Title: Adjustments
Author: Listabets
Rating: PG13 may end up R but I'm not sure
Category: Robert and Elizabeth romance
Disclaimer: I do not own Robert or Elizabeth. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit for my own amusement, and hopefully for the amusement of those reading this.
Once again I would like to thank those of you who have taken the time to review. I have appreciated it so much -and will have to get in the habit of reviewing the stories I read too! I fixed the format glitches in chapters 2 and 3 so they are more pleasant to read now! Thanks again for the feedback!
............................................................................ ......................................................
Robert parked the Jag in his reserved space and gathered together the things he would need for the day to come. Despite the distraction caused by his run in with Elizabeth, Robert had managed to get through the vast majority of the work he had brought home on the previous Friday. It continued to amaze him the amount of paperwork required as Chief of ER. It was almost as much as for his previous position as Chief of Staff but he no longer had the administrative support to which he had become accustomed.
Easing himself out of his car Robert made his way toward his department to begin his first day back on the job. Today would mainly focus on meetings with senior staff to discuss events while he had been absent. There were several staffing issues that needed to be dealt with including ensuring they were adequately staffed with doctors.
"If they didn't think they needed to save the stinking world from itself I wouldn't have to keep replacing them." Robert grumbled to himself. Luka was still in the Congo, his leave having been extended yet again.
As he came closer to the ER Robert was surprised to find himself feeling a bit apprehensive. He was so used to being in control, to keeping his private life away from work and never admitting defeat in anything. Having to have his arm amputated and take medical leave had forced him to relinquish some of that control, make public the most devastating event in his life and admit some level of defeat. Robert felt rather exposed and was certainly not a feeling he enjoyed.
Shaking off his doubts Robert entered the main ER hall and approached the admitting desk.
There was nothing out of the ordinary going on. Susan Lewis was hunched over a pile of charts attacking her paperwork. Gerry was brandishing a box of donuts and teasing Halleh that he would eat them all. Nurses moved around the station attending to their various duties.
"Good Morning Boys and Girls." Robert greeted his staff. "I see nothing has changed in the weeks I have been gone. Lets end the coffee break and head back to work, and Gerry, make sure you share the donuts." Robert swept through the admit area and headed to his office.
"Welcome back Dr. Romano." Called Gerry and several of the nurses in unison. Robert continued walking, hiding the small smile on his face, and simply raised his arm in a wave to acknowledge them.
...................................
Elizabeth was beginning her last scheduled procedure for the day, a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. Normally she could fly through this procedure but the new surgical residents and interns were beginning rotations this week and the newbies would slow things down a bit. Why she was in a hurry she didn't really know but the thought occurred to her that her chances of running into Robert on the OR floor were slim and that she would like to see him today. Bringing her mind sharply to the task at hand she made her first incision through the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the patient's abdomen. As she entered the peritoneal cavity she instructed her students on how to clear away adhesions from previous laparoscopic procedures using blunt dissection allowing the blunt port trocor to be inserted. Stepping aside slightly she walked a first year resident trough the process of suturing in the port to minimize gas leakage. Stepping back in she inflated the abdominal cavity and inserted the laparoscope through the trocar.
"As you can see, Doctors, the gallbladder is subacutely inflamed and is surrounded by adhesions. We can also observe that the wall is thickened and the porta hepatis has indications of swelling. What will be the next step in this procedure?" Elizabeth could see several pairs of rather frightened eyes peering over masks. Not one of these students looked very confident that they might have the answers.
"Since none of you are able to speak as of yet, while you find you tongues I will begin inserting the surgiports. We place a 10-mm port medially and laterally a pair will of 5-mm ports will go in." Elizabeth worked swiftly and confidently as she placed the ports that would allow graspers to be passed. Elizabeth manipulated the tools to grasp the fundus and then the neck of the gallbladder.
"OK, now who knows why the porta hepatis would show significant signs of edema." Elizabeth scanned the students hoping for one brave soul or this was going to be a long rotation.
