Disclaimer: I don't know anything, except for Maureen and vague medical knowledge.
A/N: This is my version of "The Visit" when Maggie first showed up at the ER. It begins pretty much the same as the show did, except for the addition of Abby's half-sister, which alters to original plot. Happy reading and please reply!
Chapter One
"Are you just hanging out here?" Carter asked the teenage girl seated in the far corner of chairs. A large sweatshirt whose hood blocked most of her pale drawn face hid much of her petite frame.
"Like I told the guy at the desk, I'm waiting for my mom," she snapped.
"Does she have a name?" the girl didn't respond and Carter pulled down the hood of the sweatshirt, "Do you?"
"Maureen," she glared, pulling down her headphones so they hung around her neck.
"You or your mom?"
"Me," she coughed deeply.
"You sick?" he asked, switching into doctor mode.
"Bronchitis," she coughed again.
"Sounds worse than that," he felt her cheek, "You have a fever. Are you taking anything?"
"I finished the Zpac a couple of days ago."
"I want to check you out," he stood up, offering his hand.
"I'm fine," she glared at his extended palm.
"You could have pneumonia," Carter grabbed her arm to pull her up.
"No!" she shouted over the ringing in her ears from the sudden change in position. Wrenching her arm from his grasp, Maureen started to walk away, but everything started to go black and she passed out into Carter's arms, who carried her to gurney in Curtain 2. Maureen's eyes blinked open and she realized what happened, "Crap!"
"Should have listened to me in the first place," he teased and she ignored him, leaning back against the thin pillow and closing her eyes. Carter chuckled to himself and stuck his head out to find a nurse, "Hey, Lydia, could you help me get a chart together for a teen with pneumonia?"
"I'm on the GSW coming in, but I'll get Abby," she said as she rushed by.
"Thanks," he went back to Maureen and began getting her vitals, "You're blood pressure's low and I think you're dehydrated. When was the last time you ate?"
"Coffee and a bagel for breakfast."
"It's dinner time," he scolded.
"I wasn't hungry," she shrugged.
"Not good," he listened to her lungs," Sounds like rales, which means-"
"Fluid in the lungs mostly likely caused by pneumonia," she broke in, "But I'll need a chest x-ray for confirmation, right?"
"Yeah," he was mildly impressed, "How old are you?"
"Sixteen in two weeks," she coughed, "I do a lot of reading."
"Do you want to go into medicine?" he slid a nasal cannula behind her ears.
"Maybe," she shrugged.
"What do you need?" Abby asked walking with a liter of saline and a blank chart.
"Start an IV now, then draw for a CBC, crit, and hemoglobin, and dip a urine," Carter rattled off, "Then call radiology to set-up a chest x-ray to check for signs of pneumonia."
"Okay, what's the name?" Abby began filling out the chart, without looking up.
"Maureen-" he trailed off, hoping that the patient would fill in the last name, but she just stared at Abby.
"Wyczenski," Abby finished, looking at the patient for the first time.
"Wait, Wyczenski as in?" he asked and both women nodded.
"Hey, Sis," Maureen smiled weakly then coughed.
"What are you doing here?" Abby asked immediately.
"Getting medical care from Dr. Carter," she shot back sarcastically.
"Mom said you didn't get off the bus with her," she ignored her sister's comment.
"Can't I have a hello before we play twenty questions?" Maureen sat Indian-style on the gurney
"Sorry, Hi," Abby hugged her and sat down next to her, "So?"
"I missed you, so I came to visit," she said as Carter slipped out of the curtain area to give them some privacy.
"What about school?"
"I told you, I missed you," she shrugged, "Besides, I'm doing fine in school."
"Maureen," Abby scolded her sister, who just coughed in response.
"Okay, I got into a fight with Maggie and I needed to get away," she finally admitted, "I just couldn't live with her anymore."
"Did you talk to Eric?"
"Yeah," she nodded, "He's the one who suggested it."
"So you just packed up your things and came here?"
"For the most part, yeah," Maureen coughed, "It's not like I could stay on the base with Eric, you're my only option."
"Did you think of calling?"
"Yeah, but I only had your old number, and I never really got to know Richard that well, so I really didn't want to call him and ask for your new number," she defended.
"Fine," Abby relented, "Why did Maggie come with you?"
"She followed me," she rolled her eyes, "I was sitting on the bus, looked up, and there she was."
"What time did you leave Tampa?"
"Bus left at 4:50 AM."
"And she still followed you?" Abby asked.
"She can be quite persistent when she wants something, remember?"
"Yeah," she sighed and paused a beat, "How long has she been off her meds?"
"One, maybe two months," Maureen drew her knees to her chest, "She was good for a year and a half, and I got comfortable, stopped checking."
"That's not your responsibility," Abby tried to get her sister to meet her eyes, "You don't have to take care of her."
"You always did," she said challenged without looking up, "I should have paid better attention."
"This isn't your fault."
"Yes, it is. Maggie wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me," she lifted her head to look at Abby, "I know you don't want her here. I watched you tell the guy at the desk she wasn't your mother, I watched her running down the hall screaming for you, and I watched you two talk. I know you're not happy she's here."
"It's just that she makes life so," she searched for the right word, "complicated."
"Nicely put," Maureen smirked.
"Yeah, well," Abby smiled, "You know I'd rather not have Maggie here-"
"That's an understatement."
"But," she continued, ignoring her sister's outburst, "I have no problem dealing with it if it means I get a chance to see my favorite sister, okay?"
"Okay," Maureen hugged her.
"Now we can get down to business," Abby pulled some supplies from a nearby cart and Maureen groaned, "Blood draw time."