I don't own ER.
This may be a little far-fetched for your imagination, but I assure you, it does happen.
Review please... : )
~Natalie~
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The days went on, and on and on, as they always had. The human world didn't stop turning for one child turned away from Christ. There was no heavenly angel sent to help this fallen child stand up, there was no revelation sent down. But the heavens remained sorrowful, as the tears of God spread across the land of Chicago.
Elizabeth woke up again to the rain pelting down outside. It hadn't stopped for days, some questioned if it ever would. She hated the rain. It made her feel empty inside, sad almost.
She did what she'd done every morning, she thought about Mark as she tried to make herself look presentable, and then she went off to work.
As she walked through the halls of county general, she saw the same doctors trying to save lives, and the same med students eager to learn how. She remembered a time when she had been so zealous; she recalled the fervor she had for medicine. That was before she realized she couldn't save anyone. And neither could they.
She scoffed. They believed they were heroes, as she once had, believing they held lives in their hands. They didn't. That bastard of a God was going to take who he wanted whenever he wanted, and they couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. She had stopped kidding herself since Mark's death. She couldn't even save the one person she loved.
But she laughed at the irony. What was she to do? Quit medicine? As though there were something else she could possibly do instead. No, there was nothing else for her to do. So she came to work every day, pretending she still believed she had the capacity to save lives, but knowing she didn't.
She'd "saved lives" by "heroic measures" nearly every single day. But she was no hero, she knew that. She did her best knowing it didn't matter. Because she couldn't save Mark, she couldn't save the children bleeding to death in the next trauma room, she couldn't save the pregnant mother hit by a drunk driver....
But she pretended as though she believed she could. As though she were God. Though if she were God, she knew she could do a damn better job than he had been lately.
Yes, this day was like every horrid one before it. Except it wasn't.
At 6:48 pm, Elizabeth Corday's outlook was about to be changed. She was paged down to the ER for a consult, and she sighed when she stepped off of the elevator and entered an exam room.
'Here we go again' she thought as she saw a girl no more than 16 lying in the bed with a placid look on her bruised face. She grabbed the chart from Lewis who pulled her aside explaining that the young girl could possibly have internal bleeding.
"What happened?" Elizabeth questioned of Lewis.
Her eyes fell and her tone dropped "She was raped." she said cautiously. "How old is she?"
"16." She said as she left the room.
Elizabeth felt a wave of pity for the young girl sitting there, and then a wave of grief, and of anger. Elizabeth looked at the chart and then turned to the girl.
The young child was badly beaten, as contusions scattered her face and bruises purple in color marred her complexion.
God made her sick.
She smiled at the girl "Hello Anna, my name is Elizabeth Corday, I'm going to examine you, is that all right?"
The girl smiled politely "Yes, of course."
Elizabeth performed a cursory inspection of the girl's abdomen, and determined that she would need surgery, though it was minor damage that was easily repaired.
She smiled again "Okay, Anna, you're going to need surgery, but it's nothing major, and you should be just fine."
The girl looked worried only momentarily before she asked "Are you going to do it?"
"Yes, I am. Is that all right with you?"
"Yes." She said softly as her parents came into the room.
Elizabeth explained the operation to them, and began wheeling the young girl up to surgery.
"Dr. Corday," she asked tentatively "Will you visit me when the surgery is done?"
Elizabeth wasn't used to this type of question, and she almost, out of habit, said no. But she caught herself, and offered instead, a warm smile "Sure, Anna, I will." She really didn't see the harm in it; after all, she had nothing better to do.
The girl smiled brightly "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Anna's surgery went as plans with not so much as a minute complication. She was in ICU recovering quite nicely.
Elizabeth finished her shift, and was about to leave before she recalled the promise she had made. Reluctantly, she made her way to the ICU and entered Anna's room. Her parents were smiling at her as they kissed her good-bye. Elizabeth, feeling as though she were intruding, quickly ducked out of the room and stood by the doorway.
