Overwhelming- (open)

[Deleted]

It was her first day on a new job, in a new city... where she knew no one. Celeste smiled as she walked through the ER enjoying the familiar rush of activity that some might call chaos.  She sighed as she walked into the break room carrying her bag. It was all so overwhelming.  What had she been thinking when she took this job again?  Oh yes... amazing opportunity, a chance to start over.  Starting over sounded nice in theory, but when actually given the opportunity it proved to be quite terrifying.

Finding a bench to sit on, Celeste plopped down and set her bag in front of her.  Pulling out a bottle of Motrin she popped a few into her hand before sliding her bag into a locker.  She stood and went in search of the coffee, finding a pot in the corner and some Styrofoam cups in a stack next to it.  Internally fussing at herself for forgetting her Yeti cup in her rush to leave the apartment this morning she snagged a cup and poured some coffee along with cream and sugar into the cup.

Having come in to work plenty early she had some time to relax and gather her thoughts.  She leaned back against the counter and swallowed the pills with her first sip of coffee.  She made a face when she tasted how bitter the coffee still was and dumped some more sugar in the cup, making a mental note to make her coffee at home in the mornings before coming to work.  Taking another sip of the coffee she decided that it was at least drinkable at this point and relaxed back against the counter getting lost in her thoughts.

[Deleted]

"Dr. Grey?"

Noah looked up at the polite knock on his open office door. One of the nurses from the pediatrics ward was standing there, a clenched fist still outstretched from rapping her knuckles on the wood.

"Yes?" He asked and then immediately winced. As he had looked up he suddenly realized how sore his neck was. How long had he been sitting at his desk, again? What time had he left the OR?

"We're ready for Peter Wilkinson's post-op check, if you are?" The nurse - who's name was Gina if he remembered correctly, looked at him expectantly.

"But I-" Noah paused and looked at his watch. It was seven in the morning. "Damnit."

He looked up to find that the nurse's expression had turned to one of all-knowing-suspicion. It was a look popular with his mother and her church friends.

"You haven't gone home yet have you, Dr. Grey?"

That would be a no.

He had been called in to seal with an ER trauma case at midnight last night. Peter had been a young boy - nine years old - submitted to the emergency room with a gunshot wound to his chest. He and his best friend had had a sleepover and thought it would be fun to play with daddy's Glock. Not a smart move when his friend had pulled the trigger with it at point blank range. Luckily, the thing hadn't had any bullets loaded. What it had had inside was a small piece of plastic. It had severed through several major arteries close to Peter's heart and by the time he had been brought in via ambulance to the ER, it had been touch and go on whether he'd remain with them for the elevator ride to the OR.

Noah had completed the surgery on Peter at 4:23am and pronounced his stable to move back to intensive care. He had been told to go home and he had meant to but, instead, did a quick rounds of the patients he had said goodnight to at 10pm the previous evening and then made for his office to complete the paperwork on Peter's follow up. One medical report had led to just another that he wanted to quickly get done before going home and now it was time for the follow up check on Peter. He had meant to do that first thing when he got back into work this morning.

Whoops.

"I can have someone else check the patient if you want to go home, doctor?"

Noah was already shaking his head.

"No that's fine, Gina. Technically, I'm back on the clock now, so I'll check him over." Getting up from the desk and stretching out his 6 foot 3 frame - there were a few cracks in his spine and one in his shoulder but nothing to worry about - he checked that his clothing wasn't too worst for wear. Thank God he'd changed before coming back in for Peter's surgery. Finger combing his hair back from his face, he scooped up his doctor's coat from the back of his chair and pulled it on as he left his room. He shut and locked the office behind him for the privacy of the files inside and followed Gina back to the pediatrics ward.

Fifteen minutes later, he had checked Peter over, felt confident that he was going to make it through and had had a stern but empathetic conversation with a very shame faced father and tear-stained mother. They both pumped his hand heartily with their thanks and he smiled politely and detached himself so that they could worship their love on their son - who looked like he was at deaths door but had successfully avoided walking through it.

Just as he was about to head up his rounds, Gina was back.

"Dr. Grey, do you have a moment?"

