Like Mother, Like Daughter
Chapter 9
When Kerry and John got off the elevator, they headed for the Pediatric Wing. They went to the Nurse's Station walking through Winnie-the-Pooh and Mickey Mouse pictures that were painted on the walls. Kerry asked the nurse where Emma's room was and she pointed to a door adjacent to the station. Kerry reached back and squeezed John's arm… "Want to formally meet Emma?" He nodded and together, they walked into the room.
The room was dark and Kerry could hear sniffling noises as soon as they walked in. Emma was lying on one of the beds crying her heart out. "Hey Kiddo…what's wrong?" Kerry handed Emma a box of Kleenex. "One of the nurses told be that I won't ever be able to walk again…that I'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life…" Emma trailed off, fresh tears in her eyes. "Emma…listen to me" Kerry was ticked off, what right did that nurse have? She continued, "When you were born they said that you would never be able to walk, but you did. You are a fighter and we'll have you hopping around on that leg in no time!" Emma nodded. Kerry suddenly remembered John and decided that he would be a welcome distraction. "Emma…do you remember Dr. Carter? He took care of you down in the ER." "Yea…sort of…" "Well…Carter…actually John, lives with me." Kerry decided this was the perfect time to break the news. "So…after I sign the legal adoption papers on Friday, you will be seeing a lot more of him!"
A huge grin spread across Emma's face. "They said yes? Oh…I'm so happy! Thank you Kerry." Her grin vanished and her eyes clouded over. "Kerry…do you think up in … heaven that mom and dad are upset that I will be living with you?" Kerry shook her head. "I think they are probably very happy that you will have a loving home. Right John?" John reached over and squeezed Kerry's shoulder. "That's right. You know Emma…when you came in you reminded me so much of someone, I can't believe I couldn't figure out who!" Emma smiled.
Kerry began to talk to Emma about her recovery. She explained that they would give her a few more days to recover from surgery then she would start physio. As soon as she was strong enough, they would probably let her go home and do physio as an outpatient.
That being said, Kerry looked at her watch and realized she was on in half an hour. She said goodbye to Emma and her and John headed back down to the ER. When they came out of the elevator, cheers from all the staff at the desk greeted them. John put his arm around Kerry's shoulder and they laughed along with everyone else.
The night passed quickly and before long their shift was over and they went to Kerry's and crashed. For the next couple days, Kerry alternated her time between working, sleeping with John and visiting Emma. John moved all his things into Kerry's townhouse and when Friday finally arrived, they went together to sign the adoption papers. When they went into the office Kerry was so excited she couldn't sit still. "John…I've never felt so wired in my life!" John gently pulled her into one of the waiting room chairs so she would stop pacing. She resorted to tapping her crutch against the floor until John gently removed in from her grasp, only to receive a dirty look. John hoped they would be able to go in soon, he didn't know how much more he could take.
When the lawyer called them in a minute later, Kerry stood and in her excitement, forgot that John had her crutch, and immediately lurched forward. John grabbed her arm, raised his eyebrows and handed it to her. The signing process only took a couple of minutes then…Emma was Kerry's!
Kerry and John decided to go to a celebratory brunch. They went to a buffet where they pigged out on pancakes and waffles. Later on, when they were done they decided to visit Emma.
Kerry drove this time, John was letting her try out his Jeep because she had said it reminded her of cruising around some of the little villages in Africa. It was a bit rough at times because she had to clutch with her bad leg but she was pretty good considering. When they got to the hospital, Kerry drove around the staff parking lot but the only spot was at the opposite end from the ER doors.
They had a long walk in but Kerry made it ok. When they walked in, Susan Lewis was the first person they saw. "Ow ow! How's the hot new couple?" They both just laughed and continued on their way. They headed for the elevators and made it into the crowded one. At the peeds floor, it was a struggle to make it out and as they walked by the now-familiar Pooh-Bear designs, Kerry joked that the hospital should have an escalator!
