Chapter 34 – True Sisterhood

Adventures of the Melee

Nolan 17, Lissa 17, Ryder 13, Olivia 10

Annabelle 5, Victoria 5, Lucas 3½

Mid-June

"Your sisters are here, Victoria," Owen gently stated as he nudged Ria's upper arm. Anna, with Olivia's assistance, had already invited herself onto the bed and was making her way toward the headboard to lie beside her sister. Olivia sat at the foot of the bed and leaned against the footboard.

Victoria's drugged eyes flitted open slowly and her grin flowed from ear to ear as her little voice meekly uttered, "Hi, sisters!"

Anna, already cautioned by Amelia to be careful around the leads and IV, edged her arm under Ria's neck and snuggled closely against her little sister. As she rubbed Ria's arm, she kissed her cheek and whispered, "Ree ree, I'm right here just like when we lived in Mama's tummy together." Ria smiled sleepily as she made eye contact with her twin. With a slight chuckle, Owen looked on and thought about how he and Amelia often put the girls to bed in separate beds and found them snuggled together in one bed the next morning.

"Can I rub her ankle?" Olivia asked Owen. "Maybe it will help her feel better."

"What a sweet idea, Livs," Amelia affirmed. "Let's pull her foot out from under the blanket," she suggested as she rearranged the blankets and Ria's tiny body.

"Tell me if it hurts, Victoria, ok?" Olivia insisted as she began massaging her little sister's lower leg and ankle.

Ria agreed and asked Amelia, "Where's Lissa?"

"She's out in the waiting room calling Nolan," Amelia explained.

"She's my sister, too. I want her here," Ria whined.

"I'll go get her," Owen nodded as he began to step away.

In the hallway, Lissa was leaning against the wall talking on her cell. "…I'm not exactly sure, but pretty soon. They've already given her some happy juice and she's pretty sleepy," Lissa was explaining when she saw Owen. She motioned to the phone and mouthed 'Nolan.'

Owen grasped the phone, "Hey, Nolan… yeah, c'mon up. She'll be taken down to surgery in about 45 minutes… No, Ryder and Lucas are at home. Just the girls are here… No, really, I'm sure she'd love to see you…sounds good, drive safely."

With a grin, Owen ended the call. He attempted to hand the phone back to Lissa, but she immediately put her hands in front of her body, "It's not my phone, it's Amma's. Remember? Mine's in hiding."

"Right," Owen lightly chuckled as he put his arm around Lissa. "Shall we go on in?"

Lissa shifted uncomfortably, "She wanted time with her sisters. I don't want to intrude."

"Don't be silly. She asked for you. Actually," Owen shared, "she said you're her sister too."

Lissa smiled as she put her hands over her heart, "Oh, so sweet…" She and Owen proceeded into the room and Lissa went right over to Ria's side and clasped both her hands around Ria's hand. "Hi, baby girl."

"Lissa!" Ria said with as much enthusiasm as her Valium-filled body could manage. "I'm happy you're here."

"Me too," Lissa smiled. "How are you, honey?"

"A little scared but really sleepy," Ria offered with a giant yawn.

"I remember when I had my tonsils out when I was little. The nurse gave me sleepy medicine before the operation, too. When I woke up, it was kind of confusing at first but then they gave me popsicles and ice cream," Lissa reported.

Ria's eyes momentarily widened as she announced the obvious, "I love popsicles and ice cream."

Lissa added, "And guess who I saw in the hallway? Dr. Karev. He told me he's going to be in the operating room with you just like he was when you were a brand new baby."

Ria nodded as she began to fade. Her eyes became too heavy to keep open as she reminded everyone, "Dr. K saved me when I was a baby." Everyone knew the story. Ria had grown up hearing about it from her parents and, although he'd never admit it to another adult, Karev had wowed her with his own version a few times as well.

As Ria rested, Olivia grilled Owen about the surgery and what would occur, and Anna continued to stroke her sister's hair and snuggle her. Lissa and Amelia awkwardly attempted to avoid eye contact. When their wandering glances met, Lissa thought up a random question to keep the conversation from focusing on anything other than herself and being in trouble, "Amma, what do those different numbers tell you?"