He completed the form he was filling in and put it back in the holder at the end of the bed. Pocketing his pen he nodded and Gina waved a hand to the nurses station.

"I just got a call from Dr. Stevens down in the ER. They have a new consultant starting with them today."

"Okay..." Noah hedged nervously. He had a horrible feeling he knew where this was going, and hastened to look busy, checking his next patients chart. "What does that have to do with me?"

"He's running the ER today and his counterpart is on a training course. He was wondering if you would look after her for the first hour. You know the ER department as well as the other doctors down there do...?"

"And he decided to tell me this now instead of weeks ago because...?" He frowned at Gina who smiled and shrugged back. He liked the woman. She knew not to take his tone as personal and instead knew that he was just frustrated at the lack of organisation. And about being taken away from his patients. Luckily he also knew that she and her team were astoundingly good at their jobs so he never had much fear of leaving the recuperation and surgery prep to them.

He sighed.

"Fine. I'm scheduled in the OR for 9 o'clock and I want to do a rounds before I go in, so she has me until 8:45. If you need me I'll be in the ER."

Frustrated, he left his major department and headed for the elevator that would take him down to the emergency room. While Stevens was right about it being his second home - he did know that department well - he was frustrated about being taken away from his patients at the last second. Stevens knew he wouldn't be able to say no if the request was made so suddenly and he felt played. Sighing and straightening his coat as the lift arrived, he stepped inside and stabbed the ground floor button. He'd get the guy back sometime for something. Maybe he'd insist her go to one of those lectures on malpractice insurance in his place. He knew how much Stevens loved those.

The elevator dinged as it got to the ER level and he stepped out and immediately headed to the check in desk.

"Do you have a new consultant on shift today?" He asked one of the nurses who confirmed and gave him her name. He nodded and muttered his thanks before heading for the break room.

He needed more coffee before he could deal with his baby sitting assignment.

Mentally he chastised himself for the slander. Even if it was in his own head, it wasn't fair to judge. The woman could be a perfectly experienced, mature and respectable colleague. He shouldn't judge. He was just annoyed at the situation and shouldn't take it out on this Dr. Jennings.

Upon reaching the break room, Noah bee-lined or the coffee machine. He had to sidestep a pretty blonde to reach for the thermal flask he kept on a shelf, higher than most people could reach and quickly started filling it up. He wasn't good at small talk so he said nothing to the woman until he had finished filling the cup - black, no sugar - and was three steps back towards the door. He then stopped.

He knew just about every member of staff in the ER and he hadn't recognized the blonde that all. Realization dawned. He spun back to look at her slowly.

"Dr. Jennings, I presume?" He asked, his Texan accent and rough tone filling the room as surely as his tall frame and broad shoulders did.

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Celeste wasn’t one to sit still for too long, and she’d been doing a fair share of leaning against this counter this morning. If she sat still she got bored, and a bored Celeste was going to get into trouble somehow. It had taken everything in her to sit in the break room as long as she had just sipping her coffee and staring at the wall. She was also a fairly sociable person so being the only person in the room for the past twenty minutes had started to get on her nerves.

So she jumped a bit as she heard the door open and she watched quietly as a very tall, and very attractive man walked into the break room and headed straight for her and the coffee machine. When he sidestepped her and reached for a flask on the top shelf she felt incredibly short, although when he didn’t speak to her she quirked a brow at him but continued drinking her coffee and remained silent. She watched him take three giant steps towards the door and stop, when he started to turn towards her again she cocked her head to the side and smiled.

Hearing her name come out of his mouth she was mesmerized by his accent and voice, but didn’t let on as she answered, “Depends on who’s asking.” Waiting a few moments to study the man, because this was not anyone she had been introduced to during her interview process. She pointed to her white jacket and laughed, “That’s what they put on here anyway, but you can call me Celeste if you’d like.”

She took a couple steps towards the man looking up at him and extending her hand, “Doctor Celeste Jennings new ER physician, nice to meet you. I was just waiting for my colleague to show up so I could get some kind of orientation to the ER here since it’s my first day, but they haven’t showed yet. Almost ready to go out there and jump in to help anyway… looked like they were drowning when I walked through. I’ll either sink or swim you know, I hate to see anyone struggle like that while I sit in here twiddling my thumbs waiting. Not real good at sitting still for too long.”

