Episode 4:

 

Even Heroes Fall

 

 

"Dr. Reily!"

 

Dr. Siara Reily spun around quickly when a deep voice yelled out her name as she was exiting one of the trauma rooms.

 

"Yes, Lance?" she asked as she quickly scribbled down some notes on the patient's chart.

 

"Dr. O'Brien needs your assistance; it’s urgent," Lance Bass replied calmly, but as Siara looked into his eyes, she could see the fear within them. 

 

"Which room?" 

 

Lance didn't reply as he ran towards Trauma 4, the room he had exited moments before, now with Siara right on his heels. They both entered the room to see that the situation was seemingly under control.  The patient, the sixteen-year-old boy who had attempted suicide, had been stabilized.

 

"You needed me, Elizabeth?"

 

"Yes, Siara, I need you to please help me set this patient up for transfer to an ICU room.  We need to keep as many trauma rooms open as we can for the critical patients from the MVA."

 

Siara nodded before setting her chart down and walking over to help Elizabeth.  Lance turned around, feeling unneeded and began to exit the room in search for another doctor he could assist.

 

"Lance?" Elizabeth's voice called out.

 

"Can you please go to the ER waiting room and speak with this young man's parents about what happened?  The paramedics were unable to get much information before."

 

Lance gave Elizabeth a half-hearted smile as he nodded and walked towards the waiting room, knowing that one of the things he hated to do the most was waiting for him right around the corner.

 

+++

Paramedic Kylie Hunter turned away from the ambulance and started off to look for the rest of her EMT squad, consisting of her fellow paramedics Allison Brooks and Harry Littrell, who had gone on to help rescue others involved in the huge interstate pile-up.

 She had gone no more than a few yards when a voice shouted her name, causing her to turn around in surprise. She saw one of the paramedics from the Indian Valley ambulance she had just left running towards her.

 “What’s wrong?” Kylie asked, immediately worrying that something had gone wrong with Cammie, the pregnant woman she had just helped load into that ambulance.

 Her suspicions were quickly confirmed. “Cammie’s water just broke. It looks like she’s going into early labor. Probably a result of the trauma.”

 “She’s not even quite seven months. It’ll be a preemie,” Kylie said, frowning.

 “I know. I was thinking maybe we should transfer her to your life flight and fly her to Memorial instead. I know you have a better NICU and OB team down there then we do at Indian Valley,” the paramedic said.

 Kylie nodded. “That’s true…”

 “We need to make a decision here quickly so we can get her to a hospital ASAP. Her labor could progress quickly since her water broke. It’ll take about the same amount of time to get to Memorial by copter as it would to Indian Valley by ambulance, so I say we transfer her.”

 Kylie nodded again. “Sounds good. Let’s go,” she said, following him back to his ambulance.

 “Kylie?” Cammie said, when Kylie returned.

 “Hey, Cammie,” Kylie said, giving her a calm smile.

 “I’m in labor, Kylie,” Cammie cried, her eyes wide with fear. “I’m only seven months; this isn’t supposed to be happening now!”

 “It happens sometimes after traumatic events like the car accident you were in,” Kylie said sympathetically. “It puts stress on the mother and baby and sends her into labor early.”

 “Is there anything you can do to stop it? Keep it from happening for another two months?” Cammie asked desperately.

 Kylie shook her head regrettably. “No, not at this point. But don’t worry; you’re in good hands. We’re going to fly you to Memorial Hospital, in Atlantic City. It has the best Neonatal care in the area, so that your baby will have the best chance to live. And anyway, you’re only two months early; we’ve had babies much younger survive. And hey, look on the bright side – you’re going to be a Mommy tonight.” She offered Cammie a smile.

 Cammie managed a weak smile back, but she was obviously too worried to be happy at that point. Kylie couldn’t blame her one bit. She knew that in her position, she would be just as terrified.

+++

 

As quietly as possible, Lance timidly entered the ER waiting room, immediately knowing that the family was the young man's.  He walked across the tile floor and stood before the man and woman until he found an appropriate time to interrupt their grieving.

 

"Sir, ma'am, I'm Lance Bass, a nurse here at Memorial.  I need to ask you a few questions so we can better treat your son," he introduced professionally, sticking out his hand. 

 

"Hello, Lance, I'm James Williams, and this is my wife, Caroline," the man introduced as shook Lance's hand and signaled for him to have a seat.

 

Lance nodded at the woman politely and sat down at the end of the large couch, clearing his throat before he spoke.  "I wish we could have met under better circumstance," Lance began, but decided to cut the small talk and go directly into what he was sent to find out.  "Can you please explain to me what may have caused your son to do this?"

 

"Oliver," the sobbing woman spoke up suddenly.

 

Lance looked at her questioningly, raising his eyebrows waiting for her to continue. 

 

"His name is Oliver," she repeated before breaking into sobs once again.

 

Lance nodded and quickly wrote down the name in his notebook he kept to write down important information.

 

The fifteen-minutes it took for Lance to get all the information passed by extremely slow but he had learned a lot.  When Mr. Williams was done speaking about what had happened to his son, Lance looked up at the family in sympathy, he himself also reliving something similar that had happened earlier in his life. 

