"Please don't walk away!" John Carter awoke to those fateful words echoing in his mind once more. He felt the warmth of a body beside him, peacefully asleep. Not Abby.
He lay awake for the rest of the night, his mind on Chicago, County General and Abby Lockhart.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, Elizabeth was stood outside the doors to the ER, the peace that was seven am. She had fallen asleep in a chair next to Robert's bed, and when she awoke it was almost seven. Realising that she had not been home all night, she had called home, and asked her nanny to bring her daughter Ella to the hospital. She was awaiting her arrival, and saw Kerry Weaver on her way into work.
"Good morning," Elizabeth said wearily. Kerry did not look rested at all.
"Yes." Kerry agreed, "The problem is, it was this good morning when I left this godforsaken place. I'm starting to wonder if I should just cut my losses and move into my office."
"I haven't been home." Elizabeth admitted. "I'm waiting for Ella, then I'm getting some much needed breakfast."
"Next shift?"
"Five pm."
"Nice."
"Yes I know. I might just call in on Robert before I go though." Kerry looked as confused as Elizabeth herself had looked a few hours ago.
"Robert? Why, what's happened?" Elizabeth was getting the feeling that not many people were actually aware of Romano's condition.
"Yesterday, when the helicopter crashed." Elizabeth explained, "He was on the ground."
"What's his condition?" Kerry asked, astonished by this new information, and amazed she did not already know.
"Stable," Elizabeth said, "But he's still unconscious, unless much has changed in the last fifteen minutes."
"What about injuries?"
"His left leg could have been a major problem, but Abby managed to stop the bleeding. Some shards of metal from the crash had sliced through an artery. Apparently his false arm saved his life. He has some second degree burns on his face and some on his right arm. And an orbital fracture to his right eye."
"His eye? God help us all if he looses his sight." Kerry commented worriedly.
"That's what Susan said." Elizabeth told her, "We will just have to wait and see." Kerry recognised the weariness in Corday's face.
"Elizabeth, I think you should go home." She said seriously. "Get some rest." Elizabeth shook her head,
"I'm fine Kerry, really." She assured her, "And by the looks of it, I've had more sleep than you."
"You don't know how long it will be until he wakes up." Kerry said, as if reading her mind. Elizabeth looked away.
"I have nothing better to do today." She said, wishing Kerry would remember that she would soon be late for work. "Isn't your shift about to start?" She asked, changing the subject. It seemed to work, and Kerry looked like she was going to head into the building.
"Just remember Elizabeth, just because you're Robert's friend, you don't have to neglect your own life for his sake. He's a very proud man, and wouldn't be happy if he knew that."
"He doesn't have any one else." Elizabeth said simply, "He's always been there for me. And he needs some one there for him." Kerry nodded dismissively. She had a lot of patience when it came to Robert Romano, but no where near as much as Elizabeth had. The unlikely friendship baffled the entire hospital, and at times it even baffled Elizabeth. She knew that the thing Robert hated most was people pitying him, like he was weak, but she couldn't help feel for him. Everything he was had been taken away in an instant, and just as he was getting it all back, something like this happened. It just wasn't fair. She knew that feeling. It was the feeling she had got when she learned that her husband Mark's brain tumour had returned. It was the feeling she had when Mark died. But she still had Ella, and she had moved on with her life. She had even started dating again, without much success. She was right, Robert had been there for her, in his own arrogant way, and she would be there for him. She was his friend, and quite possibly the only one he had in the hospital, and she just didn't have the heart to leave him to his own thoughts longer than she had to.
After a few minutes, Ella was delivered to her, and after a seconds deliberation, she headed back into the hospital with her daughter on her arm. She could hear Robert's name mentioned at least three times on her brief trip through the ER. News travelled fast at County General.
When she reached his room, she discovered that there was no change, except a slight increase in his vitals. She felt a wave of relief flow through her as she watched his chest rise and fall reassuringly. Ella struggled out of her mothers arms, fascinated by the flashing lights and beeps of the EKG machine. Elizabeth took a seat next to the bed once more, her mind set on just staying a few moments.
"This is most likely the most time you've spent without yelling at some one for quite some time." She said to the silent form in front of her. The one sided conversation was oddly comforting. "The ER was chaos last night," She continued, "In a situation like that I think they would have appreciated having some one there used to yelling at people." She pulled Ella onto her lap, "Well, one thing we can say about our lives. They're never dull are they?" She glanced down at her daughter suddenly stuck by how much she looked like her father. The hard truth was that her father was gone, and Elizabeth had realised by now that she should not dwell on the past, but she should treasure it, in the present and future. With one hand holding onto her daughter, she took Robert's hand in her other. The EKG began to speed up to a more normal rate, much to Elizabeth's surprise, and Ella gurgled in delight at the sound. His breathing was no longer regular, becoming deeper until Elizabeth realised that he was awake. His eyes were still closed, but due to the fact that his right eye was covered, she had hardly noticed the eye lids flickering over his left.