"Uh...There is a cystic duct that is preventing drainage into the common bile duct?" Volunteered on student.
"Yes. well done. So what do we need to do now to get this malfunctioning gall bladder out of here?"
"The gallbladder will need to be dissected from the intrahepatic bed, removing the cystic bile duct and protecting the common bile duct." Another student had managed to gather her wits about her.
"Great answer. Now lets see what that looks like in real life and not in a book, shall we?" Elizabeth continued on with the procedure making sure all of the students could see how she followed the cystic duct down to where it joined the common bile duct and making sure that it was doubly clipped and transected before the final removal of the gallbladder.
"See easy once you get the hang of it." Elizabeth had enjoyed the teaching session but was glad this was it for the day. Allowing a third year resident to deflate the abdomen and close the wounds, she scrubbed out and headed off to check on other patients in post op.
Elizabeth finished her surgery schedule and completed rounds by 1pm and was just about to go in search of lunch when she got paged to ER. Glancing at the pager as she headed to the elevator Elizabeth tried to ignore the butterflies fluttering around in her belly.
"This is bloody ridiculous." Elizabeth thought to herself. "I'm a grown woman acting like a silly 6th former!" Elizabeth managed to compose herself by the time she exited from the elevator and headed toward the board looking for where she was needed.
"Hey Gerry, have you seen Carter? He called me down for a consult" Elizabeth glanced around her as she waited but saw no sign of Romano. More then a little disappointed Elizabeth forced herself to listen to the Clerk as he directed her toward Trauma 2.
"Dr. Carter, what have we got here?" Elizabeth smiled at her longtime colleague as she approached the young woman on the bed.
"Melissa here has severe pain on her right side and an elevated white count. Looks like she has Appendicitis." Carter smiled at Melissa as he described her symptoms to Elizabeth. "I just need a surgical consult before we admit her."
"I'm just going to feel your abdomen and see if Dr. Carter is correct." Elizabeth palpated Melissa's lower right side and could feel quite clearly the inflamed and hardened outline of an appendix that was no longer healthy.
"As usual Dr. Carter was right on the money." Joked Elizabeth. "Seems that you need to have that appendix removed before it makes you sicker." Elizabeth spent a few moments explaining the procedure to Melissa and then headed to the admit desk to make arrangements for her new patient to be admitted to the surgical floor. As she was flipping through the chart Elizabeth glanced up and was surprised to see Robert with a patient. She was too far away to hear what he was saying but could see that he was working on a boy of about 4. It seemed as if the boy had gotten something stuck up his nose. Robert was talking and joking with the boy, closely watched by the mother, as he gently guided him into a prone position. Elizabeth watched as Robert gently placed a folded towel over the boy's eyes and picked up the forceps he would need to retrieve the object. The chatting seemed to be continuing as Robert quickly inserted the forceps into the nostril and plucked the object out. With a flourish Robert swept away the towel covering the boys eyes and returned the toy to him with a smile.
"A smile? Robert is smiling!" Elizabeth was amazed to find he had dimples and could not stop staring at the face that was both so familiar and so unfamiliar. Feeling someone watching Robert glanced toward her and let the smile stay. Turning back to his patient Robert finished up while Elizabeth busied herself completing the documents necessary to admit the appendectomy case.
"Lizzie, lovely to see you. What brings you down to our little cess pool of humanity." Robert had approached quietly and Elizabeth felt her stomach flip over at the sound of his voice.
"An inflamed and hardened appendix. Nothing terribly exciting." Elizabeth smiled at him and tried to sound as natural as possible. Not an easy task as all of a sudden she felt like a 14 year old at the school bus stop. "How have you enjoyed your first day back?" She asked in an attempt to drive the conversation to some level of normalcy.
"It's been OK. Some long drawn out meetings with the power crazed woman who stole my job, but other then that much more enjoyable then I imagined." Robert glanced over to where the boy and his mother were gathering their things to leave.
