"Are you insane? Marion would never try to kill anyone!" Enraged, Jesse
needed Amanda to restrain his ill, weak figure.
"You don't know that, Jesse," she said. "You just met the woman four hours ago, you don't really know her."
"Neither do any of you," Jesse retorted angrily. His temper flared and he felt his face flush.
"We got enough information from the exchange program. We know who she is, where she went to school, who her parents are, along with pretty much anything else you could care to know," Mark explained from his seat across the room from Jesse.
"I'm not completely stupid," the young doctor violently argued. "I can tell if someone would try to murder me."
"Hear me out Jess. She was the only doctor in the lounge for the past hour," Steve further reasoned.
"Damn it, Steve! Don't you get it? Marion didn't do it, and we're not even sure that something happened!" Jesse shouted, or at least, spoke as loudly as he could. HE was now definitely losing his voice. "Did you even consider that I might have passed out because I was tired?"
"That seems a little odd, don't you think? And there's only one way to figure out what really happened. Nurse!" Mark called out into the hallway. One of the many nurses from outside calmly waltzed in the door. "Get Dr. Travis a blood test."
"Yes, Dr. Sloan," was her automatic response. "I'll send someone right over."
"Hold on. What exactly is preventing you from doing it?" Jesse said irritably. "Did they not train you to do that in school?"
"They did, but I have to-"
"Just do it!" he snapped, extending his arm. Hastily, the nurse withdrew a syringe full of crimson blood, depositing it in an orange biohazard bag. She scurried out the door closing the door quickly and silently behind her.
Worry creasing her brow, Amanda looked quizzically at Jesse. "What was that Jess? That wasn't like you."
"I-I don't know. I didn't mean to say that. I wouldn't say that.
I guess I'm not myself today." Amanda noticed patches of color on Jesse's otherwise pale face. She placed the back of her hand on his forehead, but pulled back as his skin was hot to the touch.
"Mark, he's running a fever. I think he might be delirious."
"No, I'm not. I'm just tired.and sick.and possibly under the influence.and.and." Jesse babbled on incoherently.
"Yeah, he's lost it," Steve said. "Is there anything we can do about it?"
"The only thing we can do right now is let him rest and wait until he's better," Mark replied.
"I don't know about that. It's always interesting to listen to him when he's seeing things or hearing voices," Steve laughed, referring to the occasion when Jesse thought he had been abducted by aliens. "Good times, good times."
"You left me." Jesse repeated the phrase from the terrifying ordeal, pointing at Steve. "If you had stayed, that whole thing wouldn't have happened"
"Let's not get into this again," Amanda said exasperatedly. "Mark, go make your rounds and Steve, you're late getting back to the precinct. I'll stay with him until, er. can one of you call Susan to come stay with him? I just don't want him alone with Marion until were sure of what's going on."
Susan Hilliard, Jesse's ex-girlfriend and a nurse at Community General, had been checking in on some of the hospice patients in another building at the time of the accident. When she returned back to the main building, she immediately answered the pages that were being sent out over the loudspeaker and reported to Jesse's room, where Marion and Amanda were waiting.
"Oh, it's you," she said unenthusiastically. "What happened? Trying to fight crime and screwing up like you always do?"
"No, I passed out in the lounge earlier, and Steve thinks I've been poisoned," Jesse replied, sharing in her apparent irritation. "How long are you staying here?"
"Believe me, I'm not that thrilled about this either," Susan said before Amanda introduced her to Marion. After shaking hands, Marion bent over and gently kissed Jesse on the forehead, her dark brown hair sweeping over her shoulders. Amanda, eyeing Marion suspiciously, noticed the fresh lipstick mark on Jesse's head. Susan rolled her eyes.
"You hurry up and get better so we can maybe do some actually doctoring with you. Did you know that the administration has assigned me down in the ER, like you? We could work together," she said, her olive green eyes looking down at Jesse. He smiled.
"Maybe," he sighed wistfully, still smiling a sort of crazed grin. "Bye."
"Bye, Jesse," Marion called, strolling out the door, waving kindly at her new friend.
"Fast enough for you?" Susan muttered sarcastically.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jesse, still smiling and gazing at the door, replied.
