By Ginny
Thanks for the reviews, they are always appreciated.
A/N-I am not a medical professional by any means. I have a great deal of respect for medical science and a love of research but all errors are mine and mine alone.
Chapter 2
Abby didn't hear from Lucien that night and she hoped he'd just fallen asleep. She wasn't on the next day and didn't bother setting her alarm but she was still up with the sun anyway. After a leisurely breakfast and a trip to the food store to stock her bare cabinets, she called to check on Lucien. He sounded better than he had the night before but still had a drugged edge to his voice. Abby said she would come by in a while and bring some lunch for him, to save him from the hospital fare.
A little before noon she got to the hospital. She pulled into a parking space and went around to use the front entrance to the hospital, not wanting to run into Frank in the ER, or anyone else for that matter. Not that she had anything to hide or defend; she was simply going to visit a sick friend. A socially inept, slightly strange, surgeon who suddenly found himself on the other end of the scalpel.
She found Lucien awake and reading the newspaper when she arrived.
"Well, you look about ten times better than last night," Abby announced from the doorway.
"Well, I only feel about 5 times better," he smirked. "But I haven't puked in hours and I think everything else is flowing well," he said as he pointed towards the foley bag hanging from the side of the bed.
"Yeah, that sort of falls into the "too much information" category," Abby teased as she took off her coat and threw it over the chair. "Here," she said as she handed him a brown bag.
"Contraband solid food, I hope," he said as he opened the bag.
"You're less than 24 hours post-op, don't expect a burger and fries," Abby warned.
"Well, it's slightly better than hospital food and I suppose it is the thought that counts," he muttered as he pulled out a bottle of Snapple, some chicken soup and a cup of chocolate pudding.
"I'll take that as a 'thank you'," Abby smirked as she opened the iced tea for him. "How did you sleep last night?"
"Took Percocet and an Ambien, I slept just fine," Lucien said as he opened the soup. He ate about half of it and drank a little iced tea while Abby worked on the crossword puzzle from the newspaper. She read the clues aloud, giving him a chance to help.
"Not as hungry as you thought?" Abby asked as she pointed to the half finish meal. He just shook his head a little and pushed the rolling table away. "You ok?"
"I think so. Just a little stiff...and not in a good way," he muttered. Abby just rolled her eyes at him.
"Been out of bed yet?"
"No, tried earlier this morning but I almost passed out."
"Ah, well, how about you sit with your legs hanging over the side. Take it slow, see what happens," Abby suggested.
With a little help from Abby, Lucien managed to sit up straight and dangle his legs over the side.
"Doing ok?" Abby asked as she took in his slightly pale face. Lucien shrugged his shoulders and took a few deeps breaths. "Here, drink a little," she said a she handed him a can of ginger ale.
"I'm ok," he said with more conviction his voice than he'd used in two days.
"Good. How about I track down a wheelchair and we'll bust out of here for a little while."
"Best offer I've had all day. Actually the only offer I've had all day," he teased.
Abby found a wheelchair down the hall and brought it in. By the time she got back to his room, Lucien was already trying to stand on his own. "Whoa, slow down," Abby warned as she reached to steady him. "Uh, do you...are you wearing..?"
"Yes, Abby, I'm wearing boxers. Wouldn't want you to get a glimpse of what you're missing," he smirked.
"Good God," Abby rolled her eyes at him. She got him settled in the chair with all the tubes and lines tucked safely away and a blanket in his lap. "Ready?"
"Yeah," he said with a grin as he ran his hand through his hair.
"The hair's pretty much a lost cause there," Abby teased as she did what she could to tame it a little.
"Maybe I'll cut it," Lucien mused.
"I kind of like it," Abby said as she opened the door as pushed the chair out into the hall.
They took a few laps around the unit and sat in the lounge at the end of the hall for a while. After a shorter period of time than he had hoped, Lucien realized sitting upright was getting a little painful.
"How about we get you back in bed?" Abby suggested when she realized he was fading fast.
"See, I knew you really wanted to get me into bed," Lucien teased. His voice, however, was rather flat, alerting Abby to the fact he was indeed in more pain than he let on. So she ignored his comment and pushed him back towards his room.
"You look rather miserable," Abby commented as she got him tucked back into bed.
"More bored than anything else," he muttered as he picked up the newspaper, even though he'd already read the entire thing.
