Columbia Mercy Hospital

Kelly

As I was escorted to the athsma ward, I felt my Razor vibrate and play 'When You Were Young'. Dr. Milan grabbed the phone from my pocket and answered it.

"Hello? Who is this?" she asked.

Over my own heavy breathing I could just hear a guy's voice that said, "Kelly, is that you? You sound different from last night." Oh my God, I thought. I think that's Marco!

"Um, no unfortuneately this is Dr. Isabella Milan. She's having an athsma attack."

"Well, I'd like to talk to her, please." I could tell he was a little frustrated.

"Can't you hear her wheezing by me? She can't talk, I'm sorry sir. She'll have to call you back later, after we've gotten her into the athsma ward and she's been settled down. Goodbye!" Isabella finished. Just before the phone hung up, I heard him shout, "But-".

She placed the phone back in my hand as we rounded the corner into the ward.

Jeremy

I wished Rebecca would just stop yelling. It wasn't a nice cut (no cut was nice) but I'd seen much worse as an intern on my ER rotation and all her squirming around and complaining was starting to piss me off. I growled at her to keep still, and she did so, grudgingly.
I did a general on her leg and pulled the other damn razor out with tweesers. It wasn't all that big, I dropped it into a metal tray. She needed a stitch or two so I went and got a nurse to do it, it had been a while since I'd done any stitches and I didn't want to risk it on someone I'd see again every day.
"Look, Bec, I gotta go for a bit," I told her. She didn't look pleased. "You've gotta stay here and rest, get it?"
She shouted something after me as I left, but I felt too annoyed to listen. I made my way back to the ER, not really sure what I hoped to find there. I wanted to find out what had happened, a morbid curiosity I guess, and I was worried about Syd and Daniel. Not only was Sydney in trouble, I knew Daniel would be worrying way too much and probably doing way too much for his condition. I wanted to say sorry for snapping at him before, sort of, especially seeing as I didn't really know what I had meant by it.

When I got there, Daniel was standing with an intern. I aproached them,
"What's happened?" Daniel looked sad and pale and stressed. He smiled at me anyway.
"Syd's in surgery."
"Did she get shot?"
"Yeah." It was a blunt answer, I could see him trying to hide how much he was freaking out from me.
"Shit." I didn't really know what else to say. I leant against the wall and stared off into space, feeling the void of the hugenes sof the situation overwhelm me.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I'd thought I'd turned it off, but when I looked at it Chris's name came up and I had to take it, if he was calling me I had to answer. It wasn't like I had another patient for another hour. Such a slow day, and yet so hectic. I saw Daniel give me a look, like 'why be on the phone at a time like this, aren't you worried about her?' or at least - that's what I read into it.

Sydney/random characters


Suddenly the surgery doors swung open and Roxanne slide through them almost silently. Though it seemed a quick process, it had actually been a few hours since she had gone into the OR with Sydney. She pulled her surgical cap off her head as she made her way over to Daniel, who had stood up as she came out.

Daniel looked up her direction for a sign of news, but really saw nothing one way or the other by the expression on her face, "How is she?"

Roxanne sighed a bit but took a professional approach rather than a friendly one, as she was very aware of Daniel's unnatural knowledge of medicine, "She lost a lot of blood. We got the bullet out, but it's touch and go and the next 24 hours are critical."

Jeremy stood over to the side against the wall with a phone on his ear, looking her direction trying to pay attention to both conversations. A new intern sat beside where the two stood talking, in silence. For a moment Roxanne was curious to the absence of Evan in the group. And Des, for that matter.

Roxanne had let a small pause set in, she knew how it was dealing with families--they could only take so much information at once and, although Daniel was not the normal everyday family man, she knew he deserved the same respect. But, after a moment she continued, "She's in the ICU, we're waiting to see if she wakes up."

If, it lingered in the air like a cartoon weight that just hit the end of it's rope and was now waiting a foot above Daniel's head, threatening to crash down. If. "Can I see her?"