Her parents exited and offered her a smile. Her father spoke to Elizabeth "Dr. Corday, thank you so much for all you have done for our Anna."
"Oh, it's my job." She said, not knowing what else to say.
He laughed, "Yes, I suppose it is." He said before surprising her by taking her into a hug. "But, thank you nonetheless."
"Oh, you're welcome." She said as the family began to leave.
They didn't seem sad, which seemed odd to Elizabeth. They knew what had happened to their daughter, and yet, they didn't seem to be feeling any of the negative emotions most parents would upon this occurrence. She shrugged and entered the room.
Anna saw her and smiled "Hello, Dr. Corday!" She exclaimed brightly as Elizabeth walked over and sat next to her.
"Hello."
"Thank you so much for visiting me. It makes me feel important." The girl stated with a small laugh.
Elizabeth laughed too "Well, it's no problem at all."
The room fell silent before Anna spoke again. "So, how are you?" she asked.
This question surprised Elizabeth, she hesitated "I'm fine. How are you?" she questioned with sympathy.
"I'm fine too, a little shaken up, but fine."
This thoroughly confused Elizabeth, and she nearly asked about it, but she restrained herself. But Anna hadn't missed the look in her eye.
"What?" she inquired. "Go ahead, ask me."
"I beg your pardon?" Elizabeth said kindly.
Anna let out a soft laugh. "I know what you're thinking." She sighed "How could someone who has just gone through such an ordeal as this be fine? Right?"
Elizabeth nodded simply. She didn't believe it was possible, as far as she was concerned, it was thoroughly impossible.
Anna considered her words carefully "I know this is going to sound... odd... perhaps even crazy, but as much as I want to be angry, as much as I want to hate whoever did this to me... I can't."
A million questions raced through Elizabeth's mind, but only one found her vocal chords "Why?"
"God won't let me." She stated.
Elizabeth stared at her.
"I know, I know. It sounds weird, but... I just can't be angry. It's as Jesus said 'Forgive them father for they know not what they do.' That's how I feel."
The gravity of these words was not lost on Elizabeth. This sixteen year old girl, who had just been beaten and raped, was asking for forgiveness for her rapist. She wasn't angry at God, or asking him why it had happened, she was praying for the man that did this to her.
Elizabeth could hardly find her words "You mean... you're praying for the man who did this to you?" Elizabeth tried to disguise the incredulity in her voice, but it was nearly an impossible feat.
"Hate the sin, not the sinner." The girl stated simply, as if that were the only answer she could give.
Elizabeth was about to ask how the girl could be so forgiving, but the nurse interrupted her query, and informed her that visiting hours were over. As Elizabeth stood to leave, the girl smiled again and asked "Dr. Corday, will you visit me again?"
Elizabeth wanted to say no. That she wouldn't be returning, but there was something in her compelling her to comply. "Yes, I will Anna." She said simply as she walked out of the room.
Inside the ICU room, the girl smiled, seeing her chance to help save a person fallen from grace. As she prayed for both a brother and a sister in Christ.
Outside the ICU room, Elizabeth leaned against the wall. How on earth was this possible? She was such a young girl, and such a horrible thing had happened, yet she felt not one ounce of anger, not one ounce of hatred! How was this possible?
Elizabeth thought of Anna all the way home, her anger growing for the young girl that had been so abused.
She couldn't get the girl's image out of her head, badly beaten, just out of surgery telling Elizabeth to "Hate the sin, not the sinner."
And she continued thinking about her as the rain fell softly outside of her window, and as tears of anger and frustration streamed down her face. Well if Anna couldn't feel anger about the situation, Elizabeth could. She could hate God enough for the both of them.
And again, she fell asleep with a familiar void gnawing at her heart... but she refused to acknowledge it... as God had failed to acknowledge the life she wanted with Mark, and as he had failed to acknowledge the life of Anna Logsdail.
The Heavens still poured down, as the Lord looked down on a heart full of anger and hatred, turning away from a love that was never-ending.
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"You have heard that it was said: 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you." Matthew 5:43-44.