@zen

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The blonde smiled at him politely as she answered his question.

"Depends who's asking."

His jaw tightened. He wasn't a fan of playing games - especially when there was work to do. He wasn't going to tolerate a young - for she definitely looked young - physician thinking she could jolly her way through the an ER career.

Then she saved it - "That's what they put on here, anyway." She wasn't playing games, she was being funny. He really should have noticed her coat - he'd been an idiot not to and she was very rightly laughing at him. His lips twitched on one side. Clearly he needed more coffee. He took another swallow from his thermos as Dr. Jennings stepped forwards to introduce herself properly.

“Doctor Celeste Jennings new ER physician, nice to meet you."

She had a nice voice, he couldn't help but notice - one that would soothe patients concerns but was likely also as good at barking orders. Something in her clipped and confident way of speaking tipped him off that she would be a difficult to manager physician and an impossible one to railroad.

"I was just waiting for my colleague to show up so I could get some kind of orientation to the ER here since it’s my first day, but they haven’t showed yet."

Noah nodded at her assessment that she didn't like sitting still.

"That would make two of us." He commented back but continued on quickly to her other concern. "Your colleague isn't here yet, because they aren't coming. Something came up, and I've been called in as the replacement."

He transferred his thermos to the other hand to reach out and take the one that she offered. His hand engulfed hers - a dainty, pale thing that disappeared in his own tanned one.

"I'm Noah Grey, I work mainly in pediatrics but I'm also the on-call cardiac consultant for the emergency rooms, so they asked me to show you around and help you get your bearings."

He squeezed her hand and shook it firmly.

"Do you have any questions before we get going or are you ready for the grand tour? I don't mean to rush you but I have limited time."

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Celeste saw his jaw tighten with her first answer and wanted to laugh, if he was so uptight that he couldn’t handle a joke today was going to be no fun at all. She also noted the slight twitch of his lips, so maybe he might just be ok after all. The way Celeste saw things, you wouldn’t make it very far in medicine if you couldn’t find something to laugh about. The things you saw on a daily basis took a toll on anybody, but if you could find even something small to laugh at it made even the hardest things just a tad easier to deal with.

She nodded when he hinted that he didn’t like to sit still either, and smiled when he said he was the replacement because her colleague wasn’t coming. “Ahhh so were you in the wrong place at the wrong time to get stuck with babysitting duty, or does this happen often?” Celeste thought to herself that the replacement could have been much worse, at least this guy was easy to look at and she was enjoying watching his reactions. She could tell that he wasn’t all that happy about having to come down and escort her around the ER, which made things even more interesting.

When he shook her hand she was amazed by how much bigger his hand was than hers, and he made her realize that she clearly needed some sun. She’d been so busy lately she hadn’t gotten much time to spend outside, you’d think coming from California she’d at least have some color to her. She listened as he introduced himself, a Cardiologist… every cardiologist she’d ever dealt with had been stuck up and arrogant and definitely wouldn’t have taken time out of their busy schedule to be bothered with showing a new doctor around a department that wasn’t theirs.

When he asked if she had any questions she shook her head, and smirked at his statement of having limited time. There it was, that cardiologist attitude she was used to. She almost wanted to come up with about fifteen questions just to annoy him, but thought better of it. Waving a hand towards the door, “Well by all means then, lead the way… I’d hate to keep you too long.”

@zen

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“Well by all means then, lead the way… I’d hate to keep you too long.”

Hmm... he'd let that one hang. He wasn't going to touch that comment with a barge pole. A small voice in the back of his head told him that he might have offended her by his last comment but he wasn't going to take it back. It was true and it was important. If she didn't like it, she would just have to get to know him well enough to know that he didn't mean anything by it. Like Gina and the handful of other staff members that he worked with on a regular basis already knew.

Leading the way as instructed, Noah took her out into the main ER reception.