Emma's room was empty and the nurse at the desk told Kerry that Emma was in physio. That was good news; they hadn't expected her to start until next week. Not wanting to fight the elevator crowd, they decided to take the stairs down two floors. Kerry was surprisingly quick going down and before long; they were at the physio wing. Kerry saw Emma first, she was standing on her remaining leg in the parallel bars. They walked over to say hello. Kerry saw that Emma now had a new brace that had stronger supports. As she struggled to the end of the bars, she had a huge smile on her face. The therapist asked her if she would like to have a try with crutches. She enthusiastically said yes and was handed two exactly like Kerry's. Although it was slow and awkward she was able to walk around a bit before sitting down for a rest amid cheers from Kerry and John. She chatted with them for a few minutes and was ecstatic when she found out that the adoption was complete and she was Kerry's. After a few minutes Emma had to go work on strengthening exercises for her leg and Kerry and John had to work. Two staff members were off with the flu so they had to pull one and a half shifts. They were both off at seven on Saturday morning until seven Monday morning, the fact that they had two days off was a rare occurrence.
They got back downstairs and immediately a GSW was brought in. Kerry and John ended up working on it together. Although they worked hard the man ended up dying and Kerry had to talk to his family. As she spoke the familiar words, she wondered as she often did how they managed to flow so freely from her mouth.
By ten John and Kerry were ready to collapse. They had both dealt with some weird patients. Kerry had to unglue seven-year-old twins who had an incident with superglue and ended up stuck at the forehead. John had to deal with a sixteen year old who had a superglue incident of another type and strangely reminded him of American Pie 2.
At ten o'clock Kerry and Abby were having a breather at the desk when a man walked by eating a peanut-butter sandwich. When Kerry caught the smell, her cheeks bulged, she covered her mouth and staggered into the bathroom, dropping her crutch midway.
Abby raced after her, grabbed the crutch and banged into the bathroom where Kerry was emptying the contents of her stomach into the porcelain god. Abby cooled a paper towel and handed it to her. Kerry looked at her and shrugged. "Dr. Weaver…you pregnant or something…" Abby joked. Kerry instantly went white. She started counting on her fingers. "Period math?" Kerry nodded. Abby shook her head. "I was kidding Dr. Weaver, that's impossible its only been like a few days hasn't it?" "I know Abby but last time this was how it was. Not even a week after and I was throwing up like crazy. Abby nodded. "Want a tester kit?" Kerry thought about then nodded. Abby handed her the crutch that she was still holding and disappeared for a second. She came back and they did the test.
Both women stared at the little screen. What was it going to say?
Chapter 9
When Kerry and John got off the elevator, they headed for the Pediatric Wing. They went to the Nurse's Station walking through Winnie-the-Pooh and Mickey Mouse pictures that were painted on the walls. Kerry asked the nurse where Emma's room was and she pointed to a door adjacent to the station. Kerry reached back and squeezed John's arm… "Want to formally meet Emma?" He nodded and together, they walked into the room.
The room was dark and Kerry could hear sniffling noises as soon as they walked in. Emma was lying on one of the beds crying her heart out. "Hey Kiddo…what's wrong?" Kerry handed Emma a box of Kleenex. "One of the nurses told be that I won't ever be able to walk again…that I'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life…" Emma trailed off, fresh tears in her eyes. "Emma…listen to me" Kerry was ticked off, what right did that nurse have? She continued, "When you were born they said that you would never be able to walk, but you did. You are a fighter and we'll have you hopping around on that leg in no time!" Emma nodded. Kerry suddenly remembered John and decided that he would be a welcome distraction. "Emma…do you remember Dr. Carter? He took care of you down in the ER." "Yea…sort of…" "Well…Carter…actually John, lives with me." Kerry decided this was the perfect time to break the news. "So…after I sign the legal adoption papers on Friday, you will be seeing a lot more of him!"
A huge grin spread across Emma's face. "They said yes? Oh…I'm so happy! Thank you Kerry." Her grin vanished and her eyes clouded over. "Kerry…do you think up in … heaven that mom and dad are upset that I will be living with you?" Kerry shook her head. "I think they are probably very happy that you will have a loving home. Right John?" John reached over and squeezed Kerry's shoulder. "That's right. You know Emma…when you came in you reminded me so much of someone, I can't believe I couldn't figure out who!" Emma smiled.
Kerry began to talk to Emma about her recovery. She explained that they would give her a few more days to recover from surgery then she would start physio. As soon as she was strong enough, they would probably let her go home and do physio as an outpatient.
That being said, Kerry looked at her watch and realized she was on in half an hour. She said goodbye to Emma and her and John headed back down to the ER. When they came out of the elevator, cheers from all the staff at the desk greeted them. John put his arm around Kerry's shoulder and they laughed along with everyone else.
