Standing Strong

Chapter One

Another Ethan story- I really like how this one is very different in theme! I hope you enjoy- as always, feedback is appreciated!

'Your back playing up again, mate?' Cal asked, sympathetically. Ethan was grimacing as he tied his shoes. 'You need it looking at. I keep telling you.'

'Maybe you're right. I'll call the GP after work,' Ethan said, rubbing the base of his spine. It was stiff and painful, but it had been like that for nearly a year. He yawned. 'You good to drive? I'm too sore. And I'm knackered.' His hand brushed against his belt. It made things more uncomfortable, but he'd noticed he'd lost weight lately. Probably good. He'd cut down the snacks, that was for sure.

'Alright, alright. Lay it on thick,' Cal was joking, and Ethan smiled, snatching his briefcase from the stair post, and reaching for his rain coat. He'd swallowed two paracetamol that morning, but it wasn't really helping. Maybe he'd caught something. After all, the ED wasn't exactly sterile mid-shift, and he seemed to get every illness in circulation. At least he had tomorrow off work. 'Who's going to be here to chauffer you in a week, eh?'

'Don't worry, Caleb, I'm a big boy now.' Ethan replied. He pushed his glasses up his nose. In two weeks, Cal would be going to spend three months in Sydney, working in plastic reconstruction. Ethan would be on his own.

'Traffic looks bad,' Ethan said, frowning. Cal drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

'It's that new roundabout. I reckon it'll end up slowing down traffic, especially at rush hour,' Cal grinned. 'Specially if Iain's driving 3006. He's not great on roundabouts. Goes too fast.'

'Wonder who that reminds me of,' Ethan said, sarcastically. He rubbed his back. 'God. It's worse than usual today. Have we got any co-codamol in the bathroom cabinet?'

Cal let out a low whistle. 'That bad? Maybe. I can always stop at Boots if we need to, or you could grab some from the pharmacy. You really need to speak to someone, Eth. Call the GP now. They shut in half an hour. We're going to be another 15 minutes at least with the traffic.'

'Fine,' Ethan sighed, and found the number in his phone. He listened, slightly irritably, to the pre-recorded messages. 'Hello. Yes, Hardy, Ethan Hardy.' He gave his date of birth, and rolled his eyes at Cal as he waited for the receptionist. 'Back pain. It's getting quite a lot worse. No, not an emergency. Yes. No. Erm… yes, I can do then. Thank you.'

He swore, to Cal's surprise, after he'd ended the call. 'Two weeks! I'm going to have to try and get a cancellation. And I'll have to see if I can swap shifts to make that appointment. God. You'll have gone off to the sunny sands by then.'

'Just turn up to the ED instead,' Cal said, trying to make light of the situation. They groaned simultaneously, well aware of a certain type of patient as well as the mentality that came with them into the casualty department.

Arriving at work, Ethan had to grit his teeth as he got out of the car, trying to distract himself. He was probably suffering from a bad night. He felt tired enough for it to be a legitimate excuse. Although the lack of breakfast hadn't helped. He'd been too grumpy to be hungry. He realised then that he'd forgotten to bring something for lunch with him. Why was he having such a dreadful day?

Connie seemed snappy, too. He was in RESUS with her, and she seemed to have it in for him. They had an RTC victim in, with cardiothoracic injuries, and Darwin were rammed, and unable to send a specialist. 'I'm going to have to do a cardiac tamponade. I've done a few before, but we don't get many in trauma,' she told Alicia. She looked directly at Ethan, who was feeling sick. Standing up and walking had become painful in the past few days, and he was struggling. The focus of the lights was a bit overwhelming, and he was hyper-aware of everything, from the damp skin under his nitrile gloves to the nauseating pain spiralling up his back.

'Dr Hardy, are you going to pay some attention to what we're doing? If you're feeling unwell, I can find someone else to assist me. No?' Connie's voice rang out, icily. 'Dr Munroe, which instruments would you expect us to be using?'

Ethan's heart thumped as Alicia rattled the list off. He felt dizzy, and gripped onto his wrists, hoping that it would pass. Pressure points, where were they?

The operation began, and he observed, watching Connie's brow furrow in concentration. The rustling of the paper as she moved around the operation site and made the incision. The first trickle of blood ran down the side of the patient's chest, and Ethan wiped it away. He could feel sweat on his forehead, and his own heart felt vulnerable.

'Syringe, please.' Connie said. Alicia swallowed, and handed it to her. Connie worked it in, and began to pull it back out. They all watched closely as it filled with blood, and immediately, the monitors picked up the change. Connie nodded, exhaling, as she finished the tamponade. 'I'm pleased with this.'

Alicia looked closely at the site, taking it in. Ethan remembered being the same when he'd first observed Connie. She was a fantastic surgeon.

'Saline bag, Dr Hardy,' Connie said, preparing to close the site. He picked it up, and tried to pass it to her, but it slipped out of his grasp.

He bent to pick it up and cried out in pain, as a sharp stiffness radiated up his back. Connie turned around in a flash. 'Dr Hardy, you're not in a fit state to be working today. Wait for me in my office, I'll get someone to take you home. You need to see a doctor.'

Her disappointment was worse than the pain. He gritted his teeth, trying to block the pain out enough to breathe. 'No, I'm f-fine,' he gasped, although his skin felt cold with sweat. Another stab of pain sliced through him.

'Dr Hardy!' she said again, her tone getting angrier, but her words were fading. He saw her face change suddenly, and was confused. What was going on.

'Ethan?' Jacob sounded distant too, striding over towards him. The clamp was lying on the floor. He needed it. Oh god, he was letting them down. He needed to grab it. His legs were heavy, and when he tried to move them, they felt limp and slippery. Alicia was just in time to catch him as he slipped out of consciousness and hit the floor, the bag puncturing in his hands.