Controlled Chaos (Open)

[Deleted]

She was only four hours into her twelve hour shift, and it had already been an odd day. Not only were they fully staffed, but the ER had been unusually quiet, eerily quiet almost. She chided herself for even thinking the dreaded Q word, but at least she hadn't said it out loud. She checked all of her assigned rooms again to make sure that they were adequately stocked and set up to her liking.  She stuck her head in to check on and speak to the one patient that she had at the moment, before going to stand in front of the ambulance bay doors and watch the snow fall in giant flakes from the sky.

After several minutes of watching it snow Emily went to the desk to see if any of her coworkers had anything interesting going on, or if they needed help with anything.  Finding that they were all just as bored as she was, she sighed and sat down on a rolling stool.  She wasn't wishing for anything major to happen, but she normally thrived in the high stress action packed atmosphere of the ER. Emily despised being bored. The only action going on right now was someone taking up a lunch order.  She pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped out a couple text messages to her friends to see what they were doing this weekend. 

She added her name to the lunch order and handed over her money, hoping that they got back with the food before anything crazy happened.  That was the thing about the ER, it could go from dead quiet to packed full in about five minutes all depending on the day.  There had been several days when she'd had to eat her lunch cold because just as the food showed up so did the influx of ambulances and patients. 

[Josh Cameron]

Only fools rush in, yeah just the like neighbourhood watch rent a cop that had cause the biggest incident he had seen for a few weeks. It was just any other day until he had managed to walk in on a disturbance in a cafe where some guy with more blades on him than cash or really much else was going crazy. The neighbourhood watch guy had tried to get involved too soon and the three of them were now a little worse for wear. The rent a cop had surprisingly come out the best of the three, the guy who was currently strapped to a trolley and cuffed to it too had a stab wound to his abdomen and Josh.

Yeah he had no idea how he had managed to collect his set of injuries. There was a nasty gash on his side, the usual cuts and bruise following a fight and tumble over tables and chairs. He even remembered being hit by one but then it was all in a day’s work. He was in simple jeans, tshirt and a warm jacket given the snow as he wasn’t working and hadn’t really planned on getting involved in anything other than catching up on his cleaning and maybe a run later that day. Yeah looked like that was off the cards as he could see the blood running down his hand slowly.

He moved into the ER with the suspect that was still strapped to the trolley, he swore the guy had razorblades for teeth two though he knew he was being ridiculous. Then again it hadn’t stopped the guy from trying to tackle him to the floor. Josh looked around for the nearest person, “This guy doesn’t get off that trolley, he’s dangerous and the restraints stay.” He said deciding that he didnt need a kind hearted anyone trying to let the guy up to have a go at any of the ER staff that were there.

No it had taken him long enough to take the guy down though he had cuts more places than he cared for some a little serious some less so. Honestly sometimes work was much safer than going about his general business in the city as he waited to see what was going to happen. The ER wasn’t exactly the place he hung about regularly so it was down to the people there what went on he thought.

Tag: @emily

[Deleted]

She knew it, the minute the lunch order had gone in they had several patients come in through the front door, as well as three coming in through the ambulance doors. She watched them come in from the ambulance bay; first there was Sam, one of the regular psych patients, but this time he looked to have a stab wound to his abdomen and was both strapped and handcuffed to the gurney. He was being escorted in by another man, who had some small visible cuts and scrapes as well and a nasty cut to his side. He was losing some blood and would certainly need some sutures. The group was rounded out by a man in a neighborhood watch security uniform, who appeared relatively uninjured.

Emily watched as one of her coworkers directed the guy on the gurney to one of his rooms all the while assuring the other man that they wouldn’t let him up off the gurney. Emily asked the department secretary to notify the police and request an officer because she knew that an officer would have to sit with Sam while he was in the ER, and from the looks of things there would be plenty of police reports that needed to be filled out. She smiled as she approached the other man, he looked like he had a few nasty gashes as well. “Sir? What’s your name and birthday? We need to get you entered into our computers so that we can take care of you.” She quickly wrote down his responses and handed them to the secretary so that she could register him into the computer system.

She placed a hand on Josh's shoulder to draw his attention away from Sam, “Ok Mr. Cameron let’s take you to this room right over here so we can check you out.” She pointed to one of her rooms that was next to the room where they had taken Sam. “My name is Emily, and I’m going to be your nurse today. We are going to need to get you out of this jacket and shirt so that I can take a closer look at your side…are you hurt anywhere else?” She asked, already on the way to the room. As she walked into the room she turned to make sure that he was following her, before continuing. “We need to get all of these cuts cleaned up so that the doctor can come look at them and we can get them sutured up for you. Do you know when your last tetanus shot was?”

Emily smiled at Josh, before jokingly asking him “How on earth did you end up in a knife fight with Sam, he’s usually fairly peaceful when he’s here? We see him in here all the time, but I have to admit this is the first time he’s brought any other patients in with him.” She paused giving him a chance to answer her question before asking, “Once I get you cleaned up and ready for the doctor is there anyone that I should call for you; wife, girlfriend, family? I’d be happy to let them know that you’re here and that you’re going to be ok?”

[Josh Cameron]

It was like the beginning of the strangest joke, three men walk into a cafe and all reappear a lot worse for wear and end up in the emergency room. Ironic that he just happened to be there but even a six foot one ex Army special forces two hundred pounds man wasn’t enough to stop the guy from waving a knife about it like it was made of plastic. Plastic would have hurt a lot less sure but then sometimes he wondered about people and what got them to that point in their lives. Then again he was sure this was more a case for phsyc than someone who had made a list of bad choices.

Josh knew letting the guy up would be a mistake but he needed to know that others understood that too when he saw a nurse approach him. He looked at her for a moment, name and birthday. “Josh Cameron, September first nineteen seventy six.” He said in his usual military fashion before he tried to lighten his tone a little, yeah this wasn’t work or the army this was just the emergency room trying to help. “It’s okay thanks it’s just a few scratches, think he’s worse off than me.” Josh said motioning over to Sam, he was one who had been stabbed worse than his light paper cut he thought.

