
"And that's why I have to see the security tape, and listen to the audio one."
"Are you sure you want to?"
"I wasn't there when she died Susan, you were. It's something, something for Abby."
"What's it going to do for her?"
"Help me catch her killer, maybe she said something, I don't know."
"Fine. Do what you think you have to."
"Don't be angry with me Susan, I have to know, I have to see the closet, I have to see the tapes."
"Like I said, nothing I can do to stop you."
Sean nodded, "Can you show me the closet now?"
"Three doors down from trauma one."
"That puts in almost directly in front of the admit desk Susan," he said softly, "Why didn't.." he was on the verge of crying again, Its okay Sean, you're allowed to cry.
"Down the other way, away from admit."
"Are you going to stay down here, or would you like me to walk you upstairs?"
"I don't care."
"Susan," he grabbed her and suddenly pulled her against him. Sean had been able to grieve for a while, Susan had not. "Thank you," okay Sean, be there for her now. She needs you Sean, you two need each other.
The press conference wasn't a surprise to anyone save maybe the press. I thought there might be someone from the board, but apparently they stuck her with it.
"Dr. Weaver, you ready?" Luka asked as they stood by the lounge. "It's Kerry, Luka. We've been working together how long now?" she was tense. Or maybe tense would be an understatement. The media was outside, anxiously awaiting the first actual news conference, confirmation, any real news that was to come of my death. Despite her reassurances that nothing private would be relayed to the reporters and cameramen, Sean was furious with her for giving any information away. That not holding the conference would be horrible public relations for the hospital was irrelevant to him, and he didn't believe her when she said it might help to draw some attention away from my family, if only for a few moments.
As they walked outside, Luka overheard the APB issued over one of the Chicago PDs radio. "You don't have to be here, you know," she said quietly to Luka, he wasn't camera shy, but he didn't like this sort of thing.
"I do, it's for Abby," She nodded and walked up to the podium. I watched as instantly a strange silence came over the crowd, all the focus was now on Kerry Weaver. I was interested in hearing what she had to say.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I wish I could welcome you to Cook County General Hospital under more pleasant circumstances. Without further delay, our chief of staff, Dr. Kerry Weaver will speak with you about the tragic events that occurred here yesterday." Luka's voice, which normally reassured people, seemed to be lacking in its confidence. Take a deep breath guys, I promise you'll get through this.
"Just under twenty four hours ago, one of our attending physicians in the emergency department here at County was found unconscious. She had been severely assaulted and stabbed. For over an hour, Dr. Luka Kovac, who spoke to you a moment ago, and Dr. Lewis, the chief of the emergency department worked to save her life. Unfortunately her injuries were too severe and she died. She was a wife and the mother of three young boys, and a fine doctor with a bright future. She will be missed by many and never forgotten." Aw Kerry, that was beautiful! Wait. Why was I smiling about this? She was talking about my death? I watched as the hands of many reporters shot into the air, wanting answers to many of their questions. She picked one of the reporters, for some reason, I think she was from the tribune. I could tell she really didn't want to be doing this, but the board had announced without her agreement I might add, that there would be a brief 'Q and A' session after the statement.
"What was the physician's name?" Ugh, what a stupid question, but then again I guess they had to ask, just to confirm.
"Dr. Abigail Lockhart."
"Is she the same Dr. Lockhart that was married to Sean Jennings?"
"Yes."
"Do we know who murdered her?" I saw Luka cringe at the word.
"It is my understanding that the FBI has a suspect."
"Has he been detained?"
"I am not the one to answer that. If the FBI feels it is in the best interest of the case, they will release whatever information they deem pertinent."
Reporters frantically scribbled down notes as more questions were fired at my coworkers. "What injuries did Dr. Lockhart sustain?" AKA cause of death.
"Specific medical details are not considered public information. I'm not at liberty to release them, out of respect for her privacy." Bang! Way to go Kerry!
"Is Agent Jennings currently investigating his wife's death, or has her case been turned over to another agent?"
"The FBI is handling the case in the manner they see fit."
The media held them there for close to forty five minutes, guys I am so sorry. I wish you didn't have to go through this. Kerry was surprisingly good at giving out absolutely no information and making it sound like something. And then Luka stepped in and gave her a reprieve. They were needed back in the ER. Allegedly. Code talk for 'it's slow, but sitting at admit doing charts beats this no contest.