"Your check in desk is over there with the nurses hub behind it." He moved his arm to point to the left of the hub. "There's a side door that leads into the side corridor, both of which lead to the supplies cupboards. I believe the nurses have their own areas and you're not to steal out of them. I break that rule all the time but remember to put the supplied back again - that seems to have worked well for me so far."

He moved his arm to the other side and started leading her down the corridor. "This is the chute, where the trauma cases will be brought down as soon as they're brought in. We have six advanced medi bays for reception and then the idea is for them to be moved to the ER ward as soon as possible, or on to the OR if necessary. The trolley with the red tap on the bottom right leg has a dodgy wheel. Use that one only if the others are occupied. So, where did you transfer from?"

The information poured out of Noah in a steady stream, the question on the end as fluid as the rest of it. It was a common way for him to talk - as he thought - and you had to pay attention sometimes to catch his meaning. Luckily, his Texan drawl meant that he didn't talk exceptionally fast and was easy enough to follow if you were paying attention.

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Celeste smiled at him when he didn’t respond to her comment about keeping him too long, had he offended her? Not at all, she got it… he was a specialist which meant it was a very important and busy man, and she was truly lucky that he’d managed to take time out of his day to give her a tour. Smiling again she thanked him sincerely, “Thank you Doctor Grey for taking time out of what I’m sure is a terribly busy day to come give me a tour, I truly do appreciate it.” Thinking to herself that if they ever got a chance to work together he’d see that she took her job very seriously, but when not working she could be sarcastic and a bit of a smart ass. She truly didn’t mean anything by it, usually she was just trying to be funny and lighten the mood a bit.

She remained quiet as she listened to his instructions and smirked a bit when he mentioned stealing from the nurse’s areas. Taking a mental note about the stretcher with the red tape having a dodgy wheel she almost missed his question. “California, transferred in from California… and avoid the stretcher with the red tape at all costs… got it.” She could listen to the man talk all day long, he really had a nice voice and the accent intrigued her. “So at the risk of making a fool of myself I’ll assume you’re from Texas, how long have you been in Chicago?”

The question had no more come out of her mouth than and EMS crew came running in the back door doing CPR on a small child. Quickly looking around seeing that there was nobody else available to help them she glanced at Noah and jumped into action, “Ok people lets walk and talk… someone find me an empty trauma bed, and get registration in here.” She listened to the EMS crew explain that the child had been awake but drowsy when they arrived at the home, but had crashed on the way to the hospital. They explained that the parents stated she’d been acting funny for a couple hours and had been less than helpful and were still at the house with their four other children.

Celeste couldn’t quite wrap her head around that bit of information but didn’t miss a beat in barking out orders. “I need a weight on the child, as well as any other history we have. What medications were given enroute? Do we have an IV? If not someone grab me the IO kit we need access ASAP.” Turning to the EMS crew she asked, “Can you all hang around and help with compressions? If not I need one of you to send in some ED Techs while the other keeps compressing for me.”

Not satisfied with the response of nurses and other personnel to the room she walked to the wall and smacked the code button, maybe that would get their attention. As people started coming in she “Someone figure out a name for this child and contact the parents and tell them that they need to come here voluntarily or I’ll send the PD to bring them here in cuffs if I have to. I need to find out what this child took.” Celeste was furious that parents could act like that. This sweet little girl could be no older than three and nobody knew her name, all she wanted to do was hold her and cry. Pushing her emotions aside quickly she continued giving orders.

“Get her hooked to the cardiac monitor now, I need to know what rhythm we’re in. If we have some sort of access, we need to push narcan on this child now. The parents are acting kind of fishy if you ask me and I want to rule out overdose early on, it’s something that we at least have a chance of fixing.” As she stood back and watched everything unfold making sure her orders were followed in a timely fashion she realized she hadn’t given Dr. Grey much of a chance to speak so she turned to him, “Any other suggestions?”

@zen

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Noah hadn't the time to respond to Celeste's question after Texas and how long he'd been in the Windy City. While small talk was something that he hated, he had been about to do the polite thing and answer her question but they were interrupted by the EMS team storming into the ER.

He was already stepping forward as Celeste spoke up, darted around him and rushed to the child's gurney, taking control of the situation in seconds.

