Good to Bad


"I really can't face calling another death." AJ shook her head, dumping a folder onto the desk at the nurses station where Renee was standing filling in some paper work.

"Yeah it's like grim reaper is lurking around today." Renee sighed.

"Some aren't even from the attack yesterday." AJ said, "Why does death affect me some days and other days it doesn't even phase me." She shook her head.

"You got your period?" Renee shrugged as AJ rolled her eyes.

"What's that got to do with anything." AJ said.

"Well, your hormones are all up in the air. Can make you feel different." Renee shrugged as AJ nodded once she thought about it.

"I just want something happy. I want to discharge someone or tell someone good news for once." AJ nodded, "Is that so much to ask for?"

"Mendez." Shauna walked over to them.

"It's Brooks." AJ nodded.

"I still don't care." Shauna shrugged, "There's a baby girl, one year old in consult. Mom says she hit her head off concrete and the head is swollen. Check it out."

"Uh… shouldn't she go to paediatrics?" AJ asked as Shauna put her hands on her hips, "No, she shouldn't because she hasn't been properly admitted yet." AJ remembered.

"Oh, good. You are learning." Shauna nodded, walking off down the hall as AJ turned to Renee.

"I asked for something good and I get a screaming baby?" AJ groaned as Renee chuckled, watching her walk off briskly.

AJ walked all the way down to the consult room, knocking before entering as she saw the mother standing with the most adorable baby girl in her arms, who was oddly quiet as a mouse.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Brooks." AJ smiled pleasantly, "And this must be Olivia." AJ read the information sheet she'd collected on her way.

"Yeah, and I'm her mom, Jodie." Jodie nodded nervously, shaking AJ's hand, "I took my eye off her for a second, you know. Ever since she's learned how to walk she just shoots off and… I turned around just in time to see her fall and hit her head off the ground."

"Accidents happen. Don't worry, I'm gonna check her over." AJ nodded, "Could you get her to sit on this bed." AJ said, cleaning the examination bed and putting a paper sheet over it like they did for every new patient who entered.

"Of course." Jodie nodded, sitting the one year old down on the bed.

"Is she always this quiet?" AJ smiled, blown away by how insanely quiet and just adorable the baby girl was as she sat on the bed, pulling at the paper sheet beneath her as AJ got her stethoscope out.

"She doesn't usually cause a fuss. She's a good baby." Jodie nodded, standing back a little worriedly as she watched.

"Ok." AJ smiled, lifting her small t-shirt to sound her chest and back, "You're such a clever girl." AJ nodded as Olivia tried touching the stethoscope, "Ok, that's all clear." AJ nodded, putting it back on her pocket.

"I don't know, maybe it's just a concussion but… I couldn't not bring her." Jodie said worriedly.

"You did the right thing." AJ nodded, crouching down in front of Olivia who grinned at her, "Hi." AJ smiled, "Can you hold my hands?" She nodded, taking a hold of the baby girls hands as she held onto them, "Oh, you're so clever." AJ nodded, "And what about this?" AJ smiled, tickling her bare feet as the baby girl giggled instantly, "Is that funny?" AJ laughed a long with her as Jodie smiled behind.

"She's very ticklish." Jodie nodded.

"She is." AJ chuckled, standing back up straight and examining her head.

"I thought it looked swollen but… you'll know better." Jodie waved her hand.

"It is swollen. On an adult you wouldn't notice a thing but baby's with no hair tend to make it look a lot worse than it really is." AJ nodded to her.

"I figured." Jodie nodded.

"Ok, I suspect it's just a minor concussion but I'm going to send her for an MRI just to make sure." AJ nodded, "The nurses in radiology are wonderful, they'll talk you through it when you get down there." She said, "But I really think she's gonna be just fine." She nodded.

"Ok." Jodie nodded gratefully, "Thank you." She said.

"That's ok." AJ nodded.

"Would it be totally inappropriate if I asked you to stay with her for a second whilst I go to the bathroom?" Jodie asked, "I thought it was just because I was nervous and worried but… I gotta go." She laughed a little.

"Of course. There's a bathroom just across the waiting room out there." AJ nodded to her.

"Thank you." Jodie nodded, quickly leaving the room as AJ looked back at Olivia sitting on the bed.

"What are you doing with that?" AJ smiled, crouching down in front of Olivia who was ripping up the paper sheet, grinning to her as AJ chuckled, "You're the sweetest little thing." AJ shook her head as Olivia passed all the ripped bits of sheet to AJ, "Oh, thank you." AJ nodded to her, smiling as she watched her every move.


"How was your day?" Punk asked, picking AJ up from the hospital later on, "Better than yesterday?"

"Yeah, you?" AJ asked him.

"Yeah, a lot calmer for sure." He nodded.

"I still called a lot of deaths this morning from the incident last night." She said, "But my day got better towards the end. I met the sweetest little baby." She shook her head as Punk smiled, "She was so smiley and happy. Made me happy." She thought to herself.

