Disclaimer: I do not own any ER or Third Watch characters.
Chapter Four: Rest For The Weary?
Saturday 12:32 AM
"So he will be unconscious for how long?" Faith asked.
"There is no definite time span, I would say the better part of the next twelve hours." Dr. Corday responded.
"And what if after twelve hours he's still…unconscious?" Fred asked.
"Then it could just take him longer to come out from under the effects of the anesthesia, or…" Elizabeth paused, searching for the right words, "or it could mean that the injuries Charlie sustained impacted his brain function."
Faith started to cry, and Fred wrapped his arm around her moving her into his shoulder. Susan stood there, there was nothing she could say or do to help. She glanced at Elizabeth.
"Mr. And Mrs. Yokas, I assure you that we should wait and cross that bridge if we come to it. You have every reason to hope that he will recover just fine."
"Hope." Faith stated. "Hope, that's it. That's all you can promise us."
"I'm afraid so ma'am. I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't think he would pull through." Dr. Corday added.
"Hope is enough Faith." Fred added.
She turned her face towards his, and grabbed his hand. He kissed her forehead and stood up.
"I'm going to check on Emily and tell her about Charlie." He stated.
"I'll be right there, ok Fred?" Faith added.
"OK."
"When can we see him?" Faith asked Dr. Corday.
"Tomorrow morning at the earliest, depending on how he is recovering." She answered. "If you don't have anymore questions…"
"Oh no, thank you so much Dr. Corday." Faith whole-heartily stated. "I can't tell you how grateful we are."
"Thank you, but your son did the hard part, he's quite strong."
"If you only knew him." Faith stated with a grin.
"Yes well, I will see you tomorrow then." Dr. Corday said to Faith and Susan as she turned and headed towards the doctor's lounge.
"Night Elizabeth." Susan said as she watched her walk down the hall.
It was the first time Susan and Faith had been alone. Not knowing what to do or say they sat down in the chairs. After a moment Faith broke the silence.
"Do you think he'll be ok?" She asked, looking for a true answer from Susan.
"I think he's got the best chance there is. We caught the bleeding quickly, we got him to surgery as soon as he was stable. Dr. Corday is pretty straight forward. If she says the surgery went well, then it did." She replied.
"I never expected I'd see you again, at least not under these circumstances." Susan said, breaking the silence that filled the end of her previous statement.
"tell me about it." Faith replied.
"If I had known he was your son I would have found you sooner. I would have..." She said quickly, letting the words pour out as she felt them, although unable to finish the statement.
"You couldn't have known, and I couldn't have asked you to do anything more." Faith stated, placing her hand on Susan's shoulder. "Thank you."
"You don't owe me a thank you." Susan said embarrassedly.
"I better get up to see Emily." Faith stated.
"Yeah, she's probably wondering where you are." Susan stated.
"I'll see you?" Faith asked.
"Tomorrow, but if you need anything just go down to the ER, they can find me."
"Ok," Faith nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow."
Susan slowly walked back to the ER, she found Luka sitting at the admit desk. He was reading a magazine.
"You look busy." She stated, almost startling him.
"You're still here?" He asked.
"I just got down from surgery." She stated, stretching her back.
"You've been here since, what eight this morning?" He questioned.
"That sounds about right." She replied.
"Heading home?" He asked.
"I'm suppose to be on at seven, so I think I'm just going to take an empty room."
"There aren't any." He added.
"Figures. Ok then, I'll be in the lounge."
"Night." he said with a smile.
"I'm putting a sign on the door."
"Ok." He replied returning to his magazine.
"And if Faith or Fred Yokas comes down here looking for me wake me up." She added.
"Sure thing." He stated, not really paying attention.
"I'll put it on the sign."
"Okeedokee."
"Yeah."
Susan put her sign up and headed into the lounge. The clock said one fifteen, possible two. She wasn't entirely sure, and she didn't have energy to check. Luckily there had been quite a breeze yesterday morning. Causing Susan to wear a jacket, and now allowing her to have a blanket. After trying to get comfortable for what seemed like forever, she finally found a position that seemed to be slightly less discomforting than the others. Within twenty minutes she drifted into the uneasy yet wonderful sleep that comes from sleeping in the ER in between shifts.
Saturday 5:47 AM
"What?" Susan abruptly asked as she was jolted back to consciousness by a loud noise.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I just came in for a cup of coffee." The voice said.
"Who is that?" She asked, sitting up on the leather couch.
"Joey." The voice unsurely stated.
"Resident Joey?" She asked.
"Well yeah, but you can just call me Joey." He said.
"I think we'll stick with Resident Joey. It has a ring to it."
"Umm, ok." He replied.
"I'm up now. So pour me a cup of coffee." She stated as she stood up and stretched her still tired body.
"Sure." He replied.
"Is it busy yet?" She asked.
"Actually it isn't." He responded as he handed her a cup of coffee.
"It's Sunday right?"
"Yeah." He replied a little taken by the fact she wasn't sure.
"It'll get busy."
"How do you know?"
"It's the Sabbath." She said with a chuckle.