Hey, everyone! Here's the second installment of "The Distance." Now, it may seem like I only want to write about their encounters, but that's not how it's going to stay. I just want the audience to learn as much about her as possible early on. Anyway, sorry it's been so long between updates; I've been busy lately (and by lately, i mean... always.)! But I'm going to try not to let a space of longer than 2 weeks come between installments. Anyway, keep those reviews coming, please, and I hope you enjoy it! D
Chapter 2 – The Second Encounter
About a week later, Ray rushed out of County shortly after midnight and braced himself against the vigorous gusts of wind. He shoved his gloved hands deep into his pockets, securing his long coat tightly around his body. Silently ticking off the hours until his next shift – roughly 15 – Ray sighed, not really annoyed because of work, but quietly wishing he had more time to sleep and get things done in between shifts. He had just come off a 12-hour shift, and he was back on for 10 hours at 3 tomorrow afternoon. Well, actually, this afternoon, he realized, and a quick check at his cell phone clock confirmed that it was about 8 minutes after midnight. Since he seemed on a roll with math, Ray then estimated his ETA at home – approximately 13 more minutes – and calculated how long it would take him to shower and fall into bed. When all was said and done, Ray expected that he would be asleep by 12:45 AM. Since he had to be back on at 3 PM, Ray actually cracked a smile at the thought that he could sleep for a solid 12 hours if he wanted to. Maybe this day won't be so bad after all… it's only 10 minutes into it and I already have something to look forward to.
Starting up the stairs to the El station, Ray's pager began to beep. He glanced at the screen and groaned as the words, "Get back here ASAP, we have hazing victims coming in!" scrolled across the screen. "You cannot be serious," Ray said out loud, staring at the pager. As if on cue, the message scrolled across again. Annoyed, Ray blew air out of his nostrils and spun around, starting down the steps again. As he reached the first landing, Ray heard a scuffling sound and a light thud and squinted down the dimly-lit, inclined corridor. He saw a red-clad figure stagger to its feet at the bottom of the stairs, and rushed toward it as he noticed how much it struggled. As he neared the figure, Ray called out, "Hey, are you all right?"
The figure turned, still grasping the railing, and looked up at Ray. At first, he could not see the person's face, but as his eyes adjusted, he recognized it immediately. "Miss Knox?"
The corners of Gwendolyn Knox's mouth turned up in a half-smile which reached her eyes, but failed to fill them. "Dr. Barnett. It's nice to see you again."
"Likewise," he responded, and then looked with concern at her stance. "Are you all right?"
Gwendolyn Knox glanced at the railing, which her hands had never left. She looked sheepish. "Yes, I'm all right. I – you see, I twisted my ankle earlier tonight when I was walking home – high heels on the ice – and it just hasn't stopped bothering me. I thought I should maybe get it checked out, and coming down these last few steps I slipped."
Ray nodded. "These steps can be tricky. I slip all the time. Were you on your way to County?"
Gwendolyn nodded back. "Yes… I figured I should get one of those Ace bandages, at least. It's been a little swollen and bruised… and very tender."
"I see," said Ray, taking mental notes on how she was standing. Miss Knox leant against the railing more as time passed, and he noticed that she put no weight at all on her ankle. He began to worry that she had a sprain. "We should get it checked out immediately; neglecting a potential injury is one of the worst moves a person can make." He nodded back in the direction of County. "May I assist you?"
She bit her lip gently and glanced up the El stairs, where he had come from. "Weren't you on your way to the El?"
Ray raised his eyebrows in irony. "Well, I was. Until I got a page from County telling me they needed me back to the hospital immediately. Which is why I was on my way back down when I noticed you struggling."
Gwendolyn nodded slowly. "I see. Well, I would hate for you to have to stay out later than necessary."
Ray smiled, trying to hide his real amusement. "Ma'am, I'm a doctor; that's my job. We're supposed to go… 'above and beyond'… or something," he concluded as he watched Gwendolyn's smile change from courteous to authentic. "Now let's try and get you to the ER. I see you can't, or don't want to, put weight on that ankle."
"Well, I can… just not too much. I was moving very slowly on my way here."
"All right," Ray conceded. "A little weight, then. Here-" he picked up one of her arms and slung it around his shoulder, supporting her back with his arm. "Just take your time; we're only a block or so away, and I'll go as slow as you need to."
