A Very Odd Couple
Part X
Previously on ER.
Dave was beaten up and seriously injured. As well as his physical
injuries, he also started suffering from nightmares. Carter
managed to get Dave to open up to him, and persuaded him to seek
help. The next day, Luka brought Dave to his first session with
Dr Nina Pomerantz
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"So, let's begin," said Nina.
"Is this where you ask me to tell you about my childhood?"
asked Dave lightly.
"Do you want to talk about your childhood?"
Dave shrugged. "I dunno. I mean you're the expert on all
this. I'm the guy who barely passed my Psych rotation."
"But you're also the guy who asked for help." Nina
sighed. She could tell that this wasn't going to be easy. "Dave,
I don't know for sure why you felt the need to talk to me. But I
can't help you unless you tell me what's bothering you."
Dave stayed silent. He knew that talking about his nightmares was
the only way forward, but it was just so hard. Carter was the
only person he had told about them so far.
"Okay then," said Nina. "How about we start with
why you're in hospital."
"Isn't it obvious," said Dave. "I got beaten up."
"Would you like to tell me about it?"
Dave shifted uneasily in his chair. "Not really," he
said softly. Looking up, he saw Nina waiting patiently. Sighing,
he began. "I was riding home one night, and I went to an ATM.
When I was finished I....I looked up and there were these two
guys waiting for me. They wanted my wallet, I wouldn't give it to
them, and so they beat me up and took it anyway. I ended up in
hospital and that's all there is to it."
"Is it?" asked Nina. Dave didn't answer. "Dave?"
Dave shook his head. "I....I've been having nightmares,"
he said, so quietly that Nina could barely hear him.
"Nightmares about the attack?" asked Nina.
Dave nodded. "I see it all happening again. They're telling
me to give them my wallet, and I refuse...and as I'm riding the
bike at them, trying to get away, I know what's going to happen
next, but I can't stop it...and they.... they hit me and kick me
over and over and there's nothing I can do about it." Dave
stopped abruptly.
"And?" prompted Nina.
"And that's usually the point where I wake up," replied
Dave. As he had been speaking he had curled up into the chair
without realizing it. "Last night, I thrashed around so
much, I pulled my IV out. Told the nurses I'd just rolled over in
my sleep."
"Why didn't you tell them the truth?"
Dave was silent for a while, his head bowed. Finally he looked
up, and Nina could see tears starting to form in his eyes. "Because
I didn't want them to know what a coward I was."
"Why would they think you were a coward just because you'd
had a nightmare?" asked Nina, trying not to show her
surprise.
"Because of what I did...because I was begging them not to
hurt me any more, but they wouldn't stop. They.... they were
laughing as they kicked me," said Dave, as the tears started
to stream down his face. "It was all my fault. I shouldn't
have gone to the ATM in the first place. I knew it wasn't a safe
place. I should have given them the money when they asked for it,
instead of trying to get away. I should have known better."
Dave was shaking now as the tears came faster.
"It's not your fault Dave," said Nina, trying to
reassure him.
"I've always told Chris, that if she got mugged, to just
hand over the money, it's not worth risking her life over. And I
couldn't follow my own advice. I had to play the macho man and
try to get away. If I'd given them what they wanted, they
wouldn't have hurt me."
"What makes you think that they wouldn't have hurt you?"
Dave looked at Nina in surprise, wiping away the tears with his
hand.
"You've already said that they were laughing as they
assaulted you. How do you know that if you <had> given them
what they wanted, that they wouldn't have beaten you up anyway?"
Dave was silent as he tried to take this in. "I.... I don't
know."
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Nina watched as Dave limped away down the corridor. After the
initial breakthrough, he had seemed to close up, as if he felt
ashamed of revealing what he had. Still, it had been a good first
session. The fact that he had started to open up, even a little
bit, was a good sign. As was the fact that he had agreed to
another session the next day.
She hadn't really been surprised when he insisted on walking back
to his room, instead of letting her page a nurse to wheel him.
Nina knew that part of Dave's problems stemmed from the sudden
realization that he wasn't invulnerable; that he too could be
injured like the patients he treated every day. Walking back to
his room, instead of being wheeled, was his way of assuring
himself that he was on the road to recovery.
Once Dave was out of sight, Nina went straight to her phone and
called the nurses station on Dave's floor. She knew that by the
time he got back there he would be exhausted and she wanted to
ask the nurses to only help him if he looked as if he wasn't
going to make it.
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"Dr Kovac," said Elizabeth, as she walked into Curtain
Three. "May I have a word with you?"