Roxanne nodded, and took his arm as they turned back into the hallway from the surgical waiting room. The ICU was just down the hallway, connected to the OR in the back corridor, and easier to get to from the front. It took a little while to get there, as Daniel had to stop frequently in the hallway to rest, but they eventually slide through the doors of the ICU and made their way to Sydney's room.

Roxy dropped Daniel off in the doorway and smiled in Sydney's direction as if she could see her, and knew she was hoping for her, but turned away quickly, "I have a few things to wrap up, I'll be back in a little while. You know what to do if you need anything."

Daniel nodded but didn't say anything and didn't move from his spot in the doorway, nor did he release his gaze from Sydney. She lay in the bed straight, as if already in a coffin, with her hands on her sides. The sound of the heartbeat monitor racked into Daniel's brain, getting louder with every beat. Syd's long eyelashes came together in sleep, an oxygen tube running lightly across her face just above her lips that had gained a bit of color back. There were tubes everywhere around her bed, most connecting to the IV--something Daniel was used to on himself, but not on her.

He wanted badly to move from his position, to go sit by her side, to hold her hand. But, he couldn't move just yet as he leaned against the doorframe.

Ava

"So she was shot?" I asked. I must have looked dumb because he said,

"Yeah, you know like bullets, guns, crazy patients." He rolled his eyes.

"No I know what shot means I'm not an idiot." I laughed.

"Could have fooled me." Evan said.

"Not funny, just remember who's paying you." I shot back.

"My boss?" He asked, teasing.

"Cute. No you idiot me!" Gosh I'd known him for like three years and he still hadn't changed.
_____________
Sugar-Beth


I had an urge to reach out and touch my shoulder the burning pain shot through it like a bolt of electricty. I moaned in pain. I felt something cold go down my cheek, it was my own tear.

"It's ok Sugar-beth." A voice said.

"Am I dead?" I asked.

The voice laughed. "No Sugar, you've shot."

"Damn and I was soooo looking forward for everyone to say a few words at my funieral." I joked.

"That's not funny." The voice sounded serious

"I think it's ironic." I said.

Roxanne Peters

The last few hours had left Roxanne feeling sore and tired but as she hurried to reception, she smiled at the scene that greeted her. A few officers were still milling around, taking statements from staff and patients alike but standing to one side was Emily Darcy, another name to be ticked off of the list that now lay forgotten in some police officer's pocket.

"I take it the situation is under control now?" Roxanne asked stiffly. She held the woman in a state of respect but they'd yet to make it to the stage of friends.

"The woman is down at the station by now," Emily replied. "And one of the officers tried to take half my interns to collect statements." She snorted, showing just what she thought of the officers in question. Roxanne didn't bother to hide her small smile.

"Ah, miss," one of the officers approached.

"What now?" Emily asked irritably.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name earlier..." the officer was holding a pen, a note-pad and a pile of witness forms. Emily blinked. He seemed to be addressing Roxanne.

"Peters," Roxy said. "Roxanne Peters. How long are you going to delay our work?" She scowled at him. It was the senior officer from before.

"Actually, yours is the last statement we need. Then we should have more than enough to put this mad woman behind bars."

"Then ask your questions quickly. I have patients to care for." The officer dipped his head and hurried through the questions crisply and accurately. It still took too long as far as Roxy was concerned. But as the final answer left her lips and the officer started reigning in his men, Roxanne felt her mask slip a little and let out a weary sigh.

"How's Sydney?" Emily asked. Roxanne arched an eyebrow as if wondering why the woman was still there. Didn't she have interns to muster?

"She's in the ICU, we're waiting to see if she wakes up. Daniel's with her."

____________________________

Daniel

"Syd..." Daniel almost choked on the word as it wriggled from between his lips, slipping into the room he could not enter. There she lay in what could be an endless slumber, her chest rising and falling in sync with the machine. Daniel's feet felt heavy and his mouth was dry. He swallowed with difficulty.