Elizabeth followed his gaze. "You seemed to really get him calm and under control." She commented
"Rocket Romano has a knack with kids. Who knew" Robert joked. At that moment Elizabeth's pager went off interrupting them.
"Post-op. Sorry Robert I have to run. I am glad you are back, it wasn't the same without you." Breaking eye contact Elizabeth headed for the elevators and was gone.
............................................................................ ...........................................................
Elizabeth opened the door to her house and was greeted by her exuberant little girl. Ella was clutching a picture she had just completed.
"What have you got there, Ella?" Elizabeth kneeled down to be at her daughter's level and admired the bright squiggles of color on the paper
"Picture Mummy" Ella giggled as she gave Elizabeth the prized picture and scampered off.
Elizabeth straightened up and found Kris standing in the door to the kitchen almost bursting with excitement.
"What's up? Are you that thrilled to leave today?" Teased Elizabeth as she dropped her briefcase by the door.
"No, silly. But I have been dying for you to come home because there is a surprise for you!" Kris was clearly thrilled about something so Elizabeth was sure it was a good surprise not a horrible the washer is broken or we have no hot water kind of surprise.
"Well, what is it or are you planning on torturing me?" Elizabeth headed for the kitchen to investigate. Kris stepped out of the way and gestured to a lovely gift basket using all her best game show poses and generally having a great time.
"Kris you definitely missed your calling. You need to audition for the Price is Right!" Elizabeth was laughing as she reached for the card.
"Lizzie,
Thank you for being so honest today. We are both going through adjustments in our lives and I hope that from here on out we can help each other along. Nothing is more comforting then a good cup of tea. Enjoy, and if you need me then you know where I am.
Always, Robert"
"So who's it from?" Kris was about to burst with curiosity
"Robert Romano. I might have mentioned him before" Elizabeth was feeling embarrassed and could feel her cheeks getting warm. "He's my colleague who lost his arm recently."
Kris watched as Elizabeth's cheeks got pink and she began to look a bit flustered. Smiling she once again struck a product model pose and replied, "Well he gives good gifts. It is so cool that he put thought into getting you something just right for who you are." With that said Kris gathered her bag and headed for the door.
"Ella, I'm going home sweetie. See you tomorrow" Smiling over her shoulder Kris added "Have a good night Dr. Corday. See you in the morning!"
Elizabeth stood in the kitchen holding the note in her hands. "What do I do now?" she thought in a bit of a panic.
Realizing she had never spoken to Robert at home Elizabeth had to search out his number. She finally found it in her old address book, took a deep breath and dialed.
After two rings Elizabeth was just about to chicken out and slam down the phone but then she was connected and it was too late.
"You have reached Robert Romano. I'm not available. Leave a message," The answer machine intoned. Elizabeth felt slightly relieved that she didn't have to speak to Robert directly and began to leave a message.
"Elizabeth, I'm sorry that I didn't pick up" Robert interrupted the machine
Elizabeth once again had to suffer the flock of butterflies in her stomach "So, do you always screen your calls?"
"There are very few people I wish to waste my valuable time speaking to." Robert replied truthfully. "You of course are one of the people I have all the time in the world for."
"I wanted to thank you for the basket" Elizabeth began. "It was perfect and something you didn't have to do"
"It was my pleasure, and of course I didn't have to do it. That's what makes it a gift. Otherwise it would be some sort of fine or tax." Robert teased
Gathering all her courage Elizabeth continued. "Would you like to come over to share a cup of tea and some biscuits with me?" She felt like he must be able to hear her heart pounding over the phone.
"I'd love to" Robert accepted quickly. Giving her no chance to change her mind he added "How about tonight?"
"That sounds nice, see you in a bit then."
Elizabeth hung up the phone and leaned against the wall. She felt sort of weak in the knees and excited. Something was beginning and for the first time in a very long time she wasn't scared.