He was still staring at Sam when he felt the hand on his shoulder. “Oh no, it’s just Josh Mr. Cameron isn’t me.” He said having never really liked the Mr part of it, it was official but not the way he knew it. Josh was partially distracted as he followed her over to the next room as he nodded hearing her name when she said to take his clothes off. “My shirt as well?” He said before he realised he just needed to get over it as he shrugged off his jacket and shook his head as they entered the room. “No, just my side but it will heal give it a few days and a plaster no big deal.” He said as he listened to her again.

“Urm... yeah think that was last year, maybe just over a year ago.” He said trying to remember the last time, it wasn’t exactly something he’d forget easily but then it was just one of those things. Work related injury and a tetanus shot. Josh gave Emily a look when she asked how he ended up in a knife fight. “Better question Emily, how do you know Sam?” He asked her grinning as he shrugged, “He was waving a knife around in a cafe and wasn’t making much sense, I tried to talk to him and...” He waved a hand over himself, “This is what I got but I have to say he was determined but I dont think he meant it as such.”

Josh had been in a few fights and despite the fact that Sam had hurt him the guy didnt strike him as the delibaretely malicious type. He knew the neighbourhood guy hadn’t helped matters but then everything came to a boiling point and bam he was fighting a guy. “You might want to watch him a little more, im sure he’s lovely when he’s calm but not so much now. What does he usually come in with?” He asked not wanting to tell her anything but he didnt want her to be hurt by the guy but he was a federal agent so questions were in his DNA.

He laughed before he realised that he probably sounded crazy enough himself when she asked about calling someone for him. “No it’s okay thanks. Been married now not married, no girlfriend and my family is... well no need to worry them at all.” He explained and by family and them he meant Sam his adoptive father who was in Chicago but Josh didnt need to give the man any more cause for worry.

Tag: @emily

[Deleted]

“Well don’t you worry about Sam, he’s got a really good nurse taking care of him…you however are stuck with me, so let’s worry about getting you all patched up shall we.” She smiled sweetly, as she tried to get a read on him. She didn’t know for sure who this guy was, but something about the way he was acting and carrying himself screamed that he was some type of military or law enforcement or both.

“Ok so Josh, now’s no time to play all shy with me…I really need you to take your shirt off so I can get a good look at all your wounds. I can’t help you if you won’t let me.” Had she known him better she probably would have laughed at him acting like she’d never seen a chest before, “See I was going to be nice and let you keep your pants on, but keep acting all shy and I’ll pretend like I don’t know that all that blood,” she gestured to his pants leg, “came from your side and I’ll make you take them off too,” She joked. “Seriously though I can probably find you a pair of scrub pants if you want to get cleaned up before you leave.” She shook her head when he said it was just his side and that it would heal in a few days. “With all that blood, I’m pretty sure it’s going to need stitches…but I’ll know more once that shirt is off and I clean it up.”

Emily saw the look that Josh gave her when she asked him about the fight, and she gave him a look right back. “Well Josh, it’s not like Sam’s my ex or anything, but I do see him in here on a fairly regular basis. Most of the time he ends up with a police officer watching him talking to the psychiatrist.” She let out a small gasp when she heard that Sam had been waving a knife around in the café. “Wow…he must be completely off all of his medications for him to do something like that. There is no way he was in his right mind, no offense… but I haven’t decided if you’re just really brave, or something else entirely… seriously what on earth possessed you to try to get in the middle of that? Most people would have called the cops and watched from a safe distance.” 

When he waved his hand gesturing to his injuries, Emily looked him over and she was after all only human so she couldn’t help but notice that he was in really good shape. She chided herself for even noticing and tried to fight the blush she could already feel creeping up her cheeks. “Urm... yeah well sometimes bravery and good deeds go unrecognized… so let’s… uh let’s get you cleaned up and ready for the doctor. Have a seat on the bed… I just need to grab a couple wash cloths and some warm water.” She went to a cabinet in the room and pulled out a few wash cloths and a tub, as she was running the warm water into the tub she turned back to him and asked, “Are you allergic to anything?”

She smiled at him when he told her that she might want to watch him more, “Awww you do care.” She giggled a bit before looking back at Josh, “Seriously thanks for thinking of me, but like I said when he comes in he’s usually with a police officer… I’ll keep a better eye on him from now on though because up until today he’s always seemed fairly harmless… guess appearances can be deceiving. So how did the rent-a-cop end up being the only one uninjured?” She laughed as she knew the neighborhood security guy pretty well as he would come walk through the ER on occasion, but he always seemed to make himself scarce when anything was actually happening. “I can’t imagine that he was much help to you, he probably was too busy hiding in the corner to get anywhere near the actual action.”

She smiled at him when he said there was no wife or girlfriend at home to call, and that he didn’t want to worry his family. “All right then Mr. tough guy… if you don’t want me to call anyone… who’s gonna hold your hand when the doctor starts sewing you up?”

She took a wash cloth and started gently dabbing at his skin trying to get all of the blood off, “Now if this starts to hurt too bad you let me know and I’ll see about getting you something for pain.” The closer she got to the cut in his side she could tell for sure that it was going to need stitches. Once she finished cleaning him up she got some gauze squares and pressed them to the cut. “I’m sorry Josh, I know that probably hurts… are you ok?” She asked studying his face for any kind of reaction. “Right now we are just waiting for the doctor… he should be in soon, but if you want I can go find him now.”

Tag: Josh Cameron

[Josh Cameron]

Josh smiled lightly at her, there was no doubt in his head that she wasn’t a good nurse as he guessed an ER wouldnt hire anyone that wasn’t good at their job. Her smile was sweet and friendly as he decided that maybe it wasn’t too bad to get patched up before he went on with his day. It wasn’t like he had anywhere better to be after all it was simple chance that he had gone to that cafe in the first place. Chance that turned out not so greatly for two people in the ER but then again they were both still alive.

He wasn’t usually the self conscious type but then the ER wasn’t exactly the place he felt relaxed in to start with as he tried to just laugh it off. She had probably seen lots of things before he told himself as he tried to con himself into believing it. When she threatened to take his pants too he took off his shirt at speed deciding that a chest was do able compared to losing his pants too. “No no I’m all good thanks, the shirt is off so no need to take the pants too.” He said as he laughed nervously as she spoke about the blood.

