Chapter 13
"Hey Ella, I'm heading out for the day. Dr. Davis will be here in a few hours to relieve you." Dr. Nichols said coming in her office. She nodded and stood up from her desk.
"See you tomorrow." He said. Ella waved as he left as fast as he could. She understood, his quickness. Dr. Nichols wasn't as happy with his job was Ella was. She loved her job. She perched on her desk and flipped through a large file on her most recent patient. The intercom went off and she stood up.
"Dr. Dennison to the ER." She said. Ella tossed the file on her desk and rushed out of her office and into the ER. She hurried to the ambulance doors and watched slowly as Ambulance 61 backed up. She was happy that she got a patient and got a chance to see Shay and Dawson. The doors opened wide and all she could see were tear stained faces as the two women jumped down and pulled out the gurney quickly. Ella jumped into action.
"Male, early thirties, GSW to the chest, BP 70 over 50!" Shay called as she rushed the gurney to Ella. Ella grabbed the edges of the gurney and looked down at her patient. Her heart leapt to her throat and she gasped.
"Kelly." She choked on the name as she looked down at the bloody, dirty face.
"Ella, please, you can do this, come on, help him." Shay said grabbing her hands. Ella looked down at the bloody hand on hers and she pursed her lips as she fought back tears.
"I'll take care of him." she said pulling the gurney into bay 2.
"Get me supplies right now, call the surgeon just in case." She called. Shay and Dawson stood outside as Ella jerked the curtains closed. She turned toward Kelly and pulled on her gloves as a nurse cut away his clothes. Her heart was racing in her chest, she wanted to cry and be a worried loved one for once, but no, she had to work on a man she was quickly falling for, she had to save his life.
Everyone was pacing around the waiting room, all their minds and prayers on their fallen Lieutenant in the ER. Shay rushed into the hospital and looked worriedly at them.
"Any word?" she asked. They shook their heads slowly and looked toward the Emergency Room doors.
"What even happened?" Shay asked as she sat down in the nearest chair.
"We were clearing rooms, don't know what happened, but we heard a gunshot and we rushed to the room. Two guys were standing over Kelly, their guns on the floor, they surrendered immediately, not even realizing what they had done. Hadley and I got Kelly out while the others got the boys out." Casey said. Shay nodded and dropped her head in her hands.
"Was Ella in there?" the Chief asked. Shay and Dawson both nodded.
"Wait, is Ella the girl that brought the cakes to the station?" Herrmann asked. Shay nodded and looked up.
"She's right below the head doctor here. She and Kelly have also been seeing each other for a while now." Shay said.
"How'd she look when she saw him?" the Chief asked.
"Distraught, scared, panicked, confused, on the brink of tears." Shay said.
"Do you think she can do it?" he asked. Shay looked up and nodded quickly.
"Of course she can. She's smart, level headed, and she loves her job, I know she can do it." Shay said as more tears came to her eyes.
"Hey, hey, it's going to be ok. He's going to make it through." The Chief said.
Ella finished everything she could do and stepped back, she popped her gloves off and threw them into the trash. A shudder ran threw her body as a nurse rushed around, cleaning all the bloody bandages and tools. Kelly was out, dead to the world, as they grabbed the gurney and rushed him down the hallway to the surgery suite. Her hands started shaking and she quickly tucked them in her pockets.
"Dr. Dennison?" John asked coming up beside her. She jumped and looked up at him with wide innocent eyes. She was scared out of her mind. She'd never done work like this on someone she knew. In all honesty she should have never been in the room with him since she knew him, but she was the only Dr on staff right now and she didn't trust anyone else with him. Her hands continued to shake in the pockets of her bloody scrubs as she turned to John.
"When he comes out I want him taken to the 5th floor. I want his vitals checked every thirty minutes for the first day. I want Dr. Mixon with him. I want you to keep your eyes on him John, make sure he is settled in up there and everything is perfect." She said.
"Ella what if he doesn't come out?" John asked trailing off.
"Don't you dare say that, just do as you're told damn it." Ella said grinding her teeth. He stared at her shocked before he nodded quickly.
