*There's a healthy dose of Team!Family angst in this chapter, so just be prepared. There's also some Mario/Noa for good measure! Enjoy!
Chapter 3 – "Good Talk"
The hour that Leanne spent sitting alone with Ethan was one of the longest hours of her life. She had held his hand the entire time and she had gone from crying in pain to crying in anger and back again at least 6 times. She didn't know how this was happening. She didn't understand why. Why her? Why did she always have to be the one to get hurt? Why couldn't she just be allowed to be happy for once?
Growling in frustration she kicked the extra chair in the room, causing it to fall to the floor and slide towards the door, just as Mario stepped through, a cup of coffee in his shaky hand.
"Jesse said you could probably use some coffee." If the young man was phased by the flying chair and the tears in Leanne's eyes he didn't act on it. Instead he quietly made his way through the door, leaving it open slightly behind him, and stepped towards her.
"Thank you." Leanne's voice was rough, the hour spent crying silently doing nothing to help her already dry throat. She took the cup from Mario's outstretched hand and watched as he picked the chair up and sat it upright, plopping down in it next to her.
"You're welcome." The resident's voice was quiet, and he rubbed a hand across his tired eyes. His shift had ended three hours ago but he hadn't wanted to leave until they all knew more about Ethan's condition. He had slowly started getting closer to the older man, especially after his relationship with Noa was no longer a secret, and he was praying that the Colonel would be okay. He was also worried about Leanne and Noa. He knew they both cared about Ethan tremendously, both in different ways, and he knew this was hitting them both hard.
"Have you been home yet?" As if she was reading his mind, Leanne's voice cut through his thoughts and he snapped his head up to catch her eyes. He shook his head back and forth and leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. He felt Leanne's free hand pat his leg before she took a sip of her coffee and leaned back.
"The others were on their way up." He spoke softly, afraid that he would wake the man sleeping across from them, though they both knew that that wouldn't be the case.
"Good." She nodded her head slightly and turned her attention back to Ethan, her eyes scanning his body again, checking the monitor and committing the stats to memory.
As if on cue they heard the hospital room door open and Noa and Angus stepped through, both looking weary, their cheeks showing evidence of tear marks. Noa moved toward Ethan and she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before moving to sit with Mario, his knee becoming a chair, his arms wrapping around her small frame as she laid her head against his shoulder. Angus moved to stand on Ethan's other side, his eyes mimicking Leanne's movements from earlier, scanning his body and reading the monitor, committing his stats to memory as well.
Rollie joined them soon after. Ethan's patient chart clutched tightly in his arms. He was the third person to scan the man's body, his eyes checking for breath sounds, his hand moving to scribble down his stats on paper. He patted Leanne on the shoulder and gave Mario a sympathetic look, the younger man doing his best to calm the nerves of the redhead in his arms.
Jesse and Campbell walked through a few minutes later and Will shut the door gently behind him. He scanned the room quickly, ensuring that all the people he needed to see were here. He caught Jesse's eyes last and he took a sigh before leaning back against the counter by the door, his hands going to the front pockets of his lab coat.
"I just got off the phone with the LAPD." His voice was firm but soft and he looked towards Leanne as he spoke. "They've completed their investigation of the accident."
"What happened?" Will was shocked when Angus was the first voice to pipe up, but judging on how emotionally drained everyone else in the room obviously was, he understood.
"Ethan was on his way to work on his motorcycle. He was making a turn when some young kid blew through the stop sign and hit him." He took his hands out of his pockets and reached over to pull the paper off of the front of Ethan's chart. "He was thrown off his bike and landed in the median. The kid then hit another car, totaling it as well."
Leanne let out a choked sob and Mario reached his left arm towards her, wrapping it around her shaking shoulders as he held Noa tightly with his other arm. "We treated two other patients from the accident, but they were both older. What happened to the driver?" Mario's voice was shaky, but he asked the question they all wanted to.
"He fled the scene." Jesse's voice cut through the air like a knife and the grunt of frustration and anger that Angus let out didn't phase any of them. "They found him a few hours ago, he dumped his car and went home to his dorm room like nothing happened."
"How old was he?" None of them expected Leanne to speak, her hands holding tightly to Ethan's as she shook.
"Nineteen." Jesse answered, he prayed to God that that was a good enough answer for Leanne and that she wouldn't ask the question they were all fearing.
"Was he drunk?" She asked the question even though she really didn't want to know the answer to it. She couldn't handle knowing that she almost lost someone else to an irresponsible man. She didn't know what she would do if history repeated itself.
Jesse looked at Will and Will looked at Jesse and they both sighed, turning to face Rollie, praying the older man would speak for them. Rollie closed his eyes as he pulled the chart in his hands against his chest, his voice shaking as he spoke. "Yes, he had been drinking."
"Jesus fucking Christ." Mario's curse was harsh, but everyone in the room was thinking it. "It was 8 in the morning." Noa let out a shaky break against his neck and he hugged her closer as he moved to catch Angus' eyes from across the room.
"So what now?" The young resident in Mario's lap finally spoke up, and all eyes turned to her as she sat up in her companion's lap and brushed the tears from her eyes.
"He's going to prison." Will cut straight to the point and didn't miss a beat. "They have the whole accident on a street cam and several witnesses identified him and the car." He stood up straight, his back leaving the comfort of the solid desk behind him. "It's over."
Except they all knew it wasn't over. The steady beeping from the monitor next to Angus' head made them all very well aware of the fact that this was just getting started for them. The man laying broken and bruised on the bed in front of them. The man who was normally the pillar of strength and light. The man who meant the world to all of them. He was just getting started on this journey, and they all knew what an uphill battle it would surely be.
"For right now, we keep an eye on Ethan." Rollie's voice broke them all out of their own little worlds and they all turned their weary, tear-filled eyes towards him. "Other than his arm, his injuries were minor and will heal on their own with time."
"As for his arm," It was Campbell who spoke this time, and his voice was stronger than it had been a few minutes before, "we do what we can to keep him comfortable. He'll likely need another surgery or two down the road, and physical therapy probably isn't out of the question either."
"But he's going to be okay?" The sound of Leanne's soft, yet timid voice filled the room and they all turned to look at her, their hearts breaking even more at the sight of pain on the normally tough woman's face.
"With our help," Rollie reached out and wrapped an arm around Angus' quivering shoulders as he spoke, his eyes connecting with Leanne's, "he'll be just fine."
Leanne nodded her head and turned her attention back to the man laying in the bed. She hoped he knew how badly they all needed him to wake up and smile at them. She hoped he knew just how loved he was. How much everyone in this room cared about him. How much she cared about him. She just needed him to wake up and prove to her that he was okay.
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