Ignoring McConnell further, Simone strode into the room. Easing herself down into the nearest chair, she stared at the wall, trying desperately to leash her temper.
(Dumbshit, Kristen's not an idiot! Do you want to get caught? But for the grace of a clumsy orderly go I! You're fucking pathetic!)
Simone was abruptly brought out of her musings as Hospital Administrator Adams cleared his throat.
"Now that we're all here, we can get started. Let's try to keep this short, as I know it's been a trying day for us all."
"For some more than others" Head of the Ward Gibson sniped, glaring at Simone.
"Please! Lets just get through this, I'm going on 29 hours here" wearily stated the Patient Rights Liaison assigned to Annabelle's case.
(What the hell is her name again? Jay? Jones?)
"As I was saying", a distinctly irritated Adams continued, "Dr. Bradley, I assume you had the opportunity to perform the initial interview with the patient. Please update us on her status."
Mentally screaming inside,
(status. Go ahead Bradley, tell them her status. How she'll never remember what you taste like)
(ENOUGH)
Gathering herself, Simone stood and called up Annabelle's medical record on the wall display.
"I think a brief recap is due for those of us that are coming up to speed on this case", Simone said with a nod towards P.R.L
(Joyce? Jance? Dammit!)
Receiving a pathetically grateful nod in return, Simone continued.
"Patient Tillman was admitted to DGH in the spring of 2014 with severe head trauma, internal injuries and hypothermia as the result of an…an automobile accident. Moderate injuries included multiple rib fractures, and a fractured collarbone. The internal injuries included a collapsed lung and lacerated liver; the femoral artery was also nicked. The complete injury tally was…substantial. Clearing her throat, Simone briefly paused as she noticed the compassionate eyes of McConnell watching her from across the room.
Turning back to the display, she continued in a monotone, "Due to the thoracic internal injuries, treatment for the head trauma was extremely limited for the first 72 hours. CAT scans showed that some blood vessels had ruptured from the accident, but opening the cranial case to relieve the pressure, combined with the emergency surgery the patient had already undergone, would have been a death sentence. Nanosoakers were administered to try to control the pressure, but the 'bots simply couldn't keep up with the amount of leakage. Pressure was reduced but not controlled. By the time surgeons were able to go in the fourth day after the accident, there was substantial secondary damage." Grateful she was still facing the monitor, Simone closed her eyes in pain before continuing. "She never woke up from the surgery, and lapsed into a coma in the following days. Memoral treatment was ineffective."
Numb again, Simone found her way back to her seat.
"As much as I enjoy the history lesson Dr. Bradley, all of that information is in her file." Tossing his personal datapad on the conference table, Gibson smirked. "What I want to know is the result of your interview with her today. Do you know what triggered the turn from a veggie salad to almost human?"
Deep blue eyes looking up at her uncertainly, …"who are you?"
Simone's angry retort was forestalled as McConnell quickly held up her hand. "I believe Dr. Bradley was getting there. Please continue."
(Breathe Simone, just a little longer. You can go see her after this bullshit)
Unclenching her hands, Simone continued speaking from her chair. "Simply, patient Tillman is currently suffering from severe retrograde amnesia. She currently believes it is the year 2006, and that she is 17 and about to graduate from high school. Her short term memory seemed undamaged however."
Dead silence reigned in the room.
Baxter, the Imprint Co-coordinator, was the first to speak. "You mean, she doesn't remember anything from the 8 years before the accident? I know they usually don't remember the accident itself, but…"
Cutting her off, Simone replied sharply. "Correct. I didn't have the opportunity to fully update her on current events, but I expect that to be possible as her conscious periods become longer. It's also slightly possible, but not likely, she will regain some of her long term memories over time. However, with the original damage, and with the scarring the subsequent surgeries caused, I wouldn't anticipate a full memory recovery if it hasn't happened upon her waking."
"Well then," Gibson sniffed, "sounds like she's pretty well fucked."
Later, Simone would still have no recollection of crossing the room, grasping Gibson by his neck and throwing him against the reinforced glass wall. She came back to herself as she pounced on him again as he bounced haphazardly to the floor. Seizing him again, she rapidly pinned him against the glass, where she continued to torque her weight on his neck.
Ignoring the shouting around her and McConnell frantically pulling on her arms, Simone snarled into his purpling face, "You dickless piece of shit. Consider this your Come to Jesus warning. You don't talk about her, you don't even fucking think of her! Or I swear to God the next time I'll break your fucking neck!" Dropping him in disdain, she scrubbed her hands on her jeans as she moved back to her chair.
"Dr. Bradley! This behavior is completely unacceptable! And I for one…" Adams began.
A beeping tone interrupted the furor. "Dr. Baxter, this is Donalds from Observation. I'm sorry to bother you, but you wanted to be informed immediately when patient Tillman showed signs of waking?...Going by the monitor readouts we estimate she'll be awake again in approximately 3 minutes. We paged Dr. Bradley, but haven't received a response…"
"Never mind that, we're leaving now for her room" Baxter said moving from her shocked place by the table. "Come on Bradley, we'll talk while we walk".
