Sorry about this chapter mainly based around my own character. I can understand it can be difficult as I picture him in my head but you will always see him slightly differently. I hope it's not annoying or frustrating not having actual Casualty characters all the time. Please tell me if you would prefer less of Dr McKay or his viewpoint and I'll cut down on him. Also thank you for your continued support on this story so far, I really do appreciate it. I hope you continue to enjoy this. Also sorry for how short this is, it just felt like the right time to end the chapter with the right content.
Dr McKay watched as the previously white screen turned black, and thought bitterly of how it represented his conversation with Caleb Knight. In the end, Cal had just shut down and switched off, and he wondered whether he would actually see Cal for a while. If the, frankly pitiful, excuses weren't enough to stir up worry for young Caleb, then the lack of seeing him around definitely would. He'd barely left Ethan's side before and now he was staying at home and not getting a quicker method of travel to the hospital.
If Dr McKay didn't know any better, it looked just like the situation became too much to handle for a relative. Yet, he did know better. Usually a relative would run when the patient was in a critical condition or an unknown condition. So why was Cal running when Ethan was slowly recovering?
He considered calling him back but soon thought better of it. He'd give Cal another hour or so and if he wasn't in the hospital then he would call him. Or get one of his friends (providing they weren't on shift, of course) to pop to his house and check nothing was wrong. They were the only solutions he could think of.
Dr McKay slowly entered Ethan's room. The young man lying there on the bed was the only man on the ward he'd had a previous connection with. It didn't change the way he treated him or anyone else, but it made everything he did more precious. That was one of the great things about his job. Although some people unfortunately didn't make it or didn't get better, he always grew attached to the patient. He spent time with them or their families and everyone was special. But Ethan wasn't just special.
Dr McKay knew him before he was attacked. Not that he saw Ethan often, but when he did he would always smile at Ethan's smile. The bright registrar bared some similarities to his brother. One being his ability to bring that slight bit of joy… hope even… to ITU when he passed by.
But he'd watched Ethan lie there, day in and day out for a couple of months. And although the hope was still there, it was buried deep inside of him.
One thing he'd learnt on ITU: hoping doesn't cure people.
He watched Ethan for any sign of movement, eyes intently fixed on his face, then his arms, his fingers, his legs, his toes… anything. They were going to run more tests later on but for now, all he could do was watch and wait. He'd learnt to be quite patient over the years, but sometimes he just wished something would happen.
He was about to walk back out when his eyes caught sight of something unusual. It was almost hidden underneath the bed. He slowly bent down (hearing the chilling sound of his knees clicking: he'd never liked that sound) and reached out his hand. His fingers curled around an object that was quite fluffy. He stood up and gazed curiously at it, realising it was a small teddy bear - looking really quite small when sitting in the palm of his hand.
As he turned it over, he smiled. 'Honey' was the name on the heart the bear was holding, and he immediately knew what it was. Honey was Ethan's girlfriend, and this was what Ethan went to get on the day he was stabbed. He sighed sadly and placed the small toy on the table at the end of the bed.
Nothing would happen with Ethan. Not yet, not today, not right in that present moment. What happened earlier was a muscle reaction that wasn't expected to happen again. Dr McKay decided to leave and come back later, adding that to the list of what he needs to do - right under calling Cal again.
He took slow steps as he exited the room, almost expecting something to happen.
It didn't.
Underwater. It was the same feeling. Everything was slow and felt slow and he didn't know what was happening and he was scared. He wanted to do something or say something but he didn't know what or… or how.
He felt himself going deeper once more and allowed himself to slip into a dreamless sleep.
The door opened suddenly and Connie walked in, smiling and walking over to Ethan's right-hand side. Dr McKay wasn't expecting hee but appreciated her coming. Ethan needed people right now.
"How's he doing?"
Dr McKay shrugged. "Sleeping. It's expected so… you know."
"Do you know anything more about his condition?" she asked, picking up the small bear from the table and looking at it curiously, smiling as she read the text on the heart.
"Not yet. It's difficult to tell," he said. "As you know," he added in quickly, worried he was being too patronising. Connie, thankfully, didn't seem to notice. "Just a waiting game for now."
"And Caleb?" she enquired, placing the bear back down and instead opting for Ethan's notes.
"Caleb is… well I don't actually know how he is." He'd nearly forgotten about his intention to either call or send someone to Cal. He'd do it soon.
Connie looked up from the notes and her eyebrows raised in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"He 'popped' home and hasn't been back. I know it's not been long since we last spoke to him, but he seemed like he was avoiding coming here," he mentioned. "I spoke to him on the phone," Dr McKay clarified.
"We spoke to him, what? Four hours ago? Five? He'll be here. He's probably got unavoidable things to attend to."
"Yes, but four or five hours for him was like a week. When Ethan was still in a coma, I mean you know what he was like. Now he just… it's like he's thinking up any excuse to get away."
"That doesn't seem like Cal. Not one bit! Are you sure he's not just held up? It happens," she suggested, obviously either completely oblivious to it or opting to ignore it.
Dr McKay sighed. "We'll see."