Gwendolyn looked like she felt a little guilty. "Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure. Can you still put a little weight on it?"
Biting her lip again, this time in concentration, Gwendolyn Knox tested it out. Ray felt her tense as she used that ankle, and he held her up as best she could. "Okay?"
She nodded. "Yes, that's fine." They set off toward County. After a few steps, the genre of silence was tough to categorize. Did they know each other well enough for it to be an awkward silence? Was it a comfortable, concentrated silence? Should someone make small talk? Gwendolyn took the latter route. "So, did you just get off of work?"
"Yeah, I was off at midnight. I'm back on at 3 tomor- this afternoon."
"Isn't it hard, working crazy hours like that? I'm a 9-to-5 girl."
Ray squinted a little in thought. "No, it's not too bad. It's just that I – I mean, we all – work some long shifts. Usually mine are no more than 14 or 15 hours… but some of the residents and interns are on for 24 hours or more. And only getting usually half your shift time in between shifts, and along with being on-call half the time you're off anyway, it just gets hectic and tiring."
Gwendolyn raised her eyebrows. "24 hours? I can't even stay awake for 24 hours. How do you treat patients for a whole day?"
"I'll let you in on a small secret, if you promise not to tell anyone," Ray said in a low voice. Gwendolyn's green eyes widened slightly in anticipation. She nodded. Ray held back a smile and divulged, "We don't really stay awake and work for the whole 24 hours. We take naps." As Gwendolyn cracked a smile which turned into a pained grimace, Ray hurried to add, "Don't tell anyone. We doctors like to pretend that we can stay up for a whole day and save lives. But the truth is, we're just as lazy and exhaust-able as anyone else."
The smile returned, and Ray wondered for a brief moment why he had rushed ahead with his joke to see it again. The next moment, she spoke. "That's good to know. I always thought doctors were like superheroes, anyway. It's nice to know that they're human, too."
Ray smiled, glancing at her briefly and then returning to watching the sidewalk as they neared County. "Yes, we are. So how's the ankle?"
"Not so great," she admitted. "It hurts pretty badly."
"I can see it in your face," Ray acknowledged, then wished he hadn't. "I mean, when you take a step. You grimace a little."
If Gwendolyn felt as awkward about what Ray had just said as he did, she showed no signs of it. "Yeah," she agreed. "It's okay; we're getting close, right?" She turned her big green eyes on him.
Ray paused, confused, and then realized what she meant. "Yeah – yeah, we're getting close. To, to, uh, County." He smiled, a brief, courteous, tight, smile, and trained his eyes once again on the sidewalk as they rounded the corner to the ambulance bay.
"We were closer than I thought," Gwendolyn remarked, then shivered. "It's absolutely freezing out here!"
"Ughhh, I know," Ray sympathized, then turned his attention, for the first time since he initially noticed Gwendolyn, to her coat. "This is quite a coat you have here."
Gwendolyn glanced down at her long, tailored peacoat. It was a bright, maraschino-cherry red. "It is, isn't it?" She paused and laughed. "My friends call me Little Red Riding Hood."
Ray laughed at this as they reached the bottom of the steps, and Gwendolyn stopped. "How do you want to get up there?" he asked, as the distant wail of sirens came quietly into his head; The hazing victims must be on their way.
Gwendolyn bit her lip once again. "Umm… Do you think I can walk?"
"Well," Ray advised, "you might be able to. But… that doesn't necessarily mean you should; it would probably do you more harm than anything else."
She sighed. "I was afraid of that. … Well, maybe I should lean on the railing?" Her eyes traveled to the steps as an exceptionally strong gust of wind whipped her blonde ponytail forward.
Ray raised his eyebrows. "Why don't you just put as much weight as you can on me?" he asked. "Really, that's probably the best thing you can do for your ankle right now, until you can elevate it."
"Okay," Gwendolyn agreed, somewhat relieved. She took a deep breath and leaned against him, slowly advancing up the steps. After the second step, Ray wrapped his arm the rest of the way around her middle and lifted her weight off of the ground, carefully transporting her up the steps and depositing her on the landing at the top. Gwendolyn finally let out her deep breath. "Thanks," she said, a little sheepishly again.
"No problem," said Ray sincerely. The electronic door slid open, and they made their way inside to the warm air.
(Hmm. A little suspicious, maybe...?)