Title: Medical Wonders: Perfect
Author: Jen Zoromski
All other information is in the first chapter.
Author's Note: Sorry that its taken so long to post -- I've been feeling unmotivated (maybe the thought of going back to school…haha…), but anyways thanks so much all of the feedback and please continue to R&R. Enjoy the next chapter!
*****
October 31, 2003
County General Hospital
5:19 p.m.
Like usual the ER is already busy. It's Halloween and it seems that every nut case that ever graced the streets of Chicago ended up in the ER on Halloween. There are bets already going between Jerry and the rest of the staff to see how bizarre the people would be who ended up rolling through the door. In the spirit of the holiday the ER is decorated with goblins, jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, and witches on the walls.
Elizabeth heads into the ER with her hand on her lower back as she walks briskly towards Trauma One for a consult. She's thirty-four weeks pregnant and already huge with another three weeks before she can go on maternity leave having had her due date moved up to December 11th instead of the 15th. But by the time she reaches December she'll be ready to have the baby.
Opening the doors to Trauma One she's immediately absorbed into the major trauma.
"What have we got?" she asks directing her question towards Carter who is working on one side of the patient while Susan is on the other.
"Tenderness in the abdomen caused from hitting the steering wheel in a multiple car accident."
"Mr.--?"
"Dunbar," Carter tells her.
"Mr. Dunbar, does it hurt here?" she asks as she feels over his abdomen. He shakes his head.
"How about here?" once again she presses her hand over another part of his abdomen and he grimaces.
"All right. Mr. Dunbar it I think you're bleeding internally we need to do an exploratory surgery," she tells the patient and then turns to Chuny, "Call up to surgery tell them what I'm coming up with."
Chuny nods her head.
"Let's go," Elizabeth tells them. They move everything to the portable IV stand and monitors and she starts to push the gurney.
"Elizabeth, we've got this," Susan tells her.
"I'm fine," she snaps as she continues to push the gurney.
"You shouldn't strain yourself," Carter tells her.
"I've done this many times before, I've got it," she snaps.
"But you weren't seven and a half months pregnant either," Carter tells her matter-of-factly as he takes over pushing the gurney for her.
They continue to bicker all the way to the elevator as Robert watches from the desk, smirking inwardly before he decides to go over and relieve Carter of Elizabeth's antics.
"Lizzie, is there a problem?" Robert asks sarcastically.
Elizabeth glares at Carter, "This is none of your concern. I need to get this patient up to surgery."
The elevator door opens and Carter pushes the gurney into the elevator.
"We've got this Carter, thanks," Romano tells him shoeing him away.
The door shuts as Robert looks over to Elizabeth with a smirk on his face.
"Lizzie what do you think you're doing?"
"I'm taking Mr. Dunbar up to surgery before he bleeds to death," Elizabeth tells him through gritted teeth.
"You're not doing the surgery are you?" Robert asks her.
"He's my patient and I'm the only surgeon who's free at the time," she snaps as the door opens and they push the gurney to pre-op. The nurses take Mr. Dunbar away leaving Elizabeth and Robert.
"Lizzie, you're seven and a half months pregnant--"
"--I'm getting a strange sense of déjà vu. If you'll excuse me I have a surgery to perform," she tells him coldly.
She starts to walk away.
"You know you are so cute when you get angry, especially since I usually get to see your backside," Robert yells after her.
Elizabeth doesn't turn around, but a small smile appears on her face as she heads into pre-op. Just a year ago she was doing surgery with Robert -- a year ago he had reached out to caress her cheek and she had pulled away. Not knowing what she was feeling. Well the difference a year makes she thinks to herself as she looks down at her very prominent belly.
7:20 p.m.
"Dr. Romano," Chris calls to Robert as he walks past her. She is holding two year old Ella in a clown costume. Robert looks towards the sitter, glaring and then his expression changes as he sees who was calling out his name.
"Rahba!" Ella screams as she squirms to get out of Chris's grasp.
Ella runs over to Robert looking up at him with a huge smile on her face.
"I want up," she tells him reaching out her arms to him. Robert can't resist and picks up the child placing her in the crook of his right arm.
"Chris what are you doing here?" Romano finally acknowledges the sitter.
"Actually, I was supposed to be off at six," she starts.
Romano looks at the clock, "Oh, crap--"
"I figured you both were tied up so I brought her here since I need to catch a plane in half an hour."
"Right," Robert replies as she sets down Ella's bag next to him.
"Well I'm going. Happy Halloween. Bye Ella, Bye Dr. Romano."
Ella waves as Chris heads out the doors of the ER.
"Miss Ella, what am I going to do with you?"
"Trick-or-treat," she exclaims.
He puts her down and grabs her bag slinging it over his shoulder and then taking her hand as he heads towards the elevator.
"Yeah, don't worry I want to go too, but we've got to go find Mommy."
"I want candy," Ella tells him as the elevator doors shut.
"Good to know that you're starting out on the right foot. Never believe that healthy food is really good for you. Junk food is a lot better," Robert tells her with his sarcastic tone.
"Where's Mommy?" she asks as the doors open to reveal the surgical floor.
"Working."
Robert heads over to the desk and sees Shirley sitting behind it.
"Dr. Romano, what are you doing up here?"
"Shirley, its nice to see you too," he snarks back.
"Where's Mommy?" Ella asks again.
Shirley looks over the top of the desk and sees the blond child looking back up at her. Ella sees her and darts behind Robert's legs peeking out, shyly.
"Hi Ella."
Ella looks around Robert's legs and waves her hand at Shirley with a huge grin on her face.
Robert looks down at Ella and rolls his eyes, "Kids," he scoffs.
"She must be picking up some mannerisms from you," Shirley tells him.
