ᵒⁿᵉ ᶜʰⁱᶜᵃᵍᵒ ˢᵗᵒʳⁱᵉˢ

II ⋅ Rayleigh

Rayleigh was looking over a chart after helping a patient. It had been a few weeks since the Amana incident, and it was about time it went back to normal, even if it was a little bit. Rayleigh had her red ED uniform on with a white coat.

"Ray, what'cha up too?" asks Maggie, leaning on the counter and looking at the young brown-haired woman looking at the chart. Rayleigh looked up from her chart and smiled at the charge nurse. "Ooh, what's that look?"

Rayleigh lets out a small sigh, putting down the chart , putting her hands on her head, and closing her eyes. "I haven't been sleeping well again, I know I've been keeping Kevin up, and I feel terrible."

"Nightmares again?"

Rayleigh nods a little bit. "Yeah, although it feels like a memory." Rayleigh looks up at Maggie. "I'm trying to think if I should let CPD know about it."

Maggie touches her shoulder gently. "Until it really makes sense, I wouldn't. It sounds like it's jumbled in your head." Rayleigh nods and touches her head. Letting out another breath, and before Rayleigh can reply to her, Maggie's phone chimes, and Maggie looks down. Rayleigh gets ready to go but then is stopped by someone else.

"Dr. Strife," Rayleigh turns around and frowns. "Oh, don't give me that look. You know what today is."

Rayleigh gives him a look as if confused. "What's today?"

"Today... Today! You're going to do your M&M today on a patient you had a few weeks ago. Don't you remember?"

Rayleigh stared at him again, and then she looked to Maggie. Maggie looks at her while she shrugs. "I... I don't remember..."

"You dealt with a patient who had a GSW in his stomach and somehow went into..."

"...The back of his heart. Dr. Stohl, no. I don't need an M&M for that! That was out of my control, I did everything right!"

Dr. Stohl raises his hands and looks at her. "Don't shoot the messenger, Dr. Strife. I'm just --"

"No!" Rayleigh shakes her head. "I'm not doing the M&M Dr. Stohl, I refuse. You can send me home if you want to, but I know I did everything right!" Maggie touches her shoulder to calm her down. "Maggie, I'm going home."

"Then you're suspended without pay for the next week."

"..." Rayleigh pauses, then begins walking off, throwing up her arms, and walks into the doctor's lounge to throw on her winter coat and then grabs her bag and storms out.

"Rayleigh,"

"Nah, not right now, Ethan."

⋆ ★

"Dr. Stohl," Maggie snapped at him, making him look at her. "It's enough that she has to deal with her PTSD, night terrors, and lack of sleep. And now you stressing her out is crossing the line." Dr. Stohl looks at Maggie in shock. "You didn't know? Of course not."

"Is she seeking therapy?"

"She doesn't need to disclose that," Ethan spoke to him. "She doesn't have a huge support system. She's doing this on her own."

"What you did was uncalled for," April added and walked by him.

"Why am I being attacked?" Dr. Stohl questioned everyone, looking around to the doctors and nurses standing before him. "I was merely stating."

"No, you were commanding someone who is going through a difficult time to remember what happened back a few months ago." Maggie stated. "Lay off her next time."

⋆ ★

Rayleigh walks into her apartment and locks the door when she shuts it and throws her bag onto the table with her keys, and she walks to the couch and sits down putting her head in her hands and closes her eyes while crying. She was so frustrated with Dr. Stohl that she couldn't keep her feelings in check.