"They say we are asleep until we fall in love
We are children of dust and ashes
But when we fall in love we wake up
And we are a god and angels weep
But if I die here tonight
I die in my sleep"
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Benicia had one of the files in her hand as she stepped into the hall. She paused at the sight of a man with a mop, "Uh... George Buck?" He paused what he was doing, "Hi, the hospital told me I might find you here."
George immediately dropped his mop, "Hi-" He backed up a bit and almost tripped, "Uh, are you-are you one of them."
"What..." Benicia tilted her head, "Sorry, one of who?"
His hands were raised defensively, he was clearly afraid of what Benicia could do, "Please, just leave me alone."
Benicia was a little baffled and cleared her throat, "I'm not-I'm not going to do anything to you." She reassured him, "If-If anything, I'd like to help you get your job back." His defensive chance slowly dropped and he seemed a little bit relaxed but not enough, "Look, I know that you must be scared, I just need to know why you were fired from Metro-General in the first place. Maybe we can go discuss this over a cup of coffee? I'm buying."
"Uh... Sure..."
Benicia just gave him a smile and nodded to the door, "I'll wait for you to clean up. Don't feel any need to rush."
Benicia drove him to a small cafe where they both ordered coffees. Instead of discussing everything with her there, he asked if they could drive somewhere more private. Which led them to be out in front of the water.
Gently, she tugged the x-ray image out of the folder, "You were with him when this was taken?"
"Yeah." George drank some more of his coffee, "That bullet tore through his head. Not many people survive that."
"Well-" Benicia put the image back away, "I'd like to know what you're able to remember."
"John Doe." George breathed out his answer, "Guy was a total vegetable. I guess that's why they decided he only needed one nurse."
Benicia glanced down momentarily, "Any family or visitors?"
"No." George hummed and shrugged, "I mean aside from the suits."
"Suits?"
"Yeah." George leaned against the railing, "Uh, sometimes men, sometimes women. You can tell 'em 'cause they all wear the same ear pieces. That and the black suits. Kind of like, uh-"
"Do you have any idea who these suits were?"
"No..." George shifted a bit, "Uh, but they had their run of the place and they were the ones that pushed for the, uh, the DNR."
"They pushed for a do not resuscitate?" Benicia pressed her tongue against her inner cheek as her brows furrowed.
"Yeah. They had the paperwork. And I was there when the doctor pulled the plug."
"Wait-" Benicia rubbed her forehead, "I think I'm getting confused. Are you saying that this guy died?"
"Yeah, for about a minute." George answered, he saw the look on her face and continued, "It's crazy, but they say it happens sometimes. You know, one minute, flatline then boom. His heart starts back up again On its own. He just didn't wanna die. Within ten minutes of being away he reaches up and grabs my scrubs, yanks me down, and says, real close Take me home. I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have done it. I should've known it'd get me fired."
