As soon as Elmer was safely out of hearing range, Louis, Hook and
Chris looked at each other for a moment before all starting to speak almost
at once.
"You don't honestly thing that Lona would leave like that, do you?"
Chris asked as she looked around, hoping that one of the two others could say something that would make all of this make sense.
"Maybe.... I should have talked to Elmer, made sure that he left Lona alone." Louis said as he shook his head sadly, at the same time, a bit of anger with his son starting to build. Lona had been a good friend over the years and for her to suddenly be gone like this because of his son's actions.... "Why couldn't he just leave her alone?! It was obvious that she wasn't interested!"
"No use getting mad at him, though." Hook said as he reached over and patted Louis's shoulder trying to calm him down a bit. He was definitely feeling annoyed with Elmer himself but what good would it do to find him and bawl him out now for his pursuing Lona until the situation got to this point. All it would do would be to upset Elmer and from the look on his face when Jesse announced that Lona had resigned, he was more than upset enough already. "What we need to do right now is see if we can figure out where in the world Lona went to. Did she say anything to anyone about a new job offer?"
"Not to me," Chris said as the group headed out of the meeting room and down the hall. "And you would think that someone would have heard something, wouldn't you? It would have had to have been a seriously good offer to pull Lona away from the sleep lab like that. That place is practically her baby." She looked over at Louis. "She didn't say anything to you, did she?"
"No." Louis paused for a moment, running over all of his recent conversations with Lona, wanting to make sure that he hadn't missed something, some sort of clue. "No, she didn't say a word about any sort of new job offer." Chris was right. For Lona to have left the sleep lab like this, she would have had to have received some sort of fantastic offer and something like that would have been bound to have leaked into the hospital gossip network at some point. "Do you think the job thing was the real reason that she left?" Louis asked, as a sudden worry hit him. "Or do you thing that maybe Elmer just got to be too much and...." He shook his head as he thought of it. This was all his fault. He should have done something to stop Elmer's pursuing Lona long ago but he had just laughed it off as a crush that needed to run its course, had even told Lona to just ignore it and it would eventually go away. Now look at what had happened!
"I find it kind of hard to believe that Lona would quit over Elmer." Hook knew that the younger doctor could definately be annoying but was he really annoying enough to make Lona give up something that she loved like the sleep lab? The more that he thought about the situation, the more that he couldn't see something like that happening. "There has to be something else going on here."
"The problem is what's going on." Louis wanted to believe that his son wasn't to blame for this but there was a part of him that wouldn't let go of that notion. He was definately going to have to have a talk with Elmer soon, was going to have to let him know that his behavior towards Lona had gone so far beyond acceptable that it wasn't funny. Would she come back if he could promise that Elmer wouldn't bother her anymore?
"Only way to find out what's going on is to find Lona." Chris patted Louis's shoulder as well, trying to calm the older doctor. He looked seriously ticked with Elmer and even if she was a bit annoyed with him at present she really didn't see what good Louis yelling at him would do. "Why don't we go downstairs and take a look at the lab. Maybe there's something down there that might give us a clue where Lona went."
Elmer wandered through the hospital in a daze, oblivious to his father and his friends' plans to search for information on Lona's whereabouts. His mind wasn't letting him process the fact that Lona was really gone quite yet. It was too big of shock for him to handle. How could she have just left like that? Had she really been that mad at him,
mad enough to run away without a word, without saying goodbye?
Elmer shook his head angrily, trying to force that thought completely out of his brain. No, that couldn't be what happened, it couldn't be! He had seen Lona the night before and she had been fine! She had even been planning more experiments that she wanted to do with him.
Why would she do that if she was going to leave?
'Why would she do it, because you drove her crazy, that's why.' A little voice in Elmer's head taunted him as he felt tears starting to sting at his eyes.
"I didn't. I didn't." Elmer frantically ran over the encounter with Lona from the night before, seeking some sort of reassurance that Lona couldn't possibly have decided to leave because of him, because of something that he had done. Had he said something to upset her? He didn't think so. He had only been down in the lab for a few minutes the night before. How could he have had time to tick her off?
'Fast worker, aren't you?' The voice continued to taunt him as Elmer turned, heading for the parking lot. He couldn't stay here, not knowing that Lona was gone and it was all his....
"Elmer?" Just then Dr. Gupta came down the hallway towards him.
"I just heard the weirdest thing about...."
Elmer couldn't stand it, couldn't stand to hear anymore about Lona being gone. "I.... I have to go." he whispered as he turned and fled out into the parking lot. He didn't care if he was supposed to be working.
Let Dr. James fire him. What did it matter now with Lona.... Suddenly he stopped, an object in the lot grabbing his attention.
He slowly walked over, not believing what he was seeing. Lona's car. What in the world was Lona's car doing here if Lona was.... He looked at the automobile for a moment, not really sure of what to do,
before turning and heading back towards the hospital. He had to get his dad and Hook fast. Something wasn't right about this. If Lona had resigned, then what in the world was her car still doing here?