 

Lance's older sister Stacey was the vision of perfection, with her blonde hair, green eyes, a family that loved her unconditionally, and a friendly smile that always seemed to light up her face.  The year Lance was thirteen and Stacey was sixteen, all hell broke loose within the Bass household.  Lance's parents just weren't getting along and were planning on getting a divorce, which struck both children hard. 

 

On this particular night, Lance was in the living room watching his favorite TV program with Stacey as his parents argued in the kitchen about something that had happened that day…

 

Lance tuned out the argument, but from the few words he had heard, he figured it was about Stacey, who was sitting on the couch looking down at her feet.  When the show went to commercial, Stacey stood up and walked off, after mumbling about getting something out of her room.  Lance just nodded and giggled at the stupid local car dealer commercial that was on the screen, unintentionally forgetting about his sister. 

 

Fifteen minutes later, when the show ended, Lance turned off the TV and walked up the stairs, wishing his parents would quit their yelling for a few moments at least.   He entered his darkened room, quietly singing a country song under his breath, and turned on the light. 

 

Throughout the house, a blood-curling scream echoed within the walls. 

 

At least for the moment, the yelling had stopped.

 

As Lance quickly left the waiting room, he wished the family good luck and set off to find Dr. O'Brien, hoping that the morbid visions wouldn't haunt him tonight, not when so many lives were at stake.

 

+++

 

A short while later, Elizabeth stood on the roof of the hospital, her brown hair blowing wildly as the life-flight helicopter gently lowered to the landing pad.

 

As soon as it had touched the cement of the roof, Elizabeth took off running towards it, ducking her head as she neared the propellers.  Lance and nurse Natalie Spade followed her.

 

The door to the helicopter opened, and out jumped paramedic AJ McLean, followed by Allison Brooks, who was busily bagging her patient, a girl in her late twenties who lay unconscious on the gurney.  Jack Palmer was on the gurney as well, straddling the girl as he gave her chest compressions.

 

“Twenty-eight-year-old female involved in MVA.  Possibly blunt trauma to the head and tension pneumothorax from a broken rib,” AJ shouted to Elizabeth over the loud whirring of the helicopter’s propellers.  “Palmer nicked her artery while doing needle thoracostomy.  Lost a pulse about five minutes ago.”

 

“Alright, let’s get her inside!” Elizabeth shouted, as they lowered the gurney to the ground. 

 

“AJ, wait!” called Bianca Parker, as she painfully climbed out of the helicopter.

 

“Come on,” AJ said, grabbing her hand and dragging her along with him as they ran back inside.

 

“Bianca, what are you doing here?” Elizabeth asked, once they had made it back inside, noticing her colleague for the first time.  “I thought you were in Raleigh.”

 

“We were on the way, but we got into the wreck,” Bianca said, rubbing at her tearstained cheeks.

 

“Are you alright?!” Elizabeth asked in concern, looking back at Bianca as she hurried alongside the gurney.

 

“I’m fine,” Bianca said, nodding quickly.  “But Brianna…” she trailed off, blinking back tears.

 

“You know we’ll do our best to help her,” Elizabeth said assuredly, giving her a quick pat on the arm as they made it to the elevator and took it downstairs to the ER.

 

“Trauma 3,” Lance announced, leading the group into the empty trauma room.

 

“Hook her up to the heart monitor and get me a crash cart!” Jack cried, still giving Brianna chest compressions.

 

The nurses sprang into action.  Lance hurriedly attached small pads to Brianna’s chest that lead to the heart monitor.  Natalie ran out of the room and was back in less than a minute, wheeling the crash cart that contained the paddles to shock Brianna’s heart.

 

“Charge to 300,” Jack said, climbing off the gurney.

 

“Charged,” Natalie said, handing the paddles to him.

 

“Clear!”

 

Jack pressed the paddles to Brianna’s chest, and again, her body jumped with the charge.  But this time, the line on the heart monitor, which had been flat since it had been turned on, peaked slightly and then again, this time even higher.

 

“We’ve got a rhythm,” Jack announced, letting out a loud sigh of relief.  “Alright, we need to put in a chest tube.  And get a surgeon down here.  I hit her artery, and she’s losing a lot of blood.  It needs to be repaired right away.”

 

“Lance, get a surgeon!” Elizabeth commanded, sending Lance running out of the room.

 

Noticing Bianca, who was standing off to the side, watching with wide eyes, Elizabeth said gently, “Bianca, I think you should leave.”

 

Bianca looked up at her dazedly.  “What?”

 

“You shouldn’t be in here.  Why don’t you go get yourself checked out; you look pretty banged up,” Elizabeth said.  “Natalie, would you take Bianca-“

 

“No, please, I want to stay,” Bianca interrupted.

 

“No, really, Bianca, you-“

 

“But I can help!” Bianca argued, her voice rising.

 

“You’re not supposed to help on friends or family; it’s a policy here,” Elizabeth said.  “Now, please, go with Natalie and get yourself examined.”

 

“Elizabeth, please,” Bianca pleaded.  “I’ll just watch if you want; I won’t help.  But please let me stay; she’s my friend!”

 

Elizabeth opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Jack’s sudden shout, “Her chest’s full of blood!”

 

Elizabeth whirled around to see blood flowing rapidly from the small hole he had made to insert the chest tube into Brianna.  “Where’s Lance?” she demanded, her gentle tone vanishing.  “We need a surgeon right now, damnit!”

