"Easy Dave.. Don't push yourself too hard. Don't tire yourself out. One foot after the other.. That's it.." The nurse urged as the doctor shuffled slowly with the walker.
"DAVE!!!!!!" Cindy beamed as she saw the dishevelled, tired and worn out man stumbled down the hall. His house coat ties dragging on the ground and his housecoat flapping around his knobby knees that peeked out from under the hospital gown.
She ran down the hall, grabbing him around the waist and hugging him closely, breathing in his smell, the smell of hospital, the smell of dank sweat from the exertion of walking a few steps from the therapy room. Tears rolled down her cheeks and soaked into the plush blue terry cloth of the robe. "Dave.. I love you.. God.. I love you so much.. I'm so proud of you."
***
"Was it nice? The memorial?" Dave asked Elizabeth later in his room as she examined the healing of the incisions.
"It was..." She paused, pulling her gloved hands out from under his gown. "Nice.. Lucy's father was there.. It certainly made it interesting."
"Lucy's Dad? I thought.." He trailed off quietly, his mouth slightly agape from the shock. "I mean.. Lucy's Dad.. I didn't even think she had one.."
"We all thought.. But he was there, Dave.. Holding Ms.Knight and weeping with the rest of us." Elizabeth replied, as she pulled down the bed clothes and took his hands in hers to examine the self-defence wounds on his arms. "These are healing quite well Dave.." She murmured, changing the subject."
"I.. I can't believe this.. She's.. She's really gone.. I.." Tears shone and glinted sharply in his brown eyes from the fluorescent lights glowing overhead. His lip trembled and his body tensed.
"Oh... uhh.. Dr.Malucci.. Dave.. I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry.." Elizabeth replied uneasily as her own tears began to flow, shattering her cool facade. She bent over the bed examining the wound to his left flank, trying to ignore the tears that flowed down both their cheeks.
"Dave.. I.." She could feel his hot breath on her neck as she bent over him untying the string at the back of the gown.. Pulling it back to examine the wounds to his front more closely. She could feel the wetness of it as the young doctor suddenly pulled her into an awkward kiss. Elizabeth pulled back, biting her bottom lip and her own eyes red and full of surprise. She looked at the man laying on the bed, small, frail and reddening deeply. "Dr.Muh.. Dave.. I.. I have to go now.. I'll send in Dr.Benton.. Surely you won't share the same affection."
Dave stared at the ceiling as Dr.Corday made her exit, stumbling from the room and knocking over an instrument tray in her wake. His lips still warm and tingling, his brain whirring and numb at the same time. He had just kissed the British Ice Queen.. He had kissed Dr.Elizabeth Corday.. He had kissed Elizabeth.. Maybe he really *was* losing his mind! He had just kissed the fiancee of Dr.Mark Greene.. Kissed the lips that he'd seen on so many occasions kiss Mark Greene.. His lips had been where Mark's had been..
Dave wrinkled his nose in disgust and wiped his mouth frantically, his tongue hanging out as he ran his hands over it quickly, wiping it on the bed. He gagged and groaned, his aching body dangling over the side of the bed as he started to dry retch.
Dr.Carl De Raad walked in and stood in the door way watching Dave as he shook with the dry-heaves. "Is everything okay Dr.Malucci?" He asked concernedly as he approached the bed and sat in the warmed chair of Dr.Corday's.
"I KISSED DR.GREENE!" Dave wailed, flopping back down on the bed and shuddering.
"Pardon me?" You kissed Mark Greene?" The man pulled out his notepad. Mark was downstairs up to his armpits in a trauma case. The poor man was probably hallucinating.. The trauma he'd been through, the medications he was on.. The stress he was under.. It was probably quite normal.. But.. "How do you feel about that?? About kissing Dr.Greene??" He asked prodding his patient and chewing slightly on the pen in his mouth.
Dave looked at the head of psych with a look of horror, disgust and pure utter pain. "I... WHAT?! I.. No.. I never.. What?! Eww. What!?"
****
Elizabeth rushed down the halls, banging into various gurneys, fellow co-workers til she reached the ER and dragged her fiancee bodily out of Trauma 2. "ELIZABETH! I JUST HAD THAT MAN'S HEART IN MY HANDS!"
"Screw him! Malucci.. He.." Elizabeth trembled, her face still red and sticky from the shed tears.
"Oh god.. Is he okay!?" Mark walked to the bin and took off his gown and gloves, leading her to the lounge. She was trembling and looked like she was about to pass out. She'd better do it into a chair.. I don't want to carry her through the threshold till we're married.. Mark thought to himself.
"He.. He's fine.. He's healing well.. He's m-making progress in therapy. I.. was checking his wounds.. Peter was on call somewhere else.. I.. I was doing him a favour.." Elizabeth's voice cracked and she burst into tears.
A favour.. Oh I bet you were!! Mark seethed.. The bastard probably kissed her.. When he got his hands on him.. Oh.. Well.. If he'd got his hands on him.. He'd probably remove them pretty quick.. Peter was a pretty big man.. Street tough.. Raised in Chicago.. And he was trained in the use of a scalpel.. Mark sighed. and what could he do? Suture the poor guy to death!? "W-what happened?" He asked nervously.
"M.. Malucci.. He..." She shook her head, pulling his comforting arms
off her. "It's not important.. I.. I have to go to rounds on my other patients
Mark.." Elizabeth stood, walking bewildered from the lounge.