"What happened?" I gasp when I right myself as we run with her into an exam room. "Get four units of O neg," I yell before taking my pen light to check her pupils. Thankfully, they're equal and reactive to light. Once we clear her neck, I'll be able to take the C collar off of her.
"Apparently some kids were playing chicken with their cars in the grocery store's parking lot. An older woman spilled her grocery bag and was picking her stuff up. One of the cars was headed straight for her. This lady pushed her out of the way. She had a little boy with her. The police are bringing him."
"Her blood pressure is really low Dr. Salvatore. 88/56. Her pulse is tachy at 130," Morgan, one of the nurses tells me.
"She's in shock," I say methodically as begin to examine her, knowing I have to distance myself emotionally if I'm going to save her.
"Insert an NG tube. Lavage her gut. Her belly is distended, we need to see if she's bleeding internally. Get radiology in here stat to do a chest X ray and get the cardiac monitor on her," I say, my voice loud as I bark out orders. Reaching over, I grab an oxygen mask and carefully put it on her bruised face. Unable to hear any lung sounds on her left side, I yell again for the chest x ray.
After looking over her chest film, Dr. Lockwood states, "It looks like she has a pneumothorax, Damon."
"Grab me a chest tube kit," I scream. Taking a scalpel in hand, I make an incision in her left chest wall then I insert the chest tube and attach it to a drainage container. Immediately blood starts gushing into the drainage container.
"We need to get her to CT to get a picture of her head and also her neck so we can clear her C-spine and remove the collar. Was she conscious at the scene at all?"
"No, Dr. Salvatore," Amy confirms.
"I need to intubate her. Get RT in here stat."
After getting her to CT, I take a moment to thank God that she doesn't appear to have any bleeding on her brain. She is severely injured though and I need to take her to surgery. I'm the only one available.
"Morgan, tell my sister that the police are bringing Elena's son in. Ask her if she'll take him home with her," I utter as my team and I start to push Elena's cart to the a surgery suite.
After calling Caroline to give her an update and to check on Jeremy, I find myself unable to leave Elena. I pull a chair next to her bed and take her hand in mine, linking my fingers with hers.
She's still so beautiful. This tragedy happened because she made the decision to try to save an old woman's life. She's a hero on top of everything else. "I promise if you come back to me, I'll do everything in my power to make it up to you. Please, Elena? Jeremy needs you, I need you," I whisper, pressing a kiss to her hand.
When I feel someone jostling my arm, I lift my head up, looking around. "Dr. Salvatore? Wake up."
Glancing at my watch, I see it's almost two thirty in the morning. "Nikolina? Did you need something?"
"ED has been trying to reach you. They said you haven't answered your pager."
"Thanks for waking me. I didn't hear it go off." Pulling it out of my pocket, I realize that I accidentally set it on vibrate. Standing up, I shake off the drowsiness before following Nikolina out to the nurse's desk to call the ED.
Picking up the phone, I call the emergency department to see what they need. Informing me that a level one trauma is en route, I run into Elena's room to grab my lab coat. Taking a moment, I press a kiss to her pale cheek.
"I'll be back later, Elena," I whisper in her ear then practically gallop to the stair well taking two a time till I get downstairs.
By the time I finish suturing up a guy who decided to take a drunken joy ride on his motorcycle, it's nearly six in the morning. Taking the stairs, I jog back up to the ICU to check in on Elena. I also need to get in touch with the Human Resources department about her next of kin. Bonnie said she'd been out of town visiting an aunt. Perhaps her name could be on Elena's employment application. She's critically injured but is stable for now. Knowing I'll be of no use to her or anyone else for that matter if I don't get some sleep, I press a kiss to Elena's forehead, whispering that I'll be back later in the day and that I will keep an eye on Jeremy for her.
I'm barely running on fumes by the time I walk through my front door. I go straight to my bedroom and into the en suite bathroom. Reaching down, I turn the water on in my whirlpool tub then strip out of my clothes and step into the nice hot water. Resting my head against the back of the tub, it takes no time at all for me to fall asleep. When I wake up a half hour or so later, the water is cooling off. I pull the stopper then step out of the tub, wrapping a towel around my waist. Pulling back the covers, I drop my towel and crawl under the blankets. Sleep takes me as soon as my head hits the pillow.
I'm tossing and turning when suddenly I lurch upright, drenched in a cold sweat. All I see when I close my eyes is Elena's battered body. Exhaling heavily, I drop my head in my hands as guilt pervades every synapse in my brain. How could I treat her so abysmally? Looking up, I glance at the clock. It's only a little after noon. I've only been asleep a few hours. Things are too chaotic in my head to allow me to sleep decently. Knowing I have to go back to work in a few short hours, I know I need to try. I drop a couple of Advil in my palm and chug them down hoping they'll help me get a little rest.