 

“Natalie, get me a thoracotomy tray, stat!” Jack cried.

 

Elizabeth hurried to help Jack, forgetting about Bianca for the time being. 

 

Bianca stood in shock, watching helplessly as the blood spilled from her best friend’s chest.  She had seen many critical patients, many bloody patients, but it had never affected her, not like this.  It was a lot different when your best friend was the one lying on that gurney.

 

“What do we got here?”

 

Surgeon Kevin Richardson burst through the doors, startling Bianca.

 

“Tension pneumothorax with a hole in the intercostal artery,” Elizabeth said.  “She’s got a chestful of blood, and her pressure’s dropping.”

 

Kevin nodded, pushing Jack aside so he could work on repairing Brianna’s artery. 

 

“Jack, why don’t you go take a look at Bianca in one of the exam rooms?” Elizabeth suggested, realizing Bianca was still in the room.

 

“Sure,” Jack said, removing his bloodied gloves and gown.  “Come on, Bianca.”

 

“Jack, please,” Bianca tried to argue again, but he grabbed her hand and gave her a tug.

 

“You shouldn’t be seeing all this.  Don’t you worry, Brianna’s in good hands.  Now we need to get you checked out,” Jack said gently.

 

“I’m fine,” Bianca snapped, pulling out of his grasp.  “I want to stay.”

 

“Dr. Parker, this is not your patient.  Get out of here now,” Elizabeth said, her tone turning sharp and boss-like.  She didn’t want to be hard on Bianca, but she knew how stubborn Bianca could be.  Elizabeth was going to have to play superior to get her to leave.

 

Bianca glared tearfully at Elizabeth, but reluctantly allowed Jack to lead her out of the trauma room.

 

+++

“Twenty-two year old woman, seven months pregnant with first child, involved in the MVA. Short LOC on scene, but injuries look to be minor. Her water broke almost half an hour ago, probably a result of the trauma on the baby,” Kylie spouted off to Ivory Harnett, who had met the life flight helicopter on the roof of the hospital to take over Cammie’s care.

 “Let’s take her to Trauma 2,” Ivory directed, once they reached the Emergency Room. They pushed the stretcher into the second trauma room and quickly transferred Cammie over to the gurney in the center of the room. “Alright, first of all, Melissa, page OB and get someone down here to examine Cammie. Then I need…”

 “Cammie, I have to go now, alright?” Kylie said to Cammie, once she was in the hands of Dr. Harnett and her team.

 “Alright,” Cammie said, her voice shaky. “Thank you.”

 “You’re welcome. Good luck with your baby,” Kylie said, giving her a confident smile. Then she followed Harry and Allison out of the trauma room.

It was part of Kylie’s job to not get emotionally attached to any of the patients she worked on because she was with them for such a short time, and sometimes, they did make it. But there were times when Kylie could not help but get attached. There were some people, like Cammie, that just affected her more than others. She could relate to poor Cammie, a young woman who was pregnant with her first baby and terrified that it was not going to make it. Kylie didn’t have any children of her own yet, but she wanted to start a family and could not wait till she had a baby of her own.

 Please keep Cammie and her baby safe, Lord, Kylie whispered in her mind, as she lagged along behind Harry and Allison.

+++

 

“There.  Good as new,” Jack said awhile later, as he slapped a band-aid over a freshly-sutured cut on Bianca’s forehead.

 

“Thanks, Jack,” she said. 

 

“Now, are you sure you don’t have any pain anywhere else?  I mean, I really should give you a thorough exam, just in case-“

 

“I’m fine,” Bianca said abruptly.  “And no offense or anything, but that would be really weird.  You know, having you examine me.  I mean-”

 

“I know what you mean,” Jack said with a nod.  “You’d feel weird being the patient instead of the doctor and having one of your colleagues examine you.”

 

She smiled slightly and nodded.  “Thanks for understanding.”

 

“No problem.  But listen, if you start feeling funny, make sure you get someone to check you out, okay?  Another doctor, a nurse… AJ…”  He winked, causing her to blush and smile for just an instant.  But the smile faded just as quickly.

 

“Hey, speaking of AJ, you want me to get him for you?” Jack asked.

 

“He’s still on duty,” Bianca replied, her voice dull.

 

“I’m sure he could take a break,” Jack said.  “You want me to see if I can find him?”

 

Bianca bit her lip, and Jack could see in her eyes that she really did want her boyfriend with her.  But she didn’t want to call him away from his work if he was needed.

 

“I’ll get him,” Jack said.  “But first, let’s go to the lounge, okay?  I’m sure you’d rather wait there than in this exam room.”

 

Bianca nodded and let Jack help her down from the examining table. Taking her by the arm, Jack led her to the lounge.  He sat her down at the table and got her a cup of coffee.

 

“Thanks,” Bianca mumbled, taking a tiny sip of the hot liquid from the little styrofoam cup.  Then she pushed it away, folded her arms on top of the table, and buried her head in them.

Jack watched her in sympathy for a moment, then sat down beside her and silently began to rub his hand soothingly across her back.  He knew how Addie liked that when she was upset and hoped it would work to comfort Bianca as well.

