Hope you guys like this chapter! I think I might have left out stuff in previous chapters, so if your confused about anything at all, tell me in a review, but read this chapter first. I'll try and answer everything. Enjoy and please review!
Chapter 7-No More....
Steve drove like a madman to the location he had just been given as sheets of rain pounded on his windshield. The rain had started right after he left the hospital, much to his discomfort of the situation already at hand. It's not that he had really known Jesse, but there had been something about him, which had sparked an interest in Steve. He seemed to be a nice guy, and very keen on following orders. A good doctor, Steve could defiantly give him that, and, if it hadn't been for this whole disaster, the young man might have actually retorted to the all 'aren't you a little too young or short jokes.' That hadn't seemed right to Steve the minute they had met.
And now, here he was, driving his car through red lights and stop signs as the other cars made way for him to pass. For one of the first times in his life, he was truly grateful for his blaring siren. It only took him about ten minutes to get to his destination, but even that time hadn't suited him as he jumped out of the car and ran towards the heap on the floor. It didn't really look like a person, it seemed to be too small, but Steve was sure, that was defiantly Jesse. The ambulance still hadn't arrived, so Steve ran over to the small form of the man, and knelt down beside him to check for a pulse.
It was there, but barely, and only when he heard the sirens of the ambulance, did he allow himself to actually take a good look at the man. He was lying on his back, allowing Steve to take in Jesse's appearance. He was drenched in blood and water, which, even Steve knew, was a bad sign. Three hours had passed since Steve left the hospital, and Jesse had been out here, in the rain, the entire time.
Before Steve could get a better look though, the ambulance drove into the alley and two paramedics jumped out, not caring to turn off the sirens. One ran right to Jesse while the other one went to the back of the vehicle to take out the gurney.
" What happened?" Was the first question out of the young medic's mouth.
" He, um, he had been beaten up. He's probably been out here for the past, uh, seven hours or so."
"Damnit, Marcus, get over here, fast. Looks pretty bad.... What the hell is taking so long?!"
" It....It's the gurney.......it's stuck....." Marcus desperately got into the ambulance to try and figure out what was wrong. " One of the guys at the station must have messes up somehow! Ah, here we go...The front wheels got tangled in the emergency hose."
" Just get it over here.... wait, get the paddles too, we're loosing him!"
Steve's eye's widened with fear. Why do all the bad things happen to all the good people? But he didn't have enough time to ponder on that question as a small pillow was placed under Jesse's limp head.
" Ready, CLEAR!" shouted Marcus, but from receiving a 'no good' look from his partner, charged it to 250. "CLEAR!" Again, the frail body jerked up, but this time, it brought a steady heart beat to the monitor, to everyone's great relief.
" Ok, lets load him in. You coming?" The medic asked, nodding toward Steve.
"No, I...I'll follow in my car."
The gurney rattled away toward the ambulance as Steve stared and watch it go before taking out his cell phone to call his dad.
" Dad, yeah, we found him. They're heading you're way, so be prepared. Yeah, he looked really bad. Ok, I'll see you later." He hung up the phone, put it in his pocket, and jogged back to his car.
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Mark, Jack and Dr. Smith waited patiently for the expected gurney to come rattling through the emergency room doors, and to their great relief, they didn't have to wait long. But what they saw amazed and at the same time, disgusted them. Who could do such a thing?! Thought Mark angrily.
Jesse lay unconscious on the gurney, which was now drenched in blood and rainwater. The front of the shirt had been torn off to reveal some nasty looking cuts and bruises. The shirt, along with its owner, was also drenched in blood.
" What happened?!" Asked Dr. Smith.
" He was beaten up real bad, broken ribs, we think he has a punctured lung. He woke up in the ambulance once, real dazed, and then started coughing up blood. He flat lined after that, twice." Responded Marcus.
Marcus's partner ran on with the three doctors', as he sat down with a sigh, his head resting in his hands. He couldn't believe what had just happened, and whom it just happened to.
" You ok?" He looked up to see the kind face of Amanda.
"Oh, hi Dr. Bentley, yeah....Yeah, I'm fine."
" Marcus, I've known you ever since you moved to LA, what's wrong?"
" You know who that was, that guy on the stretcher?"
" Yeah, that's Jesse, the new doctor here. Why?"
" He...He was one of my best friends when we were kids. We...we all kinda lost contact with each other after high school."
"Oh my God. Does Dave know?"
