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FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING |
First Time For Everything |
Author's Note: I apologize in advance if the medical information presented is inaccurate or unrealistic. Although this series is set in the year 2000, I wrote it during Season 5.
John Carter gulped down the rest of his milk and quickly got up from the table. "Sorry to eat and run. I didn't realize how late it was." He grabbed his boots and sat down again, tying the laces with nimble fingers. "Just leave the dishes in the sink and I'll do them in the morning."
Kerry Weaver finished chewing a mouthful of baked potato and sour cream before replying. "Don't worry about it. Just get going." She waved a hand at him. "You get double dish washing duty tomorrow."
He grinned at her as he reached for his coat. "Have I mentioned that you make a mean salad?"
"Stop trying to butter me up, Carter. And don't forget your hat. It's a cold one, tonight."
"Yes, Mom." He pulled on his gloves and was ready to face the frigid night air. "Don't wait up for me."
"Ha ha." She went back to her dinner as Carter hurried out the front door.
The blast of cold air shocked his system and he stopped for a moment, shivering. Whoa, saying it was cold seemed like the understatement of the year. When did Chicago become comparable to the Arctic? And this was only November. It could only get worse from here. He tugged his knit cap down farther over his ears. He started to step forward and then stopped. What was that sound? Sounded like a cat. He looked down and found a pair of green eyes staring up at him. Now, that had to be the cutest kitten he'd ever seen.
"Well, hello there. Where did you come from, kitty?" He crouched down and removed one glove, holding his hand out. The kitten sniffed tentatively at his fingers and then a small, pink tongue darted out to lick his hand. The kitten was all black, except for four white paws and a white-tipped tail. It almost looked as if her feet and tail had been dipped in milk. The kitten meweled again piteously, her breath appearing in little white puffs.
Carter exhaled slowly, considering his options. He couldn't just leave the poor thing out in the cold. The kitten would freeze to death overnight. She must be lost, or more likely a stray. He wondered how Kerry felt about cats. One way to find out. He scooped up the kitten and turned back into the house.
Kerry heard the front door slam and she glanced up from the newspaper. "What did you forget, Carter?" she called out. She raised her eyebrows as he walked towards her holding what appeared to be a kitten. "Oh, no. What is this?"
"I found her on the doorstep. She must be lost or something." The kitten seemed comfortable in his grasp and he stroked the soft fur behind her ears. She purred contentedly, a low and somehow soothing sound.
"Well, it can't stay here." Kerry removed her glasses and frowned at him. "Absolutely not."
"Come on, Kerry. At least just for the night. She'll die out in the cold." He tried to give her his most persuasive look.
She sighed. "It's not that I don't like cats. I'm allergic."
"Oh. You seem fine."
"Only because you're ten feet away from me. Get any closer and you'll witness a great sneezing fit, among other things."
"If I had the time, I'd ask one of the neighbours to take her in, but I'm already so late..."
Kerry pushed her chair back and stood up. She didn't look pleased but her voice was gentle. "All right, you've convinced me. You better get going, Carter. I'll take care of it."
"Yeah? You sure?" He always knew she was a softie beneath her tough-as-nails exterior. Well, maybe he hadn't *always* known, but he'd certainly come to know a different side of her as her boarder.
"I'm sure." Her look softened. "She *is* adorable. Let me take her."
As Carter handed the kitten over, her legs splayed out comically. It only took a moment for the kitten to relax again in Kerry's arms.
"She likes you." He watched as the kitten batted at a loose thread on Kerry's sweater.
"Ouch." Kerry winced as tiny claws dug into her skin. She gingerly lifted the offending paw and looked up at Carter. "Go," she ordered.
"Right. Thanks, Kerry." As he got to the door, he heard Kerry sneeze. Twice. He smiled to himself and headed out into the night.
***************
"Give me the bullet!" Carter said sharply, as the gurney was wheeled towards Trauma 1.
"Twenty-three year old male, GSW to the chest. He's lost 500 cc's of blood. Gave him 15 litres of O2 and started two IV's of normal saline. BP's 70 over 50, pulse 140 and thready," the paramedic named Eric responded in rapid-fire delivery.
They entered the trauma room and prepared to move the young man.
"On my count, 1, 2, 3...," Carter said, as many hands transferred the patient to the hospital gurney.
"Happened right outside his apartment," Eric said, shaking his head. "Attempted mugging. Name's Michael Travis. His mom's on the way."
With this, the EMTs left the room. They had done their duty and now the young man was in the hands of the ER team.
