t5 Author: Feather (Flightf)
Warnings: Spoilers all the way through Twelve Sharp.
Disclaimers: I own nothing…JE owns it all….I will return everything when I am finished
Rating (K-M) M (for language)
A/N: This was started from a challenge sent by the Twelve Sharp group. 'Ranger in the hospital of any point of view.' This is 6th in a series of around 9. J Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback…it is always appreciated.
Also a very HUGE thank you to Melle who has been acting as my editor extraordinaire. Without her my story would be full of creative grammar and would consist of the never-ending sentence. I think that I am trying to set the record for the most use of "and", "but", "or" and of course just the plain commasJ in one sentence. MagnificentSin…..I salute you! Thanks for being my second set of eyes. I really appreciate your tough love J A special thanks to Lisa, Gale and Teresa who kindly offered there support and medical Knowledge. Without them I am not sure this POV would have made it to you. Thanks Babes!
As an ER Nurse you treat all kinds of patients. Some people treat the ER as their own private doctors office. Others are hypochondriacs and you see them at least once a month; always thinking that they are about to die. We get the occasional drug addict making up an ailment trying to get a fix. And let's not forgot the overprotective parent, who's child just sneezed and they are convinced that that their angel has chronic pneumonia. Frequently, we get gang members who have shot each other up. My favorite patient though, is Stephanie Plum. We are cousins of sort; my sister is married to her cousin. In the Burg that makes us family. She is a bounty hunter and we can pretty much guarantee that we will see her for something at least once a month. Luckily, she's not always the patient; often she is bringing someone else in. She is not the best patient, she hates to be here and whines constantly but I love her anyway. She makes working the night shift a little less mundane.
The paramedics had radioed in that their ETA was five minutes with two gun shot wounds. I was assigned to the most critical patient. First victim male, 32 and was hit with three shots. One shot to the upper portion of the right chest no apparent exit wound, minimal bleeding with compression. One shot to the left shoulder, through and through, controlled bleeding with compression. Third shot was a through and through to the left side of the neck no apparent arterial damage, excessive bleeding with compression. His blood pressure was stable at 90/40, his heart rate tachycardic at 140 and his respirations were in the 20's and shallow. I saw the ambulance pull into the bay and my energy level shot through the roof I was ready for action. It was time to rock and roll.
After they transported the patient to surgery it was time to update the notes into Meditech. The hospital had just purchased the new system so I accidentally brought up the wrong screen. My eyes were the size of saucers when I noticed that Stephanie Plum's name listed under next of kin for R. Carlos Manoso. Now the Burg is nothing if it isn't the largest rumor mill on the East coast. We pride ourselves of knowing everything and anything there is to know about someone. Now there have been whispers and rumors making the rounds for some time now. Most of it is a friend of a friend of a friend kind of thing so I haven't paid too much attention, but I ran into Marjorie Lando at Giovichinni's this week, and she said that Ranger walked into the bakery and kissed Stephanie for the entire world to see. No tongue or anything but there bodies knew each other. For the last few years Steph has been on and off again with Joe Morelli. Could it be that Stephanie was taking a step outside of the Burg box and falling for someone else? Now that would be a hard choice. Those two men were like having two deserts in front of you and trying to pick which one to eat. Joe was like apple pie, warm, comforting, familiar, and when you eat it you feel like you are coming home. Now Ranger is like getting a box of Godiva Chocolates; dark, silky smooth, sinfully sweet and you don't know what flavor you are going to get until you take a bite.
Later that night, after treating a heart attack victim, I noticed that it was my break time. I thought maybe I would head up to ICU and see how Stephanie was holding up. When she arrived earlier she looked like crap. She looked worse than after she did when she arrived after the Slayers had her. And that was saying something.
I took the elevator to the 2nd floor, when I stepped through the doors the first thing I noticed was the guards outside of bay number 4. I knew from past experience that Ranger would be behind the glass. I walked up to the tall Latino with a buzz cut. Hmmm… I thought. He could guard my room anytime he wanted.
The clipped, "Can I help you?", brought me out of my hormone-induced daze.
"It was my break time and I thought that I would come up and see how Stephanie was doing. Earlier in the ER she didn't look so good. By the way I am Gail Mangianni, my sister is married to Stephanie's cousin so we are family." Way to go Gail, give him your whole life history why don't you. Maybe he wants to know your credit score, too.
"Lester Santos." He said, shaking my hand. His fingers lingered on my hand briefly before he let it go, "Stephanie is sitting in with Ranger, waiting for him to wake up. Would you like me to tell her that you stopped by?" This time he sounded a little friendlier and I noticed his eyes drifting down.
"That would be good. Have her stop by the ER on her way home." I said and I felt my cheeks heat up. I turned and started to walk towards the elevator and then I noticed Joe sitting amidst some of the other cops. I thought that I had better walk over and see how things are going.
"Hey, Joe." Boy, I hope he doesn't ask why I am as red as a beet.
"Gail." He said but he never looked at me. I followed his eyes to where Stephanie was sitting. We both were silent as we watched her tenderly stroke Rangers cheek. She looked a lot better then she did when she walked through the door of the ER. Her eyes never wavered, she didn't look around, and it was like she was lost in her own world. I forced myself to look at Joe again; this time I really studied him. His posture was stiff; his lips normally quick to smile were set into a grim line. This was not a happy man. What do I say to him? What do you say to someone who is watching on the outside and wondering if his life will ever be the same? I studied his face for a moment and swung my eyes back to Stephanie.
"She is looking better. Do you think that she will be the same?" I said, hoping that I wasn't going to open a floodgate. I waited a few minutes for his response, I was started to wonder if he had heard me when he finally spoke.
"You never know with Stephanie. You just never know..." His voice was stronger than I thought it would be, but it held both a little bit of shock and wonderment.
I looked back and tried to see what he was seeing. And then I realized he knew. He could see it in her eyes when she looked at Ranger. Not only did she love Joe, but she loved Ranger too. Life would never be the same.