It had been a long night for Ellie between dealing with her parents and ending things with her now ex-fiancé. She'd had a hard time sleeping, had tossed and turned all night after coming to the realization that she was alone for the first time in nearly a decade. While she knew it wasn't the end of the world, it was still an odd feeling not being tethered to someone.

Since the day her parents left, she'd always had at least one person relying on her. First it was Chuck, and to a lesser extent, Morgan. Toward the end of Chuck's senior year of high school, she started dating Paul. A year later after graduating with their respective bachelor's degrees, Paul went on to Law school back East while she stayed in California for Medical school. Due to the distance and the intensity of their respective graduate programs, they decided to end of their relationship. Of course, Chuck came home that summer from college, and then in the fall, she'd met Devon, or Dimitri... she still wasn't sure what to call him. Now, even he was gone and with Chuck in a coma, she was truly on her own for the first time in her life and not really accountable to anyone.

It was a rather bittersweet feeling, even more so because it meant that, with Christmas less than two weeks away, she wouldn't be celebrating with anyone this year. Even if Chuck woke up that afternoon, he wouldn't be rehabbed and released in time to be home for the holiday. Not that it mattered since, due to the time she'd taken off after Chuck was first admitted, she was scheduled to work both Christmas Eve and Christmas day in the ER. It wasn't the first time she'd had to work the holiday, but it was the first time she didn't have to feel guilty for it.

Ellie yawned and stretched before letting out a groan and levering herself out of bed to get ready for work. Since she was only scheduled to do rounds that day, she picked out a festive red blouse and black skirt to wear to work and, went to take a shower. Once she was showered, did her hair and applied her makeup, she pulled out a pair of kitten heels, one of the few non-sneaker shoes comfortable for a day at the hospital and slid into them. Checking her overnight bag to make sure she had a couple pairs of scrubs and her sneakers, just in case she was called into the ER or surgery, she looped her bag over her shoulder and headed toward the living room to grab her purse and head to work.

When she turned around after locking the front door, she noticed John Casey exiting his apartment about the same time, dressed in his usual khakis and green polo shirt. "Good morning, John," She gave him a kind smile.

"'Morning Ellie," John nodded, "How did everything go last night? I assume your parents also made it out alive?"

She chuckled lightly at his small joke, "Yeah, my folks are still around, somewhere, they went back to where they were staying. It's still a little weird knowing they're around right now when they've been gone so long."

"I can only imagine," John huffed, "I thought I saw Devon hanging around last night too."

"You did," Ellie nodded with a sigh, "We had a long overdue conversation and I found out some things I didn't know before about both of us. We decided to go our separate ways, it was a long time coming, if I'm being honest. It was hard, I really cared for him, and even loved him at one point, but this is what was best for the both of us. I wish him luck."

Casey's raised brow was the only indication that he didn't quite believe what she was saying, but he wasn't going to push if she didn't want to talk about it. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm sure Walker would love to let you bend her ear."

"I probably will," Ellie shrugged, "But for now, I need to get going to work. Oh, um if you see Devon around today, it's fine, he's just coming to pick up the last of his stuff."

Casey grunted his acknowledgement, earning himself a frown from the woman in front of him. He gave her a slightly sheepish look, but didn't apologize, he knew she didn't like it when he grunted rather than 'using his words.' "I was actually on my way out, too. Big Mike wanted me to help with the delivery today. Apparently, they have a lot of large appliances coming in today."

"And you're the only one he trusts to move them, I get it," She nodded with a small smile as they made their way to the parking area of the complex, "Just be careful, last thing anyone needs is for you to throw out your back because you weren't lifting things the right way."

"I will," He nodded and unlocked his Crown Vic, "I'll see you later."

"Later then," Ellie gave him a small smile and slid into the driver's seat of her new Highlander.

Casey waited for her to start up her engine and dive off safely before getting into his Vic and heading to his cover job and Castle to speak with Beckman regarding the revelations of the previous day.

