Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago PD or any of the characters linked to the series. They belong to Dick Wolf and Matt Ormstead. I also do not own any of the Chicago Fire, Chicago Med or SVU Characters that might appear.
Gianna Marino - Rachael Taylor
Chapter One: Introductions.
Staring up at Gaffney Chicago Medical Centre, Gianna stared up at the building as she twirled her wedding band around her finger; it still felt unreal that she was standing here right now. The last few months had been hard and she knew that staying in Seattle wasn't an option for her, it had to many memories that she needed to escape.
Her older sister had been more than understanding when it came to that part, she had been less than understanding when Gianna had told her that she wasn't coming back to Los Angeles. Julia was wonderful and she'd been so helpful with her recovery and dealing with all the funeral stuff but she could be overbearing at times.
Gianna knew that going to live with her sister would only hold her back, Julia would want to baby her and she didn't feel like she could stand on her own two feet if she went to her sister's and hide from the world. A lump formed in her throat, it had been ten months since the car accident it still didn't feel real that this was her life; that she walked away with minor injuries and her husband was dead.
Taking a deep breath, Gianna blinked back the tears knowing that she couldn't spend all her time crying; she had shed so many tears since she'd woken up next to Michael in the car with rain pounding down on them. Giving herself a shake, she didn't want the first impression at her new place of work to be one of her breaking down; she needed to move forward with her life and Michael would want her to carry on.
Gianna tightened her hold on her backpack before she made her way towards the entrance, her head held high and she knew that it would take some time to get used to being here. She'd had a tour of the hospital last week after she had come to sign her contract with the hospital, Ms Goodwin had been more than happy to show her around and she had met a few of her new colleagues.
Everyone seemed so nice and Gianna was thankful for that, no one was giving her looks of pity like they had back at Kindred Spirit Hospital. It had been there that they'd been taken after the accident, her best friend holding her back as they rushed Michael back for surgery; she couldn't remember what she had said to her, all the questions about Michael that she should have known had gone over her head and she had struggled to answer them.
The entrance to the emergency room was already busy, Gianna could see people waiting to be seen and she knew that it was going to be a busy day ahead of her; she was glad for that in part especially considering it would keep her mind of her own issues. A part of her knew that was why she loved working in emergency medicine, she might have specialised in trauma but she loved seeing patients and getting to treat them.
"Morning Dr Marino," Maggie greeted smiling to the newest doctor on the roster, she had been thrilled to hear that they had been able to replace Connor with a new trauma surgeon. Gianna seemed nice, she had talked to her a little when she had come to sign her contract last week; she would fit right in here, Maggie was sure of that even if Goodwin had asked her to keep an eye on her.
"Morning Maggie," Gianna greeted before she headed into the staff room to set down her bag and coat, she moved towards one of the lockers and opened it to set her things inside. Thankfully it wasn't as cold in the ED as it was outside, there was a light rain in the air and the forecast was predicting that it would carry on through out the day.
Gianna shrugged off her coat as she peered out at the busy ED, it was one of those sink or swim moments; she would have to find her feet and quickly, she couldn't let her newness cause any ill affects on her patients. It was quiet in the staff room, a place of peace surrounded by the chaos that was the emergency department; Gianna was hopefully that she would get settled quickly and she wouldn't have too much of a struggle.
Closing the locker door, Gianna clipped on her new ID as she stared made sure to grab her stethoscope before she made her way towards the door to start her day. Giving her wedding ring one more twist on her finger, Gianna closed her eyes for a moment before she opened the door and stepped out; she couldn't hide away forever and she doubted her new co-workers would appreciate her hiding away on her first day.
"Dr. Marino! Incoming helo, ten minutes out," Maggie stated turning to look at Gianna who had stepped out of one of the treatment bays at her call and was now washing her hands; she nodded to the woman knowing that this was just up her street. From what Natalie had radioed in, the car had been T-boned on the passenger side and one of the injured was a 34-week pregnant woman with chest and belly pain.
It had surprised Maggie how quickly Gianna had settled into things here at Gaffney, the young woman having thrown herself into her role from the moment that she had arrived that morning. There had been no task too small for Gianna to undertake and she had treated everyone with respect and kindness since she had arrived; she was happy to get her hands dirty.
