Chapter 11
Jason died twice that night, both times revived quickly by Dr. Leo. The irony was that each time Jason's heart stopped, Elizabeth's began to beat double time. By the time Patrick arrived they had Jason stabilized and he was taken away for his CAT scan.
After Jason was rolled away by the orderlies followed by Patrick, Elizabeth stood unmoving for many minutes. Her hands were shaking and her heart was racing. Emily had disappeared, Elizabeth didn't know where she went and really didn't care. Nobody knew about her and Jason yet and Elizabeth didn't care to have any deep conversations, her only focus was Jason. She quickly went up to the locker room and ran into one of the private bathrooms. As soon as she closed the door she lost it. Her knees gave out and she fell to the floor as the sobs she'd been holding in for the better part of an hour came tumbling out.
The only information that she had caught was that the other driver ran a light and hit his door head on. He was now dead, the other driver, and Jason had a few scary moments. The worse of his injures was a head trauma and the severity was still unknown, Patrick was running tests and that would take time. The rest of his injuries seemed minor but were putting so much stress on his heart that he needed to be resuscitated twice.
She had nobody to call, nobody to lean on or cry to. The only person she wanted comforting her was Jason. The only person she wanted telling her everything was going to be ok, that Jason was going to be ok, was Jason himself. Grabbing a wad of toilet paper, she dried her cheeks. Her eyes were surely red but she didn't care. It was about time that the results would be back for Patrick and Elizabeth wanted… needed to be there to know how he was. Momentarily she thought about changing out of her scrubs but she had a better chance of staying involved and informed if she stayed on shift. Looking in the mirror, she groaned and adjusted her ponytail. Her own eyes locked on themselves in the mirror and she vowed to herself that she was going to be strong for Jason.
She rounded the corner and found Dr. Drake with his back to her, holding a chart as he began walking down the hallway. "Patrick…" Elizabeth called, her voice cracking.
He turned, "Elizabeth, I didn't know you were still here… are you ok?" he asked, obviously noticing the redness around her eyes.
"I'll be fine. How is Jason?"
He sighed, "I was just heading up to the OR, he is being prepped for surgery."
The pounding in her chest that she'd felt earlier had returned as Patrick continued, "He has a lot of swelling and bleeding on the brain. Due to his medical history we cannot wait for the swelling to go down, we have to go in and relieve it and stop the bleeding before it does further damage then has been caused in the past."
Her knees were weak but she played it off by nonchalantly leaning on the wall, "His other injuries?"
"They are all trivial at this point. We need to correct the brain trauma before we can worry about them but none of them are life threatening at this point. I need to get him through surgery first." Patrick turned back toward the double doors leading to the OR but stopped and turned back to Elizabeth, "Are you sure you are ok?"
Elizabeth nodded, "I will be, just save my… friend." She said hesitantly.
Elizabeth was thankful that she worked in the hospital. She was even more thankful that Jason was put on her floor and when she was on shift, Elizabeth was his attending nurse. Needless to say, for the last two weeks she had worked every shift she could. The first few days of Jason's coma were torture. She cried nonstop but kept up a strong exterior. She still hadn't told anyone about her relationship with Jason and did not plan on telling anyone until he at least woke up.
Now, every day, she'd get to work and spend the beginning of her shift taking his vitals, changing his bandages, and talking to him. She told him about her day, about Cameron and the house. She even admonished him the day a 'paid in full' receipt from her lawyer was delivered to the house. Then she'd make sure they were alone, kiss him and promise to come back later, which she always did. Out of her 8 or 10 hour shifts she would spend a minimum of an hour with her favorite patient.
The necklace that he gave her never came off her neck if she was awake. She did not sleep with it out of fear that she'd break it in her sleep. A few people had noticed the large stone it but she shrugged it off as fake, telling them she'd picked it up on the costume jewelry clearance rack in the department store.
She finished taping up the bandage on his stomach, the wound just about healed. She had to smile at the thought that even in a coma he was still a fast healer. "I have to go check on some patients. I'll be back later." She leaned in and kissed his lips, "I love you."
As she walked out of the room, Carly was walking in. "Any changes?" Carly asked.
Elizabeth reluctantly shook her head, "No" and walked away. Surprisingly Carly had been rather cordial to her in the past couple weeks.
After checking on a few patients she approached the nurses station where Emily was looking through charts. The past weeks had only worsened their friendship. The distance grew each day and they were at the point that they were barely even talking. "Hey."
Emily looked up from the folder and forced a smile. "What's going on?"
"Just checked on Jason… no change. How about you?" Elizabeth asked.
Emily appeared to be thinking then abruptly closed the folder, "I have to ask it, are you ever going to go visit Lucky in rehab?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "No" she plainly answered.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Emily replied, "I can't believe you can be so… so cold. I never knew you were like this."
"Me?" Elizabeth said with a slight chuckle. "It is not my job to look after Lucky anymore. I filed for divorce weeks ago."
"And that is why he checked into rehab. The lawyer delivered the papers and he immediately went. That right there tells you that he wants to make it up to you."
Elizabeth shook her head, "The only person Lucky needs to focus on is himself."
"I can't believe you are just going to let Lucky…"
Elizabeth held up her hand. She couldn't hear another word and with everything going on, Lucky was the furthest from her mind. "The man cheated on me… in my bed with Maxie Jones. He repeatedly used drugs… in my house… where my young son could have found them at any time. I AM DONE WITH HIM. I don't love him anymore Emily!"
Emily shook her head as though she was disgusted by what she was hearing, "I can't believe how cold hearted you have become."
"Whoa… ok, I know it is not my place to butt in but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." Carly snipped.
Elizabeth braced for what she was going to have to endear.
"My cousin deserves everything that she is doing Emily." Carly stated, much to Elizabeth's surprise. "He made his choice months ago. He chose drugs over his family, he could have gotten help but he chose not to. As a mother with two children I wouldn't want them around that either." Carly said with her arms folded over her chest.
"Uh…" Emily said, surprised by Carly's stance. "I don't think this is any of your business Carly."
"Well you are talking about this in a public place so maybe next time you should keep a conversation like this private if you don't want other people's opinion. It seems like you are quick to judge Elizabeth and if you want my opinion, which I am going to give anyway, you are wrong."
Before Carly could continue Emily stomped away leaving Elizabeth stunned. "Thank you Carly."
Carly shrugged, "Oh cool it muffin, I was just stating the obvious. Everyone acts like Lucky is the golden child but he is just as screwed up as the rest of us. I'll be back tomorrow."
