8:46PM
"Whe-where's the lady?" He asked, teeth gritting against the chill he consumed. "She said- said she'd stay."
"Lo?" Standing up, Jordan scoured the area, she couldn't see Lori. She was coming up right behind the kid, so where was she? "Lori?" Jordan called out. "Where's Lori?" She shouted.
"She hasn't come out of the water, Dr." The Medevac doctor said as he remained seated beside Cameron, the boy.
"She's still in there." Jordan screamed, panic flowing through her body. Different scenarios cursing through her veins.
Without a second thought, Jordan jumped down off the rocky ledge, looking to see if she could see any sign of the Alister she had been friends with for over 9 years.
It was then, she spotted a flash of blonde hair. "Wait! She's down here! Help me pull her out." She called, gaining the other man's attention.
"We'll have to pull her." He explained, his feet firm on the ground as he ducked slightly to reach the drowning figure. Although the risk of a spinal injury was a major concern, making sure Lori was alive was a greater priority.
"Come on Lori. Lauren." Jordan coaxed. Her hand reaching to the water as the medevac doctor dragged Lori by the top of her dark blue scrub top.
Pulling the woman to the hard surface, she surveyed her condition. Her clothes were soaked and her body lifeless. She wasn't breathing.
Putting her emotions away for the moment she turned to all her concentration to Lori. Without another word, Jordan began compressions. 1..2..3..4. Stop. 1..2..3..4. Stop.
A splutter of water came from Lori's mouth, coughing as Jordan rolled her to get the remains of the water from her chest.
Lori was led on her side, fighting between consciousness and unconsciousness. Her head decorated with a gash that stemmed from her hairline and ragged to just above her ear, almost 2 inches.
"Lauren. Lauren!" Jordan shouted, her voice raspy as she willed to keep emotion at bay, two hands on the side of the Alister's face as she tried to coax her awake. "Lori, honey, can you hear me?"
"What do we do Doctor? San Antonio has one major trauma space left." One of the medevac pilots asked, they had two casualties and one team.
In a flash of panic, she screamed. "Get the boy out of here. We'll need another team for Dr Alister. She needs to be in SA Memorial."
"Understood."
Without another word, the boy, Cameron, was airlifted from the site which left Jordan another doctor and Lori on the rocky surface.
9:39PM
"How long was she without oxygen for?" TC panicked. Without oxygen, the pressure of the tumour on top, understanding Lori's situation was paramount. Turning to Lori he asked. "Do you feel sick? Hypoxia? Any indicators of secondary drowning?"
"T. I'm fine." Lori grumbled from the gurney. Her body was still tired and she was feeling a little light headed but other than that she just wanted to change from the wet clothes. "This isn't necessary."
"When your eyes stop moving in opposite directions. I'll tell you your fine." He snapped. Lori had been avoiding for too long, as her friend, T wasn't going to risk anything. "I want a CT."
"What happened?" A voice came out of nowhere. Scott Clemmens. "I heard it over the radio."
Although taken aback by the concern in the man's voice, Lori had been grateful and wanted to thank him bug TC soon put a stop to that.
"We've got it." TC snapped. His hands clutching to the bed rail as he prepared to manoeuvre the gurney down the small hall.
"Lauren?" Drew called, watching as the gurney was pushed into one of the trauma bay's. In his attempt to reach her, a small hand stopped him. It was Jordan. "Get out my way, my sisters in there!"
Shaking her head, Jordan spoke slowly. "You can't treat family, Drew. Just let us do our job, okay."
"I'm not leaving." Drew declared, his hands on the top of his hips as he watched his sister argue with TC behind Jordan.
10:01PM
"Can you just stitch me up or something?" Lori asked Kenny, weakly. It didn't matter that she worked here, she hated hospitals with a passion.
"Sorry. Dr Alister." Kenny apologised before he got up and headed to ask one of her doctors for an opinion on something.
"Hi Kenny." Scott greeted as he made room for the nurse to pass by. Walking up towards Lori, she sat there, the gash evident. "You good?" He asked, flicking through Lori's notes only sparing short glances to the woman.
"Help me up." She ordered, lightly. Her hands lifting up as she waited for Scott to help her.
"You know you really shouldn't-"
"Come on. If anyone asks. I made you." She shrugged, clearly not willing to allow him to refuse. "I just want to see the kid, Cameron. I promised I'd be with him." Lori admitted, a wave of guilt washing through her upon realising she hadn't kept it. "If anyone asks. I threatened you." She added, a small smirk tugging at her lip which indicated that she was in fact joking.
Arms interlinked, Scott guided Lori through the ER. "So..." He started, "what happened out there?"
"It must've been an undercurrent." Lori shrugged, avoiding detail. With a shaky breath Lori prayed the nauseas feeling would pass.
With raised eyebrows, Scott questioned. "An undercurrent? But that kid? He wouldn't have been there if there was an undercurrent? And you." He stated pointedly as he pieced the information together. "You wouldn't have risked both of your lives."
Getting defensive, Lori stopped. "Who says I wouldn't have?"
Scott shrugged, clearly not fazed. "You're in the military." He said as if it was obvious. "You think strategically. You asses, then act."
"Was in the military." She muttered. Changing the subject, she took a breath. "So, where's Cameron?"