 

Suddenly, the door to the lounge burst open, and a curly-haired blonde came sauntering in.

 

“Hey, Dr. Palmer,” he said.  “Boy, I’m glad to see you here.  You got anything for me to do?  I’ve been doing some crap for Dr. O’Brien, but-“

 

“Justin!” Jack snapped, halting his med student.  “Can’t you see I’m busy right now?  Get out of here!”

 

Justin’s eyes shifted to Bianca, who was looking up at him with a red face and watery eyes.  “Dr. Parker?  What are you doing here?  I thought you were-“

 

“Get out, Timberlake!” Jack shouted.

 

“Okay… sorry,” he mumbled, turning around and leaving as quickly as he could.

 

Bianca sniffed.  “That was kinda harsh, Jack, don’t you think?  He couldn’t help it,” she said softly.

 

Jack rolled his eyes, but he knew she was right.  Bianca’s student was young, inexperienced, and seemingly immature for his age.  He was going to have to learn some manners, but it was only his first day, and he had even come back that night to work extra hours, so Jack couldn’t really be mad at him.

 

“I’d better go talk to him,” Bianca continued, wiping her eyes.  “Let him know what’s going on.”

 

“No, no, you stay here.  I’ll go talk to him, give him something else to do.  Be right back,” Jack said, patting Bianca’s shoulder. 

 

Outside the lounge, he saw Justin at the nurses’ station, talking to one of the nurses.

 

“Hey, Justin!” Jack called.

 

Justin turned around, his face falling when he saw Jack.  “Look, Dr. Palmer, I’m really sorry.  I didn’t realize-“

 

“I know, Justin.  It’s alright.  I shouldn’t have snapped at you,” Jack interrupted.  “One of Dr. Parker’s friends was just brought in in critical condition, and they’re working on her right now.  She’s really upset.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Justin said sympathetically.

 

Jack nodded.  “I do have something you could do for me though.  Would you see if you can find AJ McLean somewhere around here?  He’s a paramedic with dark, spiky hair and lots of tattoos.  You’ll know him when you see him.  He might have already left to go on a call, but if he comes back here to bring in a patient anytime soon, tell him that Bianca’s in the lounge and really needs to talk to him.”

 

“Okay,” Justin said, nodding. 

 

“Thanks,” Jack said and went down the hall to Trauma 3 to check on Brianna.  As he reached the room, Elizabeth was just coming out, tossing her bloodied gown and gloves into the garbage as she crossed the threshold.

 

“How’s she doing?” Jack said.

 

“She’ll make it,” Elizabeth said.  “Richardson repaired her artery; he’s in there closing her chest now.  Where’s Bianca?”

 

“She’s in the lounge.  She’s really upset,” Jack replied.

 

“Well, tell her Brianna’s stable now, but don’t bring her in yet.  It’s pretty bloody in there.  Tell her she can see her in a little bit, once Richardson’s done, and the nurses have gotten her cleaned up and bandaged.”

 

“Alright.  Thanks, Elizabeth,” Jack said and headed back to the lounge to tell Bianca the good news.

 

+++

“Good job, Cammie. You’re doing great,” Ivory said to her patient, whose premature labor was progressing rapidly, more quickly than Ivory had expected.

Taking Melissa aside, she whispered, “When the hell is OB going to get down here? She’s going to be ready to push before we know it, and I really don’t want to have to deliver this baby myself.”

At twenty-seven, Ivory wasn’t completely new to this, but there were still things that she had yet to experience. She had delivered babies before, but not very many, and only under heavy supervision. Now she was on her own, with a mother with complications and a baby that was premature.

 “I’ll go page them again,” Melissa said, leaving the room.

 “Is everything okay?” Cammie asked from the bed, breathing hard.

 “Everything’s just fine,” Ivory assured her, smiling. “We’re just waiting for one of the obstetricians to come down and help with your delivery.”

 “Okay,” Cammie said, hoping that that part of labor would come soon, for she was growing more and more apprehensive with each contraction. She wished her husband Ron was there with her. They had been taking Lamaze classes together, and he was supposed to have been her coach for when she was in labor. But he was away on business, and the hospital hadn’t been able to reach him yet. She was going to be doing this all alone.

All of a sudden, an alarming beep started to sound. Ivory glanced down at the fetal monitor attached to Cammie, shocked to see that the baby’s heart rate was dropping.

 “What’s wrong?” Cammie cried, her eyes wide. “Is something wrong with the baby??”

 “Its heart rate is going down,” Ivory said, watching the monitor carefully.

 “Well, what does that mean?”

 “It means the baby is in distress. It’s not getting enough oxygen,” Ivory said. She knew the baby was going to have to be delivered soon, probably by Caesarean section, for Cammie was not far enough to push yet. She was not qualified for doing a C-section though; she needed an obstetrician. “Cammie, I need to get some from OB down here right now, in case we have to do a C-section. I’ll be right back. Just hang tight,” Ivory said quickly, darting out of the room.

Melissa was just returning. “OB said someone will be down in a little while,” he told Ivory.

“That’s not good enough; I need them now! The baby’s in distress. Cammie might need a C-section, and I can’t do that!” Ivory cried.

 “Well, what do you want me to do? Call them again?”