" Dave, no way, he would have made me drive the rig, and he would be back there with my best friend."
" Well, I think Jesse will really need you now."
" How come, what's going on? Is there something wrong? I...I mean, I sensed something in there, like...Like he didn't want to live. But, also, when he looked up at me, he… he said..." Marcus gulped before continuing," He said, that I didn't have to worry anymore, that it was all over. That was when he started coughing. Oh God..." At that point, all Marcus could do was cry, as Amanda took him into a gentle embrace.
" Shhhhh, just let it out, let it all out."
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"How is he?" Came Steve's hopefully voice when he saw Jack.
" Oh, hey Steve. He's going to be fine, but he's in the ICU right now." Seeing the confused look on Steve's face, Jack continued. " We need to monitor him real closely right now. He flat lined a few times during the operation, so we have to make sure he's fully ready for a normal room. He isn't breathing on his own though, so the faster he wakes up, the better. But that probably won't happen until tomorrow, we have him heavily sedated."
Steve sighed, still not fully sure of what to think. Jack and Steve were standing outside of Jesse's room, when he noticed the paramedic that had revived Jesse only hours ago. He was sitting on a chair next the Jesse, and was saying something to him.
" Hey, um, what's he doing in there?" Asked Steve.
" What, you haven't heard. That's Marcus, one of the best medics we have here. He was Jesse's friend when they were kids."
" Oh, wow. Poor guy, having to save you're best friend's life like that."
" Apparently you haven't heard about what happened to them when they were kids."
" What? What do you mean?"
" Well, one day, when they were going home, another one of their best friends was killed by a drunk driver. Justin, that was their friends name, he had saved them, but, well, then he was hit by the car. Apparently, Jesse never got over it. Jesse had also been hit, but not as hard, he had been trying to get this little girl out of the way, when Justin had shoved them forward. Marcus had seen it all happen, and then had tried to save Justin when he realized he wasn't breathing."
" I can't imagine having to cope with all that, and all these years later, this happens." Added Steve.
" Yeah...."
**********************************************************************************************
" Come on Jesse, you have to wake up, I need you, this hospital needs you. I've heard of you're work, your good, don't let life pass you by. You can't die too, not after Justin and....." Marcus couldn't continue the sentence, it had hurt too much. But he had stayed overnight at the hospital, just incase Jesse woke up, so he wouldn't be alone. Amanda had told him about what was going on, so he had decided to tell Jesse the good news when he woke up.
It was now about 12 in the afternoon, and he hadn't left the room since Jesse had been settled in the day before. He had known that it would take a while for Jesse to wake up, but that didn't matter not after... He could feel a slight squeeze on his hand, barely noticeable, but there.
That voice, it's so familiar, but who is it? Why does it want me to wake up, what good will that do? What if it's… No, what does he want now, I'm practically dead, what more can he do? Wait, maybe he has friends now?! Lord no, I can't take anymore! Maybe I'm wrong, maybe its someone else, but who? I have to see, to know... But where has that gotten me in the past? How long has it been since this whole thing started?
He slowly pried his eyes open to discover familiar scenery, but he couldn't figure out how they were familiar, where he had seen them before. He felt a surge of panic run through him as he thought of his recently visited surroundings.
Marcus watched his friend's panic eye's look around the room, searching, wandering... And the pain on that expressive face, it said so much about what Jesse had been through. He just wanted to hug Jesse, to make all the pain a suffering go away, but he couldn't, all he could do was sit, and offer his support.
Jesse remembered this place, which brought an intense feeling of horror. NO, no, but how could I still be here, I would have sworn I was in, what was it again... But I had left, I know I had left, but how, who was that.....
He surged forward, not knowing where the sudden energy had come from, but he didn't care, he had to get away... His chest felt like it was on fire, it burned, the pain radiated throughout his body as he tried to gasp for air. A pair of hands held him gently, but firmly, one on his chest, the other just beneath his right shoulder. They slowly and carefully laid him back down on the bed, but he still couldn't breath, why couldn't he breath...
" Jesse, don't fight it. There's a tub in you're throat helping you breath, relax, please." The pleading voice echoed through Jesse's scull, but he listened to it, and found himself slipping back into unconsciousness. " Jesse, no, you need to stay awake. Please Jesse, I'll just call in Jack so he can take a look at you."
Marcus pressed the call button that lay only inches away from Jesse's right hand. Jack was there within five minutes and walked over to Marcus.
" What's going on, what happened?"