Syd... The beating of the machine was relentless and suddenly Daniel wanted to hold her hand so badly. He wanted to whisper in her ear but those machines terrified him like some alien presence wrapped about her body, standing between him and her.

It was with great difficulty that Daniel took the first step forward. Dan, what are you thinking? It's Syd, she needs you. Get a hold of yourself, man. He took another step and walked in a daze to the bed where he collapsed into the chair. For a time, he sat perfectly still, just gazing at her face and then he took her hand in his, running gentle fingers over the soft, smooth flesh.

Daniel reached for her hand, probing through the sheets of his hospital bed and he found it and squeezed. She squeezed back, her face hovering just above his so that he could see every detail. The smooth, tanned cheeks, the perfect, black lashes and the little flecks of silver in her incredibly blue eyes. 'They aren't there,' she'd always scoff, laughing as she said it. But they were. They were there as certain as the moon was lurking behind the sun's blinding rays.

Daniel held Sydney's hand and squeezed it gently.

Emily Jane Darcy

She felt for the woman, she was obviously ill and confused and really, all the shots had been veritable accidents. Still, she was glad to see the back of her, and she never wanted to mention what went on in that room again. Where Aaron was, Emily didn’t know, but he’d have his own issues to contend with, what she wanted to know was where in Valhalla Des had been during this whole thing.

An officer rattled on at her side, talking about taking all her interns for statements. It wasn’t going to happen, but she admired his persistence.

“My interns have enough to worry about right now, officer. I suggest you take some moments and go speak with them individually, they will not be leaving today without my say so, are we clear?” The man nodded with widened eyes. People, she thought, just needed clear instructions and everything would be okay.

Looking around she noticed that things were slowly going back to normal. She wondered where Sydney was, the woman had been in such a serious condition. Glancing up, Emily noticed Roxanne striding her way, she was formidable even when walking. She stopped in front of her.

"I take it the situation is under control now?" Roxanne held herself stiffly, either through fatigue or a general lack of comfort, Emily didn’t know.

"The woman is down at the station by now," She replied. "And one of the officers tried to take half my interns to collect statements." She noticed Roxanne didn't bother to hide her small smile.

"Ah, miss," one of the officers approached.

"What now?" Emily asked irritably.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name earlier..." the officer was holding a pen, a note-pad and a pile of witness forms. Emily blinked. He seemed to be addressing Roxanne.

Tuning out slowly, Emily didn’t notice Roxanne respond to the man until she heard a quiet sigh. Turning back to her, Emily asked carefully;
"How's Sydney?" Roxanne arched an eyebrow , wondering what Emily was still doing there, no doubt.

"She's in the ICU, we're waiting to see if she wakes up. Daniel's with her." Emily must have frowned, because Roxanne’s eyebrow raised.

“ Make sure someone tells me if there is any news, please.” She turned heel and walked off towards her office. She didn’t have time to worry about patients – Syd was a patient, no matter her status – she had people to look after. Fiddling with her pager, and the door of her office, Emily began calling her residents and interns to a meeting, thing would have to be shuffled.

Roxanne Peters

Roxanne lingered in reception just long enough to be sure that all the police -- and a scattering of film crews too -- had left peacefully. Then she buzzed one of the nurses and asked her to bring the next patient through to the second surgery room and buzzed one of the plastic surgeons, Gary, to inform him.

Scrubbing her hands at the sink, Roxanne waited patiently. Gary was the first to arrive.

"What's going on?" he asked, taking a place at the sink and beginning to wash his hands automatically. He was small for a surgeon with pale, blotchy skin and short, brown hair. Roxanne found him easy to work with: he took orders without question, unlike some of the others.

"We're going ahead with the mole patient and Mr Sampson will be told to re-schedule," Roxanne explained. Gary nodded and they both pulled on their surgical gloves and did up each other's robes.

"We're going to be spread thin," Roxanne continued. "Evan's in surgery one with one of our patients but after that, we'll have to make do with just this surgery and our patients aren't a priority so we might even lose this." Gary nodded again.