“No, get in there with Cammie; she’s probably freaking out. I’ll make sure someone gets down there. Be right back,” Ivory said determinedly, hurrying past him.

The first person she saw in the hall was Justin, Bianca’s med student. Deciding he was perfect for the job she needed done, she called, “Justin!”

 “Yeah?” he asked, coming over to her.

 “Justin, go to the receptionist’s desk and make someone call the OB floor and get an OB down here ASAP.  This is an emergency, tell them that!” Ivory said breathlessly.

 “Okay,” Justin said with a confident nod and took off running for the receptionist’s desk.

+++

 

Mariah Johnson sat at the receptionist’s desk in the ER, carefully applying red lipstick to her lips.  Puckering up, she blew a kiss into her compact mirror, then gave her lips another coat.

 

She was startled by loud footsteps running down the hall, and her hand jerked.

 

“Excuse me!” came a breathless voice.

 

“What do you want?” Mariah asked in annoyance.  Setting down her compact, she looked up to find the new med student, Justin, leaning up against the counter, obviously winded.  Her eyes roamed over him with newfound interest.  She found him so strikingly attractive, tall and buff with blonde, curly hair and blue eyes.  Smiling flirtatiously, she said sweetly, “I’m sorry.  Didn’t mean to sound so rude.  So, what can I do for you?”

 

“I need you to call an obstetrician down here right away.  It’s an emergency,” he panted.

 

“Well, everything down here’s an emergency, now isn’t it?  That’s why they call it the Emergency Room.”  She giggled, as if what she had said was actually funny.

 

“Please, it really is.  Dr. Harnett said to ‘get an obstetrician down here ASAP’,” he said, quoting the doctor.

 

“Alright, alright, hold your horses.”  Mariah picked up the phone, dialed, and pressed it to her ear, staring at Justin the whole time.  He shifted uncomfortable under her surveillance.  “Helloooo there, this is Mariah down in the ER.  Can you send an OB down here right now?  Pretty please?”  She giggled, winking at Justin.  “Alrightie, thank you!”  Hanging up the phone, she said to Justin, “Dr. Reyes should be down in a few minutes.”

 

“Thanks,” said Justin and hurried away.

 

Mariah smiled, admiring Justin’s ass as he ran off.  Once he was gone, she picked up her compact again.  The smile immediately left her face when she noticed a big red streak of lipstick smeared across her cheek.

 

+++

“Oh good, Dr. Reyes, you’re here,” Ivory said, sighing in relief when she saw the obstetrician, Melanie Reyes, come into the room.

 “No problem. What do we have?”

Ivory updated her on Cammie’s condition. As Melanie studied the fetal heart monitor and ultrasound, her expression grew very serious. Leaning close to Ivory and speaking low so that Cammie would not hear, she said, “She needs a C-section right away, and I’m going to have to do it here. There’s no time to move her. I need you to page OB and have them send a couple of nurses down. Then I need you to page Siara Reily to come in here and take care of the baby once it’s born. Okay?”

 “Got it,” Ivory said and hurried out of the room to round everyone up.

Turning to Cammie, Melanie said, “Okay, Cammie, here’s the problem. Your baby is suffering from fetal distress syndrome, which is a lack of oxygen. The umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck, and that’s what’s causing it. We need to do a C-section right away so that we can get him out and cut the cord before it strangles him.”

 Cammie nodded. “Do it,” she said, her voice shaking with tears. “Do anything you have to; just please, please save him.”

+++

“Here, Bianca. I’ll leave you alone with her for a little bit, okay?”

 Bianca smiled gratefully at Jack, as he led her into Brianna’s room. “Thanks,” she whispered.

 He gave her an encouraging smile and nodded. “No problem,” he said, leaving the room.

 Once he was gone, Bianca walked up to Brianna’s bedside and pulled up a chair to sit in. A lump rose in her throat, and she blinked back tears. She felt for all the families of patients she had treated before; now she knew exactly what they went through.

 “Brianna,” she said softly, grabbing a hold of her friend’s pale hand. She knew that Brianna was probably able to hear her, especially since she was not even in a coma really, just unconscious. “Brie, it’s me, Bean. Can you open your eyes for me?” She knew that Brianna could regain consciousness at any time, and she hoped it was soon, knowing she would feel much better once her friend was awake and talking. “Okay, well, that’s fine. I know how you like to sleep.” Bianca swallowed hard; she was having a tough time trying to keep calm and talk normally to Brianna. “How about squeezing my hand then? Can you do that?”

 Biting her lip in concentration, Bianca sat stock still and waited, willing Brianna to squeeze her hand. Seconds later, she felt it – a weak squeeze. Breaking into a smile, she exclaimed, “Good, Brie! That’s great! Now all you have to do is wake up for me. We’ve got our concert to get to, remember?” She chuckled cynically, knowing there was no way they’d be going to see Fuel now. She didn’t care though; all she wanted was her best friend back.

 As she sat there, a sensation of nausea suddenly came over her. Rubbing her stomach in discomfort, Bianca frowned, slightly worried. But, looking back to Brianna, she quickly attributed her queasiness to the traumatic events of that night and seeing her friend like that, so still and pale. Or maybe it was just from not eating. After all, she hadn’t had anything since dinner, and that was hours ago. She didn’t feel like eating, but she knew she would probably feel better if she got something into her stomach. She made a mental note to get something from the cafeteria when she was done visiting Brianna.