"Was this sweet little baby a patient?" Punk asked, driving to his mother's care home where he'd agreed to pick AJ up and go straight to.

"She was. She fell and bumped her head. MRI's came back all clear, just a concussion." AJ nodded, "Did you do the fire report?" She turned to him as he nodded.

"Yeah. Started at the car like we suspected." Punk nodded, "And the person responsible is definitely in custody."

"Well that helps." AJ nodded, "Especially for grieving families, which… I've saw most of them." She sighed.

"I don't even know if they'll be able to use any of the college campus now. Majority of it has to be taped off. It's not safe." He shook his head.

"The board will figure out something for the students." AJ nodded.

"Yeah, some therapy first and foremost." Punk said as AJ nodded in agreement, "I'm really hoping she's doing alright. I know it's a long shot saying that nowadays." He said, driving into the care home car park.

"We'll handle it, however she's feeling." AJ assured him, placing her hand on his thigh.

Unfortunately they'd watched the dementia get worse with Gerry. It was very rare that she really recognised them at all. She was going downhill very quickly, and AJ knew she could struggle on for a while in this kind of state, which was just awful for them to watch, especially the boys. It was a cruel illness.

"Ok, let's go." Punk nodded, parking the car up and getting out as AJ followed.

"How's Dean doing with everything?" AJ asked him, taking his hand, "Renee said he was shaken up."

"Well we all were last night." Punk nodded, "Dean got most of the… deceased." He said.

"Is that a specific role someone takes on? Searching for the dead bodies?" AJ asked him.

"No, it's more like a zone situation. He took the area that the fire started at first, so… people were trapped there for longer and died quicker." He said as AJ nodded, "But he's doing ok. He knows it wasn't his fault."

"Of course." AJ said, walking into the care home with him, "Maybe she's watching a movie." AJ wondered as Punk signed in at the welcome desk, greeting the familiar faces around and making their way into the home to his mother's room.

"Maybe. If she's sleeping we can just go, and come back tomorrow." He said as she nodded.

They got to the room, knocking on it before walking in, looking over to see Gerry sitting at the table. The saddest thing was that she was sitting doing nothing. No TV was on. She had nothing in front of her. She was just simply sitting in her own silence, and that devastated them.

"Hey, mom." Punk said, glad to make some noise as Gerry looked over, looking at them both and not saying anything.

"Hi, Gerry." AJ smiled, "I thought you'd be watching a movie." AJ nodded.

"It's not on." Gerry shook her head, looking over at the TV.

"I'll put it on." AJ nodded whilst Punk sat over at the table with Gerry who looked at him.

"Sorry we haven't been to see you lately, we were on our honeymoon." He nodded to her, hopping it would rejog her memory, but he knew the disease didn't work like that. She just stared at him, not knowing who he was or what he was saying, and Punk knew that.

"Ok, you decide what you wanna watch." AJ nodded, walking over to the table, "Oh, there's some good stuff on tonight." She noticed as Punk smiled. His wife had a skill he hadn't mastered yet with his mother. Strength. On bad days she simply tried to turn them into good ones. She had the ability to still have a normal conversation with his mother, even knowing fine well she didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Let me see." Gerry nodded as AJ passed her the remote, taking a seat beside Punk.

"Oh, look The Goonies is on." AJ pointed.

"Phil's favourite." Gerry mumbled as Punk looked at her.

"What was that?" Punk smiled a little as Gerry looked at the TV, trying to figure out how to work the remote as AJ watched.

"I don't know this new technology." Gerry waved her hand, sliding the remote back to AJ who took it and put The Goonies on for her.

"It smells really good in here today. What did you have for dinner?" AJ asked, taking her coat off.

"Uh…" Gerry paused, not knowing what to say.

"Smells good whatever it was." AJ nodded casually. There were times she knew her husband struggled to make conversation with his mother when she was like this, so she stepped in.

"Is there coffee?" Gerry asked.

"Yeah, I'll go get some." AJ nodded.

"I can go." Punk insisted, standing up as AJ watched him leave the room.

"Who is that?" Gerry whispered as AJ turned to her, not really knowing what to say, "Who is that man?" She questioned.

"That's Phil." AJ nodded, "Your oldest son." She said as Gerry looked at her.

"I don't have a son." Gerry shook her head seriously.

"You do. You… You have two sons." AJ nodded, "Phil and Dean."

"No… No I don't have sons." Gerry laughed a little.

"Yeah, of course you do." AJ nodded in an assuring tone, "You and Paul, you had two sons." She said as Gerry shook her head.

"I do not have children." Gerry shook her head as Punk walked back into the room, "I do not have sons." She laughed as Punk looked over, "Is that coffee?" She asked Punk.

"Uh… yeah." Punk nodded, having picked up on what she had said, making his way over to the table and sitting it down.

He took a seat beside AJ, looking at her as AJ just shook her head, placing her hand on his thigh reassuringly. It was heartbreaking to watch.