"I'm um…I'm sorry, just please." She said slowly. He nodded again and left the room to call up to the 5th floor. Ella's whole body was shaking as she watched them wheel him into the surgery suite. The surgeon was already in there, prepping. Kelly was stable for now, but if they didn't get that bleed in his heart stopped, then she just didn't know.
She quickly turned and rushed to the waiting room, she turned and hurried down the hallway. She knew his friends were waiting there and she owed it to them to tell them everything. She tried to take deep breaths and get her shaking hands under control as she pushed through the doors. All their heads came up simultaneously and they stood as soon as they saw her.
"Ella." Shay said jumping up. They all rushed towards her and suddenly she was overwhelmed again. Tears welled in her eyes and her hands started shaking again.
"What's wrong, what's wrong?" Shay asked as she saw the tears. Ella quickly wiped them away and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, it's ok, he's stable right now. The bullet nicked the bottom of his heart, it didn't do a lot of damage but it did enough. That is where all the blood was coming from. I called the surgeon, removed the bullet, and stabilized him. He's in surgery right now. Our surgeon is very capable and he's wonderful at what he does. He's not out of the woods yet, but we're close." Ella said. She watched as they all stared at her and nodded. They gave each other calming pats on the backs, but Ella could see in their faces that they were terrified for him, much like she was.
"Dr. Dennison, thank you." The Chief said extending his hand. Ella forced her hand to control itself as she took the chief's hand.
"It's Ella." She said softly.
"Ella." He nodded. Shay was next, she grabbed Ella's hands and squeezed them.
"Ella, you're shaking." She said quickly. Ella took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm just tired." She said again.
"It's ok to be scared Ella. God knows I'm terrified. But you did it, you got him stable Ella and he made it to surgery because of you." Shay said wrapping her arms around her and holding her tightly. Ella lost it then, tears flowed freely as she clutched Shay's shoulders. She hadn't been able to shed a tear through the entire process, but now she could be a worried loved one, she could stand on the outside and look in, and she could cry for the man that she was falling for.
"I know, I know." Shay whispered as she stroked her back. Ella didn't even care that the others were staring at her, she was too overcome with emotion. Finally she leaned back and wiped at her eyes quickly.
"I'm sorry, sorry." She said shaking her head.
"No, it's fine. I'm sorry you had to do that. Thank you so much again Ella." The chief said walking up to her. She nodded and he pulled her into a hug. The large man was warm and comfortable and she was happy that he appreciated her.
"It's my job. Anyway, he's in surgery now, I'm going to go down and watch, as soon as I know something I will let you all know. There is a breakroom right down the hall there and there should be coffee and snacks. If you need anything Patrice is right there," Ella said pointing, "and just tell her to page me." she said. They all nodded along with her words.
"I'll see you all shortly." She said.
"Thanks again Ella." Shay said. Ella smiled and nodded as she headed back into the ER. She went down the hall as fast as her feet would carry her and she moved into the surgery suite. She went to the prepping area where the surgeon scrubbed in, there was a large glass window there where she could see right into the room. She could hardly see anything because Kelly was flat on his back. She could see the green sheets that kept everything clean, as well as the spot where everything was going on. The surgeon's face was completely serious as he moved slowly and efficiently. Ella leaned on the wall and crossed her arms, watching every movement, every breath.
Casey was sitting patiently in the waiting room, it had been almost three hours since Ella had come out last to tell them he was going into surgery. Casey was more worried about his fellow Lieutenant now than he'd ever been. Severide was always doing something crazy, always a hot head, always the first to go in and the last to come out, but he hadn't caused this, someone had shot him and now he was under the knife, he'd nearly died on the way here according to Shay and Dawson, and all they could do was thank God for Ella. She'd saved his life back there, he wasn't sure if she realized that or not, but she'd done a phenomenal job. Severide was one lucky guy. Most of the others thought so anyway, mostly because he got as much as he wanted as often as he wanted it, but this girl was a catch. She wasn't just some other one night stand, she was the real thing, and Casey hoped he realized that. He looked up as the door opened and Ella came through again. She was in the same scrubs as before, there were still small drops of blood here and there. Casey looked her over, her black hair was pulled high atop her head in a loose bun, her pretty green eyes were red rimmed from some tears she'd shed, and she still looked completely shattered. He couldn't imagine the worry and pressure that had been on her shoulders while she'd been working on him. He stood up alongside the other men as she came towards them.