“I’m sure it just looks bad because of the blood.” He said yeah he was arguing against the one person that knew what she was doing. Not so smart a choice in life but then again he wasn’t known for making those. “Yeah well he needs help and a lot of it, the guy seems nice enough but it would be nice to meet him when he’s his usual self.” He said though then again it was tough to see a guy past the knife he had been holding. “I’d go with stupid but then I’m a cop... well FBI but you know I couldnt exactly walk away from the situation, not on duty but always FBI.” He said trying to explain why he hadn’t gone for the safe distance option that would have likely had a better outcome.

Josh watched as she looked him over, she was beautiful he thought before he realised he was probably staring that little bit too long as he took to looking at the floor. When she went to the cabinet he took a seat on the bed as he shuffled slightly a little uncomfortable. “Oh i’m okay with it being unrecognised, I’m just happy that the guy didnt hurt anyone else and hopefully he’s not too badly injured himself.” He said as he thought about her allergy question. “People with knives, I’m allergic to them.” He joked before he shook his head, “But nothing else.”

Josh smirked lightly at her, “Course I care and just doing my job.” He said as he nodded, “I’m not telling you how to do your job but please do just for your own safety. People are good at deceiving others and especially when they aren’t in their right minds.” He added knowing he had seen a lot of that with the FBI hostage rescue team, it was often the worst day of peoples lives and sometimes there just wasn’t anything to bring them back and that was what made it dangerous. “Oh that guy, no course he wasn’t injured unless you count being a cheerleader on the side lines dangerous?” He asked grinning, “He only came out when the real cops cuffed him and called an ambulance but he was the guy who made it worse to begin with.”

He explained, there had been a lot of yelling and the rent-a-cop telling the guy to just get on with it and do whatever it was he was going to do. Not exactly the most helpful statement which just after that the guy had gone to another level of crazy and started the whole thing rolling. “Well I was hoping that would be you if you’re not too busy.” He said before he realised how that might sound, “You know since i’ve no family to call and such.” He added as if that would make things any better.

Josh sucked in a breath when she started dabbing at his skin, yeah it hurt as he bit his lip. Sometimes it was the minor wounds that hurt a lot more than anything major at times. He was glad that she was finished cleaning him up though when she pressed the gauze squares to the cut he winced again. “Yeah... all good here.” He said trying to grin through his wince. “No it’s okay, i’ve got time to kill today anyway so might as well hang around. Besides wouldnt want to take anyone away from the real patients.” He said grinning at her, he was simply a flesh wound though he was sure there was a line that was worse than he was that might need treatment.

[Deleted]

Emily giggled as she saw how fast he took off his shirt when she had threatened to make him take his pants off too, not that she actually would have done it… but he didn’t know that. “Thank you, that’s going to make it a whole lot easier to take care of you… and for the record, I really wouldn’t have made you take your jeans off. The offer for another pair of pants still stands though,” She smirked before adding, “and if you behave I might even let you maintain some privacy and allow you to change in the bathroom.”

She smiled at him knowingly and nodded when he made the argument that the only reason his injuries looked bad was because of the blood. “Ok, Doctor Cameron…” She joked, and giggled “Let’s just get you cleaned up so that the blood doesn’t distract me or the real doctor while we evaluate your injuries.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him when he called himself stupid before going on to admit to being with the FBI, “I hardly think I’d call you stupid… I was leaning more towards brave, because if you hadn’t stepped in who knows how many people Sam could have hurt. It takes a special person to put the needs of others before their own, and apparently, you are a special person who unfortunately came out the other side a little worse for wear.”

She smiled shyly when she noticed him looking at her and almost laughed when he suddenly started staring at the floor, she had to bite her tongue because she had several things she wanted to say… none of which were appropriate while she was at work. In fact she had probably crossed several lines already and should focus on trying to be more professional. She was finding that harder than usual with Josh, although she honestly had no idea why other than the fact that she was enjoying their conversation.

She spoke to him while facing the sink, “Well your bravery isn’t completely unrecognized, I appreciate what you did… not only for what you did to protect everyone else from Sam, but the fact that you probably spared Sam any worse injuries… and the fact that you are worried about how he’s doing speaks to the type of person you are, some people would have just shot him and been done with it.”

She turned to face him and laughed out loud when he answered her question, “Well lucky for you we try to keep the people with knives out of the ER because most of us are allergic to them too.”

She smiled back at him, “Good to know, and I do appreciate your concern… I promise to be even more careful than I already am when dealing with the psych patients when they come in. I’m generally not a big fan of psych patients anyway, but we all have to deal with them every once in awhile.” Emily nodded when Josh mentioned that the neighborhood watch guy had just stood on the sidelines and yelled things, “Sounds about right… I think he just likes the uniform, thankfully nobody has given him a weapon yet. I think that man with a weapon just might be scarier than Sam.”

She smiled and nodded at Josh when he mentioned that he was hoping that she would be the one to hold his hand, “Of course I’ll hold your hand, just so as long as you promise not to squeeze too hard…” She knew that she would gladly hold his hand for as long as he needed or wanted, usually the ones asking her to hold their hands were children… but in this case she certainly wasn’t going to complain.

Emily felt him flinch and heard him suck in a breath when she was cleaning him up, and quickly apologized “I am so sorry… I really hate that I’m hurting you, and I promise you I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t need to.” She saw him biting his lip, and felt absolutely awful for inflicting any further pain. When he winced for the second time, she sighed and winced herself before she looked up at him. “So sorry… I can hold this here for you if you want, or I can let you hold it yourself… It’s completely up to you, whatever you’re more comfortable with. You’re sure you don’t want anything for the pain? It would make this whole thing a lot more comfortable for you.”

Emily laughed at him when he said that he had time to kill today so he might as well hang around, “You know most people spend their time trying to avoid the ER not hang out here, and I hate to inform you but you are just as much a real patient as anyone in here right now. Someone has to take care of the heroes when they get hurt too.” She smiled up at Josh.

Just then the doctor walked in looked at Josh and then Emily before he asked, “Emily what do we have?”