Noah knew a lot of doctors. He, in particular, knew a lot of cardiologists and he was very aware that certain characteristics were prevalent in most of them. When you were a specialist in the heart - the organ in the body responsible for just about everything to do with keeping you alive, you tended to suffer from a certain amount of arrogance. The same could be said for brain surgeons. Noah also had enough self-awareness to know that he had a certain level of this same over-confidence. But in him, it stemmed from elsewhere. When you had saved the number of lives that he had in his fourteen years of med studies and career, it was natural to grow a certain confidence in yourself. When you had held a child's beating heart and knew that you were the only thing keeping it going. When that child woke up after surgery and were still in there, alive and kicking, looking out from their eyes again, because you had kept their heart going. It was obvious and necessary to have that level of confidence.

But that was where it stemmed from for Noah - the saving of patients lives. Not the idea that the heart was more important than any other part of the body, or any more significant than other areas of medicine. For him, only the saving of a life mattered and if that meant that a heart needed patching, a foot needed taking or an ear infection investigated, then it was all important. At the end of the day - you just had to save that soul inside the body.

Which meant he had absolutely no issues whatsoever with Celeste taking over the patient. To argue, to quibble or to stand his ground like an angry toddler would be time-consuming and poor treatment for the little girl coming in on the gurney.

Instead, Noah quickly picked up the chart that was laying at the child's feet as it went past and followed behind. When Celeste demanded a trauma room, He called out that trauma room three was free - which he remembered from passing by it a second ago. He grabbed a nurse and sent her to grab a registration orderly to meet them in trauma room three. As Celeste asked for the meds administered in transit he reeled them off from the chart, in answer as she was busy with the patient. It didn't matter that these were tasks a nurse should be performing - Dr. Jennings needed the information to carry out her job - who read it to her from the piece of paper was irregardless right now.

Next, he had an IV already rigged up and was attaching it to the child and stepping forward to complete the compressions that she needed someone to do.

He settled his hands quickly over the child's chest, adjusted his strength for a girl of her size and started the compressions while a nurse started in on the breathing apparatus at her head. His overlong hair swung forward as he bounced his hands on her chest, keeping perfect rhythm, and he checked the young girls face through the oxygen mask.

"Nurse, the patient is Rosie Jenkins. She's eight years old and was in the ER two weeks ago with a broken wrist. Dr. Stevens provided Motrin for the pain, so I suggest that's what she's ODed on. Take a blood test to be sure. Her parents details are on file Bill and Ellen I think were their names - Dr. Jennings is right, we need a parent here stat." He turned to look at the doctor in question while he continued the compressions, and someone rigged up the cardiac monitor. "I was called in on her case last time because she said she fell down after her chest hurt. The X-Ray confirmed no broken ribs or lung obstructions. Your lead, Dr. Jennings."

[Deleted]

Listening as Noah spouted off the details about the child, her name stuck in her head. Rosie, it was appropriate as the child had a mop of strawberry blonde curls on top of her head. When she heard him mention Motrin and that possibly being what she overdosed on, "No, I don't think it was Motrin. She's not acting or presenting like a Motrin overdose, I'd bet money on the fact that little Rosie here got her hands on something a lot stronger than that. We'll find out for sure as soon as we push that narcan, and her parents get here." Once the child was hooked up to the cardiac monitor she stated matter of factly, "Looks like a rhythm to me, but I'll get you to check for a pulse when you switch out compressions with someone in about thirty seconds. Then I'd like you to take a good look at this monitor and see if you have any suggestions since the heart is your area of expertise." Celeste heard the nurse call out that the dose of narcan was on board and sighed, "hopefully she'll start to come around for us and her parents will get here soon."

When they changed compressors she felt for a pulse and hoped and prayed to all things holy that she would find one. Feeling a faint pulse she spoke to the child, "You hang in there Rosie." Turning to everyone else in the room, "I've got a faint pulse and it looks like she's starting to breathe some on her own, We need to assist her breathing with a BVM for a bit until she's breathing well enough on her own. I want bloodwork stat so we know what she's gotten into and go ahead and slip a catheter in, little Rosie will be here with us for a few days at least." She picked up the little girl's hand in her own and turned to Noah again, "You see anything concerning on the monitor or are we headed in the right direction?"

