Thessia
The doors of Thessia Medical swished open and Sen stepped through, wondering when this place had stopped feeling like her second home. Her month suspended had alienated her, and even though she knew the faces of many of the nurses and the staff, she did not offer them anything more than a nod. They seemed as strangers to her and a strange realization dawned. She missed her work...not her workplace. Somehow she had managed to tangle them in her mind, but the absence from Thessia Medical had cleared her thoughts and redefined her priorities.
She stopped abruptly as she saw a member of hospital security. They had not seen her yet, and, since she worked the night shift, may not have been familiar with her enough to know that she was banned from the premises. Liara's hand wrapped around her arm and she felt calm, comforted, and almost invincible. Liara had promised to help her, promised to protect her.
"I am following you, Sen." Liara reminded her with a small smile. "I have no idea where I am going."
Sen released the breath she had been holding and walked past the reception desk to the elevators. She entered the command for the Traumatic Care Unit floor and leaned against the wall as the elevator ascended. Images assailed her, images of the trauma patients who had wound up on her table, beneath her care. Her hands had been steady, her mind detached from everything but the need to help them. She had learned not to smell the blood, feel the fear.
She had taught herself to ignore the thoughts of her patient's loved ones. Their parents, spouses, siblings…or, Goddess forbid, their children. She had never been in their position until now. As the elevator opened, she found herself hoping. Hoping that the physicians that had attended to Mira had not been like her. Sen hoped that they had considered, not only their patient, but the lives in which she was important.
The TCU was quiet and still, home to a peaceful atmosphere that promoted healing. But beneath the veneer, Sen could feel the undercurrent of frenetic energy, the doctors and nurses constantly on alert, those in the waiting area who could not be soothed. Worry settled and gnawed in her gut as she saw the glass walls of the rooms, the monitors over each patient's bed, carrying life signs, bearing hope itself.
"Sen?" she heard a voice and looked around. "Sen T'Aryn?"
A light blue asari matron entered her vision, green eyes shining out with competence and kindness. She had lovely, black facial markings that sparked above and beneath her eyes in firework patterns, and a black line beneath her lower lip that traced to her chin. The white lab coat she wore contrasted with the black scrubs, a human style of clothing that had been popularized in the medical profession the galaxy over.
"Hello, Dr. Valen." Sen offered a slight bow in greeting, as was proper for a maiden greeting a matron.
"Sen, please." Dr. Valen surprised her with a light hug. "Call me Treya." she broke from the embrace and seemed to at last see Liara. "Pardon me, matron." she smiled. "I'm Doctor Treya Valen."
Liara extended her hand and Treya gave Sen a bemused expression as she returned the human greeting.
"A pleasure, Doctor Valen." Liara spoke. "Dr. Liara T'Soni."
Treya's eyes flared and she looked to Sen with utter shock on her face. Sen shrugged and Treya shook her shoulders, immediately regaining her professional demeanor, attempting to ignore the status of the asari standing before her and not immediately fall into awe-struck hero worship.
Treya glanced around, looking for any security. "Did T'Vari end your suspension?" she asked. "Or are you…goddess..."
"Mira Dorsen." Sen fought to keep her voice steady.
Treya's face fell and Sen's heart rate doubled in speed. "Oh, Sen…"
"Treya…how bad is it?"
Treya shook her head. "I can't tell you, Sen. You know that. You're not immediate family and since you've been suspended, I'm the one in T'Vari's sights. Even though I want to, I…I simply cannot risk it."
"Sen and Mira are affianced." Liara lied with a calm authority, and both doctors turned to her. "Also, humans have a provision for times like this. It is called power of attorney. You will find, if you research properly, that Miss Dorsen has given Doctor T'Aryn that power, which includes release of medical information."
Treya nodded and looked relieved. "I will trust you, Dr. T'Soni. With the severity of Miss Dorsen's condition, we were more concerned with immediate treatment. I'll take you to her, Sen. But you cannot stay for long."
"Thank you." Sen whispered, letting Treya move further ahead before whispering to Liara. "Mira did no such thing, Liara. I'm simply her emergency contact…and that only because she forgot to change it."
"Trust me, Sen." Liara interrupted. "If they look for proof, they will find it."
Sen's lips parted. Liara continued to surprise her. How she had accessed the paramedics report was still a mystery, but Sen did not doubt its accuracy. Nor did she doubt the updated medical records that Liara showed her before they came here. The asari had some secret, Sen was certain of it. However, she did not dare ask. Liara had been too kind, too supportive…a good friend. And a mystery.
Treya stopped in front of one of the rooms and turned to face Sen. Her light green eyes, which could dance, were filled with compassion and concern.
"Sen," Treya warned, "we're all very, very hopeful. But she's had a very hard time of it."
"I need to know." Sen said. Records only say so much...clinical information, and little at that, depending on who inputs them.
"You can read her chart…" Treyna began, but Sen shook her head.
"I need to know from someone I trust, Treya." Sen murmured, attempting not to sound as though she begged.
Treya nodded, noticing that Liara slipped her hand inside Sen's and held it tight.
"The worst of it was the head injury." Treya informed them. "She had an open, comminuted fracture of the skull which resulted in acute subdural hemorrhage." Sen bit her lip and held tight to Liara's hand. "Immediate surgery was required to relieve the pressure on her brain, but no matter how quickly we worked, some damage may have been done. She's on anti-convulsion medication, but she has seized twice. Each time it was quickly arrested, but you know as well as I that it might become a persistent issue."
