ER Curtain Area

[Nate]

Peter had taken an emergency personal day. Apparently, his father had fallen ill.

So, really, Nate hadn’t had a choice, but that didn’t mean he was thrilled. Still, his dedication to his job had kept him from protesting, and when he’d gotten the phone call, he’d agreed without much in the way of hesitation. He had just made sure to attach the ‘pack phone’ to his belt, where it would be concealed just beneath his doctor’s coat. It was a precaution, and hopefully, one that would turn out to be unnecessary, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He had a responsibility to Cole, and his pack, and he wasn’t going to let them down, should something come up.

“Well, Miss…” He checked the chart again, “Warner. It’s just a mild chest infection. I’ll write you up a prescription, and you’ll be fine. A little bed rest, lots of fluids, and take your meds.” He smiled his best reassuring smile. “Nothing to worry about.”

[Nate]

“Oh, excuse me…” Nate shoved the chart under his arm, slotting his pen into his pocket as he reached for the phone ringing shrilly at his waist.

Dammit… come… off! It finally released itself from its belt clip, and he turned away from his patient with an apologetic smile, and a hasty mutter of, “I have to take this.” Moving quickly away from the bed, he closed the patient’s curtain to give himself a degree of privacy, and answered the call. “Hello?”

“Nate.” It was Cole, and from the sound of his voice, something had happened. Nate’s stomach sank somewhat. Oh boy, here we go. “Can you get to the hotel?”

Straight to business. Nate could handle that. “Uh… give me five minutes to tell them something, and I’ll be out the doors. I might still be wearing my coat, but I’m assuming that might actually be appropriate?”

“You could say that. We’ll see you soon.” And with that, the call ended.

Fun, fun, fun… Nate snapped his phone closed, hastily reattaching it to his belt, and opening the woman’s curtain again. “I’m so sorry, but I have a bit of an emergency. I’ll get on your prescription while I head to the desk, and you can get yourself dressed. They’ll have directions for you at the desk.”

Offering another apologetic smile, he hurried for the door.


Continued in: ER Doctor’s Lounge.

[Marion]

Marion wondered if she'd actually obeyed all the traffic laws on the way there, but Nate hadn't passed out or told her to stay in the car, so she supposed things were fine. As the nurses began to aid Andrew, Marion whipped out her mobile phone while moving outside the curtain area and began to make calls. First one was to the police. The second was to Andrew's mother. In a cheery voice she left a message saying that Andrew would be staying at her place for a few days - he'd been struck with some kind of food poisoning and would certainly be under the weather. Wincing, she hung up the phone again.

"Hope he wanted me to do that." She turned back to join Andrew again, dropping her phone into her purse. Moving to his head, she watched as Nate took care of business - filling out charts and beginning to log the boy's injuries for the police. He was in good hands now, and she felt her legs go to jelly, so she pulled a chair up to his gurney and sat, breathing out.

Andrew's voice was so faint... she leaned over. "Billie?" She slapped her forehead. Of course. He'd been going to go out tonight. She gently leaned over the bed - "I'll call her for you, okay?" Her voice was calm, and steady - his face was so pale, and the blood stood out against his skin. Whoever did this.. She ground her teeth and pulled out her phone again, staying by the bed this time so he'd hear her. Andrew liked to be involved.

She got a voice mail. "Billie - It's Marion, Andrew's boss. He's had a bit of an accident tonight. I think he might like it if you came down to St. Benedict's emergency room - I'm here with him, so you can call my phone to find us. He's okay, promise." She hung up - and watched Andrew's face carefully, hoping she'd done the right thing.

[Marion]

Marion saw Andrew begin to slip again, and heard Nate's voice in the background - "Concussion.." came to her ears. He'd need to stay with them now that he was awake - just until the doctors could get him into a room for observation. Passing out in the ER area wasn't an option. She wracked her brain, trying to think of things to say. Ah. Need to get him arguing... this should do it....

"Hot date tonight for you huh, Andrew? You really should have let me drive you someplace - you could've taken the bus in the morning after all.." His sense of decency would make him want to argue - and he'd forgive her later.

[Nate]

Nate was in the middle of passing on orders to a nurse while Marion tried to keep Andrew awake and as close to alert as she could get him. He’d jotted down the injuries, done another check-up when they’d gotten into the curtain area, and now, he had himself a full list of problems. All they needed was the x-rays.

“Okay,” he said, handing the chart to the nurse after signing it. “He needs to be taken upstairs for the x-rays, and then he’ll come back down here.” The curtain area was perfect for everyone to keep an eye on him. There were other patients that needed checking on, so the traffic would be constant, and there would be no complications that wouldn’t be noticed.

[Marion]

Marion watched them wheel the gurney out of the curtain area and sat quietly. Her head was beginning to ache. Muttering about leaving her things behind, she tied her hair in a knot at the base of her neck and wished she'd thought to grab her briefcase as well. She had some money in there, and right now, she desperately needed a candy bar.

"Not to mention my files... I could be reading up for the finishing touches on the last paperwork... not that Andrew will be back to file it any time soon." She covered her face with her hands for a moment, allowing two tears to fall from her eyes. Marion did not have many friends and her family was isolated because of her father. Andrew was her family, and tonight had been a nightmare.

But Nate had assured her he'd be fine. And she believed Nate. Wiping her eyes, she put her professional mask back on - tears wiped away and only the shadows under her eyes a slight indication of her feelings. Crossing her legs and grabbing a magazine, she settled in to wait for Andrew to return. Hopefully Billie would arrive soon.