"There's going to be a lot of surgeons with nothing to do," he noted.

"Can't be helped," Roxanne replied gruffly and she approached the patient who had now been wheeled in by the nurse while Gary started to lay out instruments.

Sydney Parker

Not long had passed since she came out of surgery, maybe an hour or two. Her stats were holding quite well, and as her crystal blue eyes fluttered open she could hear the constant beating of the heart machine in tune with her own. There was certainly a pain in her abdomen, but she decided it was nothing she couldn't deal with. And after what happened, oh, what happened..., she suddenly remembered the whole scene. Was everyone else okay?

She felt some pressure on her palm, unsure of what it was--everything was a bit groggy to say the least. She turned her head to the side and found the form of another. She blinked a few times to clear her vision abit, before examining the presence. It was a man holding her hand. He wasn't looking at her, in fact Sydney wasn't even sure he was awake. It even took her a moment to realize who he was.

"...Daniel?"

Her eyes were still squinted as she spoke, her voice low but clear. She was a bit surprised to see him there, to be honest. Where was Evan?



Tyson Cromwell

Tyson slid out from the restroom in the hallway, running into Lily West headed the same direction. The chief resident had called a meeting, and after today he was certainly not going to miss it.

"Hey Lily West." His smile showed bright in her direction.

She jumped a little, as if surprised to see him. He didn't blame her, he had heard that she had been in the room today--he'd certainly be jumpy too, "Oh, hey." She seemed almost disappointed to see him. Or to see anyone.

"Quite the day, huh?" Lily nodded, but offered no verbal repretoire, "Thinking about quitting?"

Lily shrugged, "I don't know."

Tyson raised a brow. He was really just kidding. It may have been their first day, but to quit because some lunatic took over for a couple hours is just letting them win.

He stepped in front of her, stopping her in her tracks, "Hey, I know it's been a rough day but you can't quit. You worked too hard for this. It won't always be this crazy."

Lily sighed a little, her eyes locked on his. She wanted an escape from this conversation, and he knew that. But he also knew she wasn't stupid, and she knew he was right, "I know." There was a pause, the two of them standing face to face in stillness in the middle of the hallway, "but we're going to be fired if we don't get to that meeting." She offered a smile, hoping to lighten the mood.

Tyson smiled back and turned to head towards the meeting room as his cell phone vibrated in his pocket.

Daniel

Quietly and softly the sound registered in Daniel's ears, squeezing through his thoughts to tap upon his conscious: Daniel. He tilted his head smoothly and smiled with relief.

"Syd... hey, how you feeling?" Dan rubbed her fingers gently as she returned his look with one of confusion.

"Where's Evan?" The question cut through Daniel, spilling a vacuum of silence into the room. He didn't visibly flinch but inside his heart crumbled and suddenly the built up fatigue hit him and he felt his shoulders slumping and his brain shutting down.

"Doctor Evan is occupied right now but never fear, I shall be your doctor for the day," Dan joked, mustering the vapours of his humour. Sydney smiled faintly.

"Would you like some water?" Daniel asked.

'Would you like some water?" Sydney asked as she shuffled further up the bed, her bottom coming to rest against Dan's side.
'Sure,' he replied. 'I'm up for swimming but you've got to wear the blue bikini.' He flashed a strong smile and Sydney chuckled, holding the glass as he took a long gulp.
'Ah,' he said. 'Mother Nature's medicine.'
'Water?' Syd asked, trying to anticipate his train of thoughts.
'No. Love.' And he squeezed her hand.

Sydney nodded, the motion barely visible but Dan caught it and he held the glass while she drank.

"I should form my colleagues of the change in your condition," Dan murmured but in his head he was thinking: Please tell me not to go, Syd. Please don't make me go...

Sydney Parker


As Daniel started to stand and walk away, Sydney tightened her grip on his hand a bit, "Wait."

Wait...wait? Wait for what? She didn't know, and as soon as he turned around and faced her she realized her lack of knowledge of this 'wait'.

