Chapter Seven:
Thank you for the reviews so far! The next chapter has a very different twist on events, share any predictions!?
He woke up, feeling significantly better than he had last time he'd been fully in the world. He was still on his back, but the brace was no longer digging into his skin. He was breathing easily, although he could tell he was in a different place, by the light coming through. He could feel a mask tightly clinging onto his face, and he realised he'd been given an NG tube.
'Ethan?' A voice he'd never heard before, broke into his thoughts. 'My name's Hannah. Open your eyes, love.'
He did, blinking. He was right. He was in CCU, by the look of things. 'Hello.'
'Ethan?' That was Connie, for sure. 'You're alright. Are you still in pain? You had quite a serious infection in your spine.'
'Draining.'
'That's right. You had a vasovagal during the procedure, and it was quite difficult to bring you back around. Mr Albion decided the safest thing was to put you back under fully and then completely clean out the site. We brought you out of the anaesthesia very slowly to get the best recovery we could. It's Saturday evening. How are you?'
Hannah was doing his obvs, and he was surprised by how little pain he was in. He couldn't remember feeling this well for months. 'Better. Water, please?'
Connie slid his glasses on, and passed him the water bottle next to the bed. 'Cal's sent you a few emails. He's enjoying the job. And Sydney.'
'Good.' Ethan replied, sleepily. He drank the water, feeling it running down his throat and into his stomach, which felt sore and tight. He was startled by how full he felt. 'Can you get this tube out?'
'Mr Albion wants to review you first,' Hannah said. 'Does that brace seem a better fit?'
'Yes. Definitely. Much more comfortable,' Ethan looked at Connie. 'I feel about five years younger than I did this time a week ago.'
'Heart rate's still a little fast.' Connie said, but she was evidently please. 'I've got a meeting in twenty minutes. Hannah, if anything changes, page me, please.'
The nurse nodded, and then turned and left, her senior calling her over to the desk at the front of the ward. Connie looked straight at Ethan. 'You need to take things easy,' she said, softly. 'You've been very ill these past few days. I thought I'd have to call Cal.'
He shifted uneasily under the blankets. 'I'm sorry.'
'You've nothing to be sorry for. You've been a better patient than I'd be in the circumstances.' Connie replied. She passed him the water bottle. 'Keep drinking, please. You need to rest as much as possible, seriously. Mr Albion's going to move you back to the ortho ward tomorrow or tonight. Your body has had a hell of a shock. You've been under general anaesthetic twice in a week, and there's still a risk of another infection. Your immune system isn't happy. We need to keep an eye on you.'
Ethan nodded. He was all too aware of how useless his body seemed at that exact moment. 'I'd better get going,' Connie took the water back. 'I'll be back in an hour or two. Try and sleep. CCU are under strict orders to keep things as quiet as possible where you're concerned.'
'I'll be as well behaved as I can be,' he promised. That made her smile. 'Is my tablet here? I'll email Cal.'
'Tonight. Stay still, please,' Connie told him. She stood up, putting the water bottle down. 'If you need me, I'll keep my pager on as loud as it goes. Look after yourself, please. Cal's not here to help keep you going.'
'Hello, stranger!' Cal laughed, from the screen. He was wearing his beloved aviators and a t-shirt Ethan had never seen before, grinning at his brother. Ethan smiled back, looking into the camera on his tablet. 'How's the Holby Hotel?'
'Not too bad. Probably better than Sydney.'
'I'm not so sure. Have a look at the view, here, Eth.' Cal turned his camera around, showing Ethan the crystal clear skies, white buildings and glowing sunshine. 'I've already got more of a tan in a week than I've had on any other holiday. You won't recognise me when I get back.'
'How's the hospital?'
'Fantastic. Just like the ladies,' Cal winked. 'I'm really enjoying it. My consultant's amazingly clever, makes me feel like a student all over again. Hopefully I'll get a 2:1 if I keep doing things right.'
'How's your hotel? I take it that the hospital doesn't quite have such gorgeous views?'
'They still aren't bad! The hotel is lovely, it's really good! Weather is fantastic, but you know that. There's lots of bars nearby, a bit touristy, but you know I'm a sucker for anything like that. Tell Connie I've bought Grace a cuddly kangaroo thingy to say thanks for keeping an eye on my own favourite small person. Ah. Well, at least I know your middle finger isn't broken.'
'Ha ha.'
'Missing my snoring?'
'God, no. Your comedy doesn't improve with 10,000 kilometres distance from your person, either.'
'I can't help it, Ethan, my humour's so good that it can't be improved upon. I'm hilarious even when I'm on the other side of the world.'
'Obviously.'
'Undeniably. Anyway. How's the back?'
'Doing good. They've put a new brace on which is a lot better. My consultant's agreed I can have my head elevated which makes the nausea so much better. And it's much less painful.'
'I'm so pleased,' Cal bit his lip. 'I've been really worried, Ethan. At one point, I started looking up flights to come back to the UK.'
'Don't be dramatic,' Ethan tried to smile as much as he could, but felt suddenly anxious. 'I reckon Connie's going to need to have a break to Australia after all of this. I feel awful about how much she's doing for me.'
'It's Connie. She cares about us, everyone knows that. And even though you're stuck on orthopaedics right now, you're most definitely one of the family in the ED. That's where you belong, Ethan.'
