Perpetual Darkness

Disclaimer: All usual disclaimers apply. Ché, Robyn, Kit and Doctors Trent and Cole are my own characters.

Part nine of the Robyn series.

"Get me three units of blood stat! I need a crash trolley and forty milligrams of adrenaline! Move, move, move!" Doctor Trent yelled running into the emergency department followed by paramedics pulling in a trolley with a seriously injured patient on it.

The nurses sprung into action and prepared everything they'd need. The whole emergency department was a hive of hustle and bustle with nurses running everywhere. Doctor Trent led the paramedics quickly into an empty cubicle and instantly went to work with his patient.

"Hold her down while I get this blood in. We have to stop these seizures, get me some Diazepam!" Doctor Trent ordered trying to get a line in so he could give his patient the blood she needed.

With the line in he pushed through the bloods and injected the Diazepam and immediately saw the seizures calm. His patient had fallen from a great height and suffered a head injury. The fall should have killed her but by the looks of her companions he could tell why it hadn't.

Thinking on her companions and satisfied that his patient was as stable as she could be he went in search of them to tell them what had happened so far. Before leaving his patient he told the nurses to make sure a brain scan was done as soon as possible to see the extent of the damage.

Sportacus, Ché and Kit sat despondently in the relative's room waiting for news of Robyn. She'd been pulled in so fast they hadn't had time to take in what was going on. They'd heard a Doctor shouting for a crash trolley and blood but couldn't be sure what was wrong with Robyn.

A knock was heard at the door and all three men looked up and watched a Doctor come into the room and close the door behind him. None of them spoke, none of them could.

"You're Robyn's uncle aren't you?" Doctor Trent asked addressing Sportacus.

Sportacus nodded.

"Good. I'm Doctor Trent and I've been treating Robyn. Her condition is serious but as stable as it can be at this time. She's being monitored and I've asked for a brain scan to be done as soon as possible so we know what we're dealing with. Until the brain scan is done I can't be sure of the extent of the damage she suffered."

"Damage?" Kit asked standing up.

Doctor Trent nodded, "I can't be sure of the extent of it but there must be some there the main indicator of it being the seizures. As she didn't fall directly on her head we could be looking at secondary damage which could involve anything from sensory loss to mobility problems. There may also be a high chance of epilepsy."

Kit sat back down taking in the news. Out of everything that could be wrong with Robyn possible brain damage was what he most feared. He wished fervently that if there was damage there wouldn't be anything too bad and that she'd be ok.

Doctor Trent was about to say something else but a knock was heard at the door and he opened it to see a nurse standing outside the room.

"Yes?" Doctor Trent spoke with both eyebrows raised.

The nurse looked down bashfully and then replied, "We're about to go and do the brain scan on your patient Doctor. I was also asked to tell you that Doctor Cole is waiting for you in your office."

"The neurosurgery Doctor? What does he want?"

"Yes Doctor. He wants you to refer Robyn to him as it's his field, I advised him to speak with you first."

"Thank you, nurse. Go and tell Doctor Cole that I will be with him shortly and then help with the brain scan. Push for the results and don't take no for an answer."

The nurse nodded and left to obey her orders. Doctor Trent turned when he heard a slight chuckle.

"You don't mess around do you?" Kit chuckled again.

Doctor Trent shook his head and then noticed that Sportacus' wrist was injured and that Ché's shoulder was bleeding from behind.

"I don't mess about but you do. Why didn't you get treated for your injuries? I want all of you out of here and in cubicles to be assessed right now. Go!" Doctor Trent ordered.

All three men filed out of the room like scolded children and were closely followed by Doctor Trent who herded them into the cubicles like a Shepard does sheep. Doctor Trent scolded the nurses in the emergency room for missing the obvious injuries two of the men had suffered and ordered them to deal with them. The nurses obeyed Doctor Trent just as the men had done, like scolded children.

Sportacus was treated first and the nurse was surprised to find a shallow cut on his wrist. Sportacus wasn't aware of how it had happened but explained that he'd drifted in and out of consciousness while he'd been held captive. The nurse did some tests on Sportacus after this and arranged for a brain scan to be done just in case.

Ché was treated next and after the wound was inspected it was cleaned and stitched up. No major damage had been to Ché's shoulder and he was told to come back in a week to have his stitches removed. A cursory examination of the rest of Ché was done before he was sent back to sit in the relative's room.

When Ché entered the relative's room he saw Kit sitting in the same place he'd been sitting in before. He noticed bandages around both of Kit's hands.

"Do they hurt?" Ché asked sitting down. Kit's hands had been badly cut during a fight with Aurora.

Kit looked down at his hands, "they didn't until I noticed they were hurt. Guess I've been too busy worrying about Robyn to worry about myself."

"She means a lot to you doesn't she? You would have killed Aurora for what she did if she hadn't fallen off the roof herself."

"Yeah I would have. I tried to rescue her instead but she wouldn't grab my hands. Perhaps she could traumatise me the same way I got traumatised about not being able to save her brother."

"Did it work?"

Kit chuckled slightly, "Not in the least. As I see it, it was her choice to die. I offered to help her but she refused and let go. I doubt I would have been much use since she sliced my hands up but I did offer."

Ché chuckled this time, "you should know better than to fight hand to hand with a woman with knives, you came off lightly."

"I'm like a cat. I have nine lives, seven of which I've probably used up already." Kit stated light heartedly and then looked at Ché, "How's your shoulder?"

"No major damage if any, too much muscle for that. I've been given stitches and have to go back in a week to get them taken out. What did they do for you?"

"Stitched where they could with whatever flesh was left. On the other bits they used spray on skin to protect the gashes until they heal up. I still have all my fingers there and in one piece so that's good news. They've numbed my hands completely so I can't feel anything and I have to see the outreach Doctor about getting the dressings changed every now and then."

Ché winced a little while Kit was explaining what had been done to his hands. There'd been too much blood to see what injuries there were and he had no idea that they were that serious.

Sportacus entered the room and was followed by the ever enthusiastic Doctor Trent. Sportacus sat down next to his friends and Doctor Trent spoke to each of them, "I have the results of Robyn's brain scan. I have to say they're very promising and not as bad as I expected. However, we have to perform surgery to remove a blood clot from her brain. She's being prepared for that now. Unfortunately I can't say for certain if there is still a chance or not of epilepsy until we've run further tests. Once the operation is done and Robyn's been brought out of theatre Doctor Cole, the neurosurgeon, will come to speak to you. Before I go, the results of your brain scan were clear, Sportacus, no need to worry."

Doctor Trent departed leaving the three men to contemplate Robyn's condition and how they would cope if the worst case scenario occurred.