Gianna nodded her head and made a move to help when Natalie arrived with the patient, she was so thankful that she'd gotten a tour last week and everything was easily to find. There was the occasional moment where she got lost or took the wrong turn but she was getting better at finding things that were further away from the ED; she was quick to ask directions if she wasn't too sure.
April and Maggie were happy to help her find the things that she needed, both of them working closely with Gianna throughout the day as she gained more confidence with finding things. Reaching the Helo-pad, Gianna could see the helicopter coming in for a landing; her eyes scanning it for any sign that she could get about the patient that was inside. It was Natalie that climbed out first followed by what the paramedics who were quick to start removing the patient from the helicopter; allowing Gianna to approach and question Natalie on the state of their patient.
A cautionary glance given what Gianna suspected to be the young woman's father, he looked pretty banged up and a little worse for wear. They moved quickly wanting to get the patient down to the ED as quickly as they could, the father keeping up with them as they all crammed into the tight space of the elevator and made their way down.
"Baghdad," Maggie told them when they stepped out of the elevator when it came to a stop, moving with them while Gianna rattled off the treatments that they needed for the patient and getting an OB to see them as fast as possible. They turned into the treatment bay while Maggie grabbed onto the father to stop him from getting in the way of the doctors, nurses and paramedics already filling the room with his daughter.
"On my count, one, two, three," Gianna called before they moved the patient off the trolley and onto the bed, a groan of pain escaping the patient as they did so and Natalie made the order for an ultrasound machine. They needed to act fast if they wanted to be sure that the baby had not been harmed during the crash, they moved quickly removing all the padding that had protected the patient while they travelled to the hospital.
"Lungs are wet," Gianna stated with a frown as she continued to check out the patient, keenly aware that her every move was being watched by the father as she checked over his daughter. She could not imagine how he was feeling right now especially given that he had been the one driving when the accident had occurred; it was sure to be something that he would never forgive himself for even if it was not his fault.
Relief filled her when Natalie announced that they had good heart tones and fetal movement, the baby and placenta looking okay after all that had happened. Moving to give a chest x-ray, Gianna stepped back and looked at the screen a frown on her face at the left hemithorax that appeared; they needed to put in a chest tube to drain the blood.
"Betadyne, lidocaine," Gianna called for as she stood next to the patient and explained what they were going to do, reassuring her that this would not harm the baby. Natalie washed down the patients side with the Betadyne so that Gianna could put in the chest tube, she stepped back as Gianna made the incision before starting to place the chest tube.
"I'm in," Gianna called once it was in, she just needed to secure the tube and then they could get her up to CT for a CAT scan; this was certainly not how she had expected her shift to go when she had arrived that morning. There was nothing like being chucked into the deep end when it came to working in the ED, there were certainly no dull moments and she loved that about her work.
"Gianna. This is Dr. Rhodes, I called him in for a consult," Natalie said introducing the two, she didn't think they had met since Gianna had arrived while Connor had been away scattering Dr. Downey's ashes last week. There had been whispers about what had happened to Dr. Downey, some even speculating that it had been Connor that had killed his former mentor while he lay in his hospital bed. Connor nodded in greeting to Gianna before getting under way, his attention moving to the scans that he had just been shown by Natalie and examined them for a moment more before he made his decision.
"Let's get her up to the Cath lab, fix it," Connor stated knowing that the leak in the aorta needed to be repaired as quickly as possible, they had to act fast before the contained rupture had a chance to become something more. He nodded to Gianna who nodded in agreement of his assessment, if they did not do something then they could risk not only losing baby but mother as well.
"Cheryl is 34 weeks pregnant, wouldn't that irradiate the baby?" Natalie asked looking towards their patient who was still in the CAT scan machine; they had to do everything they could to protect both lives. There was still a chance that this baby could be carried to term and Natalie wanted to give Cheryl a chance to do so; she could not imagine being robbed of such a chance with her own son.
"It's not ideal but it's very little radiation," Gianna replied shaking her head, their other option was surgery but that meant putting the patient on bypass which held even greater risks since they would not be able to protect the baby's heart rate. A decision needed to be made and Gianna could see that whatever they did then there was going to be risks, they needed to select a lesser evil here and quickly before they found themselves in a situation where the decision was made for them.
