In Her Eyes
Susan walked into Abby's recovery room alone so she could talk to her without anyone listening but Abby. Her eyes were stinging from her lack of sleep and she blinked as she pulled up a stool. She smiled sadly down at Abby's unconscious form and took her limp hand in her own. Abby's face was scraped and bruised and her abdomen looked larger than usual from the amount of bandaging. "Hey, Abby." It felt a little strange to be talking to someone who was insensible. She didn't know how many times she had told her patients' family that they would hear them and know that they were there beside them. She hadn't actually thought of how hard it would be to talk to Abby like she was going to respond, when Susan knew that she wouldn't. "It's Susan...You're going to be okay. We made it in time. You are safe." She stopped, feeling slightly silly. She bit her bottom lip nervously and swallowed, starting again.
"The police came and they have Richard in custody. He can't hurt you anymore. We won't let him come near you. Luka's here...he is worried sick about you." She went quiet, not sure of what she should say. She just wanted to tell her how she felt. "I was really worried. You have to wake up soon...for me." There were tears in her eyes and she swallowed the lump in her throat. She wanted Abby to know that Susan was there waiting on her. "Come on, Abby. You have to be okay." There was a desperate plea in her voice as she stood, still holding Abby's hand. Setting Abby's hand down gingerly, she left, glancing back at her best friend. Her best friend who was hanging on for her life. She stepped out of the room, gesturing for Luka to go on in. He stood up quickly and nodded, putting a caring hand on her shoulder before walking in to see his love.
..........
"Hey, Dr. Weaver." Susan's voice was exhausted and she didn't really want to hear any hostility from her boss. That was kind of how their relationship was defined: by the arguments and disagreements. They were on a common consensus that's just how they were. It was never said; it went without being mentioned. Instead of a harsh comment coming from the red-head, there was compassion.
"Susan, how are you doing? You look awful." There was nothing but kindness radiating from her expression. Susan wondered what kind of joke was being played on her. Whatever it was, she was not in the mood for it.
"I am a little tired, but if that is the biggest complaint I have, then I am pretty well off." Her voice implied that there was something more that was bothering her, but she would never reveal that aloud, let alone to Weaver. Kerry didn't believe that it was the only thing wrong, but she went along with it.
"How is Abby?" If there was anyone who Weaver cared about most in the hospital, it was Abby. They had some weird connection that no one ever really understood.
"She is out of surgery and in recovery. She's still intubated but Corday and Neela did an amazing job. They say that they think she will be fine after a knee surgery and a long recovery." Susan's weary eyes drifted closed for a second and opened again.
"Good. I'm glad." Weaver looked relieved and her eyes returned to some sort of normal resemblance of the regular Kerry.
"How is Sam doing? Where is she?" Susan hadn't really thought about Sam in the past couple hours but now she was the top priority.
"She is still out cold in exam three. We cleared a room for her here so we could make sure she was given the best care. You can go see her if you want." She pointed to the exam room and Susan nodded.
"Thank you, Kerry." She used her first name to show her real appreciation for her kindness. Weaver nodded and smiled.
"Be sure you get some sleep, Susan. I'm glad you're ok. If you need anything, you know who to call." Weaver shambled off and left Susan bewildered at the sudden kindheartedness shown by her normally menacing superior.
She shook it off and walked into the dark exam room where Sam was laying motionless on the bed. She pulled up a chair and sat, staring at her brave friend's unconscious form. A couple seconds passed and Sam's eyes fluttered open. "Sam." Susan was shocked to see her waking up so soon. Sam squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed, groaning in pain. "Hey, Sam. How are you feeling?" Susan's voice was soft and patient.
"Wow...I think I just had a weird dream." Sam's voice was a barely audible whisper and Susan shook her head.
"What was the dream about?" Susan was pretty sure that she hadn't just been dreaming anything.
"Where am I?" Sam looked around, frantically trying to clear the foggy edges around her vision. She sat up too quickly and dizzily laid back down with the help of Susan's firm hand.
"Easy. You're in the hospital, Sam. Do you remember what happened?" Susan's voice was very concerned and sort of hesitant. Sam looked down and narrowed her eyes, staring into the darkness.
"Abby." Her voice trailed off as she began to remember everything. "How is she? Were we too late?" Sam looked frantic, waiting for Susan's reply.
"She just got out of surgery. She's going to be fine." Susan leaned back in the chair and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"How long have I been out?"
"Um...about 12 hours. It's been a while." Susan said this, thinking about the lack of sleep she had gotten within those twelve hours. Sam glanced at Susan's bloody scrubs and drew her brows together.
"You haven't changed? Have you gotten any sleep?" Sam's weak voice was concerned.
"Don't worry about me, Sam. You need to worry about yourself. You are pretty beat up. You have a couple of broken ribs, multiple facial fractures, and a serious concussion. You need to rest." Sam closed her eyes and smiled.
"No wonder my head hurts so bad. Everything kind of looks like its spinning." Sam widened her eyes a little and tried to shake it off. Susan stood up and looked at the medicine they were giving to her through her iv, adjusting it according to the pain Sam complained of.
"There. That should make your head stop hurting." She smiled down at the drowsy looking Sam and spoke again. "Thank you, Sam. You are one of the bravest people I have ever met." Sam looked confused and questioned her with her eyes.
"You went after Richard." Susan stopped, flashing back to the fight when she had hit him over the head with the vodka bottle.
"That...was nothing." Sam's voice trailed off as she lost consciousness. Susan nodded and moved her hair behind her ears, sitting down in the chair beside Sam's bed. She closed her eyes and felt them grow heavier and harder to keep open. Gradually, she began to fall asleep. Within two minutes, she was sound asleep.
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