Emily reluctantly turned her attention from Josh to the doctor, she answered. “Well this is Josh… uhm, Mr. Cameron and he’s got mostly superficial cuts and scrapes, and a few bruises, as well as a laceration here on his side that’s going to need some sutures. His last tetanus shot was last year and he’s not allergic to anything… other than Sam and his knife, but his injuries were sustained trying to subdue Sam and keep him from injuring anyone else. I’ve cleaned him up pretty good, but considering the source of the cut and the fact that he probably rolled around on the ground a good bit… after you sew him up he could probably do with an antibiotic to prevent any kind of infection. It would also be amazing if you could convince him to take something for pain, because I think he’s trying to be tough and doesn’t realize exactly how much he’s going to hurt later tonight and tomorrow.”
Tag: Josh Cameron

[Josh Cameron]

He gave her a look when she explained that she really wouldnt have taken his pants at all, well it wasn’t worth the potential threat that she might do. “Oh you’d have let me used the bathroom for privacy, it’s just too much..” He said laughing a little. “Thanks for the offer though but i’ll keep my pants, blood can wash out of them besides it tough to find a decent pair of jeans these days.” So it wasn’t exactly tough but then he was a little strange about getting new things, if he liked a pair of jeans then he stuck with them.

Josh laughed and nodded to her, “Yeah see had worse, I know a paper cut when I see one.” He joked, so yes he had seen a lot worse in his time but then again a doctor might disagree with his assessment. Josh was just used to working through whatever it was until the job was done, it just turned out that this one was finished far sooner than he would have thought.

Brave for trying to get himself stabbed, “I think we have different definitions of brave.” He said as he shook his head, he had never thought of himself that way. Just doing his job as he knew how. “Sam wasn’t to blame in way, he wasn’t himself and I’m just glad that no one else was hurt besides I just did what most other people would have done or any other cop that was passing. But thanks for that.” He said smiling, stupid or brave he still wasn’t sure which one covered it but at least someone thought he had done the right thing.

She was just doing her job he thought as he stared at the floor, wasn’t looking at him more like at the wound on his side as he told himself off in his own head for even thinking otherwise. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at him, no forty and on the shelf that was good enough for him because you really couldnt rely on people anyway. The foster system had done a number on him and if it hadn’t been for his adoptive father then he wasn’t sure he’d even have been FBI. Probably in jail or something a lot worse.

Be a professional patient he thought though he was enjoying their conversation a lot more than he usually did for any ER trip. “Thanks for that and it’s not Sam’s fault. The one thing I know is that when people are pushed and snap its not them you’re dealing with its a completely different person.” He said as he shook his head when she mentioned some just shooting him. “No, I work for the hostage rescue team in the FBI, we don’t shoot people for having a bad day or at least I dont make it a habit to.” He said knowing that he did everything possible to avoid having to take that step.

“Safer to be outside with the knifes than in here besides you guys are the only ones trained to use blades professionally in here.” He said grinning, least when it came to scalpels he thought. “Phsyc are the worst cases mostly because rational thinking doesn’t have much to do with anything. It doesn’t matter what side your on or what you’re trying to do if they want to they can hurt you.” He said not wanting to scare her but people had to be careful. “Oh no way if that guy gets a weapon then i’m never leaving home again. I’d take Sam over him anyday.” He said figuring he’d sooner get shot by that guy than stabbed.

Josh laughed and nodded to her, “I promise not to and thanks in advance.” He said smiling it wasn’t that he was afraid or really scared of getting stitches just the company was nice and there was something about her that was different. Something interesting he thought though he probably sounded like he was three and about to have tooth out or something. Josh shook his head when she said she was sorry. “Dont apologise, you’re doing your job it’s okay.” He said as he understood why she was doing it though even that didnt make much difference to how it felt.

“No i’m good for pain killers, it’s not so bad now anyway.” He stated though it hurt like hell but he wasn’t about to mention that at all. “So is it a busy day here?” He asked her deciding that if he was distracted then at least it took his mind off it for some of the time. He grinned when she laughed and he shrugged. “Yeah? Well I thought it was a pretty cool place to be and i’m not a hero but if you think I am then you are a hero too for doing what you do every day.” He said meaning it, nurses were always the backbone of a hospital and without them the place wouldnt run at all.

He looked up as the doctor came in and he watched Emily answer the question. “Josh, like I said Mr Cameron isn’t me.” He said grinning for a moment as he listened to the run down on him. He gave Emily a look when she said about pain again as he shook his head. “Trust me when I say this is a pretty good day for me. I’m okay doc for pain, nothing a good nights sleep cant cure before work tomorrow.” He said as he wondered how that was going to, no training and no doing anything crazy he thought lightly. “But nice try Emily.” He said with a grin aimed in her direction, there was no way she was going to get a doctor to convince him of it.

Tag: @emily

[Deleted]

Emily grinned at him when he promised not to squeeze her hand to hard, “You are very welcome, I couldn’t possibly leave you to handle all of this on your own anyway…so I might as well make myself useful and hold your hand…besides I’m kind of enjoying the company.” She smiled up at him again, there was something different about Josh, something she couldn’t explain but it was something that had her wanting to know more about him. “just because I’m doing my job doesn’t mean it hurts you any less.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed when he denied needing anything for pain saying that it wasn’t so bad anyway, “For being FBI you really are a terrible liar…You’re saying it doesn’t hurt…but your actions and reactions are telling me otherwise. Can’t fool me Josh.” She shook her head smiling when he asked if it was a busy day, “No…it’s been unusually…the opposite of busy today, but we aren’t going to say the word or it’ll jinx us… and I’m hoping to get to eat my lunch while it’s still halfway warm.” She shook her head at him again when he said he thought the ER was a pretty cool place to be and denied being a hero. “If you think the ER is a cool place to hang out…you need to get out more, unless you came for the company…in that case I guess it’s not such a bad place afterall. You put yourself in danger to protect the people in that café and to protect Sam…sorry but that screams hero to me. I’m doing my job…I can’t say I’d voluntarily fight a guy with a knife, I’d have been one to keep a safe distance…I think.”

Emily saw Josh watching her speak to the doctor, and she saw the look he was giving her when she mentioned pain medicine again and she cocked her head and looked right back at him, as she continued speaking to the doctor. When he mentioned a good night’s sleep was all he needed she shot him a look, “I can almost promise you that you won’t be getting any sleep…” she continued grumbling to herself under her breath about being stubborn and hard headed. When he told her ‘nice try’ she grinned back and said, “Can’t blame a girl for trying, Josh.”

The doctor watched the two of them interact back and forth, and couldn’t help but smile. “So…how long have you known each other? You two are pretty cute.”