"hmm?" was all he could say, wondering the same over the pretense of 'wait'. He moved closer to her, standing beside her bed now, waiting for an answer.

Sydney's eyes narrowed a bit and she smile sweetly, trying to lighten it a bit--hoping they would both forget about the behind meaning the 'wait'. She let go of Daniel's hand completely and intertwined it with the fingers of the other across her belly. Well, until she figured out how much the pressure on what she could only assume to be a surgical cut really hurt. She wenced for a secret as she pulled them back apart and lay her arms to her side.

She turned back up to Daniel, "What's the deal with me?" She raised a brow. She was trully curious, as anyone would be, but she was more excited to have an out from the luminous 'wait'.

Thanks Via =] I obviously missed that ^_~ but yay. Is Serenity/Paramore still doing Rebecca? Well I left her in some room anyway.

Lily West
I had sort of been thinking of quitting, maybe something like research would be better for me. There would be less people to deal with, less madness, but I guess it wasn't much of a serious thought. I'd done 5 years of med school for this, slept and ate and drank and dreamed medicine for longer than that. I couldn't drop out after all that just because of one day. If there were maybe... 5 days in a row like this, I decided, then maybe I could quit. Being held at gunpoint can be overcome.

I went into the meeting room in a bit of a daze of thought, and it was dr Darcy who was at the front of the room, waiting impatiently for everyone to shuffle in. A lot of the residents were there as well, although not all of them, not the woman who had been shot obviously. They all looked concerned, distressed or stoic. Most of them were fidgeting, but some stood still and controlled like old soldiers waiting for their orders. The interns were almost all fidgeting, looking up at the front of the room as though it was the source of all the solutions to their problems. I looked at my feet, waited for her to begin speaking.

Jeremy Raynor
I left Rebecca in a room, walked quickly down and back to the ER where Sydney was kept. I peeked in through the door, nosy, just to see who was there and it was only Daniel, sitting with his hands wrapped around hers. She was awake, yes but a pained looked flashed across her face as I watched and Daniel moved away and came back. Maybe... that was their private thing. I felt awkward suddenly and turned away. I had wanted to go and see her, but I didn't want to get in between Sydney and Dan, they had their stuff that needed sorting out. It's always situations like this that make people revisit the past. I was always quite bad at dealing with them.

In this case, I just walked away. I guess I was happy that Syd was alright and that would do for now, I could go see her later. There was a buzz from a room to one side, I peered through that and saw everyone gathered up, Emily shuffling papers. I opened the door and sneaked inside, but she gave me a stern look anyway. So at least I was there, I could have stayed in Rebecca's room and had a little sleep.

Daniel

"You under-went a 'Class Three Hemorrhage' due to a heavy loss of blood, mostly external bleeding, some internal bleeding. They took you through to surgery and replaced the fluids and removed the bullet successfully but were uncertain as to whether they stopped all the internal bleeding. The fact that you're awake is a good sign but..." Daniel let his sentence trail off, wetting his dry lips with the tip of his tongue. He knew the importance of the truth to a patient but never had he been the one giving it, never had he stood there and told someone they might die.

"And the doctors told you all that?" Syd asked, raising an eyebrow. It was such a natural response that an involuntary smile stole across Dan's face and he felt a rush of warmth. Syd was handling the information very well. Of course she was. That was what doctors did.

"Nope," Daniel replied. "But I've always admired how quickly gossip travels in a hospital."

"That's more than just gossip," Sydney scoffed.

"I have my ways," Dan said with an impulsive grin. They both laughed a little at the implications behind that, as only two people with such a long history could. But then the awkward silence threatened to entomb them again. The lingering wait squirmed through the tension.

"Where's Des?" Sydney asked. This was safe ground.

"No one knows," Dan said. "She hasn't been seen since this morning." Sydney's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Then who was..."

"On the phone?" Daniel cut in. "That was Roxy. She handled everything like a dream. She's got a good head on her fine, beautiful shoulders. Looks and talent, who'd have known?" Dan cracked another grin. But she's nothing compared to you... Oh, Syd.