"One moment, Dr Corday," replied Luka. Elizabeth waited
by the door, as Luka carefully guided Abby through the spinal tap.
"Good work," he said, smiling approvingly. "Now,
get that off to the lab immediately."
After giving her a few more instructions, he walked over to
Elizabeth.
"Dr Corday."
"I just thought I'd let you know, that barring any
unforeseen complications arising in the next twenty-four hours, I
intend to discharge Dr Malucci tomorrow."
"Are you sure he is ready?" asked Luka, slightly
surprised.
"At this stage, there is very little that we can do for him
in the hospital, except monitor his condition. What he really
needs now, is to rest, and let his injuries heal. And from what
I've seen of him, I believe he would be more comfortable in the
comfort of his own home."
Luka nodded in agreement. Elizabeth continued, "Of course
the fact that he'll have his own 'personal physician' on hand to
check up on him, was a factor in my decision."
"I will make sure that he gets plenty of rest," said
Luka, "Even if I have to tie him to the bed," he
muttered under his breath. Out loud he said, "Have you told
Dave yet?"
"I'm on my way up to talk to him now. Are you on duty much
over the next few days?"
"I have a few shifts. I will ask Kerry if they can be
rescheduled."
"He'll need your help for a while until he gets his strength
back."
"I will be there for him."
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Dave was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling when the phone
rang. He was exhausted both mentally and physically from his
Psych session. Mentally, from the strain of expressing his
feelings to a relative stranger, and physically, from walking
back to his room instead of waiting for a nurse to wheel him. It
had been the longest distance he had walked since the attack and
all his muscles were aching, but the sensation of being back in
control of some part of his life had been worth it.
Now as the phone kept ringing, he debated mentally whether it was
worth his while summoning up the energy to answer it. He could
after all just ignore it and whoever it was could leave a message
with the switchboard. Finally his curiosity got the better of him
and he rolled over and picked up the handset.
"Hello?" he said tiredly.
"Dave? Is that you?" asked the voice on the other end.
"Chris? Yes it's me," replied Dave, suddenly glad he'd
answered the phone.
"You okay? You sound terrible."
"Tactful as ever sis," said Dave with a wry grin.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired. I had my first Psych
appointment today, and I think I overdid things a bit."
Chris breathed a silent sigh of relief when she heard Dave
mention his Psych appointment. Although Dave had insisted to her
that he was doing fine, Chris knew instinctively that he was
hiding his pain from her. While she had been in Chicago, she had
tried to subtly hint to him that maybe he should talk to someone,
but without any success. Aware of how stubborn Dave was, she had
not wanted to push too hard, and had decided to wait a while
before bringing up the subject again.
"So how did it go?" asked Chris. There was silence on
the other end of the line.
"Dave? You still there bro?" she asked, concerned.
"Dave?"
"Yeah, I'm here," said Dave quietly. "It....it
went okay, I guess. Anyway, afterwards I decided to walk back to
my room instead of waiting for them to page a nurse to wheel me."
"Well that was smart," said Chris automatically, noting
Dave's evasion of her question. "So how're you feeling now?"
"Worn out," replied Dave. "I barely made it back
to my room." Actually that wasn't entirely true, Dave
thought to himself. He had made it back to the right floor, but
had been spotted as he tried to sneak unseen past the nurse's
station. He had collapsed gratefully into the wheelchair that
Marie, the head nurse, had found. She had told him, in no
uncertain terms, that the next time he pulled a stunt like that;
she was going to leave him collapsed on the floor just to teach
him a lesson. Of course he couldn't say anything like that to
Chris, she was worried enough about him already.
"Hmm," said Chris thoughtfully, wondering if Dave had
told her the whole story.
They chatted for a few more minutes before Dave said, "Listen
Chris, I don't want to be rude or anything, but I'm really tired,
and I'd like to get some rest before Corday does her rounds."
"No worries," said Chris. "Any news yet on when
they're kicking you out of there?"
"Couple of more days, I think," replied Dave. "It
won't be soon enough."
"Well, my shifts are all over the place for the next few
days, but I'll be able to come to Chicago after the weekend."
"That'll be good. See you then Chris. Take care."
"And you. Bye Dave," said Chris, and hung up the phone.
She stared at it thoughtfully for a few moments. Every time she
had asked Dave about his Psych session, he had carefully changed
the subject. Something was upsetting him and she couldn't get it
out of him over a phone line. Thinking quickly she dialed another
number.
The voice on the other end said, "County General ER, can I
help you?"
"Yes," said Chris. "I'd like to speak to Dr Kovac.
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to be continued
Part
IX