Emily blushed and looked at the clock, before turning to Josh “Uhm…yeah, we don’t really…how long have you been here Josh?” Trying to change the subject before she could possibly turn any redder she looked back to the doctor, “What type of suture do you want to use and how much lidocaine would you like me to pull up?” Hearing the doctor’s answers she headed for the door, “I’ll be right back with everything.” Taking a deep breath she tried to collect her thoughts before she had to head back in the room.

After Emily left the room, the doctor chuckled before he approached Josh and examined his side. “So you two really don’t know each other? It’s interesting though, because I’ve worked with Emily a lot and I’ve never seen her like this with anyone else…she is right though, about not getting any sleep tonight if you don’t let me prescribe you something for pain. You can take one right before you go to bed and still be fine to go to work in the morning…unless work involves anything too strenuous or twisting and bending too much, and if that’s the case you’ll need to be on modified duty for a couple days.” The doctor scrawled out a phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Josh smirking, “Put that in your pocket and call it if you ever have any questions, any questions at all.”

Emily came back in the room carrying all the supplies for the doctor and set them out on a try for him before pushing the table over to him and moving to the other side of josh and sitting on a stool before reaching out and taking one of his hands into both of hers. “So Josh…you’re going to feel some pokes and burning as the doctor injects the lidocaine to numb the area around the cut, once it works you shouldn’t feel anything other than some pressure and maybe some tugging…but it shouldn’t hurt. Is there anything in particular you’d like to talk about while he sews you up?”

Tag: Josh Cameron

[Josh Cameron]

Josh grinned and nodded, he couldnt deny he was enjoying the company which for him was odd as he usually kept people at arms length. It was easier that way, keep them far away and he wouldnt get hurt by anyone. There were few people he let into his life but for some reason Emily was getting him to talk and laugh without attacking him with a crow bar. “Thanks and yeah wouldnt want to be on my own for this just in case the doc sews up the wrong thing.” He joked grinning at her, “No but then you doing your job helps me so I can take a little pain for that. Besides it could be worse.”

It could always be worse he thought to himself seeing her roll her eyes as he laughed. “Yeah? Well I tried but looks like I’m not that good at this faking stuff. Still at least you’re talking to me to that’s worked out well?” He said grinning at her well it had worked so far he thought glad that she was there. When she spoke about the day and didnt say the word he nodded. “Yeah that word is forbidden for us too... say it and the day is just awful.” He explained as he listened to her talk about her lunch. “So one condition to you holding my hand, you get to eat your dinner too while it’s still half warm?” He offered the last thing he wanted was for her to miss lunch because of him.

It was bad enough that he was in there to begin with though it was turning out to be a decent trip this time. “The company is good I have to say and why not. I’m sure you would but I wouldnt suggest it as a regular thing, fighting people usually ends bad for someone and I’d hate to think that someone would be you. Not that I go around looking for fights though.” He explained in case she thought he was nut case wondering Chicago in search of his next big fight and found it with Sam. No, just going about his business and he had managed to find trouble anyway.

He grinned seeing the look she gave him while she spoke to the doctor, honestly he was fine he thought. If he couldnt move later that was laters issue. “Oh really? What if i get little sleep I can work with that.” He said hearing her grumble about him being stubborn and heard headed. “No cant blame you but then this you’re not going to win, I’m fine just nags now and again nothing I cant handle.” He added though honestly the later part bothered him, he needed sleep and the last thing he wanted was to be tired for work because that would just make it a long long day.

“Erm.. I well we just met.” He spluttered looking at Emily for a moment as he felt himself go a little red but couldnt stop himself. “Just you know... what fifteen minutes or so .. give or take.” He tried to explain though he was glad when she turned the conversation to more medical things as it distracted him from what he was trying not to go red in the face about. He glanced at the doctor watching as the guy approached. “No we dont.” Josh said as he shook his head, “What do you mean like this, she’s great, funny, beautiful, funny.” He said not sure what the doctor was getting at.

“Sure doc, you can prescribe me something just don’t tell Emily okay. Cant have her thinking she’s won or anything.” He joked as he gave the guy more of a look. “Modified duty, come on... I twist, bend, duck, dive, avoid bullets. I’m hostage rescue I can’t do modified.” He said not wanting to get that version of desk duty as he took the phone number. “I call this number and they can sort any questions? You sure doc?” He asked seeing the guys smirk though honestly it was a number he was keeping just in case he had questions.

Josh smiled when Emily returned and set the things down and took one of this hands. He squeezed her hand lightly as he listened to her and what she was saying. “This sounds like a lot of fun, I mean I come in here with a wound and now I get stuck with needles, poked and burning. Thanks for the update though.” He said with a grin as he nodded to her when Emily asked about what to talk about. “Sure I’d like to talk about your lunch, I mean if it’s still warm that is. You should go get it before I use that word that cannot be used?” He said grinning at her, well if he was sitting there with her then she might as well get her lunch before he distracted anyone else from their food.

Tag: @emily

[Deleted]

“Is there any reason why I shouldn’t be talking to you? I don’t see why I wouldn’t talk to you…I mean I’m enjoying the conversation so far.” She smiled at him and shook her head when he mentioned that there were conditions to her holding his hand, She shot him a look before correcting him “So what makes you think that you have the right to set the conditions Mister? I’m the one holding your hand silly, so if anyone is setting any conditions…it’s me. I can always warm my lunch up again after my favorite patient leaves, and I can’t really think of any conditions right now so I think you’re getting off pretty easy in the long run.”

She smiled when he said that the company was good, but shook her head when he mentioned that he didn’t go out in search of fights, “Well if you just wanted to talk to me you really didn’t need to go to all of this trouble…,” she giggled, “I didn’t figure you spent very much time fighting, and I think you must be pretty good at your job because I’ve never seen you in here before.”

She sighed when he told her that she wasn’t going to win, “I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with Josh…I always win when it’s something I care about…and that nagging pain is most likely going to get worse before it gets better, I promise.” She shook her head, and sighed in frustration before asking “Why are you fighting me on this? All I want to do is make sure you feel better.”

If she hadn’t been blushing and stammering herself she definitely would have laughed at Josh, she could sense his relief when she changed the subject she grinned at him as she walked out the door leaving him alone with the doctor.

“Well by like this…I mean this happy, comfortable, and relaxed around someone she’s barely met and while she’s a great nurse, one of the best really but I just don’t think I’ve ever seen her this interested in whether a patient got pain medicine…ever.” When he heard Josh’s description of Emily the doctor had to work very hard to keep himself from laughing, these two had it bad and didn’t even know it yet.

