Just an FYI this is a series already just so you know I am already on story two of Louise and the guys. There are few things I am going a little bit away from 'cannon' mostly ages. So in the series Cap was 37 in season 6 when this takes place. I am going more with what his actual age was at the time of 40 so that is why he can have a nearly 18 year old and a 16 year old, who you'll meet soon. Also I have used more elements of 'real life' by using names of their real life wives if the name wasn't established in the series. I am also making some people younger than they were in the series, Chet was 33 in real life but Imma make him 28 because well why not. :P
Kelly Brackett was at a standstill with someone who was, dare he say it, as head strong as him. "I cannot discharge you on your own accord, you already ripped open my delicate work once and I won't have it happen again."
The woman in the bed crossed her arms as best as she could, seeing one was bound to her side, "I can always leave AMA." Her tone serious and the doctor knew she was not only considering it but was just waiting for a form to sign.
His face twitched in satisfaction as he delivered his rebuttal, "But if you do that, you won't be medically cleared for paramedic work." He knew he had her when she pressed her lips into a thin line as he continued. "I can only discharge you on one of two conditions; one, you have someone that will be taking care you and making sure you eat and take care of yourself or two, you begin to eat your meals here and allow that side to heal for at least three more days. So is there, now, anyone I can call for you?"
"No, there is no one."
The utter brokenness behind her words tore at him as he watched this young woman not only give up but start to close herself off. He tried a different, softer, approach, "What about one of your co-workers?"
"Which one might that be? Captain Stanley, who has a house full of women and doesn't need another one, especially one who still needs help to get dressed? Mike, who literally just had a baby and whose wife is barely able to walk because of what I did to her? How about Roy who is thinking of getting a bigger house because they have already outgrown theirs? Or..." She barked out a laugh, "How about one of the three single guys I am sure that won't look bad. Listen, I'll do whatever you want so I can get discharged but for now can you just leave me alone?" She rolled to her non-injured side and pulled her blanket over her head to shut him out. He took a deep breath and left silently.
It had been five days since the female paramedic sliced opened her ribcage while delivering Mike Stoker's baby boy. He wasn't kidding when he said the surgery was delicate, she had shredded multiple intercostal arteries with that windowpane and once he got in there to survey and fix the damage he found a three-inch shard embedded in the skin that had carved her up while she was driving the squad. He was shocked that she didn't seem to care. Three days into her stay she had pulled out several internal and external stitches when she had unbound her arm and stretched it above her head because her shoulder was stiff. This led her to having a second emergency surgery due to uncontrolled blood loss. The amount she had lost from the original injury and the reinjury was at least four units, half her blood volume. The hospital had replaced them, but then her electrolytes were horribly off balance, originally the doctor had thought it was just due to the injury until he was getting reports she was only eating maybe a quarter of her trays, if she ate at all. After being privy to that information a battle ensued, he on one side trying to get her to eat at least 1500 calories a day and her on one side staunchly refusing and arguing that she had survived on this amount of food since she was a teen.
He sighed as he wrote in her chart and looked up when Dix stopped by, "Penny for your thoughts?" She asked.
"A cup of coffee and you got a deal," He was grateful she was gonna be his sounding board but didn't want to air anything out in the common area of the ward's nursing station. Once inside the lounge he began to voice his frustrations and worries animatedly, "It's Lou, Dix, all her actions are counterproductive to her healing. The nurses started calculating her caloric intake and at most it's seven hundred a day! She keeps telling me it's ok that she has eaten like this since she was sixteen. Sixteen Dix!" Rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration, "She isn't overweight, I mean if you weigh her and compare it to her height, yeah she is, but she is more muscle than anything. She's built more like a Olympic runner than the 'ideal stick model' woman." He sat heavily across from her, "This poor woman, no doubt has been told something is wrong with the way she looks her whole life. She has the appropriate amount of fat on her it's just distributed differently." He struggled at how to explain correctly.
The nurse decided to put him out of his misery, "So she has muscular buttocks and thighs with some extra padding to her hips and breasts?" She grinned as the man blushed before getting serious, "All women get told they're overweight or fat if they're not a size two Kel, all of us do. But she has probably been told more times than most if she thinks this small amount of eating is right." She gave a small, sad smile. "It was probably a relative if she started eating like that during her teen years."
Kel, like most men, struggled with the thought process that unless a woman could fit through a picket fence you were 'fat,' "God, as a society, we have really screwed up, haven't we? Have women thinking they need to lose weight to the point they're sick and men having their view of the 'perfect' woman which is so skewed, someone who is beautiful and curvy like you and her get overlooked, eventually hating themselves."
"You never overlooked me," she said in a sensual tone which caused him to blush again. She stood and walked to him to kiss his cheek chastely before changing the subject. "Back to this situation, what are you doing about it, Kel?"