Still rubbing his bruised throat, Gibson yelled from the floor, "What? She assaults me and just gets to walk out of here! I'm making a formal report and personally filing charges with the Police!"
Snapping his head around, Adams glared at Gibson. "You'll do no such thing! The hospital has had enough bad press concerning this patient, partially due to YOUR actions! This matter will be dealt with internally!" Turning his attention to Simone he said, "Go deal with Tillman, but I'm giving YOU your last warning," and stalking to within a hairsbreadth of Simone he spoke softly, "another outburst like that here will be your last. Tillman will have to take her chances without you here. Are we clear?"
Shaking, Simone managed to grit out, "crystal". Turning on her heel, she left the room, Baxter hurrying behind her.
"Bradley, slow down! Bradley!"
(Take her chances without me here? She'll have that soon enough. Pull it together Bradley, only a little longer almost there)
Hurrying down the corridor, Baxter grabbed Simone's arm just before she reached Annabelle's room. "Look, you can't go in there upset like this! THINK Simone, what does emotional excitement do to newly woken patients?" Seeing Simone's startled look, she continued, "tell me. Think it out."
Leaning wearily against the wall, Simone rubbed her aching head. "Complications for exit comatose patients exposed to emotional distress include shock, confusion, and impediment for memory recovery and general cognition. Severe enough distress can cause "coma retreat", which usually lasts less than a week, but impedes the recovery of the patient."
Pressing on, Baxter asked unexpectedly, "and what are the documented stresses for a new Imprint?"
"Umm…" Simone stumbled.
"Exactly. It's not talked about very often, because it's so hard to verbalize. Feeling like you're living for two people now? Overwhelmed? Shocky?"
Simone blankly stuttered, "…but, how…?"
"I had one Imprint refer to it as "coma pregnancy". Simone, in this, it's really important for you to realize that while you are a fantastic doctor, you don't know anything yet about being an Imprint. Everything is complicated by your previous relationship to Annabelle, and a lot of what Imprints do is going to be doubly hard for you. You aren't her lover, but you need to find a way to be her friend, because just a physical presence isn't enough support for her with the new memory complications."
Seeing Simone's skeptical look, Baxter continued, "we can talk more about this later, but she'll be waking up soon. Here's her contact monitor, make sure she's wearing it and is clear on how to use it." She handed Simone a metallic blue bracelet. "And here's yours, so both she and I can get a hold of you wherever you are."
"I don't need…" Simone began.
"Yes, you do. I can't have Observation watch her constantly, and she needs to be able to get a hold of you wherever you are. And after what happened in the Lounge, this is non-negotiable. I'll remove it when Tillman's released." There was a brief silence as the two women silently engaged in a battle of wills, which ended with Simone's curt nod. "Fine".
Hastily taking the bracelet Simone clicked it around her wrist, and winced as it shrank down to a snug fit over the new bruising. "Anything else?" she asked bitterly.
"Not right now. Good luck." Baxter said as she moved away from the doorway. Simone only then carefully opened the door and slipped inside. Speaking to herself, Baxter finished quietly, "You'll need it".
As Simone's eyes adjusted to the nightlights within the room, she saw that Annabelle had hardly moved in her absence. However, she had already begun to move towards her natural sprawl while sleeping, a detail that brought a brief smile to Simone's face.
(She already looks better, and there's some actual color is in her face! God she's beautiful.)
Suddenly exhausted by the night's events, Simone slumped down into the nearby bedside chair. Unable to restrain her need for touch anymore, she lovingly twined her fingers with Annabelle's. Bringing their linked hands to her forehead in the same motion she'd used countless times in the last 2 years, she lightly rested her brow upon them.
Ok Simone, so here's the question. How in the name of God's green earth are you going to do this? "Be her friend", how the fuck am I supposed to do that and not be her lover too? There was always such a connection with the two of us, from the very moment I saw her outside St. Theresa's…
It had already been a long morning. Dealing with Catherine Pegrum was irritating at the best of times, but her cruelty during class today made her blood boil. And now, just when she thought she had a bit of time to catch up before the midterm crunch began, her aunt had left her a message to escort in a new student. "Special circumstances" the note had said.
Sighing, Simone looked down the walkway for the new girl. Briefly distracted by a question from another student, she caught a glimpse of denim and attitude, accentuated by a wisp of cigarette smoke.
(Great. Just great. She looks like she'll be a joy to settle in. Well, with any luck, maybe she'll be assigned to Sister Claire's dorm.)
Seeing Cat and Kristen leave for their next class, Simone finished her conversation and made her way to the girl.
(Those eyes)
There had just been…something, even at that first short meeting, that had made her want to protect Annabelle. Help her if she could. Laughing softly, she remembered Annabelle's reaction to her suggestion that she take out her nose ring and hide her prayer beads before meeting Mother Immaculata.
(Damn near laughed in my face)
Smiling at the memory, Simone raised her head to meet two very curious blue eyes looking back at her.
(Oh shit)