Consequences
Part One
By Céindreadh
ceindreadh@eircom.net

Mark and Elizabeth were walking to the hospital when Dave zipped past them on his bike. “Hi Dr. Greene, hi Dr. Corday, bye Dr. Greene, bye Dr. Corday,” he called as he passed.

“Slow down Malucci,” shouted Mark  “Or you’ll have an ….” His voice trailed off as he watched Dave slide on a patch of gravel. He tried to right himself, but failed and skidded a few meters along the ground stopping just short of a brick wall.

“Oh my god,” said Elizabeth, as they both ran to Daves side. By the time they got there Dave was trying to sit up, with a grimace of pain on his face.

Elizabeth and Mark crouched down beside him. 

“Try not to move Dave,” said Mark. “Elizabeth go get a gurney from the hospital”

“I’m fine Dr Greene,” said Dave. “Just a few scrapes and bruises. Nothing major.”

He tried to prop himself up on his elbows, but let out an involuntary yelp of pain when he moved his right arm.

Mark pushed him gently but firmly back to the ground. “You just stay still until Elizabeth gets back with some help.” He paused as he made a quick assessment of Dave’s injuries. “You know maybe now you’ll consider wearing a helmet”

“It wouldn’t have helped, cause I didn’t hit my head. Now shin guards and elbow pads, they would have helped.”

A few minutes later Elizabeth returned with Malik and a gurney.

Dave tried not to cry out as they carefully moved him onto the gurney. It was a tie between his ankle and his arm as to which was causing him most pain. “Be gentle with me please,” he said. “And hey could someone bring my bike along”

“What have we got?” asked Luka as Dave was wheeled into Trauma one. 

“Thirty year old cyclist, no helmet, skidded on a patch of gravel. Possible broken ankle and wrist, plus severe abrasions to his right arm. No head injuries or loss of consciousness. He’s all yours,” said Mark.

Luka did a double take when he saw who the patient was. “So Dave. You decided to see what the E.R. was like from a different angle?”

“Yeah that’s right. So far all I can see is that the ceiling needs painting.”

“I can see there’s nothing wrong with his mouth anyway,” commented Haleh

Luka smiled and then he and the nurses went about their usual routine. They tried not to think about the last time one of their colleagues had been on that table needing their help.

Some time later.

Luka came in with Daves x-rays. “Good news,” he said indicating the films. “Your ankle is badly sprained and you’ve taken most of the skin off your arm, but nothing seems to be broken or permanently damaged.”

“What about my bike?” asked Dave.

“Malik brought it into the lounge. It’s in better shape than you are.”

“Lets hope the chief doesn’t see it there.”

“It’s ok. Kerry is in a staff meeting upstairs. She probably won’t be finished for a few more hours. Now, I’m going to give you some anti-inflammatories and some antibiotics. Haleh is going to finish cleaning and dressing your arm abrasion. Yosh will strap up your ankle and then we’ll see about moving you to somewhere a bit quieter until you’re feeling better.”

“Don’t worry Doctor Dave,” said Haleh with a grin. “We’ll take real good care of you,”

“Now where do we keep the foleys in here?”

Luka could hear Dave’s groans as he left the room.

Half an hour later Mark and Elizabeth were at the reception desk when Luka walked up.

“So how is our resident stunt rider?” asked Elizabeth.  

“Dave?” said Luka. “He’ll be hurting for a few days but there’s no serious damage. I had Haleh move him into the lounge to free up Trauma one,”

“You’ve just given me a mental picture of Haleh scooping Dave up like a sack of potatoes and throwing him onto the couch,” said Elizabeth.

Mark considered this for a moment. “Yeah, I’ve got it too.”

“Wouldn’t he be better off if you sent him home?” asked Elizabeth. “The lounge is hardly conducive to a relaxing atmosphere.”

“I think he’s more disturbed by his accident than he is showing. If I send him home he will be on his own, brooding over  it. There will be enough people in and out to divert him but he will still get some rest.”

“Fair enough,” said Mark.

“I must be going,” said Elizabeth. “By the way, Kerry’s meeting must have finished early. Here she comes. Bye.”

With that Elizabeth made her escape. Not that she was avoiding Kerry, but after a meeting involving Romano, Kerry was not usually happy to see anyone remotely connected to him.

“Good afternoon Dr Weaver,” said Luka.

“I’m not sure there’s anything good about it,” replied Kerry. “I’ve just spent the last hour trying to explain to the board why we need an increase in our budget for next year. They say we’re under budget for this year so we obviously don’t need as much money.”

“Maybe we should go on a spending spree and use up all our quota,” suggested Mark. “That way we can show them that we’ll need more for next year.”

Kerry glared at him.

“I think I have patients waiting,” he said and made a strategic withdrawal.

Kerry examined the board. “Anything I should know Dr Kovac?” she asked as she scanned the details. Her voice trailed off.  She looked a Luka. “Tell me that’s just a coincidence,” she said as she pointed to D MALUCCI written in bright letters.

“No coincidence, it is our Malucci. But it’s ok. He just had a minor mishap on his bicycle. He should be resting in the lounge now.” As Luka spoke he quickly erased Daves name from the board. 

Dave was sprawled on the couch trying to find a position that would avoid putting any weight on either his ankle or his arm, and still be comfy when Kerry walked in. 

“Dr. Malucci,” she said. “I heard you had an accident on your bike.”

“Yeah chief. I skidded on some gravel and slid into a wall. And before you say anything, I didn’t hit my head on anything, so wearing a helmet wouldn’t have helped me.”

“Actually I didn’t know you weren’t wearing a helmet. I just came to see how you were doing.”

“I’m not too bad. My arm and leg are all patched up. But I’m getting blisters already from the crutch” He held out his hand to Kerry, who could see that the skin was already starting to redden.

“You know if you pad the handle with foam or even wrap a length of bandage around it, it’ll make it a lot easier.”

“Why thanks. I’ll try that.” He paused for a few seconds. “But I notice you don’t have any on your crutch?”

Kerry smiled ruefully. “That’s because I’ve had mine so long my hands are well calloused. The skin on the palm is as hard as nails.” She waved her hand in his direction.

To her surprise Dave took hold of her hand and examined it. “Looks mighty fine to me,” he said.

To her horror Kerry felt herself start to blush. As the colour suffused her face, she looked at Dave, expecting to see amusement in his face, but all that was there was genuine warmth. He held her gaze for a few seconds, before looking away, thankfully allowing her to regain control of herself.

“I…I’d better go now,” she managed to stammer. “I’ll check back later…see how you’re doing. Ok?”

“Thanks chief. I won’t be going anywhere.”

She hastily limped over to the door.

Kerry closed the door to the lounge and leaned back against it briefly. The blush had faded, but her pulse was still racing. She took a few deep breaths and moved away.

If anyone noticed her racing emotions or the way her crutch stuttered so erratically on the floor they didn’t mention it.