He groaned knowing the answer he had was gonna take away any brownie points he just earned, "I threatened to not medically clear her for paramedic work till she ate all of her trays or went with someone who would make sure she ate."
"So," The nurse's the nurses tone turning icy to match her look, "in her mind you told her that she wasn't good enough for something that she has worked so hard for and is so damn good at it her Captain is seeing if she can get a commendation for what she did for Mike, Rebecca, and their baby. Dammit Kel why didn't you just tie her down and force feed her if you were going to do that?!" She sighed, her anger sufficiently burned out. "I'll talk to her but I'm got a few phone calls to make first." The chastised doctor nodded as the woman walked out scowling till she reached over and squeezed his shoulder in forgiveness. "That whole not overlooking me thing, remember that tonight." A smile quickly graced his face.
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What do you mean you can't fit in those jeans you just bought! How big has your ass gotten now! Her mother's voice was full force today as she listlessly picked at her food, knowing that the nurses had removed the trash cans and did a room search after every meal to ensure she wasn't hiding the food instead of eating it. Fat ass, fat legs, fat arms. The only thing you got going for you is big tits. Men don't like fat women Louise; you got to eat less and tighten up! Lou was in the middle of a bite when this unwanted memory breached and with it the memory was so vivid, she could smell the alcohol that was ever present on her mother's breath, she gagged involuntarily and began to choke and cough. She needed water but that was another thing taken from her while eating so she didn't fill up on water and did not feel hungry. Tears were streaming down her face as she continued to cough and choke as her favorite nurse came into her room.
Seeing her distress the blonde jumped into action, "Gosh Lou," she quickly grabbed the soup bowl and dumped out the contents in the toilet before running water into it to rinse then fill for the choking girl to sip on. "Small sips, there you go." She soothed as the other woman sipped and the coughing slowed to a stop.
"Thank you, they took away my water while I have meals because, apparently, I have an eating disorder and will just drink myself full of it instead of eating." Lou sighed, "I like to eat, maybe not as much as others, but this hospital food literally has no taste and now that Brackett has ordered high calorie it's like eating textured shortening. I want real food, Dix. You know spice and flavor and vegetables that aren't steamed to mush." The blonde smiled knowing she had made the right choice in phone calls.
"Well, what do you say I get you that real food." She trailed toward the door and poked her head out, "Come in you guys." And one by one each of her teammates had entered, each bringing a dish that had been specially cooked for their paramedic colleague.
Louise's eyes lit up at the one Marco had in his hands and she began speaking to him in excited Spanish. "Huevos rancheros! Tráelos acá ahora o te voy a hacer lo que le hice a Chet" The rest of the men and the nurse in the room were at a loss at what she said, only able to pick out the name of entree and the name Chet. Whatever she had said, though, about made the mexican fall over his feet to give it to her. She uncovered the dish and took a deep breath enjoying the smell of spices, eggs and fresh handmade tortillas. "¿Quién los hizo tú o tu mamá? Dime que no se rechaza la especia." She took a bite and closed her eyes in pleasure. "Bueno, quien hizo esto, dígale gracias."
Marco continued the conversation in Spanish as well until Chet spoke up. "Ok now this is not fair! Please use a language we are all versed in." Louise blushed at his admodishment. "And what did you say about me?"
"Dile que no hablo irlandés" Louise threw in before she continued to eat. Marco laughed and turned to his crew mate.
"Chet, she says she doesn't speak Irish lug and she threatened to do to me what she did to you if I didn't bring her my mama's huevos rancheros. She was also worried that it wouldn't be spicy enough and she thanked me for bringing them." In true childish form Marco stuck his tongue out at his friend as he took his own fork and tried to spear some of breakfast dish only to have the fork pinned under Louise's, the glare that matched made him slowly remove the fork and slink away. "Well I guess that's hers."
Everyone laughed as they put down their covered dishes and Tupperware opening them and making themselves meals a la cafeteria style before digging in.
"So what, you all just decided to visit me at the same time with covered dishes spontaneously?" Louise asked while giving a pointed look at the blonde nurse who was very interested in the captain's clam chowder to the point she didn't look up at all.
"No," Hank spoke, "We just know how bad the food is here and Dixie here called us and asked if we could bring something of a variety so that you weren't stuck eating that stuff they say is food but it's more like...like"
"Textured shortening." The woman in the hospital bed provided, the apt description caused a general consensus among the men. "Well I cannot thank you enough for doing this but I mean this amount of food will go to waste. I can eat my fair share but still."
"That's the other thing we're doing here. One of us is gonna take you home for the rest of your recouperation and where ever you go the food follows." The woman's eyes bugged out of her head. "Now Chet, Marco and Johnny are out of running for obvious reasons but me, Roy, and even Mike would be more than happy to have you." She nodded as she weighed the options.
