A/N: I've just noticed several grammatical errors in the previous chapter. I will fix them as soon as I'm back on my laptop. The document manager doesn't seem to give me the option of scrolling down through the text when I use my iPad.
On with the drama.
Lisa doesn't have to wait long. It's been about forty minutes and she's still holding Dean's hand while he sleeps and she dozes on and off. The curtain is inched aside and Julie enters, forcing Lisa to push herself up in the chair so she appears awake. "Sorry," Julie says quietly, holding up two plastic wristbands. "These need to go on before the anesthetist comes round and that oxygen mask can come off now. Should I wake him first?"
"He's awake," Dean mutters sleepily and he rolls onto his back, scrubbing at his face with his left hand. "Sorry," Julie repeats as she removes the mask and goes to stand to his left. "I need to check that we've got the correct details, okay? Your name is Dean Winchester, your date of birth is January 24th 1979, you're allergic to Penicillin and your surgeon is Dr. Cooper - is that correct?" He nods weakly and she continues, "Great. The white bracelet goes on your left wrist. The red one goes on your right - it lets staff know you have an allergy," she tells him as she fastens the clasp to secure the band. "The anesthetist will be in shortly to do the pre-op exam. I'll be at the nurse's station at the end of the hall if you need anything."
The anesthetist is a lanky young man in his mid-twenties, with dark hair that obscures his eyes and Dean is painfully reminded of his Sasquatch of a baby brother. "Mr. Winchester," he says, "My name is Dr. Jessop. I'll be the anesthetist for your surgery." He turns to look questionably at Lisa. "Lisa Braeden," she offers, extending her hand and he reaches to take it. "Ah, yes, Ms Braeden. You're listed as next-of-kin." He pauses. "Shall we crack on?" he asks and he flips through the chart that Julie left when she came in with the I.D bracelet.
"It says here you're scheduled for an appendectomy. Nothing to eat or drink in the last six hours so that's okay. You're not taking any medications and there's nothing here about any previous reactions." He places the chart on the counter and leans back, folding his arms over his chest. "So here's what we plan to do: we'll give you a muscle relaxant in the prep room to help you relax and then we'll use a combination of Propofol and Fentanyl to put you under. We'll be monitoring you the whole time. There can be several risks associated with an appendectomy and the severity usually depends on whether the appendix has perforated. Some of the risks involved include infection in the wound, sepsis, pneumonia, bleeding and adhesions but I wouldn't worry too much about them." He pauses to scratch at his neck. "Does anyone have any questions?" he finishes and he's met with silence. "The surgery shouldn't take longer than an hour and you'll go to recovery until you're over the effects of the anesthetic."
He uncrossed his arms and reaches for his stethoscope, and Lisa move her chair back against the wall to let him work. "I need to listen to your chest," he tells Dean, reaching to undo the top tie on Dean's gown. "We'll just loosen this off and pull it down a bit." He warms the stethoscope bell between his hands before placing it over Dean's chest. "Lean forwards for me," he instructs when he's done and he repeats the motion at Dean's back. "Your heart and lungs sound fine. Just your blood pressure and heart rate to do and we can get you ready to go down to theatre." The pressure cuff goes around his left arm this time because of the IV port at his elbow. "Your pressure has dropped again," the doctor frowns. "You're sitting at 85/55. It's a little below what I'd like it to be but we can work with it.' He folds the cuff and places it in the basket underneath the sphygmomanometer screen. "We should be ready for you in the next 20 to 25 minutes," he says, dropping Dean's chart into the holder at the foot of the bed. "I'll see you in the prep room. It was nice to meet you, Ms Braeden," he adds to Lisa as he exits the cubicle.
Julie appears less than a minute after Dr. Jessop leaves and she pulls the curtain closed once more. "Not long now," she says, smiling at Lisa, who's fidgeting with the strap on her handbag. She turns to Dean, who looks even paler than when she left not ten minutes ago. "Lisa can go with you as far as the entrance to the OR and then she'll have to say her good-byes. She can sit with you when you're in recovery." Dean turns towards where Lisa is sitting in the corner and she tries to smile reassuringly. She's getting nervous and she can feel her leg shaking as she unconsciously tenses her muscles.
Julie checks the IV lines in Dean's arms before lifting the thermometer from the counter. She places it in his ear, and frowns at the display when it beeps. "104.1," she says and Lisa sighs at the number. "You really don't do anything by halves, do you?" she asks Dean and she gets a mumbled "Hmm," in response.
"Okay, sweetie, it's that time, I'm afraid," Julie tells him and he groans, shaking his head and flinging an arm up to cover his eyes. "You'll get them back," she barters and she can see Lisa eyeing the two of them, trying to work out what Julie is referring to. "His boxers," she explains, "they have to come off while he's in theatre."
Dean sighs and allows his arm to drop to the bed with a thump. "Fine," he grumbles, "just get it over with." Back when he was hunting with Sam he'd have been absolutely ecstatic that a hot nurse was about to remove his underwear. Right now, however, he's exhausted and sore from being poked and prodded by numerous pairs of unnaturally cool hands. Julie is adding his boxers to the plastic bag containing his sweats and t-shirt when an orderly, a heavyset man with a tattoo sleeve and a ponytail, appears "Are you Dean Winchester?" he asks and Dean nods. "All right, dude," he says, pushing a second bed into the cubicle. "Your chariot awaits."
A/N: I realise that the surgeon usually goes over the risks but editing on this site is a pest so I'm going to leave it with the anesthetist. Hint: can anyone guess what low blood pressure is a symptom of?