"The colored lines correlate to the numbers – the different green lines at the top, for example, show her heart rate from three different leads since the heart isn't flat. The number to the right of those lines shows her heart rate. The little numbers show various readings – like the top and bottom alarms for the heart rate. Below that is the blood pressure – when the heart contracts, called systolic, and when the heart relaxes and refills, called diastolic. Next to those numbers are the alarm settings. The medical team can decide what numbers will cause the alarm to sound depending on the situation. Next is oxygen saturation. 100 is the maximum, Ria's is great at 98. Then the respiratory rate and a different way of reading blood pressure. Those BP readings can be set to be automatically taken anywhere between every minute to every 8 hours. The very bottom shows the battery status," Amelia rattled off absent-mindedly.

"Cool. I bet you can walk in a room and barely glance at that screen and gather all kinds of information, huh?" Lissa asked curiously.

Nodding, Amelia agreed, "Yep. You get pretty good at reviewing it quickly."

"Kind of intriguing, huh, Lissa?" Owen prodded.

"All this medical stuff is interesting. It's too bad science is so central – otherwise, I might think about medicine instead of teaching," she smirked.

Owen chuckled softly, "You know some pretty capable tutors." Lissa smiled and thought internally, Yeah, that would be the kiss of death to our relationship, Dads. You brainiacs as my science tutors. Ugh.

Nolan knocked softly on the door and walked in. "Hey," he offered as a greeting to everyone and walked directly to his sister. After putting his arm around Lissa and kissing her cheek, Nolan leaned down and kissed Ria's forehead. He placed his hand over Anna's hand as they stroked Ria's hair together. "Hi Victoria," he whispered.

Barely opening her eyes, Ria peeked at her brother and smiled.

"She's pretty much out," Amelia observed, "but I'm glad you came over."

"How was soccer?" Lissa asked quietly.

Nolan took in a big breath, "Mostly good. I'm pretty tired, actually. Have any water?"

"Yeah," Lissa confirmed as she reached into her huge purse and pulled out an unopened bottle of water.

"Do you carry water around like that all the time?" Owen wondered with a hint of surprise.

Lissa shrugged with a grin, "Pretty much. He always wants water."

"That and snacks," Nolan added with a sly grin as he rummaged around in Lissa's purse and pulled out a protein bar.

"So Lissa's purse is like your own personal diaper bag, huh? Are there binkies, blankies, and a change of clothes inside too?" Owen joked.

"Nah…" Nolan responded with rolling eyes and a side grin, "just extra diapers." Owen closed his eyes and shook his head in response.

Karev entered the room, dressed in scrubs and an OR gown. He already had his signature camo scrub cap on. "Transport told me there's a very special patient up here who needs to be in the OR."

Owen shook Alex's hand and shared, "Thanks for being in there, Alex."

Scoffing and lowering his brows, Alex responded, "Of course…just another day at the office, right?" He turned to Amelia and put a hand on her back, "You doing ok, Mom?"

Amelia turned and smiled. "You saved her once. You'll always have my vote of confidence," she stated as she hugged Karev.

"This surgery is a cinch," Alex attempted to downplay the upcoming operation hoping to quell any concerns. He gently shook Ria's shoulder, "Victoria, are you ready to go to surgery? Wake up for a sec to give Mom and Dad hugs."

Ria sleepily and slowly opened her eyelids, "Dr. K!" She put her arms up for a hug from Alex. He awkwardly leaned down to receive her squeeze. Internally, the greeting filled his heart with joy.

After everyone but Owen shared a hug and kiss with the little patient, Owen explained, "I'll walk down with you." Alex nodded, released the brakes on the bed, and announced to Ria, "Let's go for a ride, girlfriend." As they left the room, Alex made sure to catch Amelia's eyes and offer a confident grin.

Owen, in his suit and lab coat, walked alongside the bed and held Ria's hand. Anxiously, he shared, "Remember, no latex. She's never shown signs of an allergy but it's common in SB kids."