"He's in-" Scott had started to explain how they had kept him in the ER when he felt Lori's arm slacken around his. "-are you okay?"
Taking a minute, she nodded. "Yeah, I just-I-" Lori hadn't finished her sentence before collapsing beside the nurses' station, her body stiffening as her muscles began to contract.
"Can I have some help here!" Scott's voice boomed, his strong hands attempting to roll Lori to her side to prevent choking. "Somebody!"
TC and Jordan had been discussing their extracurricular activities for the day ahead when they noticed the commotion whilst Drew had been on the other side of the nurses station trying to look into his sisters medical records. He hadn't even noticed her and Scott walking towards him.
"I thought she was fine!" Drew demanded. His voice shaking as he was pushed back from helping by TC.
"Can someone see if we can get Dr Kellingham in?" Jordan ordered, her voice strong as she placed a towel under the Alister's head to prevent further injury. Turning to TC, she whispered. "She's gonna have to ride it out before we can get her to MRI."
"Why Dr Kelligham?" Drew asked, still in shock over his sister being brought in. Why would his sister need the surgeon to be called in, especially since Scott was here. His mind failing to comprehend that Dr Kellingham was one of the neurosurgeons Lori had trained under between her tours. "Why can't Scott?"
"I'm not neurology." He stated, simply. He had been piecing the pieces together from the day he started.
"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Drew demanded. If he couldn't treat his sister, he at least deserved to know what was going on with her.
Ignoring Drew for a moment, TC sighed a sigh of relief. "She's riding it out." Turning to the other two doctors that had been in the floor with him, he said. "Let's get her up to MRI."
10:52PM
"Krista called, said you might want me to come down." Rick explained, kindly before handing Drew the polystyrene cup.
"Thanks." Drew muttered, accepting the coffee gratefully. He hadn't left his sister's side since she had been settled back into the bed. "She's just sleeping right now."
"Do they know what's wrong?" Rick asked, pulling up a chair to sit beside Drew as he watched the sleeping blonde. He had known Lori since she was 21, they had met at the Alister's family home when he was serving with Drew.
Drew shook his head. "I don't know." Soon enough, he felt the small grip tighten against his hand, looking up he noticed the hazy fear in his sister's eyes. "You're up." He commented, his own grip comforting her.
"Mhmm?" A sleepy voice stirred from beside him, a hand reaching to her forehead as she assessed the damage. "Rick?" She questioned, confused at the presence of her brother's partner.
With a smile, Rick greeted the younger Alister. "Your mom sends her love and wants you to call-"
"You told mom?" Lori whined at Drew.
"No one would tell me anything Lo." Drew defended himself. Lori, unlike him, had a good relationship with their mom and her oldest brother Liam. If something was wrong and if she hadn't already told him, they'd be next to know. "We know there's something wrong. Whatever it is-"
"No Drew. Don't say that. You won't, not when you know the truth." She said, words flowing free before she could realise what she said.
"The truth? What truth?" Drew demanded, anger rising as he tried to get answers from his little sister.
A knock at the door revealed a sheepish looking TC, he hadn't expected Drew to be with her. "Sorry, I -uh -thought-"
Waving him off, Lori indicated that it was okay and as soon as she caught sight of the brown folder she felt her heart beat a little quicker. "Umm, TC?" Lori took a breath, motioning for the scans he had in his hand. With a reassuring look, TC handed them over.
"These are the scans we took today and those are the ones from you last appointment." TC declared.
Lori willed herself not to cry, as she shakily handed the scans to her big brother. She hadn't wanted him to find out like this, she hadn't wanted it to take this long either.
"A tu-tumour?" Drew asked, his breath catching in his throat as he realised the size and
"Drew. I don't think-"
"And you knew?" He whispered, hurt so clear in his voice as his burning glare struck TC. With one last look at the scans, Drew stood quickly, thrusting the file into TC's chest with a force he fled from the room, leaving a bewildered Rick and Lori, who was silently crying.
Sending her a sad look, Rick kissed Lori's cheek, promising that he would be back soon and he wanted to make sure Drew was okay.
"I want a DNR." Lori said, her voice quiet and scared as she spoke hoarsely.
"No. Absolutely not." TC objected, stepping forward at am instant. "You're 28. No way, you're not."
"T- I'm- I'm not getting better." Lori tried to explain. It hadn't been a decision she made lightly but now she understood the risks of surgery and all the possibilities that could occur if something went wrong now. Granted, she had been taking the medication that had been discovered through a drugs trial but even with it the symptoms where impairing.
"You're not even trying!" TC snapped and like both Drew and Rick, he left Lauren Alister in silence.
A/N: Sorry for the delayed chapter...again! Seems like I only update when I'm home sick! Ooh dear. So...So summer is over and School has begun! It's my final year and I'm nearing the big wide world...scary!
POLL: Do any of you guys watch Bondi Rescue? I mean seriously, WHAT A SHOW! For those that don't know it's a reality TV show that follows the happenings of the world class Bondi Beach and the Boys..and girl in Blue!
And if any of you watch it, you may have noticed the subtle hint of Thirsty Merc ;)
Out of pure curiosity does anyone else watch? And would you like me to have a shot at writing a story to coincide?