For those of you who don't want Tag to get character growth by way of a gunshot, I can assure you that he's not going to do a 180 here but grow... he will.
Elena:
"Everyone, I need your attention," Dr. Winchester begins.
"There's been a shooting at a pizza place. We have six victims en route, one in full arrest. Right now, we're going to need everyone to stay until we get these people taken care of. Understood?"
"Absolutely, Dean," I reassure him that I wouldn't leave them in a lurch like this even though I've already been here for fourteen hours. It's been a hellish day already and now this.
"Thanks Elena, maybe we can get you an extra day off next week or something?"
"Don't worry about it," I start to say, my attention taken when the first victim is wheeled in on a gurney followed by multiple ambulance sirens as they pull up to the ambulance entrance. When I see the EMT's run in doing CPR on one of the victims, I immediately take them to exam room eight.
"GSW to the chest, Dr. Gilbert," Mike, one of our EMT's tells me, his voice breathy as he labors away, compressing the man's chest.
"Get four units of O neg stat. Tina, grab me a central line kit," I yell.
"How long has he been down?"
"About twenty minutes now," Mike adds.
Instinctively knowing that that doesn't bode well for a recovery, I still have to try to save him. Having already been intubated by the EMT's, Jack, one of our paramedics, is using an ambu bag to essentially breathe for him. Seconds later, Respiratory runs in, immediately hooking him up to a ventilator. It's only then that I see his face, a loud gasp escapes my mouth at the same time my insides rip apart.
"Damon!?"
"Do you know him, Dr. Gilbert?"
"Yes," I nod, immediately I have to shove my feelings to the darkest recesses of my mind and heart, detaching myself emotionally so I can give him the care he needs and hopefully save his life. As Bonnie hooks a blood bag to his peripheral IV, I yell again for a chest tube kit. When I insert the needle, blood gushes back indicating that he has a pneumohemothorax. After hooking it to the drainage container, I quickly suture it in place. As soon as I finish with that, I insert a central line and have radiology X ray his chest to check placement as well as take a picture of his chest to see where the bullet is.
"We have a rhythm," Mike yells, stopping CPR only then. Seconds later our trauma surgeon, Dr. Nielson bursts into the room, mere moments later, he's being wheeled out of the ED and into a surgery suite.
"Great job, Elena. We got him a fighting chance."
"But Bonnie, he was down, not breathing, no heart beat for twenty minutes. Even if he survives, he could have an anoxic brain injury. He may never be the same."
"I know that, Elena. We just have to hope for the best."
Nodding, I take a breath, steel my nerves and go out to see if I can help another victim. As soon as I walk out of the exam room, Dr. Winchester pulls me aside.
"What is it?"
"Tag is in exam room seven."
"What!?"
"He was at the pizza joint when the shooting started."
"Oh my, God," I blurt out, my head spinning so much so that Dean grabs onto me.
"Calm down, Elena. He wasn't shot, he just fainted after everything that went down."
Breathing a sigh of relief, I run to his room. Pulling back the curtain, I relax when I see him talking to one of the nurses.
"Mom?"
Without wasting another second, I close the distance between us, pulling him into my arms. After smothering him with kisses, I let go when I feel him pushing me away, something about not being able to breathe.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, when Damon pushed me down, I twisted my ankle."
"It's just lightly sprained, Dr. Gilbert," Jeff, his nurse, explains.
"What do you mean when Damon pushed you down?"
"When the bullets started flying, he shoved me down and covered me with his body. He saved me."
Closing my eyes, I grab onto his gurney, squeezing so tightly that my knuckles whiten.
"I started CPR right away mom. Is he going to be alright?" he asks, tears now filling his eyes.
"I don't know, Tag. As soon as we got a heart rhythm back, Dr. Neilson took him to surgery. Tag, listen to me, if Damon does survive this, he'll owe his life to you for starting CPR immediately. I'm really proud of you for keeping a level head and knowing what to do."
"It won't mean much if he dies. I'm so sorry, mom."
"It's not your fault, Tag."
"What if he dies though? I've been so mean to him. I'll never forgive myself if I don't get to tell him..."
Feeling tears forming in my own eyes, I give him another hug. As shattered as I feel on the inside, I need to be strong for him.