"I know." Sen's voice was hoarse, and her legs trembled. "Please go on."
"The paramedics on scene were told that she was standing about three meters away from the car when the engine exploded." Treya continued, watching Sen wince and Liara's expression darken. "A piece of shrapnel struck her in the abdomen and punctured her small intestine. The puncture was repaired, and she's on broad-spectrum antibiotics in hopes of preventing infection but," Treya shrugged her shoulders, "it's too soon to tell. Sen, are you all right? You look pale."
Sen swallowed the lump in her throat. "This is…very hard to hear."
"I know." Treya replied, resting a hand on her former co-worker's shoulder. "I understand if you don't want me to go on…"
"I need to hear all of it." Sen straightened her shoulders, heartened by Liara's presence beside her, the calm composure exuded by the asari who had looked the Reapers in the face, and not been daunted. "Mira's father is traveling to Thessia and he needs…he needs to hear this from me."
Treya shook her head. "I'll never understand T'Vari." she muttered, lowering her voice as another doctor passed them. "Suspending one of our best surgeons…what the fuck was she thinking?"
"I have often wondered the same thing." Liara assented, and their words warmed Sen's heart.
"Miss Dorsen has three broken ribs on her right side." Treya persisted. "Which led to the collapse of her right lung. We put a chest tube in, and with the oxygen mask on, she's doing well."
Sen chewed on her lower lip. "Can…can she breathe on her own?"
"Yes." Treya answered and a sigh of relief flew from Sen's lips. "She also had an open fracture of the left tibia, and a hairline fracture of the left femur."
"Wha…how?" Sen asked. "The femur is the strongest bone in the human body and skycar engines are designed to contain the explosions if they destabilize…I don't see how this could have happened."
"The engine was found to be illegally modified." Liara spoke and Sen and Treya both turned incredulous looks on her. "The engine's containment safeguards had been removed and the engine itself was from a one person craft meant for inter-system travel, but not capable of FTL functions or passing through a relay. How they managed to augment it for a skycar is still a mystery, but that is the reason that the collateral damage of its crash was so high."
"And you know all of this how?" Treya asked.
Sen shook her head. "I've found it is best not to ask." she said. "Is there," she braced herself, "anything more?"
"Multiple contusions and lacerations." Treya answered. "All treated and none that are life threatening."
"Has she regained consciousness?" Sen asked, yearning to go through the door she stood beside, to be with the woman she loved.
"No." Treya replied. "But the good news is that, in spite of severe head trauma, she is no longer in a comatose state. If she does come to, notify me immediately."
"Of course." Sen nodded.
Treya entered the code and the door opened, leading to a small entry room that contained a decontamination chamber. Sen stepped inside and closed her eyes, protecting herself from the mist and the harsh ultraviolet flash. The inner door opened and she stepped into the room.
Sen kept her footsteps light as she approached the bed. Mira's face was half-obscured by the oxygen mask, but Sen could see the bruising, dark even against the rich coffee color of Mira's skin. She gripped the railing of the bed as she saw that half of Mira's hair had been shaved in order to tend to her head wound. A jagged cut, about thirteen centimeters long, stretched across Mira's head. It had been stitched and sealed with medigel.
Her love's entire left leg was encased in a fusion device to repair the fractures and Sen was grateful that Mira slept, so that she did not have to feel the pain. Osteofusion was a beautiful process that cut the healing time from several months to mere days, but research was still being done on how to make it less agonizing for the patient. Sen frowned. If Mira did wake up, she would have to remain conscious. Due to the severity of her head injury, sedation would not be an option, and even pain medication would be risky.
Tears pricked Sen's eyes as she lifted the blanket and saw the horrible, deep bruising splashed across Mira's chest. The sight of the ugly chest tube, inserted in Mira's side, just under her right breast, made Sen's throat tighten. She lowered the blanket as she caught sight of the bandages taped across Mira's abdomen, lightly dotted with blood.
Sen's eyes flew to the monitors, pleased to see that Mira's heartbeat was strong and even, a little slow, but nothing to cause too much concern. Her oxygen saturation levels were well within normal range for the collapsed lung, and her temperature only slightly elevated from the norm.
Sen reached out and trailed her fingers down the golden tattoo on Mira's arm. She laced their fingers together and felt relief crash through her in a powerful wave that threatened to buckle her knees. Careful, she lifted Mira's hand and lowered her lips to it, pressing a prolonged kiss to the back of her lover's hand.
"I'm here, sweetheart." Sen whispered. "And I…I do not know if you can hear me, but if you want me here, which I hope to the goddess you do, I will never leave your side. I'm so…I'm so sorry I didn't walk you home, that I couldn't help you or be with you because…because I would take these injuries from you and give them to myself, if I could."
Sen threaded her hand through what remained of Mira's hair and pressed a tremulous, light kiss to her forehead.
"I love you, Mira Dorsen." she whispered in the human's ear, admiring the delicacy of its shape and texture. "I know you're strong, and I know you'll come through this like you do everything else. And I'm going to prove to you what I failed to prove when we were together. That I will be there when you need me. Always."
Sen's omni-tool beeped and she brought up the message.
{Stay where you are. I will take care of this.}
Sen looked out through the walls and saw two hospital security personnel speaking to Liara, gesturing to Sen with increasingly broad, aggressive movement. Liara's expression was impassive, almost bored, and Treya caught Sen's eyes through the glass with an expression that indicated that Sen owed her a lengthy explanation.
Sen just smiled, turned back to her lover, and trusted her friend to keep her word.