"On it, Chief. Her whole OR is latex-free," Alex promised.

Owen nodded anxiously and continued, "I want her nasotracheally intubated with an uncuffed endotracheal tube."

"I know," Alex confirmed.

"And make sure the anesthesiologist pushes Zofran before she wakes up. I don't want her experiencing postoperative nausea or vomiting," Owen instructed.

Alex stopped outside the double doors to the OR area. He put his hands on Owen's shoulders and looked directly at his boss, "Chief, we'll take great care of your girl. I promise."

With a grimace, Owen nodded repeatedly and mumbled, "Yeah…yeah…I know. Sorry." He bent down, squeezed Ria's hand and kissed her cheek, "Daddy loves you, Ree Ree." As he stood up, Owen's forehead showed deep lines and his eyes reflected concerned tenderness. "Ok, Karev. Thanks," Owen stuttered as he patted Alex on the shoulder.

Meanwhile, after Karev wheeled Ria away, Amelia encouraged Lissa and the girls to head home. Nolan offered to stay with his mom until Owen returned. When Owen walked in, he commented with a huge sigh, "Well… now we wait."

"I'll go help Lissa with the kids," Nolan announced. "You guys will call, right? You'll let us know how she is when the surgery is over?"

"Absolutely," Owen responded as he hugged Nolan. "We'll keep you posted. The surgery will last three to four hours, so you and Lissa will need to handle dinner." Nolan nodded, hugged Amelia and left the room.

"I need to lie down," Amelia sighed. "I doubt I'll sleep but I know I can't stay upright for much longer."

Owen agreed, "Let's find an on-call room. They'll page us if they need to find us."

Giggling softly, Amelia reminded the Chief of Surgery, "The couch in here makes into a bed."

"Right," Owen responded in a distracted manner as he ran his hand through his hair. He took the cushions off the couch and pulled out the bed. Glancing across the room, he guessed the bedding was in one of the upper cabinets. Together, the couple made the bed in silence. Amelia stretched out on the bed, absentmindedly clutching onto Ria's Torie Malori doll. Since he was in a suit, Owen excused himself to go change into scrubs. When he returned, Amelia was already asleep. Owen slid next to her and wrapped his arms around his wife before eventually succumbing to sleep.

Three and a half hours later, Karev entered the room to provide an update. "Chief?" Karev quietly spoke. When nobody flinched, Alex repeated himself with a bit more volume, "Chief?"

Owen woke up, briefly scanned the unfamiliar surroundings, and sat up. His hoarse voice inquired, "How'd it go?"

"Great. No complications, solid vitals the entire surgery. Textbook, Chief. Truly," Alex shared with a smile. "She's still sedated and is heading into recovery."

Letting out a large breath of air, Owen softly shook Amelia and announced, "Mia, the surgery's over."

Amelia slowly opened her eyes and asked Alex, "Can we see her?"

"She's in recovery. You guys have privileges and, well… he's my boss, so I'm not going to tell you where you can and can't go," Alex grinned.

"Thanks again, Alex," Owen gushed as the couple headed toward their daughter.

Ria woke up confused and crying. Owen attempted to calm her down with quiet words while Amelia held Ria's hand and rubbed her arm. While not quite combative, Ria's disorientation was causing her to be insistent. Without full coordination, she attempted to push Amelia's hand away and screamed, "I don't like this!"

"This is why we don't let parents in recovery," Owen frowned with half a nod.

Amelia raised her eyebrows and responded, "This sucks."

After a few minutes of reassuring their daughter, Owen and Amelia were relieved to see Ria calm down. She faded in and out of consciousness, and became more aware with each cycle of waking and nodding off. As orderlies wheeled the little girl back to her room, Amelia followed alongside the bed as Owen walked behind them and called the kids at home.

Amelia listened to Owen's side of the conversation, "Nolan? It's Dad…yeah, she's doing great. She's on her way from recovery to her room and the surgery went well… let's hold off on that – she'll be pretty groggy the rest of the evening… Is everything fine at home?... Great," Owen groaned. "You want me to talk to him?... You sure?... good luck. Feel free to call us if needed… sounds good. Bye."