"You don't honestly thing that Lona would leave like that, do you?"
Chris asked as she looked around, hoping that one of the two others could say something that would make all of this make sense.
"Maybe.... I should have talked to Elmer, made sure that he left Lona alone." Louis said as he shook his head sadly, at the same time, a bit of anger with his son starting to build. Lona had been a good friend over the years and for her to suddenly be gone like this because of his son's actions.... "Why couldn't he just leave her alone?! It was obvious that she wasn't interested!"
"No use getting mad at him, though." Hook said as he reached over and patted Louis's shoulder trying to calm him down a bit. He was definitely feeling annoyed with Elmer himself but what good would it do to find him and bawl him out now for his pursuing Lona until the situation got to this point. All it would do would be to upset Elmer and from the look on his face when Jesse announced that Lona had resigned, he was more than upset enough already. "What we need to do right now is see if we can figure out where in the world Lona went to. Did she say anything to anyone about a new job offer?"
"Not to me," Chris said as the group headed out of the meeting room and down the hall. "And you would think that someone would have heard something, wouldn't you? It would have had to have been a seriously good offer to pull Lona away from the sleep lab like that. That place is practically her baby." She looked over at Louis. "She didn't say anything to you, did she?"
"No." Louis paused for a moment, running over all of his recent conversations with Lona, wanting to make sure that he hadn't missed something, some sort of clue. "No, she didn't say a word about any sort of new job offer." Chris was right. For Lona to have left the sleep lab like this, she would have had to have received some sort of fantastic offer and something like that would have been bound to have leaked into the hospital gossip network at some point. "Do you think the job thing was the real reason that she left?" Louis asked, as a sudden worry hit him. "Or do you thing that maybe Elmer just got to be too much and...." He shook his head as he thought of it. This was all his fault. He should have done something to stop Elmer's pursuing Lona long ago but he had just laughed it off as a crush that needed to run its course, had even told Lona to just ignore it and it would eventually go away. Now look at what had happened!
"I find it kind of hard to believe that Lona would quit over Elmer." Hook knew that the younger doctor could definately be annoying but was he really annoying enough to make Lona give up something that she loved like the sleep lab? The more that he thought about the situation, the more that he couldn't see something like that happening. "There has to be something else going on here."
"The problem is what's going on." Louis wanted to believe that his son wasn't to blame for this but there was a part of him that wouldn't let go of that notion. He was definately going to have to have a talk with Elmer soon, was going to have to let him know that his behavior towards Lona had gone so far beyond acceptable that it wasn't funny. Would she come back if he could promise that Elmer wouldn't bother her anymore?
"Only way to find out what's going on is to find Lona." Chris patted Louis's shoulder as well, trying to calm the older doctor. He looked seriously ticked with Elmer and even if she was a bit annoyed with him at present she really didn't see what good Louis yelling at him would do. "Why don't we go downstairs and take a look at the lab. Maybe there's something down there that might give us a clue where Lona went."
Elmer wandered through the hospital in a daze, oblivious to his father and his friends' plans to search for information on Lona's whereabouts. His mind wasn't letting him process the fact that Lona was really gone quite yet. It was too big of shock for him to handle. How could she have just left like that? Had she really been that mad at him,
mad enough to run away without a word, without saying goodbye?
Elmer shook his head angrily, trying to force that thought completely out of his brain. No, that couldn't be what happened, it couldn't be! He had seen Lona the night before and she had been fine! She had even been planning more experiments that she wanted to do with him.
Why would she do that if she was going to leave?
'Why would she do it, because you drove her crazy, that's why.' A little voice in Elmer's head taunted him as he felt tears starting to sting at his eyes.
"I didn't. I didn't." Elmer frantically ran over the encounter with Lona from the night before, seeking some sort of reassurance that Lona couldn't possibly have decided to leave because of him, because of something that he had done. Had he said something to upset her? He didn't think so. He had only been down in the lab for a few minutes the night before. How could he have had time to tick her off?
'Fast worker, aren't you?' The voice continued to taunt him as Elmer turned, heading for the parking lot. He couldn't stay here, not knowing that Lona was gone and it was all his....
"Elmer?" Just then Dr. Gupta came down the hallway towards him.
"I just heard the weirdest thing about...."
Elmer couldn't stand it, couldn't stand to hear anymore about Lona being gone. "I.... I have to go." he whispered as he turned and fled out into the parking lot. He didn't care if he was supposed to be working.
Let Dr. James fire him. What did it matter now with Lona.... Suddenly he stopped, an object in the lot grabbing his attention.
He slowly walked over, not believing what he was seeing. Lona's car. What in the world was Lona's car doing here if Lona was.... He looked at the automobile for a moment, not really sure of what to do,
before turning and heading back towards the hospital. He had to get his dad and Hook fast. Something wasn't right about this. If Lona had resigned, then what in the world was her car still doing here?