Disclaimer: I own nothing and I'm not profiting…enough said.
A/N: I begin this fic many moons ago and abandoned it, but thanks to the support of my neighbor (aka spykid18) I've gotten back to it. I hope people are still interested. Let me know what you think!
Chapter 2
"A sister?" Carted question as soon as Abby stepped out of the curtain area, "You only mentioned your brother."
"Well, it was in context," she shrugged, "I was talking about my childhood, Maureen wasn't born until I was fourteen."
"You still could have mentioned she was sitting in chairs," he said as they approached the desk.
"I didn't exactly know that," she admitted, "Maureen and my mother are both supposed to be staying in Tampa. In the event something like this happens, she's supposed to stay with Eric."
"Well that obviously didn't happen."
"Yeah, no kidding," she started to walk away.
"Where are you going?"
"I've got patients," she brushed off his concern.
Maureen pulled her headphones off and looked around with mild boredom. Fifteen minutes after Abby left, Maureen had pulled back the curtain to watch the events going on throughout the ER. To call them events was a bit of an exaggeration. From her location, all Maureen had seen were drunks and people with flu-like symptoms, not that exciting. The highlight of that time was Dr. Carter bringing her a robe and some dinner
It had been about an hour since Maureen's chest x-ray, but even if it was a slow night in the ER, the lab still took hours. Tucking her CD Player into her bag of belongings, she swung her legs over the side of the gurney. Maureen slipped off the nasal cannula, deciding that she didn't need the oxygen for what she was about to do. Transferring her IV bag to a movable stand, she wrapped her robe around her tighter and walked away from the curtain area.
She walked purposely through the busy ER, being ignored by almost everyone. Maureen had learned at a young age that if you pretend you know what your doing no one will bother you. Abby had taught her that; it was the easiest way to explain their mom. If not for that, Maureen was pretty sure she would've been in foster care years ago. Taking a deep breath, she pushed all those thoughts aside and walked into a seemingly empty exam room, "Hey, Mom."
"Hey, Abby," Carter caught her coming out of an exam room.
"What's up?" she scribbled some notes on the chart she held.
"Labs are back on your sister," he tried to gauge her reaction.
"And?" her face revealed nothing.
"Viral pneumonia," they paused at the end of the hallway near the elevators, "Did she happen to mention who prescribed the Zpac?"
"Uh, no," she mumbled, "It was probably someone from Maggie's HMO."
"Her white count's pretty low and she's not moving air that well, so she'll have to stay here for a night or two."
"Okay."
"Do you want to bring her up?"
"Yeah."
"You want to get a cup of coffee?" he tried to get more than a monosyllabic response.
"Didn't we already do that?" she referred to the earlier cup they shared by the river.
"You look like you could use another," he looked her in the eye, "Come on, Weaver's not around."
"I'm only on for another hour and a half," Abby argued, but smiled slightly.
"You sure?" he asked, "We could get pie."
"No thanks, really," she started walking back to the Curtain area.
"All right," he relented and followed Abby to Maureen's now empty gurney, "Where is she?"
"Um," Abby glanced around spotting her sister in an exam room and groaned, "With our mother."
"Maureen!" Maggie slid her art supplies to the side and jumped off the gurney to hug her, immediately noticing the IV pole and hospital gown her daughter wore, "What's wrong."
"Pneumonia," she shrugged walking to the gurney to sit down.
"Pneumonia?" Maggie gasped, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said hopping onto the gurney then breathing heavily as a result of the effort, "I'm fine."
"No you're not, you don't sound good," Maggie touched her cheek, "You have a fever, you should be lying down."
"Mom."
"I shouldn't have dragged you to Chicago," she continued frantically ignoring Maureen, "I should have brought you to a doctor sooner. I should have done more, and then you wouldn't be sick. I'm a bad mother."
"Mom, Mom, Maggie!" Maureen shouted to get her attention, "It was my idea to come here. I did go to a doctor, and you're not a bad mother. I'm fine."
"I'm sorry," she gasped, near tears.
"It's okay, I'm fine," she hugged her, "I just need some fluids and IV meds."
"I just don't want anything to happen to you," she smiled, "You're my baby."
"Have you seen Abby?" Maureen changed the subject.
"Yeah," she nodded, "I'm waiting for her to get off work so we can talk."
"That's good."
"You want me to go with you?" Carter asked as Abby walked toward the exam room.
"Nah," she shook her head slightly, "I should do it alone, but thanks."
"Don't worry about it."
"I mean it Carter," she paused , her hand on the doorknob, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," he smiled and she smiled back before she opened the door.
"There you are," Abby walked into the exam room looking at Maureen and ignoring their mother, "Why are you out of bed?"
"We were talking," Maggie answered for her.
"She shouldn't be walking around," Abby scolded, her words were directed more to Maggie than Maureen.
"My fault, I got bored," Maureen said quickly, sensing the tension between her mom and sister, "What's up?"
"They have a bed for you upstairs."
"She have to stay in the hospital?" Maggie questioned worriedly.
"She has pneumonia," Abby snapped.
"It's just for a couple of days," Maureen tiredly soothed their mom and turned to Abby, "Let's go."
"I want to go with you," Maggie began to gather her things.
"No," Abby began harshly but after a desperate look from her sister, she changed her tone, "You have to wait here until she gets settled, okay? I'll have someone call you, okay?"
"Okay," Maggie sat back down, "I'll see you later, sweetie."
"Okay Mom," Maureen said as Abby opened the door.
"I love you," she called after them.
"Yeah, me too," Maureen said as the door swung close, "Thanks."
"No problem," Abby smiled and Maureen wobbled slightly, "You okay?"
"Just a little dizzy," she felt Abby's arm tighten in support around her waist.
"I should have brought a chair."
"I"m fine," she maintained and Abby rolled her eyes.
"Sit!" she ordered when they got back to Curtain 2 and immediately handed her the discarded nasal cannula, "You're not getting sufficient levels of O2 so you need to stop getting out of bed."
"Yes, Nurse Abby," she mocked slipping on the oxygen, coughing briefly.
"I'm not kidding, Maureen," she flipped through the chart, "The infection's viral, so you need all your strength."
"Okay, okay."
"Wait here," Abby left and returned quickly with a wheelchair, "Hop in."
"To what floor am I going," she climbed off the gurney and into the chair.
"'To what' how formal," she teased, transferring the IV bag and oxygen tank.
"Excuse me for having good grammar," she laughed and started to cough.
"You shouldn't be laughing, it's bad for your health."
"I thought laughter was the best medicine?" Maureen challenged.
"Not when you're in respiratory distress," she shot back and Maureen stuck out her tongue, "Very mature."
"Thanks," she grinned, "Now do me a favor."
"What?"
"Stop being the nurse and start being my sister."
"As you wish," Abby laughed, pushing her to the elevator."