"Captain Stanley." She stated her decision simply, "No offence to Roy and Mike but one has a newborn that will wake me up all hours of the night and the other, well from what Johnny's says, the bed in the sewing room is lumpy and it's more like a sewing closet."
Roy reached over and flicked the back of his partner's head who batted the hand away, "Geez Johnny, if the bed is that uncomfortable why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I know, since I have the Rover, if I did I would be tasked with helping you haul off the old mattress and hauling in the new one." He shrugged his shoulders unrepentantly, "Besides I only stay a night or two normally, nothing some extra ibuprofen doesn't fix."
"Of all the lazy things... for that I am going to have you help."
Johnny groaned and flipped some oyster crackers toward Lou for telling on him, "Gonna make you help too, once you're all healed up." She found herself grinning at the banter.
Louise didn't know if it was the pain killers, good food, or what; but she was finally feeling like she was at a place where she felt safe. She had been so secretive, not even telling them where she was from, because she was scared of her father and his far-reaching money, but she could feel that fear lessen with each day as they tried to engage her, including her, and worked with her. They were not just coworkers, they were a family, and, in their own way, they were inviting her to join that family.
"Atherton." The men looked up in confusion as she said that name of the affluential California city. "I grew up in Atherton." She stared at the food in front of her and continued some slow bites. Chet Kelly's quip died quickly on his lips when he felt a solid slap to the back of his head delivered from his Captain. Looking back at his superior he saw the stare that brokered no argument and said shut up!
"I heard it's nice there," Dixie said, the other woman nodded.
"The landscape is nice, the people not so much." she sighed and looked up, "Well, except our neighbor, Robby Krieger, he was nice." At the mention of one of The Doors founding member's name, jaws dropped. "But here I get both, beautiful landscapes and wonderful people." She gave them all a genuine smile, her eyes glistening a bit with tears. "Damn wonderful people."
Kelly Brackett's loud throat clearing got everyone's attention, "Well, Ms. Werner, if all you needed was something spicy to entice you to eat, I would have done this earlier." He gave a small smile of thanks to his nurse, "So have you picked, staying or going?"
"Going," Hank answered for her, "She's coming home with me, Em, and the girls with all this food and we'll make sure she eats her fair share. Besides, I think Em could use the help of another woman trying to understand those teen girls of ours." He leaned over and squeezed Lou's blanket covered foot. "And our spare bed isn't lumpy and there is no one crying all hours of the night." She returned his smile.
"Sorry guys, I got to go," Mike interrupted, as he looked at his watch, "Becca is probably done with her check up and I should get her and Lou home."
"I'm going with Captain Stanley. Are you that tired?" Lou asked, somewhat concerned.
"No one told you?! Becca and I named the baby after you, Louis Michael Stoker, been calling him Lou, Louie, or Little Lou ever since. It was only right since you saved his life." He informed her.
The tears that had threatened earlier now spilled silently down her cheeks as she choked out, "Thank you." Mike gave a nod and parted ways with a wave to the rest of the room.
Nearly an hour later, after everyone but Hank had filtered out, Louise looked down at the food in front of her shocked, she hadn't realized it but while she had listened to her coworkers bickering, telling stories, and laughing, she had eaten two full servings of the mexican dish. "Wow, I don't think I have eaten that much in one meal in eight years." She whispered.
"It's a good start," Her captain stated firmly, "One we'll continue at my home." There was a knock at the door and a short woman with blonde hair entered. While the woman was tiny in stature the air she brought with her was anything but, it literally felt like the room got brighter, somehow. Hank's face lit up and his permanent worry lines seem to melt as she came all the way in and dropped a kiss on his lips before she greeted Louise.
"Hi, I'm Emily Stanley. You must be Louise Werner. I am so pleased to meet you. And understand some thanks are in order." She said as she shook Lou's hand.
"You're welcome?"
The blonde laughed musically, "Rebecca Stoker is a friend of mine, you see our boys work and play together so logical standpoint we became friends, but now we have an inside source for the friend group." Em smiled broadly. "Let's bust you outta here so you can start telling me what my Hanky gets up to!"
The spanish I used is purely Google tranlated and it was, "Ranchero eggs! Bring them here now or I'm going to do to you what I did to Chet" The rest of the men and the nurse in the room were at a loss at what she said, only able to pick out the name of entree and the name Chet. Whatever she had said, though, about made the Mexican fell over his feet to give it to her. She uncovered the dish and took a deep breath enjoying the smell of spices, eggs and fresh handmade tortillas. "Who made them, you or your mom? Tell me the spice is not rejected." She took a bite and closed her eyes in pleasure. "Well, whoever made this, say thank you."