After several hours of flailing in bed, I finally give up trying to sleep and jump into the shower. Dressing quickly, I lock my house then jump into my car to drive over to Caroline's house to check on Jeremy. Pulling into her driveway, I turn off the ignition and walk to the front door. Just as I raise my hand to rap on the door, Annabelle pulls it wide open.
"Uncle Damon," she squeals then wraps her arms around my waist.
"Hi princess. Where's Jeremy?"
"Mommy put him in bed to take a nap. He was crabby," she says melodramatically.
"Crabby?"
"Yeah, he was throwing my toys and swatting me."
"I'm sorry little girl. He probably misses his mommy."
"Damon. How is Elena?" Caroline asks as she walks into the foyer where Annabelle and I are standing.
"She's critical. I just wanted to check on Jeremy before going back to the hospital. Annabelle said he's sleeping?"
"He is. Poor little guy cried himself to sleep hugging that stuffed Meerkat you gave him."
"Do you mind if I just look in on him?"
"No. Matt got Annabelle's old toddler bed out of the attic and put it together for him. He's in her room. Just be quiet, I barely got him to sleep," she cautions me. After sneaking in and checking on Jeremy, I jog down the stairs.
"Damon, come have a cup of coffee with me before you run back over to the hospital."
"Caroline, I really want to get back to Elena," I whine.
"Seriously! For someone that pushed her out of his life, you're sure going overboard here," Caroline says, hitting the bulls eye with the pointed barb she just launched me.
Raising my arms in surrender, I follow her to the kitchen.
She sets a cup of coffee in front of me then takes a seat herself. "How are things really?"
"Elena was critically injured, Caroline. She pushed an old lady out of the way. Unless the cops are mistaken, Jeremy witnessed her being plowed over by some stupid kids speeding through a parking lot. Is it any wonder why he cries himself to sleep?" I ask, taking a drink from my cup.
"He had a nightmare last night. I finally brought him into the bed with Matt and me. He's such a sweet boy. Does she have any family? You know if, God forbid, the worst should happen?"
Dropping my face into my palms for a moment, I raise my glazed yes to hers, "Caroline, please, I can't even consider that right now."
"You have to Damon," she whispers, taking my hands in hers, squeezing gently.
"No, I don't. Not yet," I whisper, my gaze meeting hers.
just as I lift my cup of coffee to take another sip, Annabelle steps into the kitchen holding Jeremy's hand. He's rubbing his eyes with his little fist. When he sees me, he runs towards me, only to trip and fall. Tears erupt immediately. Picking him up, I set him on my lap and cuddle him against my chest.
"Shhh, it's okay Jeremy," I whisper, rubbing his back.
"Where mama?"
"Mama is sick, little man. She needs to be in the hospital. When she feels better, I'll take you over there to see her, okay?"
My gut twists uncontrollably when he looks at me with those huge brown eyes of his before burrowing his head into my chest. Pressing a kiss to his head, I just hold him in my arms.
Before long, he's sound asleep again. Standing up carefully, I carry him back up to Annabelle's room and tuck him in. Taking a moment to finger the hair on his forehead and press one more kiss to the top of his head, I tiptoe out of the room, silently closing the door.
Caroline is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. "You really care about them, don't you?"
"More than I ever thought possible. I just hope she'll forgive me when the time comes. Listen sis, I've got to get back to the hospital. I'll call to check on him later," I utter quietly.
She nods, then walks me to the door. "Damon?" she yells just as I'm about to step into my car. Turning around, she's right there and pulls me into her arms. "Take care of yourself little brother."
"Thanks sis," I whisper, pressing a wisp of a kiss to her cheek before crawling into the driver's seat. Buckling my seatbelt, I gun the motor and pull out of the driveway, waving goodbye through my open window.
Once I finish operating on a woman who fell twenty feet off a cliff near the falls, I change my clothes to go check on Elena. When I walk into her room, one of the nurses is giving Elena mouth care around her ventilator. "Hi Kate. How is she doing?"
"Dr. Salvatore, you startled me," she says pressing her palm against her chest.
"Sorry. I just finished a case. I wanted to check on her."
"She's a friend of yours?" Kate asks.
"Something like that," I whisper as I take Elena's hand in mine. "Can you leave us alone for a little while?"
Eyeing me curiously, "Sure, just let me clean up my mess."
When she leaves the room, I pull up a chair and pick up her hand again. Pressing a kiss to her palm, I turn to face her. Although a machine is breathing for her and her eyes remain closed, she's still as beautiful as the first time I laid eyes on her.
"I went to see Jeremy today," I tell her, my voice soft. "He's so scared and he misses you so much Elena. You need to get better for him and... for me, please," my voice breaking a little as I cuddle her palm against my cheek. Laying my head down on the side of the bed, clutching her hand as if it were a lifeline, I close my eyes...
