AN: just let me say the only things I know about medicine come from watching television shows so if I have this wrong, I apologize ahead of time.
Also, for those of you who are Tony fans, I know it might seem that I've been harsh on him, but keep reading. I think you might like the next chapter a bit better, as well as the fact that someone else makes a couple of connections.
MissDevon
Chapter 40
Josh stood against the wall, his gaze going from the ceiling to Donna's prone form and back again well he fidgeted with the lid of the now empty coffee cup he held at his side. Jax was pacing, while Ned stared into his hands. In contrast, Carly sat reading an article from In Style to Donna, causing CJ to shake her head as she leaned against the end table next to the hospital bed. "You know, it amazes me how someone who knows so little about politics can be allowed into the Press Corps," the red head mused causing Josh to straighten his stance a bit and look over at her from under lowered lids.
"I suppose all you have to do is be able to identify a Vera Wang," he shot back.
CJ turned her head slightly towards him slightly surprised, but decided to go with the flow. "It was a Christine Dior."
"Ohhh… I've been told," he answered with a roll of his eyes as he looked back to the ceiling.
"Donna, Josh is being, you know, him again. Wake up and smack him, would ya?" she cracked dryly as she looked over to the younger woman, earning frowns from the other three occupants of the room. "What?" CJ asked as she crossed her ankles and took in their expressions.
"Your concern is just overwhelming," Jax told her stiffly.
"Yours is much better?" CJ volleyed back as the door to the room opened and Ron did a visual sweep before stepping back out.
Carly shook her head as she
caught his actions, "OK, that man is strange."
"Must be a friend of theirs," Jax muttered as CJ and Josh straightened.
"Josh, wall," CJ reminded as she pulled on the bottom of her shirt and smoothed her pants out of habit.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Josh muttered as he stepped away from it, and rubbed at the small of his back.
"So he is with you," Carly prodded.
"Something like that," Josh answered as Ron reopened the door and positioned himself against it, propping it open.
"You going to introduce us, or is he just going to walk in and out again?" Jax asked looking towards the older man, trying to get a read on him.
"He prefers to blend into the wood work," CJ answered in lieu of introduction.
"So he walks in and out of rooms? Yeah, that's really conductive to blending," Carly commented as there was a slight flutter of activity from the area outside the room and a harried Tony stepped in.
"About d@mned time," Jax said
as he saw him, and Chris entered.
"What's going on?" he added as Eve made her way into the room, "why
haven't you been by to tell us anything before now?"
"That would be assuming there was something for us to tell you," Abbey Bartlett said from her place in the doorway as she quickly took in the occupants of the room and sized up the three she hadn't met.
Upon recognition of the woman in the doorway, Carly could only gape as Ned's eyebrows creased in confusion and Jax frowned. "What the hell. . .?"
"Jax, Carly, Ned, allow me to introduce Dr. Abigail Bartlett, she's the consulting physician on this case," Tony said in way of introductions as Abbey walked further into the room and Ron slid out, to stand sentry on the door.
"W. . .why. . ?" Carly started then shook her head.
"Why what?" Abbey questioned.
"I'm sorry, I just. . .I'm a little confused."
"About what?"
"Ahh. . ." Carly started, only for Ned to speak over her: "I. . . I supposed that Carly's wondering what we all are: why a former First Lady, and a doctor of such high caliber, would be consulting on a case like this?"
"Because Leo McGarry requested
that I did," she responded easily. "Now,
I believe you wanted some information?"
"Yeah, we do," Jax answered as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Tony. . ."
Tony swallowed slightly as he looked towards Abbey, knowing that this would be at the least awkward. She had made her stance on treatment clear in his office, but had agreed to bow to his judgement unless, asked otherwise. He was also aware that Chris and Eve were torn as to what the best course of action would be. However, they had taken their clue from the former First Lady, agreeing to go with Tony's recommendation unless asked for another opinion. "I'm afraid it doesn't look good. . ." he started.
"What does that mean?" Ned asked.
"Ms. Moss sustained some serious injuries."
"What type of injuries?" CJ prodded as she moved closer to the center of the room.
"I'm sorry, Ms. . ."
"Cregg."
"Are you ummm, a relative of Ms. Moss's?" Tony asked.
"In a manner of speaking."
"Its just. . ." Tony started as Chris interrupted him in an even tone: "Donna apparently hit both her head and back at some point during the fall."
"What does that mean for Donna?" Josh asked, as he too moved closer to the group, his fist clenched at his sides.
"We're not sure," Eve admitted.
"How can you not be. . ." he started, only to stop as CJ reached over to him and clasped his hand.
"The test results are
inconclusive since we have no previous ones to compare them to," Tony admitted,
"look, Mr.. ."
"Lyman. . ."
"Mr. Lyman, I'm sure you and
Ms. Cregg are friends of Ms. Moss's, but. . . um, it might be better if you. .
." Tony paused trying to come up with a diplomatic way to make his suggestion.
"If we what?" Josh demanded testily.
"It's just, I'm not
comfortable giving information on my patients to people who aren't related to
them and . . ."
"Well, you don't seem to have trouble giving it to the three stooges over there."
"Josh. . ." CJ exhaled a warning on a breath, and Abbey rolled her eyes as she spoke the words she knew would get at least two of the people in the room back on track: "What's next?"
Ned and Carly looked her
strangely as CJ straightened and Josh looked at his feet to try to pull himself
together. "Excuse me?" Jax asked.
"Just wondering what the next question is," Abbey told him. "After all, you already seem to know what we're going to be telling you, so you must be ready to move onto something else."
