Jesse Travis was dreaming and the dream was a good one. He was surfing, as he often did in his dreams and as was usual for a dream like state, this was no ordinary surf. Oh no, this was the ride of his life. He was somewhere hot; he knew that, as he could feel the sun beating down on his bare back. And there were people watching. He could just hear them above the roar of the ocean, gasping in admiration as he skilfully twisted and turned; always one step ahead of the wave.
The noise from his fans was getting louder now, he could hear them calling out his name 'Jesse! Jesse!' He smiled at them, acknowledging their support, although he knew they were too far away to see his expression. One voice was getting louder more distinct. It was a woman's voice, which made him smile even more – may be it was one of the beautiful, long legged girls he'd spotted as he was paddling his board out to sea. He craned his neck hoping to see the bronzed beauty and then something hit him from behind. He teetered precariously on the board, desperately hoping to stay on, but he knew he was a gonner. And then he was falling, waiting for the ocean to swallow him whole.
He woke up with a start and was momentarily startled to find himself in a heap on the floor of the on call room. Nurse Susan Hilliard was standing over him. Jesse blinked the sleep out of his eyes and smiled goofily at her. To him she looked beautiful. Her silky blonde hair was tied in a jaunty pony tail and her petite, but shapely frame filled her nurses' uniform to perfection. He could just detect the tantalising aroma of the perfume she wore. He inhaled the sweet, flowery scent and smiled contentedly, there were definitely worse things to wake up to!
'Jesse are you okay?' she asked, her words tumbling frantically 'I didn't mean to make you fall out of bed, but you were taking so long to wake up and we just don't have the time and then when I shook you, you just kinda rolled and …..'.
'Susan, Susan stop' Jesse said cutting off the over excited nurse. Susan was often bubbly, it was one of the reasons he liked her so much, but still this was a bit much even for her. He rubbed a hand through his rumpled hair and yawned widely 'I'm fine, everything's fine'.
'No Jesse' she said her eyes wide with fear 'Everything's not fine, that's what I've been trying to tell you. At least one bomb, maybe more, has exploded outside a restaurant on the corner of 4th and Main, leaving multiple casualties and two fatalities – so far.'
'Oh my God' Jesse cried, stumbling to his feet, all thoughts of sleep instantly forgotten. He grabbed Susan's hand and the two of them set off at a run, heading for the ER.
'The most serious cases are on their way to Community General, ETA fifteen minutes' Susan said breathlessly, as she struggled to keep pace with Jesse. As they reached the main door to the ER, she pulled him to a stop and looked at him earnestly 'We have no staff, no equipment and you have to take charge'.
For a moment he was rooted to the spot, engulfed by a rare wave of panic. They'd done drills for this, of course they had, but this time it was for real. He swallowed hard; already they were swamped. Susan was right, they had no beds, inadequate supplies and most of the staff were already pulling double shifts and beyond. And it was up to him, Dr. Jesse Travis, to guide them through?
'Jesse?' Susan prompted tugging on his arm 'Come on, you have to go in there and tell everybody what to do.'
He could feel the terror welling up inside him, terror he hadn't felt since he'd seen Steve wheeled into the ER with near fatal gunshot wounds, Mark's pale, inconsolable face as he'd watched his son being taken away. By sheer force of will Jesse trampled down on the fear that was threatening to take hold. If he could cope with operating on his best friend, then he could cope with this. Now was not the time to lose his head, he had to think clearly, rationally. He took a deep breath and put his hand to the door. First he had to ….
'Jesse!'
He whirled round, his tenuous train of thought shattered in an instant.
Amanda was breathless, almost colliding with him as she took the corner at a run.
'Whoah!' As he gripped her arms firmly, he could feel her trembling, her heart pounding with adrenaline. 'Deep breaths' he said 'we have to stay calm here okay'.
'You're right, I'm sorry' she said 'it's all just such a shock'.