@zen

[Deleted]

Noah was inspecting the monitor as instructed as soon as another switched in for him with the compressions. The rate of heart beat was good but the rhythm was off. He frowned at the screen for a split second before making his decision.

"She's got some serious arrhythmia but the beat is at least stable. I need some hands here -" When he had several orderlies in position he instructed - "We're going to turn her so I can listen to her back, but I want her chest kept as open as possible so we don't lose that good breathing we've got her into. Don't let her shoulders slump."

As they moved the little body, Noah was quick and efficient, listening to the heart beat both from the back, and then as she was re-positioned back again, from the front. He was sure in his conclusion before he spoke, looking up at the new, blonde doctor as he did so.

"Physically the heart sounds fine. I'm happy to assess that it's a chemical imbalance from whatever she's taken only - no physical injury. I'd like to get some digoxin in her to regulate that rhythm but I'm not happy to authorise that until we get the bloodwork back and find out what it is she's taken." He turned to Dr. Jennings, settling his stethoscope back around his neck. "If you don't think it's the Motrin we prescribed then I'm willing to bet the symptoms are connected. If she's taken something before which caused the discomfort in her chest when she fell, small amounts could cause a feeling of tightness but not the arrhythmia she has now. I think we're looking at a slow burn abuse - possibly accidental if she's gotten a hold of something she shouldn't. I imagine it was only over the last few weeks though. Prior misuse would have shown in my exam of her two weeks ago, and there was nothing wrong then."

There was a quiet beeping as Noah looked down at his watch. It was 8:45am.

"I have surgery in 15. When she's stable, she can be transferred to the pediatrics ward and I'll make sure to look in on her after the OR. Do you need me for anything else Dr. Jennings?"

His tone wasn't curt or authoritative - as if he had more important things to do with his time - he was genuinely asking if it was okay for him to leave. As far as he was concerned, she was the lead on the patient, not him, and he wanted to make sure that the new physician was happy in what she was doing.

As far as he was concerned, his request to leave her to it was a compliment. He could see that she knew exactly what she was doing and while she might look young and be a little on the... lively side... but she was clearly damn good at her job.

When it was clear that Dr. Jennings had a handle on things, Noah went to leave the trauma room only to almost collide with a young orderly who had information regarding Rosie.

"Oh, Dr. Grey! I have the information you wanted regarding the patient's parents." She said happily, holding up the file she had in her hand.

"In which case you can give it to Dr. Jennings. She has the patient well in hand and will be happy to have the information, I'm sure." He looked back at Dr. Jennings as he left the room, one big hand on the door frame.

"Welcome to the mad house, Dr. Jennings." He offered a rare occurrence - one side of his mouth quirking upwards in a chagrin smile that turned him from professional, stoic doctor, to rebel Texan in a split second.

Upon leaving the trauma room, Noah made his way quickly across the ER, stopping only momentarily to leave a message for Dr. Stevens at the nurses hub - the gist of which was that he best scrub up on his malpractice knowledge for his next seminar and that he missed out seeing his latest fine acquisition to the team handle a case nicely. He didn't compliment people to their face more often than not, but he gave credit where it was due.

He then made his way quickly to the cardiology department. After a speedy rounds check of all his patients, and an adjustment to one of their meds, he headed for the OR to scrub up.

Three house later and Noah was instructing an assisting to close up. The fourteen year old boy had needed a stent, bless his heart but it would do him until they could arrange a more permanent solution. Unfortunately, it also depended on his parent's medical insurance and personal budget.

Removing his gloves and disposing of the paper gown he wore, Noah reminded himself that there were just some things you could change and that at least the boy would be able to live comfortably - if not go out for the varsity team.

As he scrubbed up and removed the grip he used to keep his hair back during surgery, he shrugged back into his white coat, pocketed the dictation he had taken during the operation for write up later, and headed back out onto the ward.

A growl somewhere in his mid-drift told him he would have to eat at some point soon but he wanted to check his patients again and then pop by the pediatrics ward first. Hopefully, the girl who had been brought in this morning had been stable enough to be moved in the last few hours.