"What's great but not so great?" Amelia inquired with curiosity.

"Lucas is being a pill. Refusing to cooperate. That kind of stuff," Owen reported. "Nolan's handling it." Ria and her bed were rolled inside her room and put in place. Grabbing a chair for Amelia, Owen came from behind and whispered, "Here, Mia." Amelia reached her hand toward her shoulder and grasped Owen's hand as they gazed at their little girl.

Back at the Shepherd-Hunt house, everyone but Lucas had cleared their plates, completed their after-dinner chores, and headed to the play room. Nolan pulled out the chair next to Lucas' and leaned his elbows on his knees. Nearly face-to-face, Nolan flatly explained, "Here's the scoop, Mr. Man. You clear your plate and you wipe off the table, then you can go play. Or… you refuse to cooperate and you go to bed."

"Dat's 'tupid!" Lucas declared with baby cuss words. With a bored expression, Nolan simply glanced back at his brother.

Not liking the silence, Lucas added, "And I want Mommy. You not my boss." Again, Nolan did not respond.

"You might want to think about what you're doing, Luke. I'm pretty sure Nolan meant what he said. Clear your dishes," Lissa prompted.

"Nope," Lucas insisted with folded arms and a strong jaw.

Nolan glanced at Lissa and pulled his eyes skyward. With a sigh, he stood up and picked up Lucas. Lucas immediately began screaming and kicking. Changing Lucas' position so the small of his back was against Nolan's hip, Nolan proceeded slowly up the stairs as Lucas' legs flailed dramatically.

Walking through the doorway to Lucas' bedroom, Nolan calmly explained, "Luke, you need to lie down and mellow out. If you change your mind and decide to do what I asked, you can come downstairs. Otherwise, stay up here. You know the drill, pal."

Nolan set Lucas on the bed and walked toward the door. The preschooler offered a death glare, a large pouting lip and tightly folded arms. "You dumb, No-yan," Lucas spat.

Without stopping, Nolan closed Luke's door and stepped in to the hallway. Lissa, out of curiosity and to support Nolan, had come upstairs. She whispered, "How'd it go?"

"I'm not his boss and I'm dumb," Nolan laughed quietly. "He's in a hell of a mood. I'll bet he's going to come out of his room. He'd never even think to try that with Mom or Dad."

"Nah," Lissa disagreed, "he knows better." She popped on to her tip toes and kissed Nolan. One kiss led to another and soon Nolan's arms were wrapped around Lissa as they focused solely on one another.

Lucas opened his door and stood in the doorway looking at the young couple. Sensing they were being watched, Nolan opened his eyes mid-kiss and caught Luke's glare. He pulled his face away from Lissa's and asked, "What's going on, buddy? Where are you supposed to be?"

"You not 'posed to kiss in bedrooms or upstairs," Lucas reminded his brother.

"MmmHmm," Nolan responded without drama.

"I need Yissa to hep me," Luke whined with a fake cry.

Lissa turned her body so Nolan's arm was around her back and so she was facing Lucas. "What do you need?" she asked flatly.

Curling his chubby forefinger toward himself, Lucas motioned and whispered, "It's a Mommy job."

With a subtle smirk, Lissa looked at Nolan and then walked over to Lucas and bent down in front of him. "What do you need?" she repeated.

"Snuggles," Luke begged irresistibly with extended arms.

Just as Lissa began to hug Luke, Nolan intervened, "Luke, Lissa could have read you stories and snuggled and everything if you'd made good choices downstairs, but you decided to be a snot."

With all his strength, Luke embraced Lissa and clasped his hands together behind her neck. Providing commentary, Lucas sputtered to Nolan, "You 'tupid and dumb and mean and I hate you."

Lissa interrupted, "Lucas, why are you so crabby tonight? This isn't like you."

Big tears filled Luke's eyes and he moved his bottom lip in and out as he shook his head. "I want snuggles and my Mommy 'cause I feel icky."

"Take him to the bathroom, Liss," Nolan warned.