"Can I lead with this one?" Lucy Knight asked. She saw Carter hesitate and she said firmly, "I'm ready."
"Ok, Lucy. Go for it," he agreed, stepping to the side so she could position herself.
"Let's get a CBC, blood typed and crossmatched for six units, and some O neg going," she said quickly. "Keep his IV's wide open." She checked for breath sounds. "Weak breath sounds on the right. I need to intubate."
"I'll do it," Carter jumped in.
"I need a chest tube tray, seven and a half..." Lucy began.
Lily interrupted her. "BP's falling, 40 palp. He's going into v-fib!"
Carter immediately started compressions while Lucy grabbed the defibrillator paddles. "Charge to 200...clear!" She shocked him and watched the monitor. There was no response. "300...clear!" Again, no response. "Charge to 360...clear!" Nothing. The monitor flatlined.
"He's asystole! No pulse," Haleh said urgently.
Lucy took over the external heart massage while Carter finished intubating. "Give him an amp of epy and one milligram of atropine."
They did their best to bring the man back to life, but to no avail. Lucy's arms were aching from the continuous compressions. "How long has he been down?" she asked. She'd lost track of time.
"It's been 33 minutes," Carter replied. "It's time to call it."
Lucy knew he was right, but she had to convince herself first. She looked into his pupils. Fixed and dilated. She checked for a pulse and found none. She finally listened for a heartbeat, hoping against hope...but all was silent. She looked up at the clock. "Time of death 19:35," she announced wearily.
One by one, they filed out of the room until only Carter and Lucy remained. "You did great, Lucy."
"Yeah, great," she echoed softly, staring at the dead body of Michael Travis.
"I mean it. You told me you were ready, and you were. You did everything right. The poor guy didn't have a chance." Lucy remained silent and Carter moved to stand in front of her, partially blocking her view of the body. "Hey..." He waited until she looked up at him. "I'm proud of you."
The barest ghost of a smile came to her lips. "Thanks."
Jerry pushed open the door, his voice unusually somber. "Mrs. Travis is here. She's asking about her son."
"Ok, Jerry. I'll be right there," Carter said, as Jerry left them alone once more.
"I'll do it. I'll go talk to her."
"Are you sure? I can come with you," he offered.
Lucy shook her head. "No, I'll do it," she repeated. She removed her bloody gloves, gown and goggles and disposed of them. She found Mrs. Travis by the admit desk, looking lost and scared. She led the mother down the hall and sat down with her.
Carter watched the two of them from a distance. Mrs. Travis leaned forward in her chair, covering her face with her hands. She started weeping, the sound of her uncontrollable sobs filling the hallway. Lucy put an arm around her, and the older woman turned to cry into her shoulder.
Mark Greene came to stand by Carter's side. "I hear Lucy did pretty well in there," he remarked.
"Yeah, her first time running a trauma. She was calm and collected. I was impressed."
"Well, she had a good teacher."
Carter thought back to when Lucy had been his med student. That had been two years ago. "I haven't been her teacher for a long time."
"Sure you have. Not in the official sense, but you've helped her along. Just like I helped you when you were a first-year resident." Mark gave him a good natured smile. "That's what being a teaching hospital is all about. And as the chief resident, you need to remember that."
"I know. I mean, I do, Mark. Sometimes I think, 'how would Mark Greene have handled this when he was ER chief?' and I go from there." Carter said this half-jokingly, but it was close to the truth. This position was still fairly new to him, and he found that line of thinking sometimes helped when he was uncertain about something.
Mark chuckled. "Well, I'm flattered, Carter. But you'll find your own way. It just takes a bit of time." With that, he moved on to check on his patient.
Carter looked back down the hall to find Lucy coming towards him. He noticed how strained she looked.
"She wants to see her son, but I stalled her. Can we get someone to cover him up?"
"Of course. I'll take care of it."
"Ok. I'll stay with Mrs. Travis."
Carter watched her walk away. He was definitely proud of her.
***************
Lucy stared blankly into space. The cup of tea she had made for herself sat untouched on the table in front of her. Was Carter right? Had she really done everything she could? Maybe she should have tried giving him more epinephrine. Maybe she should have continued the external heart massage for longer.
She inwardly scolded herself. This line of thinking wasn't helping her. She was tired. She didn't remember what it felt like not to be tired. She used to enjoy the fast pace of working in the ER. That's partly why she had chosen the emergency medicine sub-I. It suited her personality and she thrived on the challenge. Now she was a full-fledged intern, and the first time she ran a trauma, the patient died. Deep down, she knew it wasn't her fault. But that didn't make her feel any better.
