7:50PM

"Don't touch me!" The man screamed at those who were trying to help him. It was the Alamo festival in Texas and with everyone running around with 'muskets' and dressed in period fashion there was bound to be havoc, the ER was full.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down! Calm down! We're trying to help you!" TC tried to calm the man down but he wasn't having any luck. Looking to Lori, eyeing his intention, she nodded.

"Get me 2 of ativan I.M. and somebody page Dr. De La Cruz!" Lori requested. She had met Landry on a few occasions but rarely to speak to, more passing by than anything. She had been aware that TC and the psychiatrist were in some form of relationship. "We're trying to help you." Lori shouted.

"Somebody grab the hard restraints." TC called.

The man was thrashing and screaming in the doctor's faces and Lori had decided that she would try and restrain him. She began trying to examine the teenager but with arms and feet all over the place she didn't have time to move out of the way when an elbow headed straight for her face knocking her back and into the machines. Knocking her over.

Still trying to restrain the patient TC looked over his shoulder and checked the new doctor who seemed to be seeing two as she tried to balance herself. "Shit..Lauren? Someone get Dr Alister outta here and seen to."

The Alister waved her hand and assured the other doctor "It's okay, I'm okay." Reaching for her nose, she felt the liquid run down to her lip. Just what she needed.

"Dr Ali- what happened?" Jordan began but soon cut herself off.

"I'm fine." Lori dismissed.

"Yeah, I got a Christian Scientist." She said still observing the red mark across the new doctor sported on her left eye and the blood that began to trickle. "Hey, Lo. Your patient has come in. The chrodoma."

"T, are you okay here if I call up to the ward?" When he hummed in response, she added. "Page if ya need me."

9:20PM

"But no. I need someone to assist on this case and if the on call's not back in the next twenty minutes. I'm riding solo." Lori stated. She had someone with a chordoma and she needed someone to help with the surgery. Her fellow neurosurgeon had been on leave so she was left on her own, most staff were too ill-qualified and not really people she needed in her OR.

"Riding solo is not an option." Ragosa shook his head. "Can't let you do that Alister. It's against protocol."

Lori couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "Everything we do in this hospital is against protocol." She shook her head, sometimes she really couldn't believe this man. He was a paper pusher, nothing more. "If you haven't notice, it's a teaching hospital and 4/5 staff have military background. You're not going to wash the 'protocol' stuff with us."

"Well. Ms. Alister." Michael began, making Lori grumble. She was a doctor and she earned her title. "-if you had kept to protocol in the 'military' we wouldn't be having this conversation right now, would we?" He remarked.

"We both know you're wrong there." Lori bit back.

"I'm not sure your Commander agrees, especially since you blatantly went against protocol when you performed a battlefield surgery whilst you yourself was suf-"

"Sorry to interrupt." Molly apologised tightly. Offering a small smile to the woman, she then turned to Michael Ragosa. "-Dr Landry's looking for you, something about the M.D.M.A trial."

The man nodded. "Maybe you should get some ice on that eye Dr Alister. I'm not interesting in another lawsuit today." He said, referring to the mess Jordan Alexander had gotten herself into at the start of her shift.

Thanking the nurse, he quickly turned his heel and made his way towards the offices, leaving an angered Lori to look at his retreating back.

"Thought you could use a 'pass go and collect two hundred'" The nurse joked, nudging the young doctor catching her attention.

It didn't take long for the doctor to realise what the nurse had meant. Lori smiled, sincerely. "We could always use a few of those with him." Walking backwards she mouthed the words 'thank you' before she spun herself around and headed back through the hallways.

"Gotta have a girl's back, honey." Molly chuckled, returning to work.

10:20PM

'DR ALISTER TO SURGICAL WARD. DR ALISTER TO SURGICAL WARD.'

At the sound of the tanoy, Lori ran up to the ward, taking the stairs instead of the lift she hoped she could reach it just as quickly. Rushing past people, moving others out of the way and ignoring any requests she reached the ward within minutes.

"He coded, Dr Alister. He's been down for 3 minutes." Her intern informed her. He had been bagging Colin Johns for the past three minutes. No response.

Lori nodded. Taking over. "We should've taken him into surgery earlier." She cursed.

Alternating between CPR, defibrillation and intubation, the man's body had just been too weak and he had succumb. There was nothing she could do to bring him back. But she still had to try.

She continued to apply the breaths, hoping the bagging would do something. Before she ordered a nurse to push the epi. She had been trying for 15 minutes. He was gone.

With one last breath, she stepped away from the body. "Time of death. 10:35PM."