"We're not the ones going off on a tangent," Jax bristled.
Carly nodded at that, "yeah. Perhaps Tony is right," she added as she looked over to Josh and CJ, "perhaps you two should leave."
"Considering Mr. Lyman has Ms. Moss's Power of Attorney," Abbey interceded, as professionally as possible, "I don't think it's likely that they'll be the ones leaving; now I'm sure Dr. Jones would like to continue."
Tony shot Abbey a slightly bemused look before turning his attention back to the conscious occupants of the room, "from the tests we've run we know that there is some bruising around her spine; possibly a fracture in one of the lower vertebrates. We are also seeing some bruising and slight swelling around her brain."
"Oh, G-d," Carly gasped as she involuntarily covered her mouth with both hands. Ned muttered a curse and rubbed warily at his eyes. Jax looked over to the bed and swallowed visibly, unsure what to say, while Josh pulled his hand from CJ's and walked back to the wall and lightly banged his head against it. CJ, meanwhile, swallowed back her tears, as well as the fear for her friend that was building as she called on all the skills she had honed as a member of Bartlett's Senior Staff. "And what exactly does that mean for Donna's prognosis and treatment? Will there be paralysis? Brain damage?" she inquired with a slight break in her voice that only Abbey and Josh noticed.
"It depends," Tony hedged as
Josh stopped his head butting and turned, needing to know more.
"On what?" Jax asked as he forced himself to look back at Tony.
"How long the swelling lasts. How bad the bruising is."
"And what are we supposed to do? Just wait and see?" CJ asked.
"She's right. I mean, isn't there something you could do, Tony?" Carly questioned.
"I'd like to operate. See if I can relive some of the pressure forming around the brain."
"Then do it," Jax said.
"I'll need for Mr. Lyman to sign off on it."
"Whoa, wait a minute," Josh started as he stepped away from the wall.
Jax turned towards him, a scowl on his face: "you heard the man. He saids she needs. . ."
"Actually, he said it's what he'd like to do," Josh corrected as he ran a hand through his hair.
"You see any alternatives?" Jax asked sarcastically.
"Now, there's a good question," CJ pointed out.
"Yeah. It is, especially since we've only heard from Dr.. ." Josh sighed gesturing with one hand towards Tony.
"Jones," Tony provided. "Look, I understand your concern. Brain surgery is something serious. But I'm good at what I do. I've specialized in neurology for years."
"Tony, just do what you have to do," Ned told him softly. "I'll handle whatever. . ."
Josh glared at the other dark haired man, "I don't think so. I think we need another opinion."
"And you're going to waste time on to get one?" Jax asked.
"Jax has a point. As much as I hate to admit it, Tony's one of the best in the country," Carly added.
"And that's why there are three other doctors already standing here," Josh shot back as he put his hands in his pockets and looked at them. "What do you think?" he inquired.
"Surgery's an option," Eve admitted, "and a fair one. But it does have drawbacks."
"What if we wait till you know more?" CJ wondered. "Till you have more test results to compare?"
"Her condition could deteriorate," Chris replied wearily as he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "We're already facing possible spinal and/or brain damage. The latter increases the longer she's unconscious and the longer the swelling remains."
"Then surgery's the only option," Jax concluded.
Josh meanwhile walked to Donna's bed and took her hand in his, not wanting to believe what they were telling him. He knew he needed answers and turned towards Abbey. "Mrs. B. . .is it?" he asked in a tortured voice.
"No," Abbey answered crisply. "There are less invasive routes that can be taken. Some drugs that might work," she explained as Tony's jaw clenched.
"Tony?" Ned asked.
"I'm worried about the time table. We don't know what waiting will bring. She's already crashed once. . ." the older man reminded.
Josh swallowed as he looked over to CJ, who shook her head and shrugged, unable to be of help to him at the moment. "If it were. . ." he started as he looked beseechingly towards Abbey, only to stop and close his eyes to fight back tears, "ma'am. . . what. . ."
Abbey inhaled slightly as she shook her head, "Josh, I think you know my answer."
Josh nodded as he said a silent prayer and opened his eyes to look over at the group: "try the drugs first."
"Are you nuts?" Jax asked. "Didn't you hear what Tony said?"
"Yeah, I did," Josh said as he straightened as he dropped Donna's hand.
"And you're not listening to him? You listening to someone who isn't a specialist in the field and who's had their license suspended, instead?"
"Yeah, well, there are worse things she could've gotten it suspended for than trying to keep a matter that should've been private just that," Josh shot back, not noticing Tony's blanche at the unintentional dig. "For now, I say go with the drugs. If there's no change . . . well. . . we'll reevaluate then."
"If that's what you want," Tony said stiffly.
"It is."
"Then Dr. Bartlett can draw up the orders. I'll check back in later tomorrow," he added as he turned and started out of the room.
Abbey frowned, aware of the undercurrents she watched him go, "excuse me for a moment. Dr. Lambert, Dr. Ramsey, see if you can keep the opposing sides from killing each other would you? Oh, and three of you will be leaving shortly," she informed as her eyes landed on Carly, Ned, and Jax, before she turned and started out.
"I know she doesn't think we're going anyway," Carly muttered as CJ rolled her eyes and went to stand near Josh. "You made the right choice," she said softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.
"G-d I hope so, Ceej, because I don't think I can live with the consequences if it isn't. . ." he told her softly as he looked down at Donna, trying to hold onto his dwindling hope as he brushed a stray hair off of her cheek. . .