"Okay.. He's out.. I'll hold him down, put the needle in between L4 and L5... Don't force it, but just let it slide in.." Dave coaxed.
"It's stuck.. It won't go in.." Lucy said fearfully. "I don't want to hurt him.."
"You won't.. He's out cold.. Just keep sliding it in, the resistance won't la-"
"LET GO OF ME! YOU'RE HURTING ME!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!! HELP!!!!!! OW!! LET GO!!" Paul hollered struggling in Dave's arms.
"Dave!" Lucy yelped.
"Keep going Luce.." Dave grunted, holding Paul down. "Stop moving you bastard!" He muttered angrily as Sobriki thrashed.
"It.. It's clear.." Lucy said relieved.. "There's a little blood in it though.. Is that okay?!"
"Yeah.. It's fine.. If this asshole hadn't been moving like that.." Dave grumbled, rubbing his jaw where Paul had hit him wildly during the struggle.
They left the exam room as Sobriki yelled, cursed and swore. "I'll get you! You hurt me! Nobody hurts me! I'll get you!"
Lucy closed the door behind them and blew out a puff of air, in relief.. "That... That was interesting.. They're not supposed to-"
Dave shook his head.. "No.. They're not. I've got some other cases on the board I should check back on.. Send the fluid to the lab.. See what they come up with. I'll be around."
"Dave.. What if it's psychological?? What if he's schizophrenic or something??"
Lucy said worriedly. "We should put him in
restraints.."
He rolled his eyes and continued down the hall. "Lucy.. One psych rotation
does not make you Freud.. Leave the poor guy alone, he's got a migraine
and we've poked him more than a Tickle-Me-Elmo.. Sobriki's got a right
to be a little pissed."
Lucy sighed and twirled a length of hair in her fingers. "Okay.. Can
I call psych just in case?? It'll probably take forever for them to get
to the ER anyway.. Paul can get some sleep and maybe he'll feel better
by the time DeRaad gets down here."
Dave groaned, grabbing fistfuls of his hair in his hands before running
his fingers through it and groaning loudly. "Look.. Lucy.. Do
what ever you want.. Play checkers with the freak.. Braid each other's
toe hair.. Just leave me out of it!"
****
Lucy glared at him, sticking her tongue out, before storming off angrily
down the hall. Damn Malucci.. Damn County.. Damn them
all. She walked up to the desk and wrenched the phone receiver from
Randi who was yakking on the phone. "Phone them back." Lucy grumbled, pressing
her thumb firmly on the phone, hanging up.
"Bitch!" Randi glared at her.
"I need the phone dammit.." Lucy complained, plucking the receiver from the gaudily manicured hand.
"Oh... Phoning for a boyfriend are we?? Can't get any? I can see why.." Randi sneered, exaggeratedly looking the med student up and down.
"Oh shut up!" Lucy hissed as the phone began to ring. "Yeah.. I need a psych consult down here in the ER.. Yeah.. It's Lucy.. Yeah.. I think he might be schizophrenic.. I want a hold on him.. Yeah.. Uh huh.. Okay.. THREE HOURS!? For FUCK'S sake, Dr.DeRaad!!" Lucy reddened.. "I mean.. I.. I'm sorry.. It's just.. Three hours.. Okay." She finished meekly before hanging up and handing the phone back to Randi.
"Got bitched out by DeRaad did ya? Serves you right!" Randi snapped her gum loudly and snatched the receiver back with lemon yellow taloned fingers.
The cute, short, blonde 24 year old's deep cerulean eyes narrowed and burned with hate. "If I didn't have patients to see to, Ms.Froncak I'd kick your ass.." Lucy said threateningly.
"If I didn't have to order fifty things from the catalogue before Weaver
catches me, I'd take you up on your offer.. However.." Randi
looked around carefully before slumping back in her seat, her hand
moving artfully through the Sears catalogue to the earmarked pages. "Get
lost squirt.." She muttered irritably. "You've made your phone call.. You
can go now."
Lucy stomped off to the cafeteria, her body tense with rage and her beeper on.
