CONSEQUENCES
Part IV
Kerry was about to say something to Dave when an impatient driver ran a red light in front of them. There was a screech of brakes, the sound of breaking glass and then silence.
The next thing Kerry knew, she was in the back of an ambulance with a paramedic shining a light in her eyes and asking if she knew where she was. She looked around for Dave, but couldn’t see him. By the time Luka and Yosh wheeled her into exam two she was frantic. “Kerry, your passenger was brought in a few minutes ago. Mark is running the trauma. He’ll be fine,” said Luka trying to calm her down. “Tell me his name, and I’ll send Yosh to check on him, just as soon as we have you sorted out.”
“It’s Dave Malucci,” whispered Kerry.
“That’s a coincidence,” Luka started to say then stopped as he saw the look on Kerry’s face. “Oh,” he said. “I’m sure Mark will take good care of him.”
Mark and Jing-Mei led the team in Trauma one.
“Ok. We’ve got a thirty-year-old male, restrained passenger in MVA. Unconscious throughout. Possible head trauma and some deep lacerations.”
They didn’t realise who it was they were treating until Jing-Mei removed the dressing on Dave’s head to check his facial lacerations. “Oh my god, Dr Greene, it’s Dave,” she exclaimed.
“I thought he was out of town?” said Chuny to Haleh.
“Looks like he picked a bad time to come back.”
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Yosh walked into Trauma one “Dr Greene? Dr Weaver wants to know how Dr Malucci is doing.”
“I thought Kerry was off today,” said Mark not looking up from Dave.
“She is. She’s in exam two.” He paused. “She was the driver.”
A look of shock swept over their faces as what Yosh had said sunk in.
Chuny flashed an “I told you so” look at Haleh.
“Ok,” said Mark. “Tell her he’s stable, with good vitals, and I’ll be in to see her as soon as I’m finished here.”
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Finally Mark came in to see her.
“How is he?” she asked. “He has a broken collarbone, some cracked ribs and a lot of cuts and bruises,” said Mark. He hesitated before continuing.“He also has a minor head trauma, and he hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“What’s the prognosis?”
“Kerry, you know as well as I do that we can’t predict head injuries. I have a consult from neurology coming down and we’ll do some more scans, but it’s going to be a case of wait and see.”
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Kerry slumped in a chair by Dave’s bed. Luka had tried to tell her how lucky she was, to have come out of the accident, with nothing worse than some minor bruises and lacerations.
How could she be lucky, when Dave was lying unconscious in front of her, and no one knew when or if he would wake up.
She thought back to their first evening together. It seemed eerily prophetic that the first people to see them together had assumed they had been in a bad accident.
He looked so vulnerable lying there. What was it about hospital beds she mused that made their occupants so look so helpless? Lucy too had looked helpless. She swept the thought of Lucy from her mind. Dave would recover, he had to. She could no longer imagine a life without him playing a part in it.
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Mark and Elizabeth were watching her from outside the room.
“I can’t believe no one knew about them,” said Mark
“The nurses had their suspicions,” said Elizabeth. “Apparently when Dave came back to work Haleh changed his dressings and noticed that it wasn’t the same one she’d applied.”
“So what. He would have had to change it a few times at least.”
“Yes, but his arm was bandaged the way Kerry usually bandages wounds.”
Mark thought about this for a moment.
“But that’s hardly conclusive.”
“I know. But a few days later, Yosh heard him humming a piece by Verdi, the day after Kerry was at the opera festival.”
Mark considered this. Malucci and the opera was an even more unlikely combination than Malucci and Kerry. “I’m just surprised neither of them said anything before.
“Kerry’s always been reticent about her private life, but I never thought Dave would be able to keep a secret like this.” Her voice trailed off.
Luka joined them.
“How’s she holding up?” he asked.
“She’s hanging on by a thread,” replied Elizabeth. “She refuses to leave his side.”
“There’s been no change then?”
“None for the last few hours.”
“At least there was no spinal damage or internal injuries.”
“I doubt if Kerry feels that is any compensation for his present condition.”
There was an awkward silence.
“I’d better go back to the ER,” said Luka. “Let me know if anything changes.”
Dr Romano turned up moments later.
“Robert,”
“Elizabeth,” He indicated the room. “How are our patients doing?”
“There’s been no change in Dr Malucci’s condition. Dr Weaver’s injuries are minor, but she insists on staying.”