Connor nodded at her assessment, his arms crossed as he looked at Natalie who seemed displeased with either of the options that were open to them when they had risks. There had to be something that they could do that would protect both mother and baby without the need of doing a C-section.
"Your daughter has some damage to her aorta and it caused a leak in the vessel wall," Gianna explained to the patient's father as they wheeled her out of the CT lab, the man moving to take his daughter's hand when she appeared. It was not the decision that she would have hoped for and while she understood where Natalie was coming from it just did not entirely sit right with her the approach that they were taking.
"Sometimes a leak like this will stop on its own. If that is the case then Cheryl will be able to carry this baby to term," Natalie explained calmly to the father, she was aware that neither Gianna nor Connor agreed with her decision. But as the patients primary doctor, it was she that had the say and she was sure that this could work and was the best chance for Cheryl to carry to term.
"We're going to take her up to the ICU to keep an eye on her," Connor added turning to the father, he was sure the man would be most relieved to hear that his daughter was going to be okay. It was not a fix but at least if they were keeping a close eye on her then they could be ready for the moment that things might take a turn and the rupture worsened that could result in her needing surgery.
"Whatever you think is best," the father stated before gasping and moving to clutch his chest, he stumbled backwards to the ground making both Connor and Gianna move to reach for him. Cheryl calling for her father from the bed trying to see behind her where her father had fallen while her father; Gianna feeling for a pulse and shaking her head to Connor when she could not find one.
"Code Blue. Radiology hallway. We need a crash cart," Connor called as Gianna moved to start chest compressions, the nurses reacting quickly to bring them a crash cart while Connor protected the father's airway so he wouldn't swallow his tongue. Once the crash cart had arrived, Natalie moved to help Connor and Gianna with the crash cart, she quickly pulled up the man's shirt and took the paddles preparing to charge them before shouting clear.
It took them a couple of shocks to get a pulse from the man before they started to move him towards the Cath lab while his daughter was taken to the ICU; all three doctors knowing that this was bad.
Moving to tie her hair back out of her eyes, Gianna frowned checking over the notes for her patient and waiting to hear how the father had gotten on; she was hopeful that he would make a full recovery. It appeared that the pseudoaneurysm was increasing and while Natalie was insisting that they wait in hopes that the problem would correct itself; Gianna did not wish to wait much longer in fear of what might happen if they did.
"Dr. Marino," Connor greeted with a nod of his head, taking a seat next to the other doctor, and moving to do his write up for his notes on the operation that he had performed. He was under a new attending and it was already clear that the other doctor would have preferred the fellowship to go to another; despite the fact that Connor had been working under Dr. Downey before his passing.
"Gianna. How is the father?" she corrected with a smile, she turned to face Connor certain that some good news might brighten her patient's day especially if things took a turn for the worse. Cheryl was eager for news about how her father was doing and Gianna had not been able to tell her much since she did not know how the operation had gone.
"He's doing well post-op," Connor admitted, his eyes flickering to the file that Gianna had open in front of her; if the woman went into labour, then there was a large chance that the pseudoaneurysm could rupture and kill her. Gianna nodded thankful for that, the day had been as stressful enough and she had a feeling that it was not over yet; she turned back to her patient's chart wondering if Natalie would forgive her for going around her order as the primary doctor.
"What are you thinking?" Connor asked seeing the look on Gianna's face, even he knew that they were running short on time and they needed to act before this ended with them losing both mother and baby. The baby had a good chance of surviving even if it were delivered a little early, they could even have OB standing by if anything went wrong and they found themselves in need of delivering.
"I don't suppose Natalie's the type to hold a grudge?" Gianna asked peering at Maggie, the other doctor had looked far from pleased when she had pushed to have their patient sent to the Cath lab but she had agreed. The last thing Gianna wished for was enemies at the hospital, sure she did not have to like all her co-workers but she did not want to be on the outs with anyone when it was only her first day.
"No. She just wants to do what she feels best for the patient just like any of us do," Maggie assured her, they were still waiting on news on how the patient was doing and Gianna did not see the need to overcrowd things when there were already two teams of doctors there to treat the patient. Too many cooks in the kitchen and all that, she was a trauma surgeon and highly doubtful that she would be any use during this procedure while there were Cardio and OB doctors there to help.