The doctor chuckled at him when he said that he would take a prescription but that Emily couldn’t find out because she’d think she won, and looked at him when he said he couldn’t do modified duty, “Can’t take it easy for a few days? Really? Because if you don’t you’re just going to end up back in here tomorrow with sutures that are ripped out. You need to give it at least a couple days to start healing before you go back to your heroics or you’ll end up back in here with Emily again, and she won’t be happy. I can try some dermabond on top of those sutures might get you back to work a day or so sooner, but at least take it easy tomorrow.”

The doctor chuckled as Josh took the number and asked about it, “Oh yeah, I’m positive that if you call that number they’ll happily answer any question that you might have…in fact maybe you should call later tonight just so we can make sure that you’re recovering as expected.”

Emily sighed and shook her head before smiling up at Josh when he told her to go get her food. “I told you I can warm my lunch up after I take care of you, and I mean it. You’re more important than any lunch and I promised I’d hold your hand, so I fully intend to hold your hand. I keep my promises.”

The doctor stood there looking back and forth between the two of them before he cleared his throat chuckled and asked, “So uhm, are you two done so I can get on with this?”

Emily startled and almost jumped when she heard the doctor clear his throat, she had almost completely forgotten that he was even in the room. 'What on earth is wrong with me? This is crazy…' She thought to herself as she blushed, she ran her thumb back and forth over the back of Josh’s hand gently as she looked up at him, “I’m good whenever you are Doc, are you ready Josh?”

As she waited for his answer she squeezed his hand softly and continued the soothing motion of rubbing her thumb back and forth over the back of his hand. She liked the feel of his larger hand in hers more than she probably should, Emily was usually very good at keeping things professional at work and keeping some distance between herself and her patients. She didn’t know what it was but something about Josh was making that hard for her to do, He was funny and kind and it didn’t hurt that he was brave and strong and really good looking. 'Geez Emily get ahold of yourself…he’s a patient and after he leaves today you’ll probably never see or hear from him again.'

Tag: Josh Cameron

[Josh Cameron]

Josh thought about it for a moment, oh there were probably a few reasons why she shouldn’t be talking to him but then again he wasn’t about to sit and list them when he was enjoying talking to her. “If you’re enjoying it, I dont see any reason to stop talking then do you?” He asked her unless he gave off a seriously wonky vibe but then again he wouldnt put it past himself do to that either. “Oh really well I’m just saying because I’m the injured one here and I wouldnt want you missing lunch because of that so I’m just saying you should eat something while its warm.” He said grinning, so it was a lost cause but then again he wasn’t for giving up at all.

“I’m not usually in the ER but then I do have my days so i’ll let you reserve judgement on that one. But since you said it, I might go find another fight to come visit again but then you never know.” He said grinning, as fun as it would be to see her again he wasn’t about to look for fights for it because he knew that there was always going to be that one fight he couldnt win. He had found that out a few times when he had a little too much to drink but then he usually managed to cover that up with sunglasses and a car door story.

“Trust me, I can handle it.” He said grinning at her, he wasn’t about to admit to maybe not but then if she thought he was fine it was good with him. “I know but...” He had no answer to why he was fighting her on it other than the fact he wasn’t going to look like a wimp in taking anything for pain. At least that she knew about anyway he thought. “Because I’ve had worse and the pain is just letting me know not to go over board tomorrow.” He explained as if that was enough to cover it.

Josh listened to what the doctor was saying about Emily, he couldnt imagine her being anything other than happy and comfortable but then he was enjoying being around her. “She’s probably just fussing because I said no to it and she is a great nurse. She’s easy to be around.” He explained though he hadn’t met anyone like that before, then again his day job didnt exactly have him hanging around with the best of people.

The thought of seeing Emily again brought a grin to his face even if it did involved stitches but then again her not being happy. No it wasn’t worth it as he just nodded. “Whatever you can do to get me back to work doc, I’m not the sort who can sit and do little all day unless you want me climbing the walls.” He explained knowing that he liked to do things and feel like he had accomplished something in a day. Modified duty yeah that was more sitting at a desk and watching everyone else have all the fun.

Hearing the doctor chuckle he looked at the number before he put it safely in his pocket. He’d maybe call it later that day just to make sure that modified duty had to be done for the next day. “Sure I’ll give them a call just to make sure, thanks for this.” He said smiling appreciating the extra effort. He quietened himself when Emily came back hoping that the doctor wouldnt say anything about pain killers to her.

“Well what if you’re more important than me and besides Im not going anywhere but your lunch gets cold.” He said as if it made more sense now than it had done five minutes ago. “I keep my promises too and you need to eat, I know what happens if it gets busy in here so get it while you can.” He said with a grin as the doctor cleared his throat and chuckled. Josh felt himself turn a little red in the face as he nodded. “We’re done... sorry.” He said glancing to the floor for a moment before he looked toward Emily.

When she took his hand and ran her thumb over the back of it he stared at her for a moment. What was going on in his head he thought as he nodded, “Yeah all good.” He said trying not to full all his words in that one sentence. He smiled when she squeezed his hand enjoying the feel of her touch seeing her hands were smaller as he held her lightly. There was something about the woman he thought as he waited for the doctor to do his worst. She was beautiful, intelligent, funny and kept her promises what more was there he thought before he realised that once he left he probably wasn’t going to see much of her again if at all unless he was in the ER again.

Tag: @emily

[Deleted]

Emily continued rubbing his hand and smiled at him when he said he was all good. She looked down at their hands for a moment before looking up to the doctor to see when he was going to start. She caught the doctor smirking at her, and glared at him. The doctor shook his head and chuckled again before he started injecting the lidocaine.

She smiled and squeezed Josh’s hand to pull his attention away from what the doctor was doing. “So since we’re not discussing my lunch at further, I guess I get to choose the topic of conversation. How long have you lived in Chicago?” She paused and looked back up at Josh waiting for him to answer the question, before asking another “Other than fighting with crazy guys with knives, what do you like to do on your days off from work?”

Emily looked to the doctor again and could see that he was done with the injections, “Ok Josh, looks like the doctor is done with the hard part…the only thing you should feel is some pulling and tugging, but if you feel any pain at all let us know so that he can inject some more lidocaine to numb it ok? I mean it, don’t try to tough it out.”