"You, know, Jesse, there are a few things that I'd really like to say, but, given the circumstances, I won't," His ex retorted sardonically.
"Whatever. Just shut up a second here, I'm trying to say something to Amanda," Jesse turned to the pathologist who had been sitting and listening amusedly to the ex-lovers' exchange.
She smirked. "What is it?"
Jesse pointed in the general direction of the door. "Did that look like the face of a killer to you?"
"Well, no, but."
"Then leave her out of this, okay?" Jesse said, tilting his head to see, through the window in his door, a large crowd of his co-workers gathered around the supply closet. "What's going on?"
"I don't know," Amanda answered, standing up and heading for the door. "But I'll go find out. I was going to leave soon anyway, to go do.important stuff. If anything exciting is going on, like somebody's getting sued, I'll tell you."
"Hey! I deserve to know first hand if someone's being sued!" Jesse called after her.
"Well, if that happens, I'll be sure to tell them to get a better lawyer than the one you had when you were on trial," Amanda replied.
"First of all, I was on trial for murder, and second of all, yes, that guy was terrible. I was in prison for a lot longer than I could have been, no thanks to him. I wonder how he ever made it through law school," Jesse shuddered, recalling yet more personal trauma.
"Yeah, right. I'll see you in a bit," Laughing, Amanda almost closed the door.
"Please, can't I come with you?" Jesse implored desperately, in a final attempt to get out of his room.
"No. I promise, I'll tell you everything when I get back."
"This sucks," mumbled Jesse, looking around at his pure white surroundings, his glare landing sardonically on Susan, who sat, arms crossed, in her chair. Amanda stepped outside and closed the door behind her. A stony silence ensued her departure. Jesse looked up at the ceiling, while Susan stared defiantly at the wall. Neither spoke at all until Amanda returned suddenly from the hallway.
The resident pathologist looked thoroughly alarmed. Her eyes wide, she leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. "I'll tell you what I know, but I have to go perform an autopsy now. They just found Dr. Higley, you know, another visiting doctor, buried in the linen closet, dead. He was stabbed and from the looks of it, it happened some four hours ago, about the time you passed out, Jesse."
"You don't know that, Jesse," she said. "You just met the woman four hours ago, you don't really know her."
"Neither do any of you," Jesse retorted angrily. His temper flared and he felt his face flush.
"We got enough information from the exchange program. We know who she is, where she went to school, who her parents are, along with pretty much anything else you could care to know," Mark explained from his seat across the room from Jesse.
"I'm not completely stupid," the young doctor violently argued. "I can tell if someone would try to murder me."
"Hear me out Jess. She was the only doctor in the lounge for the past hour," Steve further reasoned.
"Damn it, Steve! Don't you get it? Marion didn't do it, and we're not even sure that something happened!" Jesse shouted, or at least, spoke as loudly as he could. HE was now definitely losing his voice. "Did you even consider that I might have passed out because I was tired?"
"That seems a little odd, don't you think? And there's only one way to figure out what really happened. Nurse!" Mark called out into the hallway. One of the many nurses from outside calmly waltzed in the door. "Get Dr. Travis a blood test."
"Yes, Dr. Sloan," was her automatic response. "I'll send someone right over."
"Hold on. What exactly is preventing you from doing it?" Jesse said irritably. "Did they not train you to do that in school?"
"They did, but I have to-"
"Just do it!" he snapped, extending his arm. Hastily, the nurse withdrew a syringe full of crimson blood, depositing it in an orange biohazard bag. She scurried out the door closing the door quickly and silently behind her.
Worry creasing her brow, Amanda looked quizzically at Jesse. "What was that Jess? That wasn't like you."
"I-I don't know. I didn't mean to say that. I wouldn't say that.
I guess I'm not myself today." Amanda noticed patches of color on Jesse's otherwise pale face. She placed the back of her hand on his forehead, but pulled back as his skin was hot to the touch.
"Mark, he's running a fever. I think he might be delirious."
"No, I'm not. I'm just tired.and sick.and possibly under the influence.and.and." Jesse babbled on incoherently.
"Yeah, he's lost it," Steve said. "Is there anything we can do about it?"