This may be a little far-fetched for your imagination, but I assure you, it does happen.
Review please... : )
~Natalie~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The days went on, and on and on, as they always had. The human world didn't stop turning for one child turned away from Christ. There was no heavenly angel sent to help this fallen child stand up, there was no revelation sent down. But the heavens remained sorrowful, as the tears of God spread across the land of Chicago.
Elizabeth woke up again to the rain pelting down outside. It hadn't stopped for days, some questioned if it ever would. She hated the rain. It made her feel empty inside, sad almost.
She did what she'd done every morning, she thought about Mark as she tried to make herself look presentable, and then she went off to work.
As she walked through the halls of county general, she saw the same doctors trying to save lives, and the same med students eager to learn how. She remembered a time when she had been so zealous; she recalled the fervor she had for medicine. That was before she realized she couldn't save anyone. And neither could they.
She scoffed. They believed they were heroes, as she once had, believing they held lives in their hands. They didn't. That bastard of a God was going to take who he wanted whenever he wanted, and they couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. She had stopped kidding herself since Mark's death. She couldn't even save the one person she loved.
But she laughed at the irony. What was she to do? Quit medicine? As though there were something else she could possibly do instead. No, there was nothing else for her to do. So she came to work every day, pretending she still believed she had the capacity to save lives, but knowing she didn't.
She'd "saved lives" by "heroic measures" nearly every single day. But she was no hero, she knew that. She did her best knowing it didn't matter. Because she couldn't save Mark, she couldn't save the children bleeding to death in the next trauma room, she couldn't save the pregnant mother hit by a drunk driver....
But she pretended as though she believed she could. As though she were God. Though if she were God, she knew she could do a damn better job than he had been lately.
Yes, this day was like every horrid one before it. Except it wasn't.
At 6:48 pm, Elizabeth Corday's outlook was about to be changed. She was paged down to the ER for a consult, and she sighed when she stepped off of the elevator and entered an exam room.
'Here we go again' she thought as she saw a girl no more than 16 lying in the bed with a placid look on her bruised face. She grabbed the chart from Lewis who pulled her aside explaining that the young girl could possibly have internal bleeding.
"What happened?" Elizabeth questioned of Lewis.
Her eyes fell and her tone dropped "She was raped." she said cautiously. "How old is she?"
"16." She said as she left the room.
Elizabeth felt a wave of pity for the young girl sitting there, and then a wave of grief, and of anger. Elizabeth looked at the chart and then turned to the girl.
The young child was badly beaten, as contusions scattered her face and bruises purple in color marred her complexion.
God made her sick.
She smiled at the girl "Hello Anna, my name is Elizabeth Corday, I'm going to examine you, is that all right?"
The girl smiled politely "Yes, of course."
Elizabeth performed a cursory inspection of the girl's abdomen, and determined that she would need surgery, though it was minor damage that was easily repaired.
She smiled again "Okay, Anna, you're going to need surgery, but it's nothing major, and you should be just fine."
The girl looked worried only momentarily before she asked "Are you going to do it?"
"Yes, I am. Is that all right with you?"
"Yes." She said softly as her parents came into the room.
Elizabeth explained the operation to them, and began wheeling the young girl up to surgery.
"Dr. Corday," she asked tentatively "Will you visit me when the surgery is done?"
Elizabeth wasn't used to this type of question, and she almost, out of habit, said no. But she caught herself, and offered instead, a warm smile "Sure, Anna, I will." She really didn't see the harm in it; after all, she had nothing better to do.
The girl smiled brightly "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Anna's surgery went as plans with not so much as a minute complication. She was in ICU recovering quite nicely.
Elizabeth finished her shift, and was about to leave before she recalled the promise she had made. Reluctantly, she made her way to the ICU and entered Anna's room. Her parents were smiling at her as they kissed her good-bye. Elizabeth, feeling as though she were intruding, quickly ducked out of the room and stood by the doorway.