"I'm sure he understood. But I'll be honest with you, Tag, he's critically wounded and may not survive. We have to pray."
"I will, mom. I promise."
"I need to see if I can help some of the other victims. Are you sure that you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbles wistfully.
"I'm going to call mom and dad so they can come to take you home, okay?"
"Mom, I want to stay."
"No, Tag. He could be in surgery for hours."
"Mom, I want to."
"Tag, please, just please go home for my sake?" It's then that I see the fight go out of him.
"Okay, I'll go home when grandma and grandpa come. But can I at least go to see the guys? They're probably in the lobby waiting for Damon's parents to come."
"Did someone call them?"
"I guess I just assumed that Brady would call them. He's Damon's best friend."
"I need to go and help out now, Tag. I'll see you before you leave."
"Okay, mom," he whispers, laying down on the cart, throwing his forearm over his eyes.
I take long enough of a break to walk Tag and my parents out to their car. After telling them that I have no idea when I'll be home, they nod and drive away. When I walk back into the ED, I go to take care of another one of the victims. Fortunately the others weren't as severely injured as Damon. One had a belly wound and two others were shot in the arm, while the last two just had grazing type wounds, one was to their side, the other patient had a thigh wound.
Finally able to sit down, I plop myself in one of the chairs at the nurse's desk.
"Are you okay, Elena?"
"Yeah, I just needed a few minutes. I need to go to check on Mr. Salvatore."
"You know him?"
"Yes, he's my son's boss."
"Dr. Gilbert?"
Looking up, I see Minnie, one of our health unit clerks.
"Did you need something, Minnie?"
"Mr. Salvatore's family just arrived. Do you want to talk to them?"
"Sure, have them taken to a conference room so I can talk to them privately. I'll be there shortly."
"I'll tell them."
"Thanks, Minnie."
"You're welcome."
I walk over to the coffee pot, fill a cup and quickly take a big swallow. Although I want to do is rush to Damon, I know there's nothing I can do for him right now. As much as I love my job, I hate having to give families news like this. But at least he's still alive, as far as I know anyway.
Taking a breath, I walk out of the ED to go to talk to the Salvatore family. When I pass the chapel, I stop, back up and walk in. After saying a quick prayer, I walk out, dreading what I'm about to do. Pushing the conference room door open, I step inside, introducing myself as I do. The younger woman stares at me as if she knows something. Shrugging it off, I look at each of their faces, seeing as much pain as I feel on the insides. This room is stark and impersonal, no windows, only hospital type posters on the matte gray walls. Taking a breath, I look at Damon's father when he starts to speak.
"I'm Damon's father, Giuseppe, this is his mother, Rosemary," he says, pointing to her.
"I'm his sister, Katherine and this is my husband Nick. My brother is on his way here from the Cape."
"How is our son?" his mother asks, not bothering to wipe her tears.
"Your son was shot in the chest. He was in full cardiac and respiratory arrest when he was brought in. But from what I understand, CPR was started immediately which is a very good thing. We got a heart rhythm back while we were working on him. Because the bullet is lodged in his lung, he lost a lot of blood. Immediately we started to transfuse some blood into him. I inserted a chest tube to drain the blood from that lung. All that said, your son's heart didn't beat on its own for approximately twenty minutes. I have to caution you that he may have an anoxic brain injury on top of everything else. I know that I sound clinical and detached and I apologize for that but it's the only way that I can explain to what happened with him," I explain, running my hand through my hair as a stress reliever..
"What's that, anoxic I mean" the younger woman asks, her voice full of anxiety.
"Anoxic means without oxygen. The brain dies if it doesn't get the oxygen it needs. Liver cells have the amazing ability to regenerate unfortunately brain cells do not. And that's why the immediate commencement of CPR is so vital. The compressions pump the blood which delivers oxygen to his brain and other vital organs."
"My God," his mother cries, the pain in her voice matching how I feel on the inside.
"I can take you to the surgical waiting room if you'd like. Dr. Neilson will come out to speak to you when he finishes your son's surgery."
"Please do, Dr. Gilbert."
"Before we go, do you have any other questions?"
"Is our son going to live?"
"I can't answer that, Mr. Salvatore. As I explained, he's critical but the fact that he's young and healthy works in his favor."
"Thank you, can you take us to the other waiting room now?"
