Authors Note:
Thank you all for the great feedback! It took longer than expected to write this second chapter due to work and life. I should be able to update every 1-2 weeks from now on :)
Chapter 2: Connecting the Dots
Josslyn and Cameron helped Spencer walk into General Hospital, his arms wrapped around their shoulders.
Trina walked up to Britt at the desk.
"Can he get a wheelchair please? He might have alcohol poisoning." Trina asked. Britt looked up, surprised to see Spencer barely standing in front of her.
"Wow," Britt responded with a smirk, "This is why you wait until you're 21 to drink, kid." Britt joked as she brought him a wheelchair.
"Mhmmm" Spencer nodded, as he stumbled into the chair.
"Doctor Westborne, Trina also needs to be seen." Josslyn advised calmly. Britt looked worriedly at Trina
"I'll have a doctor come see you as soon as possible. Please wait in room 2." Britt responded, motioning to the room as she wheeled Spencer to the room next to it. Trina and Josslyn exchanged nervous glances as they walked into the room.
"You don't have to stay here, Joss." Trina said as she sat in the hospital cot. "I'm feeling better than I did a couple of hours ago."
"I'm not leaving until I hear from your doctor's mouth that you are okay." Josslyn responded confidently, taking Trina's hands into hers. They exchanged warm smiles. Trina silently reflected on the hardships she and Josslyn had overcome individually and together.
"Esme really thought she was doing something." Trina chuckled, realizing how she tried to manipulate her and Josslyn's friendship. Before Josslyn could respond, a tall man walked into the room wearing a white coat. His hair was slightly long enough to be tied back, with a couple of loose strands drifting towards his face.
"Hey Trina, my name is Dominic and I'll be your doctor today." He spoke calmly, with an accent neither of them could pinpoint the origin of. Josslyn perked up at how handsome he was, and looked to Trina who seemed a bit taken aback herself.
"I'll leave you to do your work, Dr. Dominic." Josslyn said, letting go of Trina's hand. "Call me when you're out of here, okay?" Josslyn told Trina, with a small wink. Trina shook her head slightly, catching up with the present moment.
"Ye-yeah. That sounds good to me." Trina blurted. Josslyn left the room, and Trina smiled at Dominic.
"Hey. It's nice to meet you, I'm Trina. I think I might've had alcohol poisoning." She advised, darting her eyes back and forth between him and the floor in embarrassment.
"Hey Trina," Dominic's smile widened. "I didn't take you for a party girl. You look more like the nose-to-book-spine type." He joked. Trina rolled her eyes playfully.
"I honestly think I had only one or two drinks. But it was the craziest thing!" Trina exclaimed, "one minute I'm sipping and the next I'm feeling my eyes and mouth get heavy. I felt seasick but in slow motion, like I was speaking but couldn't hear myself. It's honestly a little blurry after that but I woke up in the bathroom after passing out on the floor for a bit." Trina recalled, flashing back to being in Spencer's arms for a moment. Trina shook her head at the thought, as the doctor examined her face perplexedly. Brows furrowed, he wrote some notes down onto his clipboard, not saying anything.
"You know, I've never seen you around here." Trina observed, as Dominic looked up from his clipboard and began taking her vitals. His fingers grazed her neck as he checked her pulse. She was pleasantly surprised at his warm touch, and didn't break her gaze from his dark, soft eyes.
"I moved from Ponce, Puerto Rico to Brooklyn a few years ago, and just transferred from their main hospital to this one earlier this week, actually." He explained, putting his stethoscope back around his neck and writing some more notes down. "I'm still in the process of moving in, but didn't want to miss out on any more work in the meantime. I'm still paying back student loans." Dominic groaned, as he sterilized a needle.
"I think that's really cool you grew up in Puerto Rico. I know a couple of people who grew up in Ponce, and they speak of it like an irreplaceable home." Trina replied, not yet noticing the needle. "And I can't imagine the loans you've had to take out to become a doctor. Was it worth it?" Trina asked. Dominic studied her face before responding.
"It definitely was." He said with a small smile. He realized he had been staring at her for a moment longer than usual for two former strangers, and started blinking nervously. "I mean," he cleared his throat before continuing. "It's so much hard work. Lots of sleepless nights and studying that feels like it'll never end. But now I get to wake up knowing I'm going to do what I love and meet interesting people. It's worth every penny, even if my free time isn't typical for your average 26-year-old." He responded, gently lifting her arm. He took an alcohol wipe and dampened the inside of her elbow, as Trina nervously looked down to realize he had a needle in his hand.