Growing quiet for a moment, she looked back down at their hands and thought about what a shame it
was that she was probably never going to see him again because they didn’t seem to hang out in the same social circles. Not that Emily had too much of a social circle, it mainly consisted of a few close friends and her brother and sister. She had worked too hard and spent most of her time studying during school to have been hanging out with friends very often.

She sighed softly before looking back Josh, she really liked him…well what she knew of him anyway, which may not have been much but it was enough to know that she was interested in getting to know him better. Emily was thinking that it really was a shame that he was a patient because it was frowned upon for nurses to hand out their phone numbers or make plans with patients, but who was she fooling…she didn’t even know if he was interested. Maybe he was just being nice because that’s the type of guy he was. Shaking her head she realized she wasn’t doing a very good job distracting Josh, “You said you were FBI? What exactly is it that you do there?”

When the doctor finished up he said “Ok…so like I said nothing too strenuous tomorrow, but provided you follow instructions and don’t rip your stitches open tomorrow you should be good to go the day after.” Turning to Emily he added, “Put some antibiotic ointment on that and bandage it for him please.”

Emily nodded at the doctor and reluctantly turned Josh’s hand loose. “You better not rip your stitches open tomorrow…I’m off tomorrow and I won’t be here to hold your hand if he has to sew you back up again.” She giggled before turning serious, “Really though, I know desk duty for a day seems like the worst thing ever to you…but if you can handle it, by the next day you should be back to rolling around on the ground fighting with people…and almost good as new.”

She cleaned up the doctor’s mess before walking to the cabinet and got the supplies to bandage his wound, and set them out on the metal table. “Ok I have to go get the antibiotic ointment out if the med room, I’ll be right back…don’t run off anywhere.”

Just as Emily walked out of the treatment room there was a large commotion in the room that Sam was in, as she turned to see what was going on Sam darted out of the room and grabbed her. “Oh!...Ouch Sam, you’re hurting me. What’s going on Sam? Remember me? I saw you last week. We were friends, I got you lots of chocolate ice cream, remember? So how about you loosen up your grip on my arm and we go back in your room? We can talk about it.” Sam tightened his grip on her arm and she cringed a bit, before she noticed that Sam had another small knife in his other hand. Emily turned to her coworker that was still standing in the room staring, “You were told not to turn him loose, but since you have…Sam and I are going back in his room and we’re going to sit down, and you are going to get him a couple chocolate ice creams and a plastic spoon. Then you’re going to go somewhere far away from me and figure out why it is you can’t follow simple directions.”

Turning her attention back to Sam, knowing that if she could get him back in his room it would not only keep him contained but it would cause a lot less panic with the other patients. She spoke in a soothing tone, “Hey Sam…Sam look at me. It’s Emily, remember we hung out last week and talked quite a bit…you liked the chocolate ice cream we had here. So how about we go back in your room and sit down and talk some more and my friend is going to get you some more ice cream.” Emily tried to direct him to the room; Sam was looking around wildly and pulled her against him and put the knife to her side, she tensed and took a deep breath closing her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts. “Sam come on…lets me and you go back in your room.”

Sam finally looked at her and agreed, “Ok…but just you and me.”

Tag; Josh Cameron

[Josh Cameron]

Josh watched as the doctor started injecting the lidocaine, he couldnt deny he was enjoying the feeling of her holding his hand. It wasn’t like he had expected it or really thought that he needed his hand held in the ER but he wasn’t about to go around arguing against it hearing the doctor chuckle. He really was missing something between the Doctor and Emily but then maybe it was best he didnt know what was going on he thought. Josh looked at Emily when she squeezed his hand and spoke to him.

“I’ve lived here just a few years, not long and I’m not a native of Chicago at all.” He said chuckling, “Believe it or not I’m from Hawaii. What about yourself? Lived here long?” He asked her curiously, though if truth be told he hadn’t a clue where he was from. He had simply been left to go into the foster system though he remembered Hawaii as home at least from where he knew anyway. “Days off from work... what are those?” He teased lightly as he shrugged, “I like plenty of things, long runs, the outdoors and you can’t beat the ocean either but if i’m not doing that I’m attempting to be a half decent gardener.” He explained.

Half decent was the main aim given that this year he was attempting to grow veg he could eat. So far it seemed to be going alright but there was something about the outdoors that was calming to him and given what he did for work, calm was a great thing to have. He knew he had spent far too much time in bars drinking a night away or a bad day but then he was trying to avoid doing that. “So as the fantastic nurse Emily, what do you like to do when you’re not helping people?” He asked her grinning.

“Okay so numb is a good thing, great.” He said nodding as he listened to her though there was no way he was going to tell her if anything hurt, toughing it out was the only way to go without looking like an idiot. Or at least in his own head that was what he thought. Josh glanced at her for a moment, honestly it was worth the cut to actually get to see her he thought. She was different to other people he had met and there was just something about her but after that day was he ever going to see her again, it was doubtful unless he had another reason to come back and then he couldnt even guarantee that she would be there.

Josh didnt really have many friends, yes there were a few over the years who he could call that but it was a very short list. He usually had an issue letting people in and then worse than that they always tended to leave in some way. He was never great with letting people go which was half of his issues in a nut shell. He smiled at her hearing her sigh, “Everything alright?” He asked her trying to work out if he could ask for her number or if it was frowned upon. Then nurse and the patient, was that an actual thing or no she was probably just being nice to him. He shouldn’t read too much into it he told himself.

He could feel the doctor tough he didnt want to look at all as he focused on Emily. “Exactly... well I’m the team leader for the Hostage Rescue Unit.” He said with a grin, he really did have a great job when it all went well and the worst when it didnt. “So I spend all day training or trying to help people though a really bad day.” So there was little more to it but then he wasn’t about to bore her to death with the details of a job. Then the doctor was finished as he nodded, “Thanks doc, will make sure to do as little as possible.” He said wondering if he was going to be the one to need rescuing with nothing to do for a day.

Josh laughed when she spoke about being off tomorrow, “Then i’ll make sure that I keep myself in one piece until you’re next shift.” He stated hearing her giggle as he grinned until she turned serious. “Since you put it that way, I can take a day and just do paperwork I guess. Figure I need to catch up on it anyway before my boss gets on at me.” He said knowing he had a stack of things to do he had put off but then desk duty was time and a place to actually get it done. He nodded watching as Emily cleaned up and then said she would be right back. He sat there patiently trying to work out how he could ask for her number when he heard the commotion.