"Now, now Shirley, that may be true, but Elizabeth influences her too."
"I bet."
"Speaking of the beautiful Elizabeth, is she done with surgery?"
"Not yet," Shirley informs him.
"All right, when she's done will you tell her that we are in the lounge."
Shirley nods her head. He starts to walk away with Ella, "Oh Dr. Romano, its good to see you again."
"Yeah, same here," he replies, sincerely.
Ella and Robert head into the lounge and he sits down, tired from the long day that he worked. Ella on the other hand is literally bouncing off of the walls.
"Ella, do you want to color?" Robert asks her pulling out a coloring book and some crayons out of a drawer that Elizabeth keeps in the lounge in case Ella ends up here.
"Trick-or-treat!" she yells.
"We'll go after your mom's done working. How about if you color I'll let you run up and down the halls of the ER later--"
"Run?" Ella looks at him with an evil grin on her face.
"No, actually I was kidding, although it would be pretty funny," he responds, "Here why don't you color this horse?" Robert offers her the color book with the picture open to a horse.
"You color the horse," she tells him forcefully.
"All right. Then what are you going to color?"
Ella flips through the book looking for anything interesting. Ella comes to a page with a doctor on it. She stops and picks up the color crayon starting to color the doctor blue.
"What are you coloring Ella?
She looks at him matter-of-factly and says, "You."
Robert smiles at the thought, "How come I'm blue?"
Ella points at the blue scrubs he's wearing and giggles, thinking it was the stupidest question he could have asked her. For two and a half she's smart.
"Wonderful, now you're laughing at me," Robert responds sarcastically.
"You color horse," Ella tells him forcefully.
"Yeah I'll color the horse, can I have the brown?" Robert asks her.
"The horse is pink," Ella replies giving him the pink crayon.
"See this is why I told your Mom that you were too young to learn your colors," Robert grumbles.
"Color," she tells him forcefully.
9:15 p.m.
Elizabeth walks out of the operating room, exhausted. She heads towards the desk in the middle of the surgical floor rubbing her aching lower back as she goes. Shirley still sits behind the desk going through files.
Elizabeth walks past her and heads for the lounge.
"Dr. Corday," Shirley calls out to her.
Elizabeth turns around and looks at her bleary eyed.
"Yes?"
"Dr. Romano's waiting for you."
"Thanks."
Elizabeth once again heads into the surgeon's lounge, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. At first she doesn't see anything, but then the form of Robert Romano is curled up on the floor with his arm protectively around Ella's sleeping form.
She smiles at the sight and stoops down to wake Robert up. Elizabeth shakes his shoulder lightly. He opens his eyes and smiles up at her, even though he is still a little groggy.
"Sorry that took so long," Elizabeth whispers sitting down on the floor next to him.
"Its okay, we kept busy," Robert reassures her.
Elizabeth looks at the coloring that they were doing.
"A pink horse, Robert?" Elizabeth questions raising an eyebrow at this.
"At Ella's insistence, of course."
"I'm sure," she replies lightly.
"How are you feeling?" Robert asks pulling himself up to sit next to her with his arm around her back.
"Like a bloody whale."
"You're a cute whale," Robert replies.
"So you're calling me a whale?"
Robert laughs and playfully responds, "I would never do such a thing!"
Elizabeth looks over at Ella, sleeping peacefully on the floor with a crayon still in hand and her clown hat drooping over part of her forehead.
"I guess we missed out on trick-or-treating again this year," Elizabeth sighs.
"Aren't you too old for trick-or-treating?"
"I was planning on going as a pregnant surgeon," Elizabeth tells him smirking.
"You know, Lizzie, I really don't think you could pull that one off," Robert responds sarcastically.
"I suppose we should head home then," Elizabeth says.
Robert stands up quietly trying not to disturb the sleeping child. He looks back down at Elizabeth.
"Do you want me to call the crane?"
"Oh, shut-up, Robert and give me a hand," Elizabeth snaps putting out her hands for him to help pull her up.
"What would you do if I didn't help you up?" he asks her playfully.
She glares at him, "You don't want to know what I'd do."
He smirks and pulls her up, "My God, Lizzie--"
"Shut-up!" she grunts.
Robert stoops over to pick up Ella. She sighs softly, but she doesn't wake. Ella's blond head rests on his shoulder, her sleeping form melts perfectly into the crook of his arm.
Elizabeth takes Ella's coat out of her bag and gently puts it on the sleeping child, tousling the blond curls in the process.
"Let's go," Elizabeth whispers.
Robert nods and walks carefully with Ella out of the lounge, not wanting to disturb the sleeping child.
Elizabeth looks out the window and her eyes grow wide with surprise.
"Robert, look," she whispers.
"What?"
"It's snowing out."
Robert turns his attention to the window and there are definitely flakes of snow falling outside. It isn't heavy, just flurries, but it is definitely snowing.
"I've never seen snow in October," Elizabeth tells him.
"You've been deprived," Robert counters, "Back in 1991 there was a huge Halloween blizzard in Minnesota and the southern parts of the Midwest like Chicago got a nice Halloween ice storm."
"Could you imagine the ER?"
"Ahh, Lizzie, bad thoughts," Robert tells her laughing.
Elizabeth puts her arm around Robert's shoulder and gets closer to the pair. They walk off towards the elevator with thoughts of a nice snowy winter for the likes of Chicago and of their future child who is only six weeks away.
They are almost to a defining moment in both of their lives and the early snow fall makes them realize that it is closer than they think. Seeing snow reminds them that December is very near. Elizabeth smiles at the thought -- in two months they'd be done celebrating Christmas and New Year's with their family. Their family. It sounds so right to Elizabeth. It sounds perfect.
TBC
*****
More to come! Please R&R
~Jen