Sara lay quietly in her hospital bed staring out into the middle distance, her hands clamped around a picture she couldn't bring herself to look at. The ultrasound had gone well, and it looked as if the baby was doing well, but further tests would be needed, and a scan done once a fortnight, to make sure things didn't take a turn for the worst. Medically there was no reason to keep Sara in the hospital, but mentally the Dr felt as if there was, at least for a couple of days, whilst the alcohol flushed itself from her system, and she could be constantly monitored throughout the withdrawal, and through the emotional upheaval she had found herself in.
After her sobbing confession to the doctor, Sara hadn't spoken again, so Eloise had conducted the ultrasound in silence, only speaking when she had too, hoping for an answer. It was Catherine who had provided the few answers that she could, but no other words were spoken.
When the scan had finished, a picture was printed out, and handed to Sara. Throughout the examination she had kept her eyes away from the screen, not able to bring herself to look. That had been 4 hours ago, and although she clung to the picture, she still hadn't been able to look at that.
Catherine had tried a few times to start a conversation, but nothing had worked, and so after a while she had given up and announced she was going to get some coffee. That was nearly two hours ago, and she had yet to return.
Although Catherine had intended to return to the room, she found she couldn't. Instead she phoned Nick, needing someone to talk to. At first it had been awkward, a slight regret on both their parts for the tryst shared in the bedroom, but it soon passed, Nick needing to speak to Catherine as much as she did. They knew that some of the events could never be talked about with anyone else, and so they needed each other.
After, she had phoned Grissom, and had found herself explaining why things hadn't been bought to his attention sooner, how one event had spiralled into another, and how she hadn't been prepared for the fallout that would come from it. Now she found herself sat outside Sara's room, wanting to go in, to comfort her, to help her, to apologise once again, but she found she couldn't rise from the chair. She was scared to go forward, and so remained in place.
Hearing footsteps heading down the corridor, she ignored them, figuring it was another nurse or doctor on their way to see a patient, so when they stopped next to her, it took her a moment or two to realise before she looked up. It was the nurse that she had first spoken to all those long hours ago.
'Ma'am, are you ok?' he asked with a smile 'How's your friend?'
'Oh… I'm… I'm ok…' she paused, not having caught his name earlier
'Dylan' he said, extending his hand
'Catherine' she replied
'Have you been home yet?' he asked taking a seat next to her.
'No… No… I …I haven't been home in… god…nearly 2 days…it's not really been an option…'
'Why don't you go home now, your friend is in good hands, you need rest as much as Sara does'
'She's not my friend…' she mumbled out without thinking
'Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were domestic partners…' he said genuinely.
'Oh.. what… no… we're colleagues… it's, it's complicated… I don't know what we are… like I said; it's been a crazy few days…' Catherine started rambling.
'Well, either way, you need rest, and there isn't much you can do here…'
'I can't just leave her…' Catherine choked out
'If that were true, you'd be in there, not out here…' Dylan said, placing a hand on her leg for a moment before moving to stand up.
'What's going to happen to her?' She asked quickly, quietly, panicked.
'Well… the doctors going to prescribe a low dose of disulfiram, it's a tablet that will make you sick if you consume alcohol whilst taking it, and Prozac for the depression, as well as therapy. It's going to be harsh, but it's going to be in her and her babies best interests if she goes cold turkey… she's in the middle of that now, alcohol flushing out of her system… ' he paused 'Look, it's not going to be pretty, as well as some physical side effects, such as dizziness, headaches, cold sweats, etc, there will be irritability, mood swings, anger…' here Dylan paused again 'Sometimes a patient needs support at this time, a friend, family, counselling… others need to be left alone, with as little interference as possible except for that of the doctor or nurse... there is no quick cure for this, and even with the medication, if she still wants to drink, she will. Alcoholics don't care about the consequences, she won't care that she will instantly vomit, it will be worth it, even if it's only half a shot… here we can make sure she takes the medicines she needs, once she's discharged, if she doesn't want to take it, no one will be able to force her. It's going to be a long process, and there maybe many setbacks. Her state of mind is already comprised, before you even take the pregnancy into account… my advice to you, at the moment, is to let your friend be. She's stubborn and unwilling to listen, and probably very frustrated, distraught, and embarrassed about the whole situation. She's thinking about her next drink, not about making amends. She doesn't need pity, or mothering, I think it will make it worse… it always does with alcoholics… and she's one of the worst I've seen in my years as a nurse…'
All through Dylan's speech, Catherine had sat quietly, taking in his words, but his last sentence made her snap 'She's my friend! She's my friend not someone you can analyse and judge based off of a few moments in a car park… she's my friend, and I'm going to help her, every step of the way…' with that she stood up and marched into the room.
Xxx
A/n – I know this chapter isn't very long, and not too much has happened, but I don't want to drag out the hospital for too long, especially as the hotel went on for so many chapters… I need to sleep on this a little, and will write some more tomorrow all being well.
Thanks for reading. Review if you can
Emz