 Suddenly, over the intercom, Bianca heard the call, “Code blue in Trauma 4! Code blue in Trauma 4!”

 A code blue meant cardiac arrest. Her doctor’s instinct kicking in, Bianca immediately jerked up, knowing that Trauma 4 was the room right next door to Brianna’s. Letting go of Brianna’s hand, she ran through the door connecting the two trauma rooms and into Trauma 4, where a teenage boy lay, a flat line running across his heart monitor, the machine wailing, as it had been earlier for Brianna.

 The only one there at that moment to save him, Bianca dragged the crash cart, which was positioned in the corner of the room, over to the boy’s gurney. She quickly charged the paddles and pressed them to the boy’s chest, sending a jolt of electricity through his body. His heart did not respond, and she charged them again.

 “Bianca?!” she heard in the background, as she shocked him again.

 Bianca turned around to see Elizabeth bustle in to the room, looking at Bianca with wide, surprised eyes. “What are you doing??” she demanded.

 “Saving this kid’s life. He’s not a DNR, right?”

 “No, but Oliver is my patient! You’re not even on duty; you’re not supposed to be treating anyone!” Elizabeth protested.

 “Too bad; you weren’t here,” Bianca fired back, as she charged the paddles again. This time, when she shocked him, the electrocardiograph sprung to life, the flat line rising and falling irregularly. “He’s got a rhythm,” Bianca said, putting the paddles down. “There. Now you can take care of him.”

 She flashed Elizabeth a rather smug smile and breezed out of the room, leaving Elizabeth to roll her eyes and tend to Oliver.

 Bianca was going to head back into Brianna’s room, but once she made it to the hallway, the nausea returned. Telling herself she would was fine, she went back to Brianna’s room anyway and quickly sat down in the chair beside the bed, hoping that sitting down would make her feel better.

 But in the next few minutes, the nausea steadily grew worse, until Bianca felt awful. Afraid she was going to throw up, she stood abruptly, clutching her stomach. The sudden movement sent her stomach churning and the room spinning, as a wave of dizziness hit her.

 “I’ll be right back, Brianna. I have to hit the bathroom,” Bianca choked out. Although she felt horrible, her main concern was still Brianna, and she didn’t want her friend to worry if she left suddenly. With that, she hurried out of the room and headed towards the nearest bathroom.

 “Hey, Bianca, you alright?” asked Lance, looking at her strangely as she hurried past him in the hallway.

 Bianca didn’t answer; her focus on only one thing – getting to the bathroom in time.

 Choking back bile, she flung open the bathroom door and ran in, relieved to find that no one else was in it. Ducking into the last stall, she slammed the door shut and knelt down in front of the toilet just in time. Seconds later, she was praying to the porcelain gods, as she retched and heaved into the toilet bowl. She was shocked to find that her vomit was not a pukey tannish-beige, like it usually was. This time, it was a dark brownish-red. The color alarmed her, but it was the bitter, metallic taste in her mouth that confirmed her worst fears. It was blood.

 “Oh my God,” Bianca gasped aloud, cold sweat dripping in between her shoulder blades, her face pasty and wet with perspiration. “Oh…”

 She tried to get up, knowing she had to get herself some help, but her knees were weak and would not support her. And then, before she could even try to drag herself from the stall, the nausea hit her again, and she leaned back over the toilet and sent another waterfall of bloody vomit spewing into the toilet with a sickening plop.

 Her breath coming in short, shallow gasps, her body shaky and clammy, her stomach cramping with fiery pain, Bianca gripped the seat of the toilet and used it to pull herself up from the floor. She made it to her feet and turned, fumbling with the lock on the door, trying to get out of the stall. The door flung open, and she staggered out dizzily. Her vision blackened with each faltering step, as her body went hot, then cold, and she felt the sensation of falling. And finally, she did fall, unable to hold herself any more. The blackness closed in on her, and like the light, she quickly faded away.

+++

AJ entered the ER lounge and looked around, surprised to find it unoccupied. One of the med students had caught him after he had dropped off a patient a few minutes earlier and told him that Bianca was in the lounge and needed to talk to him, but she was not there.

 With a shrug, AJ left the lounge and walked down the hallway, looking for someone who might know where Bianca had gone. He figured she was probably visiting Brianna, but he was not sure where Brianna was.

 Spotting Jack walking out of one of the exam rooms, AJ called to him.

 “Hey, AJ,” Jack said. “What’s up? Have you talked to Bianca yet?”

 “No, I was just looking for her. She’s not in the lounge. Do you know where she went?” he asked.

 “Yeah, she went to Brianna’s room. Trauma 3,” Jack replied.

 “Okay, thanks, Jack,” AJ said and went on down the hall to Brianna’s room. But when he got there, the only one in the room with Brianna was Natalie, who was busy taking her vitals.

 “Hey, Natalie, was Bianca just in here?” AJ asked her from the doorway.

 Natalie stopped what she was doing and looked up at AJ. “Oh… I don’t know. I haven’t seen her. Sorry,” she replied.

 “That’s okay. So, how’s she doing?” AJ asked, motioning to Brianna.