It wasn’t until he heard who sounded like Emily say ouch and Sam that he knew something wasn’t right as he shuffled himself to his feet not caring about stitches or moving around at all. He grabbed his shirt and loosely pulled it on before he stepped out to see Sam tighten his grip on Emily with the knife in his other hand. Seeing Emily turn to her co-worker he almost wanted to yell at the person for what they had done given the situation though if chocolate ice cream solved the issue then he’d buy bucket loads for Sam.

Watching the co worker go to get ice cream Josh took a few steps forward toward the pair. “Hey Emily, thought you were coming back to stitch me up?” He said as if he had no idea what was going on at all as he smiled at Sam warmly. “Hey Sam, you’re looking a lot better than before. Feeling any better?” He asked trying to distract the man from Holding Emily or at least keeping the knife to her. “Sam, mind if I borrow Emily for a moment I need go get my side fixed up before I have to head to work.” He explained trying to reason with the man having hoped that he had some sort of meds in him by now but if not then he wasn’t sure there was any reasoning to be had.

He gave Emily an apologetic look as he spoke to her directly, “Just relax, it’ll be okay... trust me.” He said quietly to her knowing he was asking for a lot but he would do everything he could to make sure she was alright.

Tag: @emily

[Deleted]

Emily smiled as she answered his question, “Born and raised right here in Chicago, lived here my whole life. Hawaii…sounds nice, and warm, and beautiful.” A couple of her friends had been to Hawaii recently and had shown her some of their vacation photos and Hawaii had definitely made it to the top of her list of places to visit someday. When he asked what days off from work were she shrugged her shoulders in reply and listened as he listed off the different things he enjoyed doing. She nodded as he mentioned long runs and the outdoors, smiled when he mentioned the ocean, and shook her head when he mentioned gardening.

When Josh smiled at her and asked her what she did when she wasn’t helping people she returned his smile and squeezed his hand, “Thanks for the compliment, but I don’t know if I’d say I was fantastic… anyway I also like to run and enjoy the outdoors. I like watching sports, more so in person than on TV. I love spending time with my brother and sister, just wish we had more time to spend together.” She laughed, “I actually see more of them here, than I do outside of work. Our schedules are all crazy. I also love to cook. I’ve always wanted to travel, but never got much of a chance so I’ve never seen the ocean other than on tv.” She didn’t mention the reasons that travel hadn’t been an option before now, those were the things that even her coworkers didn’t know besides she was trying to keep the conversation light.

She saw the look on his face and knew that even if he did hurt he wasn’t going to own up to it. Shaking her head she laughed and smiled, “Ok tough guy… since I know that there’s no way you’re going to own up to it and tell me if he hurts you, feel free to squeeze my hand.” Emily noticed when he grew quiet and she studied him trying to figure out what was going on inside his head. She grew sad when she started thinking that after today she probably wasn’t going to see him again, he obviously didn’t spend much time in the ER and she tried not to run into the FBI on a regular basis. Maybe she would be there when he came back to get his sutures removed.

When he asked her if everything was alright Emily nodded and sent a small smile in his direction, “Yeah… all good.” She needed to pull herself together and do her job. When he answered her question, she smiled. “Team leader huh? I told you that you must be good at your job.” She saw the way he smiled when he talked about his work, “You really love your job… I can tell.” His job sounded stressful and dangerous to Emily; but she could understand and relate her job was stressful too yet she loved it and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“As much as I’d like to see you again, I think it might be best if you tried to keep yourself in one piece for longer than tomorrow.” Realizing what she had just said Emily tried to think of other things to keep herself from turning too red. “Uhm, yeah… paperwork is never fun but it’s a necessary evil I’m sure, and if it keeps your boss happy and you in one piece that sounds like a good plan for tomorrow.”

Emily saw Josh come out of his room with his shirt on, she looked at him and shook her head but continued talking to Sam. On the outside she appeared calm, cool, and collected but her brain was going a mile a minute trying to figure a way out of this mess. Unfortunately, ice cream was the only thing she could come up with, Sam couldn’t hold her and the knife and eat ice cream at the same time.

When Josh stepped towards them and spoke to her Sam tightened his grip yet again and she felt the poke of the knife on her side. Emily winced and tried to keep her voice from shaking as she answered, “Yeah, that was the plan… but Sam here wanted to see me for a few minutes. We’re just going to get him some ice cream and go back in his room and talk for a bit… I’ll be right back with you. I promise.” Emily was keeping her eye on Sam but looked Josh in the eye when she promised that she’d be right back with him. “In the meantime, could you help my coworkers make sure that the rest of the patients stay in their rooms with the door closed, and they need to lock down the ER for a bit so that nobody leaves and nobody else comes in… and send any incoming ambulances to other facilities.” Emily was sure that someone else had probably already thought of that but she wanted to make sure that nobody else got caught up in this mess.

When Josh spoke to Sam he started shaking his head, “No… no Emily is mine… mine… she’s my friend… you can’t have her. Mine.” He jerked Emily towards his room, but stopped before going inside. “Just me and Emily… nobody else, everyone else stays away.” Emily spoke quietly to Sam but couldn’t keep her voice from breaking as she did, “Hey… Sam, look at me. Nobody wants to hurt you, and if you want it to be just you and me in your room… that’s fine. We can go in there and talk, and you can eat your ice cream. Ok?”

When Josh started talking to her she almost lost it, but she took a deep calming breath closing her eyes for a moment. When he asked her to trust him she opened her eyes looking into his and nodded, trusting Josh was easy… Sam not so much. Sam yanked her into his room and never released his hold on her arm or his grip on the knife, as he told Emily to shut the sliding glass door to his room. He told her to close the curtain too, and Emily started to panic a bit, “Hey Sam, No! Don’t make me close the curtain… please, if we close the curtain we won’t know when they come back with your ice cream.” She was pleading with him at this point. Realistically she knew that whoever was bringing the ice cream would have knocked, but she wasn’t sure she could handle being in the room with him and not being able to see outside. He used the hand holding the knife to yank the curtain halfway closed before he pressed the knife to her side again and directed her to sit next to him on the bed.

Tag: Josh Cameron