"Sure," I whisper, pulling the door open, stepping back to let them pass.
Once we arrive, I tell them to take a seat and help themselves to coffee. On my way back downstairs, I happen to see Dr. Neilson. Unable to help myself, I hurry over to him."
"Jack, did he survive?"
"Yes, Dr. Gilbert, he's alive but his condition is guarded at best. I think the only reason that he's still alive is the fact that CPR was started right away. And If he survives the next twelve to twenty four hours, I'd say that he has a chance."
"Thank you so much, Jack. Damon saved my son's life tonight."
"Really? So this guy is a hero?"
"He is indeed. His family is waiting for you so I'll let you go. Is he in PACU?"
"Yes, he'll go to the surgical ICU afterwards."
"Thanks again, Jack," I tell him, shaking his hand. When he lets go, I watch him until he turns the corner to meet with the Salvatore family.
After calling my parents to tell them that I won't be home for awhile yet, I go to the doctor's lounge to try to take a nap. Although I can barely keep my eyes open, Damon is all I can think about. Unable to sleep, I get up, taking the elevator to SICU.
"Dr. Gilbert, you look exhausted."
"I know, Tammy. I just came to see how Mr. Salvatore is doing before I go home. He saved Tag's life, taking the bullet himself," I say softly, barely able to get the words out. Feeling tears begin to prick at my eyes, I turn away for a moment to gather my composure. Without hesitating, Tammy gets up and gives me a light yet comforting hug.
"Thanks, that means a lot," Elena whispers before continuing, "Um, is his family still around?"
"I think they're all in the waiting room."
"Okay, I'm just going to peek in on him and then I need to get some sleep."
"You look like you could keel over any moment now."
"Indeed," Elena admits, yawning.
"No worries, he's in room fifteen."
Nodding, I walk down the hall, pausing when I get to the door. His friend, Brady is sitting at his bedside, holding his hand. Before I walk in, I stare at Damon for a few moments. My heart twists painfully in my chest to see him like this. The ventilator makes his chest rise and fall. The IV pumps hum as they deliver both necessary fluids and medications to maintain his blood pressure into his pale, lifeless body. I watch the rhythm of this heart on the monitor above and to the right of his head. Even though I'm breaking on the inside, I take a breath and whisper, "Brady?"
Turning around his mouth drops. Pushing his chair back, he stands up and hurries over, offering me his hand. Taking it between my own, I sigh heavily, the weight of the day taking its toll on me.
"He can't die, Dr. Gilbert, he just can't."
"I know, Brady. I need to be able to thank him for saving Tag tonight," I blurt out, my voice stilted and raspy as tears fill my eyes again.
"He pushed Tag down and dropped on top of him. I saw the moment the bullet hit him. It was like his body twitched and then he was just gone, the color just drained out of him. Thank God, Tag knew CPR. As soon as he rolled Damon over, he started pounding on his chest."
"He didn't want to leave. Tag wanted to stay with you all but I made him go home."
"As you should have, he's just a kid."
"Can I have a moment with him?"
"Sure, I'll go and refill my coffee so you can be alone with him for a few minutes."
"Thank you," I say softly, my eyes only on Damon. As soon as he leaves, I quickly hurry to the bedside. With all the equipment he's attached to, I have to be so careful when I lean in to give him a kiss on the forehead.
"I love you, Damon. Please, please don't go," I beg, tears falling unbidden down my cheeks. Taking his hand in mine, I drop another kiss to his knuckles. It's when I hear a throat clearing like noise that I put his hand down and turn around.
"You're his Elena, aren't you?"
"Excuse me?"
"You're the Elena that he was dating, you're Tag's mom."
"Yes, I am. I'm sorry, I have no right to be here."
"You don't have to leave. He'd want you here. He loves you."
"I love him too but it's complicated."
"Nodding, she walks around to the other side of the bed and takes his left hand, sandwiching it between her palms.
"I understand why you ended things and so does he but I know he'd still want you to be here."
"Thank you. I just needed to see for myself that he was still alive."
"I'm Katherine in case you didn't remember. He's my baby brother. I can't lose him, Dr. Gilbert, I just can't."
"I know."
When Damon's dad walks in too, I say a few words and after saying goodbye, I leave, knowing that they need to spend whatever time he may or may not have left with him.