****
"Knight's in the cafeteria?? Where in the hell is Malucci?!" Mark looked at the board, wiping off the names of released patients.
"Said he was going to the roof to think.. Or something..." Randi muttered, not looking up from her 'paper work'.
"To think?? What do the doctors around here think this is? Take a holiday while Mark Greene's on shift?! I can be as tough and hard-assed as Weaver.." He grumbled as the co-workers snickered into their hands.
Lucy sighed as her beeper went off. "The ER... FINALLY!!" She muttered
angrily to herself as her back-teeth had started to float
from the free pink lemonade. It may have been Valentine's Day.. It
may have been free.. But maybe she should have stopped at the 8th when
she'd crossed her legs and squeezed her small thighs together.
She walked to the garbage can on her way out and tossed the stack of empty paper cups out.
"Where is he?" Lucy ran down the hall expecting to see DeRaad.
"Who?" Randi muttered, turning up the stereo.
"Deeeeeraaaaaaaaaaad..." Lucy said slowly, her teeth clenched.
Randi rolled her eyes. "He's not here.. One of your patients has been asking for you."
"Who?? My patients??" Lucy cocked a brow.
"Sobriki.. He says he wants to go home now.. He's been wandering around
here in that smelly old bathrobe of his.. Malik has had to
take him back to his room like.. A hundred times.." Randi snorted.
"Why didn't you page Dave?? It's HIS patient.." Lucy glared at Randi.
"Because.. He was asking for YOU. Says he's sorry.. Says he wants to show you something.. Bitching something fierce.." The desk clerk rolled her eyes.
Lucy missed Randi's parting comment as she was already walking down the hall to exam 3. "Paul?"
Paul lay in bed, the covers pulled high up to his chin as he shivered. "It's cold in here.." He muttered.
"Why are the lights off Paul? Was it too bright in here?" Lucy said worriedly.
"Lights don't work. That big bastard with the bad hair-day said there
was probably a short or something.. Easier on the eyes.." Paul
murmured.
"They don't work?" She asked worriedly as she stepped into the room.
Suddenly Paul started to seize on the bed, his limbs stiffening and his body convulsing.
"OH SHIT!" Lucy stood in the middle of the room, caught by whether to run get help or to help her patient. "Paul?!"
As she neared the bed, Paul's tremors slowly subsided till he lay limp and sweaty on the bed. "Paul?" She said, fear creeping into her voice. His head rolled to the side and a thin line of blood and saliva ran from his mouth and onto the light blue pillow case. He'd bit his tongue..
"Paul?" Her hand went to his wrist, checking his pulse and he pitched
forward, grabbing her by the hair. His fingers clenched into
the tangled mass of tow-headed tresses and spun her around so that
her head rested in his lap, their eyes level.
His voice was soft and full of menace as Paul's crazed eyes narrowed to slits and the soft light in the room excentuated the purple hollows under his eyes.
"You... You hurt me. I told you to stop.. I think it's your time to
start pleading.." He mumbled somberly as his nails bit into her flesh.
The brute strength of his taut muscles pulling her neck back and exposing
the clean white skin. Paul smiled, his lips brushing against
the nape of her neck.
"P-paul.." She whimpered. "Please..."
"Enough." Paul shoved her from his lap as he pulled himself out of the bed and walked across the room towards her crumpled form on the dizzying mosaic tile.
"Paul.. Please.."
His hand darted out from the darkness and grabbed the pure angelic white of her short labcoat, turning it tight in his fist. The silver of the knife shimmered as it caught the light that filtered in through the closed blinds.
"Paul!" She gasped, screaming as the first blow of the knife caught her in the stomach. Lucy licked her lips and felt the warm metallic taste of blood in her mouth.
"P-paul.." Lucy gurgled, the blood rising in her throat as the knife
got her again, she stumbled forward onto her hands and knees as
the blade came at her again and again.
As she collapsed to the tile, he ripped her neck back and drew the butcher knife across it cleanly. Lucy stopped screaming; sputtering whistles replaced her whimpers and Paul stood.
"Bitch."
**********