"Hey, he's out, and he's great. Everything went as planned, the nick is closed, and he is going to be fine. He needs to stay off his feet for about three weeks though, and even when he goes back he needs to take it easy for another two weeks. He's ok though." She said. A huge smile broke across Casey's face as well as everyone else's. They all shook hands and slapped each other on the backs as they laughed and cheered. Casey watched as Shay, Dawson, and The Chief thanked Ella and shook her hand. He stepped forward and stretched his hand out.
"Thank you Ella." He said. She smiled and took his hand.
"Of course." She said.
"You all can go up as soon as he's settled. I'll have Patrice let you know when he's settled and I'll meet you all up there." she said. They all nodded as she turned and left.
"Great girl." The Chief said. Casey and Shay nodded in agreement.
The first thing Kelly felt was pain. An aching white hot pain in his chest and he wanted to cry out. His eyes peeled open as he remembered what had happened. He'd been shot, that was all he remembered. He looked up at the white ceiling and instantly smelled bleach and Lysol. He was in the hospital. His body creaked as he turned his head to the side and saw Shay there, she was in the chair, her feet propped up, reading a magazine.
"Shay." He croaked. Her head shot up and she looked right at him.
"You're awake." She jumped up.
"Are you in any pain, do you need me to get the nurse?" she asked quickly as she rushed to his side.
"Little pain." He said slowly.
"Ok hold on." She said pressing the button. A few moments later a nurse came in and she spoke quickly as she turned his morphine up.
"How are we feeling Mr. Severide?" she asked.
"Like shit, but I'll survive." He said.
"Good. I'll make sure your Dr. comes around in just a few minutes." She said as she left the room.
"Can I sit up?" he asked looking over at Shay. She nodded and pressed the up arrow, lifting his bed up some more. It hurt, and his chest cried out, but he dealt with it because he wanted to sit up.
"Where is everyone?" he asked as he rubbed his hand across his face.
"Visiting hours ended at 9, they waited around for you to wake up but when the clock hit 9 the nurse kept reminding them that visiting hours were over so everyone went home." she said.
"What time is it?" he asked.
"Nearly 11 pm." She said.
"So I guess I'm going to be out for a while." He said.
"Ella says about three weeks." Shay said. His ears perked up immediately at the mention of her name.
"Ella?" he asked.
"Yeah, she was the Dr on call when we brought you in." Shay said.
"She fixed me?" Kelly asked.
"She saved your life. You were losing blood fast and Dawson and I couldn't stop it, she got in there and did her thing." Shay smiled.
"She's good." He said.
"I thought she was going to kill over at first poor thing." Shay said.
"What do you mean?" Kelly asked.
"When she saw you, she froze, she was scared out of her mind, but she snapped out of it for you and got to work. After everything was done she came to see us to let us know you were ok. Kelly I thought she was going to pass out right there. When she walked out she was so pale and her eyes were incredibly wide and desperate. She told us everything and I took her hands to thank her and she was shaking so bad. I'd never felt someone shake that way. But when I hugged her she broke down and bawled. She cried like I had cried on the way to the hospital. I think once she was out of there she just felt like someone who was there for you, not your doctor, and all her emotions came out." Shay said. Kelly stared at her as she spoke and he tried to picture his strong confident Ella like that, scared, and trembling. It wasn't a pretty sight, he didn't like that he'd caused her so much fear.
"I need to see her." he said.
"She just left about fifteen minutes ago, went home to change, said she'd be right back." Shay said.
"Oh, ok, good." He said.
"She really cares about you Kel. She's a great girl." Shay smiled. Kelly nodded and looked down at his hands.
"Yeah, she's pretty amazing." He said.