The night passed quickly and before long their shift was over and they went to Kerry's and crashed. For the next couple days, Kerry alternated her time between working, sleeping with John and visiting Emma. John moved all his things into Kerry's townhouse and when Friday finally arrived, they went together to sign the adoption papers. When they went into the office Kerry was so excited she couldn't sit still. "John…I've never felt so wired in my life!" John gently pulled her into one of the waiting room chairs so she would stop pacing. She resorted to tapping her crutch against the floor until John gently removed in from her grasp, only to receive a dirty look. John hoped they would be able to go in soon, he didn't know how much more he could take.
When the lawyer called them in a minute later, Kerry stood and in her excitement, forgot that John had her crutch, and immediately lurched forward. John grabbed her arm, raised his eyebrows and handed it to her. The signing process only took a couple of minutes then…Emma was Kerry's!
Kerry and John decided to go to a celebratory brunch. They went to a buffet where they pigged out on pancakes and waffles. Later on, when they were done they decided to visit Emma.
Kerry drove this time, John was letting her try out his Jeep because she had said it reminded her of cruising around some of the little villages in Africa. It was a bit rough at times because she had to clutch with her bad leg but she was pretty good considering. When they got to the hospital, Kerry drove around the staff parking lot but the only spot was at the opposite end from the ER doors.
They had a long walk in but Kerry made it ok. When they walked in, Susan Lewis was the first person they saw. "Ow ow! How's the hot new couple?" They both just laughed and continued on their way. They headed for the elevators and made it into the crowded one. At the peeds floor, it was a struggle to make it out and as they walked by the now-familiar Pooh-Bear designs, Kerry joked that the hospital should have an escalator!
Emma's room was empty and the nurse at the desk told Kerry that Emma was in physio. That was good news; they hadn't expected her to start until next week. Not wanting to fight the elevator crowd, they decided to take the stairs down two floors. Kerry was surprisingly quick going down and before long; they were at the physio wing. Kerry saw Emma first, she was standing on her remaining leg in the parallel bars. They walked over to say hello. Kerry saw that Emma now had a new brace that had stronger supports. As she struggled to the end of the bars, she had a huge smile on her face. The therapist asked her if she would like to have a try with crutches. She enthusiastically said yes and was handed two exactly like Kerry's. Although it was slow and awkward she was able to walk around a bit before sitting down for a rest amid cheers from Kerry and John. She chatted with them for a few minutes and was ecstatic when she found out that the adoption was complete and she was Kerry's. After a few minutes Emma had to go work on strengthening exercises for her leg and Kerry and John had to work. Two staff members were off with the flu so they had to pull one and a half shifts. They were both off at seven on Saturday morning until seven Monday morning, the fact that they had two days off was a rare occurrence.
They got back downstairs and immediately a GSW was brought in. Kerry and John ended up working on it together. Although they worked hard the man ended up dying and Kerry had to talk to his family. As she spoke the familiar words, she wondered as she often did how they managed to flow so freely from her mouth.
By ten John and Kerry were ready to collapse. They had both dealt with some weird patients. Kerry had to unglue seven-year-old twins who had an incident with superglue and ended up stuck at the forehead. John had to deal with a sixteen year old who had a superglue incident of another type and strangely reminded him of American Pie 2.
At ten o'clock Kerry and Abby were having a breather at the desk when a man walked by eating a peanut-butter sandwich. When Kerry caught the smell, her cheeks bulged, she covered her mouth and staggered into the bathroom, dropping her crutch midway.
Abby raced after her, grabbed the crutch and banged into the bathroom where Kerry was emptying the contents of her stomach into the porcelain god. Abby cooled a paper towel and handed it to her. Kerry looked at her and shrugged. "Dr. Weaver…you pregnant or something…" Abby joked. Kerry instantly went white. She started counting on her fingers. "Period math?" Kerry nodded. Abby shook her head. "I was kidding Dr. Weaver, that's impossible its only been like a few days hasn't it?" "I know Abby but last time this was how it was. Not even a week after and I was throwing up like crazy. Abby nodded. "Want a tester kit?" Kerry thought about then nodded. Abby handed her the crutch that she was still holding and disappeared for a second. She came back and they did the test.
Both women stared at the little screen. What was it going to say?