Instead, she had opted to head down to the ED and see if there were any patients that required attention, it seemed busy today and she was more than willing to get her hands dirty. Checking the time, Gianna guessed that they would nearly be done with the procedure and decided to head up to see how Cheryl was; she was certain that even if they were not out of surgery that there would be some update.
Hearing the call for Code Blue, Gianna hurried towards the room where the alert was going off; she came to a stop when she saw that it was her Cheryl's father with Connor and Will working on him. Not even shocking him seemed to work and Gianna felt a lump forming in her throat, she had no idea how they would break such news to Cheryl. It was Dr. Latham that put an end to Connor's desperate attempts to bring back his patient, it had all seemed fine after the operation and now he was gone; he moved away from the patient and towards Gianna.
"Time of death, 15:20." Dr Latham announced checking that there was no pulse and they all moved to clear the room when the monitor started to beep again despite the patient being very clearly dead. They all looked confused trying to work out what had happened when Natalie brought Cheryl and her baby in to see her father in her hospital bed.
Once beside his bed, Cheryl lifted her baby so that her father could see and he slightly lifted his head from the pillow to see his new-born grandchild for the very first time; his hands slowly reaching up to reach out to her as she revealed it was a girl. No one daring to say a word instead they looked on in amazement at what had just occurred, the man seemingly coming back from the dead so that he might see his daughter for the final time and meet his granddaughter.
Then with a slow exhale, his head rested back on the bed and he quietly slipped away; his eyes falling closed as he passed and Cheryl began to cry. The hospital room was silent apart from the soft cries of Cheryl as she cradled her baby, none of them having witnessed the like before and they doubted they would ever see the same again.
Slowly backing out of the room, Gianna tried to wrap her head around what she had seen; she could not believe what she had just witnessed, she had seen a dead man come back from the dead and it made her problems seem kind of small. A small smile forming on her face knowing that while it might not seem like it now but she was sure that what had just happened would stick with Cheryl.
"Nice working with you Gianna," Connor murmured coming up behind her, he could not wrap his head around what they had witnessed; never had he witnessed something like that in his career. He paused by Gianna's side and looked back towards the room, they could still hear Cheryl's cries; it felt like the day had been none stop since it started.
"It was nice working with you too, Connor," Gianna replied, she patted him on the shoulder knowing that he had done the best that he could and these things were never easy. Despite the fact that they would spend their careers saving lives, there would be some moments like this that would mark them and Gianna very much doubted that she would forget the case that she had worked today.
Patting Connor on the shoulder one more time, Gianna walked away wanting to get back down to the ED since she did not want to leave the short staffed and give everyone else here a moment to process what they had just witnessed.
Finally at the end of her shift, Gianna exited the hospital and let out a sigh of relief as she shouldered her bag; she called goodbye to Maggie on her way out before making her way into the cold night. It was dark as she left the hospital and she was surprised about how different the place looked in the dark, she pulled her phone out and stared down at the missed calls from her sister before shaking her head.
Julia was just going to have to get used to the fact that she wasn't coming back to California anytime soon, she wanted a fresh start and that was all that mattered to her right now. A place where she didn't have memories of Mike haunting her every step, she felt like she could breathe here; she was going to make this work for her.
Michael had at least had his will sorted out, everything that he'd had became hers; although Gianna would have rather had her husband. His parents had insisted and wanted to make sure that Gianna was comfortable, they kept in touch and encouraged her to do what was best for her; they weren't trying to pressure her to make any permanent decisions like Julia was.
The apartment that they'd shared back in Seattle was on the market and would sell soon enough but her search was now on a place here in Chicago that she could call her own. Making her way towards her car, Gianna had a couple of places to look at this weekend; she was hopeful that she going to find somewhere that she loved.
It would be nice to put her own mark on a new place, she wanted somewhere that she could call home; a place that she had space to grow, she didn't want to be somewhere cramped when she could afford a bigger place. Hell, Nancy had offered the help of a real estate agent and down payment on a place; she didn't want Gianna to feel like she was being abandoned just because Michael was gone.
Gianna hurried towards her car to avoid the chill, she was glad that she had been able to park close to the entrance when she had arrived; she unlocked her car and jumped inside. Setting her bag on the chair next to her, Gianna stared up at the hospital as she pondered her first day; a smile on her face and she thought that she might actually be happy here.
Please Review, Favourite and Follow xx