“Hmm,” grunted Romano. “Well when she <does> come out, tell her that the E.R. shifts have been reshuffled. She’s not on duty until further notice.”
“Why Robert, that’s a most generous gesture,”
“Yeah well no point in having her bring a malpractice suit down on us because her mind wasn’t on her work.” He walked off without further comment.
Elizabeth looked at her watch. “I have a surgery scheduled. I must go.”
“I’ll have a word with Kerry. Talk to you later,”
Elizabeth set off towards the O.R. and Mark joined Kerry in Dave’s room.
She looked up as he approached. “Still no change,” she said.
“He’s young and fit, I’m sure he’ll be ok,”
“Don’t patronise me Mark. I’m not some relative who can be palmed off with a comment like that. I know I’ve dealt with enough of them myself…’yes sir I know your son or husband or father is unconscious, but they could wake up at any time’, and then we point them towards the I.C.U. and forget all about them.”
“It’s always harder when it’s someone you’re close to.” He paused and then continued, “None of us had any idea that you and he were, you know,”
“No Mark, I don’t ‘you know’”
“Well that the two of you having an affair,”
“We’re not. Dave is a very devoted friend, that’s all.” Even as she spoke she realised how implausible that sounded. She also realised that he meant more to her than that. She prayed that she would get the chance to tell Dave how she really felt about him.
“Could’ve fooled me,” Mark thought to himself. Anyway, for now it didn’t really matter.
“I’d insist that you go home, but you’d probably end up sitting on the phone in case there was any news. So I’ve arranged for a bed to be set up in here.”
“Thank you Mark, for that and for taking care of Dave.”
“Try and get some rest.” He left the room.
Kerry was disturbed a few minutes later by Frank, who set up the bed for her and checked Dave’s vitals. “Keep your chin up Dr Weaver, we’re taking good care of him,” he said as he left.
When he was out of sight, Kerry curled up on the bed in a foetal position. She wrapped her arms around her and sobbed bitterly. This was all her fault. If only she had declined Dave’s offer to accompany her to the funeral. If only she had paid more attention to the traffic. She should have been the one lying there not Dave.
Although she wouldn’t have thought it possible, Kerry fell asleep. Her dreams were disturbed by images of Dave. “Don’t leave me,” she begged the dream Dave as she jerked awake.
“I’m not going anywhere chief,”
She heard Dave’s voice, but it took her a few seconds to register that she was no longer dreaming.
Dave was lying on the bed, looking and sounding very weak, but he was awake.
“Oh Dave,” she said. “I thought I’d lost you.” (She was aware even as she spoke how clichéd that sounded, but she didn’t care)
“Don’t know where you were looking, I’ve been here all along,” He gave her his trademark lazy grin, and tried to sit up then winced as the movement sent waves of pain through his battered body.
“I’ll get the nurse,” Kerry said pressing the call button.
“Just hold me for a little while and tell me everything’s going to be all right”
Kerry sat down on the bed beside Dave. Carefully so as not to cause him any more pain, she slid her arm round his shoulders and held him close. “You know I’ll always be here for you,” she said. She kissed him gently on his forehead, and whispered, “I love you.”
Dave reached for Kerry’s free hand. Ignoring the pain it caused him he brought it to his lips and kissed it. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that for a long time,” he said in a barely audible voice. “When I saw the car coming towards us, all I could think was how I didn’t want anything to happen to you.” He looked up at her “you <are> ok chief?”
She smiled back at him and said, “I wasn’t for a while, but I am now,”
They were interrupted by Frank, who had answered Kerry’s page.
“Good to see you’re back with us Dr Dave,” he said as he checked Dave’s vitals.
“Hey someone has to keep an eye on you guys upstairs,”
“I’ll let the docs know you’re awake, and then I’ll come back with something for the pain. Then I’ll let the two of you be alone,”
He left the room.
Dave looked up at Kerry, “does everyone know?” he asked.
“There might be a few maintenance workers in the basement who haven’t heard yet, but apart from that, yeah everyone knows.”
Dave laughed at this and then groaned in pain. “How long do you think I’ll be stuck in here?” he asked.
“Not too long I hope,” replied Kerry. She paused. “When they let you out, I want you could stay with me, at least until you’re fully recovered. That is if you’d like to?”
“I think I’d like that”
When Frank returned a few minutes later they were both sleeping peacefully still holding hands. He considered waking Kerry sure that she would be more comfortable in the second bed, but seeing the looks of contentment on their faces he simply covered her with a blanket and turned down the lights.
to be continued
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