Title: Medical Wonders: Luck
Author: Jen Zoromski
All other information is in the first chapter.
Author's Note: Once again this is a note of gratitude. Thank you so much for everyone that has showed interest in this story. You guys are awesome with your reviews. Thanks J Well here's more to the story! Enjoy!
*****
July 29, 2003
County General Hospital
"I'm telling you Stu, I've been feeling sensation in my arm," Robert Romano tells the physical therapist that he fired five months earlier.
"It's just very uncommon for you to go so long without feeling anything and then all of the sudden have sensation in your arm. I'd say that it is phantom pain."
"Phantom pain? This is not phantom pain," he replies becoming angrier, "God damn it! How hard is it to just test my arm?"
"Fine."
Stu starts to test his arm by taking it out of the sling and starting to move it back and forth, flexing it at the wrist.
"Do you feel that?"
"Maybe," Romano replies trying very hard to feel it, but deep down he's afraid -- he's feeling something in his arm, but he hopes that it isn't just his imagination.
"All right, how about I try pain perception."
Romano nods his consent as Stu gets out the same sharp objects that they use in surgery when the patients are still awake to make sure the anesthesia is working.
Stu lowers the sharp object to Romano's arm. At first he barely touches his arm, but then he pushes it a little bit harder into his arm.
Romano pulls his arm back.
"Did you feel that?"
Robert doesn't respond. He just stares at his arm, concentrating on flexing it. He succeeds -- even just a little bit -- by closing his fist half way.
"Dr. Romano?"
"My God, who would have thought that the piece of driftwood has sensation."
"So you felt that?"
"Yeah," he responds with a huge grin appearing on his face, "I felt it."
"It seems very unusual that you'd even begin to start feeling things again, especially after having no sensation for five months--"
"Well believe it, Stu. In medicine anything can happen."
Robert walks out of the office in one of his best moods in a long time. A very long time. He felt pain. He actually felt pain. Romano gets into the elevator and heads to the surgical floor wanting to share his news with Elizabeth.
Romano steps out of the elevator and walks down the once familiar halls on the floor that he once called his own. Maybe he'd be able to operate again. Sure it was stretching it, but no one thought that he'd ever start to regain sensation in his arm -- especially since the last time he felt anything was probably well over six months ago.
A young nurse stands behind the desk looking frazzled and unorganized. Robert stops right in front of her. She ignores him -- as she continues to hurry around the desk area trying to put papers in order.
"Excuse me --" Robert starts, nicely.
"I'll be with you in a minute, sir," she replies curtly.
"Actually all I need --"
"In a minute," she snaps.
Robert scowls at her. That's it no more nice guy routine.
"Look blondie, I don't like being nice. I was making an exception because I was in a good mood, but you ruined that. All I want to know is --"
"Sir, we are backed up --"
"How can you be backed up? There's nothing going on down in the ER and Lizzie said that there were just simple procedures to do."
"Actually the ER is buzzing with activity three critical surgeries are going to be needed in the next hour and Dorsett is the only one on--"
"Where's Lizzie?"
"Who?"
"Dr. Corday, you know the Chief of Surgery," he replies sarcastically.
The nurse looks up at him now, really looking at him. She's new. She doesn't know who this guy is. Shows how much has changed since he was in charge of surgery not even three months before.
She doesn't respond.
"Where's Elizabeth? Where the hell is Dr. Corday?"
"Down in the ER --" the nurse doesn't have time to finish her sentence, preparing him for the reason that she was down in the ER because he bolts towards the elevator preparing what he was going to say to her. Figuring out how they would celebrate.
The doors open to the bustle of the ER. Susan spots him right as he gets off of the elevator.
"Dr. Romano --"
"Dr. Lewis, how goes the run of the hell hole?"
He brushes past her, "Now if you don't mind I'm on a mission to find the lovely Dr. Corday."
"She's down here."
"So I've been told."
Susan jumps in front of him and stops him.
"Do you know why she's down here?"
"I don't like to play ten questions," Romano snarks going around her again.
"Jerry, where's Dr. Corday?"
Jerry looks at him confused, but then responds, "Trauma One, but--"
"Not now Jerry," Romano replies in his usual tone as he heads towards trauma one.
"Dr. Romano," Susan yells as she catches up with him.
"Dr. Lewis, I have no time. Now if you will excuse me I'm going to Trauma One to see if I can be of assistance to Elizabeth for the consult."
He starts to walk past her.
"No, Dr. Romano, it's Elizabeth."
"What do you mean it's Elizabeth?" he turns around with fear on his face.
"She's in Trauma One."
"All right I've gotten that much from you and Jerry, she's in there doing a consult."
"No," Susan replies softly, "She's the one that will need a consult."
"What are you talking about?"
Robert runs towards Trauma One, not caring who got in his way or who tried to stop him. The thoughts start to run through his mind as to what could be wrong with her. He passes the suture room and looks in out of habit. A little girl with blond hair sits on the table with Gallant in front of her. It's Ella.
