Emergency Room Romance

Same Old Routine

“I do not have the time for this.” I looked around the crowded ER as I entered, still fifteen minutes until my actual shift began. There were patients everywhere and I had the pleasure of watching in disgust as one threw up on the polished floor right in front of me. I stepped around the pool of sick, instructing an intern to get it cleaned up, as I moved towards the office, hoping that Dawson had a pretty decent explanation for why we were overrun and no help had been called in.

“Blair, thank god you’re here. I could do with some extra hands.”

“You don’t say? Why didn’t you page me?” I folded my arms and stared my older, bigger brother down.

“I had it all under control. There were a few people waiting to be seen to and then the patient I had begun to bleed out and things got hectic between me stabilising him and getting back on track out there.” Dawson had big bags under his eyes and I could see the stress in his eyes.

“Oh you have a lot to learn still.” I told him, rolling my sleeves up and stepping into the corridor.

“You mean this is manageable?” He seemed a little shocked,

“Give us two hours and I can have this place empty again. Most of this lot are fakers.” I picked the first file out of the tray and called out the name on the top.

An hour later, I had my arms soaked in blood and felt a little out of sync. Maybe there had been fewer hypochondriacs than I had anticipated and maybe I was almost at maximum capacity in my unit. I peeled the gloves from my hands and binned them, snapping on a new pair as I moved to inspect the next patient. To my surprise, the tray was empty and Wilson was leaning against the station. “Where did the people go?” I asked, looking around.

“I came to see if you wanted to grab some lunch with me and instead I saw a circus of accidents.”

“I know. Dawson got swept up in a real emergency.” I pushed my hair back and slumped in a seat behind the computer. “Where did they all go?”

“I’m not an expert in emergencies, but I am a doctor. I took a few into a side room and examined them for you. Now, how about some lunch?”

“Is this you trying to check up on me again?” I smirked and grabbed some paperwork from the printer. “Because seriously, James, I’m fine.”

“I just want to enjoy lunch with a friend. The fact that she refuses to take a vacation may come up, but aside from that, it’s just a nice reunion,”

“You’ve been talking to Chase.”

“You need a break Blair. The court case is next month and you haven’t taken a day off since what happened.”

“Because I’m fine. Look, I know everyone was expecting some woman to show up the next morning, completely unstable and unable to work, but I’m not that person anymore. Charlie came, he attacked me and I dealt with it. Once it was over, I had nothing to haunt me anymore.”

“Blair, you had two cracked ribs, multiple contusions and a headache that lasted three days. If that doesn’t earn time off then I don’t know what does.”

“Cuddy offered me the time off, but why take it when there was nothing wrong? Physically, I looked a state, but a bit of cover up and things were grand.” I followed him towards the canteen, ignoring the concern in his eyes.

“What about Chase? Maybe a vacation would do him some good.”

“Then tell him to take one.”

“He’s been worrying about you ever since that day.” We stood in line and I balanced a tray on my arm.

“I’ve told him, I’m fine.”

“But he’s not. He was scared you were about to drop dead.” Wilson ordered his food and then looked back at me. “You forget Blair, you’re not alone anymore. Other people need to be considered.”

“I’m just not used to it.”

“Well get used to it because that guy is going nowhere.”

“And how do you know?” I quirked my eyebrow and sat down.

“I just have a sixth sense about it.” He pulled a face at his food. “Besides, have a vacation, be selfish for once and spoil yourself with long sleeps and late nights.”

“I don’t think I know what they are anymore.” I laughed, moving my hair back.

“How’s it been with House?”

“He’s…leaving me be.” I glanced around, expecting him to suddenly appear like a bad penny. “I don’t know. He’s not bothering me lately. Maybe he does have a conscience after all.”

Wilson scoffed and then smiled. “You really are alright, aren’t you?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m fine. If one more person asks me that then I think I’m going to kill them! What happened, is over. It’s nothing to get worked up about and it’s nothing that I can change. At the end of the day, I have Emily to look after and Robert to care about. I don’t have a reason to wallow in misery when I have all of that. Some people have nothing.” I told him, sick of people tiptoeing around me like I was going to have a breakdown any second now.

“You’re full of surprises, you know that Blair?” Wilson said, smiling a little.