Working it Out…

J.D stood leaning against the nurses' station surveying the various patients that were waiting for medical attention. There was an old man coughing so much that J.D expect him to either flood the room with phlegm or bring up a small furry animal. There was a younger man holding his arm and a woman who was unpleasant shade of yellow along with many more.

As I stood there feeling abandoned and tempted to flee for the nearest fire exit, I couldn't help but feel angry. Dr Anderson was going to lose his job for something that occurs frequently in every hospital. Mistakes do happen and when they happen there's nothing you can do but hope that everything turns out all right in the end.

"Hey J.D is it just me or is this place really busy tonight?" Elliot asked as she sidled up beside him.

"We're just slow," J.D shrugged. "What with Dr Cox sleeping and Dr Anderson suspended."

"What? Dr Anderson is suspended?" Elliot gasped looking confused. "Why?"

"Because the parents of one of the kids last night was told their daughter was fine." J.D sighed. "But she wasn't."

"Oh," Elliot said her eyes going wide. "But I was doing all the…oh…"

"Yeah," J.D said sadly.

"This is my fault," Elliot pouted. "I'll go talk to Dr Bruce."

"He won't listen," J.D shrugged. "We tried but since Dr Anderson was in charge it's on his head."

"Oh," Elliot whined. "Now I have to live with the knowledge I ruined his career.

Yeah, guess you do.

"What am I gonna do J.D?"

"I don't know," J.D sighed then brightened up. "You could dress as a Vegas showgirl and start walking the corridors preaching the values of gambling."

"How would that help?"

"Oh it wouldn't," J.D mused. "But I like the idea of you in sequins."

Elliot let out a huff and marched off in the direction of a private patient's room.

"Shiny," J.D smiled dreamily.

Dr Cox, who had woken from his nap, decided he wasn't quite ready to delve back into dealing with the great unwashed and instead stalked the corridors until he found Gina's office. He rapped on the door and waited; there was no reply. He knocked again and then checked the handle. It turned and he opened the door to find the room empty and the desk cleared.

"She's left," Carla announced walking up behind him.

"Really?" Dr Cox chided. "I thought she was hiding behind the fax machine."

"I mean she's really left."

"As if," Dr Cox said with a forced laugh, "she wouldn't just up and leave."

"Yeah she would and she did," Carla countered. "Apparently she told Dr Bruce to shove it after he suspended Dr Anderson."

"But she can't leave," Dr Cox declared shocked. "She can't just do that."

"It's her life, she can whatever the hell she wants," Carla shrugged, not at all pleased with Dr Cox's concern.

"But the hospital needs her," Dr Cox continued. "Who else can ease the horrific deaths of loved ones in the way she does?" Carla shook her head as Dr Cox's arms began to flail. "It can't happen like this, she can't just leave that's irresponsible."

"Don't you think you're overreacting just a little."

"No," Dr Cox scorned. "I'm thinking of the hospital, the hospital will suffer and I can't let that happen. As a doctor it would be a crime," he let out a grunt and stormed off toward the elevator still babbling about the needs of the hospital and how Bruce needed to be strung up by his testicles, smeared in vegemite and eaten by bloodthirsty Tasmanian Devils.

"Hi, I'm your doctor," Turk smiled and extended his hand toward the woman lying on the clean pressed sheets of a hospital bed. The woman wasn't quite so clean, she was older, toothless and her skin was like leather from long hours in the sun. "Dr Turk."

"You're American."

"Yes ma'am I am."

"I don't like your lot."

"O-k," Turk took a steadying breath. "Aside from that little piece of information. What seems to be the problem?"

"Tania bit me," the woman grumbled. "I tired to stop her but no…"

"And Tania would be?" Turk asked. "And please don't say your sister."

"One of my Taipans."

"A snake!"

"Yes a snake," the woman grunted. "She's deadly too."

"Fantastic," Turk swallowed. "I have to tell you I'm not au fait with snake bites."

"No, you don't look like you would be."

"And what's that supposed to me?"

"Well where you're from you're more likely to be shot eh?" the woman snorted. "In the ghettos."

"Excuse me? Are you saying that because I'm black I must have grown up in a ghetto?"

"No, I'm saying it because you're a flippin' septic."

"You're a nasty woman and just for that you can wait for the anti-venom."

"Well you've got six minutes then before it kills me," the woman huffed and crossed her arms. "And my legs are already numb."

Turk did a double take and then fled the room before she decided to ask him to suck the poison out or marry her sister-cousin.

Elliot, who was vaguely dazed and feeling incredibly guilty, found an empty private patients room and sat herself on the edge of the bed. Before her scrubs touched the linen she felt the tears pricking at her eyes. She knew what had happened was an accident and she knew no one blamed her but it still didn't stop her from feeling terrible about Dr Anderson's fate.

"You ok?"

Elliot looked up to see Dr Noll standing at the door. His tanned skin looked darker and hair even blonder. "Fantastic," she said with a wet smile.

" Let me guess," he soothed as he sat himself next to her. "You're feeling guilty about the whole Dr Anderson situation? Am I close?"