 “She’s going to be okay. She’s stabilized, and it looks like she’s going to regain consciousness soon. She’s been moving around a lot in the last few minutes.”

 “That’s great,” AJ said. “Well, I need to go find Bianca now. See you later.”

 “Bye,” said Natalie, getting back to her work.

 Frowning, AJ went back into the hallway, wondering where Bianca would be. He saw Ivory up ahead and started to call to her to ask if she’d seen Bianca, but she ducked into the ladies restroom before he could.

 Sighing, AJ decided to go back to the lounge and wait around for her there. She had probably just gone to get something to eat and would be back anytime. 

+++

 

Ivory strolled into the bathroom, immediately wrinkling her nose at the rancid odor in the room.  It was bad enough to make her stomach churn.

 

God, ever heard of air fresheners? she thought, trying to hold her breath as she quickly checked her appearance in the mirror.  Giving her dark ponytail a tug, she smiled tightly at her reflection and went into the first stall.

 

She sat down on the toilet and did her business as quickly as possible, for the smell seemed even stronger there, and she was desperate to get out.  Flushing, she stepped out of the stall, still tying the drawstring of her green scrub pants.

 

Looking down, something poking out from the very last stall caught her eye.  Turning to get a better look, she gasped, realizing it was an arm.

 

“Oh my God,” she cried, rushing over to the stall.  Kneeling down to look under it, she saw a woman lying slumped on her side, her back towards Ivory.  “Ma’am!  Ma’am!” Ivory shouted, reaching in under the stall to shake the woman’s shoulder. 

 

Taking hold of her shoulder with both hands, Ivory carefully rolled her over on to her back.  And when she brushed the woman’s auburn hair back and got a good look at her face, she screamed.

 

+++

 

“Alright, people, let’s get this baby born,” Melanie said to the team Ivory had rounded up to assist him with the emergency C-section.

 

“What about anesthesia?” asked one of the nurses, looking at Cammie, who was still wide awake.

 

“I’m sorry, but there’s not enough time.  We need to do this now.  Melissa gave her some painkillers, but that’s really all we can do for her at this point,” Melanie said.  Raising her voice, she said, “Alright, Cammie, we’re going to start now.  I’ll be honest with you; this is going to be painful.  But we have to do it for the safety of your baby.”

 

“I know,” Cammie said weakly.

 

“Alright.  Scalpel please.”

 

One of the OB nurses handed Melanie her scalpel, and the procedure began.

 

+++

 

“Bianca!  Oh God!” Ivory cried, as she recognized the woman on the floor.

 

Scrambling to her feet, Ivory ran out of the bathroom as fast as she could, nearly colliding with Elizabeth, who was walking down the hallway.

 

“Ivory!  Watch where you’re-“

 

“Elizabeth, get in here quick!” Ivory cried, grabbing Elizabeth’s shoulder.  “It’s Bianca!”

 

Her green eyes wide with confusion, Elizabeth followed Ivory back into the bathroom.  “Oh my God!” she exclaimed when she saw Bianca sprawled on the floor on the other side of the stall.  “Ivory, go get some more help in here!  Hurry!”

 

Ivory ran out of the bathroom again, and Elizabeth gave the door to the stall a mighty kick, trying to break it in so that she could get to Bianca better.  The first kick failed, but with another powerful one, the door burst inward.  Breathing hard, Elizabeth entered the stall.

 

She immediately saw the dark red substance in the toilet and on Bianca’s chin and realized she had been vomiting blood, a sign of internal bleeding.  She took Bianca’s pulse, finding it weak and thready. 

 

“Bianca,” she said sharply, slapping at Bianca’s cheeks, trying to wake her up.  “Come on, Bianca, wake up!”

 

The door to the bathroom burst open, and in came Ivory, followed by Lance and AJ.  They were wheeling a gurney with them.

 

“Bianca!” AJ cried in horror when he saw her.

 

“What’s he doing here?” Elizabeth demanded, looking sharply up at Ivory.  Even she knew that AJ and Bianca were dating and didn’t think AJ should be there.  To AJ, she said, “You shouldn’t be around to see this.  Go on; we’ll take care of her.”

 

“No, no, I want to help,” AJ insisted.  “Please.”

 

“Fine.  She’s breathing, but her pulse is weak and thready.  It looks like she’s been vomiting blood; she probably has internal bleeding from the MVA.  We need to get her out of here and do an ultrasound right away,” Elizabeth said.  “Lance, go page surgery and tell them to hold an OR room.  AJ, Ivory, help me lift her onto the gurney.”

 

Lance darted out of the bathroom, while Ivory and AJ gathered around Bianca.  Together, the three of them lifted her from the ground and put her on the gurney.

 

“Let’s take her to Trauma 1,” Elizabeth said, and they pushed the gurney rapidly down the hall to the very first trauma room. 

 

Chris came in behind them.  “OR’s got a room,” he said.

 

“Good. Ivory, hook up the ultrasound, and let’s see what we’re dealing with,” Elizabeth directed.  “Lance, insert an IV and start her on saline; she’s dehydrated.”

 

“What can I do?” AJ asked.

 

“Just stay out of the way,” Elizabeth said, hooking Bianca up to oxygen and attaching her to the monitors in the room to measure her vital signs. 

 

Almost right away, the monitors started to beep wildly.  “Pressure’s crashing!”