Susan catches up to him.
"What the hell happened?"
"The story that we got from Elizabeth was that Chris had a family emergency and Elizabeth decided to go home and bring Ella to daycare since all she had were a few unnecessary surgeries to perform and you were up at your appointment with physical therapy--"
Robert quit listening as he walks into the suture room.
Gallant is just finishing up the stitches.
"I'm all done," he tells her with a reassuring smile on his face, "You are a very brave little girl, Ella."
"Rahba!" Ella reaches out for him and Gallant turns around to see Robert standing the room.
"Dr. Romano she just had a minor cut on her head. We repaired it with a few stitches. She'll be as good as new."
Robert breathes out a sigh of relief -- realizing that he wasn't breathing.
"Thank God."
Robert takes Ella into his arms and holds onto her for a brief moment -- which seems like a lifetime to him.
"Ella, sweetheart, I'm going to go and check on Mommy," Robert tells her putting her back down.
"I want Momma," Ella protests.
"I know," Robert responds weakly, "But right now you're going to stay with Gallant."
"Dr. Romano?" Gallant questions as he watches the man lean in to kiss Ella one last time.
"Just watch her Gallant," Romano barks as he runs out of the room towards trauma one.
He gets to the swinging glass doors and stops. Robert Romano for the first time in a long time can't enter the room, feeling sick to his stomach at the sight of Elizabeth laying on the table, with her neck in a brace.
She's screaming out in pain as Carter examines her leg.
"Get her something for the pain!" Carter yells at Chuny.
Chen is working up towards Elizabeth's head. It seems as though everything has slowed down for Robert. It doesn't seem real as he watches the woman he loves laying on the table.
Robert finds the strength to push open the door and into the bustle of Elizabeth's hospital room.
He immediately goes towards her head.
"Lizzie, what happened?"
Elizabeth closes her eyes in pain and then opens them again, swallowing hard.
"We were just a block from the hospital and -- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY LEG!," she screams in pain as Carter once again is examining it.
"Chuny did you give her pain meds?"
"Yeah, but we can't give her too much. She's pregnant."
"I know," Dr. Carter states simply as he continues the examination.
"Elizabeth, where else does it hurt?"
"Just my bloody leg," she snaps.
"How about your abdomen? Are you feeling any pain?"
"No," she grimaces.
"How far along are you?" Chen asks.
"Twenty-three weeks," Robert tells her as he grabs onto the ultrasound machine and rolls the roller over her stomach.
Everyone in the room holds their breathes as Robert has trouble finding a heartbeat, but then the thunderous 140 beats per minute beats strongly on the machine.
"Baby looks fine," Robert tells her with a huge grin on his face.
Elizabeth nods smiling, but the pain is so excruciating that she closes her eyes trying to control the pain. She doesn't succeed.
"Elizabeth stay with me," Robert tells her.
Elizabeth opens her eyes and looks up at him.
"This hurts," she states.
"Welcome to my world," Robert snarks.
"Elizabeth are you having any pain in your chest?" Carter asks her as he starts to examine her chest and belly.
Carter's hand in the examine hits tenderness in her chest. Specifically a broken rib or two.
"Are you having trouble breathing?" Chen asks.
"No."
"It looks like you have a few broken ribs and you broke your leg pretty good. We're going to take you up to surgery and get your leg fixed," Carter tells her calmly.
She nods still in extreme pain, but happy to have only that wrong with her. Considering the fact that the man who pulled into her lay in Trauma Two. Dead.
Robert goes with her gurney up to the surgical floor holding onto her hand all the way to the door. He kisses her on the lips and holds onto her hand reassuringly.
"You'll be fine."
Elizabeth nods weakly, her face becoming white from blood loss and shock.
"Robert, I love you."
"I love you too, Lizzie. And don't worry I'm going to supervise this surgery."
"You are?" she looks up at him confused.
"Lizzie, do you really trust those hacks that they call surgeons? I'm going to make sure they don't cut your leg off or something," he tells her trying to lighten her up a bit.
She smiles at him and he kisses her one more time before they wheel her off towards a surgical room.
After she is out of sight he sits down in the waiting room and puts his head down in defeat fighting back tears. Everything could have been taken from him in just one instance. Everything. The woman he loved, their child, her child whom he had come to love as his own. Life in that instance was luck of the draw. Five seconds later on the road and Elizabeth would have been that patient laying in Trauma Two -- gone forever. It was just luck of the draw and for him maybe his streak has gone from unfortunate with his arm to very lucky with the lives of the family that they had become. Robert sits up.
"Luck," he mutters shaking his head.
He then gets up and heads towards the scrub room. Robert Romano would not be denied going into observe Elizabeth's surgery. He wouldn't let them.
TBC
*****
More to come! Please R&R!
~Jen