'I know' he said soothingly, looking deep into her dark brown eyes, forcing her to focus 'but we can do this, it's what we're trained for. Now we're gonna go in there and do our jobs okay?'
Both women nodded and then, with Susan and Amanda behind him, Jesse took a deep breath and strode confidently into the ER.
At his side Amanda turned and looked at him, her dark eyes serious 'Okay' she said a little calmer now 'what do you want me to do?'
All around, the other doctors and nurses looked at Jesse, their eyes silently echoing the same question.
He paused, a thousand scenarios bombarding him at once. And then instinct took over.
'Susan, we need to set up a triage system so the most seriously injured patients get brought in first. Send the most difficult case to me in trauma 1, anyone else requiring surgery send to traumas 2 and 3.' He paused thinking rapidly 'More minor injuries we'll just have to treat 'em and street 'em as soon as we can. Pick up as many supplies as you can get your hands on and set up a base in reception'.
She nodded and turned to her nursing colleagues 'Colleen, Betsy you two go round up the supplies, Sam, Jenna you come with me to reception'. They set off at a run, quickly splitting off down the different corridors to complete their tasks.
'Okay' Jesse paused to see who he had to work with – two senior residents, some med students and three nurses. Not a lot of options, but it'd have to do. 'Carson, Johnson, take trauma rooms 2 and 3. Do what you can and shout for me if there's something you can't handle'. He nodded at the two most experienced nurses 'Penny, Joanie go with them'.
'Okay guys' lets make this snappy' Carson said 'Pen we'll take trauma 2 – let's go'.
Johnson smiled 'Guess that leaves you and me Joanie'
She groaned 'My lucky day!'
'Hey!' he said with mock hurt.
They were still bantering as they broke into a run, but Jesse was no longer listening. He was looking at the med students. They looked back at him apprehensively, some already sweating, though it was by no means warm. To Jesse, they suddenly looked impossibly young, the whiteness of their coats and the gleam of their stethoscopes only highlighting their inexperience.
He let out a breath 'Okay guys, now it's gonna get pretty hairy around here and I need for you to do exactly what I, the senior residents or nurses tell you to do okay?
They nodded.
'There's no time for questions and no time for mistakes. If there's something that you can't do then you tell us, if you're gonna throw up then you get out of the way'. He looked at them questioningly 'Everybody got that?'
They murmured their assent, exchanging nervous glances.
'Okay good.'
Jesse looked at them appraisingly, noted who looked like they might lose it, who looked rashly over excited and who looked they were gonna rise to the challenge. He'd learnt from experience, and now he could pretty much always tell, it was just something in the eyes that gave people away.
He made his decision swiftly; sending 3 students to assist Susan in triage and the other four to be split between the senior residents. That left himself, Amanda and Jenny Holden a student nurse. He smiled reassuring at the two women 'Okay that leaves us in trauma 1. Amanda, page all the ER and surgical attendings, call them in from home if you have to and get any nurses they can spare from any of the other wards, then come help me and Jenny.
Amanda nodded, still a little shaky 'It's been awhile since I did any surgery on patients who were alive, but I'll do my best' she said.
Jesse gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze 'Don't worry I'll be doing the surgery, I just need you to assist okay'.
She took a deep breath 'Okay'. Then surprisingly she smiled 'You're doing a great job, you know that don't you?' she said 'Mark would be so proud'
'Mark!' Jesse said suddenly 'Where is Mark?' Caught up in the frantic preparations, he had for once failed to notice the older doctor's absence.
'The last time I saw him he was on the phone trying to get more information. Amanda bit her lip worriedly 'I hope Steve is okay'.
'Steve?' Jesse was confused 'What does this have to do with Steve?' he asked.
Amanda's eyes widened in surprise 'Oh god Jesse, you don't know?'
'Know what?'
'Steve was there when the first bomb went off. It was Tanis Archer who called it in. Amanda dropped her eyes 'We haven't heard anything since'.
TO BE CONTINUED …….