Title: Medical Wonders: Comfort
Author: Jen Zoromski
All other information is in the first chapter.
Author's Note: Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed. You guys are awesome! Let's see I'm going to upload this chapter, but I won't be updating for two weeks. So be ready for the next chapter in two weeks…lol…Keep on reading and reviewing! Thanks and enjoy!
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County General
April 29, 2003
2:01 p.m.
After another month filled with morning sickness and dizziness Elizabeth is actually starting to feel better. The relationship between Elizabeth and Robert has also increased in intensity. They continued about their daily lives at work, both at their best in their respective jobs. Romano still very much the hard assed man that he'd ever been. Apparently domestic life has not softened him much, well at least at work.
But going home was another story. They were the perfect family. Maybe out of years of fighting and eventually respect between them it has made the transition from being colleagues, to friends, to pretty much a family. Sure they still had their fights, but making up was a lot easier than it once was. The other always knew that their counterpart would come around eventually.
And then adding Ella to the mix made life very interesting for the pair. Robert has become like a second father towards Ella. In Elizabeth's eyes he has not stepped in to take Mark's place, but rather he is a different father type completely. Ella will always have Mark as her biological father and know about him once she's older, but Romano has become the father that she has no memory of.
Elizabeth walks through the empty halls on the surgical floor. She's tired. Dead tired. But she grins at the scene that is playing in her head. Romano being domesticated.
She never truly thought that she'd see the day. And pretty soon the rest of the hospital will see that something domestic must have happened in Romano's life once Elizabeth starts to show.
Elizabeth reaches her office exhausted and walks into it ready to sit down on her couch, maybe take a nap before she has her last surgery of the day to do at five. Unless of course the ER becomes bombarded with a massive trauma. Elizabeth grimaces at the thought. Hopefully she'll get lucky.
At first the dark office seems lifeless, but Elizabeth stops in her tracks as she watches her computer chair swivel slightly from side to side. Seconds later the chair spins completely around revealing the figure of Robert Romano. His head is uncharacteristically down, not arrogantly held like it normally is. Something's happened.
"Robert?" Elizabeth questions concerned.
Elizabeth is met with the dark silence of the office. Robert continues to sway the chair back and forth, not answering.
"What's the matter?" Elizabeth tries again.
Again she is met with silence.
Elizabeth walks over to him, stopping directly in front of him. Even though it is hard to see in the dark office, Robert's face is worth a thousand words. Words that wouldn't dare be spoken. Anger. Disbelief. Anything and everything depressing was expressed in those deep brown eyes and his expression filled face.
"Robert?"
"Chief of the ER," he says softly staring past her, straight ahead.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I've been demoted, Lizzie. Demoted to Chief of the ER. Kerry weavered her way into my position," he mutters. "They might has well have taken my good arm."
At first Elizabeth is at loss for words. After a long moment she decides against words completely, but rather takes Robert into her arms and holds him.
His stiff composure immediately disappears as he wraps his arms around her and they hold one another for a long time. So many ideas, expressions of love can be said through everything -- except words.
8:17 p.m.
"Shirley, can you get my nanny on the phone?" Elizabeth asks as she continues to prod through the internal cavity of a young man caught in the middle of gang gun fire. She's trying to find bullet number three, but she isn't having any success.
Dr. Klein is working diligently on the other side of the table.
"I've got your house, but your nanny left," Shirley tells her giving her a strange look.
"Okay, will you put in on speaker for me?" Elizabeth asks. Blood starts to spurt all over the place.
"Where's it bleeding from?" Klein inquires.
"His liver. The bullet hit his liver."
"Dr. Corday --" Shirley tells her motioning towards the phone. Shirley's confused by who picked up on the other end.
"Lizzie, what a surprise!" Romano says through the speaker, "Slicing and dicing aren't you, Lizzie? More emphasis on the dicing."
Klein looks up from the body, completely confused.
"I thought that you called your house."
"I did," Elizabeth tells him, "Robert I'm going to be late. There's been a huge gang fight downtown and the ER is backed up. They've already got at least three more patients in critical need of surgery. I probably won't be home until at least one."
"I'll wait up for you."
"Thanks so much for going home to relieve, Chris."
"You know me, Lizzie, always aiming to please," Robert says through the phone.
Blood continues to spurt.
"Damn, he's bleeding out all over the place.
"Take care of yourself, Lizzie," Robert says over the phone.
"Yeah I will, but I've got to go or we'll lose this one."
The machines start to beep furiously again and Elizabeth focuses her attention on the body in front of her. It was going to be a long night. A very long night.
After three more critical patients and nearly five hours of surgery on top of the twelve hour day that she'd already put in Elizabeth is ready to go home. Exhausted beyond belief.
She finds her way to the surgeon's lounge and sits down briefly, trying to gain some energy. On any other day she would have been fine after an eighteen hour day, but after the sleepless nights, the morning sickness, the dizziness she is gone after twelve.
Dr. Klein walks through the door with two cups of coffee in his hands.
"Coffee?"
"I'm trying to cut back," Elizabeth responds gathering her things together.
"I don't want to be nosey, but what was Dr. Romano doing answering your phone?"
"He --" Elizabeth doesn't know how to explain it.
Klein puts up his hand motioning to her that he knows, or understands for that matter.
"Good luck to you two. God knows Romano needs it."
"Thanks," Elizabeth replies standing to leave.
"Dr. Corday, how's he taking the news of his new position?"
"Like Robert normally does, very sarcastically."
Elizabeth's Home
1:53 a.m.
Elizabeth walks through the door of her home, quietly trying to be discreet about her entrance. She heads into her living room to find Robert asleep on the couch, quietly snoring.
Not having the heart to wake him, she just covers him up with the afghan.
Robert opens his eyes and smiles.
"I wasn't sleeping if that's what you're thinking," he replies.
"No it didn't look like it at all."
"I was just resting my eyes."
"Yeah, something that I should be doing."
Robert pats the couch in front of him and grins at her, "Come on, Lizzie, it'll bring back memories."
Elizabeth smiles weakly, but stands.
"I need to sleep in a bed, not on the couch."
"Now, Lizzie, this could be a bed. It's just all a matter of perception."
He pulls her pulls her lightly onto the couch and snuggles with her.
"Look at it this way, Lizzie, you're way too tired to climb up the stairs."
"I suppose so."
She closes her eyes and immediately the world starts to go hazy. From lack of sleep and being pregnant it doesn't take long to start to breathe slower.
"Lizzie --"
"Hmm?"
"I love you."
"I know," she whispers, "I love you too."
They both drift off into the dark world of sleep. Peacefully happy in one another's arms.
TBC
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Please R&R
~Jen