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[1twntyovreighty]

Rick was aware that Chris was away taking some personal time - and he really couldn't deny his little brother. He just wasn't exactly swimming in visitors or with anything particularly constructive to do. Even the TV seemed to suck, and he mostly slept to try and just kill the boredom. It didn't help he couldn't sleep without still some discomfort

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[halfway2heaven]

Bella smiled at her patient in amusement. He was always with the quips, and she would be lying if she didn't admit it was a little refreshing. Most of her patients struggled to hold onto their humour, which was completely understandable. These Deleo brothers, though. They had a reputation. She was in scrubs again this time, light green with bright purple Converse shoes. She wasn't long out of another surgery, her hair still tied back at the nape of her neck. She was just trying to get through her surgical rounds and Rick was the last on her list. She wanted to be able to spend a bit more time with him, hoping he might want to talk with his brother away for the night.

She picked up his chart. "I always miss my favourite patients," she joked back, reading over his obs. She wasn't really happy with his progress. His wounds were healing quite quickly, but internally, he had pain and discomfort. There didn't seem to be any drug allergies, so that had been crossed off the list. Just, the more that was crossed off the list, the more it pointed back to the cancer and the more she needed him to heal quick to get the first round of chemo into him. "Still not feeling so great, huh? I think I'm going to put you on a PCA. Patient-controlled analgesia. Means you get a little pump attached to you and you can push a button to get a dose of the medication whenever you feel you need it. But don't get excited. It'll cut off when you reach a max."

[1twntyovreighty]

Rick made a face, but gave a slight nod. Just what he wanted, more drugs. He wasn't sure if he'd actually wind up using it, but he supposed it was probably better than putting up with the pain. He knew just as well as she did what the pain probably meant.

He wasn't going to escape cancer.

He smirked lightly as he gave her a wink. "I'm already your favourite, huh? It's because of my gorgeous insides, isn't it? One look at my organs, and you're gone."

[halfway2heaven]

"Hey, I know that look," Bella told him softly and came to stand beside him. She rested her hand lightly on his shoulder giving it a small rub. "If we get your pain under control, it will give me the best idea of what your medication regime should be. If you're in pain, you're weaker and you'll take more to fight this. I wouldn't be giving you any drugs unless I was sure you needed it. You need it. I warned you about the stomach pain, that will ease over the next few days, I'm sure of it. Once you start eating a normal diet again, too, we actually might be able to let you go home. Some people find it easier to recuperate away from a hospital."

She laughed, and gave him a feigned look of disapproval. "I really need to watch you, don't I? One day I'm going to bend over and find your hand up my skirt. Best not say you're all my favourites. Oops, did I say that out loud? You and your organs need to listen to doctor's advice."

[1twntyovreighty]

"I hate you doctors. You're too good at reading people. Still, you're good at your job. No denying. I'll take the drugs. I'm just not sure of what's going to happen if you do send me home. I don't exactly have one. Not here in Miami." Rick gave a slight shrug. "I came here to crash at Dave's and found myself in hospital instead. Guess you can't get rid of me easy."

Rick sucked on his bottom lip as his gaze travelled down her body reflexively and his eyes lit up. "Until you just suggested it, I didn't exactly plan on doing something that crass. I before a little lead up to the main event. Maybe just a stolen kiss when you next check my vitals." Rick gave her a mock salute. "Me and my organs will fall into line."

[halfway2heaven]

"You do, actually," Bella corrected as she gently took his hand to have a look at the IV line. She rested it back down on the covers and went over to collect the treatment trolley with a stool so she could take the line out and replace it with the other for the morphine pump. "I spent a little bit of time talking to Chris before he left. He wants you to stay at his place. Who am I to pinch your attentions your brother, hm?"

She pointed at him with a syringe before she drew up some saline into it to flush the line. "Ah, see. We have you figured out. That's why I get nurses to take your obs. Do all my dirty work. You and your ograns, I actually need to have a look over in a minute, make sure you aren't breaking out in any weird rashes on me or growing hair in interesting places."

