All Around the Town




"Dammit he's in V-Fib" One of the surgeons said

"Charging.......Clear." A nurse said " Still in V-Fib"

"Charging again......Clear......Again......Clear." The monitor whined "Asystole."

"That's it - we've done all we can. Time of death - 19:17."

The OR began to clear out after the patient's time of death was announced. The patient was Tom, the skinny convict with the gunshot wound. In the neighboring OR, Murray, the driver was undergoing his operation. And in the OR next to that, Dave Malucci had just been wheeled off to recovery, his surgery a success. Peter finished up the charts from the surgery, walked off to the waiting room, and found Elizabeth Corday asleep on the couch. She woke up a few minutes later, and immediately began to question Peter.

"How is he? How did the surgery go?" She asked anxiously, but with grogginess in her voice.

"The surgery was a success - There was some internal bleeding, but we fixed it. He should be fine." Peter informed her

"Thank God." She breathed out. She knew Peter would think it was odd how worried Elizabeth had been.

"He's up in recovery - He should wake up soon if you want to talk to him." He got up and began to walk away. "It's not your fault Elizabeth." He said, turned and walked away.

She let the words go through her head. *Not your Fault Elizabeth* She said over and over again, as she walked to recovery. The words still didn't ring true, no matter how many times she said them. She walked into Dave's room. He was awake, but he looked very weak. His face was pale and tired, he had several bruises on his body. His left leg was in a cast, and there was a line of stitches on his forehead, sealing up a giant gash. He nodded to acknowledge Elizabeth's presence.

"Dr. Corday - How are you?" He said meekly

"Just fine, actually - And you, I suppose would be quite the opposite?"

"Pretty much. I bet I'll feel even worse when the morphine wears off, so I really shouldn't complain." He half-smiled. "Come sit - stay awhile."

She sat down on the stool beside his bed. "Dr. Malucci - I want to apologize for my behavior today. I was rude to you, not to mention the fact that I should have stayed on the bus."

"First of all - Call me Dave." He started. "Second of all, if you had been on that bus, it would have just added another injured person - You could have ended up in bad shape or even dead. And it's not like you had a choice - You were pushed off the bus. And third of all, the way I treat you, you really have no choice but to be rude. I'm a jackass, and everyone, including myself knows that. I'm trying to change, but it's taking longer than I planned."

"You have changed a bit, if it's any consolation. You're not that big of a jackass - You proved that today on the bus with what you did. You weren't being selfish - You put those children before everything, even if it meant you getting hurt. Which it did...." She half laughed, then went back to being serious. "You are changing, and I hope that you keep on acting the way you did today."

"Thank you." He was flattered by her compliments, "How is everyone else?"

"Well, they sent Ed to Mercy - he's doing fine and in recovery. Murray is in surgery, and Tom - well Tom died. He had a gunshot wound to the heart.......Died on the table."

Dave nodded. He knew that it could have been him in there. "That's about what I figured."

"I do have a question." She paused, then continued, "Why was Tom shot? What happened?" Elizabeth was curious to know the reasons.

"He wasn't supposed to be shot. I was." Dave blurted out. "Ed was shooting at me, when the bus swerved. The gun slipped, and he shot Tom. That's when the bus overturned."

"Oh." She knew how Dave must be feeling - Lucky, but scared by his brush with death. "Well, I should let you sleep. You'll need it if you're going to be pulling a 36 hour shift tomorrow." She laughed looking at Dave's surprised face "That was a joke Dave." She said as she walked to the door.

"Dr. Corday - Thank you. For putting up with me, for sticking up for me in front of Ed. Things will be different from now on." He said, meaning it.

"I know Dave." She knew that a new Dave had risen from today. She turned around just before she exited the room. "Oh, and Dave - Call me Elizabeth." She smiled and left the room.

From there, she went back down to the ER. The children had been picked up, and were now all at home where they belonged. She thought about how her day turned out - how strange it had been, and how her relationship with Dave had changed - for the better. She let the thoughts run through her mind, and then she looked at the board, seeing that Mark would be coming on in a few minutes. She went out to the ambulance bay, and stood there waiting for him. He finally came into sight, and she rushed over to him, wrapping her arms around him.

"Elizabeth - what's with the stitches?" He said indicating her forehead. "What exactly did you do today?"

"I went all around the town." She buried herself in his arms for a minute, and then smiled, looking up at his confused face, knowing that she'd have to explain herself.

They parted, and walked hand in hand into the ER as Elizabeth began her story.

THE END




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