Allowing the nurses to take care of the body, after scribbling a few notes down, she left the room. Thoughts spun around her head. She should've pushed for the surgery. He would've lived if he had the surgery. Now angry, the Alister marched towards Ragosa's office. He was in for an earful.

Ragosa hadn't been in his office. Instead of waiting Lori made her way down to the ER and true to her belief, Ragosa was stood with a complaining TC.

"Look. It's dangerous it's gotta go." Ragosa argued. They must've been arguing about the tailgate as Lori marched her way over there, interrupting their conversation.

"No." Lori spat. "The only thing that's dangerous is you." She argued, pointing her finger in the direction of the MD. He had dismissed life saving neurosurgery.

TC had lifted his hands in attempt to cool the doctor. She was raging. If she didn't cool he was pretty sure she'd be showing the managing director

"We couldn't afford the extra hands." He said, as if the fact that the hospital couldn't afford it would make the death of her patient any easier, especially when she would have been able to successfully complete it.

Lori was ready to flip. "I need extra surgeons. Dr Clements doesn't want it. Our own on call is never available-" She had been about to continue when a surge of pain split through her head.

TC, who had been left on the side of the conversation quickly jumped in to aid the doctor. "Hey! Hey! Sit down." TC tried to lower the woman to the floor. She was clearly in pain. "On the floor, that's it." TC looked up, doctors and nurses had gathered, clearly looking for their next catalogue of gossip.

"Just a headache." Lori mumbled, incoherently. "I'll be fine."

TC shook his head. He didn't believe it. "No. You're coming with me."

Shrugging off his touch Lori insisted that she was fine. She just needed to be alone, after all, the further away from Ragosa the better. Managing to stand up, she pointed at Michael, shakily. "I want my surgeon."

1:55AM

"Dr Alister?" Jordan called as she ran up to Lori. She had heard about the commotion that had happened earlier in the evening and since the woman was a friend she wanted to see if she was okay. "I heard about you and Ragosa, are you okay?"

Lori looked towards the doctor, she had been ready to tell her how she should step away from others business but she changed her mind. "I'm fine. Just trying to run a surgical ward is harder then it looks." She let out a weak chuckle.

Jordan nodded. She understood, after all, her boyfriend, Scott was working as attending on a surgical ward in Dallas so she had heard all his complaints. "If you need anything, just let me know? It must be tough having to leave, especially when it's all you knew." Jordan said, absently. "Settling into civilian life."

"It was time." Lori said, simply. It was clear that she wasn't going to budge.

"Yeah of course. Just a break right? Until you go back in." Jordan tried.

"No offence, Jordan. But Army talk really isn't my main priority right now." Lori dismissed.

"Yeah, sure." Jordan agreed. Lori had began to walk away but the older woman called back to her. "Hey? Wanna get some coffee?"

Lori hesitated. "I'd like that."

Lori and Jordan had been idly chatting and were just heading for their break when she spotted her brother - looking very worn - arrive in the ER.

"Hello, there." She greeted, shocked slightly. Drew wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow. "How was drill?"

"Uneventful."

"You're back early." Lori commented. She was quick to giver her older sibling a hug, the two had a very strong relationship - different from their other siblings - despite not always showing it, Lori was glad for that.

"What happened?" Drew demanded as he held his sisters head inspecting the damage. The mark was now the typical purple shade and covered her left eye.

"Nothing" Lori tried but her brother just raised an eyebrow "Fine, some patient was wacked out or something we couldn't restrain him. Mild Concussion. Happy?"

"Happy? Of course not my sister is concussed on her third shift" Drew complained. "Not forgetting your first shift here you were concussed!"

Jordan stiff led a laugh, she had heard from TC and Lori that Drew was very different with Lauren but she hadn't expected him to be like this.

Ignoring her brother, she moved on from the subject. "Are you gonna be here to take me home?"

"Yeah. Just wait out front at the end of your shift." Drew sighed. Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on his sister's forehead. "I'll see you later, stay out of trouble."

"Trouble just finds me Drew, you should know that by now." Lauren chuckled.

A nurse had been caught up with Lori asking her to deal with the remains of some paperwork, reassuring the doctor, Jordan headed to get the coffee whilst Lori dealt with the paperwork that Kenny had handed her.

2:00am

"Coffee?" Jordan offered the woman who sat outside on the bench, where she had been waiting for the Alexander doctor.

"Oh hey! Thanks!" Lori thanked, accepting the drink before wrapping further into the San Antonio Memorial uniform issued jacket she had been wearing. Taking a sip from the polystyrene cup.

"So Ragosa didn't authorise the surgery in time?" Jordan asked, filling the empty silence as she sipped on her beverage.