[Nate]

“He’ll be fine, Marion.” And Nate hoped the lawyer trusted his word on that. Andrew was in no life-threatening danger; of that, he was sure, especially now that he’d been able to examine the assistant in a professional, sterile atmosphere. Not that there was anything wrong with The Hyperion, but whenever he got the chance, he much preferred to do his job under these bright lights, and with the right equipment just an arm’s length away. “He’ll be sore for a while, and have to take some medications to stop the swelling, but he’ll be fine.”

Pulling off his gloves, he disposed of them in the right container, and wiped his hands one over the other. The gloves always left a slight residue on his hands that he sometimes thought he was imagining, but such an action was habit now, and barely worth thinking about. “Do you want some coffee, or tea? There’s a machine down the hall, or I can get you some from the lounge.”

[Marion]

Marion looked up and gave Nate a warm smile. "Some coffee would be great... is there a candy machine or anything nearby? I could really use something to eat - chocolate particularly." She stood carefully. Part of her wondered if she should go to the Hyperion and let them know that everything was okay.

"He'll be okay now... especially that Billie's on her way." Marion hadn't seen the exchange with the two outside. "Do you think I should go back to the Hyperion and let everyone know he'll be fine? And I should go to the station and get the reports filed..."

[Nate]

“Candy machine? Sure. It’s in the waiting area. Sugar generally keeps people from going completely crazy on us while they wait.” He shrugged under his shirt. He had pulled off his coat and draped it over the back of a chair next to him. “Don’t use dollar bills though. It eats them.” He paused. “If there’s no one around, just hit the machine a couple of times, and something usually falls out.”

Stop rambling at the poor woman.

“I’ll call them. Don’t worry. I promised I would, so I’ll do that while I check on my other patients at the desk.” Nate’s smile was calm, but a little weary. “And I can get some officers over here to take the report. You don’t have to go to the station.” As an afterthought as he slipped his pen into his pocket, he asked, “How do you take your coffee?”

[Marion]

Marion smiled despite herself. She was complaining in her head about being tired and Nate had been called from work and had to go back to it. "I take it black, and preferably with company when its a consoling cup of coffee." She went to the candy machine and came back with two Snickers bars. She handed one to Nate. "Thanks for the tip."

"I'll wait here for the officers. I hope your shift isn't too much longer." She paused. "Thank you for coming to Andrew's aid. I know you get run around more than the average doctor - and I think you're far better than the average too." She patted his arm and went to her seat again, opening the snickers. Picking up the magazine again, she smiled at him. "Get yourself a coffee too. You sound like you could use one too."

[Nate]

He accepted the Snickers bar with an easy, bedside-manner-like smile that was actually completely genuine; it wasn’t difficult for Nate to be compassionate. It had always been in his nature, and this was no exception. This was a classic case when his compassion and sympathy would show at the surface, for everyone to see. He didn’t care if everyone saw those traits; to him, they were vital to his occupation… both when he worked with humans, and with the pack.

“Thanks, Marion. I’ll be right back.” He shuffled off to do as he’d said he would, chewing on his candy bar as he went, sneaking a mouthful whenever he wasn’t on the phone, or talking to a colleague. By the time he came back with two mugs of coffee — actual mugs, and not the cheap, vended kind — he’d slipped half of it into his pocket for safekeeping, the wrapper folded over to keep it protected. “Coffee, black, and with company,” he announced quietly as he came up beside her, offering the steaming mug.

[Marion]

"Coffee and company. My favorite." She sighed and rubbed her temples. The Snickers bar had already been eaten - Marion took her candy seriously. She took a sip and sighed with relief. "I know coffee is a stimulant, I know it - but I swear it soothes me more than any valium would. I'm sure its because I'm addicted. Ah well."

She smiled up at him and leaned back in her chair, attempting to get comfortable. "I wonder how long it will take him to be X-rayed. You'll know pretty fast once they come back what his recovery will be, won't you?" When he nodded, she took another sip of coffee and crumpled up the wrapper of her candy bar. "I hate waiting."

[Billie]

Continued from: ER Front Desk

Billie was relieved when she found Marion. The older woman sat in curtain two with a doctor who Billie didn't know, but she gave the man a tentative smile when she entered.

"Ms. Barnes?" she smiled at Marion, too, and offered a hand. "I'm Billie Ferguson. Nice to finally meet you in person."

[Marion]

Marion looked up as the woman entered the curtain. There was probably only 5 years between the two women, but they couldn't have looked more different at that moment. Marion's normally elegant and careful clothing was abandoned, and her hair was not in its usual carefully styled way. For a half second, Marion admired the grace of the newcomer, and then stood immediately. "Billie." Her voice was warm, and a lot steadier than she thought. "I'm so glad you came - you've made a big difference to Andrew, and I knew he'd want you here - I am glad to finally meet you at last - you know him, much too shy to tell me much, but I knew you had to be a good thing."

Knowing that Billie would be feeling worse than she did, she gave the woman a quick hug before she could think about it too much. "This is Dr. Nate Wilder - he's the doctor on duty, and a friend of mine, actually. We've worked together before - he's the one treating Andrew - he couldn't be in better hands." Her voice shook a tiny bit on the last phrase - and she tried to cover it up. "Here, come sit. We just got some coffee - I'm sure Nate could find more if you needed something."

[Nate]

Nate smiled at the newcomer, his bedside manner coming to the surface all over again, and he gave a little nod as she introduced herself, letting Marion and Billie got acquainted. Marion’s comments about him would have made him blush if he were the type, but thankfully, he wasn’t, and he settled for a modest smile.

“Tea, coffee, hot chocolate… we’ve got a few different options in the lounge. The vended stuff here is kinda awful.” He gave a little shrug, looking down at his own coffee, and wondering if he ought to give the two women a little privacy so they could talk about what he had already told Marion. Billie would no doubt want peace of mind in the way of reassurance, and given she and Marion had some kind of connection, it would be best coming from her.