Chapter 18: Patient
Carol's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she quickly checked her messages to find a text from Daryl. She smiled, biting her lip as she sat at the desk at the nurses' station.
You still coming over Friday night?
Yeah, unless you have other plans.
No plans. Had fun Friday night. You at work?
Yeah. Pretty quiet today. You working?
Yeah. Heading to Marty's after work to pick up a few hours.
Ok. Have fun.
Yeah, stocking toilet paper. Every mechanic's dream.
Hey, it's honest work. Don't sell yourself short.
Gotta get back. Break's almost over. See you Friday.
See you.
Carol put her phone away and turned her attention back to the computer screen. She was adding a few notes in the chart of a patient that had been in that morning, but she found it nearly impossible to concentrate.
She'd had the best time at Daryl's on Friday night. They'd watched a couple of movies, had a couple of beers, ate some pizza and just talked and got to know each other. She couldn't remember the last time her sides hurt from laughing so much.
The thing was, she didn't have a lot of friends. She had Andrea, who was just as busy working as she was. Andrea had a pretty active social life, so her weekends were usually filled up with dates. Occasionally, she and Carol would get together for lunch or to go shopping, but they saw each other so frequently at work that it didn't feel necessary to get together all the time.
Then there was Lori, who she'd been surprised to get along so well with. Carol thought that part of it was because Lori had moved on and found happiness with Shane. It was a weird situation all together, but it worked for everyone. Lori and Rick were never compatible. The best thing they ever did together as a couple was have Carl, and once they both moved on, everybody was happier. Lori and Carol had even swapped stories about Rick, something neither of them would ever tell Rick. They had laughed and cried together on multiple occasions about different things, and when Carol and Rick had first split up, Lori had been the one there to help Carol pack. It wasn't some show of solidarity about being an ex of Rick Grimes. It had been one mother helping another mother. And still, through it all, everyone remained civil. And with Carl and Sophia being siblings and close, it just made sense to keep a positive relationship with Lori for the kids' sakes. Plus, it was nice to have another woman around sometimes.
Honestly, all of her friendships revolved around her previous marriage and around work, and spending time with Daryl was something new and apart from everything else. She felt a little selfish thinking that this was something just for her, something apart from her life as a mom and her job as a nurse. But the thing was, when she was with Daryl, she felt happier than she had in a long time. Sometimes, he'd look at her, and she'd feel a rush of heat. Sometimes, she'd look at him when he wasn't looking at her, and she felt things she wasn't expecting. He was gorgeous and funny, and she was amazed at how much he'd opened up to her on Friday night. She'd learned a lot about him, and in turn, she'd opened up to him about her own life. She honestly enjoyed talking with him about the good and the bad. He was flawed and had a lot of baggage, but so did she. And for the first time, the idea of taking that step toward moving on didn't feel so scary. Maybe this was only supposed to be friendship. Maybe it was supposed to be more. It was new, and she didn't want to get mixed up about it. She just wanted to enjoy spending time with him and getting to know him, because for a guy that had been treated like shit by someone for so long, he still seemed eager to connect with someone. And she found it easy to talk to him, whatever that meant.
"Earth to Carol?" Carol flinched and looked up to see Andrea leaning over the desk, her eyes wide and questioning.
"What?"
"That must've been some daydream."
"What?" she asked again.
"You were sitting there with a big, dopey grin on your face, and I said your name three times. You feeling ok?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry. Just a little tired," Carol said with a sheepish smile. "Did you need something?"
"I was just going to tell you that patient transport came to take the guy in 7A to radiology."
"Oh. Thanks," Carol sighed. Andrea leveled a look at Carol filled with amusement and suggestion. "Oh, what?"
"How'd it go Friday?"
"It went," Carol offered with a nod.
"That's it?"
"That's it," Carol replied, feeling her cheeks grow red for reasons she couldn't pinpoint.
"Oh, you're blushing."
"I'm not!" Carol insisted.
"Okay, you can lie all day long, but that blush doesn't lie. Something happened."