"You want me to leave?" Abby asked as she motioned towards the door.
"No," he replied quickly as he tossed the paper aside. "I need a favor."
"What kind of favor?" Abby asked with eyebrows raised and a smirk planted on her face.
"Nothing like that," Lucien said with a little smile that didn't quite ring true. "I have a pile of paperwork sitting on my desk in my office."
"Work? Are you sure you're up for that?" Abby asked.
"I'm not 'up' for anything else," he muttered under his breath.
"Lucien," Abby warned, making it clear she wasn't going to sit by and watch him throw himself a little pity party.
"Fine, can you get the paperwork?" he asked as he took off his glasses and rubbed tiredly at his eyes.
"I will, if you promise to rest a little before trying to tackle it," Abby negotiated.
"Not tired," he said, protesting her offer. He folded his arms across his chest and lowered his chin down a little, both effectively pouting and avoiding Abby's eyes. Abby carefully sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to avoid jostling it too much. Lucien still stubbornly avoided looking at her. Abby quickly realized there was probably something more to his mood than boredom. She reached out to tip his chin up and get him to look at her. Doing so gave her a big clue.
"You're a little warm," she said softly as she moved her hand from his chin and pressed her palm against his cheek and then his forehead. Lucien just nodded and swiped at his eyes. Before Abby could reach for the call button, the nurse came in for a scheduled check of his vitals. "He's running a fever," Abby announced as she stood up.
"I think she would have figured that out," Lucien muttered as he turned his head to allow the nurse, who looked like she would rather be undergoing root canal, to take his temperature.
"100.1," she announced to the room in general. She took the rest of his vitals, checked the incision and basically left the room as quickly as she could. She returned a minute later with his meds, again leaving as quickly as possible.
"You're getting quite the reputation around here," Abby teased, hoping that teasing was the way to go. It was as Lucien laughed a little before collapsing against the pillow.
"OK," he said with a sigh.
"OK, what?"
"OK, I'm ready to admit I could use some rest," Lucien said as he took off his glasses and put the head of the bed down a little. "But you're still getting the paperwork," he added as Abby set the glasses aside.
"Where is it?" Abby asked with a sigh, knowing he wasn't going to drop the subject.
"Right in the middle of the desk, can't miss it," he said as he reached into the drawer of the bedside table to find his office key.
"OK, I'll be back. I'm going to go run down to the ER. I'm sure I have paperwork I could be doing too."
"And you're going to hang out and do paperwork while I sleep?" Lucien teased.
"Someone has to keep an eye on you," she teased right back.
"Fair enough. Hit the light on the way out," he said with a grin.
Abby turned off the light and closed the door behind her while Lucien did his best to curl up a little. She made her way to his office, unlocked the door and stepped inside. It took her a few seconds to find the light switch. As the light flooded the room she just shook her head. She was quickly realizing that although Lucien was a brilliant surgeon, he was a complete pack rat, in addition to quite possibly the most socially inept guy she'd met in a long, long time. Both traits gave clues to why he was single.
The stack of files was right in the middle of his desk, between a stack of video tapes and a full sized model of the human heart. Abby cleared the pile of 'stuff' off his chair and sat down for a minute, feeling a bit voyeuristic as she did. She looked around at all of the things in the room. The room was a testament to how Lucien seemed to go through life, barely in control, on the edge of chaos. Abby was sure there was some order to the room, probably known only to him and possibly his long time secretary but she just wasn't seeing it.
With a sigh she pushed herself to her feet, put the files in a file box she found on the floor in the corner and started to leave the room. Her eyes landed on his iPod on the little table by the door and she tossed that into the box too. She set the box back down and took another look around the room to see if there was anything else he might like to have with him. There was a plaid, patchwork quilt tossed over the couch and she picked it up and added it to the box. It was old and obviously well used, threadbare in a few places but it looked like the sort of thing that might provide a little comfort. Abby added a sweatshirt she found hanging on the hook by the door before picking up the box and heading back to his room. She dropped the box just inside the door, made sure he was sleeping and headed down to the ER.
She managed to grab what she needed without being stopped by any nosy co-workers, or Frank. After a quick stop for a cup of coffee she headed back to Lucien's room. He was sound asleep, curled up facing away from the door. She covered him with the quilt, put a cool damp cloth on his forehead and settled into the chair with her coffee and her paperwork.
TBC