By the time I get home the next day, it's already evening time. I've been awake for about forty hours now. Barely running on fumes, I forego everything else, going straight to my room. Collapsing onto the bed, I fall into a deep dreamless sleep. At some point, I get up to use the bathroom but go straight back to bed as soon as I finish relieving myself. Dropping my head on the pillow, I close my eyes and let sleep consume me once more.
"What you do to me, Elena," he pants, one of his arms holding me to his chest, the other draped across his eyes.
"You do the same to me, Damon. I've never experienced sex like this before. I know that I'm no virgin, obviously but there haven't been many men in my life. Actually Gerda is my best friend."
"Gerda?"
"Vibrator," I whisper, embarrassed and wondering what on earth possessed me to share that with him.
"Hey," he says, raising his arm to look at me.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of. I rather Gerda touch you there than a gaggle of guys."
"What about you? Judging by your bedroom skills, I take it that you've had lots of practice?"
"I've had a few girlfriends, yes, but not as many as you might think."
"I didn't mean to insult you."
"Sshh, you didn't. But people just assume because I have this face that every girl drools at the mouth for me to take her to bed. That's just not true."
"I'm sorry, I guess I'm just as guilty."
"I care about you, Elena. Much more so than I ever though possible."
"Me too, Damon," I whisper, leaning up to steal a blistering kiss from his lips.
After giving me a wink, he rolls me beneath and sinks inside once more, taking me over the edge in mere moments.
Startled awake with his name on my lips, I pick up the clock. When I see it's just a little after two in the morning. Yawning widely, I close my eyes again, hoping to sleep a little longer. With my eyes closed, I turn to lay on my other side and soon slip back into slumber.
"Elena, come back," I hear his pleading voice say. When I look up, I see him disappear as a fog fills all the spaces in between, taking him from my sight.
Lurching upright, I slam my palm to my chest, hoping to calm my now galloping heart. Reaching over, I pick up the clock again, it's still only four thirty. Knowing I'll never get back to sleep, I get up and take a shower and put my work clothes on. I'm due to be on shift at six. When I get to the kitchen, I make a pot of coffee and write a note for my family so they don't worry that I'm not here when they get up. After filling a travel mug with coffee, I grab my keys and hurry out to the car. Traffic usually starts to get heavy this time of the morning as people commute to and from work. As soon as I pull into my parking spot at the hospital, I rush inside, immediately taking the stairs to SICU so I can see him before I have to get to work.
When I pass the family waiting room, I see that the Salvatore family are still camped out, some sleeping on the couches, some on the floor. Taking a breath, I continue to the nurses station. After telling them that I'm going to spend a few minutes with Damon, I walk into his room, aghast at how deathly pale he is. Blood is dripping into his veins.
"Did something happen while I was gone?" I ask Tammy, who's also in his room.
"No, why?"
"He's so ghostly white."
"His hemoglobin is low, Dr. Gilbert. We're giving him three units of packed cells."
"How is he really, Tammy?"
"He's strong. I don't know why but I have a feeling about this one."
"And what does that feeling tell you?"
"I'm sure you're aware that he has a hell of an uphill climb but I just think this guy is going to make it. Of course I'm not always right but I've been right more often than wrong."
"I hope your spidey senses are right with this guy. He means a lot to me."
"Honestly, Dr. Gilbert, I really want to be right with this one too. He's a vital young man, his family is just devastated.
"I know," I add, dropping my eyes for a moment. It's then that I feel her arms around me.
'Thank you, Tammy. If it's okay, I'd just like to sit with a him a little while before I have to go to work."
"No problem. I'll be back shortly to check on this again," she says, pointing at the blood bag as she steps out of his room.
Once I pull up a chair, I sit down and take his hand in mine, pressing a kiss to it.
"Please don't give up. I love you, Damon, so much."
When I feel a hand on my shoulder, I startle and jump out of my chair, relaxing when I see Damon's sister and another guy.
"I just needed to see him."
"I get it, Elena. And it's okay," she reassures me.
Turning to the guy she's with, she introduces us.
"This is my brother, Stefan. Stefan, this is Dr. Gilbert. She helped to save his life after Damon saved her son's life."
"Thank you, Dr.," he says, offering me his hand to shake.