Sydney Parker

Sydney chuckled just lightly, knowing the affects of a hardy laugh would not be pleasurable. She glanced up at the clock on the opposite wall, and then to the door. There was a minute or so of complete silence between the two of them.

She turned back to Daniel, "I bet they replace her."

Daniel's brow raised a bit in confusion, "Roxy?"

Syd smiled slightly, catching herself in a moment of 'duh', "Des."

Daniel shrugged a bit, finding himself unsure what she meant but didn't really want to press the issue. Sydney knew this--Daniel had always been a passer-by when it came to her family issues, never wanting to upset her.

She sighed, pushing herself up a bit on the bed, only a slight silent cringe of pain, "Come on Dan, you know her. You know her psyche. She's never been right; not since my sister died, anyway. She runs away from everything...me especially. I'm just saying, if she even comes back, I bet she doesn't stay."

I've been gone for a long time and I'd appreciate it if somebody could write me in.
Thanks,
~Angel


Annelise Martin

The room was hot and heavy. I felt like everything was closing in on me. I've been here long enough to know that I'm not cut out to be a Doctor. I spent all my time and money learning how to be something that was unconventional. Sydney Parker has the guts and the will but I...have a little sister that needs me and a train of thought that switches tracks constantly. Why am I here?

Lily West walks into the room, I can see on her face the doubt but she's brilliant and I'm far from that. She takes a look at all of the interns and then hangs her head low. If only that could just erase my decisions and actions. If only just closing my eyes and running away could get me out of this room. Where the walls are closing in and crushing me till the point of tears. I hold them back but they're still fresh.
Why am I here?

A Doctor was shot and I don't even have the guts to cry. Why am I here?

Emily Jane Darcy.

The room was half-full. Most were interns, pale and jittery, and the missing spaces felt very evident. Emily knew that none of her best would be there yet as she stood waiting at the head of the room. She still expected Sydney to wander through the doors somehow, though she remembered to remind herself to check on her later.

Glancing around the room, Emily watched one of the residents, West, walk in, she glimpsed someone else behind her, but they didn’t follow. The room looked to be as full as it was going to get. She rapped her knuckles on the desk, though there wasn’t much chatter anyway.

“We all know of what’s happened earlier this morning. This does not give us an excuse to wander about in a daze, people. We have work to do, and it’s going to have to get done.” Emily could see the fidgets that happened around the room, people uncomfortable with the hard tone. “You can be as unhappy with this as you like. But we’re doctors here, and we have patients to tend to.”

Looking at the group, Emily picked out a few that looked like they wanted to bolt, one in particular, Martin, was on the edge of her seat, staring at her and the floor alternately.

“Some of you may decide that this isn’t the environment for you. That the stress of this job and what we have to do here is too much to handle in the face of your daily activities. That’s okay. We have a trained councillor on the premises who will be taking mandatory consultations over the day and the week to see where everyone is at. I know some others here will want to leave. What I ask from you is to first see the councillor and then finish out your day. As it is, we’re completely swamped; there are some casualties that have hit us hard for today and there’s a lot we need to do. What I need you to do is keep together for now. I understand if you want to take a moment to yourself over the course of the day, but I have to ask you to keep your job in mind at the same time. We have a duty here, and we will keep that in check.”

The atmosphere in the group hadn’t changed much, and Emily couldn’t tell if she’d affected any of them at all.

“Interns, we’re going to have to shift your numbers around now, for now, I want you to latch on to a resident and stick with them unless otherwise told, understand?” She waited for some answering nods before continuing. “I know that today has been long, and it will be longer still. But hold out. We – you – have responsibilities.”

Emily looked around the nervous group once more. “That’s all for now, off you go.” They rose in bundles, clusters reaching the door at the same time until it was a jam of people. Emily sighed and sat in the head chair, resting her chin on her palm. Her folders ranged out in front of her. She’d have to organise where the residents would go, and the interns. All the while wondering where the hell Modesty had gotten to.