Rating: PG13 may end up R but I'm not sure
Category: Robert and Elizabeth romance
Disclaimer: I do not own Robert or Elizabeth. I'm just borrowing them for a little bit for my own amusement, and hopefully for the amusement of those reading this.
Once again I would like to thank those of you who have taken the time to review. I have appreciated it so much -and will have to get in the habit of reviewing the stories I read too! I fixed the format glitches in chapters 2 and 3 so they are more pleasant to read now! Thanks again for the feedback!
............................................................................ ......................................................
Robert parked the Jag in his reserved space and gathered together the things he would need for the day to come. Despite the distraction caused by his run in with Elizabeth, Robert had managed to get through the vast majority of the work he had brought home on the previous Friday. It continued to amaze him the amount of paperwork required as Chief of ER. It was almost as much as for his previous position as Chief of Staff but he no longer had the administrative support to which he had become accustomed.
Easing himself out of his car Robert made his way toward his department to begin his first day back on the job. Today would mainly focus on meetings with senior staff to discuss events while he had been absent. There were several staffing issues that needed to be dealt with including ensuring they were adequately staffed with doctors.
"If they didn't think they needed to save the stinking world from itself I wouldn't have to keep replacing them." Robert grumbled to himself. Luka was still in the Congo, his leave having been extended yet again.
As he came closer to the ER Robert was surprised to find himself feeling a bit apprehensive. He was so used to being in control, to keeping his private life away from work and never admitting defeat in anything. Having to have his arm amputated and take medical leave had forced him to relinquish some of that control, make public the most devastating event in his life and admit some level of defeat. Robert felt rather exposed and was certainly not a feeling he enjoyed.
Shaking off his doubts Robert entered the main ER hall and approached the admitting desk.
There was nothing out of the ordinary going on. Susan Lewis was hunched over a pile of charts attacking her paperwork. Gerry was brandishing a box of donuts and teasing Halleh that he would eat them all. Nurses moved around the station attending to their various duties.
"Good Morning Boys and Girls." Robert greeted his staff. "I see nothing has changed in the weeks I have been gone. Lets end the coffee break and head back to work, and Gerry, make sure you share the donuts." Robert swept through the admit area and headed to his office.
"Welcome back Dr. Romano." Called Gerry and several of the nurses in unison. Robert continued walking, hiding the small smile on his face, and simply raised his arm in a wave to acknowledge them.
...................................
Elizabeth was beginning her last scheduled procedure for the day, a Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. Normally she could fly through this procedure but the new surgical residents and interns were beginning rotations this week and the newbies would slow things down a bit. Why she was in a hurry she didn't really know but the thought occurred to her that her chances of running into Robert on the OR floor were slim and that she would like to see him today. Bringing her mind sharply to the task at hand she made her first incision through the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the patient's abdomen. As she entered the peritoneal cavity she instructed her students on how to clear away adhesions from previous laparoscopic procedures using blunt dissection allowing the blunt port trocor to be inserted. Stepping aside slightly she walked a first year resident trough the process of suturing in the port to minimize gas leakage. Stepping back in she inflated the abdominal cavity and inserted the laparoscope through the trocar.
"As you can see, Doctors, the gallbladder is subacutely inflamed and is surrounded by adhesions. We can also observe that the wall is thickened and the porta hepatis has indications of swelling. What will be the next step in this procedure?" Elizabeth could see several pairs of rather frightened eyes peering over masks. Not one of these students looked very confident that they might have the answers.
"Since none of you are able to speak as of yet, while you find you tongues I will begin inserting the surgiports. We place a 10-mm port medially and laterally a pair will of 5-mm ports will go in." Elizabeth worked swiftly and confidently as she placed the ports that would allow graspers to be passed. Elizabeth manipulated the tools to grasp the fundus and then the neck of the gallbladder.
"OK, now who knows why the porta hepatis would show significant signs of edema." Elizabeth scanned the students hoping for one brave soul or this was going to be a long rotation.