The guy lets go of my hand, then steps up to the bedside, taking his brother's hand.
"Damon, it's Stefan. I need you to wake up. Please? We all love you so much little brother. I need you in my life. Please fight," he begs, his eyes starting to moisten. Knowing that they need to be alone with him, I back out of the room and take the staircase down to the emergency department to start my shift.
After another busy shift, I quickly run upstairs to check on Damon before going home for the day. I won't be any good to anyone if I collapse and end up in here myself with exhaustion. After spending a few moments just holding his hand and fingering his hair off of his forehead, I stand up so I can leave to go home. When I hear his father's voice outside of Damon's room, I quickly whisper that I love him and then step out.
"Dr. Gilbert?"
"Hello, Mr. Salvatore. I was just checking in on your son."
"It's nice that you keep an eye on your past patients."
"I usually try to make the time to follow up with them."
"Thank you for everything," he says, before stepping around me to go into Damon's room himself.
By the time I get home, I'm thoroughly worn out yet again. But I haven't been able to really talk to my family for a couple of days. Finding them in the kitchen, I take a seat, place my elbows on the table and my face into my hands.
"Mom, are you okay?"
"I'm just tired, Tag. I'm sorry I've been AWOL lately. We've been so busy at the hospital plus I wanted to check in on him."
"Mom, you're exhausted. I wish you'd take a day off."
Blowing out a breath, I turn my attention to my parents.
"I wanted to ask you two a favor."
"What's that sweetheart?"
"I thought maybe you guys could take Tag back to Virginia with you for a little while. He needs a break from all of this too."
"No, mom. I have work. The place didn't shut down because of Damon. They're still working."
"Tag, I know but you're off until your ankle heals anyway."
"But mom?"
Holding my fingers to my lips to shush him, I look at my dad, hoping he'll agree.
"Tag, I think your mother needs some rest. Elena, we'll talk about it but right now, you go take a nap."
Nodding, I get up and walk down the hall. After showering and putting on a pair of clean pajamas, I pull back the covers and crawl in. Just as I get settled, I hear a knock on my door.
"Come in," I say, pulling the covers over my legs.
"Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?" I hear his voice just before he peeks his head through the door.
"Of course, Tag. Come in."
He walks over to my bed, taking a seat beside me. Without raising his eyes, he takes my hand in his.
"Tag, what is it?"
Raising his eyes now, I see that they're moist.
"I was so mean to him, mom. I even threw a baseball at him. God mom, he saved my life and I treated him despicably."
"Tag, why would you throw a baseball at him?" Incredulous, I use my fingers to raise his chin so he has to look at me.
"I don't know, mom. It was stupid but I was just so mad at him in that moment. Brady rightfully took me out of the ballgame."
"Tag, I taught you better than that."
"I know that, mom and I'm so sorry. But you have to know that even though I don't want you to be with Damon in that way, the last thing that I'd ever want is for him to die."
Unable to say anything, I tilt my head, wrap him in my arms and press a kiss to his head. As his body shakes with grief, I feel tears filling my own eyes.
"What if I don't get the chance to tell him I'm sorry or thank him for saving my life?" he asks, pulling back to look at me again. He stares at me for several minutes before throwing his arms around me. Without hesitating, I embrace him again. As I hold him, the two of us cry together, Tag whispering over and over again how much he loves me.
*Pneumohemothorax: The accumulation of air and blood in the pleural cavity. The pleural cavity is formed between the pleural layer surrounding the lungs and the outer layer lining the chest wall.
*GSW: gunshot wound.
Thank you, Eva. Love you lots and lots and lots. She's simply brilliant.
And a HUGE thank you to all of you. I appreciate your support so much. You are all the absolute best. I'm simply in awe.
Chapter title: 'Lost Without Your Love' by Bread.
'Turn the Page' and 'The Dating Game' are still in progress. I would love for you to give them a look. Eva and I are working on a series of short stories. Right now we're working on a WW2 era one. It's called 'Seven Year Ache'.
Martina, aka Cry Benihime, has a story in progress called 'Hear Me Out'. It's exceptional.
I started a facebook page for my stories. For peeks at forthcoming stories and other things, it's face book scarlett2112 fanfiction
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Be safe and have a wonderful day. Thank you all again for your support. We'll see you next time.