Distraction

Chapter 4: Damage Control

Denny had given Atlanta the slip after she went to get her craving food. He had snuck out of his room and basically rushed to get out of the hospital. He hated hospitals. When Atlanta returned to the room, she found an empty bed and nearly had a heart attack.

"HELP! Can someone help me?! My husband's missing!" Atlanta shouted as she rushed to the nurse's station.

Olivia moved forward to help the panicking woman. "Mrs Duquette you shouldn't stress yourself so much. It'll hurt the baby-"

Atlanta looked at the nurse with fierce eyes. "Not having a father will hurt my baby! So can you help me or not?" She demanded.

"You should not be speaking to me so rudely." Olivia frowned.

Before Atlanta could yell at the nurse anymore, Izzie Stevens was found bringing Denny back to his room. "Denny!" Atlanta cried with worry as she rushed forward and to her husband's side. "What happened?"

"He tried to make a run for it." Izzie explained gently.

By now, tears were rolling down Atlanta's cheeks. She was angry and hurt and she was lashing out, when she yelled at her sick husband. "How could you?! Fuck! I thought something had happened to you! I thought you were dead!" She screeched at him, tears rolling down her cheeks. Izzie looked shocked at the sight of a crying, yelling Atlanta as she helped Denny into his bed. Denny also looked surprised. "All you do is complain about not moving and being stuck in the hospital! You snap at me almost hourly because that's all you can do!"

"Mrs. Duquette, maybe it'd be best-"

Atlanta turned her rage filled eyes onto Izzie, angry tears pouring down her cheeks by now. "You can never understand what I'm going through, Doctor Stevens, how would you feel if you turned your back for just a few minutes and when you turned back around, your sick husband is missing?! Shitty, right?!" She knew she was being rude but she was just so upset. She was sick of Denny trying to give her the slip.

"Atlanta – "

She turned to Denny, shaking her head. "I just can't…not right now Denny…" And then she exited the room.

Izzie frowned, seeing how upset Denny looked as his wife stormed out of the room. She moved over and took hold of his hand, giving him a small smile. "She'll cool down, Denny. Just rest for now."

Denny looked up at Izzie. "She's my wife, Izzie… I love her like I've never loved anything before. I can't lose her. She's the only reason I'm still holding on…that and our little Imogen."

Izzie felt her heart tightened and she felt jealous of the petite pregnant woman. Why did Atlanta get Denny and Izzie get no one?

~x~

As Atlanta stood outside in the cool weather, she thought of her relationship between herself and Denny. She loved him so much that it hurt sometimes, but she felt frustrated with him too. How could he continue to put her through all of this? Why did he?

She wished she could see into his brain to understand why he was acting like he was. Yes, she knew he hated the hospital and not being free, but he had no reason to yell at her about it. She had been dealing with his mood swings for weeks now, silently taking the abuse because he was sick and he was upset. No one saw the pain she had to bare because her husband's heart was failing.

He apologized afterwards, but within an hour, he'd be saying those mean things again. Atlanta knew that Denny was hers and that he was her it, but she still knew it was wrong the way he was treating her. Around the doctors and nurses, Denny was sweet and caring – the dotting husband and soon-to-be father but behind closed doors, he showed the darkened side of him. The side of him that actually scared her.

As she tried to calm herself down, standing in the light drizzle of rain, she thought of reasons why she stuck around. Denny was sick, he needed someone beside him of course, but maybe it was her that was causing his anger? While she was thinking of reasons to excuse his behavior, someone walked up beside her.

"Mrs. Duquette?"

Atlanta turned and jumped, seeing Doctor O'Malley standing in front of her, looking worried for her wellbeing. She blushed and nodded, knowing that something must be wrong with Denny. "Is Denny alright?"

"I… I assume so. Doctor Stevens is looking after him. Is… is everything alright? Shouldn't you be inside?" Doctor O'Malley said, eyeing her carefully.

She wiped her cheek, hoping that she wasn't crying again. "Hormones… They're funny little things, right?" She laughed weakly, trying to ignore the way her voice cracked.

Doctor O'Malley smiled gently before nodding. "Would you like to get lunch with me?"

"What? I – uh – yes."

He chuckled and led her to the cafeteria; they grabbed lunch and they sat by the windows, letting Atlanta stare out the window blankly. He didn't pry into her reasoning for crying outside in the rain; she was thankful.

"I met Denny at my job as a waitress in this small diner." Atlanta began, chewing her lip as she stared out the window. Doctor O'Malley sat, listening intently, giving her the time she needed to open up. "I, uh, I split coffee onto his lap. He laughed and said it was fine, that I should let him take me on a date for repayment for spilling the coffee on him. I said yes, feeling guilty. He was the perfect gentleman."

He continued to watch her, as Atlanta looked out the window, faraway in thought.

"I love my husband but the more time we spend here, the more I can see my Denny slipping through my fingers." Atlanta turned to look at the intern. Tears filled her eyes. "Doctor O'Malley, what do I do? I want to stay by his side, but I think… if this continues… if he continues to be so… mean… I don't think our marriage is going to survive this."

Doctor O'Malley hated seeing how upset Atlanta was. "George."

"What – "

"My name is George." He said giving her a tiny smile. "I think you're the only person who will know what to do. Maybe, maybe it'd be okay to go home, spend some time there, spend time apart. Don't they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder?"

Atlanta stared blankly at the doctor for a moment. "What if he resents me for leaving the hospital?"

"I think, and maybe it's just me but, he doesn't control you. You can make your own decisions." George said, trying to support the confused pregnant woman. "We're going to do everything we can to get him the heart he needs, Mrs. Duquette."

She sniffled, "You can call me Atlanta. Everyone calls me 'Mrs. Duquette' and as much as I love belonging to Denny, there's more to me than just being his wife."

He just smiled at her, trying to give her the support she needed. "Does he have any family?"

"His parents but he doesn't talk to them much." Atlanta said gently. "They, uh, don't approve of our relationship. We had a small wedding and they decided not to come, stating that I was just with him for the money. But uh, I didn't know about any of it until after they sent us that letter."

George nodded. "Maybe Denny needs some time alone? To cool off?"

She touched his hand. "Thank you, George. Seriously. I think I will finish this meal and then go for a walk. You should probably get back to work."

He chuckled, nodded and then quickly finished off his sandwich before rushing off. Now alone at the table, Atlanta quietly ate her meal. When she finished, she cleaned up and decided to go for a small walk. She had a lot of thinking to do.

~x~

Hey, surprise. It's me. Miss me? Um. If anyone is an Avengers fan, you should go check out "And Time Went On" by Morena Evensong. Seriously. It's awesome! So good!

Please review everyone. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Xoxo,

Nerdy