Ignoring the suggestion, Lissa stood up with Luke's arms still wrapped around her neck, deciding, "He just needs to be held."

"He's looking a little green, hon," Nolan cautioned.

Lissa was just beginning to roll her eyes in response to Nolan's observation when Lucas threw up all over himself and all over her. Nolan, having witnessed the sight, could barely able to keep himself from getting sick in response. He ran toward the bathroom down the hall mumbling he was sorry.

Standing in smelly and wet clothes, Lissa sighed heavily as Luke sobbed, "I sick… I frewed up."

"Let's go in here, sweetie, and I'll pop you in the tub," Lissa suggested with love as she ran the water and undressed Lucas. Next, she carefully slid her soaked shirt off and ended up only wearing her bra and shorts. Turning toward the door, Lissa hollered, "Nolan, a change of clothes for me would be really helpful."

"What's dat?" Luke asked as he pointed at and poked her bra.

Without skipping a beat, Lissa shrugged, "It's a bra."

"Why you wear it?" the little man wondered.

"Big girls and mommies wear them," she shared.

"Why?" he persisted.

"To keep their breasts in place," Lissa responded before turning back toward the door, "Nolan!"

"Babe, I'm sick too. I'll be there when I can," he responded as his body reacted to what he'd recently witnessed.

"You're a wuss," she yelled back.

"What's bwests?" Luke questioned.

"How Mommies feed their babies," Lissa responded.

Lucas cocked his head and wondered, "You not a mommy. Why you have dem?"

"I will be someday, so my body has to be ready for the babies," she shared as she picked Lucas up and put him in the tub.

From the hallway, Olivia exclaimed with great drama, "Oh, yuck! Why does it smell like barf up here?!"

"Livs, come here, please," Lissa cried out.

Olivia walked to the bathroom and saw the pile of soiled clothes. With lowered brows and a sour frown, Olivia groaned, "EEeeeewwwww."

"Livs, please go grab me a t-shirt," Lissa begged. Olivia walked to her parents' room and grabbed one of Owen's old t-shirts.

"Here, wear one of Dad's shirts," Liv offered as she threw a gray shirt boldly emblazoned ARMY onto the counter. With absolute disgust, Oliva asked, "Who's cleaning up the hallway?"

"Maybe you could help, Liv. I'm cleaning up Lucas," Lissa grumbled.

"I'm not touching that goo. How repulsive," she growled then offered, "I'll help with Luke's bath, I guess, but you have to take those clothes with you."

Turning to face the wall, Lissa slipped off her bra and worked her way into Owen's t-shirt. Seeing that it hung low, she slipped off her dirty shorts and added them to the pile on the floor. Throwing a towel over the pile, Lissa gathered the armload of clothes and temporarily left Lucas in Olivia's care. She stopped in the laundry room, started the washer, and washed her hands as she considered what cleaner to use in the hallway.

She continued to think about her cleaning options as she stopped in her room and threw on some PJ pants. Next, she checked on Nolan. He was leaning against the tub with his head tilted back and his eyes closed. "How do you feel?" she questioned.

Nolan raised his head and whined, "Could you get me some water?"

Folding her arms and shaking her head, Lissa pointed out with a slight chuckle, "I just dealt with barf clothes, ran a bath, and started a load of laundry. How about if you crawl downstairs and pour your own water, then ask your brother to come up here and help me?"

With a look of guilty resignation, Nolan stood and stated, "On it. Sorry." He approached Lissa to kiss her, but she quickly put her hands up to stop him with a hearty laugh, "No post-throw up kisses, pal. No way."

"Lissa!" Olivia hollered, "Luke just barfed in his bath."

"Why me?" Lissa grumbled to herself aloud as she walked back to Lucas. As she approached, she instructed Olivia, "Drain the tub, pull off the shower nozzle and rinse him off. I'll grab some PJs for him."

"This is so gross," Olivia complained as Ryder arrived on the floor.

"What's up, Liss?" Ryder asked as he bit into an apple.