"Dad, what happened?" I asked shocked when I walk into his ED exam room. One side of his face is black and blue. He has fresh sutures along his brow line and his arm is in a sling.
"Stefan is in the waiting room. Can he come back here?" dad asks groggily, obviously under the influence of whatever pain killer he was given.
"Stefan? No dad, he didn't do this did he?"
"Calm down son," he says, his eyes drifting closed once more.
After making sure the side rails are raised on his gurney, I practically gallop out to the waiting room to find out what happened.
He's sitting in the waiting room, taking a sip of soda when I march over to him. "What happened to him Stefan?" I ask, my emotions frayed under the stress of Elena and now dad.
"I didn't do this Damon. He fell outside in the yard. He called me because you didn't answer your cell and neither did Caroline. I swear to you I didn't hurt him," he stresses, his voice anguished.
Dropping into the seat beside him, I turn to face him. "I believe you. Come on, let's go back there. He's pretty loopy though."
Dad is still dozing when Stefan and I step into his exam room. Reaching into my pocket, I grab my pen light and look at his pupils. I take my stethoscope and listen to his heart and lungs.
"Damon?" he slurs, slowly opening his eyes.
"Damon?" I turn to see Dr. Lockwood and Jarka, the ED nurse assigned to my dad, enter his exam room.
"He doesn't tolerate narcotics well does he?" Tyler asks with a chuckle.
"No, no he doesn't," I utter, my lips tight as I glare at him.
"His shoulder was dislocated Damon. We had to use conscious sedation to put it back into place. As you can see, he has a nice laceration along his brow. He's going to need some physical therapy on that shoulder. He had a syncopal episode so I'm going to admit him at least overnight. I wrote orders for telemetry so we can see if it was related to his heart."
"Thanks Ty. I think that's probably a good idea." I say, squeezing dad's hand.
After we get him settled into a room, Stefan and I take a seat at his bedside. "You can go home, Stefan. I'm going to be at the hospital all night anyway."
"Are you sure? I could stay with him too, Damon. I know you're burning the candle from both ends right now. I heard about your friend being hit by a car. How is she?"
"She's critical. I need to run up to the ICU to check on her. Look, if you want to stay with him, I won't stop you. But you need to call me if anything comes up. I'll check in on him a little later. He's going to be hurting when he wakes up. Shoulder injuries are very painful."
"You have my word, Damon," he assures me. "I'll try to get a hold of Caroline too. She's probably going to freak."
Nodding, "Yeah, she is." Turning around, I look at my dad one more time before walking out of his room.
Walking into the Doctor's lounge, I drop onto the couch to try and sleep for a little while. I barely doze off when my pager alarms with an annoying staccato. Lurching upright, I reach around for it. Picking up my lab jacket, I run to the stairs taking two at time till I get to the ED.
"Bob, what's going on?" I ask, trying to catch a breath.
"A train derailment. We have several incoming wounded. ETA fifteen minutes. I'm trying to call in extra help."
Inhaling deeply, I need to take a beat for just a moment to gather my bearings. "I'll be back in ten minutes tops," I yell as I run back into the stairwell to check on Elena quickly.
I'm taken aback when I walk into Elena's room. In a mythical world, I can almost envision her as Sleeping Beauty, waiting to be awakened by true love's kiss. It's all so surreal. Even though her face is discolored with bruises and swelling from trauma, she's still the prettiest girl I've ever laid eyes on.
Walking over to her bedside, I press a kiss to her forehead. "Sweetheart, I can't stay. I just wanted you to know that I'm going to do everything you need me to do to earn your forgiveness.
Please come back to me, Elena," I whisper, drop another kiss to the side of her mouth before turning around to return to the ED.
After several hours of surgery, I feel like one of the walking dead. Exhaling deeply, knowing I need to press myself a little harder, I go to check on my dad. When I get to his room, he's sitting up in bed eating breakfast.
"Da...," I whisper just as I feel my knees collapsing. I hit the floor with a thud as darkness pulls me under.
Damon? Thank you Eva. This is your story idea. I hope we did it justice. Thank you for all the reviews and follows and favorites. I can't believe that there are over 150 reviews and nearly 100 follows. Just wow! I can't thank you enough. They really do spur me to want to continue to write DE stories. So don't forget to drop me a few words and click that review button. I did just update 'Shatter Me' too. Please give that a look if you haven't already.
Today is the 71st anniversary of D-Day. Remember so many men gave their lives when they stormed the beaches at Normandy, all to free a continent of Nazism. President Reagan made two timeless speeches on the 40th anniversary in 1984. You can find them on youtube if you're at all interested.
Those of you who review anonymously, I can't respond to you individually but know that I appreciate them so much. Stay safe and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.