"Uh...There is a cystic duct that is preventing drainage into the common bile duct?" Volunteered on student.
"Yes. well done. So what do we need to do now to get this malfunctioning gall bladder out of here?"
"The gallbladder will need to be dissected from the intrahepatic bed, removing the cystic bile duct and protecting the common bile duct." Another student had managed to gather her wits about her.
"Great answer. Now lets see what that looks like in real life and not in a book, shall we?" Elizabeth continued on with the procedure making sure all of the students could see how she followed the cystic duct down to where it joined the common bile duct and making sure that it was doubly clipped and transected before the final removal of the gallbladder.
"See easy once you get the hang of it." Elizabeth had enjoyed the teaching session but was glad this was it for the day. Allowing a third year resident to deflate the abdomen and close the wounds, she scrubbed out and headed off to check on other patients in post op.
Elizabeth finished her surgery schedule and completed rounds by 1pm and was just about to go in search of lunch when she got paged to ER. Glancing at the pager as she headed to the elevator Elizabeth tried to ignore the butterflies fluttering around in her belly.
"This is bloody ridiculous." Elizabeth thought to herself. "I'm a grown woman acting like a silly 6th former!" Elizabeth managed to compose herself by the time she exited from the elevator and headed toward the board looking for where she was needed.
"Hey Gerry, have you seen Carter? He called me down for a consult" Elizabeth glanced around her as she waited but saw no sign of Romano. More then a little disappointed Elizabeth forced herself to listen to the Clerk as he directed her toward Trauma 2.
"Dr. Carter, what have we got here?" Elizabeth smiled at her longtime colleague as she approached the young woman on the bed.
"Melissa here has severe pain on her right side and an elevated white count. Looks like she has Appendicitis." Carter smiled at Melissa as he described her symptoms to Elizabeth. "I just need a surgical consult before we admit her."
"I'm just going to feel your abdomen and see if Dr. Carter is correct." Elizabeth palpated Melissa's lower right side and could feel quite clearly the inflamed and hardened outline of an appendix that was no longer healthy.
"As usual Dr. Carter was right on the money." Joked Elizabeth. "Seems that you need to have that appendix removed before it makes you sicker." Elizabeth spent a few moments explaining the procedure to Melissa and then headed to the admit desk to make arrangements for her new patient to be admitted to the surgical floor. As she was flipping through the chart Elizabeth glanced up and was surprised to see Robert with a patient. She was too far away to hear what he was saying but could see that he was working on a boy of about 4. It seemed as if the boy had gotten something stuck up his nose. Robert was talking and joking with the boy, closely watched by the mother, as he gently guided him into a prone position. Elizabeth watched as Robert gently placed a folded towel over the boy's eyes and picked up the forceps he would need to retrieve the object. The chatting seemed to be continuing as Robert quickly inserted the forceps into the nostril and plucked the object out. With a flourish Robert swept away the towel covering the boys eyes and returned the toy to him with a smile.
"A smile? Robert is smiling!" Elizabeth was amazed to find he had dimples and could not stop staring at the face that was both so familiar and so unfamiliar. Feeling someone watching Robert glanced toward her and let the smile stay. Turning back to his patient Robert finished up while Elizabeth busied herself completing the documents necessary to admit the appendectomy case.
"Lizzie, lovely to see you. What brings you down to our little cess pool of humanity." Robert had approached quietly and Elizabeth felt her stomach flip over at the sound of his voice.
"An inflamed and hardened appendix. Nothing terribly exciting." Elizabeth smiled at him and tried to sound as natural as possible. Not an easy task as all of a sudden she felt like a 14 year old at the school bus stop. "How have you enjoyed your first day back?" She asked in an attempt to drive the conversation to some level of normalcy.
"It's been OK. Some long drawn out meetings with the power crazed woman who stole my job, but other then that much more enjoyable then I imagined." Robert glanced over to where the boy and his mother were gathering their things to leave.