"I need your help. Luke is sick, Olivia's grossed out, and the hallway needs to be cleaned. Your older brother is useless, and… wait… where's Anna?" Lissa explained.

"With Nolan. She's fine. I think he's going to put her to bed soon," Ryder offered. "You want me to clean up the hall?"

"Oh my goodness, are you willing to do that? You are a saint, Ry," Lissa exhaled with deep relief.

Ryder shrugged, "Yeah, whatever. It's no big deal. What should I use?" Lissa suggested he put a little bleach in a bucket and use some old rags on the wall and doorway.

"Barfed again!" Olivia announced loudly. Ryder prompted Lissa to go be with Lucas and assured her he'd handle the cleaning.

"Oh, Lukie, you poor baby," Lissa offered as she hugged the wet, naked, and shivering little boy. Seeing an opportunity to escape, Olivia quickly snuck out of the room. Lissa started the shower and suggested, "How about if we warm you up and wash your hair?" After a quick rinse, she wrapped Lucas in an over-sized fluffy towel and stood with him in her arms as she towel dried his curls.

"I want puppy bwankie," Lucas mumbled as his thumb popped into his mouth.

"Let's go find puppy blankie. That's a great idea," Lissa affirmed. "And we'll get some jammies on you too." As she held tight to a basin, Lissa reminded Lucas, "Make sure and tell me if you're going to be sick again."

Nolan was in the hallway helping Ryder. Lissa passed by just as Ryder elbowed Nolan and pointed out, "Ha! Best birth control ever, huh? And you guys want four?"

"We'll let Uncle Ryder babysit when the kids are sick," Nolan joked.

Waving his hand and arm in the air, Ryder imagined, "Uncle Ryder will be busy piloting US Navy fighter jets all over the world."

Moments later, everyone heard the sound of the front door opening. The older kids breathed sighs of relief and Olivia ran to see which parent was home.

Spotting Amelia, Olivia bear hugged her mama and summarized the highlight of the evening, "Lucas threw up all over himself and Lissa. He's still sick. So gross."

Already exhausted from the stress of Ria's surgery, Amelia blew a puff of air toward her forehead and sarcastically responded, "Nice to see you too, Liv. Is Luke upstairs?" Olivia nodded and Amelia headed to her baby.

"Oh, guys… you are saints," Amelia praised as she saw the boys. "He really let it go, didn't he?"

"Uh… yeah… it made me sick," Nolan moaned.

"Because he's a big baby with a weak stomach," Ryder teased. "And he wants to be a Dad…ha!"

As she walked by, Amelia kicked Ryder playfully and commented, "You may be helpful, but you're rotten."

"Amma," Lissa sighed, "he just fell asleep but I'm sure he'll be awake soon. I was about to have Nolan call you. Luke's thrown up about 10 times in the last hour or so."

Stroking his curls, Amelia pressed her brows toward the bridge of her nose and slightly pouted, "My little Lucas. Oh, honey." Lucas stayed asleep, sucking his thumb and clutching his puppy blanket. Turning toward Lissa, Amelia grimaced, "Olivia told me he threw up all over you."

Lissa shrugged, "and himself. Poor little guy. He was crabby and argumentative after dinner so Nolan brought him up here. Then the excitement began: more than one bath, cleaning the hallway, starting some laundry… it's been an adventure." She continued, "I hope Dads doesn't mind that I'm wearing his shirt. I asked Olivia to grab something for me so I could change and this is what she threw at me."

"It's no problem," Amelia smiled. "You are an angel. Sounds like you've basically been managing the whole event. Thank you."

Nolan, standing in the doorway, interjected with a proud grin, "She's been amazing."

"You really rose to the occasion, Larissa. Forget about being grounded and no electronics. Anyone who loves and tends my child after he barfed all over her deserves at least that much," Amelia declared. With a slight pause, she opened her mouth while clenching her teeth and raised her shoulders, "And, sweetie… I'm pretty sure that's barf in your hair."

Nodding slowly, Lissa inhaled a deep breath and decided, "I think I'll go take a shower."

"Good idea, Liss. Good idea," Amelia responded with a nod.