Chapter 5

Abby was curled up in a ball on the floor, holding her stomach tightly. "I'm fine," she gasped out. She was not fine, but she didn't want anyone looking at her stomach. Even if they weren't suspicious about the bruises, the three broken ribs would surely draw their attention. So she pretended to be fine.

Get up, Abby, she told herself. Get up and get out of here before they slap you on a gurney and put you in a gown.

Just then, Haleh returned with the restraints. "What happened?" she asked, worried, looking at Abby on the floor.

"The patient kicked Abby in the stomach," Luka said, trying to examine Abby's injury. But of course, she wouldn't let him. She couldn't let him see the bruises and bandages.

"Want me to get a gurney?" Haleh asked.

"No, Haleh. I'm fine." Abby grimaced as she stood to her feet. Black spots appeared in front of her eyes, and she thought, Please don't let me pass out in here.

"You shouldn't be standing up, Abby," said Dr. Michaels, who had finally managed to subdue the patient.

"I'm fine," Abby repeated, taking a shaky step towards the door.

"Dr. Michaels is right, Abby. You need to sit down." Luka took her arm, and gently guided her towards a chair. "Haleh, go get a gurney."

"No, I'm really alright," Abby said, pasting a false smile on her face. Then the pain overtook her and she doubled over.

"No, you're not. Sit down," Luka said, pushing her into the chair. She was in too much pain to resist, but she promised herself that she would get up in a few minutes. She would NOT allow herself to get checked in as a patient under any circumstances.

Then, as if Abby's luck wasn't bad enough already, Carter walked in. He saw Luka and Haleh standing by Abby, saw the pained expression on Abby's face, and how she was holding her stomach. "What's wrong?" he asked, forgetting that they had ever fought. All he knew was that something bad was happening to her, and he wanted to help her.

"Patient kicked Abby in the stomach," Haleh said, glancing sympathetically at Abby, who let out an involuntary moan. God, her stomach was killing her. She just wanted to lay down for a while...

"Why isn't somebody looking at her?" Carter asked, kneeling down beside his girlfriend.

As if on cue, Abby said, "I'm fine. I just need to lay down."

"Well, you can lay down right here," he said, motioning towards the gurney Haleh had brought. He tried to put Abby on the gurney, but she wouldn't let him. I can't get on that gurney, she thought. Once I get on there, I'll just wanna close my eyes and fall asleep. I have to get home.

"No. I said I'm fine." She pushed his hands off her, foiling his attempt to put her on the gurney. She squeezed her eyes shut as another wave of pain hit her, and she let out a small squeak, clutching her stomach.

"How hard did he kick her?" Carter asked Luka, trying to pull Abby's shirt up. She wouldn't let him. "Abby, let me see," he said.

But she knew she couldn't. "I said I'm fine Carter. Just leave me alone!"

Carter and Luka exchanged bewildered glances. What was Abby's problem? She was obviously in serious pain, but for some reason she wouldn't let anyone examine her.

Carter tried to reason with her. "Abby, if you're in this much pain, you need to have someone take a look at you; you know that. You might have internal injuries, especially if it hurts that bad."

Abby knew all this was true, but she couldn't explain her reasons for not wanting to be examined to Carter. So instead she said, "Look guys, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Really. So you can just leave me alone now." She stood unsteadily to her feet, and both Carter and Luka moved to assist her. "I'm okay," she said, waving them off. "I'm gonna go home, get some rest."

"Abby don't be ridiculous," Carter begged. "You could have massive internal injuries. Just let us do an MRI and an X-ray." He walked towards her slowly, the way one would approach someone suffering from dementia.

"No. I'm fine. Goodbye." Abby walked towards the door of the trauma room. Then, pain shot through her ribcage and she leaned against the wall, wincing.

Carter walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, supporting her. Her pain subsided for a moment, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Abby, you know you're not in any condition to be going home. Now, I can get someone else if you want, but you need to have somebody take a look at you," Carter said softly.

"I just want to go home," Abby said weakly.

"I know. Just let me do the X-ray and MRI."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I...I just wanna to go home," Abby repeated, knowing how stupid she sounded.

"Well, you need to make sure you're safe first. You could have all kinds of internal injuries." Abby could tell that he was patronizing her now, and if she hadn't been in so much pain she would have been pretty pissed.

"Just, just...let go of me, Carter," she said, finding a new strength inside herself. She pushed Carter's arms off her and stood up, legs shaking. "I'm going home. Leave me alone," she said, waving her hands to ward Carter off. She staggered out of the door, trying to look like she wasn't in excruciating pain.

She walked into the lounge to get her keys. Carter followed her the whole way. "Abby, you know you can't go home. You need to get checked out."

"I said I'm fine, Carter," Abby tried to open her locker, but lifting her arms hurt too badly. She stood in front of her locker and tried to figure out how to get it open without lifting her arms.

Carter noticed her dilemma. He wondered why she was so adamant about not wanting to get checked out. He didn't like the hospital either, but he liked pain even less. Maybe the pain was making her delirious. Unfortunately, the hospital was not allowed to hold people against their will unless their life was clearly in danger, and Abby's was not. So he had to convince her, somehow, to stay in the hospital.

Abby, meanwhile, had leaned against the lockers, because her stomach pain had flared up once again. She had no idea how she was going to walk all the way to the El station, but she didn't really have a choice. So she pushed herself off the lockers and walked towards the door. She couldn't get her keys, so she would simply get a spare key from her neighbor.

Carter jumped in front of her, blocking her path to the door. "How are you gonna get home?"

"El," Abby said.

"And you're just gonna walk to your house? What if you have severe injuries? You could get home and DIE, Abby."

Abby was about to respond, but was suddenly interrupted by an intense dizziness. Abby knew that if she didn't sit down in the next few seconds, she was going to pass out. So she stumbled over to the couch and threw herself down. Carter immediately sat down beside her.

Just then, Haleh entered the lounge. "How's she doing?" she asked Carter.

"She still wants to go home," Carter told her. Hey, I'm right here, Abby wanted to say. But somehow, she couldn't get her mouth to form the words. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about the pain. She could hear Carter and Haleh talking, but their voices sounded like they were coming from very far away.

"What should we do?" Haleh said.

"As long as she's conscious, we can't admit her against her will." Of course, Haleh already knew this, but Carter was just thinking out loud.

Haleh looked over at Abby, who had her eyes closed and was moaning softly. "IS she conscious?"

Carter called her name softly. She mumbled something incoherent. He opened her eye and looked at her pupil. "Semi. Let's get her checked in. Get the gurney." Haleh hustled down the hall to retrieve the gurney, and returned quickly. Abby still had her eyes closed, but now she was silent. Carter picked her up and put her on the gurney. He lifted her shirt. "Oh, my God," he breathed, looking at her stomach.