"What are you doing?" Trina asked, slightly flinching.
"I need to draw some of your blood for tests. It's not normal to have the reaction you described to one or two shots of alcohol. You may have an allergy to something that was in your drink," Dominic paused briefly to put the needle into her skin, "Or you may have drank something that had more in it than what the cocktail artist told you." He said. Trina stared off for a moment, remembering that Esme made her drink and handed it to her.
"Are you cold? I can get you a blanket when I'm done." Dominic offered, noticing goosebumps spread all over Trina's arms.
"I would appreciate that." She said, taking a deep breath as Dominic continued to fill little vials with her blood. He filled a third one, and wiped the pierced skin clean before placing a Looney Toons band-aid over it.
"A nurse will come by with a blanket and applesauce for you as I run these tests to the lab. Your vitals are great, and you seem okay, but stay for a half hour and eat because you just lost some blood." Dominic advised, walking towards the door. He looked back for a moment before opening it.
"It's nice to meet you, Trina." He said, smiling.
"Nice to meet you too, Dominic." She responded, blushing. He left the room and Trina's smile slowly dissipated into contemplation. She didn't consider there could've been more in her drink that she wasn't told about.
She continued to think about this until a nurse came with her applesauce and blanket, as promised.
Spencer lied down in his room, under the glare of Portia Robinson.
"If your drunk ass doesn't start making sense in five minutes I'll have no choice but to sober you up by force." Portia warned, taking a closer step towards Spencer.
Spencer raised his eyebrows and smirked in amusement. "May the force be with you " he slurred, his eyes closing again. Portia sighed and rolled her eyes as she sterilized her needle quickly. She started taking his blood until Spencer abruptly moved his arm away.
"Are you trying to d-deflate me?" Spencer asked in confusion.
"I'm trying to get a sample of your blood for testing, so stay still!" Portia exclaimed. "How much did you drink, Spencer?"
"Mmmm hot totties. My cup, then half of Trina's cup." Spencer advised, dozing off again. Portia felt her heart quicken and her stomach drop.
"Trina?!" Portia yelled, "Trina was with you?"
Eyes closed, Spencer nodded in response.
"She's in the next room, I think." Spencer answered more coherently, his thoughts wandering to Trina. "Is she okay?" He asked.
"I'm just now finding out she was here with you. I-I don't know, is there a chance she's not okay? What was in those dri- you know what," Portia stopped herself from spiraling, "let me finish taking your blood so I can see for myself what was in those drinks. Was anyone else with you two?"
"Joss, Cam, and Esme" Spencer responded softly as he started fading back to sleep. Portia nodded and focused on drawing his blood quickly. She finished and took Spencer's chin to face her, and Spencer's eyes fluttered open.
"Stick around until I say you can go, okay? You're in no state to be walking around." Portia warned. She left the room to take his vials to the lab, but made a stop at Trina's room first to find her getting ready to leave.
"Hey, mom." Trina smiled, walking up to her mother to hug her. Portia met her halfway and hugged her tight.
"Oh baby, are you okay?" Portia asked, pulling away from her daughter to look her in the eyes.
"I'm okay, mom. I should hear back about my blood results if anything unexpected pops up." Trina responded. Portia nodded.
"Spencer seems like he's on something else. Not just alcohol. So you let me know as soon as those tests come back, okay?" Portia asked, pulling her into another hug. "And if there's any point in time where you don't feel okay, you tell me." Portia said. Trina took a deep breath, appreciating this moment with her mother
After she and Portia parted ways, Trina walked over to Spencer's. She knocked before walking in, and found Spencer sleeping. She sat down next to him, never taking her eyes off his face.
"Thank you for being there for me earlier," she whispered, taking hold of his hand. "Now I get to be here for you." She said. His eyes remained closed, but his grip on her hand strengthened.
Esme stewed in anger, peering through the hospital room window. Backing away from the window, she ran into Victor Cassadine.
"Why hello, Esme," Victor began. "What brings you here?" He asked with exaggerated concern in his voice. Esme looked at him for a moment, and smirked to herself as she thought up a plan.
Thank you for reading! Chapter 3 should be up within the next 1-2 weeks :)