" Jesse woke up, but he, kinda, popped up from bed, I don't know what happened, or how, but he seems scared."
By the end of the sentence, Jack was already examining the small body on the ICU bed. Jesse lay motionless on the bed, trying to figure out what had happened, he had been outside, in the cold, in the rain, but now he was here, in a bed, in a hospital. Now that he had realized where he was, he had to wonder who the familiar voice belonged to. Jesse could see Jack leaning over him, hear him talking, but he didn't know what he was saying. Let's see, irregular heart beat, I probably have dilated pupils, no response to whatever Jack is saying, yep, I'm going into shock. He seemed to be calmer then he expected, but he didn't really want to worry about that, he just allowed himself to relax into the comfortable pillow. The tube helping him breath had been removed and replaced be a breathing mask.
" Damn. He's going into shock!" Jack yelled as Mark came rushing in.
" Ok, lets get him into a trauma room."
That seemed to trigger something in Jesse. Trauma... trauma... ambulance.... paramedic! I know the paramedic. I can't believe it! It's....
" Marcus?" The word seemed to come out in a choked whisper, but they all heard it. Marcus was the first to respond.
" Yeah Jess, it's me, you're going to be okay, yah hear me." The young medic held back a sob as he took hold of the frail figure's hand. Jesse now lay on a stretch and he nodded in response to his old friend's much needed voice.
" Dr. Stewart, he's stable, do you want to move him to a normal room?"
" Yeah, wait, no, get him downstairs to x-ray. Mark, I need to talk to you."
" Sure Jack."
" Marcus, wait until Jesse's settled into his new room before you see him."
" Yeah, yeah, sure." Marcus was walking alongside the gurney, holding his friend's hand as he feel asleep.
" What is it Jack? Why did you order the x-rays?"
Jack sighed and sat into the nearby chair, it had been a long day. His brain didn't really seem to want to cooperate with him, but he finally go it to work.
" Oh, just precaution."
At seeing Mark's puzzled expression, Jack realized that his mentor hadn't been in the room when Marcus had told him what had happened.
" Jesse had popped up from bed, and in his frail state, he might have done even more damage to his ribs and/or abdomen. I might order a few more tests, just to make sure everything's ok."
Mark nodded and followed Jack out of the room and join Steve and Amanda. After that, they would go down to x-ray and check on their patient.
Chapter 7-No More....
Steve drove like a madman to the location he had just been given as sheets of rain pounded on his windshield. The rain had started right after he left the hospital, much to his discomfort of the situation already at hand. It's not that he had really known Jesse, but there had been something about him, which had sparked an interest in Steve. He seemed to be a nice guy, and very keen on following orders. A good doctor, Steve could defiantly give him that, and, if it hadn't been for this whole disaster, the young man might have actually retorted to the all 'aren't you a little too young or short jokes.' That hadn't seemed right to Steve the minute they had met.
And now, here he was, driving his car through red lights and stop signs as the other cars made way for him to pass. For one of the first times in his life, he was truly grateful for his blaring siren. It only took him about ten minutes to get to his destination, but even that time hadn't suited him as he jumped out of the car and ran towards the heap on the floor. It didn't really look like a person, it seemed to be too small, but Steve was sure, that was defiantly Jesse. The ambulance still hadn't arrived, so Steve ran over to the small form of the man, and knelt down beside him to check for a pulse.
It was there, but barely, and only when he heard the sirens of the ambulance, did he allow himself to actually take a good look at the man. He was lying on his back, allowing Steve to take in Jesse's appearance. He was drenched in blood and water, which, even Steve knew, was a bad sign. Three hours had passed since Steve left the hospital, and Jesse had been out here, in the rain, the entire time.
Before Steve could get a better look though, the ambulance drove into the alley and two paramedics jumped out, not caring to turn off the sirens. One ran right to Jesse while the other one went to the back of the vehicle to take out the gurney.
" What happened?" Was the first question out of the young medic's mouth.
" He, um, he had been beaten up. He's probably been out here for the past, uh, seven hours or so."
"Damnit, Marcus, get over here, fast. Looks pretty bad.... What the hell is taking so long?!"
" It....It's the gurney.......it's stuck....." Marcus desperately got into the ambulance to try and figure out what was wrong. " One of the guys at the station must have messes up somehow! Ah, here we go...The front wheels got tangled in the emergency hose."
" Just get it over here.... wait, get the paddles too, we're loosing him!"
Steve's eye's widened with fear. Why do all the bad things happen to all the good people? But he didn't have enough time to ponder on that question as a small pillow was placed under Jesse's limp head.
" Ready, CLEAR!" shouted Marcus, but from receiving a 'no good' look from his partner, charged it to 250. "CLEAR!" Again, the frail body jerked up, but this time, it brought a steady heart beat to the monitor, to everyone's great relief.
" Ok, lets load him in. You coming?" The medic asked, nodding toward Steve.
"No, I...I'll follow in my car."
The gurney rattled away toward the ambulance as Steve stared and watch it go before taking out his cell phone to call his dad.
" Dad, yeah, we found him. They're heading you're way, so be prepared. Yeah, he looked really bad. Ok, I'll see you later." He hung up the phone, put it in his pocket, and jogged back to his car.
*****************************************************************************************************
Mark, Jack and Dr. Smith waited patiently for the expected gurney to come rattling through the emergency room doors, and to their great relief, they didn't have to wait long. But what they saw amazed and at the same time, disgusted them. Who could do such a thing?! Thought Mark angrily.
Jesse lay unconscious on the gurney, which was now drenched in blood and rainwater. The front of the shirt had been torn off to reveal some nasty looking cuts and bruises. The shirt, along with its owner, was also drenched in blood.
" What happened?!" Asked Dr. Smith.
" He was beaten up real bad, broken ribs, we think he has a punctured lung. He woke up in the ambulance once, real dazed, and then started coughing up blood. He flat lined after that, twice." Responded Marcus.
Marcus's partner ran on with the three doctors', as he sat down with a sigh, his head resting in his hands. He couldn't believe what had just happened, and whom it just happened to.
" You ok?" He looked up to see the kind face of Amanda.
"Oh, hi Dr. Bentley, yeah....Yeah, I'm fine."
" Marcus, I've known you ever since you moved to LA, what's wrong?"
" You know who that was, that guy on the stretcher?"
" Yeah, that's Jesse, the new doctor here. Why?"
" He...He was one of my best friends when we were kids. We...we all kinda lost contact with each other after high school."
"Oh my God. Does Dave know?"
" Dave, no way, he would have made me drive the rig, and he would be back there with my best friend."
" Well, I think Jesse will really need you now."
" How come, what's going on? Is there something wrong? I...I mean, I sensed something in there, like...Like he didn't want to live. But, also, when he looked up at me, he… he said..." Marcus gulped before continuing," He said, that I didn't have to worry anymore, that it was all over. That was when he started coughing. Oh God..." At that point, all Marcus could do was cry, as Amanda took him into a gentle embrace.
" Shhhhh, just let it out, let it all out."
*******************************************************************************************************
"How is he?" Came Steve's hopefully voice when he saw Jack.
" Oh, hey Steve. He's going to be fine, but he's in the ICU right now." Seeing the confused look on Steve's face, Jack continued. " We need to monitor him real closely right now. He flat lined a few times during the operation, so we have to make sure he's fully ready for a normal room. He isn't breathing on his own though, so the faster he wakes up, the better. But that probably won't happen until tomorrow, we have him heavily sedated."
Steve sighed, still not fully sure of what to think. Jack and Steve were standing outside of Jesse's room, when he noticed the paramedic that had revived Jesse only hours ago. He was sitting on a chair next the Jesse, and was saying something to him.
" Hey, um, what's he doing in there?" Asked Steve.
" What, you haven't heard. That's Marcus, one of the best medics we have here. He was Jesse's friend when they were kids."
" Oh, wow. Poor guy, having to save you're best friend's life like that."
" Apparently you haven't heard about what happened to them when they were kids."
" What? What do you mean?"
" Well, one day, when they were going home, another one of their best friends was killed by a drunk driver. Justin, that was their friends name, he had saved them, but, well, then he was hit by the car. Apparently, Jesse never got over it. Jesse had also been hit, but not as hard, he had been trying to get this little girl out of the way, when Justin had shoved them forward. Marcus had seen it all happen, and then had tried to save Justin when he realized he wasn't breathing."
" I can't imagine having to cope with all that, and all these years later, this happens." Added Steve.
" Yeah...."
**********************************************************************************************
" Come on Jesse, you have to wake up, I need you, this hospital needs you. I've heard of you're work, your good, don't let life pass you by. You can't die too, not after Justin and....." Marcus couldn't continue the sentence, it had hurt too much. But he had stayed overnight at the hospital, just incase Jesse woke up, so he wouldn't be alone. Amanda had told him about what was going on, so he had decided to tell Jesse the good news when he woke up.