Her parents exited and offered her a smile. Her father spoke to Elizabeth "Dr. Corday, thank you so much for all you have done for our Anna."
"Oh, it's my job." She said, not knowing what else to say.
He laughed, "Yes, I suppose it is." He said before surprising her by taking her into a hug. "But, thank you nonetheless."
"Oh, you're welcome." She said as the family began to leave.
They didn't seem sad, which seemed odd to Elizabeth. They knew what had happened to their daughter, and yet, they didn't seem to be feeling any of the negative emotions most parents would upon this occurrence. She shrugged and entered the room.
Anna saw her and smiled "Hello, Dr. Corday!" She exclaimed brightly as Elizabeth walked over and sat next to her.
"Hello."
"Thank you so much for visiting me. It makes me feel important." The girl stated with a small laugh.
Elizabeth laughed too "Well, it's no problem at all."
The room fell silent before Anna spoke again. "So, how are you?" she asked.
This question surprised Elizabeth, she hesitated "I'm fine. How are you?" she questioned with sympathy.
"I'm fine too, a little shaken up, but fine."
This thoroughly confused Elizabeth, and she nearly asked about it, but she restrained herself. But Anna hadn't missed the look in her eye.
"What?" she inquired. "Go ahead, ask me."
"I beg your pardon?" Elizabeth said kindly.
Anna let out a soft laugh. "I know what you're thinking." She sighed "How could someone who has just gone through such an ordeal as this be fine? Right?"
Elizabeth nodded simply. She didn't believe it was possible, as far as she was concerned, it was thoroughly impossible.
Anna considered her words carefully "I know this is going to sound... odd... perhaps even crazy, but as much as I want to be angry, as much as I want to hate whoever did this to me... I can't."
A million questions raced through Elizabeth's mind, but only one found her vocal chords "Why?"
"God won't let me." She stated.
Elizabeth stared at her.
"I know, I know. It sounds weird, but... I just can't be angry. It's as Jesus said 'Forgive them father for they know not what they do.' That's how I feel."
The gravity of these words was not lost on Elizabeth. This sixteen year old girl, who had just been beaten and raped, was asking for forgiveness for her rapist. She wasn't angry at God, or asking him why it had happened, she was praying for the man that did this to her.
Elizabeth could hardly find her words "You mean... you're praying for the man who did this to you?" Elizabeth tried to disguise the incredulity in her voice, but it was nearly an impossible feat.
"Hate the sin, not the sinner." The girl stated simply, as if that were the only answer she could give.
Elizabeth was about to ask how the girl could be so forgiving, but the nurse interrupted her query, and informed her that visiting hours were over. As Elizabeth stood to leave, the girl smiled again and asked "Dr. Corday, will you visit me again?"
Elizabeth wanted to say no. That she wouldn't be returning, but there was something in her compelling her to comply. "Yes, I will Anna." She said simply as she walked out of the room.
Inside the ICU room, the girl smiled, seeing her chance to help save a person fallen from grace. As she prayed for both a brother and a sister in Christ.
Outside the ICU room, Elizabeth leaned against the wall. How on earth was this possible? She was such a young girl, and such a horrible thing had happened, yet she felt not one ounce of anger, not one ounce of hatred! How was this possible?
Elizabeth thought of Anna all the way home, her anger growing for the young girl that had been so abused.
She couldn't get the girl's image out of her head, badly beaten, just out of surgery telling Elizabeth to "Hate the sin, not the sinner."
And she continued thinking about her as the rain fell softly outside of her window, and as tears of anger and frustration streamed down her face. Well if Anna couldn't feel anger about the situation, Elizabeth could. She could hate God enough for the both of them.
And again, she fell asleep with a familiar void gnawing at her heart... but she refused to acknowledge it... as God had failed to acknowledge the life she wanted with Mark, and as he had failed to acknowledge the life of Anna Logsdail.
The Heavens still poured down, as the Lord looked down on a heart full of anger and hatred, turning away from a love that was never-ending.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You have heard that it was said: 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you." Matthew 5:43-44.