Chapter Text
The snow was coming down in thick heavy sheets. The snow that stuck to the windshield wiper blades, caked on, giving the driver less and less vision as the snow and ice built up. Dr. Susan Lewis sighed and tapped the brakes, the snow crunching under her tires. It normally was a quick drive to her place, 20 minutes at most, but today...today it was a treacherous drive that had already taken her 30 minutes and she wasn’t even halfway home yet. The ice buildup on her windshield was making the hard trip even harder.
There wasn’t even any tires screeching because of the snow and ice on the roads, just the crash and crunching of metal and the popping of glass. She heard screams. Her own breath was quick and pained as her chest struggled to rise. A cough rattled her body, the thick iron taste of blood filling her mouth. Then black.
The snow storm had kept most people away from the ER and Dr. Kerry Weaver was using the time to finish her charting.
“Snow sure is coming down.” Dr. John Carter commented, brushing the snow out of his hair.
“Mmm hmm.” Her pen scratched across the paper, eyes still focused on the chart.
“Who’s on?” Shrugging off his jacket, he took a quick look around. “Uhhh…”
Kerry sighed and glanced up. “Me, Mark, and Doug. You. It’s been...light work.” She said with a small shrug. Nodding, Carter looked around. “Yeah, guess the snowstorm has made most of the city close down. Wasn’t Susan supposed to be on?”
“Was, but her babysitter called and I sent her home. No use staying here if there’s nothing to do.” That seemed to placate the med student who wandered off to the staff room. The silence held for another half hour when the radio started to angrily squawk.
MVA with multiple injuries. Four major five minor.
The chaos began within minutes, the ambulance doors thrown open and the gurneys streaming in one after another.
Walking beside a gurney, Kerry listened intently as the EMT described the injuries. A flash of blue caught her eye and Kerry frowned. Slate blue. She could barely make it out, the shirt was so soaked in blood, but she knew that colour. She knew that shirt. An uncomfortable heaviness weighed on her chest as they wheeled the gurney into trauma room 1. She knew that shirt, she saw that shirt earlier today. Her hair was matted with blood, her face that was normally graced with a smirk was swollen to the point of being unrecognizable. Kerry’s heart raced, sweat beading on her lower back. “MARK!” She yelled, an uncomfortable and unrecognizable feeling of panic washed over her. “It’s Susan.”
They were all well trained medical personnel, the doctors and nurses, but working on a colleague, working on a friend was something you weren’t trained in.
“Stop. Take a breath.” Kerry ordered. “Like any other patient.” But it wasn’t any other patient. Not even close. Mark intubated her with shaky hands, his lips a thin line. Peter walked in, stopping when he saw the patient on the gurney.
“Susan?” Without waiting for an answer, he rushed over, his hands brushing over her body. Kerry swallowed hard, as Conni squeezed the intubation bag. The room was filled with uncharacteristic silence as they worked.
“We need to get her up to the ER.” Peter said quickly. When no one moved, he looked around the room. “NOW.”
They watched as Conni and Lydia pushed the gurney into the elevator and it shut behind them. Peeling off the latex gloves, they walked out of the trauma room in silence.
“She’s gonna be okay.” Doug said quietly, as they walked down the hall.
No one responded.
The silence and calm was back in the ER. The snow fell, heavy and thick, covering any sounds from the outside. “I’m going to go check on her.” Mark announced getting to his feet.
Glancing at her watch, Kerry sighed. “She won’t be out yet.” She said, her voice quiet and tired.
“I can wait.” Mark retorted, tossing his chart on the table. “I just can't...we just can’t stand around and do nothing. ” The pain was evident in his voice. Kerry glanced up and could see the same pain written across his face.
“We’re her friends...well...at least most of us are.” Turning on his heel, Mark walked over to the elevator.
Fingers pressed against her temples and Kerry stared down at the chart in front of her. Tears stung in the corners of her eyes and she tossed the pen aside, reaching for her crutch. The ambulance bay was silent as she stood there, the heavy snow swirling around her. Panic, hot and angry gripped her, her chest tightening. She stared up at the sky, the slate blue sky. Leaning against the wall, Kerry closed her eyes and tried to take deep breaths. He was right, Susan was her colleague, they were barely civil let alone friendly.
Hot tears rolled down her cheeks and froze as she stood there. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there for, but her fingers were numb and her shoes soaked through when she finally mustered the energy to head back inside.
It was still quiet and she brushed the snow off her sweater before heading back to the desk. Carol gave her a soft look and stood beside her in silence for a few moments before speaking. “You can go up, you know. To visit her. I told Mark and Doug that I’d page them if anything came up.”
Kerry shrugged and picked her pen back up. “You can go up too, Carol. Susan is your friend too.”
“I know.” The curly haired brunette said with an imperceptible shrug. “But I’d be doing the same thing up there as I would be down here. At least here I can keep busy.” She replied honestly. Her dark eyes stayed trained on the Chief Resident before giving her arm a soft squeeze. “Your mascara is smeared.” She said quietly.
Quickly Kerry reached up and wiped under her eyes and gave Carol a gentle smile. “Do...do you know how she’s doing?”
“Just like you said, she’s still in surgery.”
Kerry nodded and scribbled on the chart before her heart hit the floor. “Has...anyone contacted her babysitter?” She ran her hand over her face. “Susan will be PISSED if Suzie is left with the sitter.”
“I don’t.”
Glancing at her watch, Kerry sighed. “I’m sure Susan has all of her contacts in her locker. I’ll take a look. I’m off in 20 minutes and then I’ll go get Suzie.”
“I’ll come with you.” Carol said with a gentle smile. “I’m off too.”
“Carol, it’s fine, I don’t need any help…” Kerry said, grabbing her crutch.
Dark eyebrows arched and Carol rolled her eyes. “So you’re going to carry a one-year-old and a diaper bag with your crutch?”
It was rare that Kerry Weaver would ever say that someone else was right, but Carol was right. “Alright.” She said curtly. “Let me go find if Susan has the sitter’s number.” She mumbled.
“Locker combos are in the book, top shelf right hand side.” Carol said ,grabbing an armful of supplies and starting to restock the crash carts.
The locker room was silent as Kerry found the book that stored the locker combinations. It took her a few tries before the door popped open. Bottles of water on the top shelf, a change of clothes and shoes in the bottom. Brush, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, along with some makeup were all on the top shelf. A list of numbers were taped to the inside of her locker and Kerry quickly wrote the number down on her hand.
“Damn it Susan.” She whispered softly, another tear rolling silently down her cheek. “You better pull through.” Taking a deep breath, she wiped her face with the collar of her shirt before straightening and heading to the front desk.