In Her Eyes
Abby walked out of the exam room with tears in her eyes. She walked briskly into the bathroom and ran to a stall. She stood in the stall trying to silence her sobs and she grabbed her side in pain. She doubled over and squeezed her eyes shut. She raised her shirt to check on her wound. She had pulled her stitches out and she was bleeding through her scrubs. Abby wiped her eyes and left the bathroom to find Sam. She was losing too much blood. Every step Abby took caused more blood to ooze through the cloth being held to her stomach. She gritted her teeth against the dizziness. Suddenly an emergent trauma came rolling through the door.
"Abby! Come on, we need you!" Sam's voice echoed in her head. Abby's world was spinning, but she had to help. She half-walked, half-fell on the way to trauma 1. There were blurs of blue, green, and pink rushing everywhere and Abby tried to focus on the dark red blur on the table in front of her. She swallowed and tried clear her vision.
"Abby, we need an intubation!" Someone shoved her to the patient's head and she took a deep breath. The oxygen cleared her vision just enough to see the bloody face below her. She heard frantic beeping from all of the monitors around her and she tilted the man's head up so she could see better. She slid the tongue aside and tried passing the tube. Her eyes narrowed as she focused. Finally she got in and said,
"Bag him." Abby sighed and stepped out of the way of Haleh, who was squeezing the bag, breathing for this poor man. When she stepped aside, she fell and Susan caught her before she hit the ground. Abby saw Susan's concerned face as she led Abby to a chair and she grabbed her side in pain.
"Abby, what's wrong?"
"I think I tore my stitches out." She said this through gritted teeth. Sam walked over to Abby and Susan, and put a comforting hand on Abby's shoulder.
"I'll prep for you, Susan. Come on, Abby." She helped Abby up and took her into an exam room while Susan continued with the trauma. Pratt looked at Susan with concern and spoke.
"What's going on with her?" Susan looked up at Pratt and sighed.
"I don't know. She wouldn't tell me anything." Susan rolled her eyes, annoyed.
"Well...let's start with what we do know then. We know she didn't fall down the stairs." Pratt's last sentence hung forebodingly in the air. Just then, Sam walked into the room and motioned for Susan to go with her.
"Pratt, make sure Dr. Corday comes to get him as soon as she can. He needs an ICU bed. Haleh, can you go with him?" Once Haleh nodded, Susan left to go deal with Abby.
..........
"Hey, Abby. Do you want me to call Luka for you? You definitely don't need to be alone tonight." Abby shook her head slowly, like she didn't have much energy to protest. "Abby, what if this happens again? What are you going to do?"
"I will come back if anything happens." When Susan didn't agree, Abby spoke again. "I promise." Susan rolled her eyes and agreed.
"Where is Luka anyway? I haven't seen him around in a while."
"He went to visit a friend in Texas. He'll be back in a couple of days." Abby winced as Sam gave her a shot to numb the skin.
"Sorry." Sam smiled apologetically. Abby waved her apology off with a chuckle. Susan sighed, looking at Abby's deep laceration.
"You know you don't have to be here right? You need some rest." Sam said, glancing up at her with her brows raised. Abby sighed and shook her head.
"I don't know. I feel fine...just a little sore that's all." She smiled, but her eyes frowned. Susan finished up with a bandage and spoke.
"Well I can't stop you from working tomorrow...but I think you should go home and get some sleep. You look exhausted."
"Fine...I'll go home." Abby thought about what she had just said and fear rose in her chest. She swallowed her dread and nodded in agreement with Susan. Sam narrowed her eyes. She knew Abby. If she didn't agree with someone, she wouldn't just go along with it. Once Susan was finished with her sutures, Abby walked out into the ambulance bay to leave.
Sighing, Abby walked slowly to her car and wondered what would happen when she got home. She bit her tongue to keep from crying and got into her car. She didn't know what the future held for her, but she had a feeling that it wasn't good.
Thanks for the reviews!!! Please keep them coming! –soccergirlmich--