As had become her habit since she returned to work, she went up to Chuck's room to spend an hour or so with him before her shift started. She had run in to Sarah a few times when the younger woman had dozed off while visiting her boyfriend, but the last person she expected to see was Morgan. Ever since his dad passed away when he was five, hospitals freaked him out, but when Ellie entered the ICU, there he was near the nurses' station, eyeing the door to Chuck's room with apprehension, backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Morgan?" She spoke softly, trying to not startle the younger man.

He still jumped a little before giving her an awkward smile, "Oh, heh… hi Ellie."

"Did you come to visit Chuck?" She asked.

"Uh, kinda," Morgan shuffled his green and yellow sneakers, "Sarah mentioned that Chuck was unconsciously challenging The Beard to a growing contest, and you know I just can't stand for that."

Ellie gave him a soft smile, "Yeah, I noticed he was getting scruffy. So, I'm guessing she called you to borrow your grooming kit?"

"Yeah, that an… and to teach her how to keep him looking sharp until he can do it himself again," Morgan shrugged, "I'm all for helping out my hetero life partner and all but…"

"I get it," Ellie nodded, "But he's not hooked up to nearly as much as your Papi was. The medical field hasn't gotten so far as having bacta tanks yet," Morgan smiled at her small joke, "But the equipment isn't as intimidating as it once was. He's not hooked up to a ventilator like Papi; he's been breathing on his own since a couple days after his surgery but he still has the nose canula to make sure he's getting as much pure oxygen as we can get for him. He'll be fine if you remove it while you're teaching Sarah how to groom his beard. We have one monitor that measures his vitals via a blood pressure cuff and a pulse oximeter – the thing clipped on the tip of his left forefinger- and another monitor observing his brain activity via wireless probes attached to his head. He does have an IV in his left arm to keep him hydrated and get him the nutrients he needs since he can't exactly eat right now. I know it sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. You barely notice it's there after a while, I've even caught Sarah snuggled up to him in his bed with him a couple times without the equipment getting in the way."

Morgan nodded his understanding.

"Are you ready to go in?" Ellie inquired, nodding toward Chuck's door, but noticed Morgan still looked unsure, "I know you aren't exactly comfortable with hospitals, but I'll be there with you. If it gets to be too much, no one will give you crap for stepping away, we all know this is hard for you."

"Okay," Morgan said quietly and nodded, adjusting his backpack as he followed Ellie into the room.

When they entered, they found Sarah in the visitor's chair sipping coffee and popping pieces of fruit into her mouth from a Tupperware container. She turned to see them and gave them a small smile, "Still no change," She reported, as she did every time she saw Ellie come in. "Dr. Clark came by a little bit ago, said he wanted to make sure you ate before going on shift. There's fruit and a bagel with cream cheese in the bag over there," She nodded to an insulated lunch box on a table by the window seat. "He said he'd come back for the bag later. He also mentioned that Arlene was going to light a candle for Chuck when she goes to her morning mass."

"That's very kind of her," Ellie acknowledged.

"Yeah, I don't think I've seen my mom without her rosary since she heard Chuck got shot," Morgan sighed.

The three of them sat in silence for a moment before Sarah spoke up.

"So, Morgan, did you bring what I asked you to?" She looked toward him.

"Yeah, but there's no rush, finish your breakfast first." He set the bag on the window seat, "I don't have to be at BuyMore until 10." He turned to take in his buddy and, with the exception of the IV you really couldn't tell he was hooked up to anything else.

Ellie noticed his confusion and smiled. "The sensors are connected wirelessly to the monitors. Each machine has its own, specific set of sensors that work on a closed channel frequency so we don't have to worry about cross feed."

"Like wireless mic packs?" He asked.

"Something like that," Ellie shrugged.

"Cool, cool," He nodded, slowly venturing closer to his friend who looked as if he was just sleeping. Sarah was right, his friend's coma beard was getting out of control. He began to formulate a plan.