Elizabeth followed his gaze. "You seemed to really get him calm and under control." She commented
"Rocket Romano has a knack with kids. Who knew" Robert joked. At that moment Elizabeth's pager went off interrupting them.
"Post-op. Sorry Robert I have to run. I am glad you are back, it wasn't the same without you." Breaking eye contact Elizabeth headed for the elevators and was gone.
............................................................................ ...........................................................
Elizabeth opened the door to her house and was greeted by her exuberant little girl. Ella was clutching a picture she had just completed.
"What have you got there, Ella?" Elizabeth kneeled down to be at her daughter's level and admired the bright squiggles of color on the paper
"Picture Mummy" Ella giggled as she gave Elizabeth the prized picture and scampered off.
Elizabeth straightened up and found Kris standing in the door to the kitchen almost bursting with excitement.
"What's up? Are you that thrilled to leave today?" Teased Elizabeth as she dropped her briefcase by the door.
"No, silly. But I have been dying for you to come home because there is a surprise for you!" Kris was clearly thrilled about something so Elizabeth was sure it was a good surprise not a horrible the washer is broken or we have no hot water kind of surprise.
"Well, what is it or are you planning on torturing me?" Elizabeth headed for the kitchen to investigate. Kris stepped out of the way and gestured to a lovely gift basket using all her best game show poses and generally having a great time.
"Kris you definitely missed your calling. You need to audition for the Price is Right!" Elizabeth was laughing as she reached for the card.
"Lizzie,
Thank you for being so honest today. We are both going through adjustments in our lives and I hope that from here on out we can help each other along. Nothing is more comforting then a good cup of tea. Enjoy, and if you need me then you know where I am.
Always, Robert"
"So who's it from?" Kris was about to burst with curiosity
"Robert Romano. I might have mentioned him before" Elizabeth was feeling embarrassed and could feel her cheeks getting warm. "He's my colleague who lost his arm recently."
Kris watched as Elizabeth's cheeks got pink and she began to look a bit flustered. Smiling she once again struck a product model pose and replied, "Well he gives good gifts. It is so cool that he put thought into getting you something just right for who you are." With that said Kris gathered her bag and headed for the door.
"Ella, I'm going home sweetie. See you tomorrow" Smiling over her shoulder Kris added "Have a good night Dr. Corday. See you in the morning!"
Elizabeth stood in the kitchen holding the note in her hands. "What do I do now?" she thought in a bit of a panic.
Realizing she had never spoken to Robert at home Elizabeth had to search out his number. She finally found it in her old address book, took a deep breath and dialed.
After two rings Elizabeth was just about to chicken out and slam down the phone but then she was connected and it was too late.
"You have reached Robert Romano. I'm not available. Leave a message," The answer machine intoned. Elizabeth felt slightly relieved that she didn't have to speak to Robert directly and began to leave a message.
"Elizabeth, I'm sorry that I didn't pick up" Robert interrupted the machine
Elizabeth once again had to suffer the flock of butterflies in her stomach "So, do you always screen your calls?"
"There are very few people I wish to waste my valuable time speaking to." Robert replied truthfully. "You of course are one of the people I have all the time in the world for."
"I wanted to thank you for the basket" Elizabeth began. "It was perfect and something you didn't have to do"
"It was my pleasure, and of course I didn't have to do it. That's what makes it a gift. Otherwise it would be some sort of fine or tax." Robert teased
Gathering all her courage Elizabeth continued. "Would you like to come over to share a cup of tea and some biscuits with me?" She felt like he must be able to hear her heart pounding over the phone.
"I'd love to" Robert accepted quickly. Giving her no chance to change her mind he added "How about tonight?"
"That sounds nice, see you in a bit then."
Elizabeth hung up the phone and leaned against the wall. She felt sort of weak in the knees and excited. Something was beginning and for the first time in a very long time she wasn't scared.