Abby and Dave sat across from each other in one of the booths at Doc Magoos. Surprisingly, Abby found herself laughing at Dave's comments, which she usually dismissed as immature and stupid. He was being pretty nice to her, and he seemed to be having fun too. They had finished their lunches and were sipping steamy mugs of coffe that was little more than water poured over old coffee grounds. It was the weakest coffee ever, but after enough cups of the vile brew, Abby and Dave got their caffine fix for the moment.
"So, Abby, I was wondering..I had fun, so far, and.." Dave was interrupted by the sound of his pager going off. Abby's began to beep loudly a second later. Sighing, they left their money on the table, Dave pointedly handing Abby's back to her and placing down an extra few bucks. "Hey, didn't I say it was my treat? Anyway, no time to argue, let's get to that trauma!"
Laughing, but surprised at the kind gesture, Abby walked across the street with Dave and entered Cook County General. "What've we got?" She asked, trying not to show everyone the good time she had just had with Dave.
"34 year old man, motercycle vs. guardrail. The guardrail won. Started a line, gave 3 of morphine, he's fading in and out, complained of lower leg pains on the left side when he was alert. Possible tib-fib fracture. BP's 120/84, heart rate 103 and climbing."
"Thanks. Alright, trauma 1, Malucci, you're with me!" He grinned at hearing that sentence, hoping it would come to mean much more than it already did.
The man's face was hauntingly familiar to Abby, and she couldn't place it until Dave said, "Isn't this that biker jerk from this morning?"
"Ick, so it is. Well, anyway, get a blood gas, including a blood alcohol, and get a cbc, chem 7, coag panel, white count.." Abby trailed off as the biker's eyes flew open.
"Hey, it's you. You didn't tell me you worked here...I woulda come in earlier," he slurred, the smell of alcohol pouring from his mouth.
"Tox screen, and 10 of Halidol..I don't want this guy waking up."
"You gotta help me, sweetie. My leg..it friggin kills!"
Shuddering at being called 'sweetie' by the drunken biker, she watched satisfied as Dave injected the halidol. "That had better knock him out for a LONG time," Dave remarked, "cuz he does NOT want to deal with me when he wakes up."
"Alright, Dave, just give him another 2 of morphine. And let's check out his leg, it seems to be the only thing bothering the lucky jerk."
Dave and Abby cut off the biker's jeans and stuffed them into a bag under the gurney. "BP falling, 110/70. Heart rate up to 110."
"give him 3 of adenosine."
"It's not working. Leg is swollen around the knee. Possible clot in the vein, swelling is spreading down the leg." Dave announced. Abby and Dave knew that was the problem. "5 of heparin, start a drip. We've got to thin the clot." They waited, but the heparin wasn't working. They tried a to give him a little more, until he was at the limit.
"That's it, we can't give him any more. Leg still swelling. We've got to take this clot out ourselves. They prepared to open the guy's leg up. "I'm in. Suction."
"Damn, what I wouldn't give to cut this @$$hole's nerve, maybe accidentaly let him bleed out, loose just a LITTLE too much blood. It'd serve him right. You know how much I'd like to miss just one little thing, stitch up his leg with just a few less stitches than it needs?" Dave asked, holding the scalpel over the biker's leg.
"Dave, it's our job to treat him. Not to judge him. When this guy...however much of an @$$ he was this morning...when he comes in here, he's just another patient. And if anyone should be mad, it should be me. So just treat him. Besides, you wouldn't cut the nerve unless you were cutting half an inch higher. And no, that's not an invitation to try it." Dave stared at Abby, placing the scalpel back on the tray. "We're done here, Dave. You want to close, or do I need to."
"I'll be a good boy, I promise."
"Whatever you say, Dave. I think I'll stick around, just in case." She laughed, but she still stood over him while he closed up the biker's leg. In any other case, he would have been hurt by someone else's need to supervise him. Although Abby probably shouldn't have been in charge of that particular trauma, she knew exactly what to do. She was in med school, but she already had been once. Dave knew she could run a trauma as well as he could, and she obviously didn't let her anger affect her work the way he sometimes did. Besides, he liked Abby standing over him. She was standing awfully close to him, closer than she needed to be. But that was only because he might get mad at any moment and mess up. Or at least, that's what Abby told herself.
Dave finished with no problem and they took off their gloves and gowns. They checked the board, which had filled with a few unclaimed patients, so they went their separate ways.
She was so calm. How could that not have infuriated her? The guy was an @$$. And he had been trying to hit on her up until they knocked him out. Abby's words were ringing in his ears. Just a patient. She was right, of course. And normally it killed Dave when someone else was right. Or maybe it was just cuz that made him wrong. But either way, Abby being right made him...even a little proud that she was so great. Proud that she took time to teach him all that she knew. He felt like he was worth something to her. It wasn't much of a logical thought, but it made him feel better. And besides, Abby had been right about a lot of things. She was the one who should have been mad. Not Dave. She was the one being hit on. Dave was just the goof who wanted to be her night in shining armor who ended up with a faceful of snow. But he also ended up with a date. He wondered if maybe the knight in shining armor bit had worked. Maybe she really did like him. But he also wondered why he cared. Dave Malucci didn't like girls that much. He liked dating, but he sure wasn't one to get a crush on someone. Especially someone like Abby, a strong woman, intelligent. He'd admit that he usually went for the bimbos. But there was something about her...and now he might have a chance. Whistling happily, he strolled into exam 4, holding the patient's chart. He was a million miles away from County, off in his own world.
Dave. He never seemed like such a great guy. He seemed like a jerk. A stupid, immature jerk. But still...Abby had had so much fun with him. And that biker...Abby had tried not to care, but she saw Dave's anger. It hadn't affected him, he hadn't really been involved in the whole biker situation. But he was angry because the stupid biker had tried to get Abby. Had bothered her. And that was enough to make Dave want to 'slip'. On one hand, it was odd how short Dave's temper was. He would actually want to hurt the guy for a little flirting. But on the other hand, he did it for her. He rescued her once, then he was willing to rescue her again. She saw something in him at Doc Magoos..something she never expected to see in Dave Malucci. He was a nice guy. And she supposed she even liked him a little. And if he asked her out again..well, she wouldn't say no. She smiled, thinking of the jokes he'd been telling during lunch. He wasn't a bad guy, not in the least bit. A little...excited...he let his emotions show too much sometimes. But he could take a lesson in impartial care of patients without storming away from Abby or getting pissed that she was instructing him. That either showed he was changing, or just willing to listn to her. Either way, it was a good sign.