Thanks to those of you that read part 1. I hope you continue...
Enjoy, and thanks in advance for reading,
"There's a fireman in the Doctor's Lounge," said John Carter as he approached the admin station, pleased to see that Kerry wasn't around, meaning he might just have escaped a mild rebuke for starting his shift 20 minutes late.
"Is he cute?" asked Susan Lewis, deliberately ignoring Randi's rather pointed eye-roll.
"He's a she."
"Who's a she?" asked Pratt, one of the medical students currently on placement in the ER.
"The fireman in the Doctor's Lounge, apparently," explained Susan, barely concealing her disappointment.
"Is she cute?" asked Pratt, stretching his neck and shoulders much like a boxer does right before they enter the ring.
"I guess… if you like that sort of thing…" mumbled Carter, suddenly feeling like he was missing something important, particularly given the twin glares he was receiving from Randi and Abby, "…but what you'll like better is this laceration which you can practice your suturing on in Exam 2," he announced, grabbing the nearest chart and motioning for Pratt to lead the way. He still didn't know what was going on, but he felt better being somewhere else and not leaving Pratt to further irritate Randi and Abby about whatever it was.
"They're unbelievable!" muttered Randi as the spontaneously formed crowd of medics dispersed (and in hour 10 that's almost 11 of her 12 hour shift when they were unknowingly gossiping about their boss' boss's girlfriend, 3 was most definitely too much of a crowd for Randi), leaving only Abby behind.
"Yeah. I guessed it was Lieutenant Lopez."
"Yeah, waiting for her," Randi tilted her head subtly in Kerry's general direction, although realistically, there was only one 'her' in this context and waited for Abby to nod her head in understanding, "to finish her shift."
"She on 'til 8?" Abby glanced at the clock – that was only 8 minutes away.
"Yup…" began Randi, only to look towards the Ambulance Bay as paramedics arrived pushing a gurney with a young girl clearly in pain, surrounded by her parents who were moving their hands frantically, "…that sign language?" she asked, already knowing the answer but hoping it wasn't, hoping that Kerry might actually catch a break and be able to finish her shift on time.
"Yup. Where's Dr Weaver?" Abby was already moving to catch up the paramedics who had stopped a little way down the hall, realising they hadn't yet collected a doctor.
"Exam 3."
"Thanks Randi. Hey Doris? Head to trauma 1 – I'll go get Weaver."
"She on? Thank god…" and, with a nod to her partner, the experienced paramedics redirected the gurney with its agitated escort towards trauma 1.
"Excuse me, Dr Weaver?"
"What is it Abby?" asked Kerry, not looking up from the EKG she was studying.
"You're needed in Trauma 1."
"Excuse me a moment," said Kerry, stepping away from the patient whose heart rhythm appeared to be normal despite his complaints of pain and dizziness and crossing the room to Abby. "There was no page and my shift finishes in less than 10 minutes. Why me?" and why me on a day when I have plans she thought, not wishing to further jinx herself by asking the question aloud.
"It's a kid, I put her in trauma 1 because it's quieter and her parents are really upset and scared and signing way too fast for me to understand and it's you or a long wait as doubt the interpreters are in yet…" finished Abby in a rush, aware she was rambling, watching Kerry closely for any sign she was about to be 'Weavered'.
"Okay." She suppressed the urge to sigh, she was a doctor, she took an oath and that oath meant you sucked it up, particularly for sick children for whom you were their only immediately available option. "I'll be right there, wait here," she said, before turning back to her patient, now ex patient, "Mr Golantz? I must attend to an urgent patient, Dr Carter will be in shortly to complete your tests," before she gestured for Abby to lead the way to trauma 1.
"Do we know anything?" asked Kerry as she fell into step alongside Abby, trusting the experienced nurse to have seen enough to not challenge the swift but easily matched pace she was setting once Kerry had removed her gown and gloves.
"Not really. She came in with Doris – kid seems distressed but quiet, parents agitated and vocally loud… don't know enough sign language to know if they were being coherent. Doris seemed relaxed so vitals must be good," summarised Abby, recalling what she'd seen in that split second glimpse of the gurney.
"Could be anything from sinusitis to a splinter, but it doesn't sound like a trauma. Umm…" Kerry paused at the door to trauma 1, clearly wanting to say something else but not knowing where to start, only for Abby to intervene.
"Chuny? Can you get Carter to look at Golantz in Exam 3 – here's the chart."
"He part worked up?" asked the experienced nurse, taking the chart that Weaver held out.
"EKG run, nothing obvious."
"You got it Dr Weaver." Chuny headed off in the direction of Exam 2 where she'd just seen Carter finishing a suturing demonstration, scanning the chart as she went.
"You want me to let Lieutenant Lopez know you're going to be late?" asked Abby quietly, almost smiling at the startled expression that flashed across Kerry's face – it was always the same with doctors, every time a nurse put two and two together and got four.
"Let's find out how late I'm going to be first," suggested Kerry, relaxing her face into a proper smile when she restarted her breathing, not having expected the question.
"Sure thing Dr Weaver," agreed Abby as they both pushed through the doors into trauma 1.
"What have we got Doris?" asked Kerry, striding up to the gurney as her hands started to instinctively sign 'Hi, I'm Dr Weaver, do you sign?' Abby and Doris didn't need even a rudimentary knowledge of sign language to understand the answer – even if they hadn't been able to guess the meaning of the 3 simultaneous 'yes' signs coming from the family, the nods, smiles and general looks of relief from the parents confirmed to them the unwritten rule of the ER: if in doubt, get Dr Weaver, she'd know what to do.