[1twntyovreighty]

His eyebrows rose up as he watched her. "Chris wants me staying with him? Are you sure?"

He gave a hoarse chuckle. "See, that's where your plan falls down. The nurses aren't doing anything for me, not enough to distract me from you, Bella." Rick waggled his eyebrows. "I'm all yours. Touch me anywhere you need to."

[halfway2heaven]

Bella adjusted her gloves between her fingers so the latex was smooth. She nodded. "I know I phase out and have brain farts sometimes, but I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine him saying that. Especially not when he said it to me seven times in the course of the conversation. His apartment is up a few stories apparently, but it has an elevator, no stairs in his place, either. I take it he hasn't discussed it with you, then? He might be worried you'll say no."

"Oh, I will. Don't you worry, Deleo. And I have cold hands, too." She sat forward a little and placed his hand on her knee so she could intently get the canula out without hurting him. It had been in a few days now and was a little red around the insertion sight. Definitely time for a new one. "It says in your notes you've been feeling a little nauseated and uncomfortable. Has that eased at all, is it getting better, worse? I don't want you to think I'm downplaying any of your symptoms here, because I'm not, but when someone is worried or stressed, it can manifest physically. Belly pain is one of the prime reactions. Besides the obvious, is there anything specific you've been upset or concerned about?"

[1twntyovreighty]

"Or maybe he's worried I'll say yes and then he'll get stuck with me," Rick suggested as he glanced away briefly. A frown crossed his features and he let out a long sigh. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to tell Chris. His brother shouldn't get lumped with taking care of him when they still couldn't get through a conversation without fighting. It was about small steps. Crashing at Chris' was a giant leap. Especially given the Serena factor. "He didn't mention anything..."

Rick tried not to look too pleased at having his hand placed on her knee. He might have been sick, but he was still a man and he was definitely crushing hard on the oncologist. He was also just trying to remember what Chris said so he didn't push his luck. "Which obvious are we talking about here? Because I think you forget my brother's an obvious stress. Not like we're the picture perfect sibling team. It's alright... I think it's eased just a little."

[halfway2heaven]

Bella paused at peeling the tape away from Rick's hand and met his gaze. "No, Rick. That's not it. I deal with a lot of seriously ill peoples' relatives on a daily basis. I see every possible kind there is. I know the good the ones and the bad ones. Chris wants to do everything he can to help you, to make you feel better, to make sure you're okay. You do need to talk to him about it, of course, but he's trying so hard with all this to breach that gap between you to. He's just a little lost and floundering. You know, I don't even think he's been back to his place since you were admitted. I think he's been showering and changing at work. I have a friend who is a nurse in MT1 and she mentioned it."

She smiled a little. "Family always are. It's human nature. Do you mean he's a good stress or a bad stress, because believe me, there is a difference."

[1twntyovreighty]

Rick glanced back at her, his tired eyes searching over her face to see if she was just trying to feed him some lines to make him better. She wasn't that kind of a person, though. The warning bells did ring at the mention of a nurse friend though, and he narrowed his gaze slightly. "She's not Kathy, is she? And Chris isn't alone... He'll have someone making sure he at least gets a little rest. And hopefully drag him out of here if he spends too much time here. He doesn't need to crash and burn on my account."

"There's good stress?" he couldn't help but ask. "I've fucked Chris over a lot. I'm not denying it. I just want him to be okay, and to be happy. And I don't want to mess his life up more."

[halfway2heaven]

Bella laughed and hook her hand, holding her finger up before she went back to getting the canula out. "No. No, it's not Kathy. She fills out in MT1 from over here somewhere and I really don't think she would be the sort of person I would be friends with without wanting to throttle her occasionally." She got the needle out and set it into the small dish beside her, pressing against the wound with a cotton ball to stop the bleeding. "Is this Dr Zambrano? I've heard the rumours about Chris and her. They seem close. Still, he seems stubborn enough. If he wants to stick around, he will."