"Excuse me." Carter held the lounge door open as a nurse squeezed past him. Before he stepped in, his eyes roamed over the faces of the various doctors and nurses milling about. His gaze came to rest on the back of a familiar blonde head.
She was leaning forward now, staring into her tea cup. Her short, bobbed hair swept across her cheeks, hiding her peripheral vision. She suddenly noticed a pair of legs in green scrubs that hadn't been there before. She looked up to see Carter sitting across from her.
"How long have you been there?" she asked, obviously startled.
He gave a short laugh. "Don't worry, you're not that out of it. I just sat down now."
She finally took a sip of her tea. It was lukewarm. She felt his concerned gaze on her face and leaned back into the chair, holding the cup in her lap. "I'm fine," she stated.
"Yeah?"
"You don't have to tell me it's not my fault. I already know that."
"But you still feel responsible," he guessed, judging by the troubled look in her eyes.
"Maybe. A little," she admitted. She uttered an almost inaudible sigh. "But I'll get over it."
Carter was about to say more when Jerry strolled in, zeroing in on Lucy. "Lucy, Brad's here."
Her eyes flew up to Jerry's face. "Now?"
"Yeah. He's been sitting in chairs for a while. I knew you were kind of, uh, busy, so I didn't come get you right away."
"I'll be right out." Lucy took one more swallow of her tea and got up, rinsing out her cup.
"I thought you were on until seven tomorrow night," Carter said, starting to make himself some coffee.
"I am," she murmured, wondering what Brad was doing here. She wasn't even halfway through her 36-hour shift.
"Well, nice of him to visit, then."
"Mmm," she said absently. She brushed her fingers through her hair and tucked the strands behind her ears. Forcing a more pleasant look on her face, she headed to the waiting area.
She spotted him before he saw her coming. "Hi, Brad," she said brightly.
Bradford Prescott turned his head at the sound of her voice and rose to meet her. A smile flitted across his handsome features and he gave her a brief kiss on the lips. "Finally! You look like hell. I see they're still running you ragged around here."
Lucy's smile faded several watts. "I'm pretty busy," she agreed. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean? We're seeing a movie tonight, or have you forgotten?" He sounded annoyed.
"You must have gotten the date mixed up. That's Thursday night."
"What? Are you sure? I've got it written down right here." Brad placed his briefcase on the chair and removed his black leather appointment book. He flipped a few pages and showed her the entry written in red ink: 'Meet Lucy at the hospital, 8 pm'.
And indeed, it was written under Tuesday, November 7, 2000. She was slightly amused that he actually needed to show this to her.
"Well, you should have written that under Thursday. I'm not off until seven tomorrow night."
"Oh." He tossed the book back into the briefcase and closed it with a snap. "I guess we got our signals crossed."
"I guess. I might be able to get away for a quick bite to eat, though. How about that?" she said, feeling bad that he had come all this way.
He grimaced. "If you're going to suggest Doc Magoo's, I think I'll pass. I can't stomach the grease."
"All right. There's always the hospital cafeteria..." Her voice trailed off as he glanced at his watch, shaking his head.
"If you don't mind, I'd rather wait until Thursday."
"Sure." *It's just as well* Lucy thought. She didn't feel hungry anyway and she certainly wouldn't be much company tonight.
"I'll give you a call later." He dropped a quick kiss on her cheek and went on his way.
Lucy wandered over to the admit desk and found Jerry. "How's the board looking? I'd like to get some sleep."
"Go ahead. It's covered."
"What's open?"
"Uh, Exam 4. Where's Brad?"
"He left. He got my schedule mixed up and thought we were going out tonight."
"Oh. Uh, how long have you known this guy?"
"About three months," Lucy replied. Brad was the son of a business associate of her mom's. The last time her mom had come to Chicago had been for a business meeting, and somehow she had set the two of them up. They had gotten along well and had been casually seeing each other ever since. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason," Jerry said quickly. "Just curious."
"Well, you know where to find me."
"What was *that* about?" Chuny asked, as Lucy walked away. She had overheard most of the conversation and was now giving Jerry a strange look.
"What? Just asking a question," he said defensively. "There's something about the guy..."
"Who, Brad? He seems nice. He's cute!" Chuny perched on a stool to use the computer.
"He just rubs me the wrong way," Jerry muttered.
"Awww, you're getting all protective over Lucy. That's so sweet!" Chuny gushed.
Jerry rolled his eyes. He was sorry he'd opened his mouth.
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