"Nothing happened," Carol insisted. "We had a really good time. Nothing happened at all."
"So, nothing? Not a thing. You just…did what?"
"We hung out. We got pizza, we watched a movie, we talked." Carol shrugged. "It was fun."
"Honestly?"
"Yeah, honestly. I had a good time. It was nice to get out of the house and just get to know somebody. To tell you the truth, every time Rick called me or I called him, I knew how the night was going to end. We were going to end up either arguing for screwing around or both. It was going nowhere, and Friday night, for the first time, I sat there, and I felt things I hadn't felt in a long time. And when it was time to go home, I didn't want to. I wanted to stay a little longer. I like spending time with him. He's a really good guy." She shrugged, and Andrea grinned.
"I'm happy for you," she said quietly. "This is good. This is healthy." A voice over the intercom interrupted the moment. Andrea was being paged to radiology. She sighed and shrugged. "I'm being summoned." Carol grinned. "I'll see you later."
"Have fun." Carol took a deep breath and turned her attention back to the computer. She finished making notes in the chart and saved her progress, and by the time she got up to take a break, she heard a commotion coming from just outside the waiting room. She and a couple other nurses looked at each other, before the doors opened and the nurse from the front desk walked back with a woman doubled over in pain. Carol immediately recognized Lucy, and she was clutching her abdomen and wincing in pain.
"What's going on?" Carol asked, stepping forward, as the young nurse, Enid, looked up at her with wide eyes. She shook her head and mouthed 'miscarriage,' and Carol felt her stomach twist into knots.
"I think I'm losing my baby," Lucy choked out. Carol took a deep breath and nodded to Enid to go back out front. Carol gently put her arm around Lucy's waist and helped her into an empty room. "I called my doctor, and she told me to come here. God, it hurts so much."
"Okay," Carol soothed. "Okay, we're going to take care of you." She quickly grabbed a gown from the closet and placed it on the exam table, and Lucy doubled over in pain again. Carol immediately grabbed the phone and paged for the on call doctor. She helped Lucy get changed into a gown and got her up on the table so she could start taking some vitals. "When did the pain start?"
"A couple hours ago," Lucy choked out. "I thought it was just a stomach ache. But it got worse."
"Are you having any spotting?"
"What?"
"Anything in your underwear or when you wipe? Blood?" Lucy shook her head.
"Is that good or bad?"
"Let's just wait for the doctor." She quickly checked Lucy's blood pressure and took her temperature, and by the time she was done, Lucy was staring at her like she knew her. Carol took a deep breath when Lucy pointed at her.
"You. You're my neighbor with the kid, right?"
"Yeah. I'm Carol. You're Lucy, right?"
"Right," Lucy bit out before groaning in pain again. "I'm losing my baby, aren't I?"
"Dr. Avi will be here soon, and…" Lucy reached out and grabbed Carol by the wrist. Carol flinched, but she didn't pull back. Lucy's grip softened on her, and the woman cried out in pain again.
"Will you stay?" she asked.
"I…"
"Please?"
"I'm here," Carol assured. "I'm not going anywhere." It was her job. As much as she didn't want to be here for this, it was her job, and she wasn't going to let personal feelings get in the way of treating a patient. "Is there anyone I can call for you?"
"My boyfriend doesn't want to be involved in baby things." She leaned back on the exam things. "He doesn't want to be a dad. And the dad doesn't think he's the dad. I don't even know if he's the dad. I hope he is. I need it to be him." Lucy let out a little sob. "This is karma, right? This is the universe paying me back for being a horrible person."
"Just try to relax," Carol said softly. "How far along are you?"
"Um, almost ten weeks," she bit out. Carol nodded and turned toward the computer. Lucy reached out again and touched her arm. "Please. I'm alone here. Can you just…stay?" Carol took a deep breath and reached over to put her hand on Lucy's shoulder.
"I'm not going anywhere, Lucy. Just breathe, ok? The doctor will be here soon."
Author's Note: Thanks for reading, guys! I hope everyone is safe and healthy and doing okay during this crazy time. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and as always, feedback is always appreciated!
