Emergency Room Romance

The Next Chapter?

*Blair’s POV*

My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool and it took all my effort just to open my eyes. Where was I? It took me a few minutes to realise that I was in one of the rooms in the hospital and in bed. I felt the oxygen pipe and the drip and tried to remember what had happened. There had been the fire…it was spreading fast…one of the patients had an asthma attack…there was a lot of smoke…I was telling everyone to get out…then my mind went blank. I didn’t feel in any real pain. My chest ached somewhat, but nothing else. I didn’t see any physical injuries aside from the bruise that Charlie had left on my arm the other day. Why was I here?

The door opened and I was more than relieved to see Chase looking at a board. He looked up and smiled when he saw me staring at him. “Hey, glad to see you’re awake Blair. How’re you feeling?”

“Dazed, confused.” I coughed hard in an attempt to clear my dry throat, but it aggravated my chest more. “Ow.” Chase poured some water from a jug by the bed into a plastic cup and handed it to me. “Thanks.” I said with a small smile once I’d drank some.

“Do you remember what happened?” He asked softly as he read my stats from the machine and noted them down.

“There was the fire.”

“And?”

“Blank.” I admitted.

He looked at me and then moved around the other side of the bed, pouring me some more water and putting the pen and chart down on the bottom of my bed. “Blair, you didn’t come out of that fire with the rest of the east wing. I found you unconscious right next to where the fire was beginning to spread. You’ve been unconscious for nearly eighteen hours.” I could see the concern in his green eyes as he spoke and told me of the incident.

“What’s the damage?” I wouldn’t be in this bed if there wasn’t any.

“Acute hypoxia, minor upper and lower respiratory tract injury, hence the cough…you also had very slight traces of cyanide poisoning in your system so they administered hydroxocobalamin to you yesterday evening and it’s pretty much wiped it out now from what the test results showed this morning. There was also a pretty nasty cut on the back of your head that one of the interns noticed this morning when they came to test the blood gasses again. You may have or had a mild concussion.” I sighed and nodded, understanding every word he said. “We think the cut probably came from falling debris. I mean, where you were found there was equipment scattered. It seems likely the blow to the head knocked you out, rather than the smoke causing everything.”

I tried to think back and I vaguely remembered rushing to get some equipment to take outside, in case of patient relapses…then it got hazy again. “I guess your theory is right.” Something suddenly dawned on me. “Wait, you came back in to find me?”

“You wouldn’t leave anyone in there, so why should we leave you?” Chase said simply with a smile as he carried on examining me. “You gave us all a scare though. Open.” I opened my mouth and he shone the small torch inside. “It’s looking a little irritated back there. You may need some antibiotics just to eliminate chances of infection.”

“Where’s Emily?”

“Mike’s got her. Don’t worry, I talked to him last night and explained everything. He’s coming in later, but Emily will be staying with, Lily, is it?”

“Yeah. Lily’s his girlfriend.”

Chase sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at me. “Why didn’t you say you were looking for a new place to live?”

I was taken aback by his question. “I didn’t think it was relevant to anything.” I told him, sipping the water from the cup to try and soothe my aching throat.

“Mike told me it all. Your worries, your finances…you should have said something and I could have helped you find a place.” He said sincerely.

“I found tons of places, but none of them were suitable to raise Emily in. Plus, I need one near a school for her and they’re expensive these days.” My voice was hoarse still and I didn’t like it.

“Is there no one else you can move in with?”

“You know I barely have time for a social life Robert. Mike was practically the only person I knew outside of Princeton Plainsboro.” I admitted, realising just how much of my life was the hospital.

Chase looked across at the closed door and then back to me. “Why don’t you move in with me for a little while then? Take the pressure off rushing through it.”

“Robert, I can’t do that,” I shook my head and drank the last of the water from the cup.

“Why not? My place is plenty big enough and it means that when Emily isn’t in the crèche then there will always be someone around to look after her when you’re on call.” He’d actually thought this through rather well.

“You’d have to put up with me twenty four hours a day.”

“I enjoy your company! And if I did have to put up with you twenty four hours a day then at least I’d be able to keep my eye on you. You appear to be a magnet for trouble.” He said with a joking smile.

“I guess I can think about it.” I said, finally succumbing.

“Good. I’d like it.” He said, standing up from the bed just as the door opened.

“Rachel?” I looked shocked at the blonde woman standing there.

“Mike phoned me.” She glanced across at Chase.

“I’ll leave you alone for a bit. If you need anything, they’ve given me you, so give me a page.” Chase said, slowly walking backwards towards the door with my chart tucked under his arm.

I nodded, thanked him and then looked back at the woman I hadn’t seen in almost six years. My sister.

“How are you feeling?” She asked, pulling the plastic chair in the corner closer.

“Why are you here?” I asked, more interesting in my question than hers.

“Mike phoned me at work. Mentioned you caught in a fire at the hospital where you worked. I flew in on the next flight.” I’d forgotten that Rachel worked and lived in San Francisco these days. “I called dad and the boys too. They’ll be in at some point.”

“I don’t understand. No one speaks to me for over five years and suddenly you’re all rushing to my sickbed?” I was more than confused and my head was pounding now.

“You’re our baby sister Blair. We may have acted like kids over what happened--”

“What happened? You mean me bringing a child into a world with no family for her?!”

“I’m sorry Blair. We made a mistake. We all made a mistake, but now we realise just how much you mean to us.”

“You can’t come running and expect forgiveness just because I was in an accident. You all left me to fend for myself for nearly six years without so much as a phone call.”

“We’re sorry Blair. We truly are. Mom was adamant that you were off the rails, a lost cause. I mean, you were always pushing yourself too far and-”

“So you thought I’d lost the plot and left me to that? Great family support system.”

“Listen to me Blair. We know what happened and how we treated you is unforgivable and we’re not asking you to forgive us right away. We just want to be a proper family again, with you.”

I wanted to believe her, I wanted to pretend that this was a kids story and that everything would work out happily ever after. She slipped her hand in mine, careful not to catch the IV drip and squeezed it gently, reassuringly.

“So, who’s the cute Aussie then?” She asked with a smile and a wink.

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, even if I did cough straight after it. That was the Rachel I remembered and loved so much.

Maybe, Chase was right. Maybe it was time I opened up more and maybe this, and possibly moving in with him, would be what I needed to balance my life out…