 

“Her belly’s full of blood,” Ivory said shakily, turning the ultrasound monitor so that Elizabeth could see it. 

 

Elizabeth looked at it quickly and nodded.  “It’s probably her liver or spleen.  We need to get her to the OR right now!”

 

+++

 

“Well, well, what do we have here?” asked surgeon Holli Brunson, looking down at the unconscious Bianca, as Elizabeth, Lance, and Ivory wheeled her onto the surgical floor, AJ tagging along behind, looking scared to death.

 

“Dr. Parker was involved in that MVA near Indian Valley; I’m sure you heard about that.  She and her friend where on their way to Raleigh.  She seemed alright to me, but Ivory here found her passed out in the bathroom a few minutes ago.  She had been vomiting blood,” Elizabeth explained hurriedly.  “Ultrasound revealed abdominal bleeding.”

 

“Why wasn’t it caught earlier?” asked Holli, as her surgical team took over, moving Bianca into one of the operating rooms to prep her for surgery.

 

“I’m not sure. I didn’t examine her,” Elizabeth said, remaining in the hall with Holli.

 

“Well, who did?”

 

“I believe Jack Palmer did,” Elizabeth replied.  “I didn’t hear anything about her condition.  But she must have felt okay at first because she was scrambling around trying to resuscitate one of my patients the last time I saw her.”

 

“Well, I don’t know what the hell Palmer was doing, but this shouldn’t have gone on so long.  Even if she didn’t have symptoms, he should have checked her more thoroughly.  We could have gotten her into the OR while she was still stable.  I can’t believe he didn’t catch it,” Holli ranted.  “Excuse me, but I need to get scrubbed in now.”

 

She banged through the double doors of the OR, leaving the four others standing in the hall, looking at one another in defeat.  One of their own was behind those doors, and they were powerless to save her.  It was out of their hands now.

 

+++

“Alright, he’s out,” Melanie announced, as she lifted Cammie’s premature infant son out from her womb. The baby’s skin was bluish from lack of oxygen, and like Melanie had thought, the umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around his neck. “Melissa, cut the cord, quick.”

 Melissa expertly sliced through the cord and untangled it from the baby’s neck. She then carried it over to the small table that had been set up at the side of the room, where pediatrician Siara Reily was waiting.

 “He’s in respiratory distress. Let’s get him on oxygen,” she said to her team. One of her nurses put an oxygen mask over the baby’s face.

 “What’s wrong? He’s not crying. Is he okay??” Cammie asked, her voice panicked and tearful. A sheet was hanging in front of her face, so that she could not even see her baby, just hear the murmuring voices of the doctors and nurses working on him.

 “He’s having some trouble breathing,” Melanie told her. “It could just be from the cord that was around his neck, or it might be because his lungs aren’t fully developed yet. Dr. Reily is doing everything she can to help him.”

Cammie nodded and waited in suspense for some kind of sign that he would be okay. Finally, after minutes that seemed more like hours, it came. A soft whimper, then a loud baby’s cry filled the room. As her son cried, Cammie burst into tears as well, tears of joy and relief.

 “He’s pinking up,” Melissa commented, as the color slowly returned to the baby’s skin.

 Melanie smiled at Cammie and patted her shoulder. “Good job, Mom.”

+++

 

“Come on, AJ, there’s a waiting room down the hall here,” said Ivory, playing the part of nurse as she led AJ to an unoccupied surgical waiting room.  “Stick around here and come update us when she’s out of surgery, okay?”

 

“Sure,” AJ said dully.  “Can you do me a favor?”

 

“Sure, what?”

 

“When you get back down to the ER, will you tell Kylie or Harry or one of the other paramedics what happened?  Tell them I need to take the rest of the night off.  My shift’s almost over anyway.”

 

“Of course,” Ivory said.  Offering AJ a slight smile, she added, “And don’t worry, AJ.  She’s in good hands.  She’s going to be just fine.”

 

AJ smiled tightly.  “I hope so.”

 

+++

 

“Hurry up and get her ready; I want to cut in five minutes!” Holli yelled, poking her head into the operating room as she scrubbed her hands.

 

“She’s starting to wake up, Dr. Brunson!” called Hayley, one of the ER nurses.  “You should come here and talk to her real quick, explain what’s happening.”

 

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Holli said, pulling on a pair of latex gloves over her spotlessly clean hands. 

 

Once she was fully gowned up, she went into the room and strode up to the operating table.  Bianca’s eyes were open, and she was looking up at Holli in fright.

 

“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

 

“You’ve got abdominal bleeding, Dr. Parker,” Holli replied bluntly.  “We’re anesthetizing you right now so we can fix it.”

 

“Is it bad?” Bianca asked, sounding weak and groggy from the drugs being inserted in her IV line to put her down. 

 

“Well, it’s certainly not good!  I can’t believe nobody down in that ER caught it before now.  Especially you.”

 

“Well, I was-“

 

“Oh, I already heard what you were up to,” Holli interrupted.  “You were trying to be a hero, trying to save everyone.  Well, you know what, Dr. Parker?”

 

“What?” Bianca asked, her eyes drooping as she drifted off.

 

Holli smirked, as her patient’s eyes closed.  “Even heroes fall.”

 

+++

 

 

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