"Spot on," Elliot nodded as Dr Noll handed her a tissue. "It's not fair you know. He worked so hard last night and he gets this in return. If I hadn't said anything…"

"But you had to say something," Dr Noll countered. "The parents expected you to say something."

"It's still sucky," Elliot sniffed and then blew her nose into the tissue. "What'll happen if he loses his job?"

"He won't lose his job," Dr Noll soothed and put a comforting arm around Elliot. "They'd be fools to let one of the few competent doctors around here go."

"You can't be sure of that."

"Well, Gina resigned in protest and Bruce would rather be tortured by American troops in an Iraqi prison than lose her," he paused. "No offence."

"None taken."

"I mean, who else is going to do his dirty work with little if no protest?"

"I hope you're right," Elliot sighed heavily and leaned into Dr Noll's side. His warmth and the feeling of protection that he radiated were overwhelming.

"It'll all work out," Dr Noll smiled. "Trust me."

And she did.

Dr Anderson sat sprawled on his couch, a half-drunk bottle of whisky in one hand. He lifted the bottle and swirled the contents, through his bloodshot eyes it all just looked blurry. He sighed heavily. He wasn't just sulking he was mourning his career. He hated Dr Allan Bruce, by god he hated him. Dr Anderson gulped another mouthful of the liquid and let it burn its was down his throat. It wasn't making him feel better, nothing really could. He was on the verge of losing the only two things that meant anything to him, his job and his ex-wife.

The anger cursed through his veins again and he got to his feet and marched into the kitchenette. Dr Anderson poured the rest of the contents of the bottle down the sink and then left the bottle there. He couldn't let his whole life become a pit of despair. He wasn't going to let his job, his career, his passion become a memory thanks to Dr Allan Bruce. Ross Anderson was a stronger human being than that.

He staggered into his bedroom and flopped down onto the bed. An all night bender was not going to solve his problems and he decided it would be best to sleep off his intoxication before fighting with every last muscle to keep the things that were important to him.

"Ugh," Dr Cox gagged. "I don't know if this is water or a urine sample."

"Dr Cox," Carla announced marching up to him. "There's a patient you might want to see."

"What? Why? Isn't anyone capable of administering medical help without me?"

"Did I say anything about medical help?" Dr Cox looked at Carla's fierce expression for a moment and then motioned for her to lead the way. They went down a floor and along a corridor that was dotted with private rooms. "In there," she declared and motioned to one of the rooms.

Dr Cox pushed open the door and stopped dead. Sitting on the bed still fully clothed and looking unhappy about being there was Gina.

"Did I ask you to try and stick a small torch in my eye?" she snapped at a lowly intern. "No I don't think so."

"Calm down there Ava Braun," Dr Cox chided striding into the room.

"Perrarino," Gina peeped seemingly surprised that he was there. "Could you remove the incompetent tool from my personal space?"

The intern looked anxiously at Dr Cox. "You heard the lady there pipsqueak," he scorned. "Skedaddle!" The intern fled and Dr Cox averted his attention back to Gina. "Why are you here?"

"She was assaulted," Carla piped up and handed Dr Cox a clipboard.

"It wasn't so much assaulted as in some nutbar tried to steal my bag and in my attempt to fend him off I got whacked in the eye and twisted my ankle," Gina huffed. "Still, on the upside he won't be reproducing anytime soon."

"Are you ok?" Dr Cox asked trying to sound concerned in a doctorly way rather than a 'I want to see you naked' way.

"Oh I'm just super," Gina sarced as she sat back on the bed. Dr Cox gently unzipped her boot and instantly pointed out the swelling.

"Ok, let me know if this hurts."

"Ow."

"And this?"

"Ow."

"Right, and this?"

"Oh Jesus…"

"Yeah, it's sprained," Dr Cox nodded. "Carla could you get me a bandage?"

"Sure," Carla said with an air that suggested that she didn't want to leave the room.

"Ok, let me have a look at that eye now," Dr Cox breathed. Gina sat up and let Dr Cox gently take her face in his hands as he surveyed the light bruising around her eye.

"Will I live?" she asked softly, ignoring the pain she actually felt and enjoying the sudden closeness.

"Nothing a bit of make-up won't cure," Dr Cox replied swallowing. There was a brief moment where they studied each other and Gina felt his thumb softly stroke her cheek causing her to shudder. "Look Gina…"

"Here's your bandage," Carla piped up as she entered the room.

Dr Cox let go of Gina and she tried to hide her reddened cheeks. "Thankyou Carla," he said gruffly and held out his hand.

"No problem," Carla groused, dropped the bandage heavily into his hand and marched back out of the room.

"Dr Dorian," Dr Bruce declared as he approached J.D who was daydreaming. J.D was so startled he let out a yelp.

"Dr Bruce," he gasped.

"I want you to round up your friends and prepare witness statements about last night's events."

"Why?" J.D couldn't help but ask. "I mean anyone can see that Dr Anderson did nothing wrong."

"That may be Dr Dorian," Dr Bruce smiled coldly. "But I think we'll leave it up to the board to decide, don't you?"

"Of course," J.D breathed and watched as Dr Bruce half-skipped back down the corridor.

Yeah, it'll all work out in the end…