Chapter 9

"Hey Sam, I need your help. We've got a MVA rolling up. Five year old that was pinned in the back seat of a car for over an hour, we're going to need all the help we can get." Pratt called over his shoulder.

"I'll be right there." She said. "This will be just a quick poke and then it will all be over." She whispered to her young patient, a nine year old girl with leukemia.

"You promise you won't hurt me?" She pleaded. "The last person stuck me like 500 times before getting anything. It hurt." She was terrified.

"I'm really good, I promise. If I don't get it the first time I'll let you try it on me okay?" Sam smiled and the little girl laughed. Her laugh made her think about her daughter. 'Is that what her laugh would sound like? Would she be terrified of needles? Would she have been healthy?' She asked herself. Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she placed the truncate on the little girl's arm and pushed the needle directly into the vein gently. The little girl sighed.

"You did it!" Her mother walked over to her and smiled at Sam.

"Thank god, I didn't want to go through our last experience all over again. She was screaming and crying. It was awful." Sam smiled warmly to the mother who was comforting her daughter. "Do you have any children?" The woman asked.

"Yes, I have a son and he's diabetic. I have a small pinprick of an idea of what you are going through. I need to send this off. Do you need anything sweetie?" She asked.

"No, thank you." Sam marveled at how polite the little girl was. She walked back to admit to fine Jerry sitting in a chair reading a trashy article about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

"Hey Sam, have you been following this story?" Sam stifled the laugh as best she could.

"I didn't know you were the celebrity gossiping type."

"Only when it comes to Ms. Jolie. I swear one day I will marry her." Jerry looked up as if he were imagining what his life would be like married to her.

"Would you have matching blood vials and everything?" Sam asked trying to sound as serious as possible. That was useless because as soon as the words left her mouth she was laughing.

"Maybe," Jerry said obviously lost in his own world. Kerry came up behind him and slammed down the charts she was carrying causing Jerry to jump out of his seat.

"Damnit Jerry! If you don't answer the phone soon I'm going to kick your ass out and replace you with the drunk in four, he might actually get some work done around here!" Sam laughed and finished filling out the paper work to send off the lab with the blood samples from the girl. She heard the phone finally stop ringing and Jerry answer.

"Hey Sam, it's for you. You're Croatian lover is on the phone." Sam snatched the phone from Jerry and slapped him in the back of his head. She heard him mutter something about harassment on the job as he walked away from her, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey Luka, what's up?" She asked, delighted to hear from him.

"Sam, I think you need to know something." Luka responded his voice tense and serious.

"What's wrong? Is Alex ok?" Sam was suddenly extremely concerned.

"Yeah, he's fine. He just actually stopped me from getting a blow to the face."

"What are you talking about?"

"Steve was here. Alex told him about our engagement. He was less then enthusiastic to say the least."

"Oh, my god. What did he want?" Sam left the blood rush from her face and her world start to spin.

"I think he wanted to see Alex. He threatened me, told me that you and Alex were his and he drew back to hit me, in front of Alex. Alex interveined thankfully. I wasn't looking forward to defending myself in front of Alex." Sam could not believe what she was hearing. A part of her was happy that what happened between Luka and Steve happened in front of Alex. She wanted her son to see what kind of a person his father was. The other half of her, however, wanted nothing more then to shelter her son forever from the monster that lingered in the shadows of both of their lives.

"I can't believe this." It was all she could say. She was always amazed at how Steve would show up just when her life seemed to be heading in the right direction. Luka waited silently on the other line. "I don't want him around Alex." She finally managed to say.

"Consider it done. I'm sure he's still wanted by the police. I could make a few calls..." Luka was interrupted.

"I don't want to see him arrested, I just want him away from my son." Sam said protectively.

"Sam, the man is insane! He needs to be locked up before he kills someone." Pratt ran by admit, pushing a gurney screaming orders to everyone around him. He noticed Sam was on the phone.

"Hey, Sam! Today if you don't mind!"

"Luka, I've got to go. I'm going to see if I can get someone to cover and we'll talk about this. I love you." She hung up the phone quickly and followed the trail of people into Trauma 1. Pratt was busy giving orders.

"OK, I need a Chest and Pelvis, CT, CBC, Chem Panel, dip a urine and get Neuro down here!" Sam wrote the orders on the chart and dashed to the phone and called the designated departments. "Shit, decreased on the right, someone get me a chest tube tray!" Pratt screamed. Sam watched from the sidelines, as she pressed the familiar numbers to neurosurgery, as the med students jump at Pratt's demands. The student seemed confused as to were to go. She needed to be off the phone and helping. Med Students are not nurses.

"You! Take the phone." She threw the phone to the pacing lab coat and ran to the shelf that cradled the much needed chest tube. She set the drape on the tray and wheeled it over to Pratt. Suddenly they were joined by Weaver.

"How you doing in here?" She asked, examining the situation. Another nurse walked up behind her and put a drape over her body. She reached in a box to her side and grabbed a pair of gloves, pulling them over her small hands.

"Five year old girl, pinned in a car for over an hour. Chest pain, loss of consciousness at the scene, decreased breathe sounds on the right. I'm putting in a chest tube now." Pratt informed his superior, silently thankful that Kerry walked in when she did. He didn't know if he could handle these med students anymore. "I had to intubate her." He added.

"Alright. What's been ordered?" Sam took the opportunity to speak up. She repeated the orders as Kerry walked over to the little girl on the gurney.

"Sam, can you find out from the police if her parents are alive? We need to find out this girl medical history? She's got scarring on her abdomen." Kerry noted pulling back the blanket that covered the patient.

"Sure" Sam ran out of the trauma room and headed towards the admit desk, searching for the officer that came in with the little girl.

"Jerry, did you see where that cop went?" She asked.

"Yeah, He's outside. He got a call." She thanked Jerry and ran outside, spotting the man immediately. He was at the entrance of the ambulance bay talking on his cell phone, staring at Doc Magoo's. She began her way over to him when she felt someones arms wrap around her waist and up to cover her mouth. Her eyes looked around her and she quickly noticed that no one was paying attention. She was thrown into the back seat of a parked car with such force that she slammed her head against the opposite door, knocking her completely out.

The man looked around. Satisfied that no one saw what he had just done, he got in his car and drove off. He smiled as he drove past the cop and watched as the world he just left became smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror. He turned around and looked quickly at his prize. "It's you and me again baby." he said, smiling.