OOC: Please forgive any and all inaccuracies with the above post. I have absolutely no medical knowledge whatsoever haha.

@celeste  

[Deleted]

As Celeste watched them roll the tiny body of little Rosie she wanted to cry, but bit her tongue to distract herself. Listening to Noah speak she nodded, “Anything in particular we’re looking for in the blood work or urine that would keep us from giving that Digoxin?” She was simply asking because she was curious and it was something to remember for future cases as well. Celeste liked being good at her job, and she jumped at any chance that she had to learn more and become even better.

When he spoke about the Motrin she shook her head, “Given her reaction to the Narcan it was some kind of narcotic medication or some kind of opiate that she managed to get her hands on. If the parents had been honest about it the paramedics could have given it enroute and poor Rosie never would have had to go through all of this.” She said sadly shaking her head.

When she saw him look at his watch and speak about an upcoming surgery, she smiled. “I think I’ve got it from here Dr. Grey, thanks for the tour and…” she gestured around the room “all of this.” What she was really trying to say was thanks for having faith in me, and not overriding all the decisions she had made. She was quite impressed by the man, he knew what he was doing and he worked well in team situations. Not something she had seen very often in cardiologists.

She watched Noah speak to the orderly and held her hand out for the file when he indicated that it should be given to her. “Thank you, and could you please call the parents and tell them we need them here as soon as they can get here. I’d do it myself, but right now you’ll be nicer about it than I would. So I would appreciate it if you could do that for me, however if they have any questions you can transfer them to me.” She asked as she smiled and took a couple deep breaths, Celeste was furious at these parents. First they hadn’t been honest with the medics, and second their three year old child was laying here alone in an ER where she had almost died. What kind of parents were these? She didn’t know whether to cry or scream and she could probably do both.

She looked up in time to catch Noah looking back at her and laughed when he welcomed her to the mad house. Her breath caught when the man smiled, she had thought him good looking before but with a smile on his face he was even more so. She blushed a bit hoping he didn’t notice the fact that she stared at him for longer than was probably polite.

Rosie had been touch and go for a while and they had just moved her to the pediatric ward about thirty minutes prior, but Celeste decided to use some of her lunch to look in on the little girl hoping that her parents would be there by now. She had looked at the chart and test results before she walked in the room. She slowly walked up to the bed looking down at Rosie who looked even smaller in the big hospital bed. Celeste pushed a few of the reddish blonde curls back out of the little girl’s face and kissed the child’s forehead before she sat down and took a little hand in hers. She smiled as the child turned her head and opened some of the biggest bluest eyes she’d seen in a while and croaked out “Mommy?”

“No baby Mommy’s not here yet, but I’m sure she’s on her way.” She soothed as she held her little hand. Celeste felt a few tears slide down her cheeks, but quickly wiped them away with her free hand.

@zen

[Deleted]

"Did you have a good evening, doctor?"

Noah looked up from the chart he was inspecting, to the patient it referred to. Mrs. Finchley was 76 years old with fluffy hair, gnarled hands and eyes that twinkled like a five year old. He smiled at her, reminded strongly of his mother back home.

"I did, thank-you. It was very relaxing, after yesterday." He looked back down at the chart to check the current medication she was on and for any spots of worrisome heart monitoring.

"Liar." The old woman said, surprising him. She gave him a cunning, mischievous smile of her own. "My husband was a paramedic. He would stay late on shifts or not come home some nights. I know the tell-tale signs." She held up a finger in warning. "He always used to lie to his patients too. Said, he wanted them to think his job was effortless, because it made them feel more confident about their care."

Noah let the polite half smile he had been offering fade and a real one replace it. His eyes crinkled at the edges and his face softened.

"I see it was foolish of me to try and pull the wool over your eyes, ma'am." He said in his Texan drawl.

"Ai." The woman said with a grin that now said they were in cahoots. "But only because I've had a behind the scenes look." She assured him. Then her face turned serious. "Doesn't your wife worry about the extra hours your work, doctor? If you can lie that easily about it, last night wasn't the only night you haven't gone home after shift."