"Well, he's not okay. I can tell you that right off the bat. But something would be seriously wrong if he was. He would be inhuman. He really cares about you, you know. I get a feeling you would mess his life up more if you didn't let him do what he needs to do and look after you. And be honest with me, do you really have anyone else in the picture who can care for you right now?"

[1twntyovreighty]

"Yeah, sure, Dr Zambrano," Rick replied as he just watched the doc work her magic. He was quickly getting used to the needle thing. It wasn't as if he'd ever had a week stomach when it came to medical stuff. He just didn't have the brain to wrap around it like his little brother. "And nothing I say will ever stop him doing it. Maybe just try and get him a pillow, huh?"

Rick gave a shake of his head. "Not really. Pretty sure Dave won't want me crashing in on him again when it means I need taking care of."

[halfway2heaven]

"You can't fool me, Rick," Bella told him with a small smile and teased him by putting a little round pink smiley face band-aid on the wound that were usually saved for her kid patients. "I know you really want him here. You even want him here now, but you know he needs a bit of a time out. He told me he was going for a surf down in Key Biscayne, but he'll be back tomorrow. Until then, you need to just put up with me for company. Maybe it'll be nice to stay with him for awhile, give you some time together. It won't all be hands on nursing. I won't let you out of here until you can be mostly self-sufficient. A few more days, and you will be on your feet."

She poked him softly in the arm. "Don't you be underestimating my patients, mister. I happen to know Dave would take care on your heartbeat. I heard it out of his own mouth. You need to give the dudes in your life a bit more credit and you need to understand that accepting help when you need it isn't defeat to the illness."

[1twntyovreighty]

Rick looked down at the band-aid before he started to chuckle, a grin creasing his face. She really was full of little surprises. "Alright, you got me, Bella. I do want him here. I want him here more than anything. It's the reason why Dave's offer was so tempting. If I'm here in Miami then I'm closer to Chris. I have a chance to fix things... Hopefully I won't check out on him permanently. I'm not ready for that. What about the chemo? Am I still going to be self-sufficient after that?"

He held up his hand slightly in defence. "Hey, hey. Stop picking on the cancer dude. You'll make me cry."

[halfway2heaven]

"Can I ask you a question? Feel free to tell me to go fuck myself if you don't want to answer. You wouldn't be the first patient who has. I'm tougher than I look," Bella assured him and looked throught he trolley for what she needed to insert the new line for the increased medication regime. "Chemo is extremely subjective. Some people only suffer for with a bit of discomfort for a day or so after, others go through hell. Just bear that in mind if you ask Dave about it. He fell into the latter basket, unfortunately. There are things I can give you to ease certain symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are usually the biggest reactions. General aches and pains, other discomfort like diarrhoea or constipations. You might get night sweats or insomnia. Or you might jsut escape with feeling a bit sick during the course of it. We won't know until start it and monitor you. There are a lot of myths about chemo, but one is that you don't need to be a hospital patient for it. You came for the day, then you go home if there are no complications. A few weeks later, you come back for another round. I'm hopeful you will be self-sufficient, you just might not feel like doing much. But your brother wants to help you, Rick. It's your choice whether you let him."

She smirked at him. "Just wait until you see the needle I'm about insert right..." she paused turning his arm over for a quick look and pressed her thumb a couple of inches up from his wrist, "... here."

[1twntyovreighty]

Rick arched an eyebrow at her. "Shoot. And I like 'em tough, so that's good." He nodded a little as he listened and tried to rest his head back and just relax. All he knew about chemo was that it was serious, and it's what cancer patients got. He'd never known anyone with cancer, but from the sounds of what Dave had been telling him, he really had landed in the shit basket. He felt sorry for the guy, and could only hope he managed to just escape with some nausea. "I want him to..."

Rick's gaze flicked to the needle, and he snorted. "Sure that needle's not just happy to see me? You really do like torturing me, don't you?"