"The only thing we can do right now is let him rest and wait until he's better," Mark replied.
"I don't know about that. It's always interesting to listen to him when he's seeing things or hearing voices," Steve laughed, referring to the occasion when Jesse thought he had been abducted by aliens. "Good times, good times."
"You left me." Jesse repeated the phrase from the terrifying ordeal, pointing at Steve. "If you had stayed, that whole thing wouldn't have happened"
"Let's not get into this again," Amanda said exasperatedly. "Mark, go make your rounds and Steve, you're late getting back to the precinct. I'll stay with him until, er. can one of you call Susan to come stay with him? I just don't want him alone with Marion until were sure of what's going on."
Susan Hilliard, Jesse's ex-girlfriend and a nurse at Community General, had been checking in on some of the hospice patients in another building at the time of the accident. When she returned back to the main building, she immediately answered the pages that were being sent out over the loudspeaker and reported to Jesse's room, where Marion and Amanda were waiting.
"Oh, it's you," she said unenthusiastically. "What happened? Trying to fight crime and screwing up like you always do?"
"No, I passed out in the lounge earlier, and Steve thinks I've been poisoned," Jesse replied, sharing in her apparent irritation. "How long are you staying here?"
"Believe me, I'm not that thrilled about this either," Susan said before Amanda introduced her to Marion. After shaking hands, Marion bent over and gently kissed Jesse on the forehead, her dark brown hair sweeping over her shoulders. Amanda, eyeing Marion suspiciously, noticed the fresh lipstick mark on Jesse's head. Susan rolled her eyes.
"You hurry up and get better so we can maybe do some actually doctoring with you. Did you know that the administration has assigned me down in the ER, like you? We could work together," she said, her olive green eyes looking down at Jesse. He smiled.
"Maybe," he sighed wistfully, still smiling a sort of crazed grin. "Bye."
"Bye, Jesse," Marion called, strolling out the door, waving kindly at her new friend.
"Fast enough for you?" Susan muttered sarcastically.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jesse, still smiling and gazing at the door, replied.
"You, know, Jesse, there are a few things that I'd really like to say, but, given the circumstances, I won't," His ex retorted sardonically.
"Whatever. Just shut up a second here, I'm trying to say something to Amanda," Jesse turned to the pathologist who had been sitting and listening amusedly to the ex-lovers' exchange.
She smirked. "What is it?"
Jesse pointed in the general direction of the door. "Did that look like the face of a killer to you?"
"Well, no, but."
"Then leave her out of this, okay?" Jesse said, tilting his head to see, through the window in his door, a large crowd of his co-workers gathered around the supply closet. "What's going on?"
"I don't know," Amanda answered, standing up and heading for the door. "But I'll go find out. I was going to leave soon anyway, to go do.important stuff. If anything exciting is going on, like somebody's getting sued, I'll tell you."
"Hey! I deserve to know first hand if someone's being sued!" Jesse called after her.
"Well, if that happens, I'll be sure to tell them to get a better lawyer than the one you had when you were on trial," Amanda replied.
"First of all, I was on trial for murder, and second of all, yes, that guy was terrible. I was in prison for a lot longer than I could have been, no thanks to him. I wonder how he ever made it through law school," Jesse shuddered, recalling yet more personal trauma.
"Yeah, right. I'll see you in a bit," Laughing, Amanda almost closed the door.
"Please, can't I come with you?" Jesse implored desperately, in a final attempt to get out of his room.
"No. I promise, I'll tell you everything when I get back."
"This sucks," mumbled Jesse, looking around at his pure white surroundings, his glare landing sardonically on Susan, who sat, arms crossed, in her chair. Amanda stepped outside and closed the door behind her. A stony silence ensued her departure. Jesse looked up at the ceiling, while Susan stared defiantly at the wall. Neither spoke at all until Amanda returned suddenly from the hallway.
The resident pathologist looked thoroughly alarmed. Her eyes wide, she leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. "I'll tell you what I know, but I have to go perform an autopsy now. They just found Dr. Higley, you know, another visiting doctor, buried in the linen closet, dead. He was stabbed and from the looks of it, it happened some four hours ago, about the time you passed out, Jesse."