"I don't have a wife Mrs. Finchley." Noah informed her with a shake of the head. "So no need to worry."

Before she could interrupt him to tell him what a shame it was for a man of his age to not yet be married - it was a common theme of topic for ladies of her generation to harp on at him about, Noah proceeded to fill her in on any information pertinent to her and then told her that she would soon be released from the hospital provided that the after care medication was still doing its job in another twenty-four hours. Noah had removed a lump from the woman's aorta last week and things were so far looking just fine. Surgery had been a piece of cake and she was responding well to the after treatment.

As he was heading out of the private room and onto the rest of the ward for his midday checks, the old woman called out to him once more.

"Young man?" She said as he stopped in the doorway. He looked back. "Thank you for what you do." She told him, sincerity on every inch of her face. "For all that the staff here do, you're all angels. But don't forget to look after yourself too, doctor..."

Noah smiled one last time and left the room. He had heard similar advice at one point or another - with more regularity as he got progressively older - but he had never taken it truly to heart. He hadn't much to go home to at the moment besides college ball on the TV, his favorite books and a comfy couch. What he did here, in the hospital, saved lives. Somehow, he couldn't let himself be selfish enough to date or spend time just for him. Not when he literally held other people's lives in his hands on a daily basis... What he did was just too important to give himself his life back yet. Maybe one day...

The rest of his rounds passed with little happenstance and Noah was free to head to the pediatrics ward. He was eager to see how little Rosie was getting on after Dr. Jennings had seen to her in the ER.

When her felt his stomach give a hollow gurgle as he walked he promised it he would eat straight after that.

Upon reaching pediatrics reception, he waited behind a couple so that he could find out the room Rosie had been moved to. He could have gone behind the desk and interrupted things to find out sooner but he was in no rush and technically on his lunch break so he'd wait instead of delaying the parents in front of him.

As he listened to the conversation between them and the nurse, however, he realised that this was Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins - parents to little Rosie - and he spoke up.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins?" He asked conversationally and the woman looked around while he husband waited on the room number of their daughter.

Now that she was facing him, Noah recognised Ellen Jenkins from the first time Rosie had been brought into the hospital. She was wearing a green long coat - the kind with furry edging around the hood - that had seen better days, a pair of jeans that looked old and thin and an expression of long weariness.

"Yes?" She asked, quietly.

"Mrs. Jenkins," He began again. "You may not remember me but my name is Dr. Grey. I consulted on your daughter's case a few weeks ago when she was brought in for her wrist?" When she nodded, Noah overheard the room number given by the nurse at the desk. "I was just headed to check on Rosie now - I saw her this morning when she was brought in. We can go together if you'd like?"

His tone was light and friendly and Mrs. Jenkins gave a nervous tweak of her lips that might have at one point been a smile. When her husband turned around, Noah noticed the same haggard look on his face as hers and he smiled politely. The man nodded back.

Leading the way, Noah escorted the parents down the left corridor and around to the right before finally stopping at the appropriate room. He wasn't surprised to see Rosie looking sleepy but much better than she had this morning - he was surprised that Dr. Jennings was still with her.

As they came to the doorway, the blonde doctor was comforting Rosie...

“No baby Mommy’s not here yet, but I’m sure she’s on her way.”

"You must be clairvoyant, Dr. Jennings." Noah said aloud, alerting both the doctor and Rosie to their presence.

He stepped aside and watched as Rosie reached out with eager arms - one wrist still wrapped up - her face alight with need.

"Mummy!" She called desperately and Ellen Jenkins rushed forward to hold her daughter. Mr. Jenkins held back a little, hovering at his wife's shoulder and gently resting a hand on Rosie's head.

Noah reached for the chart on the end of Rosie's bed and looked through the notes. While Dr. Jennings appeared to have done everything right to stabilise the girl, the arrythmia was still there. Noah knew that they wouldn't be able to get rid of it unless they knew what the girl had taken and administered the right medication to reverse the effects. They were reliant on the parents knowing exactly what it was Rosie had gotten her hands on - or been given.


OOC: So sorry that this took me so long to get back to - life drama got way in the way. Tried to make this one nice and long with lots of info as a sorry

@celeste,