"Can you hear me Robert?" She asked, squeezing his hand, hoping for a response.
"…Lizzie…" She breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice,
"No, it's the tooth fairy." She said quietly, moving the oxygen mask away from his mouth so that he could speak,
"Then you owe me… about five… bucks…" He said coarsely, trying to clear his throat, and coughing painfully as a result.
"Shh," She whispered, "You should be resting, not making sarcastic comments the moment you get back to the world of the living."
"Lizzie," Robert said, his lips were hardly moving. Elizabeth guessed the burnt part of his face would give him trouble for a while, "Why'm I stuck… in this crappy hospital… again?" Elizabeth frowned,
"What can you remember?" She asked, the nagging reminder at the back of her mind that she should fetch his doctor. This time she felt his grip on her hand. She could sense his whole body tensing, as much as it could in his state.
"God damn chopper…" He mumbled, frown lines appearing at the edge of the dressing on his eye. "What happened?" He asked again, more desperately this time. Elizabeth was fully aware of his grip on her hand now, and half of her wanted to tell him everything, but the other half didn't want to have to do that to him.
"I'm not your doctor," She said quickly, "they should know that you're awake."
"Will you just tell me what happened?"
"Robert…"
"Lizzie." Elizabeth sighed. Even half awake in a hospital bed, she knew she could not match Robert's stubbornness.
"Fine. Then I'm getting your doctor." She said resignedly. She knew that he was trusting her to tell him the whole truth, without sugar coating it. She was prepared to try her best. "Yesterday, up on the helipad, the helicopter got caught in a updraft and the pilot lost control. It spun around on the roof, before it went over the edge."
"I saw it." Robert mumbled, the memory still fresh in his mind.
"Do you remember what happened?" Robert said nothing for a moment.
"Heard people screaming…" He said, "and I looked up… and saw it. God, it was right on top of me…" He could do nothing to shake the image from his mind. "What's the worst of it then?" He asked changing the subject, "Did I loose any limbs this time? I'm suing this place."
"You have an orbital fracture." Elizabeth said, "And second degree burns."
"High or low?"
"High."
"Great."
"You had a severed artery in your left leg. You lost a lot of blood, but the surgeons managed to stop the bleeding and your leg's fine, if only a little sore I imagine."
"What surgeons?"
"Miles Clarke," Elizabeth said, "And Abby Lockhart."
"Abby? A med student? This place is going to the dogs." Elizabeth sighed,
"She saved your life Robert. Abby is the one who found you and got you to the OR before you bled to death." He said nothing, "They did as much as they could for your eye…"
"Oh god,"
"But they don't know what good it did yet. In fact, they were waiting until you woke up."
"Then take the damn dressing off." Robert said angrily, "This hospital should ask for my head on a plate. They might as well, they've had just about everything else that's of any use to me." Elizabeth knew that after half an hour she had left it long enough.
"I'm getting another surgeon." She said decidedly. "It's not my job to make any decisions regarding your treatment." She let go of his hand,
"Lizzie, wait," Robert said, the moment their contact ceased,
"I'm still here."
"You know how much faith I have in County's surgeons, present company accepted of course."
"Of course." Elizabeth smiled, "I'll stay if whoever it is allows me. If only to protect them from your delightful beside manner."
On her way to find Miles Clarke, Elizabeth saw Luka Kovac, who was reading through a patient's chart and almost ran into her,
"Sorry," He said, looking up, "How is Doctor Romano?" He asked her, noticing that Elizabeth had Ella with her, so she could not be working.
"Just regained consciousness." She told him, "But I don't think he'll be up and about for a while." She could see that this information didn't particularly bother Luka much. "I was just looking for Doctor Clarke, have you seen him?"
"The surgeon?" Luka asked, and she nodded, "Yeah, tall guy, blond hair. He was down the hall a few minutes ago."
"Thanks," Elizabeth said, and went off down the hall way, "See you later," She found Clarke near to the elevator,
"Miles," She called, causing him to turn around,
"Hey Elizabeth, how's the patient?"
"That's why I came to find you. Robert's awake." Clarke grinned sarcastically,
"And the fun begins."
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Review thanks to:
tpel
tv-crazy
princesscool ()
webster82
One question, any one know who that sleaze ball who messed Elizabeth around was? I don't remember his name and I want him to get his head kicked in. Tee hee.