Cleo and Jing-Mei walked into County with the other 2 victims of the crash, the daughters of the other victims. One was about 7 and one was 12. They walked into Exam 3 and got the girls settled in the 2 beds.
"I'm Dr. Finch and this is Dr. Chen. We're going to be taking care of you. What did you hurt in the accident?"
"My tummy hurts." The 7-year old announced, pointing in the general direction of her bellybutton.
"Ok, we'll have to take a look at that. What's your name?"
"Sarah Anne Thompson."
"OK Sarah, I'll take a look. Roll up your shirt so I can see your stomach." Sarah pushed her shirt up to her ribcage as Cleo looked her over.
"And what's your name?" Jing-Mei asked the older girl in a tone usually reserved for children a bit younger.
"Jess. And I'm 12, not 4."
"Sorry. What's wrong?"
"I think I broke my wrist."
"Alright, we'll get you some x-rays. I'll call someone to bring you up there." She wanted to be treated like an adult, then Jing-Mei would let her wait for transport. She didn't need to get some smartmouth kid talking back to her. But seeing the scared look on the girl's face, she shook her head. "Forget transport, I'll take you up there."
"Come back soon, Jessie!" Sarah called.
"I will, Sarah, I promise." Jing-Mei helped Jess into a wheelchair and took her up to radiology.
"Dr. Cleo, is my mommy and daddy going to be OK?"
"I'm sorry, Sarah, I don't know how your mom and dad are doing. I can go find out, if you'd like."
"Do you have to leave?"
"No. I can stay here. This is Yosh." she motioned to the busy nurse, who waved. "Yosh, can you go check on Sarah's parents? The Thompsons."
"David and Lisa? Sure. I'll be back soon." Yosh left the room and Sarah smiled at Cleo.
"I hope my mommy and daddy are OK."
"I'm sure the doctors are doing everything possible for them." But even as she said this, she heard the heart monitors in the nearby trauma rooms beeps turn to high pitched wails. One after the other, she heard the monitors stop, obviously turned off. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to smile.
"Can I see them when Jessie comes back?"
"I don't know, sweetie. We have to um...see. After an operation, people have to sleep to get better, so when Jessie gets back, they may still be asleep."
"Can I see them when they wake up?" Cleo forced herself to nod slowly, knowing that David and Lisa Thompson weren't waking up.
"You should get some rest too. I think your tummy's going to be OK. I'll get you some medicine for the pain, and you'll feel all better soon."
"Dr Cleo?" Sarah had been reading the nametag on Cleo's lab coat while she examined her. "Thank you! I feel a lot better now. I'm going to take a little nap. Can you wake me up when Jessie gets here?"
"OK Sarah." She smiled as Cleo tucked her into the bed. As Cleo walked out the door, Yosh came running towards her.
"They..."
"I know. Shhh...get her some tylenol and some ginger ale. She has a stomach ache, but it's not from the accident. She should be OK...and make sure she doesn't know about her mom and dad...not yet." Yosh nodded and went over to the drug lockup.
A smile formed on Sarah's pixie-like round face as she drifted off to sleep.
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I close my eyes when I go to bed and I think of angels who make me smile.
I feel better when I hear them say 'everything will be wonderful someday'
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AN: review please! I will write more quickly if I get more feedback!