Lori sighed flatly. "That wasn't the problem." Taking a minute to rub her temples, she continued. "We just don't have the staff. I mean, a guy died today, because of protocol. He was waiting. I just-" She stopped again, to rub the back of her neck this time.

"It's not your fault." Jordan tried.

Lori Alister had to refrain from rolling her eyes. She should've been able to get that man the surgery. Shaking her head she didn't want to talk about the death of Mr Johns anymore.

"Are you sure you're okay? You look like you're in pain."

"Like I said to Drew, mild concussion." She shrugged, "So, the boyfriend?" Lori joked, changing the subject. She had met Scott Clements at a surgical board a few months back but she hadn't realised that Jordan was in fact his girlfriend.

Jordan hummed.

Before she could even speak Lori spoke up. "Gotta admit, he's a looker." She chuckled. "Is it true Ragosa is hiring him?"

"No." Jordan spat the coffee out which in turn made the two doctors chuckle. "No. Scott's not interested. I'm sure."

"Worth a try. Could 'a done with a looker to work with." Lori joked making the two women chuckle. "How's administration?"

It was time for Jordan's smile to drop, turning to the woman she shook her head. "It sucks. I mean what kind of person doesn't want to live?" She asked, bewildered by the patients decision.

Jordan had refused to acknowledge a 'Christian Scientist' bracelet on her patients wrist earlier in the evening that had been clearly emphasised by one of the paramedics. When Ragosa had found out he had blown his top and suspended Jordan to administration. Jordan couldn't believe it, after all, she was giving him his life and refused to accept his wish.

When TC found out - although not agreeing with Jordan's actions - he was quick to jump to his former girlfriend's defence and reached out to the paramedic trying to emphasise the incompetent state the patient had been in. Lori had felt bad for not being able to support her friend but she also knew that if she didn't fight for what she believed in then more people were going to suffer.

Looking down at her watch the young doctor sighed, "I suppose I better get back to work."

"You and me both." Jordan sighed too, following the Alister back into the ER.

7:13AM

"Bye Jordan." Lori waved from behind her phone where she had been texting Drew. She knew he was wandering around the hospital. He had mentioned something about finding TC and discussing his Ranger recommendation so it was highly possible that's where he was.

"Bye," The doctor smiled. Turning her head, Jordan had caught sight of a red Porsche, it was parked behind one of the bay columns. Sat on the bonnet was Scott.

"It's so good to hear your voice." The surgeon beamed.

Jordan gasped in shock. Scott had initially told her that he would be out of town for a conference this week and had apologised profoundly for not being able to spend the day with her. "You planned this whole thing, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. I missed you. - Happy Birthday, baby."

"I knew someone would remember my birthday." Jordan giggled as she was pulled into an envelope of a hug by Scott Clements.

TC was watching from afar. He was holding a wrapped gift in his hand and he had clearly been intending to give his former girlfriend. Lori, who had been waiting for her brother, didn't miss it.

"You still love her." Lori said. As if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Shaking his head, he dumped the gift into the nearest garbage can. "She's moved on Lo', I'm just a footprint in her past." He shrugged, walking towards his bike.

Lori watched TC speed away. It had been hard for him after Thad had died and she knew he was struggling from PTSD, she just hoped that Jordan would be the support that he needed especially since Lori herself was battling with her own problems and they weren't any better.

"Not matchmaking I hope." Drew's voice stopped her train of thought.

Smiling, she chuckled. "No. Just thinking. Ready to go?" She asked as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder as she waited for her brother to unlock his truck.

"Yeah..do you wanna take the truck? I've got a few calls to make." Drew offered.

"Sure." Lori shrugged, accepting the keys from her brother. Wishing him a goodbye, she headed over to his Silverado. She had planned to pick up her own vehicle at some point today, she couldn't keep relying on her brother. She would also have to look for somewhere to live soon enough too.

Heading for the truck Lori opened the door and dumped her bags onto the passenger seat, opening the windows. She hated how Drew would stink out his truck with cheap aftershave, it made her visibly gag.

It didn't take her long to reach Drew's home. But as soon as she put the key in the door, her body seemed to leave her. Managing to push through the door, the younger Alister ran towards the bathroom, collapsing on the floor and quickly emptied the contents of her stomach.

"Shit." She groaned audibly. "I'm not ready." She pleaded before she collapsed against the bathtub, holding her knees the young Alister shook as she allowed the sobs to take over her body.

Poll 1: What's wrong with Lori?

Poll 2: Who will find out?

You decide! Please Review!

ALSO: I'm looking for more suggestions on 'Night Shift' fanfiction's that you'd like to see. Please comment or message me with any ideas or requests too.