Chapter 28 – The Deepest Cut

Carter walked to the Curtain 4, he is acting normal like nothing bad has happened, after leaving Abby unconscious in the toilets. He pulled back the curtain to see his patient again.

"Right then Mr…" Carter stops dead, he saw an empty bed. He moved his head in all directions looking for the man. He approached Haleh dealing with another patient in the opposite curtain.

"Have you seen my patient?" Carter asked looking confused

"Dr Lewis took him to Trauma 1" Haleh answered pursing her lips and gives him a disapproving looks.

"What?" Carter dashed off with both hands holding the stethoscope around his neck. He is dodging round the gurneys and trolleys to get to the trauma area.

Susan is in the trauma room with the two nurses Connie and Lily, frantically trying to revive Carter's patient.

"Vitals?"

"BP's down 90 over 50. Respiration 21"

"What's his rhythm on the EGK?" Susan asked Connie who then passes a strip of paper to her. She studied the reading. "It's V-tach, we need to shock him"

"He's in fib again"

"Paddles!" Susan shouted.

Connie gave her the paddles and squeezes gel on to them. Susan rubbed them together and placed them on the man's chest"

"I've turn the volume to 250"

"Ok Lily, Clear"

The body jolted up.

"Nothing"

"What happened?" Carter crashed through the trauma room door

"Your patient was crashing, where the hell you've been Carter?" Susan shouted holding the fib paddles "300. Clear!"

The old man's body jolted up again.

"No pulse"

"I see Abby found you eventually" Susan said, looking furious and instructed Connie to turn the volume up on the crash cart. "Charge up to 360"

"Clear"

"What? I haven't seen her" Carter replied lying through his teeth, shaking his head, Susan looked at him with his eyes wondering around. She suspected that he's hiding something. Truthful people look in the eye…

"Normal sinus rhythm"

"Good work guys" Susan praised her colleagues "Get him up to Cardiology"

Susan snapped off her surgical gloves and threw them in the bin. She walked up to Carter standing at the doorway. She had an infuriated look on her face and her lips are twitching to try stopping herself bursting out in anger.

"What the hell were you thinking?" She scoffed, putting her hand against her temples. "How could you abandon a patient like that, especially one with chest pains? You could have asked someone to cover while you disappear to your so called fantasy world"

"I did ask but they refused"

"They refused? Or they were busy dealing with other patients, what was so urgent for you to clear off?"

"I don't want to discuss it"

"Perhaps we can discuss it in my office at the end of the shift"

"Whatever" Carter said, thrusting his head forward close to her face, it made her flinched and walked away.

"Hell…" She muttered to herself blinking her eyes hard, unnerved by his strange characteristics.

Abby fluttered open her eyes, she is wedged between the toilet and the wall. She groaned and winced at the throbbing pain on her head where she impacted it against the cistern. She looked around trying to regain consciousness. She noticed there is blood on her lab coat and on the floor. Abby shrieked with panic, she tried to un-wedge herself to see where the blood was coming from. She feared that she might have lost the baby. She gets up unbalanced and looked down at her groin area of her pants – no sign of blood. Abby sighed with relief, rubbing her tummy 'Baby's ok, I think?' That was the first time that she had felt that she wanted the baby. Abby felt a cold trickle down the side of her face.

Abby opened the door and walked to the mirrors at the wash area. She sees a deep cut over her eyebrow with blood steeping out from it and part of her hair is matted from the ooze. Abby choked back in tears and grabbed a handful of paper towels from the dispenser on the wall and compresses the cut. She heard a whistle entering through the door. Abby stepped back into the cubicle so she can seclude herself. She looked through the crack on the door, with her hand raised up compressing her head. She sees Archie Morris using the urinals and breaking out in a song. He walked to the sink area; he looked in the mirror in admiration by clicking his tongue and winking. He bends over to wash his hand in the sink and noticed there was blood drops all over the surface. Morris eyes followed the trail on the floor to the stall. He pushes the door ajar and sees a bloodied Abby trembling in the corner, crying.

"Oh great!" Susan huffed "Abby's turn to abandoned a patient… now this is becoming a joke"

"Dr Lewis, a call on line 3" Frank said.

"Oh Frank take a message, I don't want to deal with any calls at the moment"

"It's Chuck"

"Ok I'll take the call" Susan walked over to Frank, taking the phone and placed it against her ear. "Hi"

"Hi Suse, just to calling to say that Cosmo is with the nanny, will you collect him when you finish work?"

"Oh ok, are you getting called in at work?" The blonde asked.

"No… I won't be there where you get home, I've gotta go the battery on my mobile is low"

The phone line cuts off, Susan looked at the phone looking puzzled, thinking that was a strange abrupt call. Morris come rushing in, catching his breath, distracts her.

"Will someone give me a hand here? I've found Abby in the men's room, she needs medical attention"

"Oh god!" Susan gasped, thinking the worst… the baby…

"How you do you feel now?" Susan asked, leaning over, shining her penlight into Abby's eyes

"A bit fuzzy, but I'm ok"

"That's a deep laceration you've got there Abby" Susan said, leaning over again, examining her cut on her brow "Haleh can you get me the suture tray"

Abby is laid down on the gurney and she turned her head away. Susan puts her hands on her lower abdomen, check if there were no problems there. "That's fine"

"Carter did this to you, didn't he?" Susan asked discreetly sitting down on the stool. "I know this is a hell of a shock to you, I understand if you don't want to talk"

Abby turned her head, looks at the blonde and closed her eyes gently. She doesn't say a word. They sit there in silence for a minute.

"Look I am sorry about not being supportive early, you are my friend, I care about you, I don't want you to get hurt, especially you're carrying a baby now"

"Thank you" Abby mouthed

"When is your first booking in appointment with the OB?"

"Thursday"

"Ok…" Susan said looking around, trying to keep conversation with Abby, who is the patient of a few words and asked "Hey maybe I could give you a ride home, I finish my shift soon"

"That be great"

"Maybe get a bite to eat at my place first? Chuck says he won't be home when I come in. I don't really want to cook for one"

"Yep I would like that, I don't really want to be at home alone"

"Of course Neela is on 6 till 6 shift isn't she?"

"Here's your tray Dr Lewis" Haleh said giving Susan the suture tray.

"Thanks Haleh, Oh erm…" She gets up from the stool and walks with Haleh to the doorway of the treatment room. And whispered "Can you find Carter and get him to come in my office in about half hour?"

Haleh nodded at her boss and walked away. Susan stepped back on to her stool. She fiddled with the instruments on the tray.

"Are you going to be a good patient?" Susan asked tilting her head down smiling at Abby; she picks up syringe and injected the local anaesthetic round the wounded area. Abby winced at the needle pricking her.

"Ouch! I can see why patients moan at us when we do that" Abby mumbled. "There's not a lot of flesh there"

"I will perform a technique that will reduce the scarring" Susan laughed trying to humor her friend. Abby rolled her eyes and her mouth tweaked a little smile.

"Dr Lewis" Jerry said, popping his head round the door "I'm afraid Dr Carter has left the building"

"Shh" Susan turning round mouthed and sighed. He always has a habit of dropping it in. She rubbed her forehead "Thank you Jerry"

Abby narrowed her eyes at Susan, she is just finishing touches to the suturing.

"That's done nicely," She said putting down the suture thread. "We can go home now…"