It was now about 12 in the afternoon, and he hadn't left the room since Jesse had been settled in the day before. He had known that it would take a while for Jesse to wake up, but that didn't matter not after... He could feel a slight squeeze on his hand, barely noticeable, but there.
That voice, it's so familiar, but who is it? Why does it want me to wake up, what good will that do? What if it's… No, what does he want now, I'm practically dead, what more can he do? Wait, maybe he has friends now?! Lord no, I can't take anymore! Maybe I'm wrong, maybe its someone else, but who? I have to see, to know... But where has that gotten me in the past? How long has it been since this whole thing started?
He slowly pried his eyes open to discover familiar scenery, but he couldn't figure out how they were familiar, where he had seen them before. He felt a surge of panic run through him as he thought of his recently visited surroundings.
Marcus watched his friend's panic eye's look around the room, searching, wandering... And the pain on that expressive face, it said so much about what Jesse had been through. He just wanted to hug Jesse, to make all the pain a suffering go away, but he couldn't, all he could do was sit, and offer his support.
Jesse remembered this place, which brought an intense feeling of horror. NO, no, but how could I still be here, I would have sworn I was in, what was it again... But I had left, I know I had left, but how, who was that.....
He surged forward, not knowing where the sudden energy had come from, but he didn't care, he had to get away... His chest felt like it was on fire, it burned, the pain radiated throughout his body as he tried to gasp for air. A pair of hands held him gently, but firmly, one on his chest, the other just beneath his right shoulder. They slowly and carefully laid him back down on the bed, but he still couldn't breath, why couldn't he breath...
" Jesse, don't fight it. There's a tub in you're throat helping you breath, relax, please." The pleading voice echoed through Jesse's scull, but he listened to it, and found himself slipping back into unconsciousness. " Jesse, no, you need to stay awake. Please Jesse, I'll just call in Jack so he can take a look at you."
Marcus pressed the call button that lay only inches away from Jesse's right hand. Jack was there within five minutes and walked over to Marcus.
" What's going on, what happened?"
" Jesse woke up, but he, kinda, popped up from bed, I don't know what happened, or how, but he seems scared."
By the end of the sentence, Jack was already examining the small body on the ICU bed. Jesse lay motionless on the bed, trying to figure out what had happened, he had been outside, in the cold, in the rain, but now he was here, in a bed, in a hospital. Now that he had realized where he was, he had to wonder who the familiar voice belonged to. Jesse could see Jack leaning over him, hear him talking, but he didn't know what he was saying. Let's see, irregular heart beat, I probably have dilated pupils, no response to whatever Jack is saying, yep, I'm going into shock. He seemed to be calmer then he expected, but he didn't really want to worry about that, he just allowed himself to relax into the comfortable pillow. The tube helping him breath had been removed and replaced be a breathing mask.
" Damn. He's going into shock!" Jack yelled as Mark came rushing in.
" Ok, lets get him into a trauma room."
That seemed to trigger something in Jesse. Trauma... trauma... ambulance.... paramedic! I know the paramedic. I can't believe it! It's....
" Marcus?" The word seemed to come out in a choked whisper, but they all heard it. Marcus was the first to respond.
" Yeah Jess, it's me, you're going to be okay, yah hear me." The young medic held back a sob as he took hold of the frail figure's hand. Jesse now lay on a stretch and he nodded in response to his old friend's much needed voice.
" Dr. Stewart, he's stable, do you want to move him to a normal room?"
" Yeah, wait, no, get him downstairs to x-ray. Mark, I need to talk to you."
" Sure Jack."
" Marcus, wait until Jesse's settled into his new room before you see him."
" Yeah, yeah, sure." Marcus was walking alongside the gurney, holding his friend's hand as he feel asleep.
" What is it Jack? Why did you order the x-rays?"
Jack sighed and sat into the nearby chair, it had been a long day. His brain didn't really seem to want to cooperate with him, but he finally go it to work.
" Oh, just precaution."
At seeing Mark's puzzled expression, Jack realized that his mentor hadn't been in the room when Marcus had told him what had happened.
" Jesse had popped up from bed, and in his frail state, he might have done even more damage to his ribs and/or abdomen. I might order a few more tests, just to make sure everything's ok."
Mark nodded and followed Jack